Saving You (Rewrite)

Chapter Three ~ Knowing

“Right,” I started, not entirely sure where to start. I did know that I did not want to do this in front of Bella, “later ok? I promise.” Dad eyed me for a moment before relenting.

“Alright, later. Bella can you let me examine you?” he asked her, thinking that she knew exactly who he was and what he did. I took a step closer to her, leaning down to kneel next to the bed where she sat hesitantly.

“Bella, Carlisle’s a doctor, he can help fix your injuries alright? Remember we talked about this?” I asked her, and though I knew we didn’t actually converse about this, I knew she heard me when I told her. Bella bit her lip and looked at me as if asking if I was sure.

“He won’t hurt you love, no one will. I won’t let them.” I whispered, staring deep into her chocolate eyes. Her shoulders relaxed from the tense position she held as she stared back, showing me the trust that she had built for me so quickly. She continued to amaze me.

Carlisle seemed puzzled by our actions and particularly about her memory, but played along. Slowly he stepped forward towards us, his soft bedside manner showing in his gentle smile.

“Bella, Edward told me that your back is pretty bad, can we have a look so I can tape it up with bandages? I don’t want anything getting infected or opened up even more.”

She watched him warily, but didn’t move when he was right in front of her. I noticed though that her hands shook and her breathing increased.

“Bella,” I touched her knee. She turned her head to look at me, “can you face me please?” she did as I asked, turning so her legs were against my chest and her feet dangled on the floor at the end of the bed instead of the side. Her shaking increased when Carlisle sat behind her on the bed. Her eyes closed and her head tilted forward as she struggled for breath now.

“Bella slow down, you’re safe, calm down love. No one will hurt you, I promise.” I tried, taking her little hands in mine and holding them still from shaking close to my heart. She opened her eyes, watching me as I distracted her. I was still holding her hands in mine, but she moved them to feel my heartbeat in my chest. The breath left me at her soft, warm touch and my eyes met her panicked ones.

“Shh, it’s ok,” I hummed, lifting my now free hands to brush the tears from her face. I noticed that Carlisle had lifted her shirt free from her back and was cleaning each cut and bruise with some sort of antibiotic and covering it with a bandage or gauze wrap.

Bella flinched whenever Dad hit something more painful, but she didn’t cry anymore, instead focusing on me and my steady heartbeat.

“I’m done back here Bella, thank you.” Dad told her kindly, standing from the bed, “You have a lot of scarring and will have a lot of scarring from this, but the skin will heal just fine. Your chest though I am worried about...may I have a look at it?” I looked from Carlisle to her, to find her looking at me. I knew she was freaking out by the look in her eye, but this one was more serious and needed to be addressed tonight.

“Can you lie on your back or is it too painful? If it is, you can stay upright, but this one is pretty bad Bella, it needs to be taken care of.” I told her, giving her a choice. She took her hands from my chest and blinked, looking down at the bed, her lower lip trembling slightly. It pained me to see her try not to cry, but this had to be done.

“What if Edward sits behind you and you lean back into him, it should be less pressure and less painful on her back and bottom Edward.” Dad suggested. Bella looked unsure, but seemed more placated to this suggestion than the other ones. I looked at her for the go, wanting her to make this decision for her comfort. Without words she scooted and sat far enough from the headboard that I could sit behind her. Carefully I sat against the pillows and leaned back, resting against the headboard and running my hands lightly down her arms. She looked back and slightly up at me as she leaned back into my chest, her head lolling to the side on my shoulder. I placed my hands on her protruding hip bones, wanting her to feel that she could get away and I wasn’t holding her down, but also that I was comfortable with this too.