"The good news is that we didn't find evidence of a bleed in his stomach or esophagus." Nurse Julie said. "He won't need surgery like we initially feared."
"Thank goodness," Esme said.
Jasper shifted around under Edward's bed. Izzy didn't know if it was a coincidence or a sign of relief that his brother was going to be okay. Jasper hadn't said a single word since being rescued.
They'd all been thinking the worst when the doctors rushed Emmett out of the room. Izzy thought of the day Black, Jake's beloved husky-mix, started vomiting blood. The blank look on Jake's tear-stained face when he came back from the vet without Black would haunt Izzy for the rest of her life.
. "However," Nurse Julie continued," Emmett is severely anemic and urgently needs a transfusion."
"Do it," Esme said. "Do whatever it takes to save my son."
"We don't have enough blood on hand. "We need type O- or B-."
"I'll do it," Izzy said without hesitation. "I'll donate. I'm B-."
While it had caused some problems for the small hospital in Forks, Izzy was now glad for her rare blood type. It was far past time she paid her "blood buddy," back for all the times he tossed a few pints her way.
"Bella, sweetheart, it's kind of you to offer..but." Esme trailed off, unable to look Izzy in the eye.
"But what?" Izzy asked.
She was more than willing to donate blood. She'd gladly stick herself with a hundred needles if it would help Emmett.
"Is there anything in your blood that may hurt Emmett?" Esme asked. "
Esme's words stung more than any needle. Did she really think so little of the woman she'd once called a daughter?
"Seriously?" Izzy snapped. "For the last freaking time, I'm NOT doing drugs!"
It was true she'd been spotted coming out of the methadone clinic. Unlike the pictures of her in bed with Ed Sheeran, those images hadn't been created in photoshop. And yes, she looked hungover, but that wasn't from drinking or drugs. She had a perfectly good reason for looking so rough, but, as always, no one cared about the truth. If people noticed the bump under her jacket, they thought pregnancy rather than pitbull puppy found unresponsive and dangerously cold. Why couldn't people look past the tattoos and piercings to see all the good things the Wolves were doing for animals?
Izzy looked down at Edward. He would have sided with Esme but not because he thought she was doing drugs. He would have gladly volunteered to drain himself of every last ounce of blood if it meant saving Izzy from a needle stick.
"I'm never going to live this down, am I?" Bella said to Edward.
Since her enrollment at Forks High, Bella had endured plenty of embarrassing moments. Ripped jeans, dropping her tray in the cafeteria, and tripping over a volleyball had earned her the nickname "UNgraceful Swan." As for what happened in the biology lab? Bella was certain it would forever be the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to her.
"It's high school," Edward said with a shrug. "People here have the attention span of gnats. By this time tomorrow, they'll have found something else to gossip about."
"I doubt people will ever forget about the girl who fainted over a single drop of blood."
It was one pinprick for a blood typing lab, not a fatal wound. To make matters worse, it wasn't even her blood. The single drop of blood belonged to Edward Cullen, her ever suffering lap partner. The bell rang signaling the end of the school day. Bella could hear people spilling out into the hallway laughing and shoving. Surprisingly, Edward didn't move a muscle.
"You should head home," Bella said. "I'll be okay. The only thing injured is my pride."
"Let me drive you home," Edward said.
"You don't have to. You've already gone above and beyond the duties of a normal lab partner."
Bella didn't even want to know what the other students thought when she was carried bridal style to the nurse's office by the hottest guy in school.
"But I want to," Edward said. "There's this new milkshake place next to Newton's outfitters and I can't think of any better person to try it with than the most beautiful girl in school."
Bella was at a loss for words. Edward Cullen, the most lusted after guy in school, asking her out? No way. Maybe she had hit her head.
Taking her lack of answer as an answer, Edward looked away. "It's no big deal if you're not into that kind of thing."
Edward had no idea how much Bella was "into that kind of thing."
"Milkshakes sound great," Bella said as she swung her legs over the edge of the cot. "But I'm buying. It's the least I can do to thank you."
"We're just going to have to trust Izzy." Nurse Julie said. We don't have the luxury of waiting for a negative drug test. I've been calling every clinic in the area, but no one had blood to spare. These kinds of things, mass casualty events, don't happen in places like this."
Izzy had long ago learned that bad things didn't just happen in the city. There were murderers, animal abusers, and kidnappers lurking in the shadows of even the most quaint little villages. Anyone who claimed their town was the exception was naive.
"I'm sorry, Bella," Esme said as Nurse Julie placed the IV needle. "I should have known you wouldn't do something like that."
Instead of saying something she'd likely regret later, Izzy shoved all the negative emotions down deep into her stomach and focused on Edward. Izzy was glad he was still asleep. Had he been awake, he would have gotten the shock of his life when Izzy removed her jacket revealing her ever-growing collection of tattoos. After he got over the shock of her ink, he would have been even more surprised when she didn't bat an eye at the blood flowing from her arm to the collection bag. Like Esme, Edward would start to wonder if more than just the outside of Izzy had changed.
"If there isn't any internal bleeding, then why is he anemic," Esme asked as nurse Julie placed a bandage on the crook of Izzy's arm.
Esme didn't have to say anything for Izzy to know what she was thinking. When combined with the bruising, anemia pointed to Leukemia, the type of cancer that had almost taken Jasper's life as a child. For years, the Cullens had lived in fear that Jasper would relapse. Now, it looked like the 'big C' might be rearing its ugly face at the worst possible time.
"Me," Edward mouthed.
At first, Izzy didn't react to Edward's comment. He'd been half-awake muttering things of little consequence, mostly her name or gibberish words, for hours. Izzy took his hand and stroked his knuckles with her thumb. Unlike the previous times, the gesture wasn't enough to soothe him.
"Me," Edward repeated, loud enough to turn every head in the room. "It came from me."
Izzy didn't let go of Edward's hand. She refused to accept what he was saying. While the Cullen brothers had more than their share of arguments and wrestling matches, it was all in good fun. They'd never hurt each other for real. The love those three guys shared made her wish she wasn't an only child.
"Did you do something to Emmett?" Nurse Julie asked, coming closer to Edward's bed. While her tone wasn't aggressive, Izzy squared her shoulders and shot Nurse Julie a death glare. If she wanted to handcuff Edward she'd have to do it over Izzy's dead body. There had to
"Did you hurt him somehow? Nurse Julie asked. "Make him bleed?
"No," Edward said.
Izzy looked at the marks on Edward's skin and thought of Emmet's sharpened teeth. "Edward, did Emmett hurt you?"
For a split second, Izzy wondered if taking the handcuffs off Emmett had been a mistake. The person she was five years ago was leaps and bounds different than the one currently holding Edward's hand. What if the same was true for Emmett? Could he have been looking for Edward not to protect him but to finish him off?
"He didn't want to do it," Edward said.
"Do what?" Esme asked, unable to process what Edward was saying.
"Edward, did Emmett bite you?" Nurse Julie asked. "Was the blood in his stomach yours?"
Edward started shaking and closed his eyes.
"It's okay, Edward." Nurse Julie said. "Emmett can't hurt you anymore. The police will make sure he doesn't come anywhere near you."
"No! Edward exclaimed. "He wasn't trying to hurt me! They forced him!"
Izzy felt an almost overpowering amount of guilt. She was no better than Esme. It should have been obvious that Emmett would never intentionally harm Edward.
Esme took a sharp breath. "Who? Who forced him?"
"The ones who took us."