Speak || A Twilight Fanfic

Chapter 24

Morning brought unimaginable pain for Gabriella. As she stirred awake, the soreness that ransacked her body gripped her lungs tightly, stopping all air from filling them. She wanted to yell out, but the ache was so intense that the sound died in her throat.

She reached her hands out, trying to make sense of where she was and how she could get help. Her mind was hazy, her memories failing to register inside her head. Until she felt warmth, and she remembered.

"Paul," she meekly croaked out. "Paul, please."

In a second, the bot had jumped out of the bed and was by her side. "What's wrong?" he said, his voice dropping an octave with sleep hanging onto every word. "What do you need?"

"It hurts," she groaned. "I think... pills."

Gabi had no energy to form more than a few words, not when pain seared into every part of her body. Her eyes followed Paul's figure as he ripped the door open to go find what she needed. But before he could run, Emily appeared. She wore a warm smile on her face and carried a bottle of pills and a glass of water. Without another word, she handed the glass and two of the pills to Gabi, who downed them as quickly as she could.

"Don't try to get up until you feel the pills work," Emily said as she ticked the girl back into the bed. "I've left some clothes for you in the bathroom and a towel. Your own clothes were quite shredded, so I put them in a bag for you—wasn't sure what you'd want to do with them."

"Are you on your way out?" Paul asked. "The funeral starts in like half an hour, right?"

"Yes," the woman smiled softly. "Sam is just finishing getting ready. They came home an hour ago from doing some more rounds in the woods."

"Oh, Harry," Gabi cried as she remembered parts of the nights before. "My dad..."

The girl tried to get up from the bed, but the pain that shot through her back sent her back down. The wince that left her mouth had Emily and Paul rushing to her side to keep her from getting out of bed.

"Don't get out of bed, Gabi. You need rest," Emily pressed. "You can talk to your dad after. For right now, you need to stay here and take the painkillers every four hours until you feel well enough to get home. I will give condolences to the family on your behalf."

"But I..."

"No buts, Gabriella. You're staying here with Paul until you can finally move," she said sternly. "This is not up for discussion, okay? What happened last night was not something small. You are hurt, and you need to rest. You've gone through enough."

"Okay," Gabi gave up. "Thank you, Emily. You've been very kind."

"Oh, no need to thank me," she smiled. "As long as you promise that you two will finally talk things out. I cannot live another day with mopey Paul."

"Emily," the boy complained.

"Oh, hush, Paul. You know it's the truth."

As he was about to respond, Sam's head peeked into the room. It was odd to see him dressed up in a black suit and not his usual denim shorts and tank top. "Em, we've gotta go," he said before noticing that Gabi was awake. "How are you feeling, kid? You really took a tumble yesterday."

"I can't say I'm not hurting all over, but it could be worse," she joked, trying to lift Sam's mood. There was a sadness behind his eyes that she could feel deep in her bones. Sam hadn't just lost a member of the community; he had lost a part of his family. "Safe to say I'm not going into the woods or jumping off cliffs anytime soon."

"That's probably a good idea," he chuckled softly. "But you should listen to Emily and rest up for today. You went through more in the last twenty-four hours than people would in their lifetime."