Leah POV
My breathing caused mild irritation on the right side of my torso. The previous day flashed across my closed eyes and I was reminded of the newborn squeezing me until he broke almost every bone on the right side of my body. My hearing took in the deep breathing that I knew was Bella. I slowly opened my eyes, wondering where she was. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the bright morning light but once they did I easily found Bella. She was slumped in my office chair, arms crossed on her stomach, her head slumped so far forward it almost touched her chest. I frowned speculating about how uncomfortable she must be sleeping like that. Incredibly slowly I turned my body so almost all my weight was on the left side of my body. Then I slowly pushed myself up into a sitting position. It hurt a decent amount and I bit my lip, but it was nothing like what I had felt yesterday. I swung my legs off the edge of the bed so I was fully sitting up without any support from my pillows. I stood and tested the range of motion I had, pretty restricted by the wrappings and pain. I managed to move my head around with no problem, breathing still hurt a bit and I figured there were a few fractures still healing. I can't pick Bella up like this without waking her but I can't let her sleep like that, she'll get a wicked kink in her neck if she doesn't already have one.
"Seth?" I said just above a whisper, hearing him in the living room.
I heard movement as he stood from the couch and started down the hall to my room.
"Quiet, she's still sleeping" I whispered, thankful for our sensitive hearing. I wasn't sure how deep of a sleeper Bella was.
Seth slowly opened my bedroom door and crept in. I could see him assessing me and I instinctively put up a mask so he wouldn't see any true emotion. He sighed at that but nodded his head up once in a greeting.
"Can you move her to the bed?" I whispered again, motioning to Bella then my bed.
"Yeah, no problem" He responded just as quietly.
Seth very slowly scooped Bella up into his arms, she stirred a bit but didn't wake. He shifted her into my bed, where I had pulled back the sheets. As he released her and stepped back I fully took in what condition she was in. She had small scratches all over her face and hands like she had been running through the forest. Which would make sense with all the small twigs and leaves tangled into her hair. She had mud all over the bottom of her jeans and her shoes were so coated I couldn't tell what colour they were supposed to be.
"Thanks. What happened to her? She didn't look like this at the clearing." I turned to look at Seth, still keeping my voice low.
"I dunno. You need anything else?"
He was assessing me again and I shook my head. He didn't look completely convinced but he knew better than to try and argue with me. Seth left my room and closed the door behind himself, quietly. I turned back to Bella and sighed lightly. She was in rough shape, her clothes were dirty and probably uncomfortable. I moved to the foot of the bed and started unlacing her shoes, mud cracking and falling off as I did. It was a bit difficult to get her shoes off with one hand but I managed. Her socks were a lot easier to get off and I found that they were still a bit damp. She sighed and stretched out once her shoes and socks were off, rolling onto her side. I pulled up the sleeve of her flannel a bit to examine the crude wrapping around her arm. I frowned and grit my teeth when I saw that it was caked with dried blood. It had been so saturated in her blood that blood had started running down her arm, soaking into her shirt. I wanted so badly to get her out of the muddy, blood-soaked clothing but I knew that that would be inappropriate. I settled for pulling my sheets up over her and tucking her in a bit. I frowned and tried to remember what I had done with my blanket. Since phasing I hadn't used it but I wanted to make sure Bella was warm enough. Looking around my room I decided my closet was the best bet. As I walked to the closet Bella mumbled something in her sleep I couldn't quite understand and I couldn't help smile to myself. I opened the closet and started looking through it, as quietly as I could manage with only one arm. As I looked for my blanket I started pulling out old clothes I hadn't worn since I phased. I pulled out an old t-shirt, hoodie and sweatpants that no longer fit me. Leading up to phasing for the first time I started growing, again, which I hadn't understood I was way past puberty. I also grabbed a pair of extremely fuzzy socks and then I stared at my underwear and bras. 'Do I give her undergarments? Would that be too weird? If I did which ones do I give her? If I give her granny panties will she think that's what I wear? Would she want boy shorts? Do I try and find the rare pair of lacy thongs?' My mind started to wander while trying to figure out the underwear situation. Bella was wearing the hoodie and sweat pants my hands on her hips, pulling her into my body. My eyes lost focus as my fantasy took dominance over my reasoning about underwear. She wrapped her arms around my neck and smiled up at me, mischievously, I could feel my face return a smug smile. One thumb pushed the waistband of the sweat pants down low enough to expose her hip bone. She raised a challenging eyebrow at me and I could feel my smile widening. My thumb caressing her exposed hip bone, grazing a bit of lace. Bella's face faulted from sure mischief to a bit of desperation and her fingers started playing with the hair at the nape of my neck. My other hand started to slowly pull the sweat pants lower down her body, exposing half of the lacy underwear. Bella closed her eyes and bit her lower lip, her face only portraying desire. I could feel my own desire rising as butterflies rose into my throat and down between my legs, stirring a hot fire. I looked down taking her in, the sweat pants were barely held up by her thighs and I could see all of the underwear and what little it covered.
"Leah are you okay?" A groggy voice asked, full of concern.
I jumped, suddenly pulled out of my fantasy. I was still standing in the doorframe of my closet, my left hand gripped the doorframe tightly and as I loosened it I saw I had dented the wood a bit.
"Leah?" She asked again, more awake and more concern.
I turned around to face her, my mind half expecting to see her half naked in the hoodie and thong. I could feel my face burn a bit and I cleared my throat not sure how well my voice would work.
"Yeah, I'm completely fine." My voice was a bit husky and I cleared my throat again, feeling a bit of pain object on my right side.
Bella didn't look completely convinced and she slid out of bed, looking down at her feet a bit confused. She quickly moved on from her feet and she started walking towards me, concern all over her face.
"What are you doing out of bed? You should still be on bed rest." She was right in front of me now, her eyes sweeping over my torso evaluating the wrappings. Her eyes sweeping over my body sent another hot jolt between my legs and I gulped. She took my left hand and looked back up at my face so much concern on it my body shifted from being aroused to a bit of heartbreak. I didn't want her to worry like this. My body couldn't completely control itself when she touched me though, there was still a desire to pleasure her. To make her completely forget about her troubles.
"I really am fine, nothing but a little bruised today. I'll be completely healed by tomorrow." I reassured her as she tried tugging my arm back towards the bed.
I held my ground and she stopped, turned back to face me and frowned.
"I thought you might want a hot shower and some clean clothes…" I motioned towards my closet.
She released my hand and I had to stop myself from reaching back out to take it again.
"That would actually be great right about now" She smiled kindly at me.
I turned back to my closet and grabbed the t-shirt, hoodie and sweat pants. I decided to grab a pair of boy shorts at the last second and then turned around handing the bundle of clothing to Bella's waiting arms. She beamed a brilliant smile at me and I beamed right back, her smile contagious.
"I'm going to go shower, you lay down" She stated cheerily.
"I'm really fine-"
"Please?" She pleaded her face shifting into a heartbreaking puppy dog pout.
"Fine, only if you'll let me redress your arm once you're done" I raised a challenging eyebrow at her, daring her to try and argue.
"Deal" She huffed and started towards my bedroom door but stopped before opening it.
She turned her head to look at me, squinting accusingly.
"Okay, okay I'm going" I chuckled and held up my left-hand defensively as I walked over to my bed and sat down.
She narrowed her eyes even more, but I could see her trying to fight back a smile.
"Such a slave driver" I laughed, trying not to show the pain it caused, and laid down in my bed.
She smiled at me triumphantly at me before taking her leave to the bathroom.
"Just use the black towel and there should be a spare toothbrush in the medicine cabinet" I yelled after her.
I heard the water start up and smiled contently to myself. I could get used to waking up with her. Then I frowned. I was getting too ahead of myself. We aren't even dating, she's still dating that bloodsucker. Would she even want to date me? Wasn't this how imprints work? I only feel romantically for her because she feels that way about me? Who knows female shapeshifters aren't even supposed to be a thing. Who's to say my imprint follows the rules? Maybe whatever fucked up genetic that caused me to phase messed up the imprint too. I need to calm down and take things slowly. I tried taking my mind off of Bella and I started to wonder how the hell I was supposed to shower. I sighed I suppose I could shower with the bandages and sports bra on. That idea made me frown, wet sports bras were so uncomfortable. I should be pretty well healed by tomorrow, I guess I could go a day without showering. I vaguely recognized the water to the shower turning off and I could hear movement in the bathroom, the shower curtain pulling back, thick fabric moving. My mind suddenly showing me an image of Bella with wet hair, wrapped in nothing but a towel, just on the other side of the hallway from me. I swallowed hard and tried, not too hard, to shake the image from my mind. More fabric ruffled, the squeaky hinge on the medicine cabinet creaked. It was silent for a moment and then I heard a package opening followed by the sound of Bella brushing her teeth.
Bella came into my room and smiled shyly at me, I fought the urge to sit up right away wanting her to see me laying down like instructed. She had her dirty clothes bundled in her arms with her used towel. I sat up and motioned to my laundry hamper in the corner, she blushed and quickly turned to put her clothes away.
"Thank you" She mumbled.
"No problem"
I watched her back, taking everything in. My clothes were baggy on her, even though they were from before I phased. She looked so cute and tiny in my old clothes. She had rolled up the bottoms of the sweat pants so she wouldn't trip on them but she left the hoodie as it was. When she turned around to face me I didn't have enough to compose my expression.
"What?" She blushed, reaching a hand up to her hair, pushing it behind her ear. The hoodie sleeve only allowing her fingers to poke out of the end.
"Nothing, you just look a lot better" I cleared my throat, fearing that didn't come out properly.
"Come sit down and I'll check out your arm" I instructed, patting my bed before standing up.
"You don't have to worry about it...I'll deal with it later" She stammered as the colour drained from her face.
"C'mon we made a deal" I half teased.
She gave me a weak smile and sat where I had just been sitting. I quickly grabbed the first aid kit from the bathroom and returned to see Bella looking a bit ill.
"Are you okay?" I rushed over and placed the first aid kit on the bed, sitting close to her.
"I uh, I don't really like blood...or really anything medical…" She admitted quietly.
"You don't have to watch, I promise I'll be fast" I reassured, placing my left hand on her knee to comfort her.
I heard her heart accelerate as soon as I touched her knee and her breathing hitched before returning to normal. I smiled slyly at her, my ego boosted. She blushed and looked away from me, her heart still racing a bit. I started pulling up the sleeve of the hoodie and she helped, still purposely looking away from me. She still had the old blood-soaked bandage on, which I could now see was just a ripped piece of fabric. It was soaking wet from her shower and I felt pity for her, she was too scared to even take it off. I very carefully used my one good hand and my teeth to untie the fabric, swiftly throwing it in my wastebasket.
"Damn it…"I cursed under my breath.
"Is it bad?" Her voice was strained.
"Yes-Well no, it's not that bad of a cut you won't need stitches. But if Sam had let me come and help this would have never happened." I grit my teeth in anger while rummaging through the first aid kit.
"I wish you were there too…" She trailed off in thought.
My heart fluttered at that confession, my anger completely forgotten. I pulled out the alcohol swabs and frowned.
"This is going to hurt" I warned her, looking up at her face.
She nodded, still not looking at me. I tried to move as fast as I could while still being thorough, I didn't want her getting any sort of infection. The water from the shower had washed away all the clotted blood, leaving only the jagged skin and open cut. She sucked in air between her teeth as the alcohol stung the fresh wound but she didn't complain. I applied polysporin generously and then laid down gauze on the gash. I dug around in the first aid kit some more and found a roll of bandage. When I looked up again Bella was watching me with a weak smile. I smiled back and tried to wrap her arm but it proved almost impossible with only one working hand. Bella reached out with her other hand and held the start of the bandage for me. With her help, I was able to quickly wrap her arm up and tape the end.
"Thank you, this looks way less scary" She smiled wider now and my heart soared excited to know I had made her feel good.
"Any time. Hey, are you hungry?" To emphasize my question my stomach growled.
Bella laughed, obviously hearing my stomach, and I joined her, her laughter contagious.
"Yeah, I could eat. But please let me cook. If memory serves you're terrible at cooking" She started laughing all over again as she stood.
"What? That's not fair I've grown a lot since you last saw me" I half protested, laughing along with her.
"I don't know, those anchovy pancakes were pretty bad" She raised an eyebrow at me, challenging me playfully.
"Fine, I'll start a load of laundry" I playfully pouted at her "But just because you can't appreciate my culinary genius doesn't mean my cooking is bad"
"Oh yeah, such culinary ingenuity" She snickered, sticking her tongue out at me as she showed herself out of my room and down the hall towards the kitchen.
I continued laughing and grabbed my laundry hamper, dragging it along the floor with my one working arm. When I got to the washing machine I looked into the hamper to grab the clothes. I loaded in Bella's muddy jeans, the towel and then I stopped dead in my tracks. My mind broadcasting to me that Bella wasn't wearing a bra. It started to wander towards more perverted thoughts. I quickly shoved the rest of the laundry in the washing machine, trying to quiet my perverted mind down.
"Nice and slow, Leah" I scolded myself.
I walked into the kitchen and Bella was just pouring pancake batter into a hot skillet. I smiled to myself.
"Your mom left a note on the table, said she took Seth to help her with groceries" Bella explained, not turning to look at me as she spoke.
"Excellent, that means we can eat breakfast on the couch and watch tv" I grinned at her and waggled my eyebrows as she turned to look at me.
"You're such a kid" Bella laughed turning back to her pancakes.
"I'm rubber and you're glue, whatever you say bounces off of me and sticks to you" I sang the old rhyme from our childhood.
Bella started laughing hysterically, almost spilling batter on the counter. I laughed with her, powering through the pain in my side, moving to help her cook. Still laughing Bella swatted at my hand trying to help her and motioned me away.
"Ah! You're right, we need the anchovies" I moved towards a random cupboard looking at her over my shoulder, slyly.
"NOOO!" She shreik-laughed.
Bella made a huge stack of pancakes and we ate in front of the tv, watching some hallmark movie. Once we finished eating she grabbed our plates and ran them to the kitchen before I could protest. When she came back she sat a bit closer to me and I couldn't help feeling like it was on purpose. We watched in silence but I was having trouble following the cheesy plot, distracted with inner conflict. 'Do I put my arm around her shoulders? Do I hold her hand? Do I pull her in and have her lay her head on my lap?' Do I rest my hand on her leg? Bella shifted her position so her legs were pulled up onto the couch, tucked under her. This caused her to move even closer to me, another inch and our shoulders would be touching. 'Did she want to be close? Did she want me to make a move on her? Should I? I want to. What about her bloodsucker would this complicate things for her?' Bella sighed lightly and that was all I needed as encouragement. I shifted to put my arm around her shoulders and pulled her into the left side of my body, protectively. Her heart skipped a beat and then she sighed contently. Her right arm gingerly came up to rest on my stomach and she relaxed her head so it was leaning on my shoulder. We continued watching the movie like this, every once in awhile Bella's fingers would idly trace random patterns on my bare stomach, causing goosebumps to form.