Chapter Two The Simple matter of Things

(Carlisle's POV)

It had been an easy day. All my patients were taken care of, and just as I was about to do some paper work in my office, my pager went off.

I quickly took off to the emergency room, where the paramedics were rushing a young girl in place.

"What happened?" I asked, snapping my gloves on. The girl had brown hair, she was extremely pale, and her wrists were a bloody mess. Blood was pouring from her.

"Suicide attempt. Her father found her in the bathroom. Isabella Swan." The female paramedic rattled off before leaving, letting me do my job.

"Get her on an I.V. drip and help me with stitching her wrists up." I said, my hands already assessing the damage. She really did some damage. She cut through so many layers of skin that I could see the muscle around her bones. She'd need internal stitches, and a lot of them.

It took a while, but when we finally had her stabilized we moved her to the I.C.U. And I went to talk to her father.

When I got to the waiting room Charlie Swan was pacing the length of the room, but when he saw me he stopped and rushed to me.

"Dr. Cullen! Is my girl ok?" He asked anxiously.

"Mr. Swan, you daughter is stable now. She has pretty nasty cuts on her forearms and wrists. We've stitched her up and placed her on an I.V. drip. It was hard to find a good vein, so we had to put it in her chest. She's in the I.C.U. right now. She's very lucky to be alive.

"We're going to keep her for a few days." I said professionally. I could see and hear when he released his breath.

"Can I see her?"

"If you'd like, but she's not awake yet." I showed him to his daughter. When he saw her he froze before rushing to her side. He took her bandaged hand into his own and kneeled. I could smell the tears before I saw them. I quietly left.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

Later that night when I was doing rounds, there was a man… no a boy standing next to Isabella's bed. I had to keep my disgust to myself when I smelled him. It was a smell I hadn't smelled in a long time. Wolf.

When I had walked in the boys head snapped to me. His eyes were on fire and he looked at me. He was no more than sixteen years old, but he looked to be around twenty.

"Can I help you?" I asked after the initial shock wore off.

"No. You can't help me." He spat. He was young, no control.

"I was just wondering what you're doing here… visiting hours are over." I said unfazed by his anger.

"…" He was silent for a minute. He looked back to Isabella. "What- what happened to her?" He asked, his voice only a whisper. All anger was gone from his voice.

"I can't just give that information out to anyone. Who are you to Ms. Swan?"

"I'm her… her boyfriend." He hesitated. I raised an eyebrow. I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.

"She tried to kill herself. Slicing her wrists. She has a hundred and fifteen stitches. I debated giving her staples. Her father has no clue why she'd do this to herself." I said reluctantly. The started to shake. His hands were fists, and his dark skin was turning slightly white, from the pressure.

"Don't lose control. Exposure." I warned. "Please leave." I said, rushing to my patient's side, not willing for her to get hurt any further.

The boy looked once more to the girl, one fleeting look and ran out.

The next couple of days she had many more visitors, but the wolf never came back. On the third day she finally awoke.

I was checking her vitals when she opened her eyes.

"Where am I?" She asked groggily. Her voice was rough. She cleared it. She squinted at the lights.

"You're at the hospital, in Forks, Washington. I'm Dr. Cullen, how are you feeling?"

Realization etched itself on her face. Her eyes watered up and tears spilled out. She moved one of her hands to cover her eyes. Her shoulders shook. I let her cry, letting her get it all out. Only when she stopped sobbing did I speak.

"Why are you crying?" I asked softly.

"Because I failed." She said, miserable.

"Failed at?" I pushed. I already knew the answer.

"At killing myself." She looked at her bandaged arms. "But how? I'd lost so much blood." She shook her head in disbelief.

"Your father had found you. And yes, you did lose a lot of blood. We had to perform a couple of transfusions." I let her process this before speaking again. "You have one hundred and fifteen stitches. Not counting the internal ones." She looked to me… and laughed.

"So I did do damage?" She asked, tears of laughter pouring from her eyes.

"Yes, but it's nothing to be proud of. You did serious damage. Your father has already planned your transfer to a special hospital. Somewhere that you can get better physiological care. You'll be an inpatient there for three months… more if need be." She stopped laughing and looked at me. There was no fear or concern on her face, but there was something I couldn't place…

"Good. I need help." She said seriously. "I need to get away from Forks. I-I-I'm-" She started to cry. I finally recognized what her emotions were.

Hurt. Betrayal… and anger.

"Someone came to visit you, a couple of days ago. I didn't get his name, but he said he's your boyfriend." I said, trying to calm her down.

It didn't calm her, but it snapped her out of her daze.

"What did he look like?" She asked anxiously.

"He had short black hair, bronze skin, really tall…" A werewolf… I trailed off… leaving off the wolf part though. I was pretty sure she didn't know.

"Jacob." She said sorrowfully.

"Is he your boyfriend?" I asked, now concerned. I had told him her condition.

"He was." She started to cry again. "He broke up with me. That's why I… well you know." She nodded to her arms.

"Maybe I should get the psychologist in here. I'm not qualified to talk to you like this."

"No. Can you just get my father for me?" She asked, still crying.

"Of course, he's already on his way." I left her, letting her be alone.

~Bella's POV~

Just before Charlie got to the hospital they moved me to recovery. When he came into my room he paused when he saw me.

"Bella." Relief flooded his face and his shoulders relaxed. He came to my side and gingerly took my hand. "How do you feel?" He asked. I smiled softly, sadly.

"I feel good, dad." I hated to lie to him, but it was needed. He took it like a pill, and believed me.

"That's great honey, but I'm not sure you're ready to come home just yet. I'm sending you to Seattle. There is a really great in-patient program. I really think it can help you, Bella."

"But dad! I feel so much better now! I won't try anything like that ever again!" Another lie. Now that I knew that Jacob visited me, I felt a little spark of hope in my heart. Maybe he still loved me. I had to stick around and find out.

"I know you feel better, honey, now, but what about tomorrow?" He said, more strict this time around. "You're going Bella. It's what's best for you right now." His tone was final. I didn't question him again.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~THREE MONTHS~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

After being in the program for three months… I felt better. It might have had something to do with all the medication I was on. Anti-depressants. Ah. What a wonderful thing. They kept my head above water when I really was down. Of course the therapy helped. I realized through the group therapy and the one-on-one therapy that I didn't need Jacob to make me… well me. I didn't need a man to make me whole.

I still loved him to no extent, that's something nothing can change, and if he asked me to be with him again, I'd say yes without hesitation. But he hasn't been to see me, and Charlie won't talk to me about him.

To him, Jacob was the lowest thing on the planet. Far worse than any killer known. He swore that if Jacob tried to contact me in anyway, he'd hunt him down and kill him. I didn't blame Charlie for thinking this… I just couldn't.

Because… in some ways Jacob is the worst thing that happened to me, but that one bad thing, that one horrible event is overshadowing all the good things.

Though I knew I didn't need to depend on him, I still felt like it was my fault for him leaving. I wasn't good enough for him. I asked too much of him.

I couldn't tell anyone about these feelings. If I did I'd be stuck here for longer. If I just kept this one little thing inside, I'd be able to leave… I am leaving.

"Bella. This is our last meeting, but I want you to know that I'll be there for you if you need me. All you have to do is call me." The therapist, Dr. Monroe, told me in her soft, relaxing voice.

"Ok. I'll call you if I need you."

"Good, good. All your belongings are packed, I presume?"

"Yup! I packed last night." I smiled, is was a little forced, but it was real… kinda. I was glad to get out of here, but a little afraid to go back.

"Great. Well, I personally called your father and told him to be here around one." She paused to look at the clock on the wall. "So he should be here soon." We both stood up. "Good luck, Bella." She hugged me gently before I left.

"Thank you, so much." I said sincerely. I went back to my room and got my two bags. Then, I waited at the front entrance for my father.

He pulled up at 1:07. He hugged me before grabbing my bags and putting them in the trunk of the cruiser.

About halfway home he talked.

"So, Bells, you ready for school?"

"Um… yeah. I'm a little behind but I think I can catch up."

"Mhm." He nodded. "I'm sure you can." We didn't talk again until we got home. He dropped my bags off in my room, and while he was leaving down the stairs he broke the news to me. "Oh, Bells, you start school tomorrow." I sighed softly. This wasn't helping with my nerves of being home.

That night I had a nightmare. Sparkling people and giant wolves. I didn't see faces or hear anything, all I noticed was that the people and the wolves were fighting. And that I was afraid for them.