Song inspiration/recommendation for this chapter: By Your Side ~ The Paper Kites feat. Rosie Carney
Do go and give it a listen, it fits Bella and Carlisle, and this chapter, so very deliciously, I felt.
"Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light."
~ Helen Keller
.
"Only in the shattering can the rebuilding occur."
~ Barbara Marciniak
CHAPTER SEVEN: THE SHATTERING
BPOV
So cold.
The sun was shining, though it barely penetrated the thick overhang of trees where I lay. The air was warm. But I was not.
The void swam in my veins. So cold.
I wasn't sure how much time had passed. Hours, I knew that. It was dark now, the full moon peeking through the trees above me. I was trying so hard not to fall into that same state I had before, when Edward...
No.
I clenched my fists in frustration.
I couldn't do this to Charlie again.
But nor could I bring myself to move.
The air was eerily silent. I willed my head to move at least, glancing about me in the still, quiet mass of trees.
A bird call.
Slight noises in the undergrowth.
Eyes.
Wait, eyes?
My own eyes snapped back to the spot where I thought I had seen...
No, nothing. Had I imagined it?
Amber-brown eyes. Wolfish eyes.
Surely not, they would be breaking the treaty, trespassing on Cullen territory, now that Carlisle was back.
But he was gone, so...
I closed my eyes. It didn't matter, whatever I had or hadn't seen, it was gone.
The pain gnawed on. I bit my lip, and tried to stand. My limbs were like jelly. I tumbled sideways, cursing.
"Damn vampires!"
Damn yourself, Bella Swan. You should have told him, before it was too late.
Despite the warmth of the day, I began shivering uncontrollably.
So cold...
"Carlisle," I whispered into the dark, endless forest. "Please."
I closed my eyes, letting the dark and the cold take me.
"I love you."
xxx
CPOV
As I ran into the vast expanse of forest that stretched out across the outskirts of our Olympian home, it hit me like a tsunami from a vast, endless sea. I came to a skittering halt, my extreme velocity causing me to stumble and trip and come crashing down, sliding across the forest floor, taking out about half a mile of vegetation. I gasped, clutching at the earth beneath my fingers.
So cold.
So hollow.
So dark.
"Bella..."
Her name fell from my lips, sounding somehow weary and far away. I staggered to my feet, knowing she needed me. I had to press on. It had already been too long; hours had passed. I turned to make for her house, but something pulled me in the other direction. Pulling me... back to my own house.
I frowned. Had she come back already?
Did she ever make it home at all?
So cold.
My eyes widened. God, no. Please no. She can't have come back and thought...
I would never... I told her I would never...
I was gone from that spot in a fraction of a second, gliding over the earth with all the extra speed I could summon.
I came upon the house, calling her name. There was only stillness and silence to greet me, but her truck was there in the moonlight, parked awkwardly, as if she had screeched to a halt , killed the engine and exited the cab all in one, desperate motion.
I sniffed the air, scanned the trees, honing my senses, trying to locate her.
"Isabella!"
Silence reverberated back, taunting me.
I ran into the trees, eyes closing, letting instinct, the pull, the icy cold, take me where I needed to go.
"I love you."
Her words filtered into my head, pulsating through my body like a warm, sweet balm, settling into my heart and making it feel swollen with joy.
She... she loves me...
My vampiric senses sought out the direction of her voice.
There.
Her small frame was slumped in a heap, half against a tree. Her arms were around her knees, her head flopped back, her eyes half closed, unseeing.
So cold.
"Isabella!"
My voice was little more than a hoarse, anguished whisper. But she heard me.
Finally I reached her. Finally, I was home.
Her eyes fluttered fully open.
I swept her up into my arms in an instant, pulling her into my body, arms wrapped around her, holding her, supporting her, loving her.
"Isabella... I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
Over and over. I didn't know how many times it would take me saying it to make me feel any better.
"Carlisle?"
Her voice was weak, but I could feel her body responding as I pressed her hard against my frame.
"Isabella."
I kissed the top of her head softly, wrapping her even tighter against me, if that was possible.
"Car... Carlisle..."
She was shaking.
"I'm here, Isabella. I'm here. I will always be here, I promise you. I will never let you go."
Her arms, slowly, were sliding around my back, her fingers finding their strength and gripping my shirt.
She tensed, and I could feel the life returning to her body; heart pounding, blood flowing, warmth returning to her skin.
Gently, tenderly, I eased her grip from me, pulling myself back to look into her eyes. My hand came up instinctively, cupping her face, thumb gliding across her cheek softly. Her chocolate brown eyes met my own, pulled me in and drowned me. Her breath hitched, and cut through any remaining shred of restraint I might have had left inside me.
I leaned in slowly, eyes still locked with hers. Our noses touched, and the whole world fell away. I felt her fingers seek out my face and caress my marble skin tentatively.
"Isabella," I whispered, the most serene smile settling on my face.
And then I kissed her.
xxx
BPOV
"I love you."
The words had no sooner left my lips than my entire body shifted. The void fell away, but I couldn't yet bring myself to move. It had left me dazed, disorientated. I could feel my muscles twitching. I felt like I was going into shock.
The next thing I knew, a crushing force was all around me, hard and strong, yet tender and soft all at the same time. I could hear words, words that came from the voice of an angel...
"Carlisle?" I rasped, my mind trying to keep up with my body as it felt his marble arms surround me. He was saying something over and over again.
"Sorry, I'm sorry..."
He pulled me tighter to his chest, arms squeezing me, his face buried in my hair. I could swear I felt him plant a soft kiss upon my head, causing the spasms of shock to increase. I shivered and trembled against him.
He... he was... here? He hadn't left me?
Tears pricked my eyes, and I felt my body become awash with the deepest joy.
"Car... Carlisle..."
"I'm here, Isabella. I'm here. I will always be here, I promise you. I will never let you go."
I began to slowly regain control of my limbs. My hands found their way up his back, sliding across his shirt, grabbing at the material.
I felt him gently ease us apart, so he could look at me. I shuddered, warmth flooding me. I was everything and nothing, excitement and terror, in those seconds before I forced my gaze up and looked into his beautiful amber eyes.
My breath hitched as the intense force of his gaze hit me. There was such love looking back at me; fierce love, passionate love. His hand reached up and touched my face, his cold skin pressing against my cheek, his thumb skimming it so tenderly.
I swallowed, felt myself lean in, just as he did the same. Our noses pressed together, our eye contact never breaking. I don't think I even blinked. I was lost in his eyes, his scent, his touch.
I brought my own hand up, my fingers hovering at the side of his face. Unsure, I steadied myself, before gently stroking his cheek in return. And then...
Then he kissed me.
It was everything. His lips ignited burning fires inside me, in every vein, in every cell of my skin. I kissed him back with all that I had, wrapping my arms around his neck and letting him pull me flush against him, trembling as his arms curled tightly around all of me and our lips pressed together harder, fiercer, with a passion that felt like it could never be abated.
His tongue gently sought entrance to my mouth, and I sighed as it entwined with mine, creating unbelievably good tingles all over my skin as we became utterly lost in each other.
"Isabella," he breathed happily into my mouth. He pulled back a little, peppering my face with kisses; my nose, my eyes, my cheeks, and finally, placing the deepest, most reverent kiss on my forehead. I felt like I was floating outside of myself, completely immersed in bliss.
We sat, then; he leaned back against a tree and pulled me into his lap. I lay against his chest, relishing the closeness of him. I couldn't stop looking at his beautiful features, illuminated in the moonlight, making him look completely and utterly the powerful, earth-shattering, ethereal immortal that he was.
"I'm sorry I sent you away," he said, entwining his fingers with mine. "I'm sorry if you thought... if you thought I had..."
"It's alright," I reassured him. "You're here now. You came back."
"I never left you, please know that," he said, suddenly tipping my chin up to look him in the eyes. His expression and tone were fierce, determined to make me absorb his words fully.
"I told you I would never leave you, Isabella, and I meant it. I just had to... run, for a while. I was frightened I would hurt you if I stayed... my feelings were... overwhelming."
I smiled. "How far did you get?"
"Best part of 200 miles away."
He looked a little sheepish.
"I took out five animals in the space of an hour. Five! Ripped them to pieces. If I had stayed, if I had hurt you..."
He shuddered, and I snuggled deeper into his embrace. I tried to imagine Carlisle doing such a thing, feral and wild and savage, blood covering his hands and face. It did all kinds of things to me, and I quivered, before swallowing and fixing him with a look that I hoped told him how amazing he was.
"But you didn't."
I grabbed his hand and squeezed it. "You didn't. You wouldn't have. I know you wouldn't. You did what was right. You always do, Carlisle."
He laughed then, a soft but somewhat bitter laugh.
"That has always been my problem, yes."
He looked down. I squeezed his hand tighter.
"I know what we are, you know."
He looked back up again, eyebrows quirked, eyes dark and bottomless.
'What are we?" he asked, voice now low and husky. "Say it..."
"Fated lovers. Soul mates."
I swallowed, my lashes fluttering as I blinked, my face flushing as I spoke the truth aloud.
"True mates."
His breath hitched, and then he seized my face and pulled me in for another kiss; it started sweet and then deepened, to something hard, and heady, and needy.
When we broke apart, he kept his face against mine, gazing at me through his lashes, with those endless pools of butterscotch. They were slowly darkening to a deep molten honey, and I felt the familiar rush of heat move through me, pooling at my core.
He trembled, and visibly had to compose himself. I smiled despite myself.
Wow. I did that. To Carlisle Cullen.
"When did you realise?" he breathed, stroking my face. I wrapped my arms around him.
"I think I knew some part of it, from the moment you came back, and I saw you, and felt the ache go away," I mused, thinking back over the last two days. "All the rush of feelings I had... I knew something was pulling us together. But I didn't dare think... I couldn't make sense of it. I was so confused. But when you sent me home today, the further I drove, the more it hurt. The void, it overtook me. I realised that all the emptiness I felt when you all left wasn't because of... Edward... it was because of you. I just hadn't known it, before, because he got to me first, and..."
I trailed off, momentarily. "And then I thought back over all of it, and it just hit me like a wave. And I knew, with all my heart, it was you. It was always you."
I cupped his face and kissed him, and for a time, there was nothing but the feel of our bodies, our hands, our mouths, our tongues. There was only him, and the overwhelming love, adoration and desire coursing through my veins in equal measure.
We broke apart again, gasping.
"What about you?" I asked, tentatively. "When did you know?"
His lip quirked, and a brief flicker of... sadness? Regret? Crossed his beautiful face.
"From the moment I met you," he said, quietly. "Your scent hit me the second I walked through those hospital doors. I'd never felt anything so overwhelming in all my centuries."
I stared at him, eyes wide. "Wow."
He smiled, looking down and playing absentmindedly with my hands, rubbing his fingers over them and across my palms.
"I do not know how I made it through your examination. All I wanted to do was kiss you and... more. So much more. Right there and then." He looked down, abashed. "I am quite ashamed of how badly I wanted to have you, in that moment."
If he could have blushed, then, I'm quite sure he would have been flushed from head to foot. I burst into a fit of giggles.
"Oh Carlisle! Can you imagine Charlie's face..."
He looked up, momentarily mortified, then his face crumpled and he joined me in laughing heartily.
Suddenly I was serious again.
"So that means... all this time. All this time you've been..."
He looked down again, swallowing down that sadness I had seen before.
"Oh Carlisle," I breathed, a flash of pain passing through me. "I know vampires feel everything so much more strongly than humans. The void, the pain when we were apart... it all but drowned me, as a human. How ever did you stand it?"
"I am not sure that I did, truly," he said after taking a moment to gather his thoughts. "It took me under and drowned me, too... multiple times over."
"Because you tried to block it out," I said, trying to work out the pieces of the puzzle that made up this amazing man before me. "Because of Edward."
He took a deep, shaky breath and smiled. "I was a fool, I know that now. There is no denying what we are, Isabella. I fear I only caused more pain for everyone, and especially for you and I."
He closed his eyes briefly and exhaled into my hair. "Such a fool."
"A wonderful, kind-hearted fool," I murmured, stroking his face. "A fool who cares deeply for his family. A fool who puts others first. The very best sort of fool. My fool."
He chuckled, then looked into my eyes again, with a touch of awe in them.
"How are you so very wise and wonderful?" he murmured. "How did I come to deserve you, Isabella Swan?"
I shook my head. "That is the question I should be asking you, Carlisle. How on earth do I deserve anyone as incredible and wonderful as you?"
He brought my hands up to his lips and kissed them, utter reverence on his face.
"Because you are incredible, Isabella. And you're mine."
Something about the way he said "Mine," made me shiver in delight.
"Let's get you back to the house," he murmured. "Get you warmed up."
He helped me to stand.
"Charlie!" I exclaimed suddenly. "I need to call Charlie. He must be wondering where the hell I am."
I staggered slightly, and Carlisle swept me up into his arms in a flash. His lips brushed mine, so tenderly, so intimately, it caused me to moan in pleasure.
Before I could even process us blurring through the woods, he had us back at the house. He let me down, and I yanked open my truck door, leaning in and scrabbling around for my cell.
Eleven missed calls. Shit.
I hit Charlie's number and held my breath. Straight to voicemail.
"Hi, dad? It's Bella. Sorry I didn't call sooner, I... I went out... left my phone behind. Just letting you know that I'm okay. Sorry if I scared you. I'm going to stay at... at a friend's house tonight... I'll see you in the morning. Let me know you get this, okay? Love you dad. Bye."
I hung up, feeling my cheeks flush and wondering for a second if I had been presumptuous at assuming I would be staying with Carlisle tonight. If it was Edward, he would have frogmarched me home by now.
I stole a glance at him standing behind me, and all doubt fell away.
The love and desire was pouring off him in waves. There was no way he was letting me out of his sight tonight.
He pulled me back into his arms, capturing my lips with his and taking all my breath from me. His hands were everywhere; my face, my body, my hair. His kisses grew harder, deeper, more frantic.
"Isabella..." he hissed. "Oh God, Isabella..."
His lips moved down from my mouth to my neck, and I cried out, overwhelmed with the sensations he was causing as he nipped at the skin, lightly running his teeth over my throat, before returning to my mouth and bruising my lips with his increasing desire.
"Carlisle," I breathed, fingers curling into his beautiful soft hair and tugging gently as our tongues entwined. He moaned against my mouth, sending thrills through me.
Suddenly he slowed in his ministrations, before pulling back to look at me. My eyes went wide, for his were pitch black. There was nothing feral or frightening about them, this time, though. They were dark, bottomless pools of utter desire.
"I love you," he breathed, looking at me in some kind of wonder. I felt tears well in my own eyes, hearing him say those words.
"I love you, too" I whispered, and he all but came undone before me, resting his head against mine to steady himself, his breaths ragged.
"Are you sure you want to stay with me, tonight?" he asked, face buried in my hair, hands stroking my back. His gentlemanly ways touched me; I could guess how much control he was having to exert right now, to stop himself from taking me with wild abandon right this second, right here in the open.
"I've never been surer of anything," I said huskily into his ear, and I felt him shudder. His reaction melted my insides, and I was overtaken by heat, arousal, and an unquenchable need, all flooding through me and pooling between my legs. I heard him moan as my arousal hit his senses, and he moved to gaze at me, his eyes, his every feature, feral and alert and desiring. But I was not afraid. All of that was still bathed in the utmost love, as he drank me in.
The pull between us was intensifying; it was hungry, needy and demanding. It sang in our veins, with an insatiable insistence that we consummate our bond, merge our bodies together as one.
And unlike with Edward, I knew he would not fight this. He was not afraid, either. Not anymore. He wanted me, I wanted him, and he would allow this. He would love me, fully, as two lovers should.
We leaned back in, and lost ourselves once again to the kisses.
This time, it was me who pulled away first, wanting to drink in his handsome face again. I smiled up at him, relishing the smile I got in return.
"I love you," he said, kissing my fingers. "So much. Centuries I have waited for you, Isabella. Longing for your touch, your love, your companionship..."
I clung to him, the thought of his long decades of loneliness stabbing at my heart.
"I'm here now," I whispered. "And I'm never going anywhere. I want to be with you. Always."
I looked up at him, suddenly shy, gazing up through my lashes, braced for his reaction, wondering if he would understand what I had implied. There was a slight frown on his face, as if he was weighing things up in his mind. Then it was gone. He knew the inclination of my words. He knew what I was hinting at.
"I will turn you, my love," he said, and my heart soared. "I want you by my side, for eternity."
I tried not to cry, and failed. He chuckled, thumbs brushing away my tears.
"All in good time. But know that I will. I promise you that. I want to be with you, always. I want you as my wife, Isabella... my wife, my mate, my one and only. I am eternally yours, as you are eternally mine."
I lost it completely then, tears coursing down my cheeks, and he kissed them all away as I cried, wrapping his arms around me.
"I love you," I managed to squeak out between sobs, fisting his shirt, pressing my face into his chest. "I am yours, forever, Carlisle."
I lost myself in him, and he must have lost himself in me, also... for so wrapped up in each other were we, that we failed to sense the approaching human.
xxx
CHARLIE POV
I cursed out loud as the cell went to voicemail for the eleventh time. It was an undeniable truth – my daughter was going to be the death of me.
There was only one option now. I slammed the door and marched over to the police cruiser. I could hazard a guess as to where she probably was.
Hoped she was. Or did I hope she wasn't?
Something about the way she had acted this morning at breakfast... and then the way she ran out, almost biting my arm off when I tried to stop her... it had unsettled the hell out of me. Then calling Doctor Cullen on a hunch after she had failed to answer her cell, and finding out that yes, she was indeed over at his place... that had unsettled me further still, despite all their assurances over the phone. I couldn't help but think this was going to bring up all kinds of fresh wounds over Edward.
If she was there, hoping to bring him back...
I glanced at my watch. It was close to midnight. Clenching my jaw, I pulled out my cell again for one last try.
"Shit."
The battery was dead. Sighing, I tossed it onto the back seat and got in the car. I was about to start the engine when I saw a flash of what looked like gold and brown. Some kind of animal?
I leaned out of the window and peered into the dark.
"Chief Swan."
I started and cursed, whacking my head on the car. Turning to look behind me, I saw Jacob standing in the moonlight, tense and serious.
"Sorry," he muttered. "Didn't mean to scare you, Charlie."
I rubbed the top of my skull and huffed. "Yeah, okay kid. You seen Bells anywhere since this morning?"
A shadow fell across his face, and he tensed even more.
"She's not back, then?"
"Nope. About to head out and look for her."
"You think she's... there?"
He didn't need to elaborate. We both knew where he meant.
"I'm guessing it's likely," I sighed. "She was there this morning."
"More than likely," he replied, his face and voice hardening. "I came to tell you. Found out that earlier, one of Sam's... friends... happened to be in the woods near the Cullens' place. He saw Bella. She was... running through the woods. Pretty distraught and stressed out. Shouting and calling his name."
I took a deep breath. I had been fearing this.
"Edward," I sighed. "I figured as much."
Jacob shook his head. He looked positively murderous. "No, Charlie. Not Edward. She was calling for him."
I blinked. Surely he didn't mean...
"She was calling out for Doctor Cullen, Charlie."
I rubbed my face in my hands. He had promised me...
How many times over was this family going to hurt my baby girl?
I gritted my teeth and started the engine. Rage began to bubble up inside me. If Bella was a wreck again, because of him...
"Thanks Jake. That's all I need to know."
I nodded to him as I pressed down on the accelerator, hard, and screeched off the drive towards the Cullens. Could have sworn I saw the slightest smirk cross the boy's face, but then figured it was dark and I was imagining it.
I gripped the steering wheel, and drove.
Scenarios played through my head. Had she pressed him too far over Edward, and he'd taken off? Just decided to up and leave again? I had no clue. None of it really seemed plausible, but then nothing did lately, when it came to that family.
Forks flashed past me in a blur. By the time I reached the approach to the Cullen house, I had managed to calm myself a little. Instinct began to kick in, as I wondered if I would have to search the trees for Bella. Should I radio for back up now?
Something told me not to. Not yet. Something also told me to pull over and kill the engine before I got all the way up to the house. So I parked up, grabbed a light and my gun, and walked the rest of the way.
The huge place loomed out of the dark, lit by the moon. My eyes raked the area, and fell upon Bella's truck.
Son of a...
So she had been here all day.
I looked it over quickly with my flashlight. Her cell was inside on the seat. I rolled my eyes. That would be why she wasn't answering any calls, then.
I turned towards the fringe of trees, about to call out Bella's name. But it died in my throat, because again, something told me not to. Instead, I walked as silently as I could, staring intently into the darkness, as my eyes adjusted to the gloom.
A noise caused me to look over to the right, back near to the house. I moved in its direction, still silent, flashlight off. Cautiously, I made my way around the building.
What I saw next, I couldn't comprehend.
At first, I could only make out two silhouettes, and low voices. But then, the clouds that were partially covering the full moon dissipated, and a full beam of moonlight lit up the grounds. Lit up Bella. Lit up... him.
I couldn't quite place what was going on to begin with. Bella was dancing, laughing. Her hand was clasped with his, he was twirling her around. She stumbled, and he caught her, both of them laughing.
Then, to my horror, he wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her.
And she kissed him.
I stood there for longer than I should have, in some kind of shock.
My reverie was eventually broken, however, as I watched my daughter begin to undo the buttons on his shirt. I felt sick with rage. His hands moved to her body, his fingers brushing the bottom of her shirt, sliding under and onto her skin, easing the shirt upwards... his filthy, thirty-five-year-old, married hands were on my daughter's body...
I saw red, gripped my gun tighter, and made for them in fury.
xxx
BPOV
"Carlisle!"
I squealed, laughing, as he span me round.
"Don't make me dance! You know I have two left feet!" I protested, but he ignored me, twirling me around under his arm. Despite my usual hatred of dancing, I couldn't deny it... his actions were so sweet, they made me feel so very adored.
He brought his body up close to mine, dancing cheek to cheek, before I stumbled and he caught me, bringing me flush against him, and kissing me again.
"I love you," he smiled into my mouth, practically purring. "And I want you. So much..."
I wanted him too, with every fibre of my being. I reached for his shirt, fumbling with the buttons. He growled, then, low and wanton, and a thrill shot through me. He growled!
"Isabella..."
His fingers brushed the bottom of my shirt, making me moan as he slipped his hands underneath and slid them up my sides, my skin tingling with need and unbelievably good sensations, my heart skittering and pounding in my chest.
This was happening, this was really, really happening...
"Get your GODDAMN HANDS off my daughter!"
We jerked apart in shock, and I whirled to see Charlie, face twisted in fury, almost upon us.
"Dad...?" I stammered, floored. And then, everything happened at once, and I lost all sense of everything.
I looked back at Carlisle in a panic, his face as mortified as my own, and then... he was gone. Something impossibly fast and hard and strong came hurtling out of nowhere, ripping Carlisle from the spot where he stood, leaving me in a vortex of shock, as an unearthly gale shook me and almost brought me to my knees.
I staggered back up, confused.
Another flash, and there stood a familiar face.
"Ed...Edward?"
He stood before me, half crouched, his face like thunder.
"What, where... Carlisle?" I stuttered, trying to look around for my love. Edward was upon me then, his hands forcing my face to look at him, and only him.
"Why, Bella?" he asked, his pain pouring off him to the point that I could physically feel it clawing at me, "Why did you let him seduce you? Why did you let him try and force you back into our lives, when you were so much better off without any of us?"
I felt an overwhelming rage at him, then, for all his ridiculous, self-pitying assumptions about what I needed.
"Fuck you, Edward!" I yelled, pushing him away, though in reality not managing more than a light shove into his chest, which did nothing other than to hurt my fists, "You don't know anything about what I want! How dare you. How dare you presume to know! You left me broken, thinking you had all abandoned me, that none of you cared! Do you have any idea what you put me through? What you put Carlisle through? If he hadn't have come back, I'd still be in pain. He would still be in pain. Don't you get it? I'm part of your world, Edward, I'm meant to be part of it. But you can't see past your own self-loathing..."
He stepped back from me then, shocked at my words.
"Carlisle came back for me. He made the right choice..."
I stopped, suddenly remembering what had just happened.
"Carlisle!" I screamed, whirling to look for him. If Edward had hurt him, slamming into him like that...
"Isabella..."
He was halfway across the grounds where Edward had flung him, but unharmed. My pounding heart calmed a little in relief. Until I saw his face, and registered the slightly panicked pain in his voice. I blinked. Looked to where he was crouched, over...
No...
"Dad!" I screamed, lurching forward and racing over to them. Carlisle rose to grab me before I got too close, gripping me tight against him to steady me as I looked at Charlie lying on the ground, my body going into instant shock as I took in the sight.
He was unconscious, one leg twisted at a very unnatural angle. His head was bleeding.
In his blind hatred of his father, Edward had slammed into Carlisle, and inadvertently taken Charlie out with him.
I fell to my knees, vaguely aware of Carlisle talking into his cell, asking for an ambulance immediately. He was in full doctor mode, checking Charlie over as he calmly gave orders to the emergency services on the other end of the call.
"They'll be here in five minutes," he said, throwing down his phone. "Grab a blanket from your truck. Keep him warm."
He tended to Charlie's head wound, taking the greatest care not to move him, unsure yet of what internal damage had been done. I stumbled to my truck, trying not to retch as I fetched the blankets from the back.
As I hurried back over to the two most important men in my life, I saw Carlisle raise his head. Edward was standing there, looking mortified.
"Edward," Carlisle said, reaching up a hand. Edward backed off, eyes wide.
"Wait, son," Carlisle continued, his voice losing its usual calm demeanour. "It was an accident. Don't..."
But Edward didn't stick around to hear the rest. In the blink of an eye, he was gone, leaving Carlisle to deal with the terrible fallout of what he had done.
Well, I managed to find the time to get another chapter up, sooner than I had thought I would. This one just wants me to keep writing it!
Thank you so very much for your reviews. Please let me know what you thought of this chapter – feedback really is so helpful! Are we loving Bella and Carlisle finally being united? Will Charlie be alright? Will the Cullens ever recover from all of this? Thoughts on Edward's actions? And did you like the song?