Ch. 14 Stone Cold Chest

"Hang on, girl. Help is coming. You're going to be fine..." I only heard an echo of a female voice.

•PTaT•

"Isabella? Bella?"

"Owww..." My head was pounding. Why was my head always pounding?! I couldn't respond properly to who the hell ever was calling that God forsaken name. I hated being Bella. Iris never got hurt like this...

Then I realized it was a deep male voice addressing me, and something in me broke. I began flailing wildly and shrieking. I didn't understand why I was reacting this way but that voice...that man...

"Iris?! Iris. Oh God. Shhh. Calm down...you'll be ok...I have you...What happened? What did you do?" Another male voice. This one I didn't mind so much despite his anger, so I stopped fighting and screaming. I still couldn't bring myself to open my eyes. His voice was still smooth even through the stress. But why was he accusing me of doing something? What did I do? "No! Where's my sister? Where's Alice?" Alice...Alice...I needed Alice. Why did I need Alice?

"Who's Iris? What the hell are you doing? She needs a doctor, and you need to step away. She's covered in...blood." The other man growled, and I flinched. His voice was too gravelly...too much like another voice...

I felt someone picking me up, holding my head gently. Their hand was ice cold. It was just what my throbbing skull needed. I turned into a stone, cold chest. It was nice, smelled nice...I could sleep a bit more, right? Maybe if I slept, my head wouldn't throb like this...

"Put her down, leech! I won't let your kind take her!" The deep voice yelled.

"Stay in your lane, dog. I wouldn't get too close if I were you." The smooth voice was seething. A shiver went through me at the sound, but I wasn't afraid. "Shhh, Iris, it's ok." A hand was on my cheek.

"Edward? Oh my God! Iris? What happened?! I didn't see! I was—oh God! Edward...I'm so sorry! I didn't—you! I can't see around you!" A tinkling voice accused. Edward? Oh, Edward. That makes more sense. Well, kind of. Why was Edward here? I really should open my eyes...

"She was attacked." Edward's voice was cold, matter of fact. I was? Oh, I was. Shit...the man from the bathroom's face flashed through my mind, and I shrieked again, throwing my hands over my face awkwardly since I was still turned into Edward's chest.

"Iris, please, you'll be ok. I'm taking you to Carlisle now." Edward attempted to soothe me, but where was the man?

"Like hell you are! You will not make her one of you!" The first man yelled again. Why was he always yelling?

"Oh please, don't be ridiculous. He's a doctor... and she's not hurt badly enough for him to even consider doing that. Go back to your kennel, Sam Uley." Alice dismissed him. Sam Uley?

"I—" Sam's voice was too far away for me to make out what he said after that.

My eyes fluttered open, and I was staring into pained dark golden orbs. "Iris, are you ok? Can you hear me?" I vaguely noted that we were moving...fast. I tried to look away to see where we were, but everything was moving by so quickly. Oh God...My stomach lurched before I could stop it, and Edward came to an abrupt stop, allowing me to tilt my face down toward the ground and expel everything from my stomach. Nothing even got on him...of course the freaking perfect vampires could even dodge vomit...he placed me on the ground, and held under my arm to stabilize me.

"Edward..." my voice sounded hoarse and barely squeaked out, but he heard me.

"What is it?" There was only a hint of stress to his tone now.

"Did he...was I...what—" I couldn't force the words out.

Edward looked down at the ground, his eyes changed to black before he could hide them. "No. He didn't touch you...that way. He did throw you on the ground and you hit your head. Sam got there in time to stop him." Edward sounded guilty.

"Oh..." Thank God. I guess I owed him now too...But wait..."Why was Sam there? And why were you there?"

Edward didn't look up to meet my eyes. He turned and looked away. "We need to get you to Carlisle. Your head is still bleeding. Are you feeling better?"

"I—" I was going to blast him for dodging my question, but right at that moment, I tripped on a stick—I wasn't even freaking moving!!—and Edward tightened his grip on me. "Shit."

Edward chuckled and shook his head, finally meeting my eyes. His were golden again, and my heart fluttered. "Well, I guess injuring your head for the third time in six weeks has done nothing for your balance. Let's go. May I?" He reached his other hand out to lift me again. I could probably ride on his back...but since he was offering...

•PTaT•

Carlisle assessed and bandaged up my wound at my house, and said it should be ok, but we would need to watch for signs of increased intracranial pressure, you know, brain swelling. No big deal, right? Damnit, broken Bella body. At least it was on the other side of my head. Maybe the lumps would heal, and my head would be symmetrical again.

I was lying in my bed, head wrapped like a mummy looking awkwardly between the ceiling and the vampire in my room. Charlie had gone off to La Push earlier in the morning, and hadn't come back yet. It was nearly seven now. He would be home, and find out the joyous news soon enough...

I'm sure I was really attractive sitting here with black rings around my eyes, blood still matting my hair, and a white bandage tied around my head like I just had hair plugs inserted. Cute, Iris. You can pull anything off...And I was really super glad that it was Edward who was sitting in the rocking chair staring at me while I looked like this. It was the first time he had been in my room, so at least it was memorable I guess...

"So, where's Alice?"

Edward's eyes grew dark. "She and Jasper had to take care of some things..." Holy shit.

"Are they out murdering that sleezeball and disposing of the body?!" They wouldn't do that would they? I just wanted him in prison, not dead.

"No, there's no need to worry about him. He got his due justice...well, as far as law of the land goes." Oh, I sighed in relief.

"Are you even going to tell me what happened? I have a right to know. He locked me in the bathroom. He was trying to...well, you know, and then everything's a blank. I need to know. You said he didn't...?" My voice broke off. My God. He almost...I nearly vomited again, but I held the nausea away by taking a swig from the water bottle beside my bed.

Edward watched me closely and seemed to deliberate. "Are you sure that you will be alright to talk about it? You were very...upset...earlier." He searched my face for signs that I would have a melt down.

I sighed heavily. "I don't know, but I need to hear it. You can't protect me from it. The images in my mind are way worse than anything you could say."

He hesitated just a moment, looking out the window. His mind seemed far away. Then his eyes met mine, filled with determination and resolve. "When I arrived, you were still unconscious. The...man...was on the floor, knocked out. The wolf, Sam, was standing over you, frantic. He didn't know if you were going to be ok. He has no medical training...he's just a...boy." Edward paused, anger lacing his voice as he spoke of Sam. "He broke that monster's back. He will never walk again. Alice called the police after we left...At first, I thought the wolf had attacked you, but when I realized that he saved you..." He paused, taking a deep breath. "He was following us. He doesn't trust us—our family—being around you, so he followed you and Alice to Port Angeles. I guess I should be thanking him for his misplaced paranoia now that he saved you. Although, if he weren't there, Alice might have seen what was about to happen. She says she can't see around them..?" He questioned me.

"Yeah...I seem to have left out the most important details..." Good going, Iris. You're going to die from your own ADHD.

"It would seem so..." Edward frowned to himself.

"Where was Alice?" I couldn't believe she would just ignore my screaming like that...

"Alice...well, she says she was waiting for you, and she had a vision of the nomads. They were going to be close to the area. She ran to the edge of the woods to call Jasper to come help. She says she was watching for you, but by the time she realized that she couldn't see you, it was already over. Sam and I had already arrived." Shit. The meteors were striking from multiple directions.

There was one more part of the story that I needed answered, and I wasn't sure I would get that answer. I had to try though. "And you? You didn't say what brought you to the area..." My heart raced at the thought of Edward waiting in the shadows to protect me. The thought excited me and frightened me. Did I want a stalker? That's not usually a good thing. I see you, Joe Goldberg. But if it was Edward? Yes. Yes, I did. What the hell, Iris? Oh, shut up. You'd want that perfect specimen following you and defending you from harm that was sure to come at every turn too. God, stop talking to yourself.

"I had some things to pick up. I smelled the dog, and your...blood...so I ran to check on you." Oh. Talk about a letdown. "What is it? Are you in pain?" There were tears rolling down my cheeks. This was useless. He was perfectly content in his existence without me, the worthless human who couldn't walk straight. Well then, that's fine. I shouldn't chase after him anyway. I didn't have some kind of claim over him just because I looked like a girl who might have one day become his everything had I not gotten involved.

I wiped the tears off my face, and answered as normally as I could. "Yes, but it's ok. Thank you for all of your help. I'm sorry that I've been so much trouble to you guys since I've been here. You've been nothing but helpful, and I just can't seem to avoid problems no matter how hard I try." The stupid tears were still streaming.

"Iris? Iris, it's alright. It's no bother to help you. Please don't cry. We will figure this out, I promise. I will make you safe." He crossed the room, sat on the edge of the bed, and pulled me into his chest. Oh great, just what I need when I'm trying to convince my mind, body, and soul to stay away from you...your sensitivity, understanding, and solid rock pecks in my face. Holy fucking shit. Whoever is listening, make it stop!

"Edward?"

"Hmm?"

"Please don't leave me. I can't be alone right now."

"I wouldn't dream of it."

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