Recommence ° Edward Cullen[Rewriting]

[006]

Chapter Six | No Hospitals, Thank you

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"I should've taken you to the hospital."

Alex settled back against the cold wall of the grand bathroom, the chill of the smooth, tiled surface and Edward's hands comforting to her skin that felt much too warm. "If the fact that I got my ribs crushed and avoided the hospital at all costs didn't clue you in, I hate them. Bad memories." For a few too-long moments, she stared up at the ceiling with unfocused eyes, submerged and at the mercy of her own mind before Edward's voice gathered her attention and redirected it back to the present. "You owe me an explanation, Alex."

The young woman let her head fall onto her shoulder, watching Edward with dazed, dark eyes as he cleaned the dirt from her hands, gentle over the bruises that were beginning to form. There had never been a time she'd let anyone help her when hurt—she often dealt with her own wounds under the pretence that they were less than they actually were. The boy's hands on her now, soft and careful, was a new sensation but Alex couldn't find it in herself to push him away nor resent it for what it was. She wasn't comfortable but nor was she in enough discomfort. "Why should I go to the hospital when I could have you taking care of me?" She wondered aloud, purposely ignoring the boy's previous demand. 

His eyes, still black, flickered up at her with worry and a sliver of annoyance reflecting in them. "Because you're putting your life at risk. You could've died, Alex." The girl smiled but in no way was it full of mirth. It was bitter and distant. "I wouldn't have, actually. Life is cruel like that." Edward's fingers halted where they gently applied cream to the bruises along her arms and the silence between them was deafening until he broke it. "You've. . . what does that mean?" Alex traced the metal of her coiled bracelet with her finger as her body warmed unpleasantly. 

"You took me straight to your home, no hesitation, just because I asked," The girl kept her gaze trained on a dormant Ember as Edward's fingers resumed the distribution of the ointment on her bruises. "My ribs are fractured, my body's covered in bruises and my clothes are nearly ripped in some places but I'm not bleeding, am I? Im assuming you took some notice of that considering with all my other injuries, you listened to me." 

Edward frowned, unsure where the young woman was going with her observation, once again loathing his inability to read her mind. "What would have happened if I hadn't? If I'd just taken you there?"

Alex hummed, entertaining the thought of doctors dressed in white hovering above her, her vision blurred by sedation and her movement restricted.

Alexandra, no older than three, whined lowly behind the muzzle that restrained her mouth, silencing her voice, and thrashed against the unforgiving straps as tears streamed down her face. The scientists surrounding her disregarded her discomfort as they gathered their various tools and clipboards to record results. "We must check her healing rate." One murmured. One of the older doctors got a sudden gleam in her eyes as she trailed pale irises along the table of weapons. She settled on a dagger, the blade silver and gleaming. "Don't move too much, subject 413."