CH19
Bella's eyes widened in shock, her grip on Edward's hand tightening to the point of pain. "Cancer free…?" Her voice was small, quiet, something her father was used to. "You mean, I'm going to be okay?"
Edward smiled to himself, his eyes on their joined hands. "You're going to be okay." He felt her rest her forehead against his shoulder, felt her warm tears drop down onto their hands. "We're going to be okay."
Somewhere in the background, Bella heard a booming laugh. "Who would've thought someone as annoying as Eddie over here could ever be so sweet." Dr. McCarty effectively ruined the moment for Edward, but to everyone else in the room it was comforting. The Cullen's had seen Edward at his worst, Charlie had seen Bella an inch from death, and they all happily welcomed the laughter that invaded the room.
"Why are you still here you ape?" Edward gritted out between his teeth, but Bella could tell it was lighthearted fun. "Don't you have other patients to attend to?"
Bella squeezed his hand before she looked up, swiping at her tears. "Nah, sooner or later that'll be your job, Eddie, and I can just hang out here with your family."
Emmett smiled wide and threw an arm around Bella's shoulders, only barely avoiding smacking Edward straight in the face. "The second this ass got out of the OR he was applying for jobs. Can't say he'll be well liked around here with that attitude of his, but he'll sure be an asset to the hospital."
Bella's shocked eyes darting around the room again, taking in the soft smiles on everyone's faces. "You're moving here?"
"I've already put in my notice in Chicago." He pushed some loose strands of hair behind her ears and smiled, cupping her cheek lovingly. She had color to her skin again. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes less glassy. "I'm not going anywhere Bella."
Her eyes met the ceiling, the walls, before finally settling on the floor, looking anywhere but at him. "I can't ask you to do that. You have a life, Edward. I'm not worth that trouble." Her voice was panicked, and he knew that if he looked at her now there would be tears brimming in her eyes.
"Can we have a moment?" His voice was loud and she heard shuffling all around the room as the people she loved stepped out, one by one.
"Just don't take too long, Edward." Alice seemed annoyed. "I haven't seen my best friend in nearly four years and I'll be damned if you get to monopolize all her time!" Her foot tapped impatiently on the ground. "Especially while she's practically prisoner here. I have manicures and facials and a whole lot of girl time to catch up on. I better get the chance to do it before she has the ability to run away!" Edward chuckled and motioned for his sister to close the door behind her.
When they heard the door finally close he sighed in relief before his lips found hers, his soft, warm, lips being exactly what she remembered. "God, I missed this." His fingers intertwined with hers as his eyes fluttered open, meeting her frightened brown ones. "I missed you." Their foreheads rested against each other, so close that they were sharing breath. "And believe me when I say that staying here with you will be absolutely no trouble at all." His nose nuzzled hers and a small smile graced her lips. "I love you Bella."
"As much as I love you and as much as I want to believe everything you say, I know I'm just not worth it." She pulled in a shaking breath and tugged her hand out of his. "I don't know why you were willing to save me, Edward, and I don't know how any of this ever happened, but I was supposed to die. It was my time to die. I don't want to burden anyone anymore."
She knew she sounded ungrateful. Knew that he had sacrificed so much to have her sitting here in front of him. But she also knew she wasn't worthy.
He tugged her closer to him, a crease of confusion forming on his brow. "Why do you feel like that Bella? Have I ever made you feel like you weren't worth it? I've been killing myself thinking that I had something to do with this. That your self-loathing was my fault. I should have stayed. I know that now. I should have been here. I should have done this sooner." His voice was tight and she knew it all to well, he was on the brink of tears. How had she fucked up this badly again? It was never her intention to make him feel badly.
"You didn't do this to me Edward. You saved me. And I'll never be able to thank you enough for that." His eyes were swimming in tears, pain clearly written all over his face. "I moved here because my mom didn't want me Edward." Her voice was steady, firm. This was a story she had never told anyone, but a story that she had accepted as truth so long ago that it wasn't hard to tell. "She sent me here because I was nothing but a pain. She told me she wanted me to die. When we found out about my cancer….she….she just couldn't handle the stress. I was trouble. I was an added expense that she couldn't take." She shrugged, ignoring the horrified look on his face "She wanted to live with her new husband. He and I had never gotten along and after I got sick she found her out. She packed up my things and had me on a plane within a week. Told me not to expect them at my funeral."