32

I woke up the next morning and went and took a quick shower. I went back to my room and pulled on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. I added my boots and tied a black scarf on my head and went down to the lobby to meet Edward. He wasn't there yet so I sat down on the couch to wait for him.

"Morning, Bella," said Peter and Charlotte.

"Morning," I said with a yawn.

"How are you feeling today?" asked Charlotte.

"I'm tired," I said. "But other that I'm fine."

"How'd your rehearsal go yesterday?" asked Peter.

"It went good," I said. "I found out that my mom was the lead singer of Twilight."

"No way," gasped Peter.

"I know," I chuckled. "I didn't know any of this."

"I wonder why Charlie didn't tell you," said Peter.

"I wish I knew," I said as Edward came out of the elevator. "Hey, you."

"Hey, Baby," he said before he kissed me. "How'd you sleep last night?"

"I slept ok," I said softly. "These beds suck."

"Yeah, they do," chuckled Edward. "Let's go get some breakfast before rehearsals."

"Ok," I said.

Edward and I followed Peter and Charlotte down to the dining hall. I grabbed a banana and some yogurt for breakfast. We joined Tia and Benjamin at their table. We ate quickly and headed down to for our rehearsals I spent morning rehearsing with Aro. I went in and found him sitting at the piano. He had his eyes closed as he played. He was incredible.

"It's not polite to stare," he chuckled as he finished his song.

"Sorry," I said. "You're an incredible pianist."

"Thank you," said Aro as he turned and looked at me. "I would love to hear you play."

"Ok," I said.

He got up and I went over and sat down. I ran my fingers over the keys once before I closed my eyes and started playing. I thought back to when Emmett and I were seven or so. We were at Rose and Jasper's house and we had been climbing a tree. I fell and broke my arm. Emmett started crying about how it was his fault. He lifted me into his arms and carried me into the house. He, Rose, and Jasper were the only ones I allowed to sign my cast. I was panting slightly as I played the last note. I opened my eyes slowly.

"That was magnificent," said Aro. I turned and looked at him. "What were you thinking about?"

"My brother," I said. "He's very protective of me."

"So is mine," chuckled Aro. He turned serious. "Isabella, how do you find the strength to be so positive?"

"I'm not," I said as I turned back to the piano and began playing again. "My father was killed in a car accident a couple weeks ago. I was laying in bed the night after I buried him and it hit me. I might not be strong enough to win this battle. I don't want to die. I don't Edward to have to bury me but he might have to. I don't know how to handle that. So I put a smile on my face and I pretend to have everything together because I can't bear looking him in the eyes and letting him know just how scared I am."

"You don't think he know?" asked Aro as I continued to play.

"I know he does but, um, he would never admit it and I can't admit it to him either," I said through my tears. I finished my song and turned back to Aro. "See, right now, all we have is hope that I will be ok. Because while the chemo is helping, I'm still dying."

"You're much stronger than you realize," said Aro, softly. "Marcus told us that Renee was your mother."

"Yes, she was," I said softly.

"I'm very sorry, Isabella," he said. "She was a wonderful woman. A true inspiration."

"I'm sure she was," I said.

"Well, why don't you get your guitar out and we can start rehearsing," he said.

I nodded my head and went over and grabbed my guitar. We spent the next hour and half working on my playing. Aro didn't say much as I played. He mostly just sat back with his eyes closed and listened.

Once he dismissed me, I met Edward in the lobby and we went and meet Peter and Charlotte for lunch. I managed to eat a little more than normal but I knew I would just end up throwing it up later. I figured at least this way I wasn't dry heaving as much. We headed over to the hospital for my chemo treatment after lunch.

"Hey, Bella, how are you feeling?" asked Siobhan as she came into my room.

"I'm ok," I said. "Pretty tired."

"I'm sure the traveling hadn't helped the fatigue," she said softly.

"No, it hasn't," I said.

"Well, try to get some extra rest," she said. "I know you have to rest but you also have to take care of yourself."

"I know," I whispered.

Siobhan got my IV hooked up and left. We talked about how rehearsal's were going. Peter said he had heard a few of the other's playing and while they were good, he said Edward and I were better. I told him he was a little bit biased. He just chuckled and agreed. Once my IV was done, we went back to the dorms.

As soon as I stepped into the lobby, I felt my stomach turn. I ran into the bathroom and started throwing up all my lunch. Edward came in and rubbed my back and wiped the back of my neck with a wet towel. Everyone came in and sat with us while I got sick. I spent several hours in there throwing up until my stomach felt like they were on fire and my back hurt.

"I can't do it anymore," I barely whispered. I was curled up on the bathroom floor with my head in Edward's lap. Everyone stopped talking as I let my tears fall freely. "My entire body hurts. I'm not strong enough, Edward."

"Yes, you are," whispered Edward. He pulled me into his arms. "You promised me that you would keep trying."

"It hurts," I sobbed softly. "I'm tired of hurting all the time."

"Baby, please," whispered Edward. I just clung onto him and sobbed into his shirt. I didn't know what to say.

"Edward, take her to our room," whispered Tia. "I'll stay with someone else tonight. She needs you."

"Thank you," whispered Edward.

Edward lifted me into his arms and carried me out of the bathroom and up to my room. He grabbed my towel, robe, and shower stuff and carried me down to the bathrooms. He turned on the water and helped me strip out of my clothes. He stripped his off and lifted me into his arms and into the shower. He kept his arm around me as he moved the water so that it hit my back muscles. I kept my face in his neck as I clung to his naked body. My body shook with sobs as he let his own tears fall.

"Edward, make love to me," I begged. "Please, I need you right now."

"I love you, Bella," he whispered.

"I love you too," I whispered.

Edward turned off the water and dried me off before he wrapped the towel around his waist He pulled my robe on my shoulders and I held it together while he gathered our clothes. He wrapped his arm around my waist and led me back down to my room. He shut the door behind us and locked it. I slipped my robe off my shoulders and climbed onto the bed. Edward let the towel drop to his waist and climbed into the bed next me.

He leaned down and gently kissed me. I wove my fingers into his hair and deepened the kiss. I could feel Edward's growing erection against my thigh. Edward moved so that he was nestled in between my legs. He kept his eyes on me as he gently pushed into me.

He slowly made love to me. His eyes never left mine as he moved in and out of me. Right now, we could pretend that I wasn't sick. We could pretend that I hadn't just spent several hours throwing up. Right now, we were just Edward and Bella. He was just a man making love to his wife.