Action

-*+ 61 +*-

26 February 2021

-=Edward=-
  It was easier on the drive back. The sickening curl of my stomach eased as my body realized I was heading back to my Bella. However, something was sinking quickly in my heart, and I couldn't understand what it was until I arrived.
  I parked quickly, antsy and desperate to see her face and ensure her well-being. I nearly forgot to put my car in park before wrenching my keys from the ignition and stepping back out into the freezing air.
  There was a harsh shift in the night; I could feel it within my bones. Everything was too quiet. The air felt stiff and stung my nasal cavity with every inhale. Glancing around, I noticed a glint from the corner of my eye and the hairs on my neck prickled uncomfortably. My eyes strained to focus on what I had seen, and as soon as I saw half of a broken lock pick inside Bella's door handle, I was reaching across the console in my car and opening the glovebox.
  My hand fumbled erratically before finding the handle of the 9 millimeter pistol. If someone tried to break in, I wasn't going to be stupid enough to go in unprotected.
  I swept the perimeter of the house to search for any signs of entry while I was on the phone with police, and they informed me they had already been notified and police officers were on the way.
  "You might want to send an ambulance," I growled, my eyes landing on the shattered window. "Whether Bella was harmed or not, you'll need one for whoever this son-of-a-bitch is."
  I hung up on them abruptly before clambering through the window. Shattered glass was scattered across the floor, and drops of blood painted it a sickening red.
  Dumbass, I thought. You'll rot in jail.
  Suddenly, I heard a racket upstairs as Bella screamed. My heart dropped into my stomach as I bounded up the stairs three at a time, my hand flicking the safety off my gun. Thuds and bangs reverberated directly from Bella's bedroom.
  I swiftly walked down the hall and peered inside, trying not to make my presence known. Bella was on top of a woman, trying to pin her arms down. A gun lay inches out of the woman's reach. I tried to aim, but hesitated just before pulling the trigger. Thank God, too, because just then Bella lost the upper hand and her arms were kicked out from under her. The woman snatched the gun off the ground and they both stood at the same time, facing each other. The woman's back was facing toward me, so I aimed again and, without hesitation, pulled the trigger.
  The gunshot rang deafeningly through the house, so loud it could have been two. I watched the woman drop the gun slowly, clearly stunned as she felt her back become covered in blood. I had shot her in the right shoulder, inches away from her spinal cord. Non fatal, definitely, but maybe I'd be lucky and she would become paralyzed. I watched the blood soak through her orange jumpsuit before she fell to her knees.
  A sickening, broken screech erupted from her lips as she reached back to try to feel the wound, before collapsing in a heap on the floor. I shoved my gun in my pocket and ran over to Bella. She was shaking, her eyes hollow and her mouth agape. She didn't even notice me once I was right beside her.
  "Bella?" I murmured gently, placing my hand on her cheek. "Bella, baby, you're safe. It's okay. Focus on me."
  Her eyes slowly shifted toward me and her body began to shake with dry sobs. I hugged her then, and we sunk to the floor together.
  "Shhh, Bella, it's all okay. I've got you. She can't hurt you," I reassured her.
  "Edward..." she whispered. Something in her tone made my blood run cold, and I suddenly noticed my arm feeling increasingly wet and warm. Terrified, I slowly pulled my arm away from her and noticed my sleeve was soaked in blood. Oh, fuck. "She shot me..."
  It didn't sound like two shots. It was two shots. I forced back the lump in my throat and refused to blink as my eyes attempted to fill with tears. "Where, Bella? I'll take care of you. Where are you hurt?" I scanned her quickly, but she was hunched over and it was difficult to find the wound when she was quickly becoming bloody everywhere.
  I heard her gulp and she slowly leaned back, her face shining with sweat as she winced. "My hip..."
  I gently laid her on her back, grabbing a pillow to place under her head. She was whimpering now, and I assumed the adrenaline was subsiding. Sure enough, right at the pubic bone and hip joint was a bullet hole. Blood pulsated from the wound, and I yanked my shirt off and twisted it to try to pack it. I pushed as much of the shirt in as I could before applying pressure.
  She cried out in pain, making my heart twist in agony. I mumbled reassurances to her as I searched for an exit wound. I didn't find one.
  "Jesus, where are the fucking police?" I growled impatiently, watching the blood slowly seep up the fabric of my shirt. I glanced at the woman on the floor. She could wake up at any moment.
  Ironically, I began to hear sirens. Tons of sirens. They were distant, but quickly nearing. I smiled at Bella, fighting the urge to throw up and cry.
  "Hear that, baby? Help is just in time." I kissed her softly, and she silently stared at me as I continued to hold my shirt in place and supervise the woman.
  She was in shock, but she would be okay, I told myself. I hated myself for leaving her alone. I was so angry. How could I have been so foolish? But, at the same time, I was thanking God that I had arrived in time. If I had been a few minutes late - or if I didn't come at all...
  I shuddered.
  The sirens stopped right outside, quickly overtaking all my senses. Police barged inside and momentarily stormed their way upstairs.
  "Get on the ground! Put your hands where I can see them!" They screamed at me, and I quickly did as I was told. A paramedic quickly replaced my hand on Bella's wound.
  Everything was complete chaos. No one knew who was guilty until Bella slowly lifted her hand and pointed at the woman.
  "H-Her," she whispered.
  The paramedic reiterated her message, and the woman was promptly handcuffed to a gurney and brought outside. Other police berated me with questions for the next twenty minutes while they swept the house, collected evidence, took pictures, and tended to Bella.
  "Well, luckily for you, it's innocent until proven guilty, so we won't have to arrest you until it's proven self-defense," Officer Hall said to me. "However, if it is suspected otherwise, we already have all your information and we will easily find you."
  I nodded easily, desperate to hurry up with the interrogation and go see Bella. "Understood, sir."
  Officer Hall nodded, writing something down in his notepad before joining the other officers who were discussing among themselves.
  The paramedics still refused to let me into the ambulance with Bella because she hadn't been completely hooked up yet, so I had nothing to do for who knew how long. I didn't want to reflect on the events that transpired yet, because I would just become pissed off and scared for Bella. So, I decided I would shoot everyone a quick text that Bella would be in the hospital tomorrow if they wanted to visit before I stood outside the ambulance doors, waiting impatiently to apologize to my love.
—=-=-=—