BPOV
I could barely contain myself as we loaded into the cars to go to Edward. It felt like my chest was cracking open missing him and worrying him. I was staring out the window remembering the last conversation Edward and I had the night before this happened. We talked about what our plans for the future. I can't wait to live a life with Edward. It would be like having a sleep over with my best friend. It was funny how we laugh at the same things love the same books, can spend an hour laying in odd angles in our bed both reading and be totally comfortable. It was like us being together was just supposed to happen.
When the cars slowed down in a roundabout drive way of the biggest, grandest mansion I'd ever seen, I know I made an audible gulp. Cause Rosalie and Esme both let out little giggles.
"Well this is what we call home base. This is Grandpa Cullen's house.
"Wait you mean Edward's grandfather?" I asked
"Yes, Anthony Cullen Senior. Carlisle's father lives here. He stays out of the public eye. But he is here. The press thinks he's in Brazil so he won't be extradited to the United States but the truth is he's been here the entire time right under their noses. He says the best hiding spot is in plain sight. Which is why he demanded that we bring Edward here to recover; now the press is tearing up the city trying to find Edward; but he's been right here the whole time" Esme said as the car doors opened.
I think had I known my way around the gigantic compound I would have barreled through anyone standing in the way of me getting to Edward; but I stood quietly and waited. I'm not sure what I was expecting when I was told I would meet Edward's grandfather; I think in my mind in the last thirty minute I was picturing a frail old man, maybe in a wheelchair. I guess I was expecting him to be meek and not able to care for himself.
My imagination had failed me. I wasn't expecting a large olive skinned man dressed in an expensive suit with ice clue eyes. His hair was jet black he looked almost regal and his presence was intimidating.
"Hey dad, how's he doing?" Carlisle asked the quiet man who was regarding me with a suspicious look in his eyes.
"He's the same; no better and no worse. He was giving the nurses quite a time. He fought against the breathing tube so they finally took the dam thing out."
"Well I'm glad he hasn't taken a turn for the worst" Carlisle said.
"You must be the young lady everyone is going on and on about" he said stepping in front of me.
"Hello Mr. Cullen I'm sorry to meet you under these circumstances" I said quietly extending my hand.
"Now there is no need for any of that formal Mr. Cullen shit. The only people who call me that are kissing my ass, you're family. No need to kiss my ass at least not right now" he boomed out.
"Oh come on Anthony you're going to scare her; she doesn't know you're just a big ole teddy bear" Esme said lightly tapping his elbow.
"Only adds to the mystery of me my beautiful girl. How are you, keeping this pack of hounds in line?" He asked pulling her into a hug.
"Oh you know, hard life, but someone has to do it" Esme laughed.
"Don't I know it. Where's Jasper? Still keeping that poor little girl trapped under him? It's a wonder he gets any work done. I haven't talked to him in a few days" Anthony regarded.
"Dad; he's only been married a few month. He didn't take a honeymoon got right back to work; so I think we can begrudge him this. All work and no play and all that" Carlisle gave a nonchalant wave of his hand.
"Says you, I swear you new school kids have no fucking work ethic, I sometimes wonder how we're not bankrupt and how we function with all of you so worried-"
"Anthony choose your next words carefully if you plan on sleeping in my bed ever again" A woman so beautiful with fair skin and the blondest hair I'd ever seen was standing at the top of the stairs.
"Mom; how are you? Come on down and meet Bella. I'm sure Edwards told you all about her" Carlisle said.
"I feel like I already know the girl; I feel like my grandson has pushed me aside as the number one girl in his life" She said coming to a stop on the bottom stairs.
The vibe in the room shifted. I watched as Esme and Rosalie both tensed. Emmett turned into this cold statue I'd never seen before and almost acted as if no one had entered the room.
"Come on Emmett let's go for a walk" Rosalie said reaching for his hand.
"Hello Emmett and Rosalie" The lady said coolly.
Neither of them spoke the instead walked through a hallway I guess that led to the back of the house.
"Well that was quite rude; both of them acted as if I wasn't even here" She complained to Carlisle.
"Well you've treated my son as a third class citizen for years and for years he still treated you with respect and yet you still treated him poorly to please his father; well I got sick of it and have always taught my children if they don't have anything kind to say to say nothing and walk away; he's obviously listening to his mother" Esme spat the venom clear in her voice.
"Charlotte, you obviously getting what's been coming to you for years, the boys have never done anything to warrant your treatment of them. I applaud his actions instead of engaging you he chose to be a man and walk away. Good for him" Anthony said with a roll of his eyes.
"Come on guys, this is neither the time nor the place for this. I don't think Bella should have to deal with this" Carlisle held his hand up.
I looked towards the top of the stairs. It was almost like I could feel that Edward was close. The worst part of it was that his grandmother was in my way. I should have been trying to play nice and getting into her good graces; but all I saw was that she was in the way of getting to my man. I almost instantly decided that I didn't like her.
"So is this the new one?" she asked pointing at me.
"I would say her name is Isabella and she is the forever one" Carlisle said with a smile in his voice.
"Well I thought that about the last one he was fucking but I proved to be wrong so how would I know her to be any different" She shrugged and I felt my eyes roll.
"You sure do know how to make the wrong impression, now if you'll excuse me I'm done with this whole situation. I'd like to see my son" Esme said grabbing my hand and all but shoving Edward's grandmother out of the way.
She led me up the stairs and turned down a hallway and knocked lightly on the first door as she pushed it open.
I felt like I'd stepped into a hospital. There were two nurses sitting off to the side. One of them was typing away on a lap top and the other was sitting on a couch reading a magazine.
"Good afternoon Ms. Esme. He just went back to sleep a little while ago. He was in pain so we gave him medicine to help. He's doing okay, no longer running a fever or bleeding and breathing on his own. They think he's out of the woods; now it's just up to him. He wakes up more frequently but not for long periods of time and the pain is really taking it out of him" The older nurse explained.
"My poor baby, I hate how he's suffering but I'll take it over not having him at all" Esme said dabbing at her eyes with a Kleenex.
"We're taking good care of him. We'll do everything we can to get him back home to you ma'am." She said softly touching Esme's shoulder.
I couldn't take my eyes of Edward. He looked so different for the last time I'd seen him. He didn't look as strong or cocky. He looked small and just so unlike himself. His face was covered in stubble from days of not shaving, his hair was out of control. His chest was covered in bandages, and the skin that was visible was a mass of bruises in various stages of healing. Some of them had taken on a yellowish tinge.
I was trying with all my might to fight back the tears.
"You can touch him and talk to him. I think he knows when people are here" the woman said.
"I don't want to hurt him" I whispered.
"You won't I honestly think he would like knowing someone other than his grandmother is here. When she's here he gets really agitated and fidgety. I don't think he likes having her around a lot" The younger nurse whispered.
"She thinks he adores her. The idiot has no idea that he really can't stand her" Esme growled quietly.
They were all trying to hold back their laughter but my only focus was on Edward. I slowly walked over to the bedside and touched his hand.
"Hi baby. I missed you" I whispered and his fingers twitched.
"Keep talking to him. He knows you're here" The younger nurse softly encouraged.
"I wish you were home with me. I need you to get better handsome. I have so much to tell you" I whispered and softly squeezed his hand.
I sat with Edward for the better part of two hours. I ignored everything around me. I had no idea what was going on anywhere else. I softly spoke to Edward about the police interview and told him about the talk I'd had with his father. I told him about how I'd kept his crimson tide hat with me and had no intentions of letting it out of my sight until I was giving it back to him so I needed him to come home.
At about midnight Carlisle put his hand on my shoulder and said "Bella we should get you home so that you can rest"
"No, I don't want to leave him" I turned to him.
"He knows you'll be back, but you can't take care of him if you don't take care of yourself. Remember you're still healing too"
"I know but I just have this I don't know I feel like if I let him out of my sight he'll disappear. I know it sounds stupid-"
"No it doesn't sound stupid, it sounds like you're in love and it's okay but remember how I said I protect from my family from everything, that includes protecting you from yourself. So we need to get you home" he said firmly.
"Someone will bring me back tomorrow right?" I asked
"I promise I will make sure you're able to come visit every day" he promised with a smile and his hand over his heart.
"Okay baby. I have to go home now, but I promise I'll be back tomorrow. I hope when I come back you're able to talk to me" I whispered kissing his forehead softly.
I swear I heard him mumble and I stared at him waiting for him to move or say something else; but he didn't.
Carlisle put his hand on my shoulder and carefully guided me out the door.
"Where is everyone?" I asked as we descended the stairs and out the front door.
"They all went home hours ago and my father went to bed. My mother went home. I was clear that no one was to disturb you and Edward" he said opening my door.
I settled into the dark Mercedes for the quiet ride home. I felt a lot more relaxed but my heart hurt a little more. I would have given anything to be on my way home with Edward at this moment. I was so glad I'd gotten to see him.
"This is only temporary Bella, I'm sure he is going to try his ass off to get better sooner to get back to you, that is why I felt like you two having the time alone today was so important. Give him something to work for" Carlisle commented.
"I know, doesn't make it any easier. I just feel bad that he's going through this. I mean the boy survived prison only to be shot on the outside. It's not fair" I shrugged my shoulders.
"Nothing in the life we live is fair, but it will be punished. I won't let this go. I hope you know that" he said making the sharp turn.
"That's what I'm afraid of. When Edward wakes up and is able to go back to work I feel like he is going to be in a rage an out for blood and won't be careful; I don't begrudge him the right to punish whoever did this to us, but I don't want him to get hurt because all that's on his mind is revenge" I turned to Carlisle.
"Bella that's why we work as a team, we all bring parts to the team to check and balance each other. I won't let him go off halfcocked on some suicide mission. Don't let it concern you" he said reaching over and patting my knee.
"I try not to but you know I will worry about him. I don't want to loose him":
"If I have anything to say about it you won't. I will do everything in my power to keep him coming home to you" Carlisle said as he pulled into the garage.
I was actually looking forward to the pain medication. Not because I was needed it for pain. I mean I was in pain; but it was both mental and physical pain. I just needed to turn it off for a while. It hit my full force as I walked into Edward's bedroom. I carefully laid in bed and wrapped myself around his pillow. Inhaling deep I closed my eyes. I imagined Edward's laugh, the deep rich timbre of his voice. The twinkle in his eyes I missed it all and this was a new feeling for me. I'd never needed someone else to make things better. I'd never had anyone to miss so bad it hurt.
I wiped away a few tears and sat up as a soft knock came on the door.
"Come in" I responded sitting up against the headboard.
'Hey you.; I thought I'd come see how you were doing, feels like we haven't seen each other in ages" Rosalie walked padded over and perched herself on the edge of the bed.
"I'd say I was fine but we both know that'd be a huge lie" I said scrubbing my hands over my face.
"You know he's going to make it through this right; I know that being apart fucking sucks but if anyone can do this and make it to the other side it's you and Edward. I mean shit you guys started out being apart" she said looking at me.
"Yeah but then I knew a letter was coming from him, I knew he was okay and not fighting for his life, this is something totally different" I looked up.
"Yeah I know but what I mean is you're both so strong and your love is so intense he's going to make it and you both are going to be fine" Rosalie said.
"Yeah that part I know and I know that this changes nothing about what I feel for him, it intensifies it if anything, but the getting there part. If I could just go to sleep and wake up when we get to the next par. I'd be good" I said wiping my tears with the back of my hand.
"Yeah but the getting there par if what earns you your stripes with him, the fact that you didn't fold; you stayed strong, stood up for him when he couldn't do it for himself do you know how fucking huge that is? What you did with the feds today? I don't think I would have ever put that kind of faith in anyone else. I don't think Carlisle would have either. Bella we all see how great you are, what kind of woman you are. How can you not see it?" Rosalie declared.
"Because Rosalie I need him here. I feel like I'm a step away from breaking fucking down. I've never felt like this, I've never allowed myself to let myself get this way for anyone but my mother and look what happened-She fucking died and left me and some part of me feels like if I blink the same thing will happen with Edward hell even the rest of you and I know I won't handle that" I said not able to fight off the tears.
"And the problem with that is what? When you're here surrounded by family, if you fall we will all catch you but that is with family, outside you trust no one and you never let them see how shaken you are. You've done that at every fucking challenge, the cops the press, hell with those to airhead whores back in Arizona. Bella girl you gotta give yourself more credit. You have to know that we all admire you. We all see that you're still finding your bearing, but to an outsider you seem to be flawless and unstoppable. That's it, you've nailed it. You don't have to do anything else" Rosalie said wrapping her arms around me.
"Well then why do I feel like I'm doing it all fucking wrong?" I demanded.
"Because you're way to fucking hard on yourself and don't allow yourself the same room for error that you allow everyone else in your life to have, you don't trust that if you fall the same way you've caught Edward that we wouldn't return the favor, but I refuse to give up on you Esme refuses to give up on you. We're going to tell you how worth it you are over and over again until you either snap or fucking see it" Rosalie said taking me by the shoulders and staring me in the eye.
"I'm just-"
"No Bella, you gotta fucking trust me. Let me help you through this?" she asked
"I will. Rosalie I'm sorry I didn't mean to be so weak" I said suddenly feeling embarrassed.
"You're not weak; you're holding it together while your man can't. you had a moment when the cameras weren't rolling you broke down with your sister. That's totally fucking okay; you're not the first one and you for dam sure won't be the last" Rosalie said hugging me tightly.
"Thank you Rosalie. Thank you for making me see reason. I can't tell you how much better I feel. I mean I miss him and would give anything to have him here with me, but I know he is working hard on getting better, and thinking of the alternative-I'm okay with that" I said taking a deep breath.
"Girl I'll smack some sense into you whenever you need me too, and sometimes even when you don't think you need me to I will. Learning curve is what it's all about stick me and you'll never go wrong" she said with a wink as she got up.
After Rosalie left I took a shower and got ready for bed. I looked at the wounds on my side and my stomach and cringed thinking I'd been shot, but then again I'd do it all over again if it meant that at the end I would still be this happy with the love of my life and the amazing family that came with him.
I applied the cream and bandages to all three of my wounds and got into some comfy clothes. I let out a yawn as another knock came on the door. Esme entered with a smile.
"Hey sweet girl, I was hoping to catch you before you went to sleep. I wanted to apologize for the display at my father in law's house. His wife was out of line and I'm sorry you had to witness her childish behavior" she said sitting on the bed.
I looked over my shoulder at her in the mirror of the vanity.
"Honestly it didn't really bother me. I was just concerned with Edward. She is an adult; you don't need to apologize for her, besides she didn't do or say anything to me" I said running the brush through my still wet hair.
"You're so kind, she doesn't deserve it" Esme said quietly.
"Well if she ever speaks to you or Rosalie the way she did in my presence again when I'm not on a mission to make sure Edward is okay. I won't be so kind. I honestly wonder why if you all are so unhappy with her around, why is she still here?" I asked
"Carlisle's father is old school. Arranged marriage because of family traditions and divorce isn't an option. He hates her and she lives to make him miserable. They haven't lived the life of a married couple since Carlisle was a teenager. His father moved her to her own house on the property. He does what he wants and she gets the money" Esme explained.
"That's a miserable existence. I would just leave if I was her" I said.
"she has nothing and nowhere to go. She has always been miserable and mean spirited and when her family arranged her to Carlisle she was no longer their problem. They washed their hands of her and cut her off. She only has what Anthony senior gives her and while she hates him she knows what he is capable of. So in effect to a point she does what she is told but whenever she gets a change to flex her muscle she does, but she knows she embarrassed Anthony today. Her problem my entertainment" Esme shrugged.
"Well no worries about me. I honestly hadn't given her another thought, so it's a non issue. Now I want to see Edward again tomorrow so I need to get some sleep. Hopefully you can come with me tomorrow. I'm sure he wants to have both of his girls around" I said with a smile.
"You say that like I'd want to be anywhere else. Oh by the way I wanted to tell you that the way you handled the police interview did both Carlisle and I proud. Your loyalty is nothing short of amazing Bella. Thank you" she said as she closed the door.
I let out a long breath and stared at the mirror. The picture of Edward and I in Arizona with his lips rested against my temple and the happy smile on my face was almost reassuring for me.
The shine in both our eyes was all the strength I needed. He was the reason I found my strength and I would be his safety net and protect him, I would try to protect him from himself. The gravity of the task of protecting Edward from himself I was sure would challenge every bit of strength I had, but if anyone could do it. I could.
I was sitting next to Edwards's bed reading when his grandmother decided to finally grace me with an introduction. I'd been coming to the house every day for the last week helping the nurses take care of him. Shaving and bathing him, talking to him and holding his hand. I hadn't really seen much of anyone and that was fine with me. Edward didn't need the chaos. He needed to focus on getting better and coming back to me.
"Well aren't you just the doting caretaking piece of ass?" she sang as she whisked into the room
"Excuse me?" I turned towards her.
"I hardly believe that you and my grandson are anything more than quick fuck. I mean I think you're eating up having your face splashed over the tv and papers and couldn't give a fuck whether he lived or died" she sneered.
"You know what I'm not even going to entertain your random musings because if you honestly gave a dam about him, the last place you would want to spew your bullshit and disdain for his choices is in front of him when he doesn't have the ability to defend himself" I whispered harshly
"Well if he would make the right choices he wouldn't need to defend himself to me" she said walking over to him and touching his shoulder.
Edward hands were twitching and his heart monitors had stared to light up. As the nurses has told us before, he became visibly agitate whenever his grandmother was around.
"Why does he need to justify anything to you? I mean you insult the people he holds dear to him and you obviously don't respect him; so why would he do anything that would please you. Why do you deserve that level of respect from him?" I questioned
"You little whore, who the-"
I softly let go of Edward's hand and leaned over to him
"It's okay baby I'll be back in a bit I love you" I said and walked towards the door.
"I was speaking to you, how dare you walk away from me. Have you any respect?" she demanded.
"If you knew the first dam thing about Edward you would see that this is obviously upsetting him but your selfishness doesn't allow you to see anything anyone else needs. I see the man I love becoming obviously upset and know it's no good for him, so out of respect for him, I won't do this with you in his presence. You want to speak with me fine but you will not do this in front of him" I sneered turned on my heel and walked out of the door.
When I closed the door softly behind me and leaned up against the wall. My heart was pounding and the adrenaline was racing through my veins. I took a deep calming breath and remembered what Rosalie had said the night before and was about to drag the she evil away from Edward kicking and screaming when the door swung open.
"If you slam that door and disturb him I will put your head through the wall next to it so help me god" I said firmly
"If you think you can come into my home and tell me what to do you're sadly-"
"From what I hear you don't even live here, so I'm not in your home so you can take your threats to someone whose afraid of you because I'm not" I shrugged
"Wait until Edward finds out how you've upset me" she declared.
"Wait until he finds out how you treated his mother and his brother; does he even know how cruel you are to them?" I demanded.
"I have never in my fucking-"
"Would you stop your shrieking and dramatics, no one is screaming at you and Edward is trying to rest. What's wrong with you? Aren't you a bit too old to be a drama queen?" I crossed my arms across my chest and squared my shoulders.
She fixed her cold hard stare on me and for a second I almost cowered and shrank back; but that wasn't what Edward needed me to be.
"Look charlotte I don't know what your problem is with me and I really don't care. What I do know is Edward and I have something real, we both love each other and we are loyal to each other. If you don't like it that's your problem, but you will not disrespect me or his family in front of me. If you want to get back into Edward's good graces you better put on your fucking nice face to everyone that's important to him and I couldn't care less if you mean it or not but I better never be able to tell that you don't mean it. Otherwise no one will miss the fact that you no longer exist" I stepped up to her and stood as tall as I could.
"Just who in the actual fuck do you think you are? I've been here with this family longer than you've been alive little girl and when I turned my back for a second my son goes out and screws that socialite whore and brings the tramp and her her little brats here and expects me to play their grandmother when the father of those little bastards tried to destroy my him? Why the hell-"
"Who really fucking cares? Your son is happy and Esme, Jas and Emmett have done nothing but proved time and time again they are nothing but loyal. Yet you're so hell-bent on holding a grudge you've failed to realize that all you're doing is alienating your family. No one wants you around Charlotte. Edward is in a fucking coma for god sake and tries his ass off to make you see he doesn't want you around. Are you blind? They have built a strong family around you and left you completely out because all you do is hate" I ranted
"My grandson loves me" she stamped her foot and crossed her arms like a petulant child.
"If that's the case why is it the whole time I've known Edward he's never mentioned you" How come all he ever talked about were his brothers and their wives his sisters. Why is it that when we had Edward's coming home party no one even mentioned you? Hell Edward never even mentioned his grandfather for obvious reasons, but you he would never allow someone from the outside to treat his family that way. He tolerates you out of having to pay dues of respect to his father and grandfather. He wouldn't miss you if you were gone and that is wrong. Don't you want to change that? I mean if it doesn't matter to you fuck it you can go on being a cruel ice hearted bitch that no one wants to be around. If not you can start by apologizing to Esme and the boys for crucifying them for things they had nothing to do with" I explained.
"What the fuck do you think you are a goddam therapist? You don't even have a family that wanted you around but you think you can tell me how to run mine? Drop dead you little slut my grandson will drop you like a bad cold the second your newness wears off" she spat and shoulder checked me as she marched by me to the stairs.
"You know it's pointless with her. She's a cold lonely miserable bitch and the only thing that makes her happy is making me and my family miserable" I jumped and turned to see Anthony Senior and Carlisle coming out of the office.
"she's just-"
"Bella one of the things that is great about you is your caring heart, but the one thing I need to teach you is to not waste it on those who aren't worth it; and she my dear isn't worth it" Carlisle said lighting a cigar.
"Well then why is she still around?" I asked
"Everyone whose an outsider to this circle serves purpose and as long as long as that purpose is being served we keep them around sometimes at a great expense. But eventually their purpose becomes more of a liability than an asset or my patience runs then and I dispose of all my liabilities. Trust me she has a purpose" Anthony said turning on his heel and walking down the back stairs.
"Eventually nothing will shock you any more, just like your courage is growing. Your ability to be shocked and awed will shrink. People are often very odd and flawed created little Bella remember to keep your castle growing but your circle forever shrinking. It will serve you well" Carlisle said going back into the office and closing the door leaving a cloud of smoke trailing behind him.
"What the fuck have I gotten myself into" I whispered as I turned to go back to my love. I didn't need an answer to that. I'd gotten Edward. I'd gotten my best friend Rosalie and a second mother in Esme and a strong fearless and over protective father in Carlisle and a work in progress friendship with my sister in law Alice.
To me anything I had to go through was worth it if I got them.
A:N: So yeah Edward is still in a coma and Bella is struggling to maintain her family and her place in said family and you've probably spotted the person who is going to be the most trouble for the Cullen, but the question is. Will she be their downfall?