The Learning Curve

by Amethyst Jackson

AU and AH. Short chapters with daily updates. When Bella's boyfriend brings up the issue of her virginity with his ex, she decides to take charge of her own fate. Now complete with occasional snippets to come.

94. Chapter 94

The Learning Curve: Chapter 94

Forks Community Hospital

I woke when a nurse entered the room to let Alice know she could see her father. He was resting in a room in the ICU.

"Do you want to go alone?" I asked Alice. She was finding her way back to alertness much quicker than I was.

"Walk down with me?" she asked. "I need to see him alone, but..."

"I understand," I said. We left the boys sleeping and went to the elevators. Alice held my hand tightly.

"Are you nervous to see him?" I asked. She'd been waiting so intently for this moment, and now she seemed hesitant.

"I don't know how he's going to look...what state he'll be in. I don't know if I'm ready."

"I don't think you can be ready for something like this," I said gently as the elevator doors opened to our floor. "You just have to be brave, I guess."

"I'm not brave like you are," she said. The doors closed on us again.

"I'm not brave," I argued.

"You are. You're never afraid to face reality head-on, even if it hurts. I've never been like that."

I pressed the button to make the doors open again. "It's not that hard to be brave. You just have to keep moving."

She nodded, and we finally stepped into the hallway. At the nurse's desk, we found the woman who had come to get Alice. She pointed us to Mr. Brandon's room.

I walked Alice up to the door and gave her hand a squeeze. She took a deep breath, let go of me, and went inside.

The ICU had its own waiting room, and I ducked into it to give Alice privacy with her father.

A few minutes later, I was flipping through a seven-month-old issue of Time when Edward and Jasper shuffled into the room.

"Hey," I said, surprised to see them so soon. "Why aren't you sleeping?"

"I woke up and you were gone," Edward said simply, dropping into the seat next to mine. "I have like a Bella radar that goes off when you leave. So I made Jasper wake up so we could come find you two."

Jasper still stood near the doorway with a distracted expression. "Is Alice with her dad?"

I nodded.

Jasper looked at Edward and I and then into the hallway. "I'm going to wait for her out here," he said.

I fought a smile. "Okay. She'll appreciate it."

Edward slung his arm around my shoulders and let out a yawn as he rested his head on mine. "Alice is lucky to have a friend like you, Bella."

I smiled and closed the magazine. "I'm lucky to have a friend like her."