A Jacob Black Love Story

Hospital part 1

Jacob's POV
We get to Forks Hospital's emergency room quickly. Bella drops me off at the entrance and promises to be inside as soon as she parks. I run inside and scan the waiting room for the Cullens and Tessa's mom.
I spot them immediately. Tessa's mom is standing in the corner, looking stressed out, and Edward and Alice are sitting in the chairs, talking to each other.
"What happened? Is she okay?" I demand, running up to them. All three of them look up.
"I don't know," Edward says. He sounds exhausted, even though he's a vampire. "She's in surgery now. My dad will be out to give us more information as soon as she's done."
I stare at him. My whole body feels cold.
Maybe I am still in love with Tessa.
"What happened?" Bella comes through the doors of the waiting room and jogs over to me. "What happened, guys?"
"Apparently, Tessa was drinking," Tessa's mom says in a tight voice. "To get over a certain someone who broke her heart." She glares at me, and I shrink under her gaze. "She took the keys to my car," her mom says through gritted teeth, "and went out to apologize to a certain someone because she regretted something she said."
I feel tears in my eyes.
Man, I do still love Tessa.
"Tessa came to me first," Alice cuts in, glancing nervously back and forth between me and Tessa's mom. "She was crying and everything. Two hours after she left, her mom called to ask me where she was, so I drove around to look for her. I found her, like, five blocks away from La Push. I guess she took a turn too fast and hit a telephone pole."
Tessa's mom makes a muffled sound and turns away. I suck in a deep breath. Bella moves to sit next to Edward, and he wraps an arm around her and squeezes.
"The police were already there," Alice continues. "And the ambulances. They were taking her away on a stretcher. That's when I called her mom."
"Did you see Tessa?" I demand. "As they were taking her away?"
I wanted to ask her if Tessa was conscious or not, if there was any blood. But Alice just shakes her head. "They were already shutting the doors to the ambulance. I only knew it was Tessa because of the car."
  A full hour of silence passes. Tessa's mom paces for a while, then sits down. Alice rocks back and forth, biting her nails. Edward rubs Bella's back gently, occasionally whispering things to her that make her smile. I sit several seats away from them, trying to sort out my feelings for Tessa and Bella.
Finally, Carlisle comes out of the doors leading to the operating  room. "Mrs. Morgan?" he asks, scanning the waiting room.
Tessa's mom jumps up immediately. "That's me," she says. "I'm here. How is she?"
  I'm on feet before I know it, standing at her side. Edward and Bella appear behind me a second later. Alice stands up and grabs my hand.
Carlisle glances around at our little group. "Tessa's very lucky," he says. "She's going to be fine."
I don't think I've ever been so relieved.
"She is?" Bella demands. "Are you sure?"
Carlisle sighs. "She's going to be a quadriplegic."
"But at least she's alive," her mom breathes, tears in her eyes as she smiles.
But Carlisle still doesn't look happy. "You do realise that being a quadriplegic means that Tessa would be wheelchair bound for the rest of her life, right? Also, we have a difficult situation here."
"What?" I ask.
He clears his throat. "Tessa's blood alcohol level is really high. I asked her some questions, as did the police, and it seems like this isn't the first time she drunk too much."
"What?" Tessa's mom stares at him blankly.
  Carlisle clears his throat again. "She'll probably have to deal with the legal results of this incident. As a doctor, I strongly advise you to put her in some type of rehab for the drinking and a counseling group for the whole quadriplegic thing."
"Rehab and counseling?" I whisper.
  "She's underage. You have to be eighteen or older to drink. This is really serious. She's very lucky that no one else got hurt."
Tessa's mom looks down. "Today's the anniversary of her father's death," she says. "I don't know if she told you that."
"Ah," Carlisle says, looking sympathetic instead of judgmental. "I'm so sorry. Was it long ago?"
"Six months today," her mom whispers.
  "I'm sorry," Carlisle says again. "But let this be a wake-up call, Mrs. Morgan. Your daughter needs help."
I knew Tessa drank. I didn't try my hardest to stop it. And she already nearly got herself killed.
As if reading my mind, Bella leans down and whispers softly in my ear, "Don't blame yourself for this, Jacob. You are not responsible for Tessa. She did this on her own."
"But-" I start to whisper back.
  "Do not blame yourself," Bella says in a tone that leaves no room for argument.
Carlisle is telling Tessa's mom she can go visit her if she wants to, but the rest of us will have to wait until visiting hours tomorrow.
"After you see her," Carlisle says, "the police will want to talk to you. And I'd like to give you a list of rehab centers before Tessa is released."
"Okay," Mrs. Morgan says in a small voice.
When Carlisle leaves, Tessa's mom bursts into tears. I wrap my arms around her.
"I'm sorry," I murmur. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I should've stopped her when I had the chance."
"My God, Jacob," Tessa's mom says.
"You're sixteen. You're not in charge of my daughter's actions. It's my fault. I should've known."
"But-"
Edward hops up from his chair and puts his arms around both of us.
"It's not anyone's fault," he says. Tessa's mom and I both look at him blankly. "Tessa wouldn't want you guys to blame yourself for her actions."
"Thanks, Edward," Tessa's mom says.
He shrugs and puts his hands in his pockets. "No problem."
I swallow hard. I think of all the things I said to Tessa, all the selfish ways I acted most of the times. I have to be with her. And I'm selfish about that. I love her. Not Bella. That was me reading my heart wrong. I have to tell her that before she hates me forever. I love her.

What the heck is a quadriplegic you may be asking. Well let me explain. A quadriplegic is when you're stuck in a wheelchair because you're paralyzed in certain body parts. In Tessa's case, it's the loss of the legs and barely being able to use the hands and arms. Credit to the book and movie Me Before You