Chapter 9.

Time seemed to slow to a halt. I could see the evil glint in her eyes, the sweat dripping at her brow. I'm sure if I looked slightly to my left I could count the amount of hairs on the legs of the fly buzzing around. A loud bang sounded to the right of us. I tore my eyes away and towards the point of commotion. A nurse bustled in with a large metal trolley. I stole a glance towards Tanya and saw the blade had disappeared and a fake, clown-like smile was plastered across her face. I breathed a sigh of relief.
"Oh I'm sorry dear. Visiting hours are over. I'm afraid you'll have to leave." the nurse said as she checked my vitals.
"Oh of course, I was just so worried about our dear, sweet Isabella here. Do you know when she can leave?" asked Tanya.
"Thankfully her injuries are mainly superficial, just a few broken bones here and there. She's been bandaged and cast so the doctor just has to double check over her and she should be able to leave today, tomorrow at the latest."

A sense of dread washed over me, I knew Tanya wasn't asking out of concern. She obviously had an ulterior motive. Tanya nodded and left. I closed my eyes and choked back my tears. I ignored the nurse and her humming as she went about her business before she left five minutes later. I drifted in and out of sleep, my dreams filled with grinning clowns and blades. I barely registered Dr Cullen coming in and giving me the all clear, allowing me to leave in the morning. Day merged into the night, soon enough, far too soon for my liking, the birds were singing outside and the nurses began their morning rounds. My few possessions were rounded up and I collected my crutches.

I was wheeled outside by a nurse and was greeted by a solemn Charlie stood next to my truck. He helped me into the passenger side and climbed in next to me. The ride home was deathly silent. The tension was so thick you could have practically cut it with a knife. We finally arrived back at the house... Charlie came round and had to literally lift me out of the cab. I snatched up my crutches and hobbled into the house. Ignoring him I slowly made my way to the sofa. Carefully sitting down I let out a large sigh. I knew he had questions and I knew he would want answers, he deserved them. I just didn't really have it in me to talk about it. I was still hurting from the betrayal of my friends and still terrified about Tanya. I closed my eyes and leant my head back.
"Bella, Bells, please talk to me. Please tell me why. I promise I'm not angry. I don't even care about my car. Just tell me what happened. Please" the pleading in his voice brought tears to my eyes. They streamed down my cheeks as I looked up at him...
"Please Charlie. Don't. I can't. I just can't." He sighed and nodded. He helped me curl up on the sofa and brought a blanket over me and tucked me in. He kissed me on the forehead and went to the kitchen to get me some water to take my pills with.

The next seven days passed slowly. I wasn't looking forward to going back to school. Not only would I have to face everyone staring and whispering behind my back, but I would have to cope with my friends, ex-friends, and Tanya. Monday soon rolled around, I hadn't slept the night before so I already had a shower and got ready. I slowly made my way downstairs, my ribs ached slightly but I gritted my teeth and carried on. I grabbed my backpack and waited for Charlie. He dropped me off at the school and bid me a good day. I took a deep breath, readjusted my backpack and gripped my crutches tighter and wobbled into the main building.

The whispers broke out as soon as the door swung shut behind me. I cast my eyes downwards and shuffled to my locker. I pulled out my history book and manoeuvred it under my arm. I could hear the gossip and tried my hardest to ignore it. I chose not to hang around and headed to the classroom early. I did the same for my next classes and escaped to the library for lunch. I left just before the bell rang and headed to biology. I sat down on the hard, wooden stool and breathed a sigh of relief. I finally had a moment to myself. It didn't last long however as students started to file in. Luckily I was towards the back of the room so not many people could stare at me. Mr. Banner, my teacher barely glanced at me before he turned to the board and began writing today's assignments. I copied it down word for word in my untidy scrawl in the notebook. I had a feeling I was forgetting something, something important, but I couldn't for the life of me think what it was. That is, until the stool next to me slid back and a body sat down... Shit. I forgot about my lab partner.

i know i know! its short again! please dont kill me! hehe i do have some awesome news! RebelGirl22 is now helping me with this fanfic! we've been discussing the future of it and she has some AMAZING ideas :) totally astounded me! and i do believe the next chapter will be provided by her. so lets give it up for RebelGirl22! WOOOOOHOOOOO! *claps insanely* muchos love to you all! xx