Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen

Edward

I gripped the hand rest tight, feeling my heart speed up once again. The plane had been shaking slightly every few minutes, reminding me of the crash. It scared the shit out of me, and I wished someone had a sleeping pill to give me. Mrs. Cope had no trouble, however; she'd fallen asleep right away on my shoulder, drooling away.

The plane jerked to the right, hard, and I yelped loudly, grabbing my overexerted heart. Mrs. Cope finally woke up with my jump and looked up at me, confused.

"Something wrong?" she asked, taking in my terrified form. The flight attendant stared at me like I had shit on my head.

I rubbed my chest, trying to make my heart slow down so it would jump out of my body. I took a deep, shaky breath and shook my head. "No, just freaking out again."

She rubbed her sleepy eyes and patted my arm. "How much longer?"

"About thirty minutes ago they announced it would be one more hour, so about a half hour, I think. Wish it was sooner. I don't think my nerves can take much more of this."

It was nearing midnight by the time we reached France. Mrs. Cope was falling asleep again, and I was exhausted after ten hours on a plane. A local airport two hours away from Paris had given us permission to land there, and Mrs. Cope handed me a passport when we walked off. It had my name and picture and all my information.

"How the hell did you manage to get this?" I asked, confused. My original passport had gone down with Flight 1107.

"Don't ask. Just thank your father's large bank account." She talked to a woman at the entrance, making sure we wouldn't be harassed and chased with cameras at the airport. The woman led us through the sliding doors, and I noticed the wall televisions all turned on the news. My face was on the TV, as well as Mrs. Cope's, from when we'd walked out of the hospital. It was very strange to see myself on every television in sight. I hadn't really looked in a mirror in so long, but seeing myself on the big screens, I realized how different I looked. It wasn't a drastic change, but I still saw every adjustment. My face was thinner, a bit sunken in. My beard was gone, so I could see how much more my jaw line stuck out. My hair was longer, making it twice as messy.

I looked…older.

A few people stared at us as we strode by, but luckily, no one dared to take a picture or follow. We climbed onto a bus after retrieving what little luggage we had.

I looked to Mrs. Cope and cocked an eyebrow, silently asking what she planned to do next.

"Let's just get a hotel for the night," she said, yawning. "I'm sure Paris will still be there in the morning, and I doubt anyone is awake anyway."

I smiled at that. Alice was most certainly awake, probably obsessing over something for her wedding. In a few hours, she would be a lawfully wedded woman, and I was sure just that fact was freaking her out right about now. Jasper was probably sleeping like a baby, not at all worried about any of it. I chuckled, my sleepy imagination running away with me.

We grabbed a room at the closest hotel we could and Mrs. Cope passed out quickly. I, however, sat down on the windowsill and stared out at the stars. I wondered what time it was back in Florida and whether my Bella was looking at the same sky I was looking at. Had she woken shortly after I left, immediately asking for me? Was she terribly angry with me? I hoped not, but I completely understood if she felt that way.

I wished ten o'clock would come more quickly so that I could hurry up and see my family, and then rush back to the States. I cringed slightly-that meant another plane ride.

I was very, very tired, but I couldn't stop my mind from wandering. I leaned my forehead against the cool glass of the window and sighed. The more I looked up at the stars, I could make out a perfect constellation of two beautiful, wide set, doe-shaped eyes.

I missed my girl, and I wished I had never left. Someone was definitely going to tape the wedding, and I could have just seen it in the future. I could have kept trying to call my family instead of flying all the way over here. I should have woken Bella up and held her close to me, assuring my love for her and promising that we would finally move forward after all the fuss was over.

At the very least, I should have left her a note. Oh, God, I felt like such an idiot. I gripped my hair, furious with myself for not having thought about that. I rolled my eyes at my stupidity and got into bed. I tossed and turned for a while, unable to quit badgering myself.

I sort of felt bad for not wanting to be here; I hadn't seen my family in two months, and still I wanted to jump on the next plane back to Florida with no concern of how they'd feel about it. And then I felt bad about feeling bad, because if I would miss the wedding and rejoin Bella, she would be disappointed that I put her before my family. Or would she be completely happy if I ignored them for her? That didn't sound like her, though. I tried to push these thoughts away; I was here now, and that was all that mattered until I could get back to the USA. I would go to the wedding and have a happy reunion with my family and then go home and have a happy reunion with Bella.

I did successfully stop thinking about everything that was going on, but every time I closed my eyelids, I saw her. Bella, running in the sand. Bella, swimming naked with bubbles coating her skin, her gorgeous legs moving surprisingly graceful as she circled me. Bella, moaning my name loudly, her breasts bouncing below me in sync with my thrusts.

I'm going to miss that island. The thought ran through my mind before I could stop it. It seemed like one of those "be careful what you wish for" moments. For so long, Bella and I wanted to get off that island, but now I wished we had a little more time there. That is, if Bella hadn't broken her ankle.

At first, when we found the little spit of land, we thought it was going to be hard. Impossible to survive. And it was…difficult. But if there was anything I had learned on that island, it was this: a human can adapt to anything. But it wasn't just adapting. We had thrived there. If it wasn't for our families and the possibility of getting hurt without medical help, I would grab Bella and return in a heartbeat.

I knew I sounded like a girl, but the island had been magical. It was a lot better than the place I was now, for sure. It was a hell of a lot easier, too. I sounded like a caveman, wanting to take Bella and hide her from the world, keep her all to myself where the world was simple and the only thing we really worried about was the storms.

I stared at the ceiling, the paint peeling away in several places.

I think I fell asleep a while later, but there was no telling with the digital clock in military time. I was too lazy to translate it to regular time.

"Edward! Wake up!" I felt something soft hit my shoulder hard, and my eyes flew open.

"What the fuck?" I mumbled sleepily. I blinked sleep from my eyes and tried to focus on the stocky form in front of me.

"Edward! I slept late! It's already eight thirty!" Mrs. Cope shouted. I jumped from the bed and looked at her.

"We'll never make it in time now!" she said.

"Yes we will!" I ran to the bathroom, grabbing the first shirt and jeans I could find. I dressed quickly, skipping the shower. Mrs. Cope and I brushed our teeth at the same time, fighting over the one sink.

Mmm, toothpaste.

We ran out of the hotel room and onto the street. I got us a taxi while pulling on my shoe.

We jumped into the yellow car and when the man asked me where to go, I said, "The…Basilique du…," I tried to think of the damn name, "Sacre-Coeur!"

Mrs. Cope slammed the door, and I instantly panicked. We didn't have any French money. The taxi driver groaned.

"Is too far! You take bus!" he yelled at me angrily. Mrs. Cope threw some foreign bills onto the front seat with the man, and he grabbed them, shutting up quick.

"Where'd you get that?" I asked.

"I had them from the last time we came here," she explained.

I looked down at my lap dumbly. If I didn't have Ms. Cope, I would be pretty screwed right now. I felt like an irresponsible child, unable to help with anything.

The first hour of the ride was silent. The driver put the radio on some French station, and I even recognized some of the songs from when my old high school teacher would make us sing along. I stared out the window at the beautiful scenery, trying to ignore the emptiness in my chest. I hadn't eaten in so long, and I could feel it getting to me, but I knew if someone shoved a five dollar foot long in my face, I wouldn't even be able to take one bite. Did every man feel this when he was separated from the one he loved? I couldn't even imagine how much worse it would be if we broke up. I would either starve to death or go crazy.

Those thoughts brought out another fear.

Oh, God, what if she doesn't want me when I get back? What if she's so angry with me for leaving that she leaves herself? Now I was just being irrational again; Bella couldn't leave because she had surgery the day before. But there was still the nagging thought of her not wanting me when I returned.

Yeah, you should have woken her up before you left, doofus. Smart move, you idiot.

And now I was even talking to myself in my mind. I would not be right again until I was with her. All my time spent with her on the island had made me dependent…and pathetic. Not so much dependent on her helping me, no-that wasn't it. I was dependent on her company and her love. Going so long having and wanting just her, she felt like a drug to me.

And now I was having withdrawals.

A while later I looked at the clock, and it read 10:00, which was the time when the wedding started.

"Could you drive faster, please?" I asked the driver, my impatient tone mismatching my words.

"We get there at ten thirty," he responded, glaring at me in the rearview mirror.

I'm going to miss Alice walking down the aisle.

Mrs. Cope patted my hand, probably thinking the same as me.

Finally, thirty minutes later, we pulled into a parking lot near the Basilique du Sacre-Coeur. It was paper-white, and beautiful. I had to crane my neck just to see the top of it.

"C'mon!" I said to Mrs. Cope. I wanted to run, but I couldn't leave the poor old lady on her own. We walked quickly to the side doors of the church and saw many tourists visiting the bottom floor. I guessed the wedding would be held on the second floor, so I took Mrs. Cope's hand and led her to the nearest staircase, ignoring the CLOSED sign. I ran up the first staircase, quickly trying to find the next one. I had no idea where I was, but I could faintly hear a pipe organ playing music. I could feel myself getting closer, and just the thought of my family being in the same building as me gave me goosebumps.

Then I ran into a security guard. At first, he was kind to me, talking quickly in French, probably telling me I wasn't allowed here. Or maybe he was asking if I was the long lost brother of the bride? Yeah, right. If only my life was so lucky. He was the only one, though, and he was short and stocky. When I made sure there was no gun on him, I ran past him. He called after me angrily, chasing me, but I knew there was no way he'd catch me.

"Non! Vous ne pouvez aller là! Arrêtez! C'est uniquement pour les personnes avant une invitation!"

"Edward! You're going to get us in trouble!" I heard Mrs. Cope shout.

I ignored both of them and ran up another staircase, still not having a clue as to where I was going. The stairs took me up into a room that resembled an attic, with old wooden chairs and spider webs everywhere. I was about to turn around and go back when I saw a screen to my far right.

Looking closer, I saw that it was not a screen, but a large window. I walked over to it and looked out, but instead of seeing outside the church, I was looking into the hall. There were chandeliers hanging in the large room right across from where I stood, huge white ribbons coating the pillars. The big painting of Jesus and some angels was lit up, and I looked down.

There was Alice. And Jasper. And a priest. My sister and her fiance were kneeling, doing whatever they do at weddings. I was at a loss for words, simply touching the glass in front of me. Alice turned her head to look at Jasper, and even though I was so far up and away, I could still see her smile. Seeing my sister's face-well, really just her profile-after so long made me smile like a maniac. She turned her head back to face the priest, and I looked at the guests sitting below me.

I saw my dear Uncle Darren, his blond afro making it impossible to mistake him. My Aunt Jemma was sitting next to him, whispering to the lady next to her. I could make out other people, Jasper's parents, Alice's friends from back home.

I saw the back of my mom's head, leaning on my dad's shoulder. I smiled slightly at the look of them, just imagining what they were thinking right now.

A few minutes later Alice and Jasper got up and faced each other, said their vows and kissed. Then they faced me, but I knew they wouldn't just see me; I was over twenty feet above them.

I could hear footsteps coming up the staircase. Fuck. The guard had found me. He started cursing at me in French again and pulling my arm to make me move.

"I'm her brother!" I told him, pointing below at Alice. He didn't understand me, or maybe he was just ignoring me. I thought back to my French classes.

"Sa frère! Sa frère!" I said, pointing at me and then Alice again, but he still kept pulling on me. I fought him off and looked back through the window. The married couple was walking back down the aisle, and I had to get Alice's attention before I got arrested.

Feeling extremely like Benjamin Braddock in The Graduate, I started banging on the glass and waving to make Alice see me. "ALICE!" I shouted over and over. The security guard got back up and took hold of my waist to make me move. I pushed him with one hand and banged on the glass with the other.

Oh, man, am I in deep shit if they don't see me.

Finally, Jasper must have heard my commotion and looked up, meeting my eyes. His jaw dropped and he stopped walking abruptly. Alice noticed his hesitation and looked to see what was distracting him. I smiled wide and started jumping up and down when she saw me. Her jaw dropped, too, and she looked back at Jasper and asked him something. He shook his head and they both looked back at me. The guests started to notice, too, and I saw my mom run over to Alice, looking up at me.

More guards came to help the man trying to restrain me, and I couldn't fight off all of them. They pulled me away from the window and back down the stairs. A cop handcuffed me and started leading me out.

"No! My sister's the bride! You can't do this! Just ask her! Please!" I shouted. I tried to dig my heels into the floor to keep him from taking me. Then I saw a big blur of white, fluffy and thick and suffocating me.

"You're alive! Oh, Edward!" Alice's voice cried. Her arms gripped me tight and her veil was in my face. "Let him go! He's my brother!" The handcuffs came off in a second, but then I was strangled by more arms and fancy dresses.

"Edward!"

"You're really here?"

"I thought you were dead!"

"What happened?"

I looked into Alice's watery eyes and said, "Sorry I'm late."

She made a noise between a sob and a chuckle. "Well, you could have at least dressed a little nicer." Everyone burst out laughing.

I smile and fought myself out of the chaotic hugs and kisses, looking for a different face. My momma.

Her green gaze met mine, and I saw that there were tears in her eyes. She was standing by my dad, just looking at me, not moving. I walked over to her slowly, and once I got close, her arms shook as she opened them wide for me. She held me as tight as her little arms would allow, and I smelled her caramel hair. It smelled like her garden, just like it always had, and that comforted me to no end. She pulled back to look at me and wiped the tears away from my face.

"You're really here, son? I'm not dreaming?" she asked. I shook my head.

"Yes, I'm here, Momma," I said. My dad hugged us both.

When we pulled away again, I looked around at everyone.

"Don't any of you know how to answer a damn phone?"

We rode to the reception in a limo, all of us together because Alice didn't want to be separated for even ten minutes.

"So then, we found this little piece of land, and we were both starving, so we swam to it as fast as we could. Been there ever since." I explained our survival to my family on the way there.

Emmett shook his head before giving me a noogie. I fought myself out of his clutches and glared at him. "Sorry, bro. I just thought I'd never be able to do that again. I couldn't help myself." I tried to fix my hair again.

"So how'd you get off the island?" My father asked, still wanting to hear the rest.

"The Coast Guard came a few days ago and got us. Bella's ankle got broken the day before that, so we were lucky."

"Bella. Huh, why does that name ring a bell?" My mom said to herself. She looked at me strangely the whole time I talked about everything that had happened, like she was trying to figure something out. I didn't explain how Bella and I had fallen in love. I figured I would tell them at a more appropriate time.

Emmett laughed a little before saying, "So you were stuck on an island with a girl for two months, eh, Eddie? What'd you do for fun, huh? Play catch?"

I rolled my eyes at him but said nothing. Let them think what they want. My mom just kept looking at me with that strange expression. She noticed that I caught her and looked away, saying, "Well, you're here now. That's all that matters. I'm so sorry we never got your calls, Edward. I never kept my phone with me, and we were just so busy with everything."

"Well," I said, looking over to Rosalie with a smirk, "apparently one of you actually answers." She burst out crying, and I felt horrible and happy at the same time.

"I'm so sorry, Edward! I really thought it was a prank call! I swear!" she said.

"What are you talking about, Rose?" Emmett asked, confused.

"Edward called on your phone while you were in the shower, and it was an unknown number, so I answered. He told me it was him and I thought it was someone playing a sick joke! We could've known he was alive days ago had I listened!" she said.

"It's okay, Rose. It's no big deal," I said, silently happy with her apologizing. I'd never heard her do it before, and this was good enough payback.

We arrived at the reception then, and I went straight to the food before I could get attacked by anyone else.

I grabbed a plate of nothing but shrimp poppers and sat down. Bella was still in the back of my mind, but with all the happiness around me, it was a bit easier to ignore for the time being. As soon as this reception was over, I was going back to America. I heard Alice's tinkling little laugh as I stuffed my face.

"I guess the shrimp poppers won't be wasted after all," she said happily.

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.

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

Edward

I couldn’t sleep. It was pointless to even close my eyes and try. I felt like such a failure as I sat next to Bella’s sleeping form, replaying the scene of Bella breaking her ankle in my mind. I shouldn’t have even let her run in the forest. She’d told me multiple times how clumsy she was, and even though I’d taken her seriously, I never thought her lack of coordination could cause this.

I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed. From what I could tell, the break wasn’t terrible, but the fact still remained that Bella was now in pain, and I had nothing to fix it. I would have to wait on her hand and foot now, and even though I didn’t mind, I wasn’t sure if I even could. What if another storm passed? I couldn’t just haul her to the grotto. And our measly excuse for shelter--the spot where the trees covered us from the rain--would be no means to protect us in that situation. We were really screwed now. Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse, they did just that.

I looked up at the sky. Do you really hate us that much, I thought, . The only good thing that’s come out of this horrible ordeal is the fact that I actually met her. I looked back down at her angelic, heart-shaped face. My body was really worn out, my eyes closing of their own accord. I tried once again to sleep, but even though I was tired, my mind wouldn’t stop.

Hours passed, and I still lay there next to Bella, and the sun started to make its presence known. I wondered how today would go, whether it would be twice as hard as usual, or if we would get on just fine, considering the new circumstances. I laced my hands together and put them behind my head, waiting for Bella to wake up.

Another hour passed, and the sun lightened up the sky with dawn. I guessed it to be about seven, and was just about to get up and find breakfast when I heard the most peculiar sound. It was very faint and far away, but I knew I wasn’t imagining it. Another plane? I thought warily. If it was indeed a plane, and it passed us up, I didn’t know what I would do. I would probably go crazy for good this time. I sat up and looked at the sky. The trees clouded my view, so I got up and walked onto the clear sand. I scrunched my eyes, wishing I had a pair of binoculars to see farther. I looked all around the sky, searching. The sound was stronger now, and I knew it was closer. Hope filled me instantly, especially when I could make out the small dot far away. I didn’t know what it was, but it was something. I waited a few more seconds, holding my breath nervously. My heart was beating a million miles a minute, and I tried not to blink, afraid that if I would close my eyes, it would disappear.

It wasn’t a bird. It wasn’t a plane. It was a helicopter. The sound of the main rotor blades hitting the air loudly was like heaven to my ears. The closer the copter came to the island, the more hopeful I became. It was facing me directly, to where I could see the nose and the blades only from my distance. It wasn’t only passing us, I realized--it was coming for us. When it was close enough that I was sure it wasn’t going to just leave us, I ran back to Bella. She was still sleeping; the sound wasn’t quite loud and close enough for her to be woken by it yet.

I kneeled at her side quickly, overexcited. “Bella!” I called. She didn’t move, still asleep. I shook her gently and said her name again. Her eyes opened slowly, and I beamed in delight. I pointed toward the helicopter, laughing at her confused face.

“Bella! Oh my God, look!” I told her, almost shaking with all the emotions running though me. Bella grabbed her chest and tried to get up. I pushed her back down, and she stared at the helicopter in the sky as I picked her up. She made a few noncommittal noises as I carried her hurriedly though the trees.

“Please tell me I’m not dreaming, Edward,” she whispered finally, still looking at the sky. I pinched her leg playfully and she yelped.

“Nope. Not dreaming,” I told her happily. She smiled so wide and gripped me tightly around my neck, still not looking away from the helicopter. I set her down in the sand and stood. The copter finally reached us, the force of the blades blowing our hair and bits of sand and the trees. It was very loud, but seeing the words “Coast Guard” warmed me enough to not even notice. It lowered close to the ground, only about fifteen feet in the air before stopping. It couldn’t land fully because there wasn’t enough room on the sand. A rope came out of the bottom and a huge man in a red uniform came sliding down onto the ground about ten feet away from us. He was still wearing a headset from the helicopter, and when he faced us, I could see he was of Native American descent. He had very dark skin and cropped black hair, and he was so big that I was surprised he didn’t weigh the whole copter down. He ran over to us, taking in the way I held Bella on the ground. He looked at our attire in confusion.

“My name is Jacob Black, and I’m a member of the United States Coast Guard. We got a call about a week ago saying there was an SOS on an uncharted island. I’m sorry it took us so long to find you, but without having coordinates of this place, it took us forever to locate it,” he yelled in a deep voice, loud enough for me to hear him over the sound of the blades. I nodded and was about to tell him that we were survivors of a plane crash two months ago, but he started again.

“Can she walk? What happened?” he asked, nodding towards Bella.

“She has a broken ankle,” I told him.

He nodded at me and bent down to get Bella’s attention. “I’m going to get a stretcher down here so we can get you into the helicopter. Are you okay with that?” She nodded her head and smiled. He smiled back, and even though we were about to be saved, I scowled at the way he looked at her. He ran back to the rope and started talking to the people inside the copter through his headset, telling them to let down a stretcher.

Bella looked up at me, and I gave her a warming smile, gripping her hand and kissing it.

This is really happening, she mouthed at me. We watched as a cage was lowered down, holding a stretcher. As Jacob grabbed hold of it and got it ready, I picked Bella up and carried her closer. The pressure from the blades made Bella’s hair go crazy in my face, and I was sputtering pieces out of my mouth. She laughed loudly, and I found the sound contagious. We erupted in short hysterics. At that moment, anything would have been funny because we were finally being saved. I think we just wanted a reason to laugh and act happy.

I set a still-grinning Bella onto the stretcher and Jacob shooed me away so he could strap her in. Seeing Jacob in his clean uniform with Bella right next to him in next to nothing, her only clothes filthy and torn, made me think again how hard it was going to be in the real world. Jacob Black was the first person we had seen in what felt like forever, and this moment would be forever burned in my brain. Bella’s long hair fanned out against the white sheet under her. Her dirty clothes stained the whiteness with dirt and sand. The straps came over her chest, stomach, and knees, and she was instructed not to move. She looked from me to Jacob, and then to the helicopter nervously. I watched as Jacob latched her stretcher to the cage and signaled for the people above to lift them up. Bella clenched her eyes and did as she was told. I held my breath, fearing the worse--that they would drop her.

Five minutes later, she was safe inside the copter, and I was still on the ground. Jacob started to lower himself back down to come for me. I looked from under the helicopter to the rippling water that seemed to go on for ages. I looked around at the white sand and the trees, committing it to memory.

Everything that happened here, every touch, kiss, moment that Bella and I experienced here, ran though my mind. The first time we kissed, the first fire I lit for us, climbing the trees with her, catching fish, swimming naked together, making love for the first time just a few feet from where I stood now…it was all coming back to me. We would never experience any of that again. We wouldn’t need each other like we did.

Then all of the bad moments replayed in my mind--Bella running from me and getting lost in the rain, Bella having nightmares, Bella calling me a pervert, Bella breaking her ankle, Bella crying because the plane left us, and finally, Bella letting go of me in the water during the storm and nearly drowning. The image of her pale face under the water, her hair flowing upward as she sank lower--my falling angel--would never be forgotten. I would give anything to never have to go through that feeling again, the feeling of complete loss and uselessness.

This island was beautiful, and we made really great memories on it. It was our destiny to find each other this way and fall in love while stranded, but it was time for us to go. We needed to make more memories elsewhere, happier memories.

I looked back at the helicopter as Jake was running toward me again. He asked me if there were any others on the island, and I told him no. He strapped me to the rope and told me to hold on. I complied, and we were both pulled to the top.

Once inside, I walked to Bella, who was still on the stretcher, ignoring everyone else. A splint had been put on her ankle for the moment until she could get medical assistance. She looked up at me and gripped my hand again. We both looked out the window at the island getting smaller as we flew away.

We were both given a headset to block out the loud sound, and I could see tears leaking from Bella’s eyes. I wiped them away with my thumb. She bit her lip and said, “I’m going to miss it.” I nodded my head and mouthed, Me too.

When the island was completely out of view, I looked around at the others, who had been pretty silent so far. I realized they were probably trying to give us a few short minutes of privacy before questioning us. Three of them were Native American, just like Jacob, but I couldn’t tell what the pilot looked like with his back to me.

One of the men started talking to me though the headset. His name was Sam.

“Do you mind telling me how you got on that island?” he asked.

“We survived a plane crash two months ago. We were Flight 1107 from Voyage Airlines on our way to France,” I explained. Sam’s eyes widened.

“Are you two the only survivors?” he asked next. I nodded.

“I don’t think anyone else made it.”

Sam looked to the others. “The press is going to have a field day.” They nodded in agreement, and Bella and I looked at each other.

“What are your names?” Sam asked, getting my attention again.

“I’m Edward Cullen, and she’s Bella Swan,” I told him. He wrote down our names and asked if we were related or if we had any family members on the plane. Then he asked where we were from, and when Bella said she was from Florida, he said that we would land there so she could go to a hospital and call her family. I could call my family, too, and Sam said he would get someone to book me a plane to Chicago.

“NO!” Bella and I both shouted at the same time. Sam jumped in surprise at our outburst. “No planes, please,” I amended.

“Oh, sorry,” he muttered.

We spent another two hours in the helicopter before we finally saw land. Bella sighed happily when Jacob pointed down and announced we were almost in Tampa.

We landed on top of a hospital, like in the movies, and people rushed toward us to get Bella out of the helicopter. They got her out first, and she tried to remain calm, keeping her eyes on me. I held her hand until we were at the doors, and a woman tried to push me away from her. Sam explained our situation to the doctors, and I wanted to tell them that I was a doctor, and I knew that Bella wasn’t in any immediate danger with only a broken ankle and being a bit under weight, but I knew that they wouldn’t listen to me since I was really only an intern. The woman kept pushing me away, however, and telling me that they needed to bring Bella in separately. I wasn’t happy about that.

“No, I don’t want to be away from her,” I said. I probably sounded really pathetic, but I didn’t care. I hadn’t been away from her in two months, and I didn’t want to start now. I was afraid that if they took her out of my sight, I would never see her again. I knew that since I wasn’t related to her or married to her, they didn’t have to give me any information or let me see her. I started to panic, especially when Bella looked up at me with scared eyes. She didn’t want to be away from me, either.

Sam held me back, though, stopping me from going after her. They rolled her through the doors, out of my line of vision.

I turned to Sam. “Why are they doing this? A broken ankle doesn’t require all this rushing.”

He shrugged. “Well, you two were on an island for a long time. They’ll want to check for diseases, and we told them we were coming with two victims of a plane crash. It’s understandable that they would be on high alert. Just wait till this gets around the country. I remember when they announced on the news that the plane had crashed. It was…absolutely horrible. We even went looking for the…remains, and couldn’t find anything. It was like the plane just disappeared.”

A man came up to me and told me to follow him. “It sank pretty fast, from what I can remember,” I said. Sam grimaced.

“They’re going to want the whole story,” he said before I was pulled though the doors and into the hospital. I wasn’t even paying attention to where I was being led to. I just kept looking for Bella, desperate to see her. People stared at me as I walked through the halls. I was still only in the ragged, dirty shorts, and my hair was still full of sand and other things. I must have really looked like a swamp monster to everyone. Plus, it was freezing in this hospital, and I hadn’t known the comfort of an air conditioner in the longest time. It was so surreal, walking here with people all around me. Just this morning, Bella and I had been together, and I was worrying about how we would manage our predicament with her fractured ankle. I covered my chest as I walked, trying to ignore the stares and whispers of people who didn’t know me and didn’t know what Bella and I had gone through. The man leading me took me to an empty room and gave me a clean white shirt and pants. He showed me to a shower and told me to get cleaned up so they could run a few tests. Apparently I was too filthy for anything right now, or maybe I just stunk.

I did as I was told, wondering if they were asking Isabella to do the same thing at that particular moment. Turning the knob for hot water, I remembered how I had really wanted my first bath to be with Bella. I had wanted to wash her clean and have her do the same for me. Instead, I was alone in this small hospital shower. I hurried anxiously, hoping that if I was fast enough, they would let me see Bella and make sure she was okay.

When I got out, dressed and feeling clean, but still not quite satisfied since it wasn’t a shared experience with my Bella, I found the same man waiting for me on the bed closest to me. I guessed he was a nurse by the way he was dressed. Or maybe he was an intern like me. It didn’t really matter, but I was trying not to focus on how mad I was that they weren’t letting me see my girl.

“You’re going to have to fill this out for me, and if you give me a family member’s name and number, I’ll call for you,” he said. He handed me a clipboard with papers, and I gave him Carlisle’s name and number. When he left the room, I sat on the bed and started filling out the papers.

I wondered what they would tell Carlisle. Why wouldn’t they let me call him? And what would Carlisle think? Would he think someone was playing a crude joke on him and simply hang up? I wasn’t sure. My “death” may have really shaken up the family. What if he believed it? I could imagine him telling Esme, and then they would rush here to see me and take me home. I could be with my family in only a few hours, and we would hug and cry and embrace. My mom would tell me she was never letting me out of her sight again, and we would laugh and be happy.

Bella….I suddenly thought. I wasn’t going home without her. My gut did a flip at the thought of her parents coming here. Surely, they would call her family and they would come straight away. What if they took her home, and I never got to see her again. I didn’t have any way of reaching her.

I took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down. I knew her full name, and I knew her parents’ names, and I even knew her address. It wouldn’t be hard to find her, even if--Heaven forbid--we got separated. I took comfort in that, and tried to finish the paperwork.

When I finished, I pushed the nurse button like the man had asked me to. I found it strange that I was ordered to sit in here instead of a waiting room. Did they really think I was diseased enough to corrupt the hospital? I mean, I had been on an island, not in a brothel.

The nurse man came quickly, and he led me down a hall. Workers in scrubs stared at me again as we walked. The man told me his name was Andy, and that I needed to have a blood test and a physical.

“Do you know if I’ll get to see Bella?” I asked him. He looked at me curiously. “The girl that was rescued with me,” I explained.

“I don’t know. I’m not sure what they’re doing with her, probably running more tests than you since she broke her ankle. We haven’t been able to get in touch with either of your families, but we’ll keep trying. When everything with her is done, and she asks for you, I’m sure they’ll let you see each other,” Andy said. I nodded, and he asked for another number they might be able to reach, so I gave him Esme’s cell. It was strange that Carlisle wouldn’t answer his phone, but I didn’t dwell on that at the moment.

I did my physical, and then Andy said he would fetch me later for my blood test. Esme hadn’t answered her phone, either, so I told him to just wait, and that I would try later. Again, instead of putting me in a waiting room, he brought me to wait in that empty room again. I lost my composure and asked what the hell was going on.

He sighed. “The news is all over this already. Our phones have been ringing off the hook since word got out that survivors from the crash came to this hospital. No one can believe that you two actually lived, and the press is trying to get pictures and the story from you and Bella. The waiting room isn’t safe for you right now, and we put you in here for privacy. Unless you want to be interrogated by them…” he added.

Oh. I felt like an asshole. I shook my head and apologized.

“Our security is trying to get a hold of the situation, and hopefully by the time you leave, there won’t be anyone to attack you for information. There will be some officers in here later to question you about everything, though. I hope you don’t mind talking to them. They just need to know the whole story.”
After I agreed, Andy left me in the room and said he would be back shortly to escort me to get my blood tests. I sat down on the little white bed and wondered where in the hell Isabella was in this hospital. She was near, I could just feel it, and I wished I could run to her. We’d only been apart maybe an hour, and I was already going insane.

I walked over to the window, curious. Opening the blinds, I saw newscast vans parked in the large lot, people swarming everywhere, probably trying to get the scoop. I wondered how long it would take for the news to reach my parents. Why weren’t they answering their phones, anyway? My mom always answered her phone, and Carlisle usually picked up unknown calls because he got so many being that he was a doctor. I closed the blinds and turned away, frustrated. What was so important that they were ignoring the most important call probably in my whole life?

Ten minutes later Andy showed up again and took me to the little office where a woman was taking blood tests. I wondered if Bella had been tested yet, and suddenly found hope that she would be in the room with me for that. I was sorely disappointed, though, when I saw the other chairs around the room empty. I groaned and sat down. I fucking hated giving blood. It was the only thing in the world that had ever managed to make me weak enough to pass out.

“Please get this over with, and don’t miss the vein,” I barked at the woman. She glared at me for a second before tying the band around my upper arm. I really didn’t even care about being polite anymore; I just wanted to see Bella, bring her home, shave, bathe, and have sexy time. Was that too much to ask for?

Feeling sluggish, I walked back to the stupid room. Andy piped questions at me, but the only one I heard was whether I wanted food. I nodded vigorously at him and he assured me he would try to get me something. The man probably felt sorry for me or something for being stuck on an island. I didn’t think I looked like a skinny barbarian, but that was how I was being treated.

I put my head down on the pillow of the bed. It was so soft, and memories of my own pillow came back to me. I couldn’t wait to go home. And now I wouldn’t feel so lonely in that huge house anymore. Bella would be with me, and we could start our lives over.

I just hoped my parents hadn’t sold my house already.

Exhaustion was starting to take over, and my eyes drooped. I let sleep take me.

A female nurse came in some time later and woke me up. She gave me a plate of nasty hospital food and juice. She informed me that she was going to get the police to come in for a few minutes so I could explain what had happened. I drank the disgusting apple juice while waiting.

Ugh. Just when I think I’m finally going to get away from eating fruit nonstop, they give me fucking apple juice. I think I’d rather just starve. At least the hospital I interned at had better food.

I wondered if Bella was eating the food they were giving her. Was she thinking of how much she’d rather have fish right now? I chuckled at the thought of her thinking about me while I was thinking about nothing but her.

A knock on the door notified me that the officers were here. It was the Chief of Police of the city, and he introduced himself as Marcus Harold. He asked me what flight I had been on and what airline. I knew that he was just following protocol--everyone knew what plane had crashed and where we were headed.

When he asked how we survived, I told him how neither Bella nor I had been buckled at the time, and how when we started to go down, I grabbed her and held onto the most stable thing I could find. It was hard to remember every detail, and when I thought of how the people had screamed and shook, I shivered. The actual crash hadn’t affected me much while on the island. I never really thought about how many lives were lost. Now I felt incredibly selfish for never even giving it a thought.

“I remember when we hit water, the plane started to fill up from the nose, and we were at the back of the plane, so we had a minute to figure out what to do. Well, I had a minute; Bella had passed out already. Everyone else was still buckled in, and even if they were still conscious, the water wasn’t letting them unbuckle to get out. The left wing had been ripped off near us, so there was a big gap. When the water reached my feet, I swam to the gap and got out of the plane. The pressure of it sinking pulled me down, but I managed to keep upright in the water and kick up. Then I reached the surface,” I said, drifting off.

“And there were no others? No one else came up after you?” he asked. I shook my head. “Tell me how you found the island.”

“We drifted all that night and the whole next day. We finally spotted the land at sunset the next day and we swam to it. And the rest is history.”

“Why were you going to France? Business? Pleasure?”

“My sister was getting married there, and I was on my way to the wedding,” I whispered. He nodded and tucked away the little pad of paper he had been writing everything on.

“Well, Mr. Cullen, your story matches Miss Swan’s account of what happened. I understand you two had never met before this ordeal?”

“No.” He had already talked to Bella?

“You’re both very lucky. From what I understand, the plane had almost two hundred passengers.”

“So you’ve talked to Bella? How is she?” I asked. He looked at the nurse and said that he couldn’t relay information about her condition to me. I rolled my eyes as he thanked me and walked out.

A few minutes later, the nurse was still in my room, seemingly debating something. She sat on the edge of my bed and I looked at her curiously. She looked back at me piteously and hesitated.

“Please don’t tell anyone I told you, but I think you have a right to know this, okay?” she asked in a whisper, as if she were afraid there were cameras around. I scrunched my brows in confusion before she continued.

“That girl, Bella,…she’s going to be fine. She fractured her fibula, and it’s out of place, so they’re going to give her surgery tomorrow. Other than that, she’s just slightly underweight, as are you. I didn’t catch the whole story, but I think the doctor is going to give her some iron supplements. She’s sleeping right now, from what I’ve heard,” the woman said. I sighed in relief; Bella was okay.

“What about our blood test results?” I asked.

“Those should be in by tomorrow morning. They want you to stay here until tomorrow, but I don’t know when they’re going to let Bella out.”

“Thank you. I really appreciate you telling me this. I won’t tell anyone you blabbed,” I promised.

“So you haven’t gotten in touch with anyone?” she asked me next. I shook my head.

“Try using my phone. I get free calls after nine at night.” She handed me her cell and I freaked out at the fact that it was after nine already.

I dialed my mom’s cell first, but it went straight to voicemail. Then I dialed Carlisle’s and it rang, but he never picked up. I knew that they didn’t even know how to check their voicemail, so I didn’t bother leaving one. I called the house phone next, and after three rings, someone finally picked up.

“Hello?” the sweet voice of my parent’s live-in-maid said.

“Mrs. Cope! Are my parents around? I’ve been calling their cells, but no one’s answering!” I said frantically.

“Emmett? Are you sleep calling again? Are you intoxicated? Sweetie, this behavior needs to stop,” she said firmly. What the hell? I thought. Mrs. Cope knew my voice; she’d been like my grandmother for the last seven years.

Oh. Until I died.

“No, Mrs. Cope! It’s me, Edward! Remember that plane crash? I’m not dead! I lived, and now I’m back. I’m at a hospital in Florida, and I really need to talk to my parents!” I practically yelled. It was quiet for nearly a whole minute before she spoke again.

“Emmett, really…this is not funny,” she said sternly.

“No! It’s me, I swear, Mrs. Cope! Ask me anything and I’ll prove it to you! My first car, my favorite shirt that you accidentally turned pink and told me not to tell anyone…it’s me, Edward! C’mon, you know my voice!”

“Edward?” she asked hesitantly.

“Yes! It’s me, I promise, I promise!”

“Where are you again?” she asked.

“I’m at a hospital in Tampa Bay. I’ve been on an island the last two months, and I was saved this morning. I need to talk to Mom and Dad.” I was so happy that she was finally believing me.

“You’re alive! Oh, Edward!” Then she was silent for a few seconds. “Oh, no, Honey. Everyone’s in France again. Alice rescheduled her wedding, and it’s in three days!”

My heart dropped then. No one was even in the states to know what had happened. They weren’t answering their phones because they were probably too busy getting everything in order for the wedding.

“Edward? Edward?” Mrs. Cope called, getting my attention.

“Yes, Mrs. Cope, I’m still here,” I said flatly.

“Tell me exactly where you are, and I’ll get take the first plane to get you. Are you hurt, dear? Are you going to be okay? You sound fine, but I can’t be sure,” she said.

“Yeah, I’m okay.” I let out a breath and gave her directions to the hospital. She told me she would be there early the next day, and we hung up.

I decided I would try one more time with my parent’s phones. It was pointless again, so I tried Emmett’s

After two rings, I heard the phone click, and Rose’s voice flooded my ear.

“Hello?” Finally, I might be getting somewhere.

“Rose, I know this is going to sound crazy, but I need you to listen before you hang up, okay?” I pleaded.

“Who is this?” she asked angrily. Why couldn’t Emmett have picked up instead?

“It’s Edward, listen--”

“Edward?” she cut me off.

“Yes--”

She cut me off again. “Look, I don’t know what kind of sick fuck you think you are, but this isn’t funny. My husband is still fucked up over what happened, and you think you can prank call him about it? Fuck you!” And she hung up.

I sighed and gave the nurse back her phone.

“Sorry,” she said. She left and I was alone in the room for the rest of the night, aggravated and pissed off.


(three days later)

Alice



I stared at my reflection in the floor to ceiling length mirror, ignoring the constant chatter of my bridesmaids. My dress was a Vera Wang, the most beautiful one I had seen almost a year ago now. The beading was very intricate, making subtle patterns from the top to the waistline, where it bunched up into many pearls. It was very poofy, not something I would normally pick because of my height, but when I put it on for the first time, I just knew.

I looked up to my face, which seemed to have bloomed worry lines over the last two months alone. This was supposed to be a happy day, the happiest day of my life. I was getting married to the man I loved more than anything in the entire world.

The green eyes in the mirror matched the ones of my brother. The brother that was supposed to be here.


“What’s wrong, honey?” my mom asked, laying a hand on my shoulder, trying to comfort me. No bride was supposed to be frowning like this.

“Edward,” I explained, fighting the tears back. “I wish he was here.”

My mom hugged me tightly, trying to keep her chest away from mine in fear of damaging the dress. “Me, too, Sweetheart. But even though he’s not here doesn’t mean he’s not going to see his baby sister get married.” She kissed my cheek and pulled away.

“And no one’s going to eat the fancy shrimp poppers that will be served. I got them especially for Edward because he’s the only one who actually likes them,” I said sadly.

Mom laughed. “I bet he’s eating as many shrimp poppers as he likes right now.” She laughed at loud at a memory. “I remember when he first started at the hospital--he wanted me to pack him a lunch and send it with your father every day just so he wouldn’t have to eat the hospital’s food. His first day, I sent him some of that, and he called me during his break to thank me and asked if we had any more at the house.” She laughed some more and wiped a tear from her eyes.

“Your brother is probably scowling at us right now for teasing him,” she continued.

“Yeah,” I agreed. I would give anything to see that grumpy-but-humorous face of his again.

“Remember when I told him I was getting married?” I asked her.

She chuckled. “Oh, yes. He threw a fit, especially when I asked him when he was going to get married.” She sighed, reminiscing. “I would have loved to see that crazy hair of his on a grandchild.” She shook her head, fighting tears. “You know, the first day I went grocery shopping after his…death…I went straight to the aisle with Vienna sausage because it was something I bought for him every time. He always did like the weirdest foods, your brother. Anyway, I picked up a can and was about to put it in the buggy, and I stopped and remembered that I didn’t need to buy it anymore. I started sobbing when I set the can back down on the shelf, and your father and I just starved for the next week because I couldn’t bear to go out again.”

I was taken aback at my mother’s admission. She looked at me sadly, but placed a smile on her face. “And then I realized something very important. Edward would not want me and your father to suffer because of what happened. We mourn him, yes, but he would not want us to be miserable. And he wouldn’t want you to be crying on your wedding day. I’m sure that wherever he is, he wishes he could be here. And I bet he would do anything possible to see his sister get married,” she finished. I smiled at her, realizing she was right.

“Ladies, line up!” someone called from the door to the dressing room. It was time to go down the aisle. It was time to start our future.





All pictures are taken from either Google or Deviantart.

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

Day Twenty-Eight Stranded

Edward

The storm had finally stopped raging outside after two days of being in the cove, and when it was light again, Bella and I were going to go back on the island. I was worried about what we would find--what if there was no supplies left? What if there was no more food, and the spring had been trashed to the point of no return?

Then we would really be in trouble. I tried not to think about it.

I lay next to Bella’s sleeping form, spooning her body. I couldn’t keep my hands off of her, and at first she had gotten aggravated when I kept waking her. Each time I would fall asleep, my dreams would turn to nightmares of her beautiful face, deathly pale and sickly. I would be swimming to her, and no matter how hard I kicked and thrashed, I could never reach her, as if I were stuck in the same place.

I woke up in a cold sweat each time, gasping for breath. I would see her lying next to me every time, and she was pale and her breathing was not strong enough for my satisfaction. I had shaken her awake, just to make sure she was okay. After the third time, she got really pissed at me, but seeing my worried face made her hold in her anger.

So I gave up on sleeping. Looking down, I measured Bella’s breathing again. The back of her ribs moved slowly with her breath in a steady rhythm, and the movement stretched her scars when she inhaled.

I trailed a cold finger around the longest scar, careful not to touch the scab itself. It was about four inches long, but it wasn’t deep. We would have to make sure the gashes didn’t get infected. Lying there, staring at the angry marks that marred my beautiful girl’s back, made me want to try everything in my power to get away from this island. We needed to go home. Our time here had been fun for the most part, but not knowing what was going to happen tomorrow, or in a week, terrified me. The unknown wasn’t safe, and I wasn’t about to take a chance with Bella’s safety. Now that I finally had a girl, one that I wanted to take care of, I wasn’t going to lose her.

“Edward,” she murmured in her sleep. Her voice sent a jolt through my spine, and I tightened my hold around her. I kissed the back of her head, and tasted the nasty salt water.

I wanted to bring her home to my enormous, empty bathroom, and just wash every piece of her glowing skin. I wanted to lay her on my big bed and ravish her, and then we could wake up between the white Egyptian sheets every morning and do it all over again.

I wanted my first bath back home to be with Bella. I would litter the floor and counters with candles and rose petals, and shampoo the nasty dirt and sand and salt from her hair and body.

I took comfort from all the things we could do once we hopefully returned. I knew it would be so hard to be away from her for just an hour or so after being with her 24/7 on the island. It would take a long time for us to make the transition back to normal life. Well, as normal as life could be now that I had her in mine. Looking back at Bella’s back, I kissed the scar softly, thinking of ways to get a plane to notice us.

When Bella started to stir an hour later, I helped her get up, trying to ignore her naked body. I grabbed what was left of her shirt and shorts and tried to put them on her. She looked at me like I was silly.

“That’s a lost cause,” she said, taking the ripped shirt from me and dangling it in front of my face. “It looks more like a rag now.” I laughed. “I’ll just go naked,” she continued, shrugging. My laugh was cut short, and I blinked a few times to clear my head. Had I heard that right? Bella walked away, holding the shorts and her underwear, and smirking back at me.

I pulled on my shorts and joined her at the edge of the water. The tide had risen with the storm, and I knew it would be harder to get out now. But we had to do it--it’s not like we could just stay in the cave forever. First, we would die, and second, we would never be seen to get rescued.

“How bad do you think it is?” Bella asked, referring to the damage on the island. I tried not to look at her naked, knowing it would make me stupid with desire, even under the circumstances. I still failed, though, and Bella covered the girls with her arm when my eyes darted to her, a wide smile on her face.

I chuckled. “I don’t know. I think it will be okay. This island’s probably been here for thousands of years--if it’s survived a hurricane before, it can do it again,” I said. I took her hands and led her through the water. The light from the holes in the ceiling of the cave was the only thing allowing us to see, and I worried it would be darker underwater because it was deeper. “Hold onto my back, and kick your feet. I’ll swim us out of here, okay?” She nodded her head at my request, and we were off.

I made it to the other side without any problems, and we both gasped for breath when we finally reached the opening. Seeing the sun was such a relief after not having it for over a day and a half. I swam out more, getting my first view of the island. I couldn’t see much because the cliff was blocking me, but the few trees I could make out were bent all the same way from the wind blowing so hard. It didn’t really worry me…yet.

We swam around the cliff, to the other side of the island where we usually resided, taking in everything that had happened. Many trees had been snapped in half, the tops just dangling on the ground.

When we finally reached our side, Bella yelped.

“The suitcase! Edward, it’s gone!” she swam to shore frantically. I followed her, amusement taking over. I tried not to burst out laughing as she ran around in the nude, searching for the suitcase with the only clothes we had. Water dripped down her breasts and long legs as she did so, and the whole scene was like something out of a really funny movie.

She looked at me with a pout, probably hoping I would help her look for the clothes. I would do no such thing, however.

“I’ll just go naked,” I said in a high, girly voice, mocking her words from earlier. “I bet you wish you had that rag of a shirt now, huh?” I keeled over in hysterical laughter, and I could feel her scowl upon me. She pulled on the panties and the shorts, but was left with nothing for her torso. She walked up to me quickly, mad. I could see her eyes smiling, though.

“And what if a plane comes by today, Edward, and we get saved? Would you really want another man to see my chest, just because I can’t find a shirt?” she said in a mocking tone, matching mine. I frowned for a second, thinking about it before I made up my mind.

“Let’s find that suitcase.”

***

We did not find the suitcase, but by some miracle, my old undershirt was caught in a tree somewhere, along with some of the underwear. The suitcase must have toppled over, making everything inside fly around, then floated away.

I wasn’t sure what I liked more: Bella naked, or Bella wearing my t shirt. It was hot again, so she just put on the red panties this time. A lot of the food we had picked had been either trashed or drowned, so we went in search of more. Luckily, the food trees stayed mostly intact, and we were able to eat an okay meal.

And now we were back to square one. I wasn’t going to be ignorant this time, however. As Bella walked around, I dug up the word “SOS” in the sand next to us. Maybe, just maybe, a plane would see it, and send someone to our aid. It looked big enough for a plane to see it from high above, but the problem was whether a plane would even pass by us at all.

The air was dry and hot, very different compared to what we had experienced before and during the tropical storm. I was already sweating, even though I was just clad in shorts. I started a fire anyway, hoping that it would add to the possibility of getting noticed.

I realized Bella had been gone a long time, probably around a half hour, and I grew worried. We never spent this much time apart; every time she would “go to the bathroom,” she would always be back within ten minutes, at most. I looked around the broken tree line, but caught no sight of her. Concerned, I started walking the path she had followed.

I finally found her ten minutes later, sitting in the fresh water in the spring. It seemed unharmed, but something was wrong with Bella. She was just sitting there, looking down at the water. She was perched right at the edge, in all the rocks, barely any water under her. She gathered water in her hands and ran it over her stomach, sighing. She never even noticed me approaching. I watched the water cascade down her abdomen, dripping down her legs and returning to the spring. Why did she look so sad?

“Love? Is something wrong?” I asked loudly, hoping my voice didn’t shake with the worry looming in my chest.

My words had startled her, and she turned her head quickly to look at me. Giving me a small smile, she said, “No, I’m just having cramps.” I could see through her little fib, so I walked over to her. She had gotten rid of the shorts, and all she had on was my tee and the red lacy thong. I thought this rather strange, so I sat next to her in the water.

She frowned deeply, and I took her head in my hands gently. “Really, Bella, what’s wrong? I can’t help you unless you let me.”

She sighed again, finally looking at me. There was so much sadness in her brown orbs.

“Igotmyperiod,” she rushed out. I didn’t understand her, especially given the fact that she was blushing profusely.

“Um…what?” I asked dumbly. She threw me a dirty look and repeated herself.

“I. Got. My. Period.” Oh. Yeah, I could see how that would distress her. I pulled her close to me, making sure the water still hit her. I poured more over her stomach--it must have soothed the ache. I understood that she was in pain, but I couldn’t comprehend why she seemed depressed. She leaned her forehead against my shoulder.

“Why are you sad, baby?” I asked, “These things are natural.”

“I’m embarrassed, Edward. This must be so disgusting to you. And I have nothing to stop the-the bleeding,” she choked out, terrified for my reaction.

“Bella,” I chided, “nothing you could ever do would disgust me. Well, unless you pulled a Marilyn Manson and wiped your butt on an American flag in front of a large crowd, and to tell you the truth, I’d probably find even that fascinating if you did it. But, anyway, my point is that you shouldn’t be embarrassed or disgusted. And we can always find something to hold the bleeding. You’re probably not even bleeding much anyway, what with not getting the proper nutrition your body needs.” I looked at her questioningly.

She nodded. “No, it’s not much. I didn’t think I would start at all because of the added stress, but I guess it just delayed it. I counted, and realized I probably should have started a few days ago. It likely won’t last long, either.” She smiled at that thought, and I just had to know what was on her mind.

“What’s making you grin all of a sudden?” I asked. She laughed.

“This period better not last long, because I don’t think I can refrain from jumping you for any long length of time,” she giggled. I laughed with her, and kissed her softly, showing her how not disgusted I was.

She gasped all of a sudden, and I pulled away, thinking she was in pain.

“What?”

“How many days has it been since the crash?” she asked me hurriedly. I counted quickly in my head.

“Almost thirty, I think, if I haven’t lost count,” I said, suddenly worried by her alarmed expression. She gasped, her eyes widening and gaining tears.

“Edward,” she cried, “my birthday was last week! I’ve been twenty-three for six days and never even realized it!”

My jaw dropped to the ground. Bella’s birthday? What was I supposed to say to that? “Happy birthday” wouldn’t go over well. She put her head down, and my heart broke for her.

“I’m sorry, love,” I said softly. She shook her head, her long hair swishing from the movement.

“It’s no big deal,” she added after a few seconds. “I’ve never really enjoyed birthdays anyway.” Her voice shook, but I didn’t want to call her out on her lie.

After a couple minutes of silence, she looked up at me. There was determination on her face and all the tears were gone. I picked her up bridal style, carrying her back to our usual lounge area. I tried to give her privacy as she changed clothes. When she came find me, I was poking the fire to make it bigger. She was only wearing my shirt and new, black panties. I wiggled my eyebrows suggestively, and she giggled. I grabbed her leg, making her fall gently on the sand next to me.

I laid her down and hovered over her, attacking her swollen lips.

“You don’t know what your wearing my shirt does to me,” I growled.

***

A few days later, I decided it was time for another special dinner. The last week had been the hardest so far considering everything that had transpired. The storm, Bella’s womanly “problems,” as she called them, and her depressing skipped birthday realization had all weighed down our little happy bubble.

I wanted to do something special to celebrate her birthday, but there was only so much in my power. So another special dinner made by me was going to have to suffice.

Bella’s scars on her back were healing, and I made sure nothing got in the way of their progress. I didn’t let her lift a finger for anything strenuous, especially picking food or catching fish. We hadn’t even made love for six days, but her period was also to blame for that. But now she was done with it for another month, and I couldn’t be happier. I couldn’t stop thinking about how sweet our reunion would be as I rubbed aloe vera juice on the pink gashes lining her hot, roughening skin. She sighed at the cool contact.

“I still can’t believe you’re a doctor,” she said softly. I smiled, thinking about the first time I told her about it.

“Do you doubt my skills?” I asked.

“No, not your skills. Your maturity, sometimes, yes, but never your intelligence and ability,” she laughed. I scoffed at her, finishing the last mark and kissing her shoulder.

“Hilarious, Bella. Why don’t you go pick some avocados, and I’ll try to catch us some fish,” I suggested. I wanted her out of sight so I could make another surprise for her. She turned around quickly in surprise, complaining that I hadn’t let her pick anything in the last few days and asking why today was different.

“Your back is almost healed, love. C’mon, I can’t do all the work around here,” I said jokingly. She frowned and stared at me suspiciously before jumping up and doing as I told her. Once I saw that she was through the tree line, I ran to the water and searched quickly for fish. I’d gotten much better at catching them since the first time a month ago, and I didn’t even need a weapon to beat it with anymore. It was all about speed and aim, two things I never had trouble with.

I caught two flounder, our favorite, and what seemed to be the most abundant on the island, and put them to cook over the fire. Bella still wasn’t back, thankfully, so I filled our cups with water from the spring. We had emptied a wine bottle and filled it with the fresh water so we wouldn’t have to keep rushing back for more every few hours. Most of the things we had scrounged since we got stranded had been damaged or scattered for the storm, but nothing was out of use. Every object, broken or not, was still of some sort of value. It was a small wonder how cavemen lived like this. Didn’t they ever get bored?

And Adam and Eve…we were so much like them in a way. This island was our planet, and we were the only beings. It was romantic in so many ways. I just wished it was perfect no matter the circumstances. I wondered if the first man and woman had bickered and played as we did, and if they ever wished there was someone else around for company or to complain to. Sometimes I wished Emmett was here to see Bella, so I could brag to him how lucky I was. And if Esme were here, she would definitely never question my sexuality again. The thought made me laugh out loud.

I set a shirt out on the sand as if it were a table cloth and put our “cups” in the corners.

“What are you doing?” Bella’s voice called out from the opening in the trees. I looked up and saw her carrying a few avocados and bananas. “What’s all this?” She started walking toward me, a sly grin from ear to ear.

I smirked crookedly and shrugged, hoping she would appreciate this little sentiment. “Happy birthday.” She stopped in her tracks suddenly, staring at me, just five feet away. She seemed a bit confused, like she didn’t know what to think of what I had done.

Then she smiled. “You know, I usually hate gifts. Especially when I have nothing to give back,” she said, walking again. She fingered the string ring I had given her and sat down next to me. She emptied her arms of the fruits and looked at me lovingly.

“You do?” I asked, adding this fact to the list of things I knew about her. She nodded.

“But I think I’ll let it slide this time. Only because I love you,” she added. I handed her water to her. She would have to get used to receiving gifts if we ever got back to the states. There was no way I would not give her special things. I bit my tongue, however, and kissed her sweetly, inwardly cheering at the other “gifts” I would give her tonight.

The sun was going to go down in about another hour, and the heat was starting to die out. I took our fish from above the fire and handed one to her. It had taken a while to get over the weird taste of an almost-raw fish, but now we had gotten to the point where we would take whatever we could possibly get. I held my cup up to toast before we ate, and she held hers up, too.

“Happy birthday,” I said again. She rolled her eyes playfully but touched her water to mine anyway.

“Thank you, Edward,” she said.

Once we were finished, Bella stared down at our fish bones, deep in thought.

“I used to love sushi,” she said. I chuckled at her admission.

“Well, isn’t that a good thing?” I asked. “Seems to be the only thing to eat around here other than the stupid fruit.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever want raw fish again. I would eat at my favorite sushi restaurant every Friday. I would go to the bar all by myself every Friday and became pretty good friends with the people who worked there, even though half of them didn’t know English,” she said, pausing. “I bet they’re wondering where I am. Or maybe they know what happened.” She frowned and looked down at her hands in her lap. I took our fish bones and threw them in the fire, not wanting her to have a reminder.

“Hey, I whispered, taking her cheek in my hand. She looked up at me sadly. “Don’t think about it. Everything will be fine soon,” I promised her. I wished I could promise more, but doubt was honestly starting to eat its way into my brain. We’d been here for almost a month and a half, and still there was no sign of being rescued.

She nodded, and I could see she didn’t really believe me, but she was going along with it just to satisfy me. It made my heart ache.

I pulled her up so that we were standing together. I wanted to comfort her, but I didn’t want to keep giving her empty words, so I led her through the woods, her left hand in my right. She didn’t question me, didn’t fight me; she just followed me through the trees. Just five minutes after crossing the forest entrance, I stopped and pulled her close to me. We couldn’t hear or see the ocean from here, and that was what I wanted. From this spot, an onlooker wouldn’t have known we were on an island at all.

“I’m sorry,” I said to her. “I wish I could assure you more, Bella, but I don’t know what to say other than to hope.” I kissed her forehead, and she wrapped her arms around my waist.

“Thank you for the present, Edward,” she said, “I’m sorry I’m being so pessimistic. It’s not your fault.” She sighed and sat down. I sat, too.

“This paradise doesn’t seem like paradise anymore, huh?” she asked sadly.

“Paradise is anywhere you are,” I said. She looked up at me, finally meeting my eyes. Hers were swimming with tears, but none spilled over. She smiled brilliantly, and I thought for a moment she was completely happy, hope or not.

“I love you,” she said. She cupped my face in her small, warm hands, and brought her lips to mine, kissing me wildly. Her fingers drifted into my hair, pulling at the strands. I moaned at the feeling. She was everywhere, and everything in my world.

“Bella,” I moaned, my voice husky and sultry. Her tongue swiped my lips, and I gave her entrance into my mouth. She whimpered and shook, even though she was the one in control.

She rubbed my hardness through my shorts, and I gripped her hips roughly, bringing her impossibly closer. My hands made their way through the hem of her shirt, and I kneaded her breasts through the little silky bra. I gasped when I felt her peaks harden under my touch. I could feel them perfectly through the fabric, and it was amazing.

She started to climb my thighs, and straddled my hips. I bucked upward, trying to create friction for the both of us.

“Hmmm, Edward,” she groaned, pulling her lips from mine for a second. I trailed my mouth down her neck, sucking the soft skin there. I bit lightly, making my mark even though there was no one here to see she that she was mine. The heat of her core above my erection was sublime, and I started to go mad with lust. I looked up at her again when she started grounding onto me, and saw that her eyes had darkened with lust, too. I kissed her again, and started to pull her shirt off.

Bzzzzzzzzz…..the sound came from nowhere, and I froze. Bella kept kissing me, however. She mustn’t have heard it. It didn’t stop, and I jerked in surprise. She felt my sudden movement, and broke her lips from mine, looking at me questioningly.


“Do you hear that?” I asked Bella. The sound seemed to be getting louder every second. She scrunched her eyes in concentration, straining her ears to hear what I was hearing. She nodded slowly, looking back at me. I whirled around, looking for the source.

My heart was beating a mile a minute.

My eyes darted through the sky, the buzzing noise getting closer, but the source was nowhere in sight. Bella jumped up from her little seat on the ground, throwing sand everywhere in her haste. She ran to the shore with me hot on her heels. Running around the trees slowed us down, but we finally made it. The buzzing sounded an awful lot like a--

“It’s a plane! It’s a plane, Edward!” she called back to me. Her arms flailed around, trying to get the plane’s attention. It was facing sideways, far in the air, just a speckle the size of an inch where I was standing. Bella had run knee deep into the water, and was screaming at the top of her lungs. I ran to her, hoping my movement would get the plane’s attention. We both flung our arms like birds, yelling.

But nothing happened. The plane continued on its course, so far away from us. There was little chance anyone even saw us.

“NOOO! LOOK BACK! TURN AROUND! NOOOO!” Bella yelled. She was hysterical. I saw tears running down her cheeks. I felt numbness spreading throughout my body as the plane’s buzzing grew faint. Bella’s yells turned to sobs as I turned to her.

I grabbed her around the shoulders and held her tightly as her body wracked with her cries. She collapsed in my arms, and I went down with her. I wiped her tears with my fingers, fighting my own. Her hopelessness grew with the fading sound of the plane, and she sounded more broken than ever.

This was the worst that had happened. This was our breaking point. This was even worse than when she ran from me.

After about twenty minutes of holding her as she cried, I picked her up bridal style and carried her back to the fire to dry off. She cried in my shoulder, and I knew now that there was definitely nothing I could say.




All pictures are taken from either Google or Deviantart.