Disclaimer - I do not own Twilight, Jennifer's Body, or any of its characters.
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Jennifer's Body
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"Wish granted? Did someone wish for something?" Esme asked.
"I did, at the very beginning. It wouldn't have only acknowledged it just now," Edward said.
Rosalie shrunk in her chair, unsure if this was a trick or not. Could Calista really bring Bella into their space-time-locked dimension? If Calista was being true, how would Bella react to seeing them so suddenly?
Her eyes darted to the front of the room when Calista appeared in her glassy, blue, human form. She raised a translucent hand, tossing her crystal hair over her shoulders. She brought her hands in front of her and clapped once, gaining everyone's attention.
"A wish was made, but I won't tell you by whom. All you need to know is that this person wished for Bella to be here with you all. I was waiting for this. The empty seat next to Edward isn't to have an even number, you know. Cosmic beings don't make mistakes and we certainly don't have OCD. Although Jensen- he does have a thing with even and odd numbers, but that's besides the point."
"How could you bring Bella here?" Alice asked.
"Simple," Calista shrugged. "The same way I brought you. She'll be doing one thing one second and then be here the next. But I should warn you. While you are vampires, you are not my charges. As such, I cannot interact with those I look after."
"So…?" Emmett prompted when Calista didn't continue.
"As a law of nature, when I send Bella back to your dimension, she won't remember a thing from here unless I somehow manage to materialize there and restore her memories, which is impossible. I only exist in my own dimension." Her eyes gained a misty, faraway look and she stared blankly at the back wall. A few seconds later she shuddered and continued her explanation. "So you won't have to go through it a second time, I can manipulate her memories so it'll be like you never left. You'll only have to make amends that one time once you're back."
"What's the point of bringing Bella here if the goal was to take us to her?" Carlisle asked.
"Call it trial and error. While I can alter her memories, she'll still be Bella. And whatever you say or however you act will affect the future, even here. Anything you do wrong here will be 'erased' since she won't have her memories, and you'll know what not to do once I send you back into your world."
"She won't have any physiological effects at all? Nothing like the memory gaps in the Mystic Falls vision?" Carlisle checked.
"None," Calista answered easily. "Time doesn't move here, like I said. We could be here for centuries and no time will have passed in the mortal world. Bella will be back in her house, and to her, it will be as if nothing ever happened."
Alice, who was getting impatient, bounced on her heels. "Can you bring her now?"
Calista chuckled and nodded. She raised her arms, hands forming into a triangle shape. She pulled them apart without moving her fingers, almost as if she was framing an imaginary photo. While her hands looked like they were doing nothing important, when she pulled them down like a zipper, it was like a hole had been torn in midair. With shock they realized she had torn a hole in the universe. Calista used her fingers to pry open each side, stretching it until it wrapped around an invisible door frame.
The crystalized girl leaned back and whispered, "She has to be standing."
In an almost perfect replica of how she introduced herself to the Cullens, Calista said, "Hello Bella."
The girl in question jumped and her head whipped wildly around. She pulled her old truck over to the side of the road and got out, looking around. Bella had just been on her way to confront Jacob but she could have sworn she heard something…
She turned, and she was suddenly in a dimly lit room with gray, fuzzy walls and movie theatre carpet. All the room needed was a popcorn machine and she was ready to go. She saw a large screen that had absolutely no projector, movie posters from all different kinds of eras on the walls, a metal door that led to who knows where, and - she took this all in while she was turning - froze at the sight of the Cullens.
"Wha- How?" Her voice was scratchy from months of disuse but the Cullens still heard her in perfect clarity. Calista appeared next to Bella and she jumped again, eyes widening at the sight of her. "Who the hell-" The blue girl snapped her fingers and Bella fell unconscious, caught by Jasper at the last second.
He looked at Calista angrily. "What was that for?!"
"Altering memories, even temporarily, is not something that can be done consciously. It would fry her brain, and, unless you're willing to change her into a vampire to fix it, I'm sure you wouldn't want that." Calista looked at the seats, remembering where everyone sat, and frowned. "Rosalie, would you mind sitting next to Edward? I know, I know, but it's better you than her," she added when Rosalie groaned.
"Why can't Bella sit next to me?" Edward asked, well, whined, was more like it.
"Because," she drawled. "I can change memories but I said nothing about feelings. She'll still be experiencing those feelings of betrayal and hurt, I just gave her a different reason as to why. I figured that since Edward is the main reason why you all left, he should be the main reason now, too. I mean, her feelings aren't misplaced, so...what's the harm?"
In a quick burst of mist, Calista disappeared just as Bella groaned.
"Bella?" Alice whispered, crouching down next to her friend.
"Al'ce?" Bella mumbled groggily, bringing a hand to rub her eyes.
"It's me," she replied, though she sounded a little unsure and glanced at Jasper, silently asking for help. He nodded.
"Hey, Bella," he said. "What do you remember?"
"J'sper?" she said, clearly still out of it. "Mmm...party. Cal'sta. Somethin' about visions and Edward,'' Bella mumbled and then shot up. "Edward!" she growled and both Alice and Jasper jumped back at the sudden movement.
Bella jumped to her feet, and before anyone could react, punched Edward right in the face. She smiled when her knuckles only stung slightly. "Been wanting to do that for a while." She stuffed her hands in her jeans pockets. "Took the chance while I could," she announced before hopping on the platform for the second row and motioning with her hand for them to come. She frowned at their expressions. "You look like someone gave you a puppy but stole your cat." Bella giggled, "Not like you'd have a puppy or a cat."
When no one moved or reacted, she plopped herself in Rose's old seat, crossing her arms impatiently.
Realizing that they were standing and staring, Jasper snapped his fingers, breaking them all out of their trance. They headed for their seats.
Since Carlisle and Esme were on the inside, Bella had to lift her legs up to let them pass. She rested her head on her knees instead of lowering them back to the floor. Her eyes became blank.
Emmett noticed and asked the ceiling, "Is this supposed to happen?"
"She's sorting through the memories. Give her a minute," Calista replied.
Bella's mind was a mess. So many pictures. Too many colors. An overload of sights, smells, sounds, tastes, and textures. An entire life lived right before her eyes. When her brain finally clicked the last memory into place, her back relaxed and she lowered her legs. It was silent, too silent, and she looked up to notice everyone staring. "What?"
"We're concerned, dear, that's all," Esme said, smiling at Bella.
"You can relax. I'm fine, Mom."
Mom. Esme's heart soared and she looked into her eyes. Bella called her that once, and she'd immediately blushed, stuttered, and apologized. Now, Bella didn't do any of that, she wasn't even looking at her. The way she said it as if she'd said it a million times before. Esme sat back in her chair and looked at Carlisle, so many different emotions overtaking her.
He leaned forward, eyeing Bella conceredly. "Are you sure you're alright?"
"Yeah, dad," she sighed, missing the shocked smile on his face, and looked around. "What's up with you guys?"
"Nothing," Jasper turned in his seat toward the screen so Bella wouldn't catch the biggest grin on his face. He probably looked like a maniac but he didn't care. If his hunch was right, then Calista had given Bella memories of a life spent entirely with his family, their family. It was quite possibly the greatest gift anyone could've given them.
And, it seemed the otherworldly being still had some issues with Edward, as he was the only one Bella was mad at. Speaking of-
"Bella?"
"What, Edward?" she sighed in annoyance.
"Why are you upset with me?" he asked and the rest of the Cullens leaned in slightly. They wanted to know the fake reason that could still serve to 'make' Bella hold strong feelings of betrayal and heartbrokenness, yet still love.
She leveled a glare at him. "You know why."
"Please?" he smiled the crooked smile he knew she loved and she scowled.
"You wanna know what you did? Fine. You drove my old-new truck into the lake."
He frowned. That's it?
No, Edward. That was not it. Far from it.
"You stole and made photocopies of my journal and hung them all over school. You slept with my best friend, crushed my other friend's heart, and you didn't pick me up from a dance competition though you promised you would, forcing me to walk home through the woods, where I got lost and spent the night!"
There was a collective flinch at the last statement that Bella couldn't help but notice. "And all of you just happened to have your phones on silent."
Great, Rose groaned mentally. We didn't get away without some of the blame. Esme was right. Even when she doesn't remember, Bella blames us.
"Wait...dance? Since when do you dance?" Alice asked, eyeing Bella's feet warily. Those things don't know how to move properly.
"Since I was six. Jeez, what's wrong with everyone? It's like you've forgotten everything about me," she pouted before realization seemed to strike her and she lowered her voice to a whisper, as if there were people who could overhear. "Does it have something to do with the vampire thing? Is this some kind of new group ability? 'Cause if so, forgetting doesn't sound like fun."
Oh, you have no idea how ironic that is, Alice snickered mentally. "No, it's not a group thing. We're all off kilter since none of us have our gifts, hearing, sight, or even our thirst," she said.
Bella nodded, eating up Alice's lie and sat back in her chair. "Well, we're here to watch different versions of a crappy life of mine, right? Let's get this over with, shall we?"
"We shall," said Calista, a smile in her voice.
Emmett compared Bella's first reaction to Calista (without fake memories) to her latest reaction (with fake memories). She was absolutely terrified and confused but now she didn't even bat an eye to the voice that was nowhere to be seen. What could Calista possibly have made up to explain...well, everything?
But he wouldn't complain, no, that was the last thing he would do. He knew Bella's implanted memories led her to believe she'd spent her life with them, and he was not going to be the one to take it away.
While everyone else settled themselves in their seats, Rose lingered, staring at the empty chair disdainfully. Better you than Bella, she told herself. Rosalie reluctantly sat down next to a pouting Edward while the screen flicked on and the lights dimmed.
Bella was walking down the hall of Peninsula College when she heard someone shout her name. "Bella!" She slowed down after hearing Jessifca call for her, giving her friend a chance to catch up. "Hey," Jess said breathlessly.
"What's up?" After the Cullens had left - a second time - she didn't have an encore performance of 'zombie' Bella. No, she toughened up and asked Angela and Jessica to a movie. To her intense surprise, they agreed and the three became nearly inseparable. The only reason Bella suspected Angela wasn't with Jessica at the moment was because she was seeing her younger brother off to College in Seattle. Bella, Jess, and Angela were all sophmores at their college whereas Angela's brother was a year below, only a freshman.
"Mike's going to a party tonight and he's invited us! Please say you'll go with me," she begged, rounding Bella so she stood in front of her, effectively stopping them both in their tracks.
After shuffling herself and Jess to the side of the hallway and out of other students' paths, she replayed the question in her head. Bella frowned, already apprehensive and wary. "Who'll be there?"
"Well, it's Mike's friend's older brother's party so mostly everyone will be the brother's friends. There may or may not be people we know, but Mike will be there, and hopefully, so will we." She sounded too hopeful for her own good and Bella knew she would either make Jessica's day or crush her spirits.
"I don't know Jess. You know I don't do parties."
"Come on, Bella, please?" She put on her best pout with the largest eyes and Bella found her defenses crumbling.
"You and Jessica are one and the same," Bella muttered to Alice. "Little demons in Prada heels."
Alice felt a little insulted at the comparison. She was nothing like Jessica.
"Alright, fine. What's the address?" she sighed.
Jessica squealed and hugged her. "I'll text you! Thank you! You're the best!" The perky brunette all but skipped down the hallway to her next class, leaving Bella with her thoughts.
Okay. Yeah, maybe she was. Just a little.
As she thought it through, Bella already found herself regretting her decision. She'd be going to a party. With Jessica. And Mike. And a bunch of older guys she will probably have never seen before.
That last thought made Rosalie extremely nervous. First off; BOYS. That's a no-go. Once she got back, she'd have to teach Bella to steer clear of anyone part of the male gender. Second; strangers. Had Bella heard of 'stranger danger' or did she just not care?
With a smile she realized that she was being protective. Rose had worried she would have to put a lot of effort into 'bonding' with Bella, but it seemed it was coming naturally. Big sister points! she cheered.
She wished Emmett had been the one to switch seats so she could sit next to Bella. Unbeknownst to her, everyone was a little envious of Esme and Emmett since they got to be so close to their human.
She wondered how to ask Charlie. Frankly, he would be ecstatic, glad she would be getting out of the house. She sighed internally, wishing her father actually had qualms about her going to a party. He's a cop, no one would think he'd let his kid go to a party where there will be drugs and alcohol. But he would. How did she know this? Well, before she moved to Washington, her last visit to Charlie ended in disaster because he had let a thirteen year old Bella go to a party on her own. Big mistake.
Esme and Carlisle frowned, glancing at one another. Did that really happen?
Meanwhile Bella frowned, wondering who exactly this 'Charlie' person was. The on-screen version of herself hinted at this man being her father, but that wasn't possible because her father was Carlisle. In the end, Bella chalked it up to the weird aspects of the vision.
Bella sighed and moved onto her next class, crossing the threshold just as the bell rang.
She tried to pay attention to the professor as he introduced the topic of 'Color Theory'. Normally, her interior design class calmed and distracted her, but her mind kept drifting back to the party she had agreed to go to.
Her biggest concern was how many unknown people would be there. She tried not to freak though. Weren't most people at parties strangers to one another? Her mind's weak defense crumbled as her fears trickled through. The partiers, or whatever one would call them, would likely all be older guys. Older guys meant 'brute' strength and bigger in size.
She couldn't help it as her mind drifted back to the night in Port Angeles. Bella couldn't chase the memory away fast enough and re-lived the terrifying experience mentally.
Everyone cringed and Edward had to grip the arms of his seat when he remembered what the vile creatures had been thinking.
To his surprise, Rosalie put her hand on top of his. He flipped it over, transferring his grip from the arm of the chair to his sister's hand. Putting all of their current problems aside, they knew they could find support in one another. It was a tough topic for them both and it wasn't easy to watch through Bella's eyes as she thought about what almost happened to her.
Bella closed her eyes. Altered memories or not, she remembered the blinding and utterly horrible fear she had felt that night. Unconsciously her hand found Esme's, a child seeking comfort in her mother. She may be an adult but she was still a scared little girl on the inside.
In the corner of the room, in his seat next to Esme, Carlisle couldn't help the pang of jealousy that went through him when he watched his wife intertwine her fingers with Bella's. Again, he found himself grateful that neither of his sons had their gifts so they wouldn't hear or feel how he felt.
Bella closed her eyes but it was in vain. She could feel the cold, biting air as if she stood there now. She felt the caution as she passed the drunk men and the fear as she realized she had cornered herself.
Luckily, she managed to force the memory away before she had to remember anything else.
That was the main reason why she didn't want to go. But she had already said yes to Jessica and she couldn't let her friend down. She swallowed down her fears and plastered a smile on her face, forcing herself to think of happier things.
She sat through the lecture and the next, semi-managing to retain some of what she learned.
After her third and final class of the day, she drove the five minutes home in the new car Charlie bought her. She'd been forced to retire her chevy after it wheezed its last wheeze. It wasn't a natural death, no, it was Rosalie's parting gift. She'd said it was dangerous but Bella was too stubborn and continued driving it. So, before leaving with the rest of her family, she disabled her truck to the point where not even Jacob could fix Bella was angry, she was thankful that Rose at least said goodbye, unlike the others.
Though for some reason they left again, Rose couldn't help but smile as she realized she had bonded with Bella and somehow stopped her from driving that monstrous truck.
"You won't have to do it this time, Rose," Bella said, crossing her arms. "Edward beat you to it." She glared bitterly at Edward, who shrunk in his seat.
She even glares like me! Rose exclaimed. Another big sister point! She really enjoyed not having to filter her thoughts from her meddling little brother. But she knew that once he had his gift back she'd have to mask her real thoughts with vanity. Perhaps, she thought, eyeing Edward, maybe I won't have to.
"Dad, I'm home!" she called, dropping her bag on the kitchen counter and grabbing a water from the fridge. When she received no response, she frowned and called out again. "Dad?"
Nothing.
She tried not to worry so much, but with Charlie's job, her worries were warranted. Bella set the water bottle on the counter and picked up the phone. She dialed the number she knew by heart and put it to her ear. While it rang, she looked through the front window and realized his cruiser wasn't in the driveway. He was supposed to be home by now, he was always home by four. Now she was close to panicking.
"Hello?" The voice sounded tired, drained, and Bella's worries skyrocketed. In the background she heard phones ringing and the monotone of voices. Someone should give those guys donuts. It'd wake them right up.
"In the face of crisis," Emmett leaned over and whispered into Bella's ear, "you think of some strange things."
"You should've heard my thoughts when we flew away from the family to safety on a plane to Argentina," she muttered.
"Argentina?" he asked, unable to keep his curiosity in check. He always took advantage of when he was left home alone, and it always ended with him fleeing the country. Did he really rope her in as his prankster protoge?
"Our pranks are the very reason why you're not allowed to be home alone with me anymore." Bella glanced behind her towards Esme to assure she wasn't listening, and when she was satisfied she wasn't, looked back at Emmett. "Mom thinks you're a bad influence, but we're a team. In fact, our siblings might say I'm the bad influence. But what she doesn't know won't kill her. Right?"
"Right," he answered with a nod and an imperceptible chuckle.
"Mark?" she asked. Bella swallowed the sudden lump in her throat and spoke with what she hoped was a strong voice. "Is Charlie there?"
When he didn't answer, her heart dropped. After what felt like eons but what was only seconds, the deputy sighed. Deeply. "Bella," he started and she knew right away that it was something bad.
"What happened?" she interrupted sharply. "Where's my dad, Mark?"
He sighed again and she could imagine him running his fingers through his jet-black hair. She heard a thump as he dropped his hand on the desk.
"Bella," he started again, and this time, she didn't interrupt. "He's in the hospital."
"Well, why aren't you there? And why the hell am I only finding this out now?"
Mark sat back in his chair, she could tell, from the closeness of the squeaks. She spent enough time at the station to hear the differences in chairs, doors, and desks. "He didn't want me to tell you," he admitted.
"If he told you this, then he's coherent enough to speak and demand that you don't tell his daughter he's in the hospital!" She didn't mean to sound so rude but her fear overtook her and it was making her snappy.
"He didn't tell me today. When you first moved here, Bella, he made all of us promise that if he got hurt on the job, we wouldn't tell you until he was all better."
"Don't talk to me like I'm five. Please...just, don't. So, I'm either gonna see him when he's 'all better' or his body in the morgue." She pictured it, her father dying in surgery, people removing all of his organs, others making him look not dead so she could see him lying still and cold in a little stale room.
She didn't realize she was hyperventilating until Mark's worried voice shouted at her through the phone. "Bella? Bella!"
Bella calmed down enough to where there was only an ache in her chest. She knew she should probably be concerned but it was nothing she hadn't felt before. "What happened?"
"He and Sanchez were tailing a low-level drug lord. They didn't know he was leading them to the guys up high. The perps had guns, military-grade. Your father figured there were too many to arrest so he tried to get them out of there. The boss wasn't going to let them go and Charlie jumped in front of Sanchez when he realized they were going to shoot him." He sighed again and Bella heard his hand land on paper this time. "If the bullet had hit him inches lower, centimeters even, he'd be perfectly fine. But it didn't and it's lodged in his aorta."
Carlisle frowned and shook his head, knowing the likelihood of Charlie surviving the shot. Aortic injuries had a high mortality rate since it was such an important part of the anatomy. Even for him, with his stellar hearing and eyesight, he still couldn't save all victims of those injuries.
"Thank you, Mark," she breathed before hanging up.
And, it seemed, Bella knew the rate too.
Bella spun around, marching upstairs to her room. She flung the door open and darted to her desk, searching through her mountain of schoolwork for a single slip of paper. "Come on," she muttered impatiently. "Where is it?" Papers flew all around her room, looking like a tornado had blown through it. She didn't care, she had to find it.
She stopped as she caught a glimpse of the piece of paper, frowning angrily as papers covered it. Bella moved them away, careful not to accidentally sweep the slip with them. She grinned in triumph and snatched the very small paper off the desk.
Bella ran down the steps two at a time and back into the kitchen where the phone lay dangling from it's cord. She stooped to grab it and stood back up, immediately punching in numbers as she looked from the paper to the numberpad and back.
She listened impatiently as it rang once, then twice, and all the way to five before it went to voicemail. She shouted in anger, not even listening to the voicemail message.
"This is Dr. Carlisle Cullen, if this is an emergency call 911 immediately. If this is a non-emergency, please leave a message after the tone."
Growling angrily, she all but threw the phone back in its place on the wall. "If he dies this is on you!" she shouted, and, though she didn't mean it, she found herself calming down, if only a little. "And all the people unfortunate enough to not have your hearing or sight," she muttered.
Bella put her back to the wall and slid down it, tears coursing down her face. "This isn't fair," she whispered. "I've only gotten two years with him! Two years!" she yelled at the ceiling as if it was the reason everything had gone to crap.
"Where are you when I need you?" she shouted again, still glaring at the ceiling. Bella grabbed her keys off the counter and ran outside, never once looking down. "Where is Carlisle when I need him?"
"I can't help but keep wondering: why did we leave again? I mean, we were determined to go back, make amends, and never leave. So why did we?" Jasper asked.
When the going got tough, Bella answered in her head, and frowned. Why would she think that? They never even left to begin with, so why was she feeling this way?
"That's an excellent question, Jasper. The last vision didn't reveal much and this one hasn't yet, either," Carlisle said.
Her head snapped back down and she marched to her car, sliding in, and pulling out of the driveway before her door was even closed. "I told him not to take the job," she said, remembering her thirteen year-old-self trying to convince her father to not accept the chief position. When he did, it was the reason why she stopped visiting. She wouldn't have been able to live if he'd been hurt while she was there.
Well, now he was. It was inevitable.
Bella drove to the hospital in a mad daze, managing to only run one stop sign on the way. When she pulled into the parking lot, sense came back to her and she slowed down. She put some effort into her parking, squeezing into the tiny space. She sat in her car for a minute, in shock or to collect herself, she didn't know.
With a final wipe of her tears, she cracked her door open - the other car was way too close - and slid out, silently shutting it behind her.
She walked into the hospital feeling as if someone else was controlling her movements. It was like a grey mist had descended over her, dulling everything; her senses, her brain, her body. She was there but she wasn't really there.
Bella walked to the front desk where a nurse sat, looking too cheery for her own good. The blonde-haired woman looked up and smiled at Bella. "How can I help you?"
"Charlie Swan. I'm looking for him," she answered, and despite how dull her voice sounded, even to her, the nurse didn't look any less cheerful.
The nurse, 'Graham', her name tag said, typed away on her keyboard. With a single click of her mouse, the smile dimmed. Of course, Bella's heart dropped once again. What does that mean? Is he dead?
"He's out of surgery and is recovering in the ICU," the nurse spoke, almost as if she'd heard her mental questions.
"ICU? Why?" Bella panicked.
"It's where most patients who undergo major surgery go afterward," she answered.
Major surgery. Mark wasn't kidding. "Will he-" Bella started and gulped. "Will he be okay?"
"I cannot answer that, I'm sorry. If you can find his doctor, he will answer all of your questions."
Bella nodded and asked one final question. "Can I see him?"
Just like that, the nurse's smile was back in place. "The ICU is on the third floor. He's in room 312."
She thanked the nurse and headed straight for the stairs, too impatient to wait for the elevator. She bounded the short steps three at a time, her short legs miraculously never missing a step.
Once Bella reached the second landing she froze. With what few hospital acronyms she knew, she knew what the ICU stood for. It was a place for people who needed extreme care. Can I see him like that? she asked herself. Almost immediately, she shook her head, frustrated. He needs you. He needs to know you're there for him.
With a nod to herself, Bella pushed open the blue door with a plated glass window. She walked into a narrow hallway lined with unoccupied gurneys. Looking both ways she searched for a sign, but there were none. She decided to go right, because, though cheesy as it sounds, when in doubt, go right. Right? Right.
As she walked, she found herself searching for '312' rather than the ICU sign. She passed many doors but none of them had a number on it, only labeled, 'Storage,' or 'On-call room'.
She walked in what felt like circles, never once finding a single room with a number. Bella was just about to go back downstairs to take a look at the directory when she turned a corner and saw a set of double-doors at the end of the hallway.
"ICU," she breathed in relief. She ran and pushed them open. It was a large room that was buzzing with activity, doors to private rooms in a narrow hallway at the back of the room. Smiling to herself, she jogged to the hallway, and almost cheered out loud when she saw a room. '308'. She walked further, keeping an eye on the climbing numbers. 309, 310, 311...312. He's here.
Bella stopped in front of a closed, grey door. She stared at the number, gathering herself, and pushed it open.
The first thing she heard was the hiss and beeping of different machines. He was covered in tubes and wires, a clip on his finger, some poking out from under his gown, an IV in his hand. His lower body looked almost untouched, but as her eyes trailed up, things got progressively worse. The standard hospital gown was cut away near his upper chest and she recoiled at the sight of so many bandages and wires in one spot.
There was a male nurse fiddling with one of the machines and tubes, but Bella was too focused on Charlie to really notice.
"Hey dad," she choked, approaching him slowly. "Wow. You look, uh- way worse than when you impaled yourself on that tree branch." She chuckled nervously and sat herself in the single chair in the room which was beside his bed. As much as she wanted to, she didn't hold his hand, afraid that she could accidentally mess something up.
"You know, I've never wanted to hurt anyone before, but I really wanna mess those bastards up." She sighed, as if a weight had been taken from her shoulders at that statement. "I mean, what is so wrong with the world that people can have it in them to hurt others for something as insignificant and damning as drugs?"
"The factors that drive anyone to do anything, really, are love, hate, greed, and power," Esme said.
Bella applied the four to every action she made that she could think of. 'Love' fit almost every single one. Huh.
She leaned forward in her chair. "When- if," she corrected herself sadly, "you wake up, there's no way I'm letting you back out there."
As if in response, the heart monitor started beeping rapidly. Bella stood up, her eyes wide with panic, and she watched as the nurse darted forward and checked the monitor and his pulse. As he did that, Charlie started shaking in the bed behind him. Bella felt like the world had been ripped away from her as the beeping became a monotone, one of the few things she knew.
The nurse whirled around and slammed his hand on a button on the wall. Immediately overhead she heard, "Code Blue 312, ICU. Code Blue 312, ICU." She closed her eyes tightly; she knew what that meant too.
Charlie's heart decided to go kaput and there was nothing she could do to help.
The door burst open and in came an entire team of doctors, dragging with them a cart full of supplies for these types of situations. One of the doctors split from the group and gently ushered Bella out of the room.
While she stood outside, she watched them work. The head doctor, she could only assume, barked orders at the others. Bella had never watched 'Grey's Anatomy', unlike Angela, so she understood little to nothing of what he was saying.
What she did understand, though, was when they put two pads on him; one on his upper right chest, and the other under his left armpit. There was water in her ears and she couldn't hear a thing but she saw their mouths move. The doctor yelled, then again, and Charlie's body jerked in the bed, his back arching before landing limply.
They were doing everything they could, Bella didn't need a doctor to tell her that, but she couldn't help the unimaginable bout of anger that swept through her when all movement stopped. The head doctor wiped a gloved hand across his forehead, looking at what she presumed was a clock on one of the walls.
Her ears decided to work again at that moment because just before the door drifted closed, she heard him say, "Time of death, 17:02."
15 - Written: 10/3/21 - 10/6/21
Posted - 10/6/21