31

Bella paused for a moment and looked around, trying to figure out where she was, and why she was there. She spotted her jeep parked in the lot on the right side of the hotel, but when she cursed under her breath when she realized she didn't have her bag, which meant no keys.

"Bella, sweetheart, wait."

Looking behind her, she saw the man who called himself Edward hurrying toward her. "Dude, fucking leave me alone!" she snarled before she ran toward a cab, which happened to have pulled up in front of the hotel.

Throwing open the door, she climbed inside and rattled off her address, before looking out the back window and watching as Edward pulled a phone of his pocket and gestured toward her and the cab. The woman and man who had been with him were trying to calm him down.

"Hurry," Bella told the cab driver.

As the driver made his way through the city, her phone rang and Edward's name popping up on the caller I.D. Feeling aggravated, she denied the call, wondering why she even had his number. Had she gotten drunk? Slept with him? Just the thought of a drunken one-night stand had her gagging.

She had just dropped her phone on the seat when he called again. Once again, she ignored the call, and then before he could call again, she turned her phone off. Better to just ignore him until he got the message.

"Here we go," the cab driver said, pulling up in front of her house. He turned and looked at her. "Forty-five even."

"Oh, um," She stammered, climbing out and digging through her pockets, But she didn't have any cash or even her debt card. "Let me run inside. I'll be right back."

"You'd better," the cabby snarled, throwing his car door open and stepping out as Bella turned and hurried up to the front porch, throwing open the front door.

"Esme? Dad? Anyone here?" Bella called as she hurried into the kitchen, grabbing the old coffee can off the top of the refrigerator and digging out enough cash to pay for her cab. Ever since Bella was little, they'd gotten in the habit of stowing extra cash just in case. More than once they had each dug through it when needed.

"Bella?" Esme asked, hurrying out of the kitchen with her phone pressed against her ear. "She's just got here . . . Okay . . . Okay, just hurry."

"Where's Dad?" Bella asked, moving toward the front door, but Esme blocked her way. "What the fuck, Essie?"

"Bella, honey, are you okay?" Esme asked, reaching for her arm, but pulling back when she scoffed.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Bella nudged Esme out of the way. "I need to pay for my cab. I've had the weirdest morning. You would not even believe me if I told you."

Without giving Esme a chance to stop her, Bella hurried back outside and paid for her cab, ignoring the scowl on his face at having to wait. Waving off his bad mood, she headed back into the house, finding Esme still standing next to the front door.

"Where's Dad?" she asked, tossing her phone on the coffee table before looking back at Esme, who was still staring at her with wide eyes. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Bells," Esme whispered, shaking her head.

Rolling her eyes, Bella turned and headed toward her father's bedroom. "Dad!"

"Bella, stop," Esme called after her.

But Bella threw open the door to her father's bedroom, stopping when he wasn't in there. But more so, it looked like nobody had been inside that room in a very long time. His bed had been made, his clothes put up, but there was a feeling of abandonment that she couldn't explain.

"Dad?" Bella whispered as an uneasy feeling crept over her, sending chills down her spine.

"Bells," Esme whimpered, and when she looked back at her sister, she saw tears streaming down her face. "Oh, Bells."

"Where is he?" she asked. "What's going on?"

Esme opened her mouth to speak, but the front door was thrown open and Bella hurried down the hallway, throwing her hands up to her mouth as Edward hurried in.

"Edward?" Bella asked, looking from him to the house. "What is going on? How did I get here? We were at the hotel . . . weren't we?"

Edward blew out a heavy breath as he crossed the room, scooping her into his arms, pressing his face against the side of her neck. "It's okay, sweetheart. I'm here."

"What happened?" Bella sobbed, wrapping her arms around him. "What the fuck happened?"

"I don't know," he whispered, moving her over and sitting on the couch with her next to him. "Tell me what you remember."

"I, um . . ." Bella shook her head, trying to sort through the memories inside her head. "I don't know. I just . . . I don't know."

"Shh, it's okay," he murmured, nestling her against him before turning toward Esme. "Did you call him?"

"Yes," she replied, and when Bella looked at her sister, she found her with tears streaming down her face.

"Essie," Bella cried, reaching for her sister, but before she could move, the front door opened, and Emmett and Carlisle hurried in with Alice and Jasper right behind them.

"She seems to have come out of it a couple minutes ago," Esme said, bringing her hand up to her chest.

Emmett nodded and moved over, sitting on the edge of the coffee table in front of her and Edward. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"I . . ." Bella shook her head. "I don't know. I was at the hotel with Edward, and then suddenly, I was standing in the doorway of my father's room. I don't . . . I don't know how I got here."

"We were having breakfast with Mom and Peter," Edward explained, tightening his arms around her. "She excused herself to go to the restroom. Mom followed, and it was like all of the sudden she didn't know who Mom was, who I was. I tried to stop her, but . . ." Edward shook his head, his lips trembling. "She didn't know me, Em. She jumped in a cab, and came here. I called Esme, told her what happened and got here as soon as I could."

Emmett once again nodded and looked from Edward to Bella. "Do you remember any of this, Bella?"

Bella shook her head. "I'm getting worse, aren't I?"

"I don't know." Emmett paused, clasping his hands in front of him. "But I don't think we can wait much longer."

"Oh." Bella bit her lip. "So what do we do now?"

"I need to run some tests. Start with a urine sample to test the level of dolichol, a MRI, and then an EEG to map out your brain function. Then, we start the infusions with the cocktail I've created to treat my MS patients."

Bella bit the inside of her lip, before looking up at Edward. The need in his eyes was her undoing. Though she was scared, she found herself nodding. "Okay."

"Thank God," Esme whispered, drawing everyone's attention to her. She smiled weakly. "Sorry, I just . . . You scared me, Bells."

"Yeah, I scared myself," she whimpered, laying her head on Edward's chest.

While Emmett and Carlisle started working out the details to get her tests scheduled, Bella nestled herself further in Edward's arms. She had known that dementia would be a side effect she would have to deal with at some point, but knowing that she hurt her husband, had her freaking out. Especially with his parents there.

Leaning away from him, she asked, "Where are your parents?"

"Oh, um, they didn't want to overwhelm you, so they stayed at the hotel."

Bella nodded, her attention shifting to the clock next to the door. She jumped to her feet, starting everyone. "You need to go!"

"What?" Edward gasped, standing up and reaching for her, but Bella pulled away. "Bella!"

"Your match! It starts in half an hour." She looked from Edward, who didn't move, to Jasper, who also did not move. "Hurry!"

"We're forfeiting the rest of the tournament," Edward said, causing her mouth to flop open. "Sweetheart."

"No!" she snapped, pulling away when he reached for her. "No, you've worked too fucking hard. You can't forfeit now!"

"I can't leave you like this," he whispered, sounding more vulnerable than she had ever heard him before.

Bella sighed. "I can't let you give up everything for me." And when he went to argue, she covered his mouth with her hand and said, "No, not like this. It's hard enough knowing that you're giving up the game for me. This is your last chance to prove to everyone that you're the best of the best. Please. I'm begging you to go."

"I can't," Edward pleaded, cupping her face between his hands. "I just can't."

"Then I won't do any of it," she heard herself saying before she could stop herself.

"Oh, no, Swan," Alice snarled, drawing their attention to her. "You're not pulling that bullshit." She put her hands on her hips and looked from Bella to Edward, to Jasper and back at Bella before saying, "But she's right. There's no reason for you not to finish what you've started here."

"Peanut —"

"Darlin —"

"It's important to her, okay?" Alice chirped, interrupting both Edward and Jasper as they started to argue with her. She turned to Emmett and Carlisle. "Are you going to be able to run these tests immediately? Like this minute?"

"Um, we could do the urine, but it will take some time to set up the MRI and EEG," Carlisle said, sparing Esme, who glared at him, a look. "We could probably have everything set up for this evening, though. Right, Emmett?"

Though it was clear he didn't think they should wait even a few hours, Emmett simply nodded.

Alice smiled, though strained, and said, "So, this is what we are going to do. Edward, you and Jasper are going to compete today. Then tonight, Bella will go to the hospital, and they will start her tests. All right? Everyone happy?"

"No," Esme quipped, then added, "But I know that look in Bella's eyes. It's the same look she had when they told she'd never beat the Reef Hawaiian Pro, and she did."

Bella bit her lip, knowing her sister was scared. Hell, so was she, but so was she. And right now, she needed Edward and Jasper to win. If they won, so would she, right?

"Okay, I guess we'd better get going," Jasper mumbled, his eyes landing on her for a second before he turned to Edward. "Let's go, Mason."

Twenty minutes later, Bella, Alice, and Esme arrived at the Pit. Jasper had dragged Edward out, though she could tell they were both reluctant to leave. Hell, she knew it was stupid to want them to compete, but Edward was already giving up his career for her.

Bella pulled her camera out of her bag and started taking snapshots of the crowd, loving the energy that was pouring off of each and every person that filled the bleachers. Edward and Jasper were seated on the far side of the pit, while their competitors were on the other side. Bella hadn't watched them much, but knew they were going to be tough competition for Edward and Jasper, especially if they were distracted.

"Here," Esme said, shoving a bottle of water into the crook of her arm. "You need to take your meds."

Bella didn't say anything as she accepted her meds and chased them with a bottle of water. "I'm sorry, Essie. I didn't mean to scare you."

"For the love of . . ." Esme shook her head. "Don't apologize, Bells. I'm just . . . I don't know. You were the old Bella, and I want her back so bad, but not like that."

"I wish she were here, too," Bella whimpered, but before she could say anything, she saw Charlotte and Peter enter the pit. They stopped and looked around, smiling when they saw Edward and Jasper. "Oh, my God, they're here."

Pulling away from Esme, Bella hurried around the pit, to where Edward and Jasper were seated. Immediately, Edward was on his feet, reaching for her.

"Are you okay?" he asked, sliding his arm around her waist.

"Look," she said, pointing to where Charlotte and Peter stood, watching them. "I know you don't think care about your passion, but they're here, Edward. They're here for you, for me, for us. That means something, right?"

"It does." Edward slid his hand along the side of her face, tiling her head back so he could look her in the eye. "I love you."

Bella smiled. "I love you more."

"Not even possible," he whispered.

Thank you for all the reviews. I am not 100% in love with this chapter, but to be honest, it's been a bitch to get anything written. Long story short, I just spent two weeks in the hospital with my oldest, who has a collapsed lung due to a mass being found in the airway into his left lung. They were able to open his airway, but he is still not getting a lot of air flow to the lung. They aren't sure they will be able to save the lung at all. Just very tired, very very very tired.