Bellezza Swan | A Carlisle Cullen Love Story

Chapter Eleven: Doctor

          Carlisle kneeled in front of me and flashed his flashlight in my eyes as he held them open, "You're dehydrated and you haven't been moving. Your body is suffering. I shouldn't have left you alone. I'm sorry, Belle."

          I struggled to look him in the eyes and I was self conscious of my breath, "Mm."

          He sighed and scratched his jawline, "Do you want to wash up?"

          I nodded and my oily hands slid against the wall as I tried to stand up. He held my arm and helped me to the bathroom. I was embarrassed because my apartment was a horrible mess. We looked into my bathroom and shards of the broken mirror decorated the sink and floor. The trash in the bathroom was overflowing and dirty towels littered the ground.

          "Um, Carlisle? I-I can shower on my own," I said sheepishly.

          He chuckled and observed my bathroom, "How about this, you should keep the door open in case something happens. I promise I'll keep my eyes closed. At least let me help clean the bathroom. I don't want you to get.. cut."

          I exhaled a laugh, "Fine. Just, don't go overboard."

          He smiled at me and stepped out. I saw his back leaning against the doorframe. I stripped quickly after tip-toeing around the sharp shards and yelped as I slipped in the tub.

          "Belle!" he yelled.

          I covered myself with the curtain and put up my hand outside of it, "I-I'm fine! I just slipped."

          He sighed loudly, "Are you sure you're ok?"

          I nodded and reluctantly looked at the bugs that I was sharing the shower with, "Yeah. I'm ok. I'm sorry."

          "Don't be sorry, Belle," he said and I heard him leave the bathroom again.

          Quickly, I attempted to wash while also drowning the bugs down the drain. Clumps of hair were either tangled, dripping in oil, or coming out in my hands. It horrified me to see how much hair I was losing. I'm a nurse. I should have taken better care of myself. I should have prevented this and seen the signs. Now, Carlisle was playing doctor here. In my filthy apartment. How humiliating.

          I heard him gathering the shards of the mirror and I sighed. The soap bar in the shower had mold and I scraped it off with the shelf. The combination shampoo and conditioner had separated and I struggled to shake it to mix it back together. I looked at my arms and realized I lost a lot of muscle definition. Shaking my head, I tried to focus on getting clean. I scrubbed myself until my skin was red and I washed my hair until there wasn't any more hair coming out. I made sure to brush my teeth thoroughly. By the time I was done, I was in a lot of pain. I felt like I was going to puke stomach acid.

          "Belle? Are you alright?" Carlisle asked.

          "I-I'm fine. I just have stomach pain," I said and found a clean towel.

          As I shook off the dust, he nearly looked in, "Judging on what's in your trash, you haven't been eating very well. Have you been hydrating?"

          I quickly wrapped the towel around my body, "I'm fine! Really!"

          He stepped in but his eyes were closed, "I was predicting this and took some precautions. I brought an IV bag and the chief told me your usual."

          "My usual?" I asked as I wrung out my hair.

          "From the diner," he said and felt around for the sink but there was a shard left from the mirror.

          "Carlisle!" I exclaimed and rushed to him.

          "Umph!" he exhaled as I pressed against him and hit the shard away with my nails.

          He opened his eyes and looked down at me. My chest was against him and my hair was starting to soak his clothes. I was in just a towel.

          I blushed and put my hands on his chest, "Th-There was a shard. I didn't want you to get cut. Honest."

           He nodded and looked back to see the shard in the sink, "Thank you, Belle."

          He smelled good. His eyes mesmerized mine. I gulped loudly and pushed off of him.

          "Y-You didn't have to do any of this, Carlisle. I'm sorry. You must be reconsidering-" I said until he kissed me.