Disclaimer: Characters belong to Stephanie Meyer
Chapter 6: Blood Shed
Morning came, despite the events of the night before, daylight stops for no creature. I had slept for nearly eight hours. My tantrums exhausted me and usually put me out for longer. I awoke in a panic, scanning the room furiously for answers.
"Nessie," a soft voice filled my ears, lulling me and easing my fears.
"Jacob," I replied, so relieved to hear him still, Alive. "What happened? What is going on?" My mind catapulted through a million more questions, unable to grasp the situation. I looked up, and sadness consumed me and heart wrenching fear demolished my previous alleviation. I could see the pain radiating from him. He was still stained crimson with blood and it appeared that some of his ribs where broken and his collar bone was utterly shattered. He lay in wreckage, like a ship torn apart at sea by the worst of storms now lying crumpled and dismembered on the bottom of the cold ocean floor. His chest was heaving with the agonizing task of breathing. I rushed to his side. Something overtook me, the raw emotion of the situation gave way to the most inexplicable sadness that I have ever known. As I gazed at his mangled body I felt the weight in my chest and my stomach dropped. I lifted my hands to my face to shield my eyes from the sight, only to feel a hot wetness seeping from my eyes. Astonished, I looked down at my hands and let out a startled gasp, blood! My hands were covered in blood!
I turned to see the same expression of horror on Jacob's face, "Nessie, your eyes are bleeding!" Both of us knowing that it was impossible for me to cry, that seemed the only logical explanation. Shock ran through me as I heard Jacob's cries, "Carlisle, come quick!"
In less than a second, my grandfather appeared in the room. His eyes first locked on Jacob and then seeing his expression, redirected his focus to me. He pulled my hands from my face, peering into what must have been a blood stained face. Not understanding my wounds, he quickly grabbed my hand sensing my inability to articulate the situation. I sent him the full set of images of what had just happened.
"Tears," he exclaimed, "You are crying blood." His astonishment was apparent. And then he was still, cast away in thought.
I was the one to break the silence, "Where is Alice, what is going on? What the hell happened here last night?" Jacob's head hung in shame. His expression was broken and full of regret. It didn't make him any less beautiful, but in sadness his face is like that of a weeping angel. The expression of my pain is more torturous to the beholder. "Where is Alice?!" I now demanded.
"She is upstairs." Carlisle replied, the sadness too, gripping his countance as he glanced forgivingly at Jacob.
"I tried to attack her," Jacob softly admitted, his regret and sadness was unendurable.
"But why? Is she OK?" I searched his face for answers, but I could find nothing but the horrible despair.
"Maybe you should go and see her... And Edward." I stared at Jacob, unable to compute all of the occurrences. Just then, a soft and very somber looking Esme entered the room ushering me silently upstairs with her motherly glow. I could feel her protective instincts heavy like the thickest of winter quilts wrapping around me. I followed her, leaving Jacob alone. We slipped into the last bedroom upstairs, the bedroom where I was born, where my mother had lost her mortal life, the hospital wing. I felt a chill rush through by body. There, next to the window, was Alice, laying on the over sized gurney very still with her fairy eyes closed and her face twisted in pain, her lips moving quickly uttering something that I could not hear. And next to her in another gurney was my Daddy. Again the feelings assaulted my sanity, and again I felt the weight in my chest and my stomach dropping and the hot wetness streaming down each of my cheeks and spilling into little pools of seeping rubies on to my hands and shirt. I took two steps and fell to my knees between them. Alice, my Auntie Alice, my sister and friend and my Daddy, my beautiful boy-faced father both lying deathly still in hospital beds.
"Hi sweetheart," my mother came up behind me pulling me close to her chest, her luscious chocolate strands swirling around me. I struggled to breath. I looked up at her, into her graceful saffron eyes. She gasped and I realized that my face must be covered in blood from my newly shed tears. Carlisle was there to explain so that I didn't have to. "But how? and why?" my mother asked in obvious horror.
"I'm working on it," Carlisle said with an exhausted sigh, "it has been an eventful twenty four hours, I can barely keep up with the mysteries today."
"How are they?" I asked my grandfather. A flash of his strength entered my mind. I revelled in my ability to extend such a deeper level of respect toward him. I held my breath hoping for the best and fearing the worst. He light-heartedly chuckled at my concern, "Well Edward will be fine in a couple of hours, its going to take a lot more than Jake to take him down," he replied with a half-hearted smile, "but Alice, I'm worried about her. Jake didn't touch her, Edward was at his throat before he could even make a move, to be honest, Jake really got the worst of it physically, but he'll be fine in a couple days" He shook his head, a frown breaking his composure,"I don't know what's wrong with her," he said gazing apprehensively at Alice, "but she seems to be in some kind of trance. I'm anxiously waiting for your father to regain his strength so that I can hopefully gain some insight to her mind." It was all a little too much for me to handle, but I was immensely grateful that everyone was still alive, or with us rather.
"And how are you feeling my dear?" my mother softly whispered. I hadn't noticed with all the commotion, but aside from my tears of blood, my whole body ached and my arms and legs where riddled with bruises. "You really almost took Emmett down this time," she said with grave concern. Terror enclosed upon my face, the tantrum, the memories came flooding back, showing little remorse or compassion.
"Where is he? Is he okay?" I heard a roaring laugh coming from the hallway. Emmett swept me up in the air and tossed me to the ground barely breaking my fall.
"I was like this, and you were like that" he roughly threw me around in a jovial manner recapping the events of the night before. I should have known better, of coarse he was OK. I was no match for him, no matter what my mother said. I rolled my eyes at Emmett picking myself up off the floor.
"Emmett!" I heard Rosalie scold with cold eyes, "leave her alone, it's not her fault."
"Ahhh Rose, come on, I know I was just doing the instant replay," poor Emmett, he really meant no harm. Rose rushed to my side, smoothing my hair and wiping the bloody tears from my cheeks. You would think I was her newborn baby. I love Rose, but her overbearing motherly instincts take on a life of their own.
"Well, time to check on the pup," Carlisle said in a friendly manner, chuckling to himself. I followed him out of the room and down to Jacob's side. I squeezed his hand gently and his eyes fluttered open, but when he saw me, he looked away, I could see the tears welling up in his sorrowful eyes. I pushed a silent picture of the position that we were in last night before all of this happened into his mind coupled with with words, I choose you. He turned his head back to me and smiled. Such a devastatingly beautiful smile.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, "I didn't mean it, not really, my emotions were already so charged up from our evening and she was telling me that I couldn't have you, that it would be a disaster. I just don't see how this could be wrong. I lost my cool. I'm sorry. How is she? How is Edward?"
"Edward is fine, just recovering," Carlisle repeated, "As for Alice, whatever is taking place in her mind right now had nothing to do with your outburst, Edward took the brunt of that, but Alice is suffering, we are doing everything we can to figure out why. When Edward reclaims his strength, hopefully we will have a better idea of what is going on." Jacob sighed a heavy sigh, obviously upset with himself. I curled on to the couch with him, trying to avoid causing him discomfort. I had so many questions, What exactly had Alice said to him? And why? But his exhaustion was winning. He pulled me in close as his eyes fluttered shut.
"I love you, my Nessie."