A/N: I would just like to let all of my readers know that this story GENTLE TOUCHES is the very same as author ANIMAL8. As I adopted it from her earlier on this year, most of the chapters that ANIMAL8 had already created are being posted the same as I do not want to ruin the amazing work she has worked so hard on. I will be setting up a link to ANIMAL8 page so it will be accessible to new and old readers. I do hope that I can do this story as much justice as ANIMAL8 and I do hope that you enjoy the old and new chapters of GENTLE TOUCHES.

Disclaimer: I Own Nothing Twilight

Gentle Touches

Chapter 17 – Poor Hope (EPOV)

Hot water ran down my back, washing away the dirt that had accumulated on my skin. I was in my new room which had been sadly neglected since I spent so much of my time with the girl. After she had fallen asleep, I stayed with her, watching her with fascination until I left when the sun set.

I couldn't help but be drawn to her. Everything about her captured my attention from her silent mind to her beautiful face or her deep, brown eyes. She occupied every thought, no matter how small and no matter how hard I tried to push them away. My angel had become the center of my personal universe as well as my artistic muse. It was a rather odd feeling—the feeling of someone taking over my every thought—yet I was not in any way displeased with the found knowledge that I had some how altered my entire existence around my mystery angel. I did not even know how or even when it had happened...it just did.

I closed my eyes and sighed. The girl had finally eaten something and Carlisle was hopeful that this was a step forward to her getting better. I was pleased and relieved to hear that, but I also knew that there was still a long while to go before she was fully recovered.

The water turned colder so my hand reached out and I shut it off, wrapping myself in a towel and quickly grabbing my clothes. Once I had dried and pulled on my pants, I walked out into my room carrying my shirt in my hand.

Alice was waiting for me on my bed and I was surprised enough that I dropped my shirt to the floor. Scowling at her, I bent to pick it up. I realised that yet again, I had been so distracted with my thoughts of the girl that I had failed to take notice of my surroundings.

My sister was muffling her snigger when I looked up, making my frown grow deeper. "I see that happening a lot," she shrugged airily, not quite able to smother her smirk.

I nearly groaned, guessing from Alice's statement that the girl would be taking up a lot more of my thoughts in the future, despite my efforts to keep my mind from her. Shaking it off with a grimace, I pulled the shirt over my head and ran a hand through my hair. I raised an eyebrow questioningly at her, wondering what she was doing in my room in the first place.

She hesitated, eyeballing me cautiously. I couldn't even hear from her thoughts what was bothering her. "I'm worried, Edward," she mumbled quietly, eyes lowering to the ground. Instantly, I began to panic, wondering what could possibly be wrong, and thinking she had seen something about the girl.

"What, Alice?" I choked out, trying to control my sudden panicked thoughts.

She didn't answer, just staring at me sadly. But I didn't have time to shout at her, demanding an answer before I heard exactly what she had seen. I froze, listening in on the girl in the other room as she vomited again.

I yanked my door open and raced down the hall without thinking to wait for Alice. When I reached the girl's room, I barged in with much less care than I would usually give her, the door slamming open with a bang.

As soon as I entered, I saw her. She was lying on the far edge of the bed with her back to me, the top half of her body was leaning over the side and she was shaking as she dry heaved violently.

I blurred as I ran to her, for once not caring about acting human around her. The only thought I had was that I had to get to her, I had to help her. In one, swift movement I was on the bed beside her, holding her hair away from her face with one hand while rubbing her back with the other.

Soft tremors ran through her as she continued to heave a few times. Her right hand clenched so tightly onto the side of the mattress that her tendons were turning white from the strain as she supported her awkward position. I whispered quiet comforts to her, but I didn't know if she heard them in her current condition.

When she was done she collapsed, exhausted, onto the bed with her breathing erratic and her body shaking. She lay on her side with her back facing to me.

"It's okay, it's okay," I murmured calmingly in her ear. I brushed my fingers across her sweaty forehead, the pasty, pallid colour of her skin making me worry. Her eyes closed as she breathed evenly. I rested my cold hand on her head, hoping it would help in a way and she let out a small sigh to my satisfaction.

Alice came in then with a bucket and scrub brush in her hands. I smiled at her gratefully and she placed a damp cloth in my hand. I brought the cloth to the angel's face and used it to gently wipe her mouth and face clean.

Her eyes opened halfway as Alice started cleaning up the mess on the carpet, but the brown of them was glazed and unseeing. Carefully, I pried her fingers loose from her tight hold on the bedding and squeezed her hand softly before releasing it.

I moved my arm around her waist and carefully pulled her back towards the centre of the bed. She didn't even blink or complain as I moved her, and it was so uncharacteristic of her that I glanced to my sister out of concern. Her body was cooler as well, still burning against my skin, but not as hot as usual.

"Angel," I spoke quietly, trying to get her to focus on me. Getting no response from her, I positioned my hands gingerly on her shoulder and turned her over. She stiffened slightly, but made no noise as I rolled her to face me. Her eyes were tormented and she looked worn down, like she was ready to give up and still she gazed blankly ahead of her, seeing something else entirely.

Fearfully, I clutched her in my arms, shaking her firmly. "Angel," I beseeched, staring fixedly into her unfocused eyes. She blinked once and looked at me, some of the brightness returning to her eyes, though she still looked very sad. I sighed in relief and stroked her face lightly.

"You're okay," I told her, holding her close to my chest. She sighed softly and snuggled closer to me. It felt so good to hold her like this, with her warm body pressed against mine, warming me.

She fit perfectly in my arms and her head rested in the crook of my neck so I could feel her delicate breaths blowing across the exposed skin there. I took a deep breath, inhaling her glorious scent as I regulated my own breathing to hers naturally. My hand was on her back, rhythmically smoothing down her hair as I listened to her breaths whoosh steadily in and out of her lungs. Her warmth surrounded me and it felt magnificent. It was the most peaceful I'd felt in a long time.

You love her, Alice thought. My eyes widened at the sudden thought, but I immediately denied it. I couldn't deny that I felt something towards her, but it wasn't love. It couldn't be loved. There was some attachment, a growing bond between us, yes, but never that. My being in love with her wasn't in her best interest. Stop being stubborn, Edward, she insisted.

I growled at her, annoyed at her persistence. The girl in my arms tensed, instantaneously calming me as I remembered her presence. I started humming her lullaby to her, still trailing my hand up and down her back, tracing the sharp ridges of her spine.

She was awake, but lay limp and quiet as I held her. I was mildly surprised that she was allowing me to be so close to her, but took as partly her growing trust in me and partly the fact that she was currently exhausted. Whatever the reason, I was glad to have this moment with her.

Alice left the room, taking heed of my message and removing the bucket with her, her task now complete. With her gone, I turned my attention back to the angel, gently moving the hair out of her face so I could see her clearly.

"Are you okay now, Angel?" I asked in a whisper, tucking some hair behind her ear. She blinked sleepily and then nodded. I gave her a comforting smile and glanced out the window, noticing how late it was and that no wonder she was so tired. "Go to sleep," I instructed, gazing back down at her, "You'll be fine now."

She fixed her eyes on me for a minute before allowing them to close and she fell asleep instantly. I stared into her peaceful face, stroking the soft skin of her cheek, across her damp brow and down the bridge of her nose. I had thought she would be getting better, but now I worried about what this set back would cost her. At least the colour had returned to her previously pale features, but even that was not even to allay all of my fears.

Carefully, I extricated myself from beneath her, resting her head delicately onto the pillow. As a last thought, I covered her with the blue blanket, touching her arm lightly as I silently wished her to sleep well. She didn't stir once as I silently left the room.

I found Carlisle easily by following the direction of his thoughts. He was in the medical room, double checking the supplies as he did from time to time. I knocked and waited politely, though on the inside my thoughts were being thrown around with more force than a storm.

Come in, Edward, he thought to me, beckoning me in. "What did you wish to see me about?" Carlisle asked, looking up at me from the shelf he was standing at and checking.

I shifted nervously as I tried to find a way to put my worries into words. "I'm worried about the girl," I confessed, frowning at the thought, "She was sick earlier, pretty badly as well."

His gaze turned sympathetic. "I know that you care about her, Edward, but she's been through something traumatic. And with any patient who has been kept malnourished, it will take her body a while to get used to having food again." He stared at me for minute before continuing. "To be honest, it was kind of to be expected, Edward. Next time, we'll just have to give her a smaller portion until she gets used to it and maybe try something drier that would stay down better.

"For now, I would normally suggest giving her water, but in her case I doubt she'll take it. We'll just have to be careful and keep an eye on her to ensure she doesn't become too dehydrated," he said, smiling sadly.

I sighed, but understood what he was saying. I had been through medical school myself and I knew the process of feeding malnourished patients so that they slowly gained weight and were able to eat bigger and bigger portions. If it hadn't before then it definitely hit home now just how much the girl had going against her. Just the thought of how much she would have to go through before she was healed, both physically and emotionally, made my heart tug.

"Thank you, Carlisle," I said. He nodded to me. My thoughts were put at ease for now, knowing that nothing was terribly wrong with my angel, but I was still anxious for her.

I exited the room without another word, leaving him to do his work in peace. It was too late to go to the girl's room now and I didn't want to disturb her. She really needed her rest, especially after all of that exertion before.

So I went downstairs instead, preparing to spend some time with my siblings. I had been so wrapped up with thoughts of the girl and spending my time with her that I was beginning to feel that I was neglecting my family, though I was certain they would understand. They knew how much I cared for the angel already, even if they couldn't explain it. Hell, I could barely explain it myself!

And most of them were accepting of it as well, with the small exception of Jasper and Rosalie, both of whom were still wary about getting close to a human. But even Rosalie's cold heart had warmed slightly to the girl. I was confident that they wouldn't interfere. At least while there was no threat. It would undoubtedly be a different situation if the Volturi were to become involved.

Only Emmett, Jasper and Rosalie were in the living room when I walked in. Jasper was eyeing the front door anxiously and Emmett and Rosalie were too immersed in each other to acknowledge my presence.

"Where's Alice?" I asked, catching only fragments of Jasper's worried thoughts. He was remembering her leaving, saying she was going for a walk. In his mind, he noted that she had looked troubled.

Jasper glanced up at me and shrugged. "She didn't say anything other than that she needed some space and was going for a run," he explained miserably, "I don't know what was wrong, but she was feeling very frustrated and worried."

I nodded thoughtfully. I judged from her thoughts that she was most likely frustrated because, in her terms, of 'my stubbornness to admit that I was in love with the girl'. I wished that she would just understand and leave it be. I didn't love her, and I wouldn't allow myself to get close enough to her to do so. But even as I thought that, I knew that it would be difficult to distance myself if I was trying to help her. As it was I was nearly always near her anyway.

Emmett had stopped making out with Rosalie long enough to ask a question. "How is the girl? We heard earlier, you know, when she was..." He didn't complete his sentence, but I knew what he was talking about.

"She's asleep again now," I sighed, "She couldn't keep what little food we fed her down." Emmett snorted and looked at me as if to say 'obviously'. I shot him a glare, daring him to say it aloud. He wisely kept silent. "Carlisle said it's not unusual considering her emaciated state. He thinks we should try her on smaller portions of a different type of food."

"Will that help?" Rosalie asked worriedly. I looked at her for a minute, surprised that she was expressing concern for a girl she didn't even want to have around, before I answered.

"I don't know," I said honestly, "I really, really hope so, but I just don't know."

A/N: I make no promises as to when I post new chapters…but I will do my best to make them as closed together as possible. Please remember to review as more reviews will get a faster posting of the next chapter.