I take it you guys hate me for the cliffy, SO here is what happened next... (over 2,000 words btw *smiles)
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
"I hope you'll understand how much he'll have to rely on you."
"Of course, doctor. Of course, that didn't seem like something you had to spell out of me."
Why was she here?
Fuck me.
Why can't I open my eyes?
What the fuck is wrong with me?
"If something changes, make sure to inform me right away."
"Yes, doctor. Immediately."
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Blackness all around, it suffocated me. It made me feel claustrophobic, locked up.
I could hear them talking, I could sometimes feel their touches on my body. I could hear the machines.
Was I in the hospital?
What happened?
I hate hospitals.
Where's Paul?
Did something happen at the auction?
Oh no, what about Butterfly? Is she still at my apartment?
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
"Bro, call someone."
I opened my eyes and squinted, trying to get used to the level of brightness in the room.
There it was.
The stiff, white sheets and the frumpy, atrocious hospital gown.
The beeping machine telling people that I was still alive.
The IV in my hand, making sure I got my meds and fluids.
"Hey, Boss. You scared us for a minute," Garrett was beside me, sitting on a wooden chair with tired eyes.
I tried to talk, but my throat felt dry and voice cracked.
"Take it easy, Cullen." Garrett said and reached for a cup with a straw on the little table next to my bed.
"Paul is getting the doctor for you."
Paul.
"Is he okay?" I croaked as I sipped on some water, the feeling of the somewhat cool liquid extinguishing the burning sensation.
"He is now. Paul was standing behind you when it happened and the bullet grazed his leg. He got a beating, but he left the hospital after about two days."
I frowned.
"How long—?" I didn't have to finish my question, because my friend knew me like that. I hated to waste time, even if I was sick or unwell.
"You've been unconscious off and on for about three days and you were in an induced coma for four more."
Induced coma?
"What happened man?" I was desperate to know.
"Ah, Mr. Cullen, I'm glad you're awake. How are you feeling?" The doctor walked in alongside Paul with a smile on his face. He looked to be in his forties with slicked back, long blonde hair.
"I don't know," I said quietly.
"It's important to keep drinking water if you're thirsty," Doctor Blonde told me.
I nodded.
"So, seeing as you've been darting in and out of consciousness, I'm sure you have tons of questions. Would you like me to wait for your wife to get here so she can be here for you?"
My wife?
"We've called her right away, she's been caught up on a business trip though, so she hasn't been visiting."
Business trip, my ass.
"Just tell him, doc. He's a big boy, he can handle it." Paul chimed in. Thank God for Garrett and Paul.
Voices from the hallway drowned out my thoughts, I recognized the voice immediately. I smiled.
"I can't believe you let me just sit in that cafetaria," her voice was angry.
"I told you it was going to be okay! And the guys texted me immediately, you're here and he's okay."
Emmett entered my room with a tired-looking Butterfly. There was no glitz, no glamour, her wings would've been dropped beside her little body. She looked at me, and her eyes brightened as she rushed to my side.
"Mrs. Cullen, I'm so glad you could make it." The doctor went to shake her hand, but she just looked at him with questioning eyes.
"Oh, I'm not his—" Emmett broke her reply by shooting questions at the doctor, taking away the spotlight off of my Butterfly.
"Tell us, doc. We've been waiting long enough." He crossed his arms in front of his chest as Garrett gave up his seat for Bella. She sat down and grasped my hand, bringing it to her cheek.
"You got us so worried, Good Guy." She whispered. I could see a hint of shed tears, her eyes red and glossy.
"Edward, you suffered from a bullet wound in your thigh and trauma to the head when you hit the pavement. The bullet went through, clean and grazed your colleague on the way out. We had you in an induced coma because there was swelling in your brain. Besides that, you were very lucky. The bullet was millimeters away from damaging your femoral artery."
Millimeters away from death, then.
Bullet.
Trauma to the head.
"So again, how are you feeling?" The doctor insisted.
"My head hurts like hell and I have this throbbing pain in my leg." I told him.
"That's to be expected. You'll need physical therapy to recover the muscle in your leg, as soon as you feel well enough to get out of bed. It's the only way you'll be able to heal properly and make sure you won't limp for the rest of your days."
Limp?
I opened my mouth to speak but the doctor spoke again.
"You recovered fairly well already, the headache is the result of your concussion but I forsee that subsiding in the next couple of days. As for the rest, the remainder of your injuries are simply bruising, you won't have any scars on your face."
"That's good," I muttered.
The doctor stayed to talk to me a little while longer before he got paged for surgery in the emergency room.
Bella went to use the restroom and get a coffee, that was when Garrett couldn't shut up any longer.
"She's been here every fucking day, Cullen. You didn't tell me, and I'm sure you've had your reasons, but I hope you won't keep me in the dark any longer." I could tell I'd hurt him by excluding him, but I just couldn't risk it.
"Nothing is going on between us." I sighed and Emmett snorted.
"Yeah, that sure is nothing. I mean, even my Rose can't shut up about you and her so I'm sure it's nothing." He grinned like a lunatic and I rolled my eyes. The laughing made my head throb even more.
"We'll give you time to recover and Carmen is running CCS like a champ, so you have nothing to worry about." Garrett was shrugging on his jacket with a smile.
"You missed the baby shower, but it's fine. Kate sends you her best and she hopes you'll feel better soon. She would've been here, but she hasn't been feeling the greatest lately."
"Man, I'm so sorry." I croaked.
"Don't, you have to heal now. I gotta go, I'm on for a shift later and I want to hop home real quick to see my wife," he winked at me and waved as he left the room.
"I really want to give you two some alone time, Edward, but my Swan has been up days and nights on end because she worries so much. I'm driving her home as soon as she wants to go." Emmett explained. He looked tired himself, his blue eyes drained and his T-shirt wrinkled.
"Thanks for taking care of her," I whispered.
"No, thank you." He winked.
Bella got back with coffee for her and Emmett and a cupcake on a plate.
"I asked the nurse, and she told me you could eat it if you wanted to." She proudly walked over with the vanilla frosted cupcake and sat back down, the plate on her lap. She was wearing leggings and a huge sweatshirt that swallowed her, but she still looked like a million bucks to me.
She fed me little pieces and my stomach growled in response. It tasted so fucking good I think I actually moaned.
"God damn, I need myself one of those," Emmett whined and left the room to get his own little cupcake. I'm sure it won't taste as good as mine, especially since Bella was feeding it to me.
"I was so shocked when Rose called me." She broke the silence after I'd devoured half of the cake.
"Emmett called her since he heard what happened from Carmen. I got over here as fast as I could, but your wife was here so I hid out in the cafeteria."
I frowned.
"Tanya was here?" I wondered.
Bella nodded.
"I only saw her the first day, I could hear the doctor tell her something like how much she would have to take care of you when you got discharged, but she acted like nothing happened."
So I had heard Tanya, after all. Glad I wasn't on the verge of being delusional.
"You really have some nerve," I could hear Emmett in the hallway and my head shot up to the door.
"Fuck," I muttered under my breath, shocked to see why he was being so rude.
He should've fucking thrown the bitch out.
"Oh my God, baby. I just got the call that you were awake." Tanya rushed to my side only to halt in front of my Butterfly. The toes of her high-heeled stilettos were aligned with Bella's battered Vans sneakers. She looked absolutely lethal, in her black faux-fur coat.
"Who the fuck are you?" Tanya spat at Bella, who sat up straighter in her seat. Bella pulled her hand away from mine and gripped the plastic plate from the cupcake tightly.
"No, nevermind. I don't want to know. I bet you're the one he fucks while I'm not home, right?" Tanya crossed her hands in front of her chest, and I could see her pantyhose were ripped at the knee. She probably didn't even have a change of clothes since she got thrown out of two houses.
"Excuse me?" Bella rose from the chair and even though Tanya was taller than her, she seemed to tower over her with confidence. I could see rage inside the deep brown, a storm hiding inside them as she took on the wrath of Tanya Denali.
This was not how I expected things to go.
They were never supposed to meet.
"You cheap, little whore," Tanya tsk-ed and pushed Bella aside.
"Takes one to know one, I guess?" Bella asked sweetly, voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Not that it is any of your fucking business, but I am not fucking anyone here in this room and I am his fucking friend." Bella said far too calmly.
My eyes widened and I just hoped they weren't going to fight, since I couldn't get between them.
"What did you just call my girl?" Emmett walked in, wall of muscle and rage.
"From what I've heard and have seen, there is only one whore in this hospital room. And I believe she's far from cheap," he smirked at Tanya. I could barely suppress a grin.
"You know what, I think I'll call the nurse. I don't know any of you, and you're tiring my husband. He needs to recover." Tanya's demeanor seemed to have changed. Instead of fighting, she was trying to mend the cracks in her façade.
"Go ahead, I think Edward still has a choice in who he wants to see and who he'd rather have jump off of a bridge," Bella smiled my way.
"I'm his wife!" Tanya shrieked.
"You're my ex-wife." I managed to raise my voice.
"I don't want you here, I don't ever want to see your face again. And you better sign those papers or I'll fucking crush you in court." I threw at her. I was getting worked up and my head was throbbing, but this was all worth it. The way her confidence left her body and the way her eyes turned sad made me feel a little stronger already.
"These people have been nothing but kind and generous to me. Both of them were there for me when you were pretending to be someone's loving fiancée. Do you get it now? It's over, Tanya. It's been over for a while now, but now I finally get it." I sat up in my bed and tried to ignore the sharp pain that shot through my leg when I moved. My hands trembled and I wriggled and fumbled until it was done.
"See this?" I held up the gold ring for her to see.
Tanya narrowed her eyes at me.
"It was the last fucking this I own that was yours. Now fucking go, you don't mean a single fucking this to me anymore. You disgust me, everything about you. I'm sorry I've wasted this much time on you, and I feel so incredibly fucking stupid for letting you mess with my head for so long."
With all the power I had, I threw the ring at her. It hit her clavicle and tumbled down onto the hospital floor where it spun around itself until it fell down, flat.
I'd done it.
I was done.
Abso-fucking-lutely done.