Crescent Night

Chapter 15

Bella was finally brought back to Forks after staying in the hospital for a week. Her most major injuries had been a broken leg and a concussion but she was okay enough to travel now. She'd have a cast for a few months but nothing major was lost, that most people knew of.

"I think I'll have to wear sneakers to prom." Bella complained, her voice sounding tired even over the phone.

"Probably, but that's between you, Alice and god."

"You are no help, seriously!"

"What? I can't unbreak your leg!"

She groaned on the other side of the line. We'd been talking on the phone almost constantly since she woke up, I think we both found comfort in our shared humanity. Still, we'd avoided talking about the actual event directly, she didn't talk and I didn't pry. I knew how these things went unfortunately.

I was glad she was back, and alive, but I've been putting off seeing her in person, hence the calls. Dr. Douglass has been very adamant about me seeing her though, something she's made very clear in our daily meetings this last week since the Jessica debacle. I don't know why I'm putting off going to see her, though I know what Dr. Douglass thinks.

Your brain is trying to protect you from a potential unpleasant experience.

Still, I was trying not to think about home, no matter how much she insisted. But I couldn't keep avoiding Bella forever, and it's not like she can walk to my house.

"You're coming tomorrow, right?" Her tone was hesitant, she hadn't asked directly before, but it had been a week.

"Yes." I hesitated for a moment, but ultimately decided to bite the bullet.

"Oh good! Charlie will be glad, he doesn't think I actually have any friends," She was trying to lighten the mood, but i could feel my anxiety creeping up. "We can order pizza, or watch a movie!"

"Yeah, that sounds fun."

For a moment we were both silent, but we each had the same thing on the mind. Bella, brave as always, broke the silence first.

"I almost died." She sounded as if she were out of breath, like she'd been holding it in all this time.

"You did, I'm sorry." I truly had nothing else to say to that. What could I say that would really help? What could I say that someone else hadn't already?

"I'm glad you didn't go with us that day," Her voice was small in a way I recognized. "You know, to play baseball."

I didn't answer, she continued.

"I can't tell Charlie, and Edward already feels so bad about I can't-I can't tell him-" I think she's crying now.

"I know." My voice was even, maybe cold, but she didn't seem to notice. "You can tell me."

She cried for a while, and she told me how scared she'd been. She didn't bring up any details, or exactly what happened, but she didn't need to, when I already knew the important part. That she'd almost died, and didn't know what to do now. She kept saying how scared she was, how scared she still is.

"You're brave though, you fought him." That's what Jasper had said, that she'd managed to hurt him pretty badly.

"But that hardly did anything!" She protested between sobs. "If Edward hadn't shown up when he did I-"

"But he did." I cut her off. "And now he's dead, and you're alive! What you did bought you time."

It's more than I ever did.