Bella woke to Charlie and Renee crying. Well, Renee crying, but Charlie awkwardly trying to comfort her. And almost immediately, the guys started to show up after Charlie called them. Doctors came, they poked and prodded at her, asked her questions. Asked her what she last remembered. "I was at Sam's," Bella said, her eyes darting to the wolf she was talking about. "Picking up Emily to go out for drinks. And we were driving and… the car kind of exploded."
"You hit a deer," Charlie said quietly. "And your car overturned and fell in a ditch."
Bella covered her mouth in horror, glancing between the wolves that were there. Sam, Jared, Kim… "Where are… Is everyone okay? I didn't kill anyone, did I?"
"No," Renee insisted. "No, everyone was okay. But you… you got the worst of it, sweetheart."
And that was when her eyes caught the window. It was snowing. It was actually… "How long have I been… what happened to me?" she demanded.
"You've been in a coma for six months," Dr. Gerandy said gently. Bella's eyes widened in surprise. Six…
"But I have school-"
"Everything's been taken care of," Charlie insisted. "Don't worry about that right now." Bella moved to take the blankets off of her, but Sam stopped her with a stern look.
"How about only a few people be in here at a time?" Dr. Gerandy suggested.
"We'll be in the lobby," Sam said.
"No," Bella insisted. "Sam can stay. I… I have questions for him." Renee looked ready to object, but Charlie gave a nod in agreement. "What happened?"
"A deer ran out in front of the road," Sam said after a second, realizing it was directed towards him. "It slammed into your car, right into you, really. Your friends said that you didn't even have a chance to see it to react. You were going full speed." Bella felt her eyes widen. "You broke your leg, your hip was shattered, your arm, your hand… your jaw and your skull." Bella glanced down at her hands, seeing that one had a few scars on it from surgery. "Your heart stopped in surgery twice. And you were put into a coma to help you heal, but that was six months ago. And after a month, they tried to wake you up, and you didn't."
Bella shook her head. "No, Kim and Emily and Angela – oh, God. Angela was in the car-"
"They're fine. Kim had a few stitches, Emily had a concussion and Angela broke her arm. Nothing compared to you-"
Bella groaned. "She had a broken arm for the wedding… Shit, I'm sorry-"
"Bella, they canceled the wedding," Sam said quietly. "They couldn't do it while you were in the hospital." Bella's words died in her throat.
"What?" Bella breathed.
"Yeah, they canceled it the moment they knew you were going into surgery. They were waiting for you to be able to walk out of here. They would visit you every morning. And we'd all see you every day. Even Paul, he came every night and stayed with you all night."
Paul? Bella frowned slightly, in confusion. "What?"
"He read Wuthering Heights to you," Sam said awkwardly, and Bella glanced to the pile of books he was gesturing to. She reached for the one on top. Her old copy of Wuthering Heights. And her breath left her in amazement. Paul had read to her every night? "Cover to cover once a day. I think he's got it memorized, because all he'd think about were whole passages of it on patrols most days." Bella glanced up to Sam, to see he was entirely sincere. "He… he blames himself for the accident. He's… he's really sorry for what he said before you left."
But a knock at the door interrupted whatever Sam was going to say next, and Bella glanced towards it sharply to see Jake there, grinning, with Angela and Paul. She pulled the blanket off and with the doctor's help got to her feet, where she hugged Jake tightly, and then Angela.
"You two are the biggest idiots in the world," Bella insisted. "You should have gotten married! You'd be tanned from the honeymoon still."
"It didn't feel right," Angela insisted. She gave Bella a warm smile though. "You may have only been back two weeks, but honestly it felt like we were in high school again and … when you got hurt… I was so worried, Bella. You weren't waking up and the accident … I thought you were dead-"
"Well, I'm definitely not dead," Bella winked. "Though, I do think my rear end is showing through the back of this gown so… hold on." She grabbed the blanket and tied it around her waist, careful of all the wires. Just the few actions alone made her feel exhausted. She hadn't moved in months… She didn't even know if she could walk. She was mostly leaning on the bed rail. Her eyes darted to Paul.
And she made a split second decision that she didn't know if she'd regret down the line. She didn't know if … Sam had to have been lying. There was no other solution. "Hi, I… uh, didn't catch your name." The room seemed to take in their breath and Sam and Jake simultaneously glanced to Paul, like he'd phase right then and there.
"Paul," he said after a moment. And the word was like it was being ripped from his throat. Like it hurt to say. He exhaled and his shoulders dropped slightly. Bella watched it with rapt attention.
And then she gave him a smile. A smile she wanted to give him for a long time. "Sam said that you were here everyday reading Wuthering Heights to me. Thank you." Paul shifted uncomfortably and Sam looked like a deer in headlights.
"Yeah," Paul swallowed. He dropped his gaze to the hands stuffed in his pockets. "Yeah, no problem."
"How do I know you?"
"I just… am friends with the guys. Mutual friends made us… know each other." Paul cleared his throat.
"Oh… well, we're probably close, right? I mean, why else would you read to me, right?" She paused, and then back tracked. "Wait… we aren't… dating, are we? Because, if we are, I'm-"
"No," Paul interrupted quickly, his eyes jumping up at the word "dating." "No, nothing like that. We really can't stand each other. Scream at each other. You know, tell one another we hate each other, call the other names." He seemed to stop himself and straightened his shoulders. "Right, I'm going to go to the lobby with the others. You guys… have fun."
"I'm glad you came, Paul," Charlie said in the silence.
Paul glanced to him, and Bella watched as he seemed to inflate a little. Like a puppy being given a treat. What the hell had happened while she was asleep? What happened to Paul? He hadn't said a single curse word yet. "Yeah, me too." The words were a touch sarcastic, and when he left, he shut the door quietly behind him. She watched his figure disappear and there was silence in the room. Until she was certain Paul had gotten to the elevator. Or at least far away.
"Is he out of hearing range?"
"Of course he is," Renee chided her. "You know that-"
"Yeah," Sam interrupted.
Bella closed her eyes as Dr. Gerandy began to take notes and sat down on the bedside, releasing a breath. "Sorry, I just…"
"Do you really not know who that man is?"
"Paul Lahote," Bella spoke carefully. "He's twenty four years old. I'm twenty two… Jesus Christ, I'm twenty two years old… He lives on the reservation, three houses down from Charlie's. He works at Jake's mechanic shop and-"
"Did you just-" Sam bit back the words she knew he was going to say. "Did you just fake memory loss to him?"
Bella opened her eyes, and sighed again. "Can I have a minute with Sam, Jake and Angela… please? I know I just woke up and there's probably doctor's protocols and everything, but I need to talk to them and … I just really need to figure out what the hell is going on and I want answers from them right now and-"
"Bella, honey, why don't you let the doctor's do what they need to first-"
"No," Bella said firmly. "I need to figure out what's going on. Who's president, because I didn't get to vote. And what happened to my car-"
"Of course," Dr. Gerandy said. "Just don't tire yourself out, or stress yourself out. I'm going to ask that while a doctor isn't in the room, you stay in your bed so as not to injure yourself. And then once you're all done, we'll run an MRI to see what you've got going on." Bella nodded in agreement. And as soon as they were out the door, Charlie dragging a protesting Renee, Bella rubbed her eyes with her hands.
"I'm sorry," Bella admitted.
"None of this was your fault," Angela insisted. "That deer came out of nowhere."
"I know, but … you were supposed to get married. You've been together for four years. This was supposed to be your moment… Your big day and of course I was the one driving. You guys should learn by now not to give me lots of responsibility. I attract danger like crazy."
Jake gave her a grin. "Yeah, but we can look at the positives. Now we have another year to mess around or change our minds."
Angela smacked his chest with her hand, half-heartedly and approached Bella, sitting on the other side of the bed. "Why did you fake memory loss?"
"He didn't read to me," Bella said flatly, glancing between the three of them. "So, what game are you playing?"
"Bella, you just woke up-"
"Yeah, well, if you're going to lie to me, I'll lie to him."
Sam sighed. "Alright. I'll prove it." He pulled out his phone, and dialed a number, putting it on speaker.
"What, Sam?" There was the angry tone Bella remembered.
Sam pointed to the book on the bed but Angela was already moving for it. "What does the eighteenth page of Wuthering Heights say?"
"I don't see what this has to do with anything, Sam," Paul bit out, irritated. "She doesn't remember, okay? I'm just some useless piece of-"
"Paul!" Sam snapped. "What does the first line say?"
Bella heard him growl and held her breath, leaning towards Angela to see the page herself. "Not my son, assuredly." Bella stared at the phone in Sam's hand in amazement. "Heathcliff smiled again, as if it were rather too bold a jest to attribute the paternity of that bear to him. "My name is Hareton Earnshaw," growled the other, "and I'd counsel you to respect it!"
Bella's eyes darted to Jake, who was smirking like he discovered gold. And Angela, who was giving Bella an "told you so" smile. Paul had… read to her. Fuck. And she had just… Shit, she had made this a lot worse. Shit…
"Thank you," Sam said. "I'll talk to you later. Go cool yourself off." Even Bella knew the last sentence was a command. And the phone turned off before she could hear a response.
"I… I thought it was a dream," Bella admitted. "I just… kept dreaming the movie with Ralph Fiennes… the 92 version. And …" Bella swallowed. "I mean, it was constant. The movie was just on repeat in my head. I… that was because Paul was reading it to me?"
"Yeah, I guess," Jake said quietly. "I mean, I knew he was staying the night here. He would always come right when I was about to leave in the evenings. But… he never said anything about it."
"It helped him calm down. He started to go to Anger Management classes, and he'd come here and read to you. And he said that it really helped him…" Sam gave her a look. "So why are you lying to him?"
"I didn't think he'd… I mean, I get if he feels guilty. But… it wasn't his fault, either… He has to know that. And… if he did read to me then… there had to have been a reason, right? Not just the anger thing… I make him angry. I mean, I just have to walk into a room and he starts to growl."
Angela snorted. "Bella, he's completely in love with you. He's so angry with himself for not telling you sooner."
Bella sucked in a breath, like Angela had just said something extremely foul and unexpected. But Bella felt like she was going to have a heart attack. Paul couldn't have been… no. That was ridiculous. Paul was the guy that would just see her enter the room, and call her a whore. He was the guy that would walk down the street and spit on her car or something. He was the guy that wouldn't let her forget the leech she had dated.
He was the guy that would call her at random points in her day, once a month, and make forced conversation.
"He has been since … I don't know when. But when your heart stopped… twice, really, he hasn't stopped working on making himself … in control." Bella swallowed at Sam's words. Her heart had stopped? Maybe she should have talked to the doctors first. That was much easier news to swallow than this.
"He can't love me," Bella insisted. "He hates me."
"We really shouldn't be telling you this, but honestly, I can't have him hold it in anymore," Jake said suddenly. "Look, Bells, we love you, but we love Paul, too. And I didn't think we'd be friends with him, but he's one of my closest. And screw it, alright? He's not going to say anything until he calms down, and you're stubborn as hell, so look. He's always been a screw up. There's no denying it. And he pretty much ruin everything good he has. And you know just as well as I that every moment he's had with you, he ruined it with his temper."
"Yeah...It's always fine until something sets him off," Bella agreed slowly. "But that doesn't mean anything-"
"He didn't sleep. I mean, I don't even think I saw him eat much, and you know how much we love to eat. Hell, he barely talked. He was so worried about you that he didn't even worry about himself. And with someone like Paul, that's pretty hard to do. When he first found out, he went awol for like three days. He's been rebuilding his house, to keep his mind off of - I mean…" Jake gave her a sigh. "Look, he's in love with you. And all that he thought about was that lame book and you lying in this bed. So. If combined with the imprint, that doesn't make him in love with you, I don't know what does."
Bella blinked. "What imprint?" Sam groaned.
"You're so fucked," he muttered to Jake.
"Shit, Bella… I'm sorry-"
"He… he imprinted on me?" Bella whispered. An imprint was a lot different than just falling in love with someone that you hung around with. An imprint was… oh, shit.
"I know it's completely unfair of me to ask this of you, but he's my best friend," Sam said after Bella seemed to try to swallow that news down. Angela clutched her hand tightly, in comfort. They all knew? All of them, and… Was that why he had called? Was that why Sam made him call? Because of the imprint? "He has been since we were kids. I promise that he's changed. I promise that he's not the same Paul that you knew four years ago. That you knew six months ago. So, if you keep this charade up, you better not break his heart. Because Paul's my brother, and I won't let that happen to him. Not after everything he's been through. I love you, Bella. You're like a sister to me. So, if you're going to do this, and be serious about it, then watch how he is. Watch how he acts around you. See if he's different. He's trying his best to be good enough for you. Just watch him."
"He imprinted on me?" Bella whispered. "When?"
"Uh, when you slapped him in the face in my backyard," Jake insisted.
"I know you two don't get along… but maybe a fresh start's best. Maybe we can use this to our advantage. Make him think you don't remember… tell him that it's temporary, and..." Sam was one conniving friend, she would have to remember that. But… yeah. Okay.
Bella swallowed, nodding. "Yeah… Yeah, okay. So what, I lie to him for a couple of months, and then what? When he learns the truth, he's going to go ballistic." Even Sam winced at that image. But Bella sighed. If Paul had read to her… had practically memorized the book, then… maybe they were right? Maybe Paul was different? Maybe Paul… was cool now?
"The night you kicked him out for the Edward thing, he came straight to my house and begged me to help him with his anger." Bella swallowed. "The night you were talking to Stephanie in the changing room, he heard everything, and he punched a hole through Jake's shed. I know he's been awful to you, and you can choose to go back to Jacksonville once everything's good, but just stay a few weeks and see if he can be better. He wants to, but he's so ... stubborn and just..."
"An ass," Bella muttered. She sighed. "Fine. Just a few weeks. I'll keep it up. And then I'm going to tell him that I do remember."
"He doesn't need you to be nice. He just needs a chance to prove it to you," Sam said quietly. "And he can't do that if he thinks you hate him. So…"
"So make him think we can start over, and start off as friends. And when things are going good, tell him." Sam and Jake seemed to nod, but Jake still looked a little sick.
"I'm so going to die because I told you. Sorry, Ange." Angela just giggled.
"It was really nice knowing you, Jake."
Bella glanced between the three of them. "And that's it? That's… that's all that's been going on?"
"Charlie knows," Sam admitted. "About everything. We told him… he saw Paul when your heart stopped." Bella showed them her confusion. "Uh, well… basically, the imprint makes us aware of it. And it's the worst pain in the world." She still was confused. "You feel like you're dying. And Paul felt that twice. And Charlie saw it and… we had to explain everything to him, from the imprint to the pack..." Bella felt her eyes widen. "Yeah, even vampires. We didn't tell him about the Cullens though… I didn't think his heart could take that."
No, probably not. Jesus Christ. She glanced down to the book, seeing that it was more worn than she had ever remembered it. The corners of the pages were bent in some spots, like it had been dog-eared. There were little pieces of paper shoved in some parts, torn off from the notepad beside the bed. She opened it quietly to one of the pages with a tag, and saw that there wasn't anything really special on the page. Nothing that was profound or deep. She certainly hadn't placed the markers there. She didn't want to ask, either, because she had a feeling who had. Who had bookmarked her pages. Who had worn this book well beyond its years. And somehow, it made the book feel… intimate. Like … like something really … precious.
"What day is it?" she asked, glancing up.
"December fourth." December fourth. She had twenty one days until Christmas. Three weeks. She swallowed. "Almost six months exactly."
Yeah… June tenth was the party in Port Angeles. "Do you… do you have pictures? Of my car?" Bella asked quietly. She was just starting to realize that this was real. It was starting to sink in. She had almost died. Well, she had died, but she had almost died for good. And … Renee was here. Had Renee been here the whole time? "It had to have been…"
"It's all fixed, but…" Jake dug into his pocket, pulling out his phone. After a few seconds of flipping through some pictures, he passed it to her. "You can keep flicking through. There are a few. I, uh… went with Sam and Jared to tow it back to the shop. Try to fix what we could." She didn't have words for what she saw. Her fingers on her left hand felt stiff, but she worked her best to curl them around the phone, testing out the strength in them. She would need to work on that. "The blood's either yours or the deer." Shit… It was… shit. She kept flicking through them, taking in the amount of blood, the twisted metal, the nearly non-existant driver's side.
"They had to pry you out," Angela said quietly. Bella felt tears fill her eyes at the overwhelming urge to cry. She didn't remember anything but flying through the air. She didn't remember the pain. She didn't remember much of the accident other than that. And then it had been blackness for six months, other than that Wuthering Heights movie on replay in her head. Or certain words. Indian words that she could vaguely understand the meaning to. She brushed away the tears, scrolling through more and more pictures. So many pictures. So much emotion. And then the last picture wasn't the accident. It was Paul. It was Paul curled up in the tiny visitor chair, with Wuthering Heights in one hand, almost dwarfing the already small copy, and his other hand around one of hers. He looked extremely uncomfortable. He looked… awful. Dark circles around his eyes, hair disheveled, shirt too tight on his body. But, she did, too. She was pale and her hair was in braids – her hair was still in braids, she found when she raised a hand to touch them. But it was proof. Phsyical proof that it was real. That he had actually be there.
That he had read to her.
That this wasn't all a lie. Jake seemed to realize what she had stopped on. "That was last night. I… I forgot my wallet here, and I came back…" Jake cleared his throat. "Yeah, that was uh… every night. From the time I left to the time someone got here in the morning."
"Do I still have a cell phone?" she asked quietly.
"Uh… yeah," Jake said uncomfortably. "A new one, but the same number. Your old one got a little ruined."
She just nodded and she pressed a few things on his phone, before the image was sent successfully. She needed it, for some reason. She needed this picture. It was proof. Proof that he was … actually real. That he had actually imprinted. That she had been in a coma. That she had woken up.
"He doesn't know I took that, so if he ever sees that, I'm going to be risen from my first grave, and put into a second." But Bella ignored Jake, flicking back over the pictures of her car.
"So… is it a good idea to bring the doctors and your parents back in yet? I need to go deal with Paul before he ruins another pair of clothes, and you need to see if you have any issues in your head," Sam said pointedly.
Right. Bella had been asleep for six months. "Yeah… They can come back. Thanks..." She passed Jake his phone back. "And who's president?" Jake snorted in amusement.
But it wasn't really that funny. She had missed her chance to vote for the first time. It really pissed her off, almost as much as Jake and Angela post-poning their wedding.
Any Guest reviews are replied to on my tumblr: ODaerwyn, so if you're looking for a reply, it'll be there.