A/N- I did many happy-dances with the reviews. You are all so nice and I had no idea this would get such a good responce. Yesterday was my birthday, so I couldn't get up a chapter then. Sorry. But, you get one now so that's okay, right? Thanks to my new ninja beta, VioletWilson, my writing will be a ton better now.

Chapter Two – Trouble

"Trouble" by Coldplay

Beep…Beep…Beep…Beep…Beep…Beep…

I blinked my eyes open.

After adjusting to the bright light, I looked around me. The beeping noise was coming from a heart rate monitor next to me. The too-white walls, the smell of medicine, and the noises around me all indicated that I was in the hospital. Next to my bed was a metal pole with a plastic bag hanging from it. I dared to look down at my arm, and sure enough, an IV was stuck into it. I had the urge to rip it out, but guessed that would only hurt worse, so I just looked away. To the other side of my bed, Edward Cullen and a handsome doctor were talking near the doorway. I was shocked that Edward had stayed. He had been the one to get me out of the bathroom, wasn't he?

The doctor seemed to notice that I had woken up, and eyed me through a pair of disarming blue eyes. He hushed Edward and pushed him aside to walk over to my bed.

"Hello, Isabella." he greeted me in a cool voice.

"It's Bella," I responded quickly.

"Sorry, Bella." he amended, "How do you feel?"

I thought about it for a moment. There were a million answers. Stupid, unsuccessful, crappy, suicidal, grateful, worried, confused, guilty, tired, etc. I settled on one, "Groggy."

"Well, you took an awful lot of pills," he said, then remembered why I had taken the pills. "Bella, can I talk to you about… what happened?"

"I guess."

"Edward, please leave," he said, not even looking away from me. I heard the door close. The doctor sat down in the chair next to my bed and pulled a clipboard from the end of the bed. "I'm Dr. Carlisle Cullen. I need to know everything you remember from yesterday and why you did it. Please, don't edit anything for my sake or to get you out of trouble. I need to know everything."

I took a deep breath. I knew this was coming with my failure. Tears clouded my eyes again. I closed my eyes, allowing the tears to fall in trails down my cheeks. I had to tell someone. I began, "Everything wasn't the way it was supposed to be. High school was going to be perfect. I had a popular boyfriend, and for the first time, not only did I have friends, a lot of friends, but I was popular. But, after a year and a half of high school, I realized that I still wasn't happy. I only cared about what I was supposed to do, not what I wanted to do. I didn't care that I wanted to spend Saturday night reading, I was supposed to be out partying with Mike and drinking until I was sick. Everything I did took so much extra thought about what other people would think about my every action. I couldn't take it any longer.

"I started stealing a sleeping pill or two from Charlie's prescription every now and then. I stored them in a plastic bag under my desk. I knew my plan the moment I realized what was going on to me. I wasn't me anymore; I was Bella Swan, Mike's girlfriend, the most popular girl in school. I was gone, and the girl I swore I'd never be took my place. I kept up my charade to make sure no one tried to stop my plan from working. After a year, I was ready. I couldn't take this life any longer and this was the only way I knew how to fix it. So, after school I snuck into the girls' bathroom and started taking pills. I heard someone scream for Edward and for someone to call nine-one-one. After that I only remember cold arms and someone trying to tell me it would be all right and sirens," I finished. Tears were now pouring out of my eyes, my entire body shaking with sobs.

I heard Dr. Cullen gasp quietly, and leave the room, probably not wanting to deal with the waterworks. The door opened again, but I didn't bother looking up to see who it was. I felt a cool hand on my shoulder, rubbing soothing circles.

"Shh, it's okay, it's all over," he soothed, the same velvety voice from before.

I looked up. "E-Edward?" I asked.

"Yes," he answered, his green eyes sparkling with care, "I'm here. Don't cry anymore."

"Why are you here?" I wondered out loud.

"When I saw you yesterday," he told me, a pained look crossing his face, "as they were loading you into the ambulance, it was scary. People were panicking everywhere, trying to get the whole story. Other cops had to hold your dad back, he was trying to jump in the ambulance too. And you were on the stretcher looking so…dead. I knew you weren't- I'd checked you for a pulse, but you were pale as death. I still had the note you'd written in my fist a good ten minutes later. That's when I really understood what was going on. And for some reason, I really cared what happened to you. Crazy, I know."

Before either of us could say anything else, Mike Newton stormed into the room. His face was red, his eyes burning with fury. I tried to sink into the mattress, attempting to hide from him. Edward's posture changed into something more protective.

"HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO ME?!" he screamed.

"I'm s-sorry," I whimpered.

"Sorry?" he yelled, "You just tried to kill yourself, Bella! I'm your boyfriend, how do you think that makes me look? People are saying that you did this because of me! Is that what you wanted, for people to think I was the bad guy, Bella?"

I tried to speak, but found my mouth too dry. I wanted to tell Mike that he wasn't the reason I'd tried to kill myself. I wanted to tell him that I didn't love him, but that didn't mean that I hated him. That I never meant for anything that people were saying.

"I mean, come on, Bella. Why did you even kill yourself in the first place? Emo, depressed people who hate themselves kill themselves. You had friends, you had me, you were popular," he continued to rant.

I did have friends, I did have him, I was popular, but I was depressed, I did hate myself.

"Stop," Edward said firmly.

"Who the hell are you?" Mike yelled, turning on Edward.

"Edward Cullen, I was the one that saved Bella while you were off cheating on her." he said, strangely clam.

"I wasn't cheating on her," he lied. We both knew that I knew that he'd been seeing Jessica and Lauren behind my back.

"Liar." Edward stated, "Leave before I call the doctor to make you."

Mike opened his mouth to make a retort, but instead turned to me. "We're over." he yelled, before turning and leaving the room.

Edward turned to me, his face full of the concern that Mike lacked, "Are you okay?"

"I think so…" I replied.

"I'm sorry about him." he told me.

"It's okay. I kind of expected it," I yawned.

"You're tired, I better go." he said, standing up.

"Alright, bye." I said, "And… thank you so much. For saving me, for standing up to Mike like that, and for staying with me. Will you come back?"

"You're welcome. If you want me to, I'll come back as much as you want."

"I do." I yawned again, my eyes fluttering.

"The I'll see you later." he smiled a crooked smile that had me dazzled. Then, very slowly, he leaned down and stroked the side of my face so lightly I wondered if he thought he was going to break me. I could only tell he touched me by the goose bumps that rose on my arms. "Sleep, Bella." And, with that, he left.

My eyes closed almost immediately and I soon drifted off to sleep. Dreams of Edward Cullen flooded my mind.

I remained in the hospital for three more days. Only a few visitors were allowed in. Charlie saw me twice a day, the first time he completely broke down into sobs. Edward was almost always at my side, aside from school hours or when Charlie was with me. He would stay until late at night and drop in to say good morning on his way to school even though the hospital was no where near school.

I begged the doctors and Charlie to not even tell Renee about all of this. I knew she would have a heart attack. Besides, I was better and there was no need to get her worried for nothing.

My days were fairly boring. Edward's visits were the highlights to my rather unexciting existence. Dr. Cullen must have realized what was going on before I had, and he would leave the room when Edward was with me, only coming back when necessary.

Edward and I would talk about anything and everything. He seemed to know something about any subject I brought up. We would start talking, and the outside world made no difference to us. We were in our own little world.

We would completely lose track of time, only breaking the surface back into reality when Dr. Cullen would come and tell Edward to leave or when I began getting tired and Edward would insist he had to leave. To say we became fast friends was an understatement.

After begging Dr. Cullen not to send me to rehab, I was finally able to be sent home. I wasn't able go to school for another week, but I was allowed to go home. I could have danced when I got into the cruiser and headed home. It didn't even bother me how much slower traffic was in the cruiser than in my truck.

Lying in bed that night, on the edge of sleep, I couldn't get Edward out of my mind. He had been so nice to me, when we were still pretty much strangers. But, I felt like I knew him so well after the past three days, maybe we did know each other a little. I didn't know how I was going to survive this week without Edward, he seemed so constant in my recovery.

Even though I had failed at suicide, I was glad about it. If I had killed myself when I wanted to, I would have never met Edward and we wouldn't have been able to get to know each other. But, I was also glad I had tried, because that was mostly why I knew Edward now. I was out of my relationship with Mike, I was pretty sure I was out of the popular crowd, and I had Edward.

I felt like the winner of this situation, though it had all started with my failure at death.