Chapter Three
I woke the next morning in a daze, my alarm blaring. Brum brum brum brum. Maddie scratched at my door anxiously, aggravated I had latched it completely the night before. I sat up slowly, groaning with pain, and reached over, slamming my hand swift and sure down on the top of the annoying technology. "Die foul beast." The events of the previous night are all but a memory, aside from the pain that radiates through my body. I started upwards to the blue and black tye dye tapestry that hung, pulled between each of the posts, fairy lights zigzagging across the tapestry looking like constellations overhead. With a sigh I pushed myself from the bed, moving aside the Rose printed scarf that hung down from around the bar connecting the four posts.
The sun twinkled in softly through my bay window, casting a rainbow of light off my metallic pillows that sat atop the black window seat. Beneath it books jammed in left and right, and a blanket that laid half on the floor. I limped my way across to my dresser, which was nestled between two bookshelves with my television placed on top. Sliding open my drawers I pulled a pair of high waisted dark wash shorts, a long sleeved black cozy crop top, and then my undies. Sighing I got ready in my bathroom, sitting at my vanity and putting enough makeup to cover my horrid bruises.
When I finally emerged from the bathroom and came down to the age old dilemma of vans or converse. After some deliberating and a few color choices, my galaxy vans won.
I went down the stairs with my crutch jammed into my arm, Maddie patiently waiting at the top of the stairs like a good dog for me to get down. As soon as my foot hit the bottom step she came trotting down and bounced excitedly waiting for food. "Okay fancy feet, here's the kibble." I laughed, dumping her food into her bowl and smiling. I myself snagged a coffee cup and filled it to the brim with the steaming glory that is my life. The bus pulled up right outside and I grunted, grabbing my bag and throwing it over my shoulder. "Bye Maddie." I smiled, waddling out the door. "Bye dad!" I called out, my father, as usual, grabbing the mail and reading half of it on his walk up, making it a ten minute ordeal.
"Bye sweetheart- take it easy and don't let your cred fall." He joked, wiggling his elbow at me as I fought my way up the steps of the bus. My journey to the back was filled with bumps and jostles before I slammed down in my seat at the back of the bus. When it took off my crutch clattered and slammed into my face, cursing I looked out the window and saw a bright red car fly by, it looked expensive and like someone important drove it. It was the type of car guys would fawn over and girls would fawn for. This girl did not, however, instead I moved my crutch, slid my but in the seat until I was "comfortable" and pulled out a book from my bag. Good thing I hadn't died, or I would have never known how this book ended. I thumbed my way through it coming to the last chapter as the school bus pulled up to the school. I almost didn't realize it was the end of the ride until people started standing up.
Scrambling for my things, I got up and threw my bag over my shoulder. Inside the school I went, attracting stares at my bruised face, the crutch, and the large amounts of bandages on my leg. This was the first time I was injured during the school year- and everyone was shocked. But it wasn't until I got into English that I realized I hadn't done my homework.
Shit shit shit shit shit. Oh my god I don't have time to write this essay question!
I scrambled to pull out my notebook and before I knew it a paper slid onto my desk. I looked up to see Edward looking forward with a small smirk. "Nobody would have been able to do it after yesterday. I made two copies of the question just in case."
"Oh my gosh, thank the lord, you're a savior!" I said in a hushed tone as I looked over the typed page. I heard Edward chuckling slightly and all I could do was shine a large smile. Somehow he managed to get exactly what I go for in my essay questions.
"It was no problem." He smiled and closed his binder. His paper was hand written, his handwriting was so scrawling and beautiful and proper.
Shit my handwriting is like someone taught a walrus how to hold a pencil.
My phone pinged hard and I jumped, grabbing it carefully and turning the sound off before looking at the text I had just received. It was Jake, still trying to find out how I was. I shot him a quick text of apology that I hadn't replied in the first place, and that I was at school and he had no need to worry. With a sigh I slid my phone back into my pocket and continued to read the report Edward had given me.
"Oh. You misspelled my name!" I slammed my hand on my mouth and looked over to him. He looked up shocked and then glanced at my paper.
"What? How is your name spelled!?"
"A-r-a-b-e-l-l-a." Speaking quietly I looked over to him and smiled.
"How did I spell it?" He became genuinely curious and looked down at the paper.
"You spelled it like Aribell." I laughed and took out a bottle of white out. With a clean swipe I covered the misspelling and waited for it to dry. "It's okay though, my computer has done this before where it will change my name before I print so this isn't a different thing." With a smile I wrote carefully over the dried whiteout, my name now standing out loud and proud- well not so proud but definitely loud.
Before Edward could reply the class began, and I turned in the paper to Mrs.C leaving her none the wiser. We got our assignments and we were off, writing and scribbling at rough drafts because it was a job. The class ticked by, and I moved carefully, my ribs still definitely bruised and worse today than before. Louise Johnson was walking by when she tripped suddenly, falling directly onto me. I let forth an instinctive scream as she landed hard on my ribs and leg. I felt the stitches pull and break, soaking the fresh gauze with blood, and my ribs began to throb.
I'm not sure how it happened but I was on the floor crying holding my ribs, Louise crying over me apologizing as she tried to get up, and Mrs.C standing at the front of the class frozen in shock. Edward, Rosalie, and Emmett were there. Rose helped Louise off me, Emmett grabbed my bag and books as well as the crutch, and Edward picked me up. "We will get them to the office." Rosalie said carefully, and we were moving, each step like agony.
Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck. Why lord. Baby Jesus. This is cruel and unusual!
I bit my lip as the hot tears continued to roll down my cheeks and I sucked hard breaths in, each one reminding me just how hurt my ribs were.
This was the worst outfit choice for today oh my lord. My poor vans, and these shorts better not get ruined!
The button of my shorts pushed into my stomach and made me grunt with pain, squeezing my eyes tighter shut and balling my hands in the soft fabric of Edwards shirt. "It's not bad is it?" I tried to stay calm and strong. "I mean I barely feel it." I lied, opening my eyes and seeing my vision blurred by the tears I began to blink away. The throbbing pain was radiating through my body, but I didn't want to let them know how destroyed I felt. I could see my leg just barely, and the blood was thick, seeping through the gauze which was now almost completely scarlet.
Holy no! No no no no! Abort mission!
"No it's not bad at all." Emmet said, seeming to have no trouble carrying everything all at once. Rosalie had already gone ahead with Louise and made it to the nurse's office, and Edward seemed not to say a word. As we made it into the room the nurse already had Louise off to the side, Rosalie filling out the incident report, and was pulling out all types of equipment.
"Oh Edward, thank you! Please put her down over there." Nurse McNally ordered, picking up the phone and dialing. As it rang Nurse McNally pushed up their glasses, and clicked a number for an extension. "Yes Please." It was only after I was placed down did I realize how cold Edward's grip was, but it's reasons eluded me as more pain rippled up through my body.
"I told Nurse McNally that our father took care of the initial accident." Rose said as she put the pencil down and grabbed onto Edward's bicep. "You should run to the office, tell them what happened so Nurse McNally can focus." She seemed to have a pointed gaze, and Edward simply nodded and walked from the room.
Oh god okay. Stay strong stay strong stay strong.
I chanted in my head to myself. I felt myself losing my grip of reality, sliding in and out of consciousness. One moment it was just Rose and Emmett standing there, the next it was a paramedic with his pen flashlight blinding me, the next was talking calmly. Then finally when I came to the final time it was Officer Swan sitting in a chair, his deputy badge sitting on the table next to him and his phone pressed to his ear. "Ope, she just woke up, I'll call you back Bells."
"Was that Bella?" I asked curiously, grinning as I pushed myself upright.
"Yeah, sorry your dad couldn't be here, he had some stuff to take care of in the evidence locker." He smiled apologetically, and pushed his phone into his pocket. "Bella says hi, she misses you. If you want I can give you her new number. Renee says she lost her old phone."
"Typical." I laughed and held my ribs as I did so.
"So the girl who did this is in big trouble at school." Charlie got right to the chase.
"What? Louise just tripped! She shouldn't be in trouble, it wasn't her fault!"
"No. Hun' according to the statement filed by Rosalie, Jessica tripped Louise as she was going past you. And it was seemingly deliberate." I felt my body go numb and tingle as I thought of this. She really wanted to humiliate me and bring me that much pain.
After a couple of minutes the door opened and Doctor Cullen was smiling at me. "I'm glad to see you're awake, you lost a lot of blood there." I nodded my head and he stepped closer. "I'm just going to check it okay?" He asked, and I nodded as he slid the curtain to block Charlie's view. He picked up my blanket to reveal a leg more bruised and bloodied than it had been hours ago.
"If I don't get an awesome scar from this to tell a story, imma be mad." I said with a laugh, holding my ribs painful and getting a smile accompanied with a warning glance from Doctor Cullen.
"Just like your dad, I swear." Charlie scoffed from the other side of the curtain.
"Okay well your stitches completely ripped, and the wound is slightly larger, and I'd like to do another X-ray now that your awake, because you seemed to be in more pain from your ribs that before." He laid the blanket back over my leg and then opened the curtain. "I can't do anything until your father is here though seeing as your a minor."
"Oh Doctor Cullen I actually can sign off." Charlie smiled and stood.
"Oh are you a legal guardian?"
"Godfather, and we made me a legal guardian in case something happened to Jacks in the line of duty, that way Ari always had someone." The thought circled in my head and I looked down sadly. "She's basically a second daughter to me."
Those words warmed my heart, and I think Charlie knew that, because he then smiled at me with the same look he always gave Bella.
After the X-rays my father finally arrived in a tornado of apologies and worried looks mingling with questions, all the while he kept a firm hand on my head, holding the side of my face like it would fall apart without him. "Dad! I'm fine!" I laughed, trying not to let my pain give away on my face. "Can I have my cheek back?" I asked with a small smile, earning a confused gaze followed by a small apology.
After a little while they found I had a compound fracture on my ribs, and that's the story of how I was bed ridden in the hospital and forced to miss school despite my protests. My father was forced to go home and take care of Maddie, and Charlie had to take the night shift at the sheriff's station, so there I was, left alone in my room with not a damn thing to do and no good channels on the tv.