The story deals with adult subject matter and occasional description of explicit sexual abuse. Not meant for underage readers. Read at your own peril. And oh, Twilight belongs to SM. This is just a fanfiction.
Beautiful Sorrow
End of Chapter 2:
Carlisle wouldn't like it. It was important to him that they showed a flawlessly shining, united front to the outside world. He loathed being the fodder of gossip. She didn't want to aggravate her husband, and that's exactly what she would be doing if she blabbered about their complicated relationship to an outsider. The thought of her husband made her heart heavy with regret. It had been a very long time since she'd really, consciously thought about him. He had been her warden, her tormentor for so long that it surprised her to think that it hadn't always been that way. That there was a time when she worshipped the ground he walked on and he looked at her with loving, benevolent indulgence.
She nestled into the sunniest corner of the room and thought back to the day when she first saw him.
Chapter 3
Bella was sitting in her 9th grade English class, secretly swapping notes with her best friend Alice, on the day her life changed forever.
She was fifteen, and the biggest problem in her universe at the moment was whether or not Vanessa – or Vampessa, as she was currently being called behind her back – would go to the principal to rat her out for tripping her up in the hallway. Under normal circumstances, Bella wasn't a violent girl. But she saw no recourse but to kick Vanessa's knees from behind, causing the girl to buckle and fall face-first on to the floor, when she caught her tormenting Alice on her way to class that day.
Bella wasn't the school pariah by any means. Coming from a working class family in a working class zip code, she blended in perfectly with the rest of the student population. Her best friend Alice, however, did not. She had a tendency to rub people the wrong way though she meant well. That, combined with her almost 4'10" stature, made her a prime choice for anyone on campus with an ounce of bully in them to pick on her if the occasion presented itself.
On this particular day, Vanessa, the tallest member of the school's cheerleading team, found the perfect opportunity to poke fun at Alice, by making full use of her superior height to hold up a book that Alice couldn't do without. Some of Vanessa's cronies were standing around, enjoying the spectacle, when Bella stumbled upon the scene.
She was incensed by the inaction of the spectators and wasted no time in jumping right into rescuing her vertically challenged friend. As they were walking away victorious, after sending Vanessa sprawling to the floor, they heard her making threats to go to the principal to lodge a complaint. At that time, Bella goaded her to do just that. Now that she'd had some time to calm down, she was realizing that her bravado was quite ill-conceived and ill-timed. Her parents would be furious if they were summoned to the principal's office for such an infraction on Bella's part. Her father, Charlie Swan, was a security guard whose work schedule was rigid to say the least. Her mother, Renee, worked at the post office part-time. For her, any unplanned absence translated to income loss. She would really be in for it if Vanessa carried through with her threat.
Alice was trying to ease her mind by writing encouraging notes, detailing what a wuss Vanessa really was, that there's no way she would go to the principal. Even if she did, Alice would rightfully seek revenge by blabbing about seeing her cheat on the math test. The cheating part wasn't strictly true, but Alice would do it for the sake of justice; especially when it was her best friend who'd been wronged by that 'bitch'.
However comforting it was to know that she could count on Alice to have her back, it didn't really help her with the predicament she was in right now. Paying barely any attention to what their teacher was saying, she kept looking at the clock between swapping notes, planning on bolting the moment the bell rang and hiding out for the rest of the school day in the library. A problem avoided is a problem averted, being her motto.
There was only ten minutes left on the clock when she finally started feeling hopeful that maybe she had dodged the bullet after all. As she was just about to turn her full attention to the reading material before her, the door opened and the school's guidance counselor, Mr. Berty, walked in. Bella's heart dropped to the bottom of her stomach. She knew instantly that Mr. Berty had come for her. Surely enough, after he'd exchanged a few words with the teacher, he called out her name, asking her to accompany him to the principal's office.
Alice gave her an encouraging smile, but that did little to lift her spirit. With slumped shoulders, Bella gathered her books and followed Mr. Berty. When she reached the principal's office, she was asked to take a seat. She sat down with her face downcast, waiting for the berating to begin.
Principal Hodge surprised her however, by speaking to her in a very tender voice, "Miss Swan, I have some difficult news for you, I'm afraid. We've received a call from your mother. It would appear that your father fell ill while he was at work today, and his coworkers called for the emergency services. He's at the Clallam County Hospital now. Your mother is with him, and he's in good hands. She needs you to be there with her. Mr. Berty here will drive you there right now…"
His remaining words were lost to Bella. She ran out of the room with Mr. Berty in tow. Her heart was beating out of her chest and she could hardly concentrate on a single word Mr. Berty was telling her during the short drive to the hospital.
Once they arrived, he helped her to locate the floor on which her dad was being treated. When she spotted her mother, she ran into her arms and sobbed on her shoulder. Once they had both calmed down a little, Renee told her how she'd received a call from Billy Black while she was at work, informing her that Charlie had collapsed while running his usual patrol around the perimeters of the Cullen estate where they both worked. Fortunately, Billy was with him when this happened and he'd called for help immediately. The doctors suspected a stroke, and they were currently working on him. All she knew was that he was alive when he arrived at the hospital. She hadn't heard anything from the hospital staff yet.
They huddled together in the waiting room, clinging to each other for strength, as they waited for the doctors to bring them some kind of news about Charlie's condition. Bella could see how distraught her mother was; she was just as shaken by this sudden misfortune as Renee.
Charlie Swan was the rock that anchored their world; he was the one who protected and looked after their little family. At times like this, he would be the one they would turn to. The notion of him lying helpless in a hospital bed was too foreign and terrifying. The two women were worried out of their minds, neither knowing how to console the other. They passed the hours mostly in silence, each negotiating with God to spare the life of their loved one, putting up random items as a wager. For Renee, it ranged from promises of more regular Church attendance, to never again picking a fight with her husband, while for Bella the bargaining chips varied between keeping up her grades in school and never wanting to date a boy again.
Once his shift was over, Billy Black dropped by. He came straight from work, and looked nearly as stressed and tired as Bella and Renee did. He hugged them both and inquired about Charlie. When he was told that they still hadn't heard any news, he went off to ask around on their behalf. He came back with Charlie's attending physician, who introduced himself as Dr. Green. He apologized for his tardiness and explained to them that from all apparent symptoms, Charlie Swan had suffered a hemorrhagic stroke. He added that after being treated at the ER, he had been admitted to the stroke unit of the hospital. Thanks to the speedy response from the medics, they'd been able to stabilize his condition. However, he was still being kept in the ICU and hadn't regained consciousness since he'd been admitted. They were optimistic about his prognosis, but by no means was he out of the woods quite yet.
He asked Renee a few questions about Charlie's medical history and lifestyle. Billy supplied the information regarding the circumstances around his collapse that day, since Renee wasn't present at the time. The doctor took notes and informed them that they were permitted to see Charlie, though only one person at a time. However, he stressed that they'd do better to catch some rest now and fuel up for the long recovery process that Charlie was likely to start once he woke up.
He proceeded to tell them that while they were optimistic about Charlie's prognosis, the possibility of him making a full recovery was slim. Furthermore, they'd only be able to determine the degree of the damage once he woke up, hopefully within the next twenty four hours, at which point he'd be able to share more information about the future treatment options and medication. He promised them that a nurse would come by soon to take them to see Charlie before he left for the day at the end of his shift.
Renee and Bella sighed in relief at hearing Charlie was still alive. Neither could really contemplate their life without him. The nurse came to collect them soon after, and all three of them were led to the ICU section of the stroke unit. Bella urged her mother to go first as she waited outside with Billy Black. When her turn came to finally see her father, she wiped her tears before entering the room. She didn't want him to see her cry, even though she was told that he was still unconscious. His deathly pallor nearly made her buck, but she persevered on and approached his bed to hold his limp hand for a few moments.
Please don't die, Dad. Please.
We need you. Please come home.
Heeding the doctor's words, and at Billy's insistence, Renee went home that night with Bella. Her plans were to return first thing in the morning. Completely drained after their day filled with stress, neither had the emotional fortitude to think past the respite they got that Charlie survived his close call with death. They went to bed exhausted and grateful and blissfully unaware of the impending catastrophe, albeit of a different nature, that awaited them.
However, reality sank in soon enough. Renee called her supervisor at work to inform him that she'd be unable to work her shift for a few days due to her husband's unexpected illness. He was highly sympathetic, but couldn't promise to hold her slot open for her, given how understaffed and underfunded they already were. Only then did it dawn on her that her family was essentially without an income now. It wasn't that the Swans were poor, but they weren't people of means by any standard either. They effectively lived from pay check to pay check. They didn't have any nest eggs or emergency funds to fall back on; every dollar they could save went into their daughter's college fund. Every cent of their earnings was spoken for, and she didn't know what might happen in two weeks time.
She was so distraught about their quandary that she didn't even argue when Bella insisted on skipping school to go to the hospital with her. She sighed as she placed the call to Bella's school and allowed her daughter to accompany her to visit Charlie. She tried to push away the fear that was threatening to bubble over and focus on her husband's health instead. She also tried to appear strong and positive for Bella's benefit. However, more unpleasant surprises were waiting for them at the hospital.
They were told that Charlie was deemed stable enough and was moved from the ICU to the general ward that morning. The room he was taken to was designed to hold three beds, though Charlie was the only patient that day. When they visited him, he seemed to be in a semi-conscious state; his eyes flickered randomly, but there was no recognition in them. They sat by him regardless and tried to talk to him quietly, telling him how much they loved and needed him.
By late morning, a nurse dropped by to tell Renee that Dr. Green would come and find her soon to update her on Charlie's current condition. Renee was also informed that they would like her to contact the hospital administration to fill out some paperwork in order to claim the insurance coverage that Charlie held, assuming he had some.
Bella noticed how her mother's face paled at the mention of possible medical bills. She wasn't stupid, and although she never had to experience extreme material hardship, she wasn't oblivious to how her parents made ends meet to keep their family going every month. She had been preoccupied with the immediate concern of Charlie's survival. Now that the worst had passed, the stark reality of the bind they were in began to settle on her like a nasty chill. She reached for her mother's hand and tried to sound as reassuring as possible when she said, "We'll be ok, Mom. We have my college fund, right? And I can get a few extra babysitting jobs, or maybe something at Ron's Food Mart? Please don't worry, Mom, please."
"I know, honey. I'm not worried at all! We'll be fine. We just need to rearrange a few things here and there, and maybe cut a few corners until your dad gets back on his feet. I just want you to think about school, ok?" Renee said with a false bravado and a strained smile on her face. It broke her heart to have to lie to Bella, knowing that it probably wouldn't be long before they'd have to drain out her college fund.
Whatever hope Renee might have had of Charlie getting back on his feet was shattered when she spoke with Dr. Green later that day. The doctor suggested that he spoke to Renee alone so she left Bella with her father and stood right outside the door to get briefed. As soon as they left the room, Bella stealthily moved closer to the wall to hear what the doctor was saying. She wasn't particularly concerned about the follies of eavesdropping at that particular moment.
Dr. Green elaborated that Charlie's brain had sustained significant damage due to oxygen deprivation. Even though the call for help was placed fairly quickly from the onset of the attack, and the medics brought him to the hospital as quickly as humanly possible, it still wasn't fast enough to save the neurons that had already died before any treatment could be administered to stop the bleeding in his brain. The right side of his body was now paralyzed, and his recognition and speech center also seemed to have been affected. He was hopeful that most likely Charlie hadn't suffered any cognitive impairment. With time, and extensive physical and occupational therapy, his chances were good that he might be able to recover some, if not all, of his vocabulary, and regain partial use of his right limbs.
However, Renee needed to have realistic expectations about Charlie's convalescence; he probably would never work as a security guard again. She also needed to consider some sort of in-home, around the clock care for him for the next few months at least, and possibly longer, since Charlie would be on medication for the foreseeable future which needed to be administered regularly. Alternatively, there were resources available at the hospital that could point her towards care facilities for stroke patients. At the end of the day, he said, Charlie Swan was extremely lucky to be alive. If his condition didn't take a turn for the worse, he could be released in two to three weeks. He shared a few polite words of hope and left before reminding Renee that she ought to get in touch with the hospital administration and contact Charlie's insurance carrier.
Bella hugged her mother when Renee came back into the room. Her tear streaked face spoke volumes, and Renee could tell that there was little point in keeping this from her child.
"You heard?" Renee asked.
Bella could only nod her head. They both knew what this meant. They were facing veritable financial disaster. Charlie's employer, Carlisle Cullen, provided him and his family with a very basic coverage that was standard for all of his housekeeping staff. The Swans rarely needed it for more than routine doctor visits every once in a while. Renee had never bothered to look up what conditions and treatments the plan actually covered, or how long they would continue to pay out after Charlie ceased to work. She wanted to berate herself for this oversight, but little could be done about it now.
Renee's part-time job offered even less protection, which she'd willingly opted out from because her husband's plan was slightly more generous. Not that it mattered now anyway, since she no longer had a job. Drawing from Bella's college fund was a foregone conclusion; there was no other option. Even with that, she couldn't see a way of making it past the middle of next month. That was before she'd factored in the deductable cost of Charlie's hospital stay, not to mention all of their regular bills, like the mortgage and the electricity.
Renee knew she shouldn't let her daughter see her crumble like that, but she was too terrified to put on a brave act convincingly. All she could do was hug her daughter and rock her slowly, hoping that a mother's love would be enough to ease her worries for the moment. She decided to speak to Billy Black before talking with the hospital administration. Perhaps his health plan wasn't too different from Charlie's and he might be able to advise her about the best avenue to pursue.
Bella offered to go to the cafeteria to fetch some food for her mother, while Renee said she would call Billy about the insurance plan Charlie was entitled to from work. Renee asked if Bella had enough money for the food, but Bella waved her off and made her way downstairs to the hospital cafe. She knew firsthand how tight cash was for them right now. She didn't want to take any from her mother.
She had six dollars and seventy five cents on her. She doubted that it would stretch enough for both, but hoped to find something cheap just to sustain them until they returned home. Her heart fell when she saw the price list of all the food items. After carefully analyzing the prices, she bought a sandwich and a coffee for Renee before returning to Charlie's room. Renee was just hanging up the phone when Bella came back with the food.
"Did you get a bite, honey?" Renee asked as she took the food and coffee gratefully from her daughter.
"Yeah…I had some yoghurt. I'm good," Bella replied without meeting her mother's gaze.
Renee saw through her ruse within seconds, and after putting down the provisions on the table next to the bed, she drew Bella into her arms.
"My silly, silly girl. You didn't get anything for yourself, did you? What am I going to do with you?" Renee said lovingly as she tucked a wisp of hair behind Bella's ear.
"Here, we'll share. I know things aren't looking too bright right now, but baby, we're not starving quite yet, ok? I won't let it come to that," she said, and then proceeded to tear the sandwich in half to hand Bella a part.
Billy Black came by shortly after, and he told them what they didn't already know about the details of the insurance package he and Charlie received from work. Yes, as far as he knew, all the staff of the house management team had the same plan, which was quite basic. However, Charlie collapsed while on the job, so he was quite certain that they would cover at least part of the cost. A bigger concern was that his and Charlie's blue collar jobs didn't come with a 401K or any other kind of pension plan. Once the insurance payout stopped, the Swans would be on their own. He advised that Renee file for social security and Medicaid as soon as possible since the paperwork for that was extensive and it would be a while before they'd see a check.
He also mentioned that he had started a collection pool at work for Charlie's care and everyone working at the estate was making contributions as he spoke. It probably wouldn't amount to much, but the good will and prayers of those Charlie worked with ought to lift her spirit a little.
Armed with this tentative game plan, Renee decided to go and meet with the hospital administrator to find out about the real picture. Bella and Billy held a vigil by Charlie's bedside while they waited for Renee's return. She was gone for longer than expected, and when she came back, she was far more upset than she had been when she left.
Her talk with the administrator revealed a far grimmer picture than what she had envisioned earlier. Charlie was burning through over three thousand dollars a day for his hospital stay, not including the costs of diagnostic tests and treatment. The insurance would only cover a fraction of that. He was covered for a week of hospital stay, but that only kicked in after three days of deductible costs. Considering the severity of Charlie's stroke, he could easily require three full weeks of inpatient care. His insurance would pay for less than half of that.
With the cost of homecare, prescription meds, and physical therapy, they were looking at an astronomical medical bill that they had no way of paying, even if Medicaid or social security kicked in at some point. They were looking at a clear path to bankruptcy and a life in debt for as far they could see down the road.
"What will I do, Billy? How will I look after Charlie and Bella? I don't know how to do this alone. I need him with me, Billy; I need him," Renee spoke between sobs.
Bella held her mother and fought her own tears, not wanting to add to her mother's plight.
Billy stayed with them until they were asked to leave for the night. Renee would have preferred to stay with Charlie, but the thought of having to spend money to buy food from the cafeteria deterred her. She couldn't be frivolous when there was food in their fridge; although neither of them had much of an appetite when they got home. They both were too distraught to console the other, and soon they left for their own rooms to contemplate their troubles in private.
Bella dug through her closet and pulled out a peanut butter jar that she used as a piggybank. Growing up in a lower middle class household taught her the value of money, and she had been setting aside whatever she could from her lunch money and babysitting jobs ever since she was twelve. She hoped that it would serve her to get by with secondary expenses when she finally made it to college. She took out her stash and carefully counted the bills and the loose change; seven hundred and ninety two dollars and fifty cents. She counted it again, in a silly hope that maybe a second count would somehow round it up to an even eight hundred. No, it was still seven hundred and ninety two dollars, plus change.
So little. Damn!
She cursed herself for spending so much of her savings on unnecessary indulgences like books, CDs, and makeup. She wished she could take it all back.
She took the money and went to her parent's room. She had a feeling her mother would still be awake. She was right. Renee opened the door and let her in. She looked bone tired and terrified, but she tried to inject some cheer in her voice as she greeted her daughter, "Can't sleep baby? Let's go to the kitchen, I'll warm up some milk for you. I can't sleep either."
Bella shook her head and walked past her mother to sit on the edge of their bed. She looked at Renee with sheepish eyes. She knew her offering would upset her mother and make her feel inadequate, but it had to be done. Without words, she simply held out the roll of bills for her mother to take.
"What's this?" Renee asked in surprise.
"My babysitting money. It's not much, but I thought we could use it for groceries for a while…"
Renee kept looking at her daughter with shock, not making any move to actually take the cash that was being offered.
"Mom…please, take it. Things will be ok. I can be homeschooled maybe, and work full-time at the Food Mart…"
Bella's words were interrupted by Renee's sudden outburst of tears. She covered her head in her hands and bawled, uncontrollable sobs wrecking through her body. Her words were barely understandable, "Oh Bella...what kind of a mother am I? I can't…I can't even take care of you…or your dad…I'm sorry…"
Bella hugged Renee and tried to console her, "Please don't cry, Mom. Please. We'll be ok, you'll see. We have each other, right? We will look after Dad together, and he'll get better someday. I know he will."
They sat on the floor like that for what seemed like hours. Finally, Bella placed the roll of cash in Renee's hand and closed her fingers around it. She knew she was hurting her mother's pride, but it couldn't be avoided. She looked into Renee's eyes meaningfully, pleading with her not to reject it. After a long moment, Renee accepted the gift, even though it killed her to do so. After wiping away her tears, she acquiesced, "But you will not drop out of school, ok? No matter what, you stay in school and you keep your grades up. You promise me that," she insisted.
Bella nodded. She would indeed try her utmost to stay in school. If anything, her parents had drilled into her subconscious while growing up just how important having an education is. Charlie and Renee never had the chance to go to college. Circumstances and financial constraints didn't allow them that privilege. But they were determined to give the opportunity to their only daughter. Bella would do everything in her power to bring her parents' dream to fruition. However, she was learning fast that in life choices could be taken away from you without any warning, and as she was faced with the limited choices before her, she knew she would pick the survival of her family over personal ambition any day.
That night she climbed into the bed with her mother, like she used to when she was a little girl. The shared distress between the two finally exhausted them, and they drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, Renee placed a call to their bank to start the mortgage application, and went online to find out about federal assistance programs for low income families in duress. She wasn't too keen on letting Bella skip school again, but she was talked into it by Bella's pleading words and her promises to catch up with all the missed school work as soon as possible. Renee reluctantly placed the call to the school while Bella sent off a quick text to Alice, finally bringing her up to speed with regards to Charlie, and asking her to collect all the assignments for the classes she was missing.
Later in life, Bella would think back and wonder how her life could have taken a very different path, had Renee refused to let her skip school that day. She would have grown up to go to UW, and in her first year of undergrad school she would have gone to Boston with her class and maybe she would have met him without any interventions from the outside world. But that wasn't to be. The cosmic die had been cast and the path of her life was set that morning when she drove to the hospital with her mother.
Charlie's condition was much the same as the day before. He stayed asleep most of the time; they were told it was a good sign of recovery. His conscious moments were strewn with unintelligible mutterings and wandering eyes that hinted that he was still struggling to orient himself.
Bella and Renee were sitting by Charlie's bedside when they heard a slight commotion outside of the room. From what they could gather from the little view the open door afforded, Dr. Green was speaking with a man; his tone and posture expressed deference and respect. He was nodding and agreeing with whatever he was being told. Once their conversation concluded, the doctor motioned towards Charlie's room and the man turned around to enter through the door, followed by the doctor and another man in tow.
Bella experienced a moment of complete disorientation when her gaze fell upon the face of the newcomer. One didn't expect to see such exquisite perfection outside of a movie or a magazine cover. He was clothed in a very expensive looking suit, complemented by mirror-polished shoes. He literally glowed in the drab surroundings of the hospital room. His face was so beautiful that she nearly forgot to breathe while looking at him. His crystalline, blue eyes held the promise of the sky's depth. His blond mane was perfectly styled. She knew for certain that she had never laid eyes upon anyone more stunning or gorgeous than the stranger who had just strolled into her father's hospital room.
This must be what angels look like! Bet he's hiding a pair of wings somewhere in there. Why is he here? Who is he?
Adding to her shock, the beautiful stranger approached Renee and began to speak in perfectly poised diction, "Mrs. Swan? I regret meeting you under these circumstances…"
Renee could only nod; she too, had been shocked into speechlessness by his presence.
He continued, "I'm Carlisle Cullen. I was out of the country until last night and was just told about Charlie. I am extremely sorry that you are going through this. Your husband has been a valued employee and I'd like you to know that I will do everything necessary to lessen the burden of this hardship on your family. Tell me how are you all holding up? Is there anything I can do to help?"
"Oh, Mr. Cullen, uh…Oh my god! I mean, it's an honor to meet you sir. I really appreciate you coming in person. I know it would mean a lot to Charlie," Renee responded after collecting her wits the best she could.
"Don't mention it. I would, however, like to have a word with you about how you're going to handle all this. Maybe it's best if we stepped out for a few minutes. You could fill me in on Charlie's condition and what needs to be done in the coming weeks…" he trailed off on a questioning note, but there was no room for argument in his suggestion.
Renee nodded in agreement, "Sure, we could go to the waiting room in the hallway out there," then suddenly remembering her daughter's presence in the room, she turned to her and said, "oh, Mr. Cullen, this is our daughter, Isabella…"
At the sound of her name she quickly jerked her head; only now realizing that she'd been gaping at the man the entire time. She tentatively struck out her shaky hand and in a completely awestruck voice said, "How do you do, sir?"
He turned towards the young, starry-eyed girl and took her hand in his. Giving it a mild squeeze, he said, "Nice to meet you, Isabella. Your mother will be right back, ok?"
She nodded as she watched him guide her mother out of the room. Like a child following the pied piper, she found herself being drawn to the door, reluctant to let him out of her line of vision. Fortunately, they didn't move too far away from the room. She heard him ask her mother about Charlie's condition and her mother answering the best she could while choking back tears.
"Dr. Green said he might never regain the full function of his right side. If he can't work…" she heard Renee say with a downcast face.
"I'm so sorry to hear that. But you can't think like that; he is alive, he made it through the worst. You need to focus on the positive. A lot is resting on your shoulders, Mrs. Swan; Charlie and your daughter are depending on you, so you need to be strong. I can assure you that I will do whatever I can to help. So please, I would like you to be very candid with me; how prepared are you for the coming weeks?" he said in that soothing voice of his.
Renee fumbled with words. How would she even begin to verbalize what dire straits they were in. Wiping her eyes she looked up and said, "I lost my job yesterday. Charlie's pay check was all we had. The doctors said, he would need in-home care and therapy for months. His insurance won't even cover for his hospital until after three days, and that too for only a week. Oh God, what will I do?" Bella remembered how Renee had broken down the night before. Her heart clenched to see her mother sob in front of a stranger.
"Mrs. Swan, listen to me, here" he produced a handkerchief and handed it to Renee, "I understand how daunting this is. But you can't fall apart like this. Do you have family or friends that you can call on for support?"
"Charlie's parents passed away, and mine live in a nursing home. It's just us; we don't have anyone…" Renee said while wiping tears off her face.
"Then I will do what needs to be done for your family," he asked confidently. "I will take care of the hospital bills, whatever the insurance won't cover will be sent to me. Ok? You don't need to worry about that anymore. Your priority needs to be Charlie and your family right now, not worrying about bills."
He spoke with ease and conviction that left Renee a babbling mess. It was too much to take in. There was such a strong element of surrealism about it all. People just didn't get rescued from the brink of financial annihilation by a strikingly gorgeous employer, who'd hardly ever been mentioned by her husband. She was grasping for words to thank him and let him know how grateful she was,
"Oh, Mr. Cullen, uh…what? Oh my god! I don't know how to thank you...it's so very generous of you, and we are grateful, so very grateful…" Renee was nearly hyperventilating.
The beautiful man smiled indulgently.
"I assure you, Mrs. Swan, there is no need to thank me. I want to do this. Charlie has protected my home for a very long time. I will not let any harm come to his. I would like you to concentrate on his recovery. Someone will come to see you tomorrow to work out everything on paper. He'll explain to you how payments will be made, or whom to send all the bills to. I would like you to think about all your responsibilities and commitments and if there is anything else you need, feel free to mention that to him too. Ok?" he spoke with authority, yet his manner was comforting.
Renee could only nod and mutter barely comprehensible 'thanks yous' in response.
"Goodbye Mrs. Swan. Give my regards to Charlie when he wakes up." He gave a soft smile to Renee and then turned on his heels and walked away with impeccable poise and grace. To Bella, it seemed like the light in the hallway dimmed a little with his departure.
A dazed Renee walked back to the room and they continued to share a stunned silence long after he was gone, neither quite able to believe the sudden good fortune that seemed to have solved all their problems in a single sweep.
He is an angel!
AN: Thank you for reading and giving me a chance. Come find me on twitter if you like: (at)ToTheDreaming.
BellaScotia read through this chapter and improved it in ways I never could have done. I would never be able to thank that woman enough! If you are reading Secrets and Lies, you know how tremendously talented she is.
Thanks to lulabelle98 for making all this readable. She is brilliant, and has the patience of a saint. She writes Learning to Live and she has a new project in the making. It's called The Long Walk Home. I have sworn to secrecy to keep my mouth zipped, but I can tell you this much: It will be good. Put her on author alert.
Bridgette preread the chapter too. I don't know if she will come back, but I am thankful to her for her time.
I thank Rene (TheEdwardians) for rec-ing me in her story All That Remains. It's an awesome daddy-ward tale that I am positive you will like.
Thank you lt90 for rec-ing Beautiful Sorrow in her story Uptown Reality. You are too kind. Check out her work.
Thanks to kimbo06 for the most fun WCs possible! Her zombies make me write!
Thank you all those who reviewed and all those who only read. I can't tell you how much it means.
Length of hospital stay after stroke can vary from just over a week to over three weeks, depending on secondary risk factors, recovery rate, and severity of the stroke. I looked up a few articles on the average cost and length of hospital stay. Let me know if any of you are interested; I'd be happy to share them.
Medical bills leading to bankruptcy, is not a myth. It's a stark reality in the US. In fact, it's the leading cause of personal bankruptcy in the country. Elizabeth Warren from Harvard Law School has written extensively on the topic. Let me know if anyone is interested.
I have no idea if Clallam County Hospital has a stroke unit. That's where creative license kicks in!
I am clearly incapable of keeping a lid on the AN. So all bets are off! Just beware that all the subsequent ANs will be just as bad. Sorry!