(7) Voice

Bella, you need to wake up, Right Now! The lovely voice in my head begged. Even in my delirious state I would recognize that voice anywhere. It was "his" voice. I trembled from fright apparently I was losing my mind. Bella. The beautiful voice called my name again and I shivered with a mixture of delight and bewilderment. I started to see blackness overcoming me and the voice sighed with a heavenly whisper. Stay awake, for me? The soothing voice murmured. That wasn't fair, I would do anything for that voice. I was lost in the darkness. Bella, be strong and overcome this. The smooth velvet voice ordered and began fading away. I wrestled my way back to reality eager to see him.

I began to blink my eyes rapidly but my vision was still blurry. I squinted my eyes demanding them to focus and my heart sank. I waited minutes for the return of the voice to hear him in my thoughts. I was uncertain of how much time passed but I knew with each passing second that I wouldn't hear from that voice. Miserably, I looked in confusion at the cab wondering how I got in my truck? I clutched the dashboard for support and saw the difference immediately.

I was not in my truck. Understanding set in this was Billy's truck. I turned my head to the left and saw a glossy head of black hair leaning against the steering wheel. I struggled to undo my seatbelt. I scrambled so fast my movements were not able to grasp the button to release the safety latch. I felt my index finger connect to the button and the buckle flung from the latch.

I gently tapped Jacob on the shoulder. "Jacob?" I leaned closer to try to hear his breathing. His body was frighteningly still. "Jacob? Please can you hear me?" I pressed a little harder against his shoulder. He didn't move. I didn't want to move his head in case he had injured his neck. I didn't want to think about paralysis the word sent a cold chill down my spine.

I looked around the cab of the truck. I didn't bring my cell phone and I doubted Jacob had one on him. I looked at the pocket of his jeans. I didn't want to dig around the pocket in case he did wake up and wondered what the heck I was doing. I bit my lip and thought for a moment. The rain was still falling in heavy sheets pelting against the window. I couldn't leave the truck to get help. I would have to wait.

I heard a small groan. I moved closer to Jacob and winced from my back pain. I stopped for a second and controlled my breathing. "Jacob?" I called sucking in my breath.

Jacob groaned again and I gently moved his arm to the side away from his face. I tried to push him back against the seat but he was too heavy. I gave him a gentle nudge but his body was dead weight. I used my foot and with the heel kicked him in the leg. He stirred in his seat.

He brought his hands back and slowly leaned back from the steering wheel. I exhaled in relief until I saw the cut above his eye. Blood was trailing down his face in jagged maroon lines to his neck. I tried to control my gag reflex. He brought his hands to his face and moaned again.

"Jacob? Can you hear me?" I pressed him to answer me. I looked around for something I could use to tie around his cut. I opened his glove compartment and all he had was a dirty rag thrown on top of the manual. I got the rag carefully folding it on a cleaner side and pressed it against his cut.

"Jacob? JACOB?" I yelled right in his ear. It probably wasn't the smartest thing to do but I wanted to make sure he could hear me. He stirred and opened his eyes. He looked at the top of the truck and then focused his eyes on me. His pupils were tiny and dazed.

"What happened?" He murmured. He reached up and touched his face. He drew his hand back and saw the blood smeared all over them. He sat up more alert and touched his face again. He brought the same hand up with blood trailing down his palm.

"You crashed into a tree. You're bleeding. Do you have a cell phone?" I blurted before he slipped into unconsciousness. He was still staring at his palm dumbfounded. "Jacob, Cell Phone?" I asked my voice shrilly.

"No, I don't have my cell with me." Jacob brought the visor down and opened the compact mirror. He wiped some blood from his face with the rag. He folded the rag into a smaller piece and pressed it against his forehead.

"How do you feel?" I asked feeling immense pain. Now that Jacob was okay I could focus on my excruciating pain.

"I'm alright. I feel a little light-headed. Man, that car came out of nowhere. Jeez, Bella I'm sorry I almost killed us."

"Let's just worry about getting out of here." I knew the car was not drive-able. It was slanted at an odd angle with the trunk of the tree smashed into the fender. The leaves were falling steadily around the car and the rain turned into a light drizzle.

"I'm gonna check it out." Jacob moved his hand to the handle.

"Wait." I cried. "Are you sure you're okay?"

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, it's just a cut." He opened the driver's side and stepped out. I watched Jacob walk to the front of the truck and examine the damage. He had a grim expression on his face, which could only mean the truck was not going anywhere. He walked back and slid into the driver's seat.

"It's bad. I don't think I can fix it."

"Can anyone see us from the highway?"

"I didn't check. Probably if we had road flares or something. I don't think Billy has any in here. He wasn't exactly up-to-date on safety." Jacob rested his hand on the steering wheel. He arm had a bruise that was beginning to swell with a blue shadow around the edge.

I folded my arms across my chest. I was trying hard to think of a solution for getting out of this mess. I couldn't concentrate. I could not determine how I was able to hear his voice so clear and definite in my head. It puzzled me confusing my train of thought.

"Earth to Bella." Jacob was waving a hand in front of my face. I looked up guiltily from my digression.

"Sorry." I mumbled feeling like a complete weirdo for believing that he would actually be talking to me. He didn't want me that was the surest thing I knew.

"I'm going to see if I can walk back to La Push." Jacob mumbled and I saw him hesitate.

"By yourself?" I asked haughtily.

"Yeah, you're in no position to walk. Honestly I think you would slow me down. Don't worry I don't think it would take me more than an hour to get back or if I can track down a car or phone maybe sooner." Jacob offered shrugging his shoulders. He was already putting on his light windbreaker. His movements were a little off taking extra long to pull his arm through the sleeve. He was in no position to walk alone.

"Wait a sec, what about me?"

"You stay here. Like I said, I'll only be an hour." Jacob looked at me with his eyes set on going forward. Nothing I could say would change his mind.

"You can't leave me here." I attempted one last reason and Jacob put the keys back in the ignition. He turned sideways and faced me. I saw the fatigue settled around his eyes making small circles under his lower eyelashes. His cut was bleeding through the rag making it heavy with blood.

"Don't you want your medicine?" Jacob offered and frowned at me.

"Well, yeah I do." I accidentally tightened the muscle in my back and intense pain shot up my spine. I quickly brought my arm to my mouth and muffled the scream.

"I'll come back. I promise." Jacob vowed and gave me a parting look. He left the cab pulling the hood of the windbreaker over his head. I watched him trudge up the hill disappearing behind a brush of plants. I looked up and rolled my window down about an inch. It was getting warm in the cab. I rolled down the window and the chilly air crept in. I put my head back to rest on the reclining back. I tightened my jacket around me and waited for Jacob to return.