Oh shit. My eyes widened as I looked at the door where Mrs. Cullen stood with who I assumed was her husband, as they were holding hands. She looked between her children before looking at Rosalie and I; a small frown formed on her lips as she looked at me. I sighed softly; I didn't need her thinking I was more of a delinquent than she already did. I let Alice's hand go gently as she got up and stood facing her parents with her eyes glued to the floor.
All of the eyes in the room snapped towards Dr. Cullen, he must have said something but I missed it. He approached me and took my chart from the foot of the bed. He turned his back to me as he thumbed through it. Mrs. Cullen must have been speaking now because Emmett and Rosalie kept looking between her and the floor. I felt sudden frustration; it was suddenly like I wasn't even in the room. If they were being yelled at, I should be yelled at right alongside them.
I allowed the conversations to continue about a minute longer before I attempted to clear my throat which led to quite a disgusting cough. Dr. Cullen was the first to turn around, his eyes were narrowed. I thought at first he was angry I had so rudely interrupted but he was soon at my side looking concerned.
"Jasper, how are you feeling?" I watched as he spoke to me, out of the corner of my eye I could see Mrs. Cullen signing what he was saying out of courtesy.
"Um, okay I guess" I lied, sort of lied at least. I wasn't feeling terrible, I just felt like I had a chest cold. Dr. Cullen raised one eyebrow clearing seeing through my bullshit. "My chest is a little…" another cough, unintentional this time, interrupted me. He leaned me forward gently; the motion itself caused me to groan once my cough subsided. "A little tight" I finished and closed my eyes before I started to lean back against the bed but I was met with resistance.
I felt a warm hand gently shake my foot; I opened my eyes seeing Mrs. Cullen. Stay forward, he wants to listen to your breathing. My breathing huh? I was clearly doing it right since I was still, you know, alive.I attempted to nod finding it difficult with the neck brace so I simply threw up a thumbs up. I stared down at my blanketed legs while he poked and prodded for a minute before letting me lay back down, I looked up at him finding his frustrated expression a bit disconcerting.
I looked around the room realizing just then that only Mrs. Cullen and Rosalie were left. My heart felt like it hit the floor, Alice was gone. My face must have fallen along with my heart because Rosalie took my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. I watched as Dr. Cullen scribbled something in my chart before he gave me a congenial smile and walked out. Mrs. Cullen gave a slight wave bringing my attention to her instantly. I need to go have a word with my children. If you need anything, she emphasized anything by signing it twice, have Rosalie come find me.
"Will do" I waited until she left the room before turning to Rosalie. "We're in deep right?" She laughed at my question and added to my frustration. What is so funny?
You aren't going to be in any trouble okay? You need to stop worrying about it, worry about getting better. If she had been speaking to me I'm sure there would have been a wagging finger accompanying her scolding. I sighed, defeated.
"Were they yelling at you at first?"
No, Dr. and Mrs. Cullen just wanted to know what had happened. Will you just rest now? She scooted her chair right next to my bed and sat down. We sat in silence for a few moments while I stared at the ceiling. I felt Rosalie shift in her seat; her fingers were soon in my hair. Damn it, she was playing dirty. She knew how much that made me relax, our mom used to do it to get me to go to bed. I attempted to focus on the foam tiles but each blink I took seemed to last longer than the one before.