Chapter 2 – Stiches and Bruises
The room was suddenly like a scene out of a horror movie and was straight out of my nightmares,
"Emmett, Rose, Lucas, get Jasper out outside" Carlisle's voice said in a calm voice, his centuries of experience in the emergency room were evident in his quiet, authoritative voice, I watched as Emmett's gaze fell on me for a second, pain seemed to echo though the now pitch black eyes of my boyfriend, I quickly looked away, ashamed of myself and once again what I had caused,
"come on Jasper" Lucas voice said, I glanced back up to see as Jasper struggled against Emmett's unbreakable grasp, twisting around, reaching toward his brother with his bared teeth, his eyes still past reason, I glanced to the side to see Edward's face was whiter than bone as he wheeled to crouch over me and Bella, taking a clearly defensive position. A low warning growl slid from between his clenched teeth. I could tell that he wasn't breathing.
Rosalie, stepped in front of Jasper, all while keeping a careful distance from his teeth and helped Emmett and Lucas wrestle Jasper through the glass door that Esme held open, one hand pressed over her mouth and nose, clearly the scent of my blood filling the air, Esme's heart-shaped face was ashamed as she then glanced at me,
"I'm so sorry, Liliana" Esme almost cried as she followed the others into the yard, I looked down again ashamed of the situation I had caused,
"Let me by, Edward" Carlisle murmured, a second passed, and then Edward nodded slowly and relaxed his stance and helped Bella to stand and stood by the door,
"I need to go, the sent, it's too…strong" Edward said quietly, I looked up to see him walking towards the kitchen, Bella glanced at me, clearly torn on where to go,
"go Bella, he needs you" I whispered, she gave me a pitiful look before quicky following Edward, I watched as Carlisle knelt beside me, leaning close to examine my arm. I could feel the shock frozen on my face, and I tried to compose it.
"Here, Carlisle," Alice said, handing him a towel, I watched as he shook his head,
"Too much glass in the wound." He reached over and ripped a long, thin scrap from the bottom of the white tablecloth. He twisted it around my arm above the elbow to form a sort of tourniquet.
"Liliana, do you want me to drive you to the hospital, or would you like me to take care of it here?" Carlisle said softly to me, I glanced at him, trying to register the words he was saying,
"Here, please, if it's not too much trouble" I whispered, If he took me to the hospital, there would be no way to keep this from my dad,
"I'll get your bag" Alice said softly, I watched a without a blink she was back with a black bag,
"Let's take her to my office" Carlisle said towards Alice, Alice nodded then lifted me effortlessly, while Carlisle kept the pressure steady on my arm.
"How are you doing, Liliana?" Carlisle asked me, I honestly didn't know,
"I'm fine, I think, I'm sorry" My voice was reasonably weak, Alice careful set me down in a black leather chair in Carlisle study and Carlisle pulled up another chair and he got to work at once, Alice stood over me, still protective, still not breathing, I felt awful,
"go, Alice" I sighed not wanting to put her through any pain,
"I can handle it Liliana" Alice insisted, but even I could see her jaw was rigid, her eyes burned with the intensity of the thirst she fought,
"I'll be fine, please go check on Jasper, I doubt he'll listen to anyone but you right now and please tell him I'm so sorry" I said looking at her,
"okay, if you need me though, I'll be right outside" Alice promised and she was gone within a second.
A numb, dead feeling was spreading through my arm, though it erased the sting, it reminded me of the gash, and I watched Carlisle's face carefully to distract me from what his hands were doing. His hair gleamed gold in the bright light as he bent over my arm. I could feel the faint stirrings of unease in the pit of my stomach, but I was determined not to let my usual
squeamishness get the best of me. There was no pain now, just a gentle tugging sensation that I tried to ignore,
"I'm sorry Carlisle, this is all my fault" I whispered as I watched him work,
"It's not your fault, It could happen to anyone" Carlisle comforted me, I sighed
"Could, but it usually just happens to me" I said softly, Carlisle laughed
"and all because once again you were protecting Bella" Carlisle said, I smiled a bit, his relaxed calm was only more amazing set in direct contrast with everyone else's reaction. I couldn't find any trace of anxiety in his face. He worked with quick, sure movements. The only sound besides our quiet breathing was the soft plink, plink as the tiny fragments of glass dropped one by one to the table.
"How can you do this? even Alice and Esme…" I trailed off, shaking my head in wonder, though the rest of them had given up the traditional diet of vampires just as absolutely as Carlisle had, he was the only one who could bear the smell of my blood without suffering from the intense temptation.
Clearly, this was much more difficult than they all made it seem.
"Years and years of practice, I barely notice the scent anymore" Carlisle answered my question, I nodded slowly,
"Do you think it would be harder if you took a vacation from the hospital for a long time. And weren't around any blood?" I asked, both curious and intrigued,
"Maybe, I've never felt the need for an extended holiday, I enjoy my work too much" He shrugged his shoulders, but his hands remained steady as he flashed a brilliant smile in my direction, I smiled back, I was surprised at how much glass there seemed to be in my arm. I was tempted to
glance at the growing pile, just to check the size, but I knew that idea would not be helpful to my no-vomiting strategy, he examined my arm again. "There, all done" he said as he snipped a thread and wiped an oversized
Q-tip, dripping with some syrup-coloured liquid, thoroughly across the operation site. The smell was strange; it made my head spin. The syrup stained my skin.
Carlisle put all the dirty gauze and the glass slivers into an empty crystal bowl. I didn't understand what he was doing, even when he lit the match. Then he threw it onto the alcohol-soaked fibres, and the sudden blaze made me jump,
"Sorry" he apologized as he closed his bag, I smiled a little,
"Will Jasper be okay?" I asked quietly,
"he will don't worry about him Liliana, it's just newer for him than us, I suppose I should take you home now" Carlisle said smiling at me,
"I'll do that" Rose said suddenly as she came through the shadowy doorway, walking slowly towards us, Carlisle nodded and left the room, I looked up at Rose, as she handed me a top,
"so you can change, don't want to scare Charlie to death" Rose joked, I smiled and was glad she wasn't treating me any different, I took the top and started to take the one I had on off,
"Is Em upset?" I asked quietly,
"Yes, tonight is exactly the kind of thing that he fears the most. You being put in danger, because of what we are" Rose explained as I quickly put her top one, I was glad she was being honest with me though,
"It's not his fault, it's not Jasper's either" I quickly said, Rose nodded,
"It's not yours, either" she said looking straight at me, I looked away from her wise, beautiful eyes. I couldn't agree with that.
Rose offered me her hand and helped me up from the chair, I followed her back out into the main room.
Esme had come back, she was mopping the floor where I'd fallen, with straight bleach from the smell of it, again regret fell on my face,
"Esme, let me do that" I quickly said, Esme stopped and smiled at me,
"I'm already done, how do you feel?" Esme asked sweetly,
"I'm fine, Carlisle sews faster than any other doctor I've had" I said trying to make us all feel better, both Esme and Rose chuckled.
Just then Alice and Lucas walked back into the room, Alice gave me a small smile and came and gave me a hug,
"Alice," I whispered,
"Yes?" She kept her voice low, too, and looked at me curiously, her head cocked to the side.
"How bad is it?" I couldn't be sure if my whispering was a wasted effort. Even though we not in the view of everyone else, I saw her face tensed.
"I'm not sure yet" she answered me honestly,
"How's Jasper?" I asked, knowing she had just been with him,
"He's very unhappy with himself. It's all so much more of challenge for him, and he hates feeling weak" Alice explained,
"It's not his fault. You'll tell him that I'm not mad at him, not at all, won't you?" I asked, not wanting to lose one of my best friends,
"Of course, now go Rose will drive you home, Bella is going to stay here with Edward, while the rest of us go hunting with Jasper" Alice whispered to me, I nodded, Rose was waiting for me by the front door, I walked and reached Rose before Alice was beside me again,
"Take your things!" Alice said cheerfully as she scooped up the two packages,
one half-opened, and pressed them into my good arm.
It was a relief to be outside; I hurried past the lanterns and the roses, now unwelcome reminders.
Rose opened the passenger side for me, and I climbed in without complaint, on the dashboard was a big red ribbon, stuck to the new stereo. I pulled it off, throwing it to the floor, not wanting a reminder from tonight.
The silence was almost unbearable on the drive back to my dad's, I couldn't help but feel guilty for tonight,
"tell me you forgive me" I whispered knowing she would hear me, I glanced to see Rose looking at me with disbelief,
"forgive you? For what?" Rose asked me, I sighed,
"for what happened in the house" I muttered, it was now Rose's turn to sigh,
"Liliana, you couldn't help Bella getting a paper cut and Edwards reaction, if anything it's his fault for pushing you" Rose said,
"but I shouldn't have tried to get to Bella, Edward wasn't thinking when he pushed me, is Em mad with me?" I said quietly, Rose pulled up outside my dad's,
"no, Liliana he isn't mad with you at all, he just needed a little time to calm down" Rose said reluctantly, I nodded, I knew I would mess it all up, I nodded and opened the door and reached back in for my packages, Rose frowned,
"Liliana, try not to worry, Jasper is fine, he just needs to hunt, Bella will calm Edward down and Emmett I'm sure will come tonight, we all know he can't stay away from you for long" Rose joked trying to lighten the mood, I blushed again,
"Rose, we both know I'm still going to worry" I said stubbornly, Rose just laughed, I quickly said bye and headed for the door.
As I entered the house, the baseball game dad was watching was still on, I could hear the announcer rambling over the babble of the crowd.
"Bell? Liliana?" dad called, I sighed and walked to the lounge door,
"Hey, Dad" I said as I lent of the doorframe, I held my arm close to my side. The slight pressure burned, the anaesthetic was apparently losing its effectiveness.
"How was it?" dad asked as he lounged across the sofa with his bare feet propped up on the arm. What was left of his curly brown hair was crushed flat on one side.
"Alice went overboard. Flowers, cake, candles, presents, the whole bit" I explained leaving out the rest of the night,
"What did they get you?" dad asked,
"A stereo for the truck" I said trying to sound happy,
"Wow" dad said in amazement,
"Yeah, well, I'm calling it a night dad" I said faking tiredness with a fake yawn,
"I'll see you in the morning kid" dad said, I gave him a quick wave and pushed myself off the doorframe,
"What happened to your arm? And where's Bella?" dad asked sitting up straight,
"I tripped. It's nothing serious, and Bella is spending the night with Alice, sleepover apparently, I was just too tired" I lied through my teeth, lying to my dad never got easier, dad looked a little sceptical but didn't say another word,
I hurried up to my bedroom, where I quickly discarded the gifts and sat on my bed, Em still wasn't here and I doubt he would actually turn up, I glanced at the bag by my feet, I slowly reached down and took the paper off and looked in the bag, I slowly pulled the silky royal blue lingerie set, I blushed at the sight, the set looked like something a Victoria secret model would wear, I couldn't lie though, I was curious how it would look on, I bit my lip then quickly walked over to the window and made sure the curtains were shut tight, I quicky took off my jeans and Rose's top and folded them on the edge on my bed, I almost laughed at myself as I looked at the set laid on the bed, I glanced round again, like I was afraid someone would suddenly be watching, I quickly put the set on and walked over to the full length mirror that was by my wardrobe, I stared at my reflection, I couldn't lie I loved the set, I knew I wasn't no Victoria secret model but the set fit me perfectly and hugged my every curve perfectly,
"Liliana?" dads voice came from the other side of the door with a small knock, I panicked and spun round and grabbed my dressing gown that I was thankful was thrown on the ground next to the wardrobe,
"two minutes dad!" I said quickly as I wrapped the fluffy material around me and made sure it was tied tight before walking over to the door, I took a deep breathe to calm myself before slowly opening the door,
"hey Kid, I've had a call I've got to head down to the res, will you be okay on your own? I'm sorry I know it's your birthday" dad asked with a sorrowful look on his face, I gave him a reassuring smile,
"it's fine dad, I'm only going to head to bed anyway, stay safe?" I said softly, dad chuckled and kissed my forehead,
"always kid" dad said and I watched as he walked back down the stairs, I held the door open as I listened to the front door closing and then slowly closed my bedroom door again, I sighed at the close call of that, I undid the belt of the dressing gown and went to take it off, just wanted to get into my pjs and sink into my bed, I turned as I threw over to where the wardrobe was, I turned to my bed and nearly screamed, there stood Emmett, by the bed with an unreadable expression on his face.
"Em!" I almost screamed in surprise, he didn't say anything just stared at me, suddenly I remembered what I was wearing, I couldn't stop the blush that rose to my cheeks and went to quickly go grab my discarded dressing gown,
"don't" Em said as his hand suddenly caught my wrist, sending an electric shock up my arm causing goosebumps, I looked up at him and saw him staring down at me, his black eyes meeting mine,
"it was a birthday gift from Rose and Alice, I know it looks stupid" I whispered trying to explain why I was dressed like this, I heard a low animalistic growl from deep in his throat,
"you look…stunning" Em whispered, this made me blush even more,
"Does your arm hurt?" he asked anxiously, I looked confused and shook my head in disagreement, suddenly I was laid on the bed with him, pinned underneath his strong embrace, I saw his eyes leave mine and graze over my body, sending a new wave of emotions through my body,
"Em?" I whispered quietly,
"I love you" Em whispered back and lower his lips to mine, the kiss was different, the longing feeling built up over time was all coming up through this kiss, I threaded my hands in his hand, and Em's lips left mine, I almost groaned before his lips were suddenly on my neck, I let out a moan before I could stop myself,
"baby you need to tell me to stop, " Em whispered between kisses on my neck, tell him to stop? I never wanted this to stop, not now, not ever, I untangled my hand from his hair and used it to lift his face, so our eyes connected once again, the thoughts running my head were going a million miles an hour, but I was certain on one thing,
"don't stop" I whispered then bit my lip gently as I waited for his reaction, I heard another animalistic growl from him and our lips attached to each other once again.
"are you okay?" Emmett said softly as I laid with my head on his chest, his fingers lazily trailing through my hair, I smiled to myself,
"I'm perfect" I said in a sort of daze, I moved my head to be able to look him in the eye, I wasn't expecting what I saw; guilt. I frowned and put my head back down,
"what are you thinking?" Em whispered, I thought for a second trying to form the perfect sentence,
"you're upset…" I whispered still trying to hide my face, Em sighed and pulled me so I was sat next to him now, he placed his finger under my chin and lifted my face so our eyes met,
"how badly are you hurt Lil? And please the truth, the whole truth" he asked softly, I looked at him in confusion,
"hurt? Why would I be in pain?" I asked confused, why did he think I was in pain? I watched as he raised one eyebrow and saw his lips were in a tight line, I stretched my body to make a quick assessment of myself, I made a quick assessment, stretching my body automatically, tensed and flexed my muscles, there was stiffness, and a lot of soreness, too, it was true, but mostly there was the odd sensation that my bones all had become unhinged at the joints, and I had changed halfway into the consistency of a jellyfish. It was not an unpleasant feeling though, suddenly I was a little angry, because he was trying to ruin this most perfect moment with his pessimistic assumptions,
"Why would you jump to that conclusion? I've never been better than I am now" I stated and grabbed my bed sheet and pulled in further around me, trying to sort of cover myself for self-preservation, I watched as Emmett closed his eyes,
"Stop that" Em mutter with a frown on his lips,
"Stop what?" I asked confused still,
"Stop acting like I'm not a monster for doing this to you" Em said still with his eyes closed, now I knew he regretted what had just happened,
"Emmett, Don't ever say that" I whispered, really upset now. He was pulling my bright memory through the darkness, staining it, ruining my perfect moment, but he still didn't open his eyes; it was like he didn't want to see me.
"Look at yourself, Liliana. Then tell me I'm not a monster" he almost snapped at me, I jumped at his tone, wounded, shocked by this turn of events, I followed his instruction unthinkingly and then gasped.
What had happened to me? I couldn't make sense of the fluffy white snow that clung to my skin. I shook my head, and a cascade of white drifted out of my hair. I pinched one soft white bit between my fingers. It was a piece from my pillow by the looks on it.
"Why am I covered in feathers?" I asked, confused as I dropped it back on the bed,
"I bit a pillow. Or two. That's not what I'm talking about" Emmett said as exhaled impatiently.
"You… bit a pillow? Why?" I was beyond confused,
"Look, Liliana!" he almost growled, he took my hand, very gingerly and stretched my arm out. "Look at that, look at what I did!" he growled out again, this time, I saw what he meant.
Under the dusting of feathers, large purplish bruises were beginning to blossom across the pale skin of my unbandaged arm, my eyes followed the trail they made up to my shoulder, and then down across my ribs. I pulled my hand free to poke at a discoloration on my left forearm, watching it fade where I touched and then reappear. It throbbed a little, but wasn't too painful, Emmett touch was so lightly that I barely knew he was touching me, he placed his hand against the bruises on my arm, one at a time, matching his long fingers to the patterns
"Oh" I said, trying to comprehend what had happened, I tried to remember this but I couldn't.
I couldn't recall a moment when his hold had been too tight, his hands too hard against me. I only remembered wanting him to hold me tighter, and being pleased when he did and the enjoyment of it all,
"I'm… so sorry, Lil" he whispered while I still stared at the bruises.
"I knew better than this. I should not have—" He made a low, revolted sound in the back of his throat,
"I am more sorry than I can tell you" Emmett said as he threw his arm over his face and became perfectly still, I sat for one long moment in total astonishment, trying to come to terms, now that I understood his misery. It was so contrary to the way that I felt that it was difficult for me to process.
I touched his arm, but he didn't respond. I wrapped my fingers around his wrist and tried to pry his arm off his face, but I could have been yanking on a sculpture for all the good it did me, stupid vampire strength,
"Em" I whispered, but he didn't move,
"Emmett? Will you look at me" I whispered once again, but again nothing,
"I'm not sorry, Em, I'm… I can't even tell you. I'm so happy. That doesn't cover it, so don't be angry. Don't. I'm really f—" I started to say, but he interrupted me, suddenly he was stood and not next to me anymore,
"Do not say the word fine." His voice was ice cold as he stared at me,
"But I am, Em, I'm perfect" I whispered,
"Liliana. Don't" he almost growled, he never usually called me Liliana, I hated the way it sounded, I preferred Lil, suddenly I was getting angry,
"No. You don't get to do this Emmett! Do not ruin this for me! I. am. Happy" I almost shouted, now glad dad was at work and Bella was at the Cullens, I threw my hands up in frustration, feeling an ache in my shoulder that I ignored. He rolled his eyes and shook his head.
I took a deep breath. I was feeling more of the soreness now, but it wasn't that bad. Sort of like the day after lifting weights. I'd done that with Renée during one of her fitness obsessions, sixty-five lunges with ten pounds in each hand, I couldn't walk the next day, but this was not as painful as that had been then.
I swallowed my irritation and tried to make my voice soothing.
"I know we didn't know what to expect, and it wasn't planned but I definitely did not expect how… how… just wonderful and perfect it was." My voice dropped to a whisper, my eyes slipped from his face down to my hands,
"I mean, I don't know how it was for you, but it was like that for me" I whispered, suddenly a cool finger pulled my chin back up, and I saw Em now staring at me,
"Is that what you're worried about? That I didn't enjoy myself?" Emmett said through his teeth, my eyes stayed down,
"I know it's not the same. You're not human. I just was trying to explain that, for a human, well, I can't imagine that life gets any better than that" I said trying not to sound stupid, Emmett was quiet for so long that, finally, I had to look up. His face was softer now, thoughtful,
"It seems that I have more to apologize for" Emmett said as he frowned, I knew I wasn't good enough for him, I tried to look away but his fingers didn't let my move my head an inch,
"I didn't dream that you would take the way I feel about what we did to mean that wasn't… well, the best night of my existence. But I don't want to think of it that way, not when you were . . ." Em started to stay looking me straight in the eyes, my lips curved up a little at the edges.
"Really? The best ever?" I asked in a small voice, trying to contain my smile,
"It was more. It was everything. You are my everything Lil" Em whispered, I blushed and smiled,
"That doesn't change the facts here Lil, I shouldn't have let it happen" Em whispered, I frowned and was about to reply,
"We're just lucky it was the pillows and not you, let's hope you weren't too attached to that bedding set" He inhaled deeply and then shook his head, as if shaking off the dark thought. A very authentic-looking smile spread across his face, but I guessed it took a lot of work to put it there, I slid carefully off the bed and stretched again, more aware, now, of the aches and sore spots. I heard him gasp. He turned away from me, and his hands balled up, knuckles white, I spun round to face him,
"Do I look that hideous?" I asked, working to keep my tone light. His breath caught, but he didn't turn, probably to hide his expression from me. I walked to the mirror to check for myself, I stared at my naked body in the full-length mirror, I'd definitely had worse. There was a faint shadow across one of my cheekbones, and my lips were a little swollen, but other than that, my face was fine.
The rest of me was decorated with patches of blue and purple. I concentrated on the bruises that would be the hardest to hide, my arm and my shoulders. They weren't so bad, of course, these were just developing. I'd look even worse tomorrow. That would not make things any easier to hide from my dad or Bella, I looked at my hair, then, and groaned.
"Lil?" He was right there behind me as soon as I'd made a sound,
"Emmett have you seen my hair" I said picking another white feather from the top of my head,
"You would be worried about your hair" he mumbled behind me, pulling out the feathers much more quickly,
"How did you keep yourself from laughing at this? I look ridiculous" I joked but Emmett didn't answer, he just kept plucking. And I knew the answer anyway, there was nothing that would be funny to him in this mood, I sighed,
"This isn't going to work, I'm going to have to try to wash it out" I turned around, wrapping my arms around his cool waist.
"Do you want to help me?" I teased him with a smile, I'm sure I saw a faint smile but it was quickly replaced by his stone like face,
"I should go hunt, I don't need to put you in any more danger tonight " Emmett said in a quiet voice, and he gently unwound my arms. I sighed but nodded, I watched as he walked to the window,
"Lil?" he called, I turned and looked at him,
"don't ever think I didn't enjoy what happened, it was the best night of my existence" Emmett said with a small smile but before I could reply he was gone, I sighed and grabbed my dressing gown with a unexpected smile on my face, this had gone from the worst birthday to my best birthday ever.