It's time, it's time! Halloween time, of course!
October. Cooling air, colorful leaves blowing across the ground, and the sound of bare branches scratching against windows in the night…
I love this time of year. So here we go, Halloween!
The world of Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I like to play in it.
AMAZING GRACE
Chapter 4 – The Ride Home
Bella called Dowling's and was advised by the mechanic that they would need to order a part. It would take a day to be shipped. It would be ready in a few days.
A few days. She could walk. Although it seemed she had two competing males, wanting to ensure her feet never hit the street.
Tomorrow was another day.
The next morning it wasn't raining, for a change.
Jasper's blue convertible pulled up front of the house at 7:30 a.m. On their way to school, Bella and Jasper were stuck behind a logging truck for a few blocks as they made their way down Forks Avenue. There was a turn lane, but that would have meant going around the truck, which was blocking the turn off for the school.
"Logging. It used to be the lifeblood of this town," Bella said. "Not while I was here, but in the past."
Jasper looked at the logs and the chains holding them. "Looks like a tough life," he said.
Bella noticed him examining the chains. "There are the occasional accidents where the logs come loose, but we haven't had one in years here in Forks," she told him.
The school day went by quickly. As they worked on their lab write-up during lunch, Bella was glad she had her part of their shared lab report prepared because she found Jasper's presence so distracting. He had such an amazing scent. She couldn't make sense of her feelings. She had never fallen so hard for anyone before. And the curious part was the way he stared at her, as if he shared her feelings.
Angela caught up with Bella in the hall between classes.
"So. You and Jasper?" Angela asked.
""Just doing our science lab write-up," Bella replied.
"I think it's great!" Angela gushed.
Jessica and Lauren came by. "So, you and the blond one? What's he like, Bells?" Lauren asked.
Lauren had barely spoken to her in the time she had been in Forks. Now she wanted to coin a nickname for her? And a hammy one at that?
How was Jasper? Jasper was OK, no, much better than OK. He was very down-to-earth, not like the stuck-up rich kids Bella had met in Phoenix. Maybe it would be best to divert attention away from him to the other members of the family.
"He's OK," she said in a non-committal tone to Lauren. "He has brothers. Have you met them?"
Lauren tossed her blond hair. "Oh, I've got my eye on one. Going to get asked to the spring dance, I think."
"That sounds great," Bella said.
"Bye then," Lauren said, and headed down the hall, whispering to Jessica and looking back and Bella over her shoulder.
Bella decided to just enjoy the moments.
When Bella and Jasper turned it their report to Mr. Banner during Biology, they learned that they were the only lab partners to complete it on time. Apparently, this was not uncommon, so Mr. Banner allowed the rest of the class to continue to work during the rest of the period. Mr. Banner gave them an extra credit lab, examination of an onion root, to work on.
Bella took the lead on this one. Slicing up a plant wasn't like slicing up an animal. The period passed much more quickly than it had the day before. This time, Jasper walked her to her locker and they went together to his car.
As he dropped her off at home, he asked, "Can I come by tomorrow? Let's take a drive out by the ocean. I really haven't had time to explore the local area."
Of course she said yes and went inside to face Charlie.
"How did the day go?" Charlie asked.
"OK. Turned in our lab report, that was about it. Pop quiz in Algebra."
"How'd that go?" Charlie asked.
"I think I did OK. Should have gotten at least a B," Bella replied.
She hardly slept that night, thinking about tomorrow. Where should she take him? Hiking? Along the coast? The town was so small, there wasn't much to show him.
She tossed all night, thinking of where to go and what to wear.
The next morning, it turned out Jasper already knew where he wanted to go. As Bella climbed in the car, he asked "Can we drive out by Ruby Beach?"
"Sure," she said, adjusting her seat belt.
They drove out of Forks, gliding down the 101 in his convertible toward Ruby Beach.
"Can we put the top down?" Bella asked.
In response, Jasper pushed a button and with a whir the roof folded down. The air was fresh and cold, but the feeling was exhilarating. Bella had to hold back the impulse to unbuckle her seatbelt and stand up, stretching forward over the windshield. She contented herself with leaning back and closing her eyes, feeling the air rushing over her face.
As she lay in that position, she heard motorcycles whizzing by.
"Those guys are going crazy fast," Jasper commented.
Bella's eyes snapped open. "My dad took a call at an accident a few days ago. I guess it was your dad's first day at the hospital?"
"Yeah, I heard about it." Jasper tightened his grip on the steering wheel.
"People go too fast around these curves," Bella commented. "We're behind the logging truck, so we couldn't maneuver if we wanted to."
Jasper laughed. "So when did you move back here?"
OK. Change the subject. "Oh, late last spring," Bella replied. "You guys being new are taking some of the pressure off me."
"Didn't know they were pressuring you," he replied.
"Nothing I can't…" Bella's remark was cut off by the two motorcycles whizzing past them, the helmeted riders leaning into the curve.
"Are they crazy? They can't see around that truck!" Bella exclaimed.
There was a shriek of brakes and metal grinding. As the truck ahead put on its brakes, it started to slide, wobbling and skidding along the curving road. The long body of the truck, loaded with logs, skidded, blocking the road in front of them.
Jasper was turning the wheel, trying to avoid a crash, but they were boxed in by the van behind them. Their car spun out of control as the truck's rear end flailed, sparks flying from under the wheels.
Bella screamed as it became clear they were going to be pinned between the flailing truck and the van behind them.
Something hit the side of her head as she heard a metallic crunch.
Then there was nothing.
xxx
Bella came to, moaning as sensation came to her. Something hurt though she couldn't quite tell where. She couldn't see clearly. Were her eyes open?
She blinked and realized she was seeing as if through a frosted glass panel.
She was cold. Bella tried to sit up but couldn't figure out how. She tried to lift her hand but wasn't sure it was moving.
She could feel something on her hand.
"Can you hear me?" Jasper's voice came from a distance. His face swam into view above her but she had trouble focusing.
"What…" her tongue felt thick. She cleared her throat and tried again. "… happened?" was all that came out.
The memory of the car accident, the sound of brakes grinding and the feeling of being trapped between the two vehicles came back to her. What had happened? Where is the car? Where am I?
She heard a beep and another face came into view. A blond man with pale skin, someone she didn't recognize.
"This is my father, Dr. Cullen," Jasper said.
"You've been out for a while," Dr. Cullen told her. "How do you feel? Can you squeeze my finger?"
Bella's tongue still felt thick. "Body heavy, hard to see."
There were a few more electronic beeps. She saw a movement in the background, but couldn't focus enough to see who it was. "Charlie?" she called out.
"Who?" Jasper asked.
"Dad," she replied.
"Are you squeezing my finger?" the doctor asked.
"I'm trying, but feel so…it's too much work," she said.
"I've sedated you pretty heavily," the doctor said. "Are you in pain?"
"Not sure," Bella replied. "Something hurts."
"Get some rest we'll try again in a while."
She felt herself slipping away.
After a while she forced herself back up to the surface of consciousness. It felt so good and easy in the darkness that she realized she was in danger.
She pushed hard against her eyelids. She felt them flutter but didn't open.
"Bella?" A voice and sweet scent. Who was it? Male…Jasper.
"Bella, can you hear me? Squeeze my hand." A man's voice. Vaguely familiar. Not Jasper, not Charlie. Who? So dark, so much effort to stay awake.
It was a lot of work but she found her hand. She squeezed.
"I'm not feeling anything," the voice said. "I don't know if she can't hear or if she doesn't have the ability to move her hand. Edward?"
Who was that? The doctor, right.
"I'm not getting anything from her," a new voice said. "I didn't at school either. I wonder if she's some kind of a shield."
"Not helping." That was Jasper's voice. A scent washed over her face. Someone was near.
"Can you hear me? Blink for me." She gave up guessing who it was.
She tried again, and this time she got her eyes open. Hard to focus, but she could see Jasper's face. She thought it was Jasper. So difficult to think clearly.
Bella smiled at him. She hoped she smiled, as she wasn't sure she had moved.
"Squeeze my hand," someone said.
She did.
"Can you squeeze my hand?" This time the voice was gentler.
"I did," Bella said. But no words came out of her mouth. Nothing was moving.
Another face swam into view.
"Bella, I'm holding your hand. Can you move your finger?"
She tried hard, putting all her effort into it. Everything was in such a haze, and she felt resistance against every effort she made.
"Blink once for yes and twice for no," someone said.
"Did you move your finger?" a voice asked.
It was once for yes, right? She blinked once.
The two faces looked at one another.
"You were in a car accident," someone said. "You injured your spine."
"Dad?" she tried to say.
"What? What are you asking?" The voice was gentle and sorrowful.
The light was becoming fainter and things were slipping away. It was so much effort. She heard the beeping in the background.
She heard a sweet voice calling her so she struggled back.
"Bella, are you there? Don't leave. I must talk to you." It was Jasper. He sounded so worried. She pushed and swam back up.
She forced open her eyes, just slits.
"She's awake. I don't know how much longer you have," the doctor said. "You must decide and act soon or she'll be out of time."
"Bella, it's Jasper," a voice said. She knew this voice. "Your back is broken. You're paralyzed. We don't know how long you have, but if you do recover, you probably won't be able to move again."
Why was she hearing this? She started to slip back into the comforting darkness but there was a sting on her face. Had someone slapped her?
Jasper was there, just over her face. "I can fix it. I can fix it and you can stay with me. Things will be different though. You'll be like me."
Bella nodded or thought she nodded. She felt something squeeze her hand. Something hard and cold.
"I just found you," he said. "I can't stand the thought of losing you." He sounded so sad, his voice breaking.
"Blink once for yes." Whose voice was that?
It was too much. She started slipping back. Too hard. Pain was intensifying. She could feel it in her back, legs, feet. Why?
"He's stopped the pain medication so you can communicate," Jasper said.
But the pain was too much. It was creating fireworks inside the dark and she couldn't scream or say how much it hurt.
She blinked and blinked.
"What's she saying?" Jasper's voice asked.
"I think she's starting to feel pain," the doctor's voice replied. "I decreased the anesthesia so she could communicate."
It just hurt so much.
"Do you want me to make it stop? Do you want to be like me?" Jasper whispered.
Bella blinked once and let go.
She heard an alarm from the beeping machine.
"You need to do it…" was the last thing she heard.
She felt a sharp sting in her neck, the in her wrists and ankles. It was just so dark and she couldn't move. Then a fire began at those five points and began to spread. Couldn't they stop it?
She tried to scream but nothing came out.
Something cold was next to her. Bella heard a voice as she sank into the fire. "I'm right next to you. I'll be here when you wake up again," a voice said in her ear. "I'm sorry for how it burns, but I'll be right here, waiting for you on the other side."
Then she fell into the flames, unable to scream as they burnt away her mortality.
The End
Xx
Thanks for reading. Hope you're having a wonderful October. Please leave a review. Reviews make my pumpkin smile.
Next story will be up in a few days. I will send a preview to all reviewers.
Sorry to have put my job situation in the comments section of this story, a real world intrusion, but your kind and thoughtful comments have really helped me through this difficult time.
