Where the Streets Have No Name

Chapter 81

Carlisle remained silent for several moments after Edward finished the account of his fight with Carmen, leading up to her attempted suicide. The air inside the car felt stifling with the building tension. Carlisle cracked open the window on his side a few inches as if to defuse the pressure.

"Why didn't you say any of this before?" he asked.

Edward looked uncertain. "I don't know. I didn't want anyone to know. I... I was so ashamed. I kept hoping she'd wake up and none of it would matter. Then Elvira showed up and started her... crusade and it seemed like I would just make matters worse if I said anything. She'd accuse me of slandering Carmen, of spreading lies to ruin her reputation when she's in no shape to defend herself. I mean, no one else was there. It's just my word against...

"Elvira doesn't even believe that Carmen is mentally ill. She'll just call me a liar and add cruel treatment to the charges she has already piled up against me.

"Also... also I didn't want Ella to find out about it later. No matter how she interprets it, it will be too much for her. It'll be difficult enough explaining to her about Carmen's problems when she's old enough. What if she blames me for... everything?" Edward's face contorted in pain as he contemplated the question. He looked at his father with beseeching eyes.

"Edward, you mustn't blame yourself for being human," Carlisle said. "Any parent would blow a fuse if they caught the nanny leaving their child unattended and then turning the baby monitor off. Your reaction was not inappropriate. It's unfortunate, hell, it's tragic that Carmen reached a breaking point as a result, but any parent would have reacted the same way. It's child endangerment for crying out loud.

"The only difference here is that Carmen is not hired help. But that doesn't mean the gravity of the situation carries any less weight. You had no way of knowing she was going to react this badly."

"But I should have!" Edward interjected. "Of all people, I should have known better. I knew she wasn't doing well. I knew she wasn't responding to treatment. I knew...

"I should have been more patient. I should have..." Edward voice cracked under stress. "Oh, Dad. What if she doesn't wake up? It's been more than a week. I saw her last scan; her brain activity levels haven't improved at all. What if Dr. Rubens is right? What if she doesn't get better?"

Carlisle shook his head.

"You can't think like that, son. You need to stay positive. Her lung and liver function have recovered much faster than expected. She didn't suffer complete renal failure. The damage to her kidneys can be dealt through dialysis. The important thing is she's alive. You know that metabolic coma has a far better chance of recovery than trauma victims. You have to keep that in mind," Carlisle said, trying to be reassuring. "I'm still hopeful that she'll regain consciousness soon. But in the meantime, you need to keep a cool head. You need to take care of yourself and Ella. You can't go about shooting your mouth off and confess to things you are not guilty of. Because we both know your mother-in-law is perfectly capable of using it against you."

"Maybe she should. Maybe that's what I deserve," Edward said with resignation. Now that he had unburdened his soul to his father, he could feel the all-engulfing exhaustion creeping back in full force. He didn't have any fight left in him.

"You don't!" Carlisle objected loudly. "How would you being in jail at a time like this help anyone? Who would take care of your daughter? If the worst comes to worst and Carmen doesn't wake up and you end up behind bars, what will happen to Ella? Your mother and I will of course do our level best to look after her, but you realize that the Morenos will have just as good a chance of gaining her custody. In fact, as the family of the injured party, they'd stand a better chance. They'd be favored over us! Can you risk that? Do you really want Ella to be raised by that vindictive woman?"

Edward shook his head. Regardless of how much guilt he carried in his heart, he couldn't afford to be locked up. He couldn't leave Ella to face an uncertain future being tugged about between two sets of grandparents who were hostile toward each other.

"Now go on and get some rest. I'll call you if there's any change," Carlisle said once he was sure his son understood and accepted what had to be done.

With a tired nod of his head, Edward complied.

Thank you Lulabelle98, HeidiJoVT, and Dinx.

Thank you TelAviv and deleepowman for help with all the medical lingo.