Chapter Twenty-Two: Damage

The eight of us fit easily into the bedroom Edward and I were using. It was large enough that none of was touching except Edward and me. I heard Esme gasp at the damage. Edward had mangled the headboard in an attempt not to hurt me. There were rips and holes in the silk sheets. Shredded fabric lay everywhere. Neither of us had bothered to clean up the remains of our tattered clothing.

"Edward, you ruined it! It looks awful." Esme whined. She was upset about the bed and I couldn't blame her. It did look really bad.

Rosalie suddenly spoke up but kept her voice a whisper. "Wait a minute. If the bed looks like that, I wonder what Bella looks like." She stared at me with horrified eyes. The others turned to look at me too.

"Bella, would you mind letting me examine you? I just want to make sure that you are undamaged." Carlisle said in a soothing voice.

"If you think that is necessary. To be honest, I feel great." I told him with a shrug.

"I imagine you do. You look like you really enjoyed yourself here." Emmett whooped. Edward slapped him for whatever thought he was having.

"Darling, are you hungry? I could fix you breakfast while Carlisle is examining you. Make sure you show him the bruise on your hip, love." Edward said as he pulled me to his chest.

"Yes, I am hungry. A fruit smoothie sounds pretty good right now." I replied. "What bruise on my hip?" The last time I checked, the only bruise I had was on my thigh. And that was healing.

"Fruit smoothie it is. I'll be back as soon as it's ready. Come on guys." Edward hedged and started pushing the others out the door. I stared at him blankly as he left me alone with Carlisle.

"Why don't I start by looking at that hip." Carlisle said, after a few minutes, in his soothing doctor's voice. I slowly removed my dress for him so he could see it. I gasped involuntarily; there was a bruise covering my entire left hip. It was obviously brand new because I pressed my finger to it and it turned white, but when I removed the pressure, it turned an angry purple again. It didn't hurt but it was shocking to see.

"Wow, how did that happen?" I said out loud.

"Isn't it obvious?" Edward's voice came from the door, making me jump. "I did that to you. I'm so sorry, Bella." Edward was standing with his back to the closed door with a large glass in his hand. His shoulders slumped and his head hung down in shame.

I crossed the room to him and pulled his face up to look him in the eyes. "No, Edward. This is not your fault. I shouldn't be so breakable. You have nothing to apologize for." I tried to kiss him but he pulled away.

"Don't you dare try to blame yourself for this, Bella. This is my fault. I should be able to control myself. I shouldn't be allowed to hurt my wife, the woman I love. I'm a monster." Edward was beating himself up internally. I couldn't let him do that.

"You are not a monster, Edward. You are my husband and I love you. The damage could have been a lot worse. It is only two bruises and they don't even hurt. If I were blind, I would never know that they are there. I'm perfectly fine and happy." I told him, trying to show him my contentment. He made a disgusted sound in the back of his throat.

Carlisle had been silent since before Edward came in but now he spoke, "She's right, Edward. It could have been a lot worse. Your control is amazing. No broken bones or internal bleeding. Her organs appear to be intact. You didn't bite her. Son, you probably have better control than any vampire I've ever met."

Edward suddenly slammed the glass of smoothie down on the dresser and most of it spilled out. "Ugh, enough! I still hurt her. Is it a victory that she survived with minimal damage?" he thundered at us.

"Edward, sweetheart. We knew this would be tricky." I half-whispered.

Edward turned on me, still shouting, "Did you expect me to hurt you? Do you think we were successful because you can walk away from it?"

"I didn't know what to expect." I whispered back. "It was better than I ever dreamed, every time." It was the truth. Every time was bliss. It was our own piece of heaven, or at least that was how I saw it.

"I can't deal with this. I'll be back later." He said and headed for the door that led to the beach.

"Where are you going?" I was instantly frightened by his words and expression.

"I need to calm down before I do something I'll regret. Maybe I'll find some killer whales." Edward answered as he opened the door and started out.

"Wait!" I yelled after him. It didn't help. He was already diving into the ocean. He left me. Again. I was barely aware of the tears streaming down my face as a hole ripped through my chest where my heart should be. My heart was gone again, gone with Edward.

A/N: please dont hate me for this. I promise this is NOT the end of Edward and Bella. I will have him come back. I had to add some more drama because it sounded too fairytaleish. I will post the next chapter tommorrow.

emerald violeta