Twilight does not belong to me. I belong to it.
Thank you to DannoCH for her lovely beta work. Chapter 14 is close to being completed!
BIG thank you to the readers of this story and for sticking with me for 13 chapters now. I appreciate every one of you and jump for joy when I am left a review, or added to a favorite or watch list. You rock!
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Chapter Thirteen
Simple
Edward looked stunned for the flash of a second, but then his pale face wiped clean of any shock and he nodded contently. He unhooked my IV bag from its stand beside the bed and offered it to me to hold.
"I don't think I can make the stairs," I confessed. My legs were wobbly enough as it was and any attempt to climb two flights of stairs would be pushing it.
Edward responded immediately to this by scooping me swiftly into his arms.
"Better?" he asked.
It was better. Much better. His body was hard and familiar against mine and I molded to it perfectly, like two pieces of a puzzle finally fitting together.
He carried me up the stairs at a steady pace, my feet dangling at one end and my hair swinging loosely at the other. The hushed voices of Edward's family grew distant as we neared the top step. I imagined briefly what Emmett would have to say if he saw Edward bringing me to his room in such a fashion, and I quirked a smile in spite of myself.
He shouldered the bedroom door open, keen to keep both arms around me, and set me down on a chaise lounge chair that had been purchased specifically for me over the summer. I remembered it fondly. The last time I had sat here with Edward we had been together, kissing and touching each other's faces as we leaned into the soft white fabric. Of course, the chair had remained unchanged- a constant in my revolving universe- but the girl who sat here last seemed to no longer exist for me. It was as if she was still stuck in one place, rooted to the ground here in this room, and I could see all around.
"Okay," I said and turned my face away from the large window behind the chair. It faced the back of the house where I could see the radiant greenery and bright blue of the sky. "All I want to know is if Jacob is okay."
Edward hesitated. He ran a hand through his muss of hair and pulled his gaze from mine to concentrate on the landscape behind me, seeming as if he hadn't heard me at all.
I didn't take this as a good sign.
"Edward! Is he alive?"
Still, he wouldn't look at me but eventually nodded and said quietly, "He is alive, although badly injured."
"Who did it?" I snapped and Edward flinched from the cold in my voice.
"Emmett. But, Bella, he—"
"Emmett!" I screamed. I wanted to bound downstairs and beat Emmett mercilessly for his callousness! But I was stuck in this damn chair, digging my fingers into the medical plastic bag, hoping it would burst. Something here had to give.
"Bella," Edward said and knelt down to my level, "Please, keep calm. Your heart—"
"Yes, my heart! My heart hurts right now, if that's what you're worried about, and I think you know why."
The muscles in his jaw tightened. "I do," he gritted.
"How bad is it?" I asked, "Tell me. Don't lie either. I want to know."
Edward sighed and put a hand over his eyes. The urge to touch his hand with my own came suddenly and unexpectedly. I pressed the IV to my chest instead, holding it there with both hands and waited.
"He suffered multiple broken bones. There was a moment at the border when Emmett had to wrench Jacob off of me during the fight. Emmett did so a little too forcibly… and consequently cracked the majority of Jacob's upper half. His arms, his ribs, shoulder and collarbone…" he drifted off, letting his hand slip from over his eyes so he could see me.
Only I could no longer see him. My eyes seemed to glaze over, unable to register Edward in front of me. I just saw Jacob, in those woods, crushed and broken.
"It's not your fault." Edward whispered, reading the expression of tremendous guilt on my face. "He came in spastic. Jacob's thoughts and orders to his pack were to kill or be killed, Bella. The blame for his injury rests on him and myself. I knew he wanted a war and I gave him every reason to start one."
"What have I done to you?" I whispered, speaking not to Edward but the sight before me of Jacob's face contorted in agony.
Was this all because of me? Jacob had been so innocent once. He had loved me purely despite my flaws. I depended on his goodness to change me back into someone whole. What I didn't know was that my actions could change him. He wasn't my Jacob anymore. He was something else. Someone angry and violent…and shattered beyond recognition.
'We'll just have to see how badly he wants you. I want them dead. And I want to be the one to light the match.' I shuddered at the memory of Jacob's words.
"Is he going to be okay?" I asked Edward, "They heal fast. He told me it was some kind of wolf thing."
Edward leaned closer to me and I felt his cool breath as he spoke.
"Once Jacob was injured, the fighting ceased immediately. The wolves were alarmed by the rate at which Jacob's body was recovering. Apparently, it was accelerating at such a pace where his bones would fuse before being properly set. We all stood and watched Jacob- Emmett and I guilt-stricken and the wolves erratic. It was then that Carlisle arrived and, upon seeing the damage, attempted to aid in setting Jacob's bones. The pack refused to let Carlisle touch their alpha. Carlisle then asked for pardon of the treaty so that we could retrieve you and go back to our home." Edward shook his head. "Sam would not allow it. Jacob had then phased into his human form and was delirious from pain. They did not trust us to refrain from attacking while he was in such a vulnerable state. We were at an impasse, but then luckily, Carlisle answered Alice's third call. She had you in her arms but you were barely holding on to life. The three of us retreated back to our home immediately, leaving Jacob and the wolves to lick their wounds. I do not know what became of Jacob after that. He will live, no doubt, although I am sure he has a great amount of pain and rebreaking to endure."
I felt numb and yet could not prevent the scenes Edward described from playing over and over in front of my eyes. Even those he did not say. I could see it all now without further explanation. Edward and Emmett running to the border after hearing my future had disappeared, Sam and the others waiting for them there. Edward would have no doubt attempted negotiations and Sam, under Jacob's orders, would have denied entry. Had Edward read Sam's mind? Had he seen me with Jacob in Sam's memory, decided it was unsafe and crossed the border anyway? Or maybe Emmett was all too hungry for combat and stepped onto reservation land to provoke the wolves. It didn't matter who crossed first. Sam would not have fought to kill. That was Jacob. Jacob had wanted an end no matter what the cost.
"When Jacob was hurt," Edward added, "His thoughts were of you. Very loud and very clearly he thought of you and how you had spent your last moments together at his home."
This was it. Edward's gaze held mine and I searched desperately for any sign of disappointment or betrayal. He knew.
Oddly, I felt relief.
"You saw." I wasn't really asking, but confirming.
"Like I said, his thoughts were very loud."
"Edward…" I sighed but he surprised me by scooping my face in both of his hands and tilting my chin toward his.
"I don't care very much about that. I care only that you are safe." His fingers curled gently along the curve of my cheek.
"That wasn't the first time," I confided, feeling weight lift from my chest and the desire to disclose all that had transpired with Jake, "There was once before. And then today…I don't know…I mean, I do know…now...what it was…"
"Shh. You owe me no explanations."
"Yes," I nodded, "I owe explanations." Maybe not to Edward, I thought, but the one I wanted to tell was not here.
I felt a slight tremble in Edward's touch. It was coming from him. One quivering thumb swept across my lips.
"Bella, in the meadow, you went with him. Chose him. That alone was difficult to bear. I do not think I can listen to more."
"You don't understand."
"I understand," Edward said and withdrew his hands from my face and reached them behind his head. I watched as he tinkered with something at the nape of his neck before lowering his hands again and bringing them back to mine.
My necklace swung freely from his fingertips as he dropped it softly into my open hand.
"This is not mine. I should have never taken it."
I looked down at this piece of jewelry that had passed from Jacob's hands, to mine, to Edward's. The three of us felt linked now, our futures intertwined.
"I thought you needed it to keep my scent with you when I'm not around?"
He smiled crookedly. "I do not plan on being apart from you anymore, if that is alright with you."
There was a flutter of something familiar in my chest. I couldn't place it at first, but Edward's words awoke sensations I had not felt since before he left. I thought they would be impossible to find again.
Painstakingly, I placed the IV bag in my lap, then ducked my head and clasped the silver chain around my own neck. It was right to have it there, like carrying the three of us together with me always.
"Bella," Edward said as he slid next to me on the empty space on the chaise, "I would like to try something."
The sun began its slow decent into the horizon; the blue sky was now fading into purples and pinks and thin shadows stretched along the walls in Edward's open room. I shook the loose strands of hair from my face and turned toward him. The sun cast deep shadows along one side of his face, the last of the light sparkling faintly on his skin. He looked beautiful that way.
"What?" I asked.
"May I kiss you? Just once. I want to see how it will feel." He inched closer to me and swept a rogue strand of hair out of my eyes, tracing the shell of my ear as he pulled away. His skin left a tingling sensation on mine.
I swallowed, hoping that tingle would follow and stay buried deep where I couldn't feel it. It didn't. It seemed to spread down my neck and shoulders, fizzing like tiny bubbles on the surface of my body.
"You've kissed me a hundred times before." The answer was mechanical. My brain seemed unable to think at the moment.
"It's been awhile. I wonder if it will be the same."
The tingling swept down my stomach and through my legs, between them and down to my toes. My skin was alive with static electricity. I was almost trembling from it. I didn't know if I was going to be sick or…
"Ok," I whispered, my cheeks flaming and heart racing and static bubbles crackling and bursting on my skin.
Edward leaned closer; his smell was intoxicating. The cool stone of his cheek brushed along mine. I inhaled sharply, feeling like I might implode. Tiny bubbles popped and snapped everywhere, inside and outside and all of me. Slightly, he nudged my face to the side and pursed his lips against my cheek, kissing me there sweetly and pulling away with eyes watching mine.
For a second I thought I might keel over and faint right onto the floor.
"It is exactly the same for me," he whispered and stroked the length of my hair. I leaned in, wanting to taste him for myself. This didn't feel the same for me. It was so much more than that. It was blessed and perfect and I wanted more.
The space between us closed and I baited my breath, waiting to feel his lips press to mine. But it never came. Instead Edward withdrew, stood abruptly and marched over to the door. It took me one dazed moment to realize he wasn't beside me and I looked around to see him opening the door to Alice on the other side.
"Yes?" he said curtly, obviously agitated about being interrupted. If I wasn't in such a post-Edward stupor, perhaps I would be frustrated too. However my main concern now turned to the subsiding tingle of my skin.
Alice's voice rushed. "Charlie is on his way here. We've got five minutes."
Charlie. I checked back to the window—the sun was now just a tiny sliver along a dark landscape. It was evening already and I hadn't even thought of Charlie and my entire life outside of Edward and the war. Was it possible that just this morning I had been cooking eggs for Charlie and gone to school, only to disappear after my first class and abandon my truck in the parking lot? Someone at the school would have notified Chief Swan that his daughter went missing.
"Oh no!" I cried and stupidly sprang up from the chair, then immediately fell back down into it in a swoon of dizziness. I felt blindly for the medical tape at the bridge of my nose, and peeled it off slowly but feeling it hurt nevertheless. Then I tugged at the IV in my arm so that the thin needle slipped from my skin. That should do it. "Alice," I called and she came striding in, pink eye-patch and all, and helped me back up onto my feet.
"Alice, how do I look?" I asked hurriedly. She looked just about as stunned as Edward did that I would ask such a question. "I mean, do I look like I almost died today? Can you, I don't know, run a brush through my hair or something? Charlie can't see me looking half-dead."
Alice laughed. "Bella! Do you honestly think I would let you lay there in soaked clothes and ratty hair and unkempt nails? I took care of all of that while you were asleep." She patted my shoulders.
I gave a momentary glance at Edward's chagrined face before bracingly looking down at my own clothing. I hadn't even thought to notice what I was wearing. Sure, I had registered I was no longer cold and wet after my swim in freezing ocean water, but my appearance had definitely been the last thing on my mind…until now.
No one other than Alice could have deemed this outfit appropriate for post-attempted drowning attire. She had me dressed in a tight fitting purple dress that came up to just above my knees; it was sleeveless with a plunging v-neck and frilling ruffles along the collar. Definitely not a dress you would find in any store in the Northwest region …let alone my own closet. I checked my feet. Silver satin ballet slippers. And my nails—painted the exact shade of the dress.
"Alice," I groaned, "Charlie will know this isn't my clothing. He saw me this morning in pants and leather boots."
She shrugged and gathered my hair into a quick pony tail.
"There," she said, "Sleeping on the ringlets flattened them out anyway. Now you look more casual."
I groaned again, looking to Edward for support.
"There's no time to change," he said earnestly, "Charlie's cruiser just pulled into the driveway. Alice," he turned to his sister, "fetch a sweater or something to cover her."
Alice rolled her eyes. "A sweater will ruin the look! I know! I have a shrug that will go perfectly!" And she slinked out of the room.
"What's a shrug?" I asked and Edward chuckled.
The sound of knocking on the front door filled the house. Not knocking, but banging. Charlie must really be angry. The pounding ceased as I heard Carlisle's even voice invite my father into the house.
"WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER?" Charlie bellowed and his stomping footsteps echoed to where Edward and I stood. He was searching for me.
"Dad!" I called, "I'm coming." I went to take a first tentative step on my own and faltered. There was no way I could make the stairs…yet the thought of Charlie watching Edward carry me down turned my stomach. That might send him into cardiac arrest.
Edward unfolded his hand to me.
"Take it," he said, "We'll look just like two regular teenagers, holding hands because they like each other. Charlie won't know that I'm helping you walk."
I hesitated for a moment and then placed my hand in his. He folded his fingers around my palm and we walked slowly together to the stairs with our hands tightly clasped. His strong walk shouldered the brunt of my weight and, despite my slight lean, we did look as though we were any other teenage couple.
When we came upon Charlie at the bottom of the stairs, he was donning full police regalia with the radio at his shoulder blaring commands. He silenced it as soon as he saw me, then his eyes drifted down to my hand joined with Edward and the frown on his face deepened.
"I have half my precinct looking for you! Where have you been?" Charlie barked. He took a few steps forward and Edward instinctively pulled me closer to him.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Swan, this is my fault. Bella has been with me today."
"No! It's not his fault. Dad, I'm sorry I forgot to meet you at work after school."
"After school?" Charlie asked, taken aback, "That ain't the half of it! You went missing. No one knew where you were. We questioned students. The last person to see you, Jessica Stanely, said the two of you had spoken beside the woods. We searched the area and found your textbooks scattered without a trace of you. Do you know how scared I was? I called everyone: your mother; Jacob. Then I get a call from Dr. Cullen and find out you're out here reuniting with this one!" He shot a scowl at Edward. "What are you doing?"
"Dad, please. I'm sorry. I just—" I scanned the room, hoping to pull out a reasonable excuse from something. At last my eyes fell on Carlisle and he came to my rescue.
He stepped forward and put a hand to Charlie's arm. Charlie flinched a bit at Carlisle's touch and the doctor withdrew his hand. "Chief Swan, I apologize for not calling sooner to inform you that Bella was here. My family returned to town quite suddenly and my son was anxious to see her. I allowed them to be here under my watch but should have consulted with you first."
His lie was so simple and glib that Charlie needed a few seconds to react. He couldn't unleash his outrage on Dr. Cullen so he settled for turning on me.
"Get in the car, Bella; we'll continue this at home."
I went to follow but Edward tightened his hold on me, forcibly enough that Charlie took notice.
"You," Charlie started, pointing his finger at Edward, "need to take your hands off my daughter."
"Edward," Carlisle warned and Edward's hand dropped from mine. The two exchanged a brief look before Carlisle turned back to my father, smiling warmly.
"Why don't you and Bella stay for dinner? Esme will be home soon; she will be delighted to see the both of you again."
What was that about? I gave Carlisle a questioning look but he dismissed it, shaking his head infinitesimally and then smiling back to my father.
Charlie cleared his throat. "That's nice of you, but I just want to get my daughter home."
Again, Edward overreacted, positioning himself in front of me to act as some kind of barrier between myself and the front door.
"Would it be alright if I came along with you?" Edward asked politely.
Charlie snorted, ready to refuse when Edward changed directions, immediately following with "Or Alice? She has missed Bella as well and would love to spend time with her."
As if on cue, Alice came prancing down the stairs, holding some silver fabric in her hands and nodding reverently. "Oh yes I would love that! Would that be okay with you Charlie?"
Alice had always been Charlie's weak spot. I watched his resolve waver and perhaps she could have charmed him over if his attention didn't stray to the pink patch covering her eye.
"What happened to you?" he gaped.
She tossed her hair. "Oh, just a scratch. Dad is over precautious though. You understand." She beamed at him while she wrapped the fabric over my shoulders—it was the shrug. "Charlie, can Bella and I have a sleepover? I'll run upstairs and get my things. Won't take more than a minute!"
Charlie grumbled, taking his hands in and out of his pockets.
"No, Alice, I'm sorry. Bella is being punished. No visitors. Bella, come on, let's go home. Dr. Cullen, thank you for letting me know she was okay." He nodded a curt goodbye to Carlisle and then titled his head toward the door-my cue to follow.
Alice, Carlisle and Edward exchanged nervous stares, no one speaking or moving to allow Charlie and me to leave. It was then that Edward's hands closed around my waist, holding me to him.
At first, I thought we shared the same fear. Walking alone without aid was near impossible for me at the moment and Charlie would surely notice I had been hurt. But then, as I noted the darkening sky through the windows and the sinister quiet surrounding the house, I realized why he and his family were trying every possibility to stay by my side.
Laurent. He was still out there. Alice had only wounded him. He would recover and eventually come to claim me as his mate. I couldn't just go home with Charlie and leave us open for attack. We could be killed the instant we walked out this door.
I stood there wide-eyed and frozen. Again, Carlisle stepped forward and held his arm out to mine.
"Let me walk you to the car. Charlie, please wait for us."
Charlie spun around, eyeing the doctor's extended arm. "Why?"
Carlisle raised his eyebrows in mock surprise. "To be polite."
"Oh. Alright." He paused, setting his hands on his hips, and waited.
I broke from Edward's hold, took two wavering steps and slipped my arm through Carlisle's. Charlie huffed impatiently by the door as I turned back to wave goodbye. I noticed that all along Jasper had been perched atop a side table in the adjourning room while Emmett sat grinning on the nearest couch. I wanted to wipe that grin off of his face, but Carlisle was already escorting me out the front door.
"Wait!" Edward called and ran to where Carlisle and I were standing. His hand found the nape of my neck and he pulled me to him, kissing me firmly on the lips. Charlie coughed deliberately this time but I ignored it. I closed my eyes and tasted Edward before he pulled away. His lips found my ear and whispered "I'll be close". Then he turned and walked the other way without looking back.
I stumbled on my next step.
The three of us made our way to the cruiser in awkward silence. I depended entirely on Carlisle to make it down the porch steps but luckily Charlie was ahead of us and was unable to see the shape I was in. A few cars were parked haphazardly on the blacktop: the black Mercedes that belonged to Carlisle, a yellow porche that I assumed was part of Alice's grand theft auto, and Emmett's gargantuan Jeep. When we came upon the truck, I came to a dead stop, glaring at the glossy finish and the way it gleamed in the dwindling sunlight.
"Excuse me, Carlisle?" I asked, "Could you hand me that rock over there?"
Thankfully, he didn't ask me why I would want such a thing, but simply bent down and extracted a large rock from the edge of the lawn. He placed it in my open hand. I felt its weight, juggling it lighting in my hand. This would do. Bracingly, I let go of Carlisle's arm, lunged awkwardly to the truck and slammed the rock into the hood not once, not twice but twenty times.
"Bella!" Charlie shouted, "What are you doing!"
I let out a scream and scraped the rock down the side of the hood, leaving a trail of scratched paint behind.
There.
"Carlisle," I panted and he took my arm in his. I made a point to twist and look back at the house. They were all standing there, everyone except Edward, Jasper was laughing and hitting Emmett on the back while Emmett stood there with his mouth ajar looking utterly dumbfounded I could cause so much damage.
"For Jacob," I mouthed and turned back to the cruiser as Carlisle helped me inside.
Charlie waited until I was securely in the passenger seat with the belt on before pulling out of the Cullen driveway, then once we were on the road he continued his interrogation.
"What the hell really happened? Tell me the truth this time, Bells."
I opened my mouth to explain when a bang pelted the roof of the car. Charlie barely noticed the sound but I knew it was Edward, riding atop of the cruiser to protect us.
"Okay, okay….I'll tell you." I racked my brain…what would even sound remotely plausible? Edward came to school and tossed my books in the woods and carried me back to his house? I ran to his house after my fight with Jessica? Jessica confessed her love for Edward and I left school too distraught to finish the day and found Edward waiting for me at home with flowers saying he loved me? It all sounded like deceit.
Renee had once told me that the truth is simple. 'Keep it simple stupid' was one of her favorite sayings. The more detail and reasoning you add to a lie, the less believable it becomes. So I took a deep breath and hoped that my mother was right.
"I went to school and Edward was there waiting for me. We went back to his house to hang out with his family and I forgot about the time. That's all."
I waited for Charlie to call me out for lying, but instead he let out a deep sigh and shook his head.
"Why are you doing this to yourself again? Don't you remember how he treated you? He left and you never seemed right again after that. I thought you'd know better than to go running back whenever he wants."
Truth is simple, I thought.
"He loves me, Dad."
"What about Jacob?" He countered and I cringed. Jacob was always there, looming on the sidelines of my life. A question waiting to be answered.
"He and I are over," I stated plainly, "It's that simple."
Of course, I knew better than to believe my own words. Another bang from the roof confirmed that Edward knew the same. Nothing was ever simple when it came to us.
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