Today's Quote:
Strength grows in the moments when you can't go on, but you do so anyway.
Before you read, I just want to say with everything going on in the world, I hope everyone reading this is okay financially, physically, mentally, etc, and that if you aren't I really, really hope you are soon. Stay safe everyone xx
"I'm not ready for this," Bella said to me, her voice hushed to keep Jacob from hearing.
"And I wasn't ready to be born into a crazy-ass world with a crazy-ass mother, but here we are," I said. "Or crazy-ass sister, come to think of it."
"Hey!" She glared at me. "Uncalled for."
"Your face is uncalled for. Sorry," I said. "I'm just tense."
It had been a long afternoon. You'd think given that Bella had been driving for years, she would be able to grasp the concept of riding a motorbike quicker than I at barely 16, but no. It had been a full three hours of explaining to her where the clutch was, and how to find the brake.
"Okay, ladies, are we ready to ride?" Jakob called over. Bella had delegated the task of moving the bikes to the road to him. It surprised me how fast he had gotten the job done - those bikes were not exactly light.
We headed over to the long stretch of dirt road, and I watched as Bella clumsily sat on the motorcycle.
"Are you sure I'm ready?" she asked.
"Nope." At my words, Bella paled considerably. "But you've faced worse, so, ya know, you got this. And if you don't, then I'll tell Dad you died a heroic death saving me from one of those massive bears or something."
She laughed nervously.
"Do you remember how to put it into first gear?" Jacob asked. He put his hand on the back of her seat when the bike started wobbling.
"Yes."
"Well, go ahead and do it."
"Okay."
I waited for a few seconds. "Left foot," I prompted. "You've got this."
"I know," she said, taking a deep breath.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Jacob asked. "You look scared."
"I'm fine," she snapped. She kicked the gearshift down one notch.
"Very good," he praised me. "Now, very gently, ease up on the clutch." He took a step away from the bike. I mirrored his actions. It wasn't that I didn't trust Bella's motorbike skills, it was just… Okay, yeah, I didn't trust her skills.
"You want me to let go of the grenade?" she asked in disbelief.
"That's how you move, Bella. Just do it little by little."
She slowly let go of the clutch, before jolting and letting go completely. The bike bucked under her, yanking her forward and then collapsing to the ground half on top of her. The growling engine choked to a stop.
"Bella?" I asked worriedly, stepping closer as Jacob pulled the heavy bike off her with ease.
"Are you hurt?" he asked.
"I'm fine," she mumbled, dazed. She sat still, staring blankly at a tree in the clearing.
"Did you hit your head?" I asked. Her head snapped towards me, as if only then realising I was there.
"I don't think so. Did I hurt the bike?"
"No," I said. "You just stalled the engine. Next time, don't let go of the clutch so fast."
"Next time?" Jacob asked.
"Yeah," Bella said. She pulled herself up off of the ground. She shot me a smile. "I wanna try again."
It was almost adorable watching her try to kickstart the bike. She had to jump a little to slam down on the pedal with enough force, and every time she did that, the bike tried to knock over. It took several good tries, and even more poor tries, before the engine caught and roared to life under her. Bella revved the throtte experimentally.
"Easy on the clutch," I reminded her. She blinked owlishly at the air beside me, and I narrowed my eyes. "Bella. Easy on the clutch."
Her gaze darted toward me like she had only just heard me. "Easy on the clutch," she repeated. "Got it."
"Ease off slowly," Jacob encouraged her.
"I will," she said.
Slowly she relaxed her hand by tiny degrees until the gear caught and she was off, wrenching her forward. She was flying. Wind whipped at her hair, throwing it into the air like in some beauty commercial.
"Dibbs next." I said quickly, before Jacob could call it. He pouted at me.
And then Bella seemed to switch gears, and the bike pushed forward even faster, and I watched as she flew closer to a curve in the road.
"Breaks!" we screamed at her, although from this distance she would never hear me. Without a seconds though I ran towards her, Jacob hot on my heels. "Brakes!" we shouted at her again.
Bella did something weird with the bike, and suddenly it began to swerve off course, the stability of the machine decreasing. She headed towards the forestline, before twisting her handlebar in the other direction so quickly the motorbike didn't have a chance to steady itself before flying both it and Bella across the road and onto the wet sand. The bike laid on top of her, roaring loudly. And still they slid, until they ran headfirst into rock, coming to an abrupt standstill.
"Bella!" I yelled, as we reached the crash site. Jacob picked the bike off her with ease, throwing it away. "Jesus, Bella," I said in horror, looking at her. Blood poured out of her forehead, a great ugly gash stretching across.
"Wow," Bella murmured.
I crouched over her anxiously. "God, you look horrible."
"I feel great!" she enthused. She flexed my arms and legs. "Let's do it again."
"Absolutely not," I said. "We're taking you to the hospital."
"I'm fine," she insited.
"Um, Bella?" Jacob said cautiously. He looked a little queasy. "You've got a huge cut on your forehead, and it's gushing blood."
She clapped her hand over her head. She held her hand up in front of her face and blanched at the blood.
"Here, Jacob," I held out my hand, "give me your jacket."
"Me?" he asked.
"Who else?"
He reluctantly handed over the flannel, which I pressed to Bella's head.
"I'm so sorry," she said.
"Apologising for bleeding? There's my Bella," I said. "When you didn't faint at the blood I thought an alien had got you."
Bella giggled at my weak joke, sitting back against the rock that had caused her injury in the first place.
"Don't go falling asleep on me," I warned. I looked up at Jacob. "Help me get her up, will you?"
Together we got her to her feet, letting her take a moment when her head swum from the sudden movement.
"Let's go. I'll drive." Jacob held out his hand for the keys.
"What about the bikes?" Bella asked, handing them over.
"Wait here," he said. "I'll be back with the truck in a mo'." He jumped on the black motorcycle, kicked it to a start in one try, and raced back down the road, spraying sand and pebbles behind him.
He looked athletic and professional as he leaned over the handlebars, head low, face forward, his shiny hair whipping against the russet skin of his back. My stomach clenched with envy. How desperately I wanted to be back on a bike, to have control over something, to move freely with the wind.
Bella whimpered, and I snapped out of my thoughts, staring at her worriedly.
"It just hurts now that the adrenaline's gone," she explained. I bit my lip - I knew head injuries bled a lot, but she had already soaked the whole shirt. It had begun to stain her fingers red, and blood slowly dripped from her hand. I made a decision.
"Here, give." I made a grabby hand gesture for the flannel, and Bella cautiously passed it to me. The half-dried, gooey blood stuck to my hand.
"What are you going to-"
I pressed my hand against the wound, feeling it flare up instantaneously, but without growing increasingly out of my control. It was a nice change. Bella hissed as wispy smoke began to puff up, and I pulled back my hand. It looked a lot was drying in thick streaks across her cheek and neck, matting in her hair, but it no longer rushed out like a tap.
"Better?" I asked. She nodded.
Jacob arrived back at us with the truck, the loud engine giving me plenty of warning to push the flannel back into Bella's hand. Jacob left the truck running as he raced back to me, wrapping his arm around Bella's waist again.
"Okay, let's get you in the truck."
"I'm honestly fine," she assured him as he helped her in. "Don't get worked up. It's just a little blood."
"Just a lot of blood," I heard him mutter as he went back for the bike.
"Now, let's think about this for a second," Bella began when he got back in. "If you take me to the ER like this, Charlie is sure to hear about it."
"Bella, I think you need stitches. I'm not going to let you bleed to death."
"I won't," she promised. "Let's just take the bikes back first, and then we'll make a stop at my house so I can dispose of the evidence before we go to the hospital."
"I can stich it," I interjected. The two stared at me. "What? Carlisle taught me."
"You watched him stitch me up once, and that was months ago at..." She trailed off, but I knew she was referring to the disastrous vampire birthday party.
"Not true," I said, before inwardly cursing at the hole I was digging. "I got him to teach me different types of stitching ages ago."
"When?" she asked, rolling her eyes.
Truth - I had skyped him a few weeks ago and got him to teach me on an old woolly doll I had stolen from the attic. I was proud to say Bunny McStuffins was completely patched up.
Lie - "Oh, ages ago," I said instead. "A couple of months before they left."
"Really?" Jake asked, eying me dubiously. "I still think we should go to the hospital."
"Bella's right; people will ask too many questions."
Jacob wasn't happy—his full mouth turned down in an uncharacteristic frown—but he didn't want to get us in trouble. I stared out the window while he drove us to Forks.
At home, after Jacob had left, I helped Bella hide the evidence. We washed off the blood, and I stitched her up, making a set of small, neat lines of thread. Carlisle would be proud. Then I hid her dirty, bloody clothes in the bottom of the laundry basket, and then helped her put on a shirt, careful not to let the cotton brush against her skin.
Then I left her to her own devices, and headed up to my room, flopping down on the bed. The sheets were soft, and it would have been easy to let my mind wander into the depths of nothingness, but I forced myself to turn on my phone.
Eighteen texts. Eleven missed calls. Three missed video chats.
I scrolled through Carlisle's texts. Most of them were confirmations, of his love, then telling me how happy he was, and, as I scrolled further, messages conveying his worry.
'Hey' I texted him. 'Sorry I just left like that - I just wanted to let you know im all good and you dont have to worry.'
For once I had to wait for his reply. It was a brutal half-hour of waiting before he responded. I absolutely deserved it though.
'Are you able to video chat?' he asked. Not a second later a request popped up on my screen, and I accepted, setting my phone on my pillow so he could see me.
"Hi," I said when his figure popped up on the screen. He looked just as gorgeous as ever, but if he had ever looked old this was the time. His face just screamed pain and worry, and I almost wanted to vomit for causing that.
"I'm so, so sorry," I said.
"Okay," he said quietly. My heart just about broke. "Did you mean it?' he asked, looking at me intently.
"Of course I did." I smiled tightly. "I got scared, though."
"Because I'm a vampire," he said solemnly. He looked close to tears.
"What?"
"This whole time I've been waiting for the other shoe to drop, for you to be as frightened of me as you should be, and then with James I thought that was it, but it wasn't, and I just…"
He closed his eyes, not daring to look at me. My hand flew to my mouth. This whole time, he had been protecting me, worrying after me, caring for me. Not once had I ever considered that Carlisle wanted someone to validate him. I had been selfish, never considering that he might need that support too.
"God no, Carlisle please," I said. "You're perfect, absolutely perfect, I swear I could never be afraid of you."
"You were, once. When you found out."
"I didn't know you then, but I do now. You're this kind, amazing person who I love so very, very much-" His eyes opened, flicking back to me "-and I am so sorry I made you feel like I didn't, or that I was scared of you. Truth is, I've had a lot of boyfriends. One girlfriend too, don't ask, but I've never really cared for any of them, especially not to the extent I do for you. I love you Carlisle Cullen, and that is a terrifying thought. Not you, but the idea that I would do anything for you in a heartbeat. Anything."
"Really?"
"Of course. You're my mate. I'll always love you, no matter what."
"I love you too."
Once again, stay safe everyone. Be careful, and be smart. Remember, we will get through Coronavirus.
Reviews for Chapter 25:
Madi In The Sky With Diamonds - Thank you, and as long as all goes to plan, there'll be lots of excitement soon.
binhacunha3 - Thanks
DxGRAYxMAN - Yup, no affair, especially not after this chapter. I'm glad you enjoyed the last update, thanks for reading.
Lizzy B - Leah will definitely be appearing more, and hopefully this chapter satisfied your M/C love? I hope to do some Carlisle oneshots in the future - any particular scenes you want?
jingerr - Yeah I agree, they are a bit far apart. She will defintiely become a vampire, probably before Bella, but not for a fair while.
hermonine - Thanks, and oops? As per usual, it's ben awhile - hopefully the cuteness in the end of this chapter makes up for it?
eeeeaud - Hell yeah our girl loves Carlisle! And she really shows it at the end of this chapter. (Finally). M and leah defintiely would make a great team, but hey, they'll make a badass fighting duo anyways. As for Renee, well, keep an eye out...
Brookie Twiling - Yeah, she is gonna love cliff diving. And she and Leah are definitely gonna show up the boys - they haven't got a chance! Hopefully the end of this satisfied your Carlilse wondering...
surfingfreak - Thanks
lolistarkiller - Yeah Charlie is gonna FREAK. Ooh are you at your new place now? Thats so exciting! You'll have to wait and see for Jacob finding out - it's gonna be dramatic
Guest - Thank you so much! i swear the toughest part of writing is the character personalities and developments, so it's great to hear I'm doing okay with that.
BeforexImxDead - Thanks - I hope you liked the new update
Luscious'Golden'Locks - sorry about the sudden abandonment, but you finally get to see Carlilise's reaction. Hopefully it wasn't too out of character.
ReadingRainbow7 - Thanks, I'm glad no one's disappointed about me deciding against it. She and Carlisle are definitely a thing now. It is a while away, but I'm already beginning to plan out the Volturi, lol. Any suggestions for stuff you want to see?