A/N: Hello everyone! I'm back with Chapter 2! It's shorter than the last one, but that was supposed to be all of E/B's backstory... Now we move ahead.
DISCLAIMER- You know it, Stephenie Meyer owns it all. No copyright infringement is intended.
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Okay, now let's go see what's up with Olderward, shall we?
"Hey," I whispered lamely after a moment of awkward silence following my passionate declaration. There was so much I wanted to say to her, but as her dark eyes, brimming with unreadable emotions, stared at me, none of it would come out.
"Hi," she whispered and winced, probably from the ache in her dry throat.
I stretched my arm to take the little plastic glass on the bedside table and held it near her mouth, my right hand still clasped in hers. She didn't let go either, reaching out to hold the straw with her free hand and eagerly gulped a few sips of the cool water.
"I'm sorry, Bella. Just a little for now. You can have more in a while, okay?" I said softly, when she whimpered in protest as I took it away.
She swallowed and nodded.
"How do you feel?"
Her brow furrowed. "I-I have a slight headache, but otherwise, I'm alright. Wha-what happened?"
"You were in an accident. A multi-car pileup. Do you remember anything?" I questioned anxiously.
"I-I think so. There was something on my-my body. I remember metal, I think? I was trapped. I couldn't get out. It was so heavy. I pushed and pushed but it just wouldn't move. I was so scared," she whispered. Her face paled and her eyes widened, seeming to look right through me as the horror of what she'd been through dawned upon her. The machine beeping loudly as her heart rate elevated and I cursed.
My hands framed her delicate face and I gazed straight into her eyes as I muttered reassuringly, "You're okay, Bella. Shhh. You're fine. Don't think about it. You're fine."
I continued my chant of soothing words until gradually, the panic receded and her heart returned to its normal rhythm. Bella swallowed hard and whispered, "I'm okay."
Just then, the door swung open and instinctively, I dropped my hands and straightened, moving away from the bed.
Alice entered the room and cocked an eyebrow at my presence. "Excuse me? Who are you?"
I stood up, clearing my throat. I chanced a glance at Bella and my eyebrows pulled together in confusion at the melancholy look in her eyes. She turned away from me, biting her lip and did not offer a response to Alice's question.
My heart plummeted as I realized that she hadn't told Alice about us and had no intention of doing anything of the sort now.
Us? There was no "us". The rational part of my mind reminded me and I was engulfed once again by sheer despair.
Alice cleared her throat loudly, drawing my attention back to her. Her arms were crossed across her chest as she looked at me, impatient and suspicious.
"I'm Dr. Edward Cullen. I'm a neurosurgeon at this hospital," I said, hoping that my voice did not reflect the emotional turmoil in my heart.
"Edward Cullen?" she said and I detected a hint of surprise in the tone of her voice when she stressed my first name. She gave me no time to think about it further as her eyes flickered to Bella for a second and then shot back to me before she continued. "A neurosurgeon? Is there something wrong? Dr. Whitlock didn't say anything about Bella having a head injury." Her genuine concern for Bella was plain in her voice.
"No, Bella, uh, Isabella does not have a head injury. Dr. Whitlock asked me to perform an exam just in case. You don't have to worry, it's just a precaution."
"Oh, okay." She didn't look entirely convinced and the knowing look in her eyes unnerved me. I looked away, grabbing Bella's chart and pretending to read it while Alice walked to the bed.
"Hi, honey. Thank God you're awake. How are you feeling? Do you remember what happened?"
"I'm fine," Bella whispered. "Um, Dr. Cullen told me what happened. I know I was getting back from Jake's and then… After that, I just remember being trapped and—"
Alice interrupted, sensing Bella's agitation. "Shhh, honey. Just relax. I'm so glad you're alright. When I got that phone call…" She shook her head and leaned down to hug Bella.
Who the hell was Jake?
"Don't worry now, Ali. I'll be good as new in no time," Bella said and they both smiled.
Alice sighed as she pulled away. "I have to go down for some paperwork. I just forgot my phone and I didn't want the ring to disturb you. Ah, here it is." She said, picking it up from the table. "I'll be right back, okay? You just rest."
Alice threw a look my way, which seemed almost appraising, before heading out.
I put the chart down and walked back to Bella's side, much less confident than I had been a few minutes ago.
She looked at me and there was wariness in her eyes that hadn't been there before. Probably thinking that she'd impulsively given me the wrong idea with the way she'd reacted before. She'd been scared, terrified even, on waking up in an unknown place and my familiar face must have been a comfort.
Or maybe, just maybe, she felt what I'd felt on seeing her after all this time… But then why would she appear sad?
I shook my head to clear those thoughts. I'd think about all of that later, when I was alone. I didn't have much time until Alice came back and I couldn't waste a second of the few precious minutes I had with Bella.
With that thought in mind, I voiced the first question that came to me. "What are you doing in New York, Bella? I never knew…" I trailed off.
She looked down for a second, seeming uncomfortable and hesitant. "I, uh, I go to college here. Pre-med in Columbia. I'd applied for a program where I won a scholarship."
"Pre-med in Ivy League? That's wonderful! Congratulations." I beamed. "I'm so proud of you. Charlie, your Nana…everyone would be extremely proud of you."
"Thank you." The corners of her mouth twitched but she didn't smile.
"I wish you'd told me that you'd planned to come here, Bella. I—"
"Why? What difference would that have made?" She snapped and I was taken aback by the sudden bitterness in her voice. "You would have done the exact same thing even if you knew I was going to live here in New York, right? And anyway, I hadn't known for sure which college I'd go to when I met you. I'd applied in several programs, but I hadn't done any shortlisting. If you don't remember, between the two of us, I wasn't the one who was keeping something from the other."
I suppressed the wince that threatened to break out at the sting of her sharp words. They were true words, though and I deserved every last bit of her anger for what I'd done.
I watched silently as her eyes squeezed shut and she took a deep breath. "Look, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have—"
"No, you have nothing to be sorry for, Bella. I-I hurt you, I know that, and I deserve this and much worse. I just… I just want a chance to talk to you," I pleaded. "I want to tell you how sorry I am. I know I was wrong, making the decision for you like that and this time, I promise you, I won't repeat my mistake. You decide, Bella. I'm just asking for a chance to apologize, that's all. If you never want to see me after that, I'll respect your choice and walk out of your life forever. A few minutes, that's all I want. Please."
She looked at me silently for what felt like a lifetime, her expression completely unreadable. I forced myself to meet her gaze, showing her, hopefully, that I was serious about this and I wasn't going to back down.
She released a huge breath before speaking. "Fine. We'll talk, but not right now. Alice will be back soon, and I don't want to rush this. I have a few things of my own to say to you."
"Of course. Whatever you want," I agreed immediately. "Thank you."
She looked like she was about to say something, but stopped when Alice came in.
"Still examining, Dr. Cullen?" she sassed and I frowned, wondering what it was about me that ticked her off.
"I'm done here. Everything looks fine, Bella."
"Thank you."
I nodded and left the room. I walked on to the Doctors' lounge and sat down on the couch, putting my head in my hands and groaned.
"Whoa! Trouble in paradise?" Emmett's familiar voice boomed. I looked up and saw him grinning at me with Jasper at his side. They came and sat on either side of me while I gripped my hair in frustration.
"She's mad at me."
"Yeah, no shit, Sherlock," Jasper drawled. "Nice little hole you've dug up for yourself. What the hell did you expect? You know, I don't understand this. You give us shit about treating women right and here you go—"
"Oh, come on, Jazz! He doesn't need a fucking lecture right now. All of that is done and dusted. You can't change the past, so now, focus on the present," Emmett defended me. "Edward, tell me honestly, what do you want? And you better be a hundred percent sure of your answer."
"Her. I want her. But more than that, I want her to be happy," I whispered fervently. "I want her to have what she wants. Always."
"You love her?"
I glared at him. "Yeah, I do."
"Then stop acting like a pussy. She's mad, well, she has a right to be. So, you work on it, but on her terms. First of all, talk to her. Apologize, explain the reasons behind your actions and then we'll go from there."
"I already asked her, Dr. Phil, and she's agreed to listen. But when she's alone, because her roommate doesn't know about me."
Emmett smiled. "Okay, that's a start."
"She's giving you a chance, man," Jazz chimed in. "That means she must have some feelings, yeah?"
Emmett looked at him in absolute surprise, to which he retorted, "What? Just because I don't want a relationship doesn't mean I don't know anything about women." He turned to me and clapped my shoulder. "We have your back, dude. Whatever you need. I've never seen you like this before, even with Irina. This Bella, she's the real deal, isn't she?"
"I never admitted to anyone, or even myself, but I've come to realize that she's… she's everything," I said.
They smiled and once again promised to help me in whatever I needed to do to get my girl.
"Alright, that's enough of the sappiness. Now, before we start braiding our hair or doing each other's nails, can we get out of here? I'm so fucking tired I feel like I could fall asleep standing." Em rose and stretched.
I frowned at him. "I'm not going anywhere."
"You've been up twenty four hours now. You're not gonna be of any use to Bella even if you're here," he pointed out.
"I don't need—"
"Edward, I'm on call tonight," Jasper said softly. "I'll take care of her. Go home, get some rest and come back tomorrow morning."
"I can't—"
He cut me off again. "I promise to call you if there's anything. C'mon, you're deadbeat and all this mental exhaustion is just going to make it worse. I'll check on her every hour, okay? Go home."
"Please, Jazz. Call me immediately if you need me," I begged.
"I will," he promised. With a defeated sigh, I let Emmett guide me towards the exit.
As we reached my car, he asked, "Will you be okay driving?"
"Yeah, I can manage."
"You're sure? I don't want to put you in the cot next to Bella. That would not help our purpose at all."
I smiled slightly and reassured him again that I'd be fine and we parted ways.
Once in my apartment, I barely had the energy to change out of my jeans and brush my teeth before I fell face down on the bed and all the while, my exhausted mind kept replaying the memories of Bella like a flip book, with the scenes from a year ago and from today blended together.
Despite the fatigue, my sleep was fitful with dreadful dreams plaguing my mind: images of Bella trapped under the debris of the accident, her hand reaching out in a silent plea for help, which went unanswered, terrified me to the point where I woke up with a gasp, my T-shirt soaked with sweat and my heart hammering in my chest.
I lay awake, panting for half an hour trying to calm myself after that, but eventually, I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep, hoping and praying that tomorrow, I'd make some headway in my intention of getting Bella to forgive me and hopefully, return my feelings.
A/N: Tell me what you're thinking in a review, won't you?
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See you next weekend!
~ForeverRobsessed