Black & Blue |C. Cullen|

THREE

I woke to the sound of a heart monitor at my bedside and immediately started to cry. A person stirred to my right, so I curled onto my left side.

"Mrs Clark?" A familiar voice called from beside me.

"Why am I still alive?" I cried.

"May I ask why you ingested the entirety of your pain medication, Mrs Clark?" Doctor Cullen asked.

"I can't do it anymore," I wept. Doctor Cullen stayed silent. "Where is Aaron?"

"The police have arrested him," he replied.

I turned to face him, "What?"

"The police have him in custody," he stated.

"Oh, thank god," I cried even harder and covered my face with my hands.

"Mrs Clark," Doctor Cullen started.

"Please, don't call me that. My name is Jessamine," I sighed and took my hands away from my face.

"Jessamine," he rested his hand on the only part of my arm that wasn't covered in bruises, "You have three fractured ribs and bruising to nearly every part of your body. You will need to stay here for a few more days for observation."

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For getting me away from him," I sighed and sat up.

"He deserves whatever punishment comes his way," he stated with a tinge of anger in his voice.

"I didn't know how to get out of it, he would have just hurt me more if I tried," I admitted.

Doctor Cullen looked down at my arms and observed their purple colour, "Are you in any pain?"

"Physically? No," I replied.

"That's good, is there anything I can get you? My shift is about to end," he asked.

"No, thank you," I smiled.

"All right. Have a nice night, Jessamine," he pardoned himself and left my room.

I relaxed my body after laying back down, that night I went to sleep thinking of Doctor Cullen.

That night at the Cullens' home, Carlisle walked in through the front door and placed his bag down by the bench in the foyer. He sighed and walked up the stairs while removing his scarf and coat. His best friends quickly noticed his mood and turned their attentions to him.

"Is there an update on the girl?" Derek Cullen, Esme's mate, questioned.

"She overdosed on Vicodin," Carlisle sighed, "she's still alive, but she couldn't handle the abuse from her husband any longer."

Esme's facial expression softened, she remembered the feeling like it occurred yesterday, the abuse from her human husband along with the sudden death of her infant was enough to drive her to suicide.

"I'm sorry, friend," Derek apologised for the hard day that Carlisle seemed to be enduring.

"Things will turn up, I'm sure of it," Carlisle smiled and took himself to his bedroom where he spent the night reading and thinking of Jessamine Clark.

When I woke the next morning, my pain seemed to disappear completely. I felt energised, I wanted to stand and walk around. Doctor Cullen came into my room with a smile on his face and my chart in his hands, "Good morning, Jessamine. How are you feeling today?"

"Pretty great, actually. I had two questions," I admitted.

"And what might those be?" He came over to me and checked the monitor that I was hooked up to.

"The first would be: how fast can I sign those divorce papers? The second would be: when can I get up and move around?" I asked.

He chuckled, "The divorce papers came for you yesterday, but you were still sleeping. And I can help get you up now if you wish."

"That would be fantastic," I sat up in bed.

He carefully helped me out of bed, making sure I stepped into my shoes before standing completely. I stumbled slightly before I got my grip and then I stood up on my own, "God, that's much better," I breathed.

"I'm glad, let's take a lap around the building just so you can get your legs working," he suggested.

"What's your first name?" I asked as we started walking down the hallway.

"Carlisle," he replied as he looked through his other patients' charts.

"I like that," I replied and stopped next to a large window that overlooked some woods. "Do you know how long it's been since I've been allowed to walk outside?"

"How long?" He cocked his head at an angle indicating he was confused.

"Three, maybe four years," I watched the rainfall.

"Here, follow me," he started walking to a door off the side of the hallway.

We walked through the door and reached a small, courtyard area with a bench. The sidewalk ended and the grass stretched out to the forest. I slipped my flip flops off and walked into the grass, letting my feet relax on the ground. I took a deep breath of fresh air and closed my eyes. I lifted my face towards the sky and felt the rain kiss my skin.

"Doctor Cullen?" Someone called from behind us.

"Yes?" He answered.

"We have two emergencies coming in from the high school," the man informed.

"I'll be there in a moment," Carlisle replied and came closer to me. "Are you ready to go back inside?" He asked.

"I am, I may just sleep on my back porch when I get home, I miss the outside world," I laughed and slipped my shoes back on.

"Sleeping outside might be a bad idea, taking walks is a great one, however," he smiled.

"I might actually just paint and redecorate as soon as I get there, I don't think I can deal with having the same setup after all of that," I admitted and walked back into my room.

"That's understandable," he then pardoned himself to tend to the two teenagers brought into the emergency department from the high school.

I made myself comfortable in my bed after changing into pyjama pants so that I, at the very least, had something covering my ass. I waited in hopes that Carlisle would return to my room after he was finished with the cases.