Chapter 4

When I felt the familiar pounding in my head I knew that I had been injured somehow.

I have got to stop getting myself into these accidents. I thought as I reached a hand up to touch my forehead. My fingers met gauze and continued to travel the length. It was a square cut about a size smaller than my fist.

I suddenly felt another familiar feeling – a cold hand gently tugging my fingers away from my head and tucking my arm back beneath the blankets.

"Edward?" I asked groggily as my eyes finally opened. Everything was hazy for a moment before I blinked and saw him hovering over me, a worried expression on his face. It disappeared almost completely when my eyes opened.

"I am so glad that you're awake Bella." He murmured, reaching out a hand. He cupped my cheek in his cool palm and stroked beneath my eye with his thumb. His skin was smooth and smelled absolutely wonderful.

"What happened?" I started to sit up but halted when Edward suddenly jerked back and was gone from my vision. Before I could look around to see where he went, I felt his chest at my back and his strong arms circle my waist.

"You need to rest. You will get dizzy if you try to get up now." He told me gently. His breath tickled my neck and ear.

"What happened Edward? I remember talking about something and then you kissed me…after that it gets foggy." My brow wrinkled as I tried to remember.

"There was a bloody deer in the middle of the road. I had to swerve to miss it, otherwise the wreck could have ki-…it wouldn't have been good." He kissed my neck. "Carlisle found glass and guessed that pieces must have flown from the window."

I sighed and laid my head against Edward's shoulder. I looked up into his soft, topaz eyes and smiled.

"Thank you."

"For what?" He asked curiously.

I reached up and touched his beautiful face, moving my fingers along his jaw bone and then beneath both his eyes before trailing one finger down his neck.

"For saving me yet again." I answered, watching as he took my finger and placed it against his lips before kissing each fingertip.

"I will always save you Bella. I love you." He nuzzled the top of my head with his cheek.

"I love you too." I yawned softly and he chuckled.

"Now go back to sleep angel. I will stay with you." He then began to rock me tenderly while humming my lullaby just loud enough for me to hear. I fell asleep almost instantly.

&

"The stitches will have to come out in a few weeks but everything looks just fine." Carlisle smiled, replacing the old gauze with a new square.

"Thank you Dr. Cullen." I said, thankful that I had been unconscious when he had stitched up my head. Had I been awake, I would have smelled the blood and probably would have fainted anyways.

"Please Bella, call me Carlisle." He insisted warmly.

"Well thank you Carlisle." I felt a faint blush cover my cheeks and saw Edward grinning from ear to ear.

"If the gash reopens come here immediately. We don't want it getting infected." Carlisle then turned to Edward who had been standing beside the door while he had redressed my head. "I have a shift now. I trust you two will be alright by yourselves?"

Edward nodded and so Carlisle left us. Edward took my hand and we left the hospital and out to the car. His Volvo had been destroyed and so he was now driving the Aston Martin V12.

I was still a bit wary about being in the car after what had happened. I immediately put on my seatbelt once I had sat down and proceeded to grip the seat tightly with both hands.

"Bella?" Edward's voice was concerned. I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see him studying me with concern in his golden brown eyes to match his voice. "Are you alright?"

"I-I'm fine." I answered with a small smile. I folded my hands in my lap and looked down at them as I heard Edward pull out and drive out of the parking lot. I could tell without looking up that he had lowered the speed limit and I was eternally grateful to my caring, vampire boyfriend. I knew how he hated to drive 'slow'.

I felt a cold hand over mine and glanced sideways to see Edward watching me with a comforting smile on his face. I felt calm immediately and returned the smile. He rubbed his hand over mine for a moment before returning it to the steering wheel.

"Alice is wanting to take you shopping." He said suddenly as he flipped on the radio. He flipped around the stations until a popular Panic! At The Disco song started playing. It was overplayed but I still liked it.

"I'll go as long as I can pay." I replied, rolling down the window. I stuck one arm out and placed my hand on the top of the roof, my hair blowing out into the wind.

"You know that we will not allow that." He chuckled.

"Then I guess I'll just have to wear what clothes I already own. Ones that I have paid for." Once the words left my mouth, the car pulled off to the side of the road and I turned to see Edward unbuckling his seatbelt and moving towards me.

He placed a kiss in the hollow of my throat which succeeded in quickening my pulse and leaving me nearly breathless. My skin felt as though it were on fire.

"She'll be taking you this afternoon. Jasper and I will be meeting you two later on." He mumbled against my cheek, his mouth at my ear. He nipped at it playfully.

"Ed-Edward." I tried to slow my breathing which had quickened in the last few seconds. His hands were cold at my waist and I shivered at the sensation felt through the thin fabric of my T-shirt.

"Now I will take you home." He placed one final kiss on my forehead before pulling back into the road and assuming his driving.

I smiled when he said 'home'. It was as if he was telling me that it was my home too. How I wished that the Cullen household would soon become my home sweet home as well.

Before I knew it, we were parked in front of the house and Alice was throwing open my door with a wide smile on her pixie-like features. Her black, choppy hair was gelled into neat little spikes and she looked positively beautiful.

"Bella!" She hugged me in a nearly bone crushing hold. "I'm so glad that everything is alright! Edward wouldn't let anyone see you while you slept in his room."

"Alice." Edward growled as he took notice of the fact that I could barely breathe. Alice let go of me upon hearing the sound and smiled apologetically.

"Are you ready to go?" She asked, bouncing up and down with excitement.

"As ready as I'll ever be." I muttered unenthusiastically, stepping from the car and following Alice to the car. I felt arms around my waist and a familiar voice in my ear.

"Be safe Bella. I will see you soon." He murmured, releasing me once Alice called to me.

"I'll be fine Edward." I assured him with a wave of my hand. I nearly tripped just as I began to walk away but caught myself. As I did this, he laughed his musical laugh from behind me.

&

I sat in the chair near the dressing room, waiting for Alice to return with another pile of clothes for me to try on. She had already gone to replace all of the other clothes she had asked me to try on and continued her routine of searching for more.

I sighed heavily as Alice appeared. She had an armful of clothes and a single, red garment hanging over her shoulder. I was curious with that article of clothing.

"Alice," I stood and approached her, "what is this?"

"You like? Try it on first." She was beaming as I took it from her and watched it unfold. It was a dress.

"Alice." I groaned, trying to look pitiful.

"Go on, try it on. It will look amazing on you." She insisted, pushing me towards the stall. I went inside and began to undress, pulling off my T-shirt and jeans.

When I had my sneakers off, I carefully pulled the dress over my head. It was a very soft fabric with a wonderful feel. It was as though it were my second skin for it clung so closely and fit so perfectly.

I turned to look at myself in the mirror and gasped, my eyes widening. I swear I stopped breathing completely in that moment as I saw myself. Despite the gauze that accompanied my forehead, I looked beautiful. The dress was very thin and colored a deep shade of red, nearly garnet in my eyes. It was halter without a back, the fabric coming up about three inches above my rear. I was stunned that I could have looked that way.

"Bella?" I heard a concerned, angelic voice. Before I could respond, the door had opened and a god's face appeared. His eyes were warm and beautiful, his features softening when he saw me. He seemed awed as well.

"What are you doing in here?" I asked in nearly a whisper, turning a deep shade of red. It probably matched the dress.

"I didn't hear you breathing anymore and thought there might be something wrong." He sounded like a robot, as though he couldn't process any words. It was flattering that I was dazzling him for a change.

"Do you like it?" I asked, spinning slowly to show him the view.

He approached slowly, hands gently holding me just beneath my chest. He leaned down and pressed his forehead to mine, carefully maneuvering his away from my bandage. He let out a soft sigh before placing a kiss on the tip of my nose.

"Breathtaking. Gorgeous. Stunning. Magnificent. The most beautiful creature I have had the honor…no…the privilege of ever laying eyes on. Take your pick angel."

I could not believe that me of all people was lucky enough to have this unearthly human as a boyfriend.