What would you do?
Get up off my feet and stop making tired excuses
What would you do?
Get up off my feet and stop making tired excuses
"How has work been?" Carlisle asked me, we decided to have lunch at work together considering we both hated to eat alone I thought it was a good deal. We both we working twelve hour shifts today and needed to eat at sometime.
"Yeah it's fine, nothing major going on. How is it in ER?" I asked him back, he smiled at shook his head.
"Insane per usual, never has an hour gone by without a new case," My dad told me, he was always a hard worker, even when we were kids. We were really actually done with lunch but had another twenty minutes before work started up again. My dad was a lot like me, quiet but polite and always tried to be a people pleaser. What I envied was his ability to stay unbelievably calm in tough situations, maybe why he became a ER doctor. "Did you hear about Rosalie helping Alice with the business?"
"Yeah, I actually told Alice to ask her. It's great that they might be able to get closer through this," I told my dad, he nodded.
"I always wondered about her and Emmett, how did he get through to her?" Carlisle asked almost to himself but I agreed.
Emmett was not the most patient person but he was loving and that nature always helped him. Emmett was also fiercely protected of those he loved. Once, when Alice was a freshman, she got harassed by a boy at school. Normally Alice could hold her own but this boy was persisted and would not leave her alone. One day Emmett confronted him, telling him to back off and leave Alice alone. The boy wasn't scared and continued bothering Alice, so Emmett went up to him in the middle of lunch and punched him square in the face, telling him to never fuck with the Cullen family. Emmett got suspended of course and Esme tried to convince him violence wasn't the answer but to be fair he did warn the boy. Carlisle was secretly very proud of Emmett for standing up for his sister.
Carlisle then got paged. "Hey I've got to run the ER is short on staff,"
"I'll walk you down, I needed to talk to one of the nurses about one of my patients," I told Carlisle, he agreed and we headed down together. As we got there a girl was getting rushed into the room, her long brown hair was tainted with streaks of blood. She seem unconscious from what I could tell, there was a lot of blood. Didn't look fatal but not good either.
"Female, reported by her husband to have fallen downstairs, many older bruises and abrasions," The nurse spoke clearly, the poor girl.
"Name?" Carlisle asked as he headed over. They probably didn't need him, she only
"Isabella Swan, one child and married," I must've made a sound because my dad turned around to look at me. He waved me over and I rushed to check if it was really her. There was no doubt about it, the round face and dark hair. I helped them do vital signs and bring her to a separate room to be checked for a concussion or brain swelling. Generally she was okay, normal heart rate and she was beginning to show signs of waking up. Some of her cuts needed to be stitched up and her head scanned once she awoke.
"Edward?" I heard a whisper as I was checking her files for past head injuries.
"Bella," I said before explaining her situation. "You are at the hospital, you are generally okay we just need to get your head checked and cuts stitched up," I informed her. She nodded looking around her a little. "Do you remember what happened?"
"Yeah, I fell down the stairs?" She almost questioned me, I nodded.
"Jacob is coming down in a couple of minutes, the nurses phoned ahead," I told her, she nodded briefly but her heart monitor sped up at Jacob's name. Just as I spoke Jacob entered, Bella's heart rate stayed up and didn't seem to be slowing down. This was suspicious but still within range.
"Bella, you really need to be more careful you are always so clumsy," Jacob spoke, it what sounded like a gentle tone. He always gave off a bad vive to me but that could just be me, obviously Bella loves him.
"I know I'm sorry Jacob, Do you remember Edward? He went to Fork's Middle School with me back in the day," Bella introduced me, I continued writing on the sheet.
"Yes I do. Nice to see you Edward," Jacob greeted but didn't offer to shake a hand. I dropped the clipboard onto the side table and went to make an exit.
"The nurses will get the rest of your things done, you should be fine to leave in an hour or so," I told her, she smiled almost forcefully as I left and she continued her conversation with Jacob. Jacob rubbed me the wrong way, the way he didn't even asked how she felt when he first came in, just insulted her clumsiness. Maybe I was over reacting but her heart rate raised at the mention of Jacob and when he entered the room. He was definitely suspicion and I didn't like him.
When I finally checked the clock I noticed I only had an hour before I needed to head home so I headed to my office to finish what I was meant to be doing while I was checking over Bella. I filled out some more paper work but couldn't stop thinking about whoever was hurting Bella. I needed to find out so I could help her.
Thank you. -Bella Black
Was the text I got late that night. I was surprised to say the least that she actually texted me since she hadn't before and she had my number for a few weeks now. I wasn't sure what to say back so I asked her how she felt and she of course said she was fine but she was thankful for my help. I took a risk and asked her if we could meet for coffee again but she responded with 'Sorry I can't' which that could have many meanings but I decided to take the approach that she didn't want to see me anymore and that was her decision so I would respect it.
Weeks then past without any word from Bella, Alice was disappointed but I kept calm about it. If she needed anything she would call, she was most probably fine. I went on with my normal business. Luckily Alice was preoccupied by Emmett and Rosalie's approaching wedding, too busy to bug me about Bella. However I was getting worried about her, someone was hurting her and I needed to find out.
I was still at my parents house after family lunch, Emmett and dad were watching a football game and mom, Alice, and Rosalie were in the kitchen chatting.
"Edward?" Rosalie asked as she turned the corner into the sitting room where I was. "Do you want to take a walk?" She asked me, I wondered if I should feel honoured to be invited by Rose to go somewhere, alone together, surely it was a big step for her.
"I would love to," I said. We headed out into the darkening yard and towards my favourite trail to the woods. She walked quietly next to me and I was waiting for to begin speaking.
"You never found out who was hurting Bella did you?" Her tone wasn't accusing, just curious.
"I asked her if she wanted to meet for coffee again and she declined. So I decided to respect her space and leave her alone until she wanted to contact me," I explained to Rosalie.
"Well you should respect her space but what about you just text her and ask her if she is okay. Maybe she didn't want to meet you for fear of her abuser finding out," Rosalie reminded me, she was right but there was really no right answer in this situation. "You are doing the right thing, just show her you care and you worry for her. Someone should've done that for me, I mean before Emmett," That was her first mention ever of what had happened to her, I was shocked that she opened up. "I know I can be distant and cold sometimes but it is hard for me to warm up to people after what had happened to me. Being hurt by anyone breaks your trust a lot, even more so when it is someone you cared for. Make sure she knows she has someone to go to if everything goes bad, be that person Edward,"
"I'm trying Rosalie I really am. I just don't understand," I admitted to my soon-to-be sister, she smiled weakly.
"It's hard to understand, why we don't leave hard relationships as quickly as possible but it's because of guilt, or shame, or sled-hate. I thought I caused it, I believe that what he told me was true, that I was a horrible person and that I didn't deserve love. I believed it all because of him, it is poisonous to have a relationship like that but we always stay in them too long," Her words were so true and raw, it was sad yet humbling to hear her say these things, she really had lived through a lot. "However bad the relationship was, the aftermath is worse. Trying to pick yourself up after being told for so long that you were worthless, it's not the same for everyone but for me knowing there wasn't much else in the world for me other than him kept me there. Kept me from leaving him, I was scared that I would have no where to go. That's where Emmett helped me, I was terrified of him but he still let me take my own time to get used to him. He gave me hope that someone else would one day love me, at the time we were just friends but he still cared which was enough for me. You need to be that for her, care about her and make sure she knows,"
I get what Rosalie was saying, she was so truthful and honest it amazed me, I didn't know Emmett knew her right after she left her situation I thought they met after it. I respected her so much more, she was a strong woman and I was proud for Emmett making that much of a difference in her life. "I'll make sure she knows I am here for her," I promised Rose, we headed back in comfortable silence and I was glad I got to talk to Rose about it.