Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Bella

I groaned for the fourth time in the last fifteen minutes. I’d woken up to the bright sun on my face once again, but I had large doubts that was the reason I woke up. The loud chainsaw of a man lying next to me seemed to be the culprit. Edward was snoring so loud that I couldn’t even hear my thoughts. The only thing worse than listening to his racket was that his hands had somehow drifted to my hips over the night and latched on as if they were magnets. I tried hitting him away multiple times to no avail. Each time I tried pushing him away, he only gripped me tighter. We were still a few inches apart, only his hands touching me, but it was still aggravating me. When had he decided it was okay to sleep next to me anyway? I distinctly remembered falling asleep far away from him.

But whatever.

It actually feels kind of nice. He has very nice, large hands. And those fingers--Gah! I tried pulling away again, trying desperately to clear my thoughts. Edward grunted and pulled me back. I looked back at his angelic face, and I noticed that his mouth was hanging wide open.

“I swear, if you drool on me, things are going to get very ugly,” I growled at his sleeping form. Then the strange guilt surged through me like it had the day before.

I knew I was being a bit unfair to him, and I did not really mean to be a bitch. And it wasn’t just Edward. Ever since my heart had been broken in high school, men had become just that--men. I didn’t date, protecting my heart. I had guy friends, of course, but nothing ever became more than that. My relationships stayed at a level where no feelings could be made. I tended to avoid good looking men so that I wouldn’t become fond or hopeful, and I dedicated my life to my job. I was the definition of workaholic, and I had no intentions of changing, no matter how miserable I was.

And then this happened. I was stuck indefinitely with the most handsome man I’d ever come across. He’d saved my life. He brought me food when I was too weak to get my own. He’d taken care of me. I felt so horrible all over again. Feeling his erection when we were in the water had made me react for the worse, reminding me of how men were. They used women to get what they wanted, and only cared about themselves. I had met very few to prove my theory wrong. My first thought at feeling his attraction to me was that I had to treat him like I would treat any other. Because he was just like the rest.

Now I couldn’t believe I had reacted that way. He had proven that he wasn’t selfish or mean or any of the other characteristics I had deemed him to be. It was wrong of me to stereotype him. Just because he was good looking didn’t mean he was an asshole.

I sighed and attempted to turn in Edward’s hands. His grip had loosened by a fraction, his fingertips grazing the skin of my hip gently, and I was able to slightly lean towards him. He still did not wake, but his snores calmed down to heavy breathing. I stared into his beautiful, peaceful face. His skin was peeling, and he already had a light tan forming. His nose was a little red, but his cheeks were flaming, as I was sure mine were, too. His lips were full and pink, also peeling, but still seemed perfect. My hand unconsciously drifted to his face, my fingers softly tracing his bronze eyebrow and following around to the small shadows under his eyes. He smelled like salt and water, but I could still detect the light scent of honey about him. His hair was still a little wet, and I brushed a strand off his forehead, admiring him in secret. He could not know I was attracted to him. I would be damned if I was rejected by the only person within thousands of miles of me.

Suddenly a large smile appeared and stretched his features, showing his pearly white teeth. I gasped and before I moved my hand away, he spoke.

“Do you wake up most men like this?” he asked, opening his emerald eyes slowly, revealing he was indeed awake. My face lit on fire, and I looked away in embarrassment. He was having none of that, as he grabbed my face and pulled me back to him, making me meet his gaze. “Don’t do that. Shut yourself away from me--it doesn’t solve anything.”

“I’m sorry. I think I’m just a little…delirious,” I told him, “It’s been a weird couple of days.”

“Shit, you’re telling me!” he said, and he laughed playfully. I eyed him in disbelief. He sighed at my cocked eyebrows.

“Bella,” he started, “I know this is a bad situation, and I’m not exactly happy that we’re here, but I don’t think we should be completely miserable. I mean, look, we’re alive! That should be something to be thankful for!” I looked away from him. He was completely right.

“You’re right. I’m sorry,” I said, “I just find it hard to be optimistic.” Edward smiled, but then I guessed that brought pain to his face because it soon turned to a grimace. I could make out almost every little piece of skin that was coming off.

“You’re peeling.” I giggled. I hesitantly reached my hand back to his face, and he flinched slightly, but made no move to stop me. With my nails, I pulled off a few of the white strips. “I’m not hurting you, am I?” I whispered, hoping my breath wasn’t too bad.

Edward chuckled. “No. Actually, I can barely feel my face. What about you?”

“Same. I bet that I resemble a tomato right about now,” I said. He smirked crookedly, making my heart skip a beat.

“I would say you look more like a rose,” he said.

“And I would say that you’re delirious, too.” Edward chuckled and stretched, wincing.

“Ugh, I have sand in my pants,” he said, digging in his jeans to wipe a few bits of the white sand out. His white undershirt, the only thing he left on to cover his torso, rid up his body, and I got a great view of his lower abdominals, and fought the urge to gasp. I merely stared in awe, wondering what they would feel like under my fingertips and if they were as hard as they looked. Edward looked up after a few seconds and I shifted uncomfortably under his stare, realizing that when I moved, I could feel sand in my pants as well. I groaned. This was going to be really aggravating if I had to put up with this every night.

“What’s wrong? You got sand in your pants, too?” Edward started howling in laughter at the little dance I did to get the damn sand out.

“Shut up,” I said, and then laughed with him.

“You know, you could always take them off, then you wouldn’t have to worry about-” I cut him off with my glare, and started to walk off in search of breakfast.

“It was just a suggestion!” he called after me. I rolled my eyes and continued.

Edward had gotten avocados for us last night, but I was curious to see what else this island had to offer. I knew there had to be fish, but, of course, if I tried to catch one, I would probably just hurt myself and starve. So it had to be fruit. The small jungle-like forest took up over half the island, so there had to be more than just avocados, right?

As much as I hated being here, I had to admit the island was the most beautiful place I’d ever been to. The water was clear blue, and then there was the pale white sand, and then came the green. And, boy, was it green! I had never seen a place so natural and beautiful. I could hear birds hooting and saw a few bugs as I entered the greenery. It was really shallow at first, just a few palm trees here and there, but I could see it thicken farther away. I wasn’t afraid I would get lost since the island was so small. Plus, Edward would find me if I actually did. And if he didn’t, then oh well. Just when I was starting to actually like him, he opens that big mouth of his and pisses me off again. If only I had some tape, we would get along so much better.

After a few minutes of wandering, I could hear Edward’s footsteps behind me. I turned around to see him about ten feet away, frowning.

“Why are you following me?”

“Who said I was following you? I was simply admiring the plants. And this place is so small, how do you expect me not to run into you?” I rolled my eyes at him and continued on.

“Don’t trip,” he said, “I noticed you seemed accident prone on the plane.”

“Will you shut up so I can find us some food?” I blushed in embarrassment yet again; I was hoping he wouldn’t realize my greatest downfall--my clumsiness.

“Hmm, I don’t know. That neck of yours looks pretty tasty. We could fry it,” he said jovially. For some reason, what he said really scared me. If he were to fight me, I wouldn’t stand a chance. I knew he was just joking, but what if eventually there were nothing left to eat but me? Would he kill me in a desperate attempt for food? I didn’t know; people did crazy things when they were put in distressing situations like this.

“Bella? Bella! Hey, you know I was just kidding, right? I wouldn’t do that to you,” he said, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me out of my horrible imaginings. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” He looked sincere in his apology, his godly face turning sad at the possibility that he had hurt me. Dear Lord, he was even more gorgeous with his eyes intense and his mouth in a tight line full of concern.

“No, don’t be sorry. I--it’s just…” I sighed, “I need food. I can’t operate right now.” Edward laughed at my foolish stuttering. I wondered if he knew he was the reason I couldn’t think straight, and that food had nothing to do with it.

“Well, why didn’t you just say so? You passed the path to the fruit trees fifteen minutes ago, Isabella,” he said, pointing back to where we came.

“You knew there was food and you didn’t tell me? What, were you just going to let me walk around for hours starving until you finally told me where to find it? And don‘t call me Isabella!” I said in disbelief. This man was going to drive me crazy. He just grinned innocently.

“Hey, I’m a doctor, not a guide,” he said, turning around. Wait, did he just say doctor?

“Did you just say…doctor?” I asked. I ran to catch up to him.

“Yes, Bella, I’m a doctor. I followed in my father’s footsteps. I save lives on a regular basis. You know, the usual,” he said, looking back at me with a smile.

My mind literally did a flip. Edward was a doctor? Edward saved lives? Edward, the man who had been making sexual innuendos and perverted jokes since we reached land? Edward, who was incredibly gorgeous and sexy and confident, was smart? And not just smart, but a doctor?

“You have got to be lying to me.”

“Is it really so hard to believe? I swear to you that it is my occupation,” he said. I simply gaped at him with my mouth wide open in shock. I quickly closed it before he could spew something perverted.

“Wow. I’m surprised,” I said. He led me down a path that he must have taken the night before.

“You’re wounding my ego,” he said.

“Good.” I turned to him and smirked, letting him see that I was joking. He shook his head in amusement, and we continued walking in silence until we finally reached food. We climbed a few trees together to reach the elevated fruits, and I laughed when he fell after grabbing a couple of coconuts and losing his footing. He landed on his back, his arms circling the giant brown orbs.

“Wow, Edward, your breasts are bigger than mine!” I cackled through my giggles. He looked down at the coconuts and wiggled them, making me laugh harder.

We ate a small lunch and ate the rest for dinner, planning to find more the next day. Edward flirted with me a bit, but I noticed he was starting to back off; I guessed he knew his jokes made me a little uncomfortable. He was sweet, too. He wouldn’t let me get on any trees that looked particularly unstable, and he even sat down and attempted to start a fire. I was skeptical that he would be successful, and I went into the water to wash the sweat off of myself. We had about an hour of sunlight left, and I was terrified of going in the water in the dark.

After I washed the dirt and sweat off, I returned to find that Edward had actually gotten a little fire started. It certainly wasn’t enough to make a signal to anyone flying over us, but it would definitely be enough to cook fish if we ever caught any.

“How did you do that?” I asked in amazement. He looked up at me when he heard me and straightened up. As he did, I noticed he had removed his undershirt. And he was sweaty, his muscles highlighted by the steamy liquid dripping down his chest and stomach. I froze and counted the abs on the perfect body before me. Six. Six tanned and beautiful abdominals coupled with a perfect face and legs. And to top it off, he had a light shade of stubble lining his jaw now, making him look even more delicious. His hair was in a disarray of bronze, making me want to run my fingers through the wild strands.

Edward snickered and moved towards me. “Boy scouts,” he said, “I learned a lot of stuff. Won every badge, too.”

I tried to picture a young boyish Edward with a blue uniform and hat, full of badges and high socks. I bet he swooned girls even then. I wondered what he looked like in his doctor gear, and I shivered.

“I’m sure you did. So, do you think you can get that fire bigger by any chance? So that someone can see us?” I asked, desperate to talk about something so I could focus on his face instead of his body. It didn’t really help, though, because his face was just as gorgeous as the rest of him.

“I don’t know. I’m sure if I add a little wood, it could escalate, but it’s getting kind of humid out here, so the wood won’t burn as good. I think we should wait until it’s drier so that it will burn better,” he said. I nodded. Edward looked around at the sky, a few clouds starting to form far away. The wind blew across us, causing a chill to run up my spine.

“I think a cold front may be coming in soon,” he said. Then his face turned to fear, “Dear God, I hope it’s not an early hurricane.”

“I don’t think so,” I assured him, “It’s probably just a little front. We’ll have to watch out for the rain, though.” Edward nodded and started to arrange his makeshift pillow, adding his undershirt to his other shirt to make for a better pillow. He sat next to the fire, and I joined him, drying my body with the heat. It was pleasant and peaceful.

“I wonder what my sister is doing,” Edward spoke. I looked at him in alarm. The possibility of our families finding out about the crash hit me hard, and I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought about it. Charlie and Renee would have no knowledge that I was alive. I frowned. They could have been giving me a funeral at this very moment.

“Do you think that they think you’re dead?” I asked him. He sighed and put his elbows on his knees.

“Yeah. It’s probably all over the news by now. And my sister’s wedding is in four days,” he paused. “I wonder if she’ll still have it. I bet she’s heart broken right now, thinking it’s all her fault I got on the plane.” He looked down at the logs that were burning. His green eyes were full of sadness and defeat.

“Hey, remember how you keep saying to be optimistic?” I said. He nodded without looking at me. “We’re going to get out of here, Edward. We will not die here.” Edward chuckled, and I was glad to have cheered him up, even if it was only by a little.

“I’m glad to see that you finally believe me,” he said, looking at me once more. I rolled my eyes playfully and yawned. The fire was already starting to go out, and the sun had set, putting us in darkness again.

“I’ve never seen this many stars,” Edward said quietly. I followed his gaze and saw what he meant. There were millions of them, and the moon was high in the sky. It was so beautiful, and I thought I saw a shooting star. The town lights back home were too bright to be able to see so far out, but now that there was nothing clouding our view, we could see every little burning white dot in the sky.

Edward laid back and not even five minutes later I could hear him snoring lightly. I laid back also, giving in to my exhaustion. It took me a few minutes to fall into a slumber, and while waiting for my mind to give in, I admired Edward’s features outlined by the glow of the fire. I still secretly wondered if he was telling the truth about being a doctor, but he had been honest when he said he could make a fire, so I was starting to believe him. It was hard to comprehend that one person could be so perfect, though, and I had to meet him by being stranded with him on a deserted island. What did that say about me? Fate was trying to tell me something. I just didn’t know how this would end. We would live, yes, I believed that. But at what costs?

***

The next two days passed in the same order. We hunted for food in the early morning hours when the sun was not yet beating down on us, we ate a small breakfast near the shore, then we went looking for fish. Edward had come so close to catching a few, but they had gotten away from his pruned fingers before he could get a good hold on them. I suggested he stab them with a branch, but he said that would just be harder. Then we ate lunch under the small canopy of leaves we had found. There was a nice tropical breeze, and more clouds became present as the two days passed. Edward had managed to make a fire the second night, too, but the third night he’d had no luck, as the air was just too humid. We were expecting rain soon, and then once it passed, we could try to become rescued.

Edward still made little perverted jokes and remarks here and there, but they weren’t as bad. I was really beginning to realize that he was just trying to cheer me up. And it was starting to work. I wasn’t as depressed as I thought I would be. Actually, I was kind of starting to enjoy myself. I still wanted to go home, of course, but if I thought of this as an indefinite vacation, it wasn’t bad.

And Angela had been right; I needed a vacation.

Things from the plane that floated had started to wash ashore the third morning. They were mostly empty boxes, but we found a few other things still inside some of them. I felt absolutely horrible when a man’s shoe washed up, drenched and filthy. We figured it was one of the unlucky passengers, and I didn’t want to look at it, knowing we had survived and they didn’t. Edward took it out of my sight when he realized how bad it made me feel, and I hadn’t seen it since that morning.

I was lying out one of the large, smooth rocks at the shoreline, thinking about my mother and father, when Edward called my name. I looked over at him, feeling the usual desire rip through my body at the sight of him. I would never get used to the way his tanned and athletic body looked when he moved. I could see every muscle and bone from his waistline and up, and as much as I hated that he brought out this side of me, I could not complain. He never put his shirt back on from the two nights before, claiming it was easier and more comfortable. I was extremely jealous, too, that he tanned so easily, and I was still pale and red.

He was carrying some sort of plant with an extremely large and thick leaf. I looked at it with wonder. When he came closer he handed it to me to feel.

“Bella, that’s an Aloe Vera plant. You know…that stuff you buy at the store for burns? I nodded, recognizing the name. He continued, “Well, this is where that comes from. Watch, if I cut it…” he took the leaf back from me and ripped it in half. Juice started oozing out of the sides. He held it up to my face and silently asked permission. I nodded and he rubbed some of the gel on his hand and started running it on my nose and cheeks.

“This should ease the pain. Plus, it doesn’t burn like that shit you girls use on your faces to get a good complexion,” he said. I smiled and enjoyed the feel of his hands on my face. His hands were now rough and blistered, but they felt nice on my skin anyways. Edward and I both smelled like salt water now, but I could smell the hint of coconut on his breath. It was sweet and intoxicating, and I leaned in to him, not really conscious of what I was doing. He rubbed my back affectionately and said, “The clouds are coming in fast now. I think that front’s going to come in tonight.” I pulled back and looked at the offending sky. I hated the rain. And I was completely dreading it more since we had no real shelter. “We’ll be okay. I don’t think the wind should be too bad.”

I looked out to sea, something I did every five minutes to check if anything was coming our way. I saw something floating not too far away and alerted Edward.

“What do you think it is this time?” I asked.

“Not another empty box, I hope. I’m getting sick of fetching those things,” he said.

“It looks bigger than the others,” I whispered, my voice full of curiosity of what might be floating towards us. Edward snorted and looked at me with mischievous eyes, and I realized what I said.

“Edward!” I pushed him away from me, and he snickered like a two year old. I was honestly getting over it, though. Each day that passed, I found I was getting more charmed by Edward. I tried to hide my smile as I hopped down from the boulder and walked towards the floating box. Edward stopped me, saying not to bother, and that he would get it. Ten minutes later, Edward came back with the large box.

“It’s heavy!” he yelled, and put it down on the sand. The box said that there were breakable things in it, so we tried to be careful as we pulled it open. The smell of alcohol filled my nose when Edward wrenched the top off, and I realized what it was.

Edward whooped and pulled the wine bottles out one by one. Two of the bottles had shattered, making the whole box reek, but there were about ten others still unbroken. Five were red wine, and the other five were white wine. They looked expensive.

“I bet these were in the pilot’s section,” Edward said. “What do you say, Bella? How about we celebrate our survival?” He handed me one of the bottles, and opened the one in his hand, taking a swig. “Mmmm,” he moaned at the taste. I stared at the bottle in my hands and debated. I’d never really drank before, unless I was at a wedding or a party, neither of which I’d gone to often. It had never been much, either. What if I got drunk and did something really stupid? Like pounced Edward?

He looked at me, sensing the doubt in my head, and winked. Edward would take care of me. He wouldn’t let me jump in the ocean. And I would just have a little bit, not enough to become intoxicated. I smiled at him and handed the bottle to him to open. He expertly did so, holding up his bottle to my bottle for a cheers.

I giggled and mirrored his action. “To being alive,” Edward said seriously with a slight smile. I repeated his words and we both took a sip. The wine was very good. I had never had anything as tasty and strong before. I took another sip.

Edward and I walked back to our sleeping area and started drinking more, and before I knew it, his bottle was almost halfway gone.

“Wow, I didn’t know you could hold liquor so well,” I said to him. He smirked at me and took another sip. He didn’t seem drunk, but his eyes were starting to grow a bit unfocused.

“I’m bored,” he said, “I guess I should put this down before I do something I’ll regret.” He sighed and put down the bottle. I had only taken a few sips, but I was already feeling the effects of the alcohol. I was buzzing, and the feeling was so strange, yet wonderful at the same time. My vision was starting to grow blurry, and I put my bottle down, too.

“I have to pee,” I said, getting up. Edward chuckled.

“What’s wrong, Bella, the alcohol’s getting to you? Can’t hang?” he said. I rolled my eyes and walked into the wood. It was extremely unsanitary, as I had no toilet paper, but this was just how we had been getting by. I refused to go in the ocean, where Edward could see me.

I came out and found Edward in the same spot I left him, but now he was lying in the sand, watching the clouds darken the sky. I went up to him and told him I was going to wash off before the rain came. He nodded and turned back to gaze upwards.

I went into the ocean, close to the first sandbar, happily watching my feet through the clear water. The current was getting rougher, and I could see the moon already even though it was only around six. The air was getting cooler, too, and I hoped we wouldn’t become cold as the night grew. I rinsed myself off and started wadding back to the beach. When I was almost there, I felt a quick, sharp pain in my big toe.

“Ahhh!” I started wiggling my foot around, realizing a crab had gripped onto my foot and was not letting go. I saw my blood rushing up the water and nearly fainted. Every time I tried lifting my foot to get the damn sea creature off, he just pinched harder, and I screamed over and over.

Edward eventually heard me, and he came rushing to my aide.

“What is it?” he yelled with concern.

“My foot! A crab! My foot!” Edward bent down in the water and grabbed the crab, wrenching it from my foot, and as it came off, the crab’s pinchers made a gash in my foot, causing me more pain. He emerged with the damn thing in his hand, holding it so that its pinchers were facing away from him. He saw the blood, and handed me the crab.

“Why are you giving me this?” I asked in disbelief. I just wanted to throw the crab, but before I got an answer from him, he swept me up bridal style and started carrying me back.

“You’ll see,” he said, and I sneaked a peek at his chest as he carried me. I was in so much pain, but the distraction was nice.

Edward set me down where he had been lying, and told me to keep the crab. I huffed but did as he said. He started prodding at my toes, and I winced.

“I have to make sure this doesn’t get infected,” he said. He carefully started pulling bits of sand out of the gash with his skilled fingers. I watched him as he worked, growing aroused at the way his hands felt on my skin. He was so gentle and careful, his touch sending sparks through my foot to the rest of my body. Suddenly, he grabbed the hem of my shirt and started ripping.

“What the hell are you doing?” I shrieked, looking down at his ministrations. He ripped a small strip of my shirt and wrapped it around my toes, tying it in place. It became bloody instantly, but the pain started to fade by a fraction.

I looked up at him and noticed my foot was still in his hand, his fingers caressing the pain away. He looked up at me and smiled crookedly. I blushed and tried to look away with no luck. It was like my eyes were magnets to his presence. He had a drop of water dripping down his neck, and I slowly brought my hand up to wipe it off softly.

Edward leaned into my touch, our faces a foot away. I saw desire in his eyes, and noticed my own reflected back at me. He hovered even closer to me, five… then four inches away. My lips parted instinctively, my heart beat speeding.

“Bella,” Edward whispered. His eyes darkened and closed slightly.

My mind was whirling. No. Yes. No. Yes! Edward sighed and pulled away, looking defeated.

Rejection washed through me, hard and hurtful.

I immediately walked away, ignoring the pain in my toes. I walked all the way to the opposite end of the island and plopped down in the sand. Droplets of rain started to land on me, wet and cold. The breeze picked up more, and my wet clothes did not help the matter. I walked into the wood when it started pouring, trying to get warm and dry. There was no canopy on this side, so I got even more wet, my clothes soaked and clinging to me. I was a bit surprised Edward had not come looking for me, but I pushed the thought away from my mind.

I had been hurt once in my life, and I had made a vow to never let it happen again. Edward’s small rejection brought back memories of how badly I had felt when I caught Eric, and I silently cursed the man I was stranded with.

Over the last few days, my crush had grown, and I thought it had been merely attraction. After all, how could I possibly grow feelings for someone so immature?

But he wasn’t like other men I had met. He was kind and smart, funny and adventurous. I realized that two people could learn a lot from each other after just four days. And we’d been together twenty-four seven all four days. We always fell asleep a few feet away from each other, but always woke up in the same position--Edward holding me. It was like our bodies knew each other, even though our minds did not.

I roamed the wood, getting myself lost, for I could see nothing through the rain and leaves. My clothes were soaked through and through, and I knew if I stayed in them, I would face hypothermia. So I took them off, leaving only my bra and underwear on, and carried them with me.

I eventually fell and the pain in my toes came back full force as I tumbled to the wet earth and sand.

“Ow!” I yelped.

“Bella?” I heard a voice call. Edward had come looking for me after all. I saw his shadow approaching me swiftly, taking in my crumpled form.

“Bella, I have been looking for you for an hour! I was so worried!” he said, relief coloring his voice. He picked me up again and carried me back to the canopy where we had been sleeping the last three nights. I could see his breath, it was so cold, but his skin seemed warm at the touch. I didn’t look at his perfection this time--I just tried to gain warmth.

“Are you okay?” he asked as he set me down. Water was still getting through the canopy of leaves, but not too much. It was fully dark now, and I was freezing. Edward noticed my shivering, half-naked body and sighed. I shrugged and blushed.

Edward stood up and grabbed his discarded shirt, pulling it over my head. It was miraculously still dry, and I gripped onto it for warmth. It didn’t really help.

“Come here,” Edward said to me. He laid down next to me and opened his arms. Any other time I would have refused to go to him, especially after our awkward almost-kiss, but I was freezing, and he had an amazing amount of body warmth. So I quickly embraced him, and he wrapped his arms around me. Our chests touched, and I felt myself slowly warming up. I mashed my face against his warm shoulder.

“Hey,” Edward whispered. I looked up at his concerned face. “I’m sorry.”



All pictures are taken from either Google or Deviantart.