*~I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT....I OWN 'La Pomme D'Armor'~*
*~THANK YOU for the reviews!!~*
*Bella*
"Wow...This is nice, isn't it?"
I stepped into the apartment above the cafe...The kind that was smaller than the one Edward was sharing but it was similar in the sense that it had the necessity rooms...Kitchen, bathroom and one bedroom...The bedroom was up a small flight of stairs, more like a room based in an attic where the bats and cobwebs gather but for now, it was going to do...Until I could get a source of income and buy some cleaning supplies.
I set mine and my mum's cases on the floor...There was no noise from the cafe downstairs which was something little to be thankful for...After putting the cases down I moved to the windows and opened them to let in some air.
The bedroom wasn't much but there was a double bed and of course, I didn't need to sleep – my mum was the one who needed to have some rest so nothing seemed unimportant to any of us at that moment in time.
I turned and watched my mum, her arms wrapped around herself take little steps into the room glancing around like she had just seen a ghost fly past her eye line...I bit down on my lip and took her shoulders leading her closer to the bed and sitting her down on it...She looked so very lost sitting on the end of the large bed...Much like I had felt my first night here – of course mum was not blessed in having met Edward to help her out.
I missed him so very much...It hurt; my whole body ached when I even thought about his name rather than plucking up the courage to say it out loud.
"Bella...Is it really okay that we stay here?"
"Of course...After a clean-up it will be like our little, own home!" I tried to sound enthusiastic in my response but all had failed.
"Who was that man downstairs...What have I told you about speaking to strangers?"
"That's Sebastian – the Frenchman that I told you about..."
"Oh...I see" mum replied before laying back on the bed her eyes glaring up at the ceiling...An indication that she was shutting herself out from me.
"You must be exhausted-" I observed quickly needing something to do and say in the awkward moments of silence...I undid the buttons of my mum's coat and took it off of her with a little difficulty before she had gotten the hint to lift her arms up..."Come on" I helped her back up to her feet...All of her weight on top of me as she hung beside me like a ragdoll...Grunting a little...I pulled the duvet cover back and lay my mum down straight as she sunk into the pillows..I laid the cover back over my mum as she closed her eyes instantly the duvet cocooning her from the bad in the world and the memories.
It broke my heart to see mum like this – I had wanted so much to wake up from all of this and realise that it had all been a dream but then again, a part of me didn't want to wake up – then me meeting Edward could never have been real.
No matter how bad things were...I had been thankful more than words can ever express because of what he had done for me and just how much he had cared about me. At the time, I was too busy releasing the thoughts that he cared more than a friend out of my mind and end up being a horrible friend back to him as a result. I guess, in life they really do mean that you never know what you have until you lose it. Not being with Edward for two weeks had been torture in it's purest form but now, there was a chance that I may never see him again.
As mum was asleep...I made my way downstairs to have a look around the rooms and check that mum or I were not going to catch anything during out stay here – I wished that I could have been able to take her over to Edward's but that was not fair, besides as much as I missed him I couldn't face him again – the hurt that I may have caused with leaving him and going back home in my sudden-snap decision.
Grimacing, I used the sponge on the drain board to scrub the sides down...They were not properly clean instead using anti-bacterial but it was going to have to do...For now.
The tears prickled on my eyelids as I finished the sides and throwing the sponge away in the empty bag of the bin...I sat down at the small kitchen table and put my head in my hands.
I didn't know how long I was going to have to stay strong...I had never wanted to cry so much before, even when my dad decided to cast me off on my own to another country never felt as bad as this.
There was nothing I could do to help my mum – she needed professional help, even if it was only for a couple of sessions...It was something – something was better than nothing at all.
"Bella?"
I gasped at Sebastian's voice...Lifting my head up, the tears falling down my cheeks at the precise moment that our eyes locked together. "I forgot to give you a spare key...There are only two copies..I have another one just in case" he said wearily.
"Thank you" I choked out putting my head back in my hands again.
"Oh Bella...What is wrong?"
I felt two arms snake around my chest...I leant back into my friend...Needing to have some little comfort...Preferring to be in Edward's arms right now of course but Sebastian was great enough to have the thought to comfort me.
"I am sorry...I am just worried about my mum"
"Of course you are...A loving daughter should be...Have you heard from your father?"
"No...Mum thinks that she has her phone on her but I took out the sim-card and left it back at home without her knowing. I didn't want my dad ringing her up and demanding to know where she is"
"That is the right thing, Bella....This may be the inappropriate time to say this but...Edward has been missing you so much, Bella beau...More than you will ever know"
"I know...I am so sorry to leave you all so quickly – I needed to stay away but I need to thank you now for letting us stay here...The whole thing with Carlisle is not something I want to deal with right now"
"I understand...I am very happy with keeping this a secret from Edward – but don't you think that he should be told"
"Why should he be told?"
"I wasn't supposed to say anything but he has been planning to go back to England to bring you back"
"What?"
"I am sorry to be the one to have to tell you"
"I don't understand...Why was he going to go back to get me, he has no idea about where I live"
"He was going to ask that carer for the address"
"Why would he go to so much effort?"
"That is up to him to tell you"
"Sebastian...I really appreciate everything that has been done for me but this needs to be kept hidden...I can't face him, again"
"Why?"
"I left...I left and I was also a paid whore – any good opinion he did have of me once upon a time is never going to be the same as it is now, things change and people change"
"You really believe that?"
"I do"
"You're wrong...Edward never thinks badly of you...Ever!"
"I am sure he does"
"We have been friends for nearly two years, Bella...If anyone knows him better than anyone else it is me...I have never seen him care so much about another person than he has about you"
"Are you trying to say anything?"
"No...Of course not, I just want you to know that there are people out here who care about you...You and your mother"
Sniffing at the honesty in his words...I reached behind me and put my hands on his shoulders "thank you, Seb"
"No problem, Bella...I am off home but before I do...You need to come down stairs and get something to eat for you and your mother"
"That's not necessary"
"We have a cafe downstairs, Bella...It has to be used"
"No, honestly it's fine"
"No refusals...Let's go" before I could protest again he had already grabbed my hand and pulled me away from the kitchen table and out of the front door.
"What about my mum?"
"There is no way out besides this door and no one can get into it...We will be gone for ten minutes, maximum"
"Ok" I replied defeated and honestly not wanting to hear his excuses anymore..I followed Sebastian close as he still held my hand as we both stepped into the darkened cafe, the place looked so different when it was empty and at night when everyone had gone home...I stood still as he released my hand and scurried around fetching things from behind the glass display and making two drinks.
"Seb...You in there?"
Edward!
The velvet voice that I loved so much was now ringing through my ears once again the only thing separating us at the present time was a door rather than a sea...I ran around the counter and crouched down onto my knees placing my hands on the floor as Seb passed me and opened the shop door.
"Hey...Sorry, I had no idea you were closing...I really need a coffee"
Edward and his usual caffeine-fixes...I was much more of a hot chocolate person but having Edward drink coffee so much in my presence had made me enjoy the smell.
"Sure...Come on in!" Sebastian answered him, a little too enthusiastically..As I hid from one of my best friends I began to think that our mutual friend was not the best person to have around when lying was essential to keep a secret.
"So..What would you like, my friend...Cappuccino...Latte...Marshmallows...Cream?"
"Seb...Coffee...Black I have always ordered that"
"Sorry...I was thinking that you may want to have something special tonight that is all!"
I wanted to kick Sebastian in the foot as he edged closer and closer to me...But if I carried out the temptation because of not wanting to know Edward of my presence.
"Why are you acting weird?"
Of course Edward was going to pick up on Sebastian's attitude...He was not stupid – he never had been.
"Not weird, everything is fine"
"Okay"
"So how have you been...How was your day?"
"Not good...I will talk to you about it later when you get home...Thanks" that was the last thing he said before opening and closing the door behind him...I instantly missed him and wanted to run after him and throw myself into his arms...His hold had been the most protective and I had always felt safe in them.
Sighing a little in relief, I got up from the floor and brushed my trousers down...I looked up at Sebastian who was frowning at me. "What was that little show for...He has wanted to see you for the past two weeks?"
"Please Seb, don't frown at me...This is just something I have to do"
"Are you going to stand there, look me in the eye and say that you haven't missed him, that you don't want to see him?"
"I wish I could but I can't...I am going back upstairs...I no longer have an appetite" without another word I ran out of the room and back up the stairs to the apartment...I took out the key that I had put into my pocket in my haste to get out of the apartment and walked in, the smell of dust and damp filling my nostrils and making me feel a little queasy.
I banged my head against the back of the door.
Everything was so hard...I needed to see him; I needed to see Edward so much and I had no idea why.
*Edward*
"Edward?"
Sebastian called me from the bottom of the stairs, luckily I was in my room so I was able to hear him...I stood still at the top of the stairs looking down on him "Yeah?"
"I have been thinking about this all day....Maybe its best if you don't go to England"
"Why?"
"It's not the best thing to do...Besides, you have no idea about where she lives"
"So...I will try and get the address from that bitch who threw her out and if I fail then...I will search...I will keep searching until I find her...There was me thinking that is what someone does for a girl he loves-"
"Loves?"
Fuck!!
"Huh?"
"You said love...Do you love Bella, Edward?"
"No...Of course not" I had never been a good liar...Damn my parents for not giving me one good ability in general conversation...In my defeat I sat down on the stair and ran both my hands through my hair.
"Fine...I love her...I am in love with her...I have fallen for her...Are you happy?"
"Why do you say it like that?"
"Isn't this what you were wanting?"
"Of course...But I do not want you to get defensive with me, Edward...I just wish you'd have told me sooner"
"I am sorry...I am so confused right now and all I want to do is to go and find her"
"I know...Well I know for sure now because of your feelings...Listen, stay here I am going to go back out for a minute"
Sebastian walked back out of the front door before I even had a chance to answer him – he was acting beyond weird today...But everyone was entitled to have a strange day every once in a while – no matter how much it contrasted with their normal personalities.
*Bella*
*(Half an hour later)*
"Shit"
I opened my eyes as fast as lightening, only just grasping in my half-sleepiness that I had fallen asleep against the front door..I wiped my face, wanting to hit myself at my sudden doziness...As I fluttered my eyes to get rid of the cloudiness of my vision.
Mum....Bottom of the stairs...Eyes closed.
Shit!
I screamed the moment the position of my mum had registered in my head...How could I not have heard her fall?!!
There was a few steps between us in distance...I crawled over to her, my body going onto auto-pilot once again and the shock proving to be too much in my system backfiring in sobs escaping from my body like butterflies.
"Mum...Mum!" I placed on hand on her arm which was sprawled out on the stair above her...She was still...There was no life in her but there was a blood pouring from a cut on her head...I had no idea what to do. I am not French, I couldn't ring an ambulance because most people here did not understand plain English...What the hell was I going to do?
My mum can't die...She can't die on me, not now when I had only just started getting her life back in order once again.
There were three little knocks on the front door...A gasp escaped me without warning – more relief than shock...I opened the door with my shaky hands and saw Sebastian standing there.
"Oh thank god!" I exclaimed sniffing.
"What's happened?"
"My mum...She's fallen and I need you to call me an ambulance...Please?"
"Of course"
Sebastian took out his mobile phone and started to talk French into it...I kept the door open but knelt down next to my mum again rubbing her arm...Fearing that if I moved her it may make her condition worse..Whatever her condition was going to end up being.
After about ten minutes Sebastian came back into the house "the ambulance is on it's way...They will be here in five minutes...I need to go and let them in, do not move your mother – wait until the paramedics get here so that they can examine her"
"She's unconscious!"
"Your mother is breathing, Bella...All is not lost – try not to panic...I will go down and wait for them outside"
"Wait...Does Edward know where you are?"
"No...Did you want me to call him?"
"No"
"I will be back up here, soon"
How had everything happened so fast? One minute I was pining the loss of Edward in my life and the next my mum is lying at the bottom of the stairs broken and lifeless...Why did my life always have to be put on constant fast-forward throwing me into situations which I had always wanted to whole-heartedly avoid like the plague.
All I could do in that moment was cry...Cry for everything I had done and everything I hadn't done...My mum needed me and my falling asleep had been a huge neglect on my part – I suspect she only came down the stairs to get a drink of water or something...The daughter who should be taking care of her mother in a extremely fragile and vulnerable state had gone and done something like that. I wasn't even there for my mother...How the hell can I call myself a daughter?!
I stood up suddenly backing away from my mum as the paramedics came through the door shooting me two pleasant but reassuring smile as they both bent down in my original spot....Everything that was being spoken about was done in a language that I could not understand....Thank God for having Sebastian around to help me!
I felt like a lemon standing still in the corridor and not having anything to do...It seemed like forever they were handling my mum's body putting all kinds of machines and devices around her as she lay there having no idea about what was going on around her.
"She has two broken ribs and a broken arm...Nothing else serious; they need to get her to the hospital"
"Okay...Can I go with her?"
"Yes...I will lock up, here and head back...Unless you want me to come with you"
"Oh please can you...I do not know anything about France...Or French...I will be useless?"
Sebastian walked towards me taking me tightly in his hold "calm down my beauty....Everything is going to be okay...Your mother is going to need a head scan just to make sure that there is no real damage...It's looks worse than what it is"
"What are they going to do now?"
"They will bring out the stretcher and then take your mum in the ambulance...For now, we just wait and let them do their jobs"
Oh god...What was happening to me?!
I need Edward!!
*(Two hours later*)
The only good thing about being in a French hospital is the service you gain is a hell of a lot faster than the service in England...In England A&E was more of a camping trip...They may as well be live bands playing to pass the time, as well. Mum had already endured the head examination and they had found no real damage...The concussion had made her unconscious – all the medical terms that Sebastian had coversed back to me had gotten me confused so I had only registered the very basics of mum's condition in my head. The hospital room she had been given was nice and quiet and away from the hustling and bustling of other departments.
Mum had to have her waist wrapped in bandages to protect her ribs and six stitches had to be put on the cut on her face because of the extent of her fall...I wished to God immediately that it was me in her place but of course, like always it is only the people I care about most in the world that have bad luck happening to them. Mum had been a decent person, married to a man that dominated her and for what...She stayed in that marriage for me and as much as I was grateful to her for that...It may of been best now that I have had the time to think about it alone in her hospital room that it may not have been such a great idea after all.
For the past twenty minutes...I had kept my head on the mattress...Keeping one of mum's hands in mine...Sebastian had told me that I could talk to her because she could still hear me, but what could I say?
All I had to say was sorry and explain my careless behaviour and I was not going to do that when her eyes were closed, I needed to have her look at me.
Sebastian had gone out to make a phone call as the signal in here was not the best...I would not have known because the only time I had ever owned a phone was when I was thirteen and had no idea about how to use it. Resulting in throwing it in the end because everyone else had gotten a new, updated model within two months.
I had completely forgotten about him...The whole bombard of my thoughts washing away gradually and slowly and the searing stress headaches gone away, as well...It felt strangely nice to have the peace..Even though, nothing was going to be peaceful for now on.
That much was certain.
I shuddered as two hands pressed lightly on each of my shoulders...What was it with people sneaking up on me, today?! I lifted my head and turned around to face behind me...When my hand went to my mouth silencing me.
Edward was standing there, his face sad...I blinked more tears down my cheeks..Happy to finally see him, again...Sebastian must have told him where I was – I wanted so much to be mad at him but seeing Edward there made everything go at the snap of fingers...Nothing was worrying me...I was just happy he was here.
Edward leant down and kissed my forehead once before putting both his hands under my armpits...The position a little awkward – but he managed...He lifted me effortlessly from my chair and for a mere moments my feet were off of the floor...Edward sat down in the chair and pulled me into his lap, never speaking once as he cradled me...I gripped his shirt in both my hands, my feet hanging off the end near the armrest and sobbed into his shirt...The smell of him coming back to me, protecting me and healing me.
"I missed you" I choked out honestly...Needing to say it.
"Ssh I'm here" those words were as simple as anything but they could not have meant more...Because they were Edward's words...As we sat there in the silence, he used one of his hands to rub my shoulder and the other one played with my hair as he breathed in and out slowly making my head rise and fall with him.
This was my home...As long as I was with Edward.....
Everything was going to be okay.
Thanks for Reading!
*Samantha*
xoxoxox