Sorry it took so long to update, I had to work ALL weekend. Enjoy, and keep reviewing please :)
"How're you feeling?" Edward's voice sang quietly in my ear. It was early afternoon, and I was huddled under several blankets, my head still on Edward's lap. I hadn't moved since I first laid down –with the exception of throwing up twice more into the white plastic garbage can, which Esme (ignoring my protests) promptly emptied immediately after –and at this point, I highly doubt I could get up. My head throbbed, keeping time with the waves of nausea that rippled through my body, making it ache even worse. But instead of worrying Edward anymore, I shrugged; not a lie, yet not a cause for concern.
"Really, Bella." He said, his annoyance peeking through his smooth façade, "How are we supposed to take care of you if you won't give me a straight answer?"
He smiled, though I could see the worry in his eyes. I cleared my throat, ignoring the searing pain but hoping to make my voice sound better.
"I feel like crap," I rasped, my voice barely above a whisper. Edward sighed and started massaging my shoulders gently. I closed my eyes and tried to relax, feeling him slowly work through the knots that had accumulated since the day before. It felt good on my aching muscles.
"I hate feeling so powerless," he murmured, possibly talking to himself, "I wish there was something I could do to make you feel better."
Lacking the energy to reply, I melted into his cool hands. He hummed my lullaby, singing quietly under his breath. I dozed lightly, watching the colors of his voice swirl around me once more.
I wasn't sure if I had fallen completely asleep or not, but the next thing I knew the front door was slamming shut. My eyes snapped open, startled.
"Good afternoon, everyone!" Alice sang, dancing into the room. She carried two plastic grocery bags, her eyes sparkling.
"How're you feeling?" she asked, stopping next to me. I stared into her beautiful white face, and opened my mouth to reply, but was silenced by Edward's hand.
"You barely can speak as it is, Bella, don't push it." He said, but his voice was sweet. I bit my lip, looking from him to Alice.
"She's sick, Alice," Edward said, sounding slightly irritated, "She doesn't feel well."
Alice rolled her eyes, setting the bags on the floor.
"Which is why I brought these," she said, starting to pull items out of the bags: Campbell's soup, saltine crackers, Kleenex, a small pink teddy bear, an ice-pack, several different bottles medicines and two boxes of cherry popsicles. I stared at her with wide eyes.
"It's our first time nursing a human back to health," she proclaimed proudly, "So I wanted to be prepared!"
I tried to suppress the faint feeling of panic within my chest. I hadn't thought about how the "younger" Cullens would react to me being sick. It hadn't even crossed my mind how Alice, who used me daily as her dress-up dolly, would react.
"Alice," Edward chuckled, massaging my shoulders again, "Bella's exhausted enough, please go easy on her."
I looked up at him, trying to convey how grateful I was with my eyes as Alice's laugh rang throughout the room. Shaking her head, she leaned down and began arranging her purchases. She handed me the pink teddy bear, flashing her brilliant smile. I took it and mouthed 'Thank you', holding it under my arm.
"Something to help you feel better," she said, reading the back of the medicine bottles, "And I've got cough syrup, decongestant, allergy medicine…"
"Carlisle's already given Bella something," Edward said, "But these will be good when she starts feeling better and has to take medicine in front of Charlie."
Alice nodded, opening up the box of popsicles.
"I know you're cold," she said, ripping the sticky white paper off of one, "But these will feel good on your throat."
I smiled, hoping she'd understand it as a thank you, and took it. The cherry flavoring was a like a shock to my system, but in a good way. And Alice was right, the iciness felt amazing on my raw throat.
"A cherry flavored popsicle to match the life-sized one," she said, gesturing to Edward. He laughed with her, their laughs tinkling like bells.
"That's an interesting way to put it," he commented, stroking my hair. Alice smiled, arranging everything neatly on the table next to the couch.
"I'll leave all this here for you," she said, "So when you get hungry, just have Edward holler and we'll take care of it."
"Thanks," I whispered, smiling. Alice nodded before dancing out of the room with the boxes of treats under her arm. Edward started humming again, watching me eat my popsicle. Halfway through, I shivered and the popsicle disappeared from my hand. I opened my mouth in shock as Edward tossed it into the clean garbage can.
"I don't want you to get chilled," he explained. I pouted, sticking my lower lip –which I'm sure was bright red by now—out in protest. He smiled, kissing my forehead.
"Shouldn't Alice be at school?" I whispered after several minutes of silence. Edward smirked.
"She and Jasper are going hunting later," he said, rolling his eyes, "They would've left this morning, but she wanted to take care of you."
I smiley slowly –my eyes closed again—but didn't respond. Poor Jasper, having to wait to go hunting because of me. That explained why I hadn't seen him yet this morning; probably avoiding me. I just had to complicate things all the time, didn't I?
The TV turned on again, settling back on the Discovery Channel, though I didn't bother opening my eyes. Edward began humming my lullaby again, lightly massaging my temples.
Good? Bad? Ugly?
(I hope this better explains the title of the story. I got the stomach flu really bad a few months ago, and my boyfriend came over to take care of me while my mom was at work, and he gave me Flavor Ice's to help my sore throat, thus the inspiration. That was the reason for the title, though at the time I didn't know how to work it in yet. Hopefully it doesn't seem too forced :/ )