Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen

Edward

I got about four hours of sleep in my little room of insanity. The nurse strolled in every few hours to check on me, and every time I would ask her about Bella, but it was useless. She knew nothing today.

At eight in the morning, she brought her cell phone to me and told me Mrs. Cope had called at the hospital. I called her back quickly, hoping she had some information, or at least she had gotten in touch with my family.

Answering on the second ring, she said, "Edward?"

"Yeah, it's me. Did you get a flight?" I asked. There was noise in the background coming from her end of the line.

"I did. I just arrived in Jefferson, so I should be with you shortly."

"Good." I didn't really know what else to say. I wanted to have conversation face to face.

"Are you really okay, Edward? I turned on the news while I was getting everything ready, and it was all about you and a girl. You both survived?"

"Yes. And we'd been on that island ever since."

"Is the girl okay?"

I don't know at the moment because these bastards won't let me see her.

"She broke her ankle just before we were saved. I haven't seen her since we got to the hospital," I finished, resisting the urge to glare at the nurse. I knew it wasn't her fault, but this was absolute bullshit. I wanted my girl, and I wanted her now. Every second apart from her made me more and more frazzled, and I was going to blow up by the end of the day. I felt like I could even feel her somewhere in the hospital, like she was drawing me to her. I was the south to her north, and these selfish idiots couldn't be decent enough to ignore one policy.

I heard Mrs. Cope gasp from the ear piece. "I hope she's alright. Is that how you two have managed for two months? You took care of each other?"

"Mrs. Cope, I really don't want to discuss this over the phone. Can we just talk when you get here?" I asked impatiently. She agreed, and I hung up, still not feeling any better, but glad that someone I knew was aware that I was still kicking.

An hour later, I still had no news on Bella, and the nurse showed Mrs. Cope to my room. When she saw me, the biggest smile stretched her wrinkled face, and she walked slowly to me as if she were afraid I would disappear. She sat on the edge of the bed and stared at me silently. I smiled back at her.

"It's really me," I said, shrugging. She started to cry and wrapped her arms around me.

"Your momma is gonna be so happy," she said in her southern voice. "It hasn't been the same since…well, you know."

I nodded. "How bad was it?" Part of me didn't want to know, but another part just wanted to hear about my family. Not letting go of me, she backed away and took my hands.

"It was horrible, Edward. They were in France when they heard, and they called me from the hotel. You know I never watch the news, so that was when I found out." She still looked at me in disbelief. "I just can't believe you're alive. I'm so glad that you are, but I don't know…how. I mean, there was a funeral and everything. We all thought you were gone."

"They still think I'm gone!" I said, exasperated. "You and probably all the world knows I'm alive right now, but they won't answer their damn phones! And they can't blame it on not having service! Rosa-fucking-lie answered when I called, and the idiot hung up on me!"

"She hung up on you?" she asked, surprised.

"Yeah, she thought it was a prank call," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Let me call her," Mrs. Cope said, pulling out her cell phone. I sat there, full of hope for a whole minute before she said that the call went straight to voicemail. "I tried calling the others earlier, but you're right-no one is answering."

I looked around at the white walls that had driven me insane all night and morning, thinking.

"You said Alice's wedding is in three days, right?" I asked.

"Two now, actually," she told me.

"So she rescheduled the wedding? After she found out?"

"Yes. And I think she was hoping that planning for a another wedding might take her mind off what happened for a bit, even though it didn't work. They all took it hard. I'd never seen your father cry in all my years living with the Cullens."

I sighed. I really wanted to be at that wedding. All this time I had thought she got married without me there, and now I had a chance to see my baby sister tie the knot. And I was going to take that chance.

"I want to go to Alice's wedding," I told her, debating. She nodded, as if she knew beforehand that I would choose that.

"I packed us some bags, just in case. When's the soonest you can get signed out of here?" she asked.

I thought about it for a minute. Could I really do this? Leave Bella here and go to France? The separation would surely kill me, but what was it doing to Alice right this moment? I'd been with Bella every single moment of every day. I hadn't seen my family in over two months. My sister would never get married again, and I would have to live with that if I stayed here. Bella loved me; she would understand. I ran a hand through my hair.

"I can leave now…sign myself out," I replied. Mrs. Cope seemed to question it for a second.

"Are you sure you're okay, Edward? I don't want to leave this hospital without knowing there will be consequences for your health."

"I'm sure," I said, my voice flat. I tried to gain excitement at the thought of seeing Alice walk down the aisle, but with the expense of leaving Bella, I just couldn't be happy at the moment. Mrs. Cope left to get my suitcase from the rental car, whining that I had to shave my beard before I went anywhere.

Maybe they would let me see her just one time. I just wanted to tell her where I was going and promise her that I would be back as soon as possible. I definitely didn't want to just leave without her knowing where I was.

I was thinking of ways to get the staff to let me see her before I left when Mrs. Cope walked back into the room with a suitcase.

"We'll have to book a flight now if we want to make it in time for the wedding," Mrs. Cope said, digging through the suitcase frantically.

I groaned internally. "Can't we just take a boat instead? No offense, Mrs. Cope, but I am really against the idea of being stranded on an island with you."

She glared at me playfully and threw a shirt, pants, and razor into my chest.

"A boat wouldn't be fast enough, you silly boy. Don't you want to see Alice's wedding?" she asked.

"Of course I do. I just…really don't want to get on another plane. Ever."

Mrs. Cope sighed and looked out the window at the continuous chaos taking place in the parking lot. "I can get a private plane, if you'd like. I think that would be less likely to crash, but it would cost a fortune." She looked at her cell phone again for the fifth time in the last ten minutes. "I just don't understand why your father won't answer his goddamn phone. He gave me this stupid cell phone so I could call him for emergencies, and now I actually have an emergency, and HE WON'T ANSWER!" She screeched in frustration, and I cowered back. The woman could be scary when she wanted to.

"A private plane sounds better," I conceded, trying to change the subject and get her to calm down. "But…I really need to do something before we leave."

"What's that?" she asked curiously. I waited for a few moments, contemplating how to tell her I had fallen in love.

"I really need to see my girl before we go." The look on her face was priceless. It was total confusion and annoyance wrapped into one.

"Girl? What girl? What are you talking about? Did you meet someone before you left or something? Cause I didn't get any calls from women asking what happened to you," she said.

I inhaled deeply, counting to five. I'd never said these words in my entire life, and I knew I would probably sound extremely crazy saying them now.

"I met someone, yes." My answer was lame, but I still wasn't prepared to talk about Bella to anyone. I'd thought about introducing her to my family, but never like this. I figured if I ever got off the island, she would be with me the entire time and I would know how to go from there. But she was in a room somewhere in this hospital, breathing the same air as me but still out of my freaking sight.

Mrs. Cope raised her eyebrows to get me to continue, and I tried again. "The girl from the plane. The one I was stranded with. I'm in love with her, Mrs. Cope. And the goddamn doctors separated us. I haven't seen her since we landed." I looked at my feet the moment I saw her jaw drop.

"I can't believe this," she whispered. I looked up at her and saw a small smile on her face. She was happy for me. She was silent for a few moments before speaking again.

"Do you think they'll let you see her? We really need to leave soon, Edward."

"Honestly, no, I doubt they'll let me see her. I've been asking almost every hour, and the answer's been no every time. She's supposed to have surgery today on her ankle." I closed my eyes and leaned my head back against the wall.

"Well, I guess it can't hurt to try again," I said, getting up from the bed. I wobbled a bit when my feet took on my weight, and figured it was from avoiding the nasty food. Mrs. Cope gave me a worried look, but said nothing. I walked to the bathroom to change and shave, and when I came out I felt a bit lighter-at least, my face did.

"Oh, now I see you," Mrs. Cope said, rubbing my now bare chin, "you look like my Edward again."

I touched my face, ignoring the pang in my heart. I wanted to do this with Bella. I wanted her to be the first person to see me without the horrible beard she had gotten used to. I squirmed around a bit; I'd forgotten what it felt like to wear underwear.

"How about you get yourself signed out while I use the bathroom real quick? Let's meet next to the doors, okay? I'm not letting you battle the crowd outside by yourself," Mrs. Cope said. I agreed and walked out of my room for the first time in hours. I started walking to the desk to ask if I could see Bella just once before I left when a light bulb went off in my head.

They weren't going to let me see her, and I had to face that fact. But so what? She was in this hospital somewhere, and was I just going to take orders from people I would never see again anyway? Hell to the fuck no!

I looked around the hall. No one had noticed me yet because of my new street clothes. Nurses and other workers in uniforms passed me without a second glance. I smiled on the inside-this might be easier than I thought.

I'll just check this floor, I dealt with myself, and if she's not in any of these rooms, I'll just ask to see her even though asking is pointless.

I started with the first door on the left. I stole flowers from a nearby vase and pretended to be just a concerned visitor. Good thing it was visiting hours, otherwise I'd be screwed.

The first room turned out to be occupied by an old man sitting up in bed and flipping through channels on the high raised television. He looked up when he heard the door open. I waved the flowers lamely.

"Sorry, wrong room." He nodded, bored, and I closed the door again, feeling slightly embarrassed. The emotion wasn't strong enough to deter me, though, so I continued. Sorry, wrong room. Sorry, wrong room. I was starting to sound like a broken record. The next few doors had been the same-two women, a teenager, and a guy missing an arm. No Bella.

I was on my tenth door when someone actually caught me.

"Hey, aren't you that stranded kid? Shouldn't you be in your room?" I turned away from door number ten quickly, hiding the flowers behind my back.

Argh! I looked back at the door. What if this is the door? What if Bella's just behind this giant rectangle of wood? I thought, going into a frenzy. I glared at the man in front of me. "No. I was just leaving."

"Good," he started, "I'll escort you back to your room."

What do I look like, a child? I thought, fuming. "No," I stated firmly, "I'm leaving, like signing myself out leaving." He gaped at me, and I walked past him without another word.

I walked straight to the desk and the woman sitting must have seen my expression because she attended to me right away, asking if she could help me.

"Well, I fucking hope so because it doesn't seem like anyone else around here wants to. That island's looking pretty damn good right now compared to this place. At least I got stuff done right," I said angrily. She looked frightened immediately, and I felt guilty. Taking a deep breath, I started over. "Look, I just want to leave. Just let me sign myself out and send my blood test results to my parents' address in Chicago."

She looked like she was going to argue at first. "My sister's getting married in less that forty-eight hours. So I need to leave…now." She nodded and started conversing with a woman next to her. They handed me papers to sign, signifying that I knew I was leaving against doctor's orders and that I wouldn't hold the hospital responsible if something should happen to me. I could hear whispering from a distance away; one woman was saying I was crazy for wanting to leave and that the island must have screwed me in the head, while the other woman said something along the lines of, "it doesn't matter to me if he's insane, I'd still hit that." I chuckled lowly and decided to give one more try.

"Would it be possible for me to see Bella before I go? I just want to see her. Please?" I asked to no one in particular, laying on the charm real thick. The women who'd been gossiping started again.

"I heard that those two had a thing on the island."

"Ah! No way!"

"Yes way! Girl, that's gonna be all over the news like when Angelina kissed her damn brother."

"Well, shit, wish I'd been on that plane. Island sex with that? Hooo, Lord have mercy! Broken ankle or not, that bitch is luuuucky!"

"Shut up! He'll hear you!"

I pursed my lips to keep from laughing. The receptionist right in front of me talked to another woman and they both shrugged, looking back at me.

"We asked Ms. Swan last night if you could visit her even though you're not a relative, and she said yes, but just a few minutes ago she was sleeping. We'll let you see her, but you can't wake her up, okay?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow.

My heart fluttered. She was asleep, but at least I would still get to see her. I agreed to not wake her, and the woman told me which room. I had to take an elevator one floor up, and soon I was opening the door to where she was staying.

She was lying in the white hospital bed, slumbering away. The moment I laid eyes on her, I instantly calmed down. All the stress from being away from her and from everyone getting on my nerves had taken a toll on me. It had honestly been so much easier when it was just her and me on the island. Now we had to put up with rules and other people's bad attitudes. The only materialistic things I really missed was good food and air conditioning. Maybe when I got back from France, we could immediately move in together and grab some Big Macs to celebrate.

She was pretty pale, but not enough to where it worried me. I could tell she had showered also, and her hair was much cleaner than when I last saw it, spread out across the pillow. I put the stolen flowers down on the end table and sat in the chair next to her. Part of me wanted to wake her, but I knew I just couldn't. Simply seeing her was enough; we had our whole lives ahead of us to enjoy now. I took her hand; it was neither cold nor warm. I wished she would talk in her sleep so I could hear her voice before I left.

I stared at the beautiful face before me, willing her to awaken on her own. She didn't though, so I just continued admiring her. I traced the apple of her cheek lightly, then the silky skin of her eyelids, and finally her full, luscious lips. I caught sight of the clock on the wall and saw that I had been making Mrs. Cope wait almost thirty minutes. I would have to go now. I kissed the string ring that she'd promised to keep on her finger, and then I kissed her lips chastely before standing up.

"I love you," I whispered to her sleeping form, praying that her surgery would go well. Tearing myself away was the hardest thing I'd ever done in my entire life, and I had to keep telling myself that I would see her soon. I would come back right after the wedding, I vowed. Then we would make plans as to where we would live and other things like that.

The click of the door sounded louder than it probably should have, and I walked away quickly before I could run back to her.

Alice is getting married. Alice is getting married. I chanted this in my head as I took the elevator down again.

I told the lady at the front desk to tell Bella where I'd gone and that I promised to be back as soon as possible. She informed me that there was still a mass of reporters outside the hospital, and she got security to meet me at the exit. Mrs. Cope was standing there unhappily when I reached the sliding doors.

"I have been waiting for you for ages!" she said.

"I'm sorry. I had to see Bella," I explained, hoping she'd understand.

"You got to see her?" she asked.

"Yeah, but she was sleeping."

The security guards were going to escort us out of the hospital to make sure we could leave without being harassed. Mrs. Cope had called the local private air base and hired someone to fly us. I was surprised how easy it had been until she told me the price.

There was a taxi waiting outside, but I could barely see it with all the people in the parking lot. Vans with satellite dishes on the roofs decorated the crowd. It was all so strange to me. Had they even left since yesterday?

Five burly men walked around Mrs. Cope and me through the automatic sliding doors. Two in back of us put hands on our shoulders to guide us since we couldn't even see over the men in front of us. Automatically, when we hit the humid air outside, the reporters came swarming, shoving microphones between the men's bodies.

"Step back," one of the men ordered, but only two of them actually listened; the rest ran to keep up with us.

This is crazy! I thought. I felt very much like a celebrity, but not at all in a good way. How did famous people deal with this all the time? I was already aggravated, and I hadn't even been chased for a whole minute yet.

"Edward Cullen! What was your experience on the island like?"

"Mr. Cullen, how would you describe the plane crash? How did you survive?"

Did they really think I was going to answer any of that? The security pushed some of the people out of the way, but it didn't deter them one bit. Microphones were still being rushed to my face in any way possible. One guy was even trying to hop over the men's heads to get a glimpse of me. I could see three cameramen following, trying to keep up with their cameras focused on the scene.

"No comment."

"Edward, can you tell us about your relationship with Isabella Swan?" This question seemed to rile up the others even more.

"Why did you save her, Edward? How did she break her ankle?"

"What are your plans now that you're leaving the hospital?"

The chaos seemed to continue on forever, even though it was only about two minutes. When we finally reached the taxi, the security crowded around the door. I helped Mrs. Cope into the backseat and followed behind her, thanking the men who had helped us and wishing they could continue to stop the madness once we were gone.

"Leave me alone!" I said quickly to another reporter who was practically trying to crawl through one of the men's legs. I shut the door, and the taxi driver sped off, taking orders from Mrs. Cope.

The driver was an old man, one who didn't seem to care about everything going on. It didn't bother him much until he looked into his rearview mirror.

"Well, I'll be. Them bastards are following us!" he said.

I turned my head to see and sure enough, the media had jumped into their vans and were currently trying to catch up with us.

"This is crazy!" Mrs. Cope voiced my thoughts from earlier. "I mean, when I walked into the hospital, it was bad, but I wasn't expecting this."

"You guys are on the radio, too," the driver said, "They say something about every twenty minutes or so. That's how I found out what happened. Congrats on being alive, man." He waved at me, and I smiled, not really knowing what to say to that.

He turned on the radio to prove his point, and a man and woman were talking about Bella and me.

"I would really like to know how the hell they survived anyway. Do you know if we're going to learn that full story anytime soon, Bob?"

"Well, Sally, I hear talk that Ofera wants them on her show. Maybe they'll say yes to that, and then we can all see for ourselves."

"Isn't that just amazing? Such a tragedy strikes-that plane had almost two hundred people, right?"

"Yep, big load on the way to France."

"Yes, back to what I was saying-such a tragedy strikes two hundred people, and out of that two hundred, only two of them got lucky. Just amazing. Simply amazing. And to find land?"

"Oh, yes. But they were saying yesterday that the boy admitted he really had to fight to get out of that plane. So it wasn't just luck, Sally."

"And to be on a deserted island for two months! Imagine how hard that must have been!"

"Sources say that they believe there was an affair between the two survivors. We'll have more on that after our commercial break. You're listening to Seventy-Eight point Nine WYRK. Don't touch that dial!"

"Damn," was all Mrs. Cope could say. I was speechless. If this was on the radio, what was on television? I put my elbows on my knees and cupped my face in my hands. If my family hadn't seen that shit, then they must be hermit crabs in human bodies.

I took a deep breath and tried to clear my head. I refused to look back and see the vans following us, and I made the driver keep the radio off. I couldn't take any more for now.

Our driver took a few shortcuts and got mixed with a bunch of other taxis, and we eventually lost the stalkers. It seemed the farther away I was from Bella, the more my heart hurt. When I got back, we were never getting separated again. Ever.

Climbing aboard the private plane was very scary for me. The last time I'd done it, I almost died, so I was extremely hesitant. Our pilot kept assuring us that we'd be safe, but he kept stuttering his nervousness around me. He must have known who I was by then and how much I really didn't want to be there. Still, I faced my fears and prayed to God I could survive this one, too.

Mrs. Cope could see how tense I was and tried to calm me before we took off.

"C'mon, Edward, I know it's hard. But please be happy. Your sister's getting married!"

I thought of Alice's face, always smiling and energetic. Then I thought of Bella's face the last time I'd seen her with her hair spread out on the pillow and her little nostrils flaring slightly when she breathed.

I knew this was completely worth it for the sake of my sister, but I couldn't help but miss her.