4

"Don't leave me. Please don't leave me," the woman cried.

"I won't," Edward heard himself saying.

Her eyes shifted from him to Jasper and then Carlisle, her lips trembling. "Who are you? Where am I?"

"You're at Mount Desert Island Hospital in Bar Harbor, Maine," his brother told her. "I'm Dr. Carlisle Cullen. This is Jasper Whitlock. He's with the police department, and that's my brother Eddie."

Her eyes flickered to Edward for a moment before she looked back at Carlisle. "I'm in Maine?"

"Yes," he said. "Can you tell us your name?"

She shook her head.

"Is it Isabella?" Jasper asked. "Isabella Swan."

Her eyes widened. "How do you know that? Did you tell them I was here?"

"Tell who, Isabella?"

Once more, she shook her head, her eyes shifting to Edward. "I want them to leave."

"Okay," Edward said before looking at his brother and Jasper. "You heard her."

"Ed . . ." Jasper gripped the back of his neck.

"She said leave."

Though Edward could tell that neither Jasper nor Carlisle thought they should leave them alone, they left her room and closed the door behind them. Edward sat again, placing his hands on his thighs before looking at Bella, whose eyes never left him.

"How'd you know my name?"

"Your brother said it."

Edward nodded. "Why'd you ask me not to leave you?"

"I don't know," she said softly. "Why'd you stay?"

"I don't know either," he admitted. "How are you feeling?"

"Not great."

"Do you remember what happened to you?"

Her eyes darkened. "No," she lied.

"I found you on the beach four days ago. Well, my dog found you, actually."

"What kind of dog?"

"Golden Retriever. His name is Gunther, and he keeps looking for you."

She smiled. "Sounds like I owe Gunther a thank you."

Edward snorted.

"So you brought me to the hospital?"

He nodded.

"Why?"

"I couldn't just leave you there."

"Why not?"

"What do you mean why not? You would have died?"

Bella leaned her head to the side. "How old are you?"

"Excuse me?"

"How old are you?" she asked again.

"Thirty-five."

"And you've lived here all your life? In Bar Harbor, Maine? Isn't that where he said we are?"

"Most of my life."

"Where else did you live?"

"Went to school in Massachusetts."

"Harvard?"

Edward nodded.

"You must be smart."

"Nah, just a good bullshitter."

"What did you go to school for?"

"Medicine."

"You're a doctor."

"Not anymore."

"Why not?"

Edward shook his head.

"What do you do now?"

"Find random women on my beach."

Bella laughed, then winced.

"Did that hurt?"

She nodded.

"Not surprised. You have three cracked ribs and a dislocated shoulder. You also had a small brain bleed, but your last CT scan shows it stopped, so . . ."

"That's good."

"You have a lot of bruises. Old bruises."

"I know," she whispered, looking away from him. "Tell me about Gunther."

"He's a pain in the ass," Edward said, and when she turned back to him, he saw the tears on her cheeks. "Are you in pain? I can have my brother up your pain medication?"

"No, no, don't do that," she whimpered. "Please, don't."

"Okay, just . . . calm down," he said, holding his hands up.

"Sorry," she whispered.

"You don't have to apologize, Bella."

"How'd you know they called me Bella?"

"It's in your missing person report."

"They . . . they reported me missing?"

"Of course they did. Your family miss you."

"No, they don't."

"Sure they do."

"No, they don't!" she screamed. "No, no, no, no!"

Edward scrambled to his feet just seconds before the door was thrown open, and Carlisle and two nurses rushed in. They held her down while he injected medication into her IV. Bella's head lobbed in his direction moments before her eyes closed again.

"What'd you give her?" Edward asked.

"Chlordiazepoxide," Carlisle said. "Did she tell you how she ended up on the beach?"

"Didn't ask."

"Why not?"

"Not my business."

"Not your . . ." Carlisle shook his head. "Damn, Eddie."

"How long is she going to be out?"

"Few hours at least."

He nodded. "I'll be back."

And before his brother could stop him, Edward left.

—H—

Gunther was waiting for Edward when he got back home. He rubbed his ears before letting him out, watching as he ran through the sand toward the cove. Edward whistled for him to come back before sitting on the back steps. When Gunther trotted back to him, he placed his paws on Edward's knees.

"She woke up," Edward told him. "She asked me not to leave, and she said my name."

Gunther barked.

"I know. Me too." Edward scratched behind his ears again before saying, "Let's get you some food. I gotta get back before she wakes up."

The dog barked again and hurried to the door, placing his paw on it. Edward let him in, watching Gunther look at him with anticipation. He almost laughed as he put a scoop of food in his bowl and then refreshed his water. He'd just grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge when his phone chimed with a text.

Edward scoffed when he saw his mother's name, followed by: "Heard she woke up. Is she okay?"

Of course, Carlisle would have told their mother that Bella had awoken. He probably told her how she asked him not to leave and how she'd called him by name, too. Instead of replying, Edward shoved his phone back in his pocket and drank his water while watching Gunther devour his dinner. Once he was finished, he let the animal out again before heading back to the hospital.

Edward paused outside her room, inhaling a deep breath before opening the door. He almost expected her to be awake, waiting for him. But she wasn't. She was still sedated. He shrugged his coat off and hung it on the back of the chair before he sat.

She looked peaceful as she slept, he thought. Too peaceful, considering she had clearly been beaten and abused before being dumped. According to Jasper, she'd been missing for fourteen years. How does someone just vanish? Where had she been all those years?

Edward's phone chimed with a new text. Groaning, he dragged it out of his pocket, rolling his eyes when he saw another text from his mother.

"Do you need me?"

Need, Edward thought. Yes, he needed his mother, father, and brother, but he didn't deserve them. Tanya had needed him, and he wasn't there for her. She'd begged him to stay, begged him to help her, yet he left because he had patients . . . he had an obligation. So, while he needed his family, he didn't deserve their help.

"Do you have pictures of Gunther on that thing?"

Edward lifted his eyes from his phone to Bella, finding her staring at him.

"Do you?"

"Yes."

"Can I see one?"

Edward found a photo of Gunther before holding the phone up. in front of her. "He's a lot bigger than this now. He was just a puppy when I took it."

"He's adorable," Bella whispered.

"He's a brat. Whines when he doesn't get his way, kind of bossy."

She laughed. "Good dogs usually are."

"Do you have any pets?"

Her eyes darkened. "No."

"Where are you from?"

"Nowhere."

"Where have you been for the last fourteen years?"

"Doesn't matter."

"I think it does."

"It doesn't."

"Why not?"

"It's not going to change anything."

"Don't you think your family has missed you?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Just . . ." Bella looked away. "I just don't."

"How old are you?"

"What?" she asked, shifting her attention back to him. "For someone who went to Harvard, it seems to me you should be able to do basic math."

"I can, but why don't you tell me anyway."

"As I'm sure your cop friend told you, I'm thirty."

"You're from Forks, Washington."

"I was."

"You had parents and two older brothers."

"I did."

"You still do."

She shook her head. "Carlisle said he's your brother."

"He is."

"Is he older?"

"Yes."

"Do you get along with him?"

"Sure."

"I don't believe you."

"I . . ." Edward shoved his phone back into his pocket. "It's a long story."

"Doesn't look like I'm going anywhere."

"You first."

"Excuse me?"

"Tell me why you think your family hasn't missed you."

Bella shook her head.

"Then I guess you don't get to hear about my relationship with my brother."

"Oh, so a little tit for tat, eh?"

"Seems only fair."

"Hasn't anyone ever told you life isn't fair?" she asked.

"A time or two."

Bella stared at him for a moment before she said, "How could they miss me when they're the ones who sent me away in the first place?"

Thank you for all the AMAZING reviews! Huge thanks to Sunflower Fran for being an amazing beta!