And then Bella died and somehow Edward fell hopelessly in love with because she wants him to.
Happy, crystaltears17? And yes I know there is a dot between crystal and tears, but the computer won't let me. :(
Oh my goodness, you guys are the BEST reviewers in the WORLD!!! I laughed so hard. You leave the BEST reviews. They were all very enthusiastic and in caps lock. Love you guys. :D
Here's a thank you to my amazing beta, soccermonkey16. She worked so amazingly fast. (P.S. The reason why this chapter is late is ALL my fault. I am super busy, and I apologize.)
Disclaimer: I just don't own anything.
Chapter Seven
Edward's POV
These wounds just wouldn't heal. This pain was just too real. I writhed as agonizing pain rippled through my body.
Beep. Beep. Beep. A sudden scream filled the air, and the machine mimed it. Flat line.
And then I wasn't there. I was numb. A magic trick made the world disappear.
The skies were dark; they're dark, but they're clear.
All my senses numb, it's like the finish line, where everything just is. I feel like I am watching everything from space, and in a minute I'll hear my name and I'll wake.
I feel my soul. My spirit's sleeping somewhere cold.
Wake me up. Wake me up inside.
Can't wake up.
Wake me up inside.
Save me. Call my name, and save me from the dark.
Wake me up. Bid my blood to run. Can't wake up.
Before I come undone, save me. Save me from the nothing I've become.
Now that I know what I'm without, you can't just leave me. Breathe into me, and make me real.
Bring me to life.
Wake me up. Wake me up inside.
Can't wake up.
Wake me up inside.
Save me.
Call my name, and save me from the dark.
Bella's POV
I woke to a murmur of voices whispered together frantically. All this felt strange and untrue. I wasn't even sure where I was, or how I got here.
Then a loud shriek filled the air. "No! Please! I'm a friend of his! Please, will he be alright?" Her voice was familiar, but it was distant and strange, and I could not recall who she was. If something is wrong, who would have guessed it?
"I'm afraid we can't tell you, ma'am." A doctor replied. "You see-"
"YOU TELL ME RIGHT NOW! I AM ALICE CULLEN! YOU TELL ME THIS INSTANT!! And I am NOT OLD enough to be a MA'AM!!!" The same voice shrieked.
"I, uh, miss, really cannot tell you how he is unless you are family." The doctor stuttered out.
There was an irritated growl. "I'm getting my father!" She threatened, and footsteps ran out of hearing range. Only to return within seconds.
"Dr. Cullen!" The doctor exclaimed nervously. Why would he be nervous? What did the doctor do?
"Dr. Brown." Dr. Cullen paused. "I need the sheets for the patient Mr. Edward Masen Junior."
My heart thundered in my chest. Oh my God. Dear Lord. My Edward. Why was he in a hospital?? Why? What happened to him?! Was he alright!?!
"Well, he seems-"
A sudden scream tore through the air, cut off the doctor. And I recognized the source immediately.
I opened my eyes in alarm. No, no, no! This could not be happening! I tore the IV painfully out of my skin, ,aking me wince a little in both pain and disgust - I hated needles. All the anger swells in my gut, and I won't feel these slices and cuts. Then I quickly removed the wires the registered my heart and leaped of the hospital bed. I didn't bother to wonder why I was in a hospital.
Edward, Edward, Edward, Edward. EDWARD!
I scrambled past fearful doctors and horrified nurses, shoving my way through.
He wasn't moving. He wasn't breathing. His heart monitor was a steady dead line, a devastating sound that tore my heart.
I was too late. Oh, no. Edward. My knees fell out, and I crumpled to the floor. You won't get to see the tears I cry.
"Edward." I croaked. "Oh, Edward, I'm so sorry. Edward, please. God, please." My sobs trembled through my body, and my tears cascaded down my skin. My head dropped in my hands. "Edward." I bawled, "Oh, my dear, sweet Edward." Tell me that you'll open your eyes.
"Clear." Dr. Cullen's voice was calm, despite the chaos that flowed through my shattered heart. Tell me that you'll open your eyes. I'm barely hanging on.
I heard a jolting noise. "Again. Clear." Open your eyes.
Another electric sound. Seeing you kills me now. I want so much to open your eyes, 'cause I need you to look into mine.
"Clear!" All this feels strange and untrue, and I won't waste a minute without you.
One more.
It's not too late; it's never too late.
His heart monitor thumped before dying.
I raised my head in wonder. There was a chance. Sweet dreams that won't come true.
"EDWARD!!!" I roared, desperation and hope clashing in that one single word, that word that meant everything to me. He was my everything, he was my everyone. I loved this boy so much, so very much. Come back to me.
Hold you through forever, won't let you go. If you jump, I will jump too. We will fall TOGETHER from the building's ledge. We'll say it was love. 'Cause I will die for you. They will remember this.
"CLEAR!"
A shuddering heartbeat, unsteady, wavering.
But it was there.
"Thank you!" I wept. "Oh, Lord, thank you!"
The gratitude to whoever was watching over me, be it a guardian angel or God, I didn't care. I was just so relieved, so amazed, so relieved. He was alive. He was alive. Thank God, he's alive. He's alive. My Edward is alive. I only cried even harder in pure joy, overflowed, complete bliss.
I felt arms around me, and I looked up into the face of Alice Cullen.
"Bella, it's alright. He'll be fine. It's alright." She soothed me with her warm voice, her gently and reassuring hug.
"He's going to live?" I whispered in wonder, complete wonderful wonder.
"He's going to live." Alice assured me in a strong, sturdy voice. She helped me off the ground. "Now, you need to go back in your hospital room. You were barley injured, but-"
"Alice, I can't!" I protested, fear clawing up inside my throat, making it harder to speak. "I can't leave my Edward. I just c-can't!"
"Shh, shh, it's fine. You can stay. Come on, Bella, calm down, sweetheart." Her words were sympathetic and comforting. She wasn't going to take me away from my Edward. She wiped the tears out of my eyes in a loving motion, almost motherly.
I slowly took timid steps to his sleeping form. He still looked dead, but his heart rate was a bit more steady. "Edward." I breathed as I placed my hand softly against his face. "Oh, my Edward." His heart started to pick up its pace. "Edward, please, I-I really need you." I felt my tears come and slip down my face again.
His heart beat became firm and strong. "Oh, my Edward!" I murmured in titanic relief. "Oh, Edward!"
"Bella?" A weak voice muttered. I gasped. Edward's lips twitched up into a slight smile before his eyelids fluttered open. "Bella." He sighed, lifting his palm to rest on my tear-streaked face. "Don't cry, my sweet, beautiful Bella." He pleaded. "Please be happy."
I wanted to obey him, just for him, but his request was just way too absurd.
"Edward. You are in a damn hospital!" I whipped out. "How the heck am I supposed to be happy? Relieved that you're alive? Absolutely. Happy? Heck no."
He blinked in astonishment.
Edward's POV
"A hospital." I mused. "That would explain why I am in pain."
Her jaw dropped. "How are you so calm?" She said softly. I noticed the tear marks on her skin, trailing down her face like crystal rivers.
I began to shrug, but I stopped. Don't wince from the pain. Don't cry out. Bella will notice. Stay strong, Edward. "I am fine."
But my attempt to convince her wasn't even worth the effort.
"Edward." She nearly growled. "Don't lie to me, please."
"Take my hand, knot your fingers through mine." I whispered. She smiled faintly as her slender fingers wove with mine.
"And we'll walk from this dark room for the last time." She quoted, and I shook my head in wonder, a grin on my lips. How did I get as lucky as to have a girl like her by my side?
"Hopefully that will be soon." I chuckled, and I grunted from the pain in my ribcage. Note to self: don't laugh.
"Oh, Edward." She muttered, cupping her other hand around my cheek. "Where does it hurt?"
"I-"
"Don't try to tell me nowhere." She warned.
"My ribs." I whispered, praying she wouldn't hear. She did.
She slowly brought her face above my chest. I caught my breath. She placed a fragile kiss on my shirt, so light I couldn't feel any pain from the contact. The heart monitor went frantic.
The room became swarmed with people as I realized we weren't alone. I felt my face burn in an unfamiliar way. My eyebrows scrunched together in confusion.
"You're blushing!" Bella exclaimed in awe. I heard a few chuckles.
"Is that why my face is warm?" I wondered.
"Yes." Bella grinned at me. There was snickers and snorts from the room. I didn't care enough to look.
"How embarrassing." I murmured to Bella. She smirked.
"I know exactly what you mean." She shook her head in sympathy. "People laugh at me all the time."
I brought my other hand up, wary of the IVs, to rest on the curve of her neck. "I'm not laughing at you." My eyes locked with her intensely.
Her breathing became a bit faster. "Not yet."
I pulled her face closer to mine. "You don't seem abnormally funny."
"No?" She smiled.
"No." I breathed, and she blinked slowly.
"Oh." Her voice trembled.
"Oh." I repeated, drawing her even closer. We were an inch apart now. "I love you."
"I love you, too." She whispered. Our lips brushed together barely as she spoke her next words with both concern and sternness. "Don't ever die on me again."
"WHAT!?!" I yelped, pulling back. "I DIED!?!! WHEN?!"
She gave a sad smile, and I wished I could get rid of the despair behind it. "Your heart...it stopped. You...died, Edward." She choked on the word.
"No." I muttered. "That's, that isn't possible. I-I couldn't have." I searched her eyes desperately. "Bella?"
"Edward, I heard the monitor. It completely went...dead." Again, she struggled with the word.
"Flat line." I recalled. The pain, the scream, the stop of my heart. I did die. "I was dead." I chuckled. And winced "How many people can say that, Bella?"
She laughed, a wonderful twinkling noise that warmed my heart. "No one. Edward, you goof. You died and now you're proud of it." She pretended to slap me. "Don't make me hurt you."
"Aw," I dismissed her threat. "You couldn't hurt a fly, Bella."
She flushed, her face a beautiful crimson. "I..." She pouted, jutting out her lower lip playfully.
I yanked her to me, pressing her lips to mine. They were unresponsive in surprise, but I didn't relent. I patiently waited for her to realize I was kissing her. Her mouth suddenly was very active beneath my own. I felt like a million bolts of electricity was flowing between us. I was on fire. And Bella only fanned the flames higher; she licked my lips and forced them open with one swipe. I groaned as I knotted my fingers in her hair. She giggled beneath my lips.
I pulled away in bewilderment. "What?" I demanded breathlessly.
"Your heart." Her face broke out in a huge grin.
I listened to the crazed heart monitor. It was as if instead of a beat, it was a constant humming noise. I laughed shakily. "It's your fault. You'll be the death of me, my Bella."
Her face sobered at once. "How did you die? How did we end up here? What happened? I just remember the ballroom dancing, then being so tired. Then nothing. I woke up to you dying. What happened??"
I blinked, startled by her sudden remembrance of where we were. That's right. We were in a hospital. "Headlights before us, so beautiful, so clear." I quoted. She misunderstood.
"You CRASHED your car on PURPOSE?!?" She shrieked in anger.
"NO!" I paused. "No. Some drunk hit us. I remember. You were sleeping, and I was so scared. I..."
"You what?" She asked, placing her hand on my upper arm.
"I...sort of...threw myself over you." I rushed out. I ducked my head away.
Her eyes widened to saucers. "You WHAT!?!" She asked again, this time she was angry. "Why on Earth would you sacrifice yourself for me?" She lifted my avoiding gaze to face her. "I'm not worth it, Edward. Please, don't ever do it again. I-"
I crushed my lips to her. She responded, confused but willing. This kiss was passionately slow, a transfer between my feelings to her. She needed to understand how much I loved her, how much she meant to me. I loved her more than I loved myself.
"Bella," I began, breaking the kiss off. "Picture how much you love me." She thought about it and was about to reply, but I cut her off. "Just picture it, Bella. Now, please understand that I love you exactly as much as you love me." She seemed astonished. "I LOVE you, my Bella."
"Wow." She whispered quietly. "I love you, too, Edward." She lightly kissed my forehead. Her beautiful lips curled into a happy smile.
"Uh, ahem." Someone cleared their throat. "I am sorry to interrupt you two, but I do need to ask you some questions, Mr. Masen."
I felt myself blushing again, but I was comforted to see that Bella's face was also stained with red. I turned my head to see a blond doctor, who seemed in his early twenties. He smiled gently at us. Bella started towards the door, but the doctor stopped her.
"You don't need to leave, Isabella Swan. But I'm afraid that the doctors and nurses who are slacking from their jobs do need to leave." All the nurses and doctors, fifteen or so, scampered out the door in a rush. I'm sitting in a room made up of only big white walls. And in the halls, there are people looking through.
The doctor shook his head. "Idiots." He grumbled. Then he shot me an apologetic glance.
"Sorry about that. They like to stick their noses into other people's business." He extended his hand out to Bella. "I am Dr. Cullen."
"Dr. Cullen." Bella acknowledged, shaking his hand. "Isabella Swan. Please call me Bella."
He grinned. "Only if you two call me Carlisle. Dr. Cullen makes me feel so old."
I laughed. "You don't seem very old." I thought about it. "You seem too young to be a father."
He chuckled. "Which of my monsters have you met?"
"Alice." I grinned. "I share a locker with Emmett in P.E., but I've never seen him; he's not in my P.E. period."
He nodded. "Ah, the infamous Edward Smith. But your real name is Edward Anthony Masen. And your father's Edward Philip Masen. Your mother was Elizabeth Sarah Masen." I flinched at the reminder. "Sorry. I didn't know you were sensitive to that subject." He looked at the clipboard in his hand. "Edward, how are you feeling?"
"Fantastic."
He chuckled. "Ah, you like sarcasm. I can see why my daughter wants to be your friend. She's very sarcastic herself, as well as the rest of my children."
"How many do you have?" I asked curiously. I don't know why, but I was honestly interested in his answer.
"Well, I have four. There's Emmett, my oldest boy. Then his girlfriend, Rosalie. Her twin brother, Jasper. And his girlfriend, Alice. And then there is my wife and I." He answered.
I liked this man. He seemed more like a father than any other man I could describe, and I had just met him. The way he spoke about his children, it was just full of love and adoration. He seemed like the father I had always wanted.
"Anyways, Edward, you have a few broken ribs and a tender backbone. You almost paralyzed yourself. A piece of glass embedded in you was an inch away from paralyzing you. You are very lucky." He informed me. Bella gasped.
"You moron! NEVER try to save my life again!! EVER!!" She yelled at me, concern etched into her face.
I smiled weakly. "I can't promise to that."
Carlisle chuckled. "I admire that, Mr. Masen. Your parents raised you well, apparently; you are a complete gentleman."
I grimaced. "Yeah. I don't live with my parents. My mother is dead, and I wish my father was."
Bella scowled at me. "Be careful what you wish for." She snapped. Why is she so upset? What did I do?
Carlisle nervously glanced at his shoes. "What is it, Doc?"
He took a deep breath. "I don't know how to say this....I am truly sorry for your loss. Your father....he was the drunk driving the truck. He died instantly on the spot. There was no chance of saving him."
I froze in total shock. My father...was dead. A slight pang went through me, even though I was mostly relieved. Though I utterly hated him, he was still my father, and somehow, I couldn't bring myself to be ecstatic that he was dead, though a lot of weight had been lifted off my shoulders.
"Now, I have heard that you are living with an uncle, who has never been seen or heard from." He gave me a look as I tried to protest. "Mr. Masen, believe me, I have seen this before. Though I am surprised that you've managed to convince so many people. I know that you don't even have an uncle. And your only aunt is dead. Are you living alone?"
I avoided his gaze. "Yeah." I mumbled quietly.
"You are seventeen, correct?" I nodded. "You know that you are not allowed to live by yourself because you are still a minor, right?" Again I nodded. "I'm afraid you must go to an adoption center. You will still own your current house, but you can't live there unless your new parents move in with you."
My jaw dropped. "Adopted?? But I've managed to take care of myself thus far. Please, Carlisle, isn't there anything you can do?" I begged. I didn't want to leave my wonderful house. Or have anybody come in it, and trash it.
He hesitated, "As you know, I am too young to have children. Well, my wife physically can't bear children. We adopted them all. So, I will make an offer to you. If you want, I can adopt you. And I'll let you live at your house- all by yourself -from Friday evenings through Sunday evenings. How's that?"
I felt my eyes water up. How could this man offer his home to me- he hardly knew me! But...my mother was dead too. I was an orphan. Oh crud.
"You would really do that for me?" I whispered.
He smiled gently. "Of course, Edward."
Then was a loud scream outside the door, and we all turned towards it.
"YYYEEEEESSSS!!"
CBCRAZYGRL5 was the only one to be worried about the other person in the other car. And although she guessed Renee and Phil, she was close. It was Edward Senior!!! Gasp!! So great job wondering about the details!! And she is just awesome. :)
GymnastByTwilight has stolen my personality!! They are just awesome. I wish they would sign in when they review so I could message them. I couldn't believe how similar we are. But the joke's on you! Because you didn't steal my personality because I keep a spare in the closet! Mwahahahaha. And that was my evil laughter. Love it? Hate it?
nightmarisha is right- always wear a seat belt.
Jayleen-Cullen-Whitlock-Hale. She cried, and so that deserves a major applause. I cried while writing this chapter, by the way.
VampireEva
HaPpY bUnNy Is NoT aN eMo
BiteMeEddie
reading-mypassion
XXMrsJasperHaleXX
I have to say that I feared for my life. I was very scared of you your reviews was terrifying. I felt like someone was going to kill me. Well, I'm alive....until next chapter. Mwahahaha. I'm just teasing. Next chapter will be pretty mellow compared to these last two.
twittygirlxoxo Thanks for the wonderful review. You remind me of my best friend because of your fantastic word choice. :)
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-Belmo :)