First Blood | Ed. Cullen & B. Swan

Chapter 19

It hurt. It hurt so much. He felt like he was being torn apart from the inside out. It took his breath away as the venom inside of his body boiled beneath his skin. It wasn't as intense, but he could have sworn it was the closest to the torment of Jane's torture that he had ever experienced.

His mind was hazy and he couldn't focus on what was happening around him. The only thing he could process was the pain. It seemed to go on and on. It flared up every few seconds, and it was absolute torture.

He couldn't tell what emotions he was experiencing. Be it anger, fear, or worry. He didn't know. All he could perceive was the venom sizzling under his skin. He was gripping onto something, but he didn't know what –or even who– it was.

It was agony.

That's all he knew.

And he wanted it to stop.

He wanted it all to end.

And then it did.

His eyes fluttered open, and the first thing he processed was how labored his breathing was. His eyes drifted down and he saw the bandages wrapped around his bare torso. His arm was in a sling across his chest.

The next thing he noticed was the heat underneath his head. He glanced up, only to find Leah already staring down at him. His head was in her lap, and she was lightly running her fingers through his short hair.

He heard her sniffle, and he noticed the tears that had dried down her face. He flashed her a small smile, but he supposed it ended as a grimace instead.

"Don't speak," She said softly, "You were screaming. A lot. Carlisle said you should try not to speak for a few days unless you need to."

Simon weakly nodded his head, relaxing into her gentle touch as much as he could. He closed his eyes, letting his senses fade and focus only on his friend as she held him.

"Bella and Edward just got here," Leah spoke up after a few minutes, "Everyone's coming in. Sam and the pack don't trust Edward here without being watched."

Leah carefully moved out from underneath him, sitting down after pulling a chair close to the bed. She still kept hold of his hand, which she had been holding the whole time that Carlisle had been there.

She felt as Sam's gaze seemed to zero in on her, but she ignored him as Edward rushed in, Bella following behind him. She kept her gaze on Simon, knowing that Emily was also in the room now with the pack.

Edward dropped down on his knees next to the head of the bed. He pulled Simon into a heated kiss, minding the younger male's injuries. As he pulled away, he rested his head against Simon's.

"Don't you ever do that again, you hear me? I can't watch you die. Not again. Don't do that to me; to us."

Bella sat down on the edge of the bed, taking Simon's hand in her own as Leah released it. She rubbed small circles on the back of it, trying her best to soothe him without causing him more pain.

A small smile graced her lips as she watched Edward interact with Simon, knowing that the two of them weren't often affectionate with one another in front of other people. She glanced around the room, and she had to bite back a grin as she saw the reactions of the pack. Leah and Seth seemed to be the only two who were unsurprised, but Seth had a small blush on his face, as did Paul, who was staring at the ground. Jacob's face seemed to hold the most surprise, but Bella assumed it was due to the boy's oblivious nature.

Leah sent Bella a faint smile before she got up and left. To Bella's surprise, Sam followed quickly after her. The rest of the wolves seemed to trickle out after them until only Paul remained.

His gaze lingered on Simon for a minute, before he left without saying a word.

Despite the weird behavior, Bella went back to watching Simon as Edward spoke to him in a hushed whisper. She faintly squeezed his hand, sending him a small smile as he glanced at her.

***

Simon was in the living room of his apartment, lying on one end of the couch. His head was resting in Bella's lap and his legs were thrown over Edward's. He was still in the beginning stages of his healing as his injuries had been severe, and Carlisle had advised him to rest and move around as little as possible for a few days.

He hadn't wanted to cause Sue trouble, so he had left the Clearwater residence as soon as he could, much to Leah's protest. He hadn't left his apartment, and Edward had been staying with him since then.

Bella had decided it was finally time to tell Charlie about her engagement and her relationship with Simon. Because she wanted Simon to be there when it happened, she had asked Charlie if he would come over for dinner.

Simon had wanted to make a proper dinner for the occasion, but Bella wouldn't let him get up from the couch. He didn't want to fight with her, so he begrudgingly agreed. They had ordered pizza instead, and Edward had put it on the table for when Charlie arrived.

Edward stood when Charlie finally showed up, meeting the man at the front door. Bella helped Simon sit up, allowing him to lean against her. He rested his head against her shoulder, and he had his eyes closed again by the time Charlie walked into the living room with Edward.

Charlie's eyes wandered around the apartment since this was the first time he had ever been invited. His gaze finally landed on the couch, and his brows instantly furrowed.

"Hey, dad," Bella murmured softly as Simon faintly waved. "Go ahead and sit down. We can still eat pizza and watch the game when it comes on, but there was something I wanted to talk to you about first."

Charlie nodded his head as he walked over, sitting down on the other couch as Edward reclaimed his spot on the other side of Simon.

"So, what's this about?" Charlie asked.

"A few days ago, I asked you if you thought marriage still had any value. You said that you did, if it was for the right reasons," She paused for a moment, continuing as Charlie slowly nodded, "Edward proposed to me. And I want you to know that I thought about my answer for a few weeks. After our discussion, I decided to tell him yes."

Charlie inhaled sharply as he processed her words, his eyebrows furrowing as he thought it through. He was silent for a minute as he stared at the ground. His gaze drifted to Edward, before he turned back to Bella.

"If you're really sure that's what you want, then who am I to tell you no? Just...as long as you're happy, Bells. You know that's all I care about."

Bella beamed at her father, glad he was taking the news so easily.

"We plan on getting married on August 13th–I know that it's really soon, but it's what I want. And that's...not all I wanted to tell you..."

Simon reached down, briefly squeezing her hand in encouragement. He would have rather told Charlie himself, but his throat was still torn apart and talking required him to breathe, which his torso was too sore for it to be comfortable.

"When my family and I returned to Forks," Edward began, speaking for Simon so Bella didn't have to, "Bella and Simon had been dating. She loved both of us, and we loved her enough that we weren't going to make her choose between us. We made it work out, and she has been dating the both of us. Now, I guess we have what you would call a polyamorous relationship. It's where–"

"–I know what it means, and I really don't want to hear any details that might traumatize me. I think I've pretty much got the gist of it. Can we just...Can we just move on to pizza and the game? We can talk more about this some other time when I'm not tired from work."

Bella nodded her head, and Simon relaxed more between his two mates as Edward put on the football game. With all the ways that the conversation could have gone, Simon supposed that reaction was one of the better ones.