If the Boughs Break, Blood Will Flow

Chapter Ten - Blood Promises

Edward tried his best not to smile like a lovesick fool, though he loved the fact that Bella had her arm over his allowing him to assist her down the long hallway. Making sure he took small steps so that she could keep up with ease, their pace was languid. Halfway down the hall, Bella stopped.

"Are you okay? Do I need to get the nurse?" Edward asked worriedly.

"No, I am fine. I just wanted to ask you why you stayed at the hospital all this time?" Bella questioned, her eyes searching his. It was then she noticed the dark circles under them. He had not been sleeping well and it was all her fault. When she had first found out that he had lied about his name, she was mad, hurt, and disappointed, but over the last few days, her temper had calmed and she was ready to discuss where they were going to go from here.

Edward wanted to be honest with her, knowing that his deception had caused her stress. Seeing a couple of chairs at the end of the hall, he thought it would be better to sit down for his confession. "Let's sit down so I can give you my full attention," he said, pointing to the chairs.

They slowly made it to the chairs and once they did, Edward assisted Bella onto the chair. Once settled, Edward moved the other chair, so he was in front of her. He didn't like that they were out in the open, where anyone who walked by could hear their conversation. Before sitting down, he looked around to make sure that his and her guards were stationed so they could handle any problems that might come up. Confident that security was where they were supposed to be, he sat down. He couldn't believe how nervous he was and Edward Cullen, Captain of the Cullen family, was never worried.

Bella could tell he was having a hard time and when she saw him rake his hand through his hair she knew he was nervous. Reaching over, she placed her hand on his knee. "Edward, just tell me what you want."

Taking a deep cleansing breath, he looked up and gave her a small smile. Placing his hand on top of hers, he squeezed it. "When I arrived at your apartment building and was told you were in the ambulance, my heart stopped. I knew that it was my fault because I had mistreated you at the museum. I arrived at the hospital and I needed to get to you to see if you and our babies were getting the best care possible. Damn guards wouldn't let me through and Garrett came to my aid," he explained, he saw the look of shock when he said Garrett's name. It was then he remembered that she didn't know that he knew him. "Garrett is the family physician."

"Oh, he is a great doctor. He seems to have very liberal office hours since I often see him around the building," Bella said.

"Bella, he is not your typical physician; he is the "family" doctor," he stressed.

"So, your parents and brothers go to him as well?" She asked, confused by the way he had stressed the word 'family'.

Edward glanced around. "Bella, he is part of the Cullen Family. When something goes wrong, we can't go to a traditional doctor because they are bound to inform the police of gunshot wounds."

"Oh," she murmured as a shiver ran through her body. She was still coming to grips with the fact that Edward was in the mafia. Esme had been forthcoming with answers to the questions that she had while she sat with her. Yeah, they made the bulk of the money off illegal enterprises, despite that Edward had started several new adventures that were completely legal. Despite every dirty detail that Esme had shared with her, the one thing that stayed in front of her thoughts was that family always came first. This brought her back to why Edward had left her that night. Carlisle had been shot and he had to get back to New York to be with his family. She still felt abandoned, though that might be because she was hormonal. Pregnancy will do that.

"Bella, I know you probably have hundreds of questions about the family and I promise to answer everyone that I can," Edward stated, turning her hand over and rubbing his thumb over her palm. "I couldn't leave you here, not knowing whether or not that you and our children would be alright. If you needed something, I wanted to be the one to give it to you. Your health and happiness is my number priority. I can't promise that I won't fuck up again, but I will try my damnest to always be there for you and whatever you need no matter what time day or night I will make sure you get it."