Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or anything you read that is familiar.
Rated: T.
Author: The Nervous Rambler.
Summary: AU. A/B E/J Em/R. 'Why won't you let me help you, Bella' 'Because you can't help me unless you believe me'
BELLA
Surprisingly enough, the pain wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Even more surprisingly, I hadn't completely lost my mind and started freaking out, all traumatized and whatnot. But that made sense; I never was one for freaking out, getting all worked up and stuff. I was usually the one who kept their cool and stayed calm. Well, numb. Okay, fine…buzzed. But buzzed and calm are pretty much the same thing when you think about it, really.
A bright light in my eyes brought my out of my thoughts and I fought, trying to close my lids. And then I realized, exactly, why that was proving to be such a difficult task.
Some butt-hole was trying to hold them open, shining a tiny little flash light in them, yelling at me to follow the light.
Slowly, but surely, the rest of my senses started returning to me. I could hear the sirens wailing all around me, people yelling at one another, or maybe to one another - it was hard to tell, my mind didn't seem to want to focus on much at the moment. I could smell smoke and something burning but I couldn't make out what it was, along with a metallic, rusty sort of smell that mingled in with whatever taste was left in my mouth. It was not pleasant, and I could feel my face scrunch up in disgust. But more than that, I could feel a sort of stabbing, burning in my shoulder.
Again, there was that man holding his hand in my face. "How many fingers, miss?"
"Her name is Bella. Bella, can you hear me?" A frantic, distraught voice called. Wait a minute… I recognized that voice…
The man blocked my sight, looking over his shoulder with a frustrated face. "Miss, for the last time, I need you to stand back and give the girl some space. Please let Molly check you for injuries." He turned back to look at me, his mustache reminding me of Charlie kind of. "How many fingers, Bella?"
"Worst luck…" The words gurgled out of my mouth. "Cars… I've got the worst luck….with cars… third time…"
"-loading her in the back; she's delirious." He sighed to a red-haired woman who rushed up.
She smiled feebly down at me, nervously glancing at the man and lowered her voice, though not enough for me to not hear. "I don't think the boy will make it; he's barely hanging on."
Boy? What boy…? Hanging onto what?
A strangled gasp left my mouth, my eyes widening.
Ben! The crash… and Ben! It was so hard to focus, it felt like every time a thought had just popped into my head, it was gone again.
Before I realized what I was doing, I was sitting up on the stretcher, pushing the man away as I tried to get down. I had to find Ben and make sure he was okay. The man grunted, trying to, gently, force me back onto the stretcher. "Miss, you need to lay down. Mi - Bella, stop fighting me. Lay down."
"Just lay back." The woman said, helping the man. Her hands, though wearing latex gloves, having been a paramedic, I gathered, were covered in blood, and that did not help ease my worries in the slightest.
If anything, it made me struggle harder.
Which resulted in an explosion of pain in my shoulder. I cried out, my uninjured arm raising up so I could hold my shoulder. "Son of a bi-"
"Lay back and try not to move." The man said, buckling a belt over my stomach to restrain me to the stretcher. "This is for your own safety, so you don't hurt yourself."
"No, my friend… my… he's hurt… Ben!" I yelled, leaning up. My good arm was grabbed and held down to the side of the stretcher, the woman with the bloody hands buckling another, smaller buckle around it, pinning it to the stretcher. "Stop - what are you - Ben! Ben, can you hear me? Ben!" More buckles, over my left arm and chest, under my right arm and injured shoulder as to not hurt it, strapping my chest down to the stretcher as they loaded me into the ambulance. "Stop… he…"
"Stop struggling, honey. Let them work."
"You!" I gasped again, shaking my head side to side as the man struggled to put that clear mask over my mouth and nose. "I'm not sick!"
"You're not sick, honey, no. But you're pretty banged up. Close your eyes and rest some."
"But Ben!" I replied. "He - whoa…" My eyelids drooped, the energy seemingly sucked right out of me. "You did…something…"
"This will help you relax." The man said, making sure the mask thing was secure.
That was about when I passed out the first time.
XXxxXXxxXX
"-vital signs are failing!"
"Pass me the clamp - Nancy, hold this for me - suction this area!"
My eyes cracked open, everything fuzzy and bleary. I could scarcely make out lights spaced out in the ceiling, but that was about it. I was… running down a hall?
Wait… no… the stretcher…
Someone was running me down the hall?
My head lolled to the side, my eyes making out the blurry silhouette of someone lying on a stretcher next to me. Only, there was a lot of red. Like, a lot, a lot. It made me queasy and I closed my eyes, breathing through my mouth.
A wave of exhaustion crashed through me, my stomach churning as I started fading again.
"Carlisle - we're losing her again!"
"How is this possible? I thought you said her injuries were minor!" A smooth, gently voice barked out.
The voices sounded like they were coming from way down a tunnel, getting farther and farther away.
"-boy is coming around, vital signs are rising."
Voices so quiet and muffled, almost completely blocked out by the whispering. Whispering. So much whispering. It was giving me a headache.
"Clear!"
A choked cry escaped me as I cringed and my eyes flew open. That hurt!
"Take him to the ER and take her to a private room. Call doctor Brige in."
Oh it hurt. Hurt bad. Everything hurt, it ached in time with my pulse. My head felt like it was going to split open, my shoulder still burning.
The pain was too intense and I felt myself drooping again, on the verge of passing out.
XXxxXXxxXX
This was a little too familiar.
White ceiling, white walls, white floors, a single window.
It was starting to freak me out.
Immediately I looked down to my wrist, checking for the plastic band that held all my information. I sighed in relief when I was met with just my bare wrist, closing my eyes with a small smile.
For a second I thought that I had made everything up; Forks, living with my dad, Alice, everything.
"What were you checking for?"
"Augh!" I screamed, nearly jumping out of the bed in fright. A low beeping somewhere to my side turned loud and erratic, making me glance over at the machine for a second before turning back to Alice's concerned golden eyes. Her hair wasn't in its usual stilled chaos, more just dishevelled, like she had ran her hands through it too many times. Instead of designer clothing like normal, she was in a pair of scrubs and a sweater, something her dad probably gave her to wear instead of the hospital dress that I, unfortunately, was in. Her golden eyes were darker than normal, more of a burning amber, with dark purple circles forming under her eyes.
She looked very…frazzled.
It brought a small, amused smile to my lips that seemed to lift some of whatever weight she was carrying on her shoulders.
Alice raised a dark eyebrow curiously. "So?"
"Um… so what?"
"What were you checking for?" She asked, shaking her head with her own smile, albeit a feeble one.
"Oh!" I said, glancing back down to my wrist and shook my head. "Nothing… I just… I spent two years waking up in a white room like this every morning, I thought…well… it doesn't matter." I muttered, blushing and avoided eye contact. Clearing my throat, I took another look around the room again, confusion colouring my face at all the machines hooked up to me. "So… you want to tell me what the hell I'm doing in a hospital yet again?" I asked casually.
Alice's small smile fell from her face. "You don't… you don't remember?" My brows furrowed at her words. Remember what? Alice's face matched mine before she pulled her sleeve back, revealing a cast on her wrist and hand. "The accident?"
I gasped, leaning forward to stare at the cast. "What happened? Are you hurt? Bad? Is it - is it bad? Do you - I - broken wrist?"
Alice didn't answer any of my questions, her only reaction was to look almost… guilty? She hesitantly pointed to me, well, to my right, and I followed her finger with my eyes. "We went out four days ago; you, me, Angela, and… Ben. Remember? And on the car ride back, there was an accident. There was a truck and… no one saw until it was too late… I didn't see - I don't know how I didn't see… I'm so sorry, Bella. I'm so sorry."
My mind stopped following what she was saying after the word accident, my eyes wide and my mind numb as I looked down at my arm in the sling. Images flashed before my eyes; Alice smiling warmly at me in the back seat, laughing and lightly slapping my thigh as we joked. Angela and Ben holding hands in the front. The movie. Dinner. The rain.
I winced, closing my eyes and shook my head at the images after that.
Bright lights. Screaming. Metal colliding with metal. Blood.
"Is Ben okay?" I rasped out, having lost my voice. Or maybe my ability to speak the words of the question I didn't want answered. What if the answer was no?
Alice shifted, I could see from my peripherals. "My dad worked on him for twelve hours, Bella. He did the best he could. Ben is… he's alright, but…"
"But what?" I snapped, glaring at the pixie who hung her head. I regretted it instantly.
"He's not conscious right now. He hasn't been since the crash. Surprisingly enough there wasn't a lot broken. A few ribs and fingers. There was a lot of bruising and cuts though. A shard of metal pierced his chest and he almost…" She paused when I paled. "But he made it. Carlisle doesn't really know how. A lot of… weird things happened that night."
"Weird things?" I asked, running my good hand through my hair. "Weird how?"
Alice bit her lip, looking deep in thought. "Ben should have… he shouldn't have lived from that. The ambulance took too long to get there, what with the rain, he should have…died, long before they got there." She struggled to tell me. "And you-" She stepped closer to the bed, her hand raised out to me before stopping herself, dropping her hand. Her eyes seemed even darker now and she took a deep breath. "You kept flatlining. One minute you're there and Ben wasn't, and the next he is and you're not. I don't understand." She murmured. "You should have been awake and fine to go home later that night, but you've been unconscious for four days."
"Four days!" My jaw fell open.
She nodded. "Everyone's been so worried about you. Your mom flew in and hasn't left the hospital since, your dad took a week off work and has been stopping by whenever he isn't tracking down who the owner of the truck was. There was no licence plate and he ran minutes after the accident. I was trying not to move you and couldn't run after him, the bastard."
A low rumble came from her chest and I shook my head, wondering if I was hearing things. "I… wait, my mom's here?" I asked.
Alice didn't have time to respond before the door was nearly ripped off its hinges and a distraught Renee flew into the room and onto the hospital bed with me, gathering my in her arms. I braced myself, waiting for the pain in my shoulder, and was surprised when there was none. Renee was making sure not to touch it as she held my close. "Bella, you're awake! Oh, my little Bella. I was so scared! You wouldn't wake up and they didn't know why - why would you scare your mother like that? Oh I'm so glad you're okay!" She wailed into my hair and I grimaced. Tears in the hair was kind of gross. I mean, it was a touching moment so I wouldn't say anything or shove her off or anything, but still. Yuk.
Blushing, I tried to look around the crazed woman, trying to see if Alice was watching my mother maul me with love. The pixie was in the corner of the room, seemingly holding back her giggles, and I blushed harder. I could literally feel the cool points peeling off me and flying away. And those, so few, suckers were hard enough to get the first time. "Um, mom? You're kind of choking me." I mumbled, relieved when she pulled back enough so she wasn't completely in my personal bubble. "And I'm okay, really. Just, uh, just my shoulder."
"And a few cuts and bruises, though nothing that won't heel up in a week or so." She said, holding the sides of my face and looking me over.
Good gravy, the woman was smother me. If she were anyone but my mom, I'm pretty sure I would have popped them in the face by now.
Too much touching!
I like me some space, man.
Space. Man.
Spaceman.
"Spaceman?" My mother repeated and my eyes widened. Did she just read my mind? "What are you talking about?"
"That would be the drugs kicking in, I believe." Carlisle said as he entered the room, checking over his chart. He smiled warmly at me as he approached the bed, checking over the machines and IV. "Glad to see that you are awake, my dear."
"We've seriously gotta stop meeting like this, doc." I huffed, looking up at him.
His smile widened. "I agree with you there, Bella."
"So, how am I looking? Good to go, or what?" I asked, peeking over to look at the charts that made absolutely no sense to me.
Carlisle nodded his head, looking to Alice who gave a swift nod. "Yes, I'll just have to run one more little test and then you can head home. If you're feeling up to it; I'll send in your father and Angela; they've been waiting since Renee rushed in here." I shrugged and nodded and he smiled once more, moving back to the door. He placed his hand on Alice's shoulder. "Why don't we clear out and give them some room."
Alice hesitated for a second, looking back over to me with pursed lips. She opened her mouth, like she was going to say something, but changed her mind and nodded, following her father out of the room.
Moments later the door opened again and a stressed out Charlie walked through the door. His hair was messed, there were dark bags under his eyes, and I could already smell the coffee on him from across the room. His fingers shook slightly when he approached the bed, and I would have commented on it, had I not been staring at the cast on Angela's leg. She didn't seem nearly as worried or distracted about it though, instead relief filling her eyes as she looked at me. "You're okay!" She sighed.
"Yeah, I'm g-…" Well, I wasn't good. I was just in a freaking car accident, and apparently dying. Again. Honestly, my life was so damn repetitive. "I'm okay." I agreed, nodding. "What about you? Your leg, is it broken?"
She nodded with a frown. "Yes, but considering everything, I'm real lucky. So is Alice. The car hit yours and… and Ben's side." She murmured, her eyes getting watery. She shook her head, setting crutches against the bed and grabbed my hand, giving it a squeeze. "I'm so glad Alice grabbed you and pulled you to our side. I couldn't handle it if you and Ben were both… I just… I'm so glad you're okay."
Alice gasped, her clouded over eyes clearing up and growing wide with terror. "Bella!" She screamed.
The front end of the car whipped around with the explosion of metal and crunching and sound, and I flew into my door hard.
Ben… Ben was slumped against his own door too, not moving.
Everything felt like slow motion as I reached out, reaching for Ben. My vision blurred and I slumped, listening to Ben cry out in pain.
Cold arms wrapped around me, secure and gentle at the same time. And then I was in a stone lap, watching as Alice turned her back to my previous side of the car, blocking it from me as there was another sound of explosion, glass raining over us.
Shivering, I shook the images from my head again.
Alice had saved my life. If I was on the other side a second longer, I would have ended up like Ben.
But… the glass… the metal…everything…
Both myself and Angela has scrapes and bruises everywhere. Everywhere. Yet, Alice only seemed to have the broken wrist.
How was that possible?
XXxxXXxxXX
Again, it has been quite a while. Sorry about that; I just couldn't figure out how to follow the crash for the longest time. And then I started writing Blood Smiles.
I'd also just like to point out that the Cullens are vampires. I know I had AH in the description for the longest time because I'm a friggin' air head.
So review and stuff, that'd be great, and, you know, have a good weekend.
The Nervous Rambler