Chapter Nine:
• Pain •
<-Location: Cullen Home->
{ POV: Yours }
We all sat up in the late night researching, trying to figure out what was going to happen. What IS happening. And it had been days with us all being stuck in the dark.
I had stayed with Edward through it, Rosalie only being fit to give closure to Bella. We had different beliefs.
As we looked up Bella's problem on the internet, horrible things popped up.
"Child of satan"
"Immortal children"
"Vampire child"
"Killer"
It threw Edward in a fit of rage and he got up and left. I get up and follow in pursuit, dropping the book I was reading onto the table.
I could feel eyes on me. I wasn't sure whose eyes, full of jealousy and slight concern as I followed Edward through the house then downstairs.
"Edward-"
"-Did you read what I read? Did you SEE those GRUESOME and HORRIBLE photos I have seen? Did you?!" He turned to me with anger in his eyes. "They-They spoke about immortal children! Satan's child! A child of death! What bella has inside of her- it could- no- it WILL kill her!"
He then sat down in a chair and laid his head into his hands, suddenly quiet.
I sigh softly and walk to him, kneeling down in front of him and grabbing his hands away from his face. His tearful eyes making my heart clench slightly.
"Edward. We have to be calm and hopeful." I smile, "You have to find a light to help guide you through these feelings, a reason to be rational and hopeful. Even if the odds may be against you. You MUST endure the pain and get past it." I squeeze his hands, "Especially for and with your wife, Bella. She needs you to try, I need you to try."
We both then stand up and hug, in complete silence. I rub his back as he clung onto me, calming himself down.
Edward then pulls away and stares down at me, his face clean and a bit fresh. "Thank you, Y/n." He smiles. "You really are a best friend."
"I'm just being there for you like you were for me, Edward."
Moving to the next day—
No One's POV
The night has passed and the new day begins.
Y/n had join Esme into providing a snack for the three werewolves outside. She mostly did it for Seth and Esme since Esme didn't want it to be a bit uncomfortable, but even Esme knew it would, considering the little fight between the two natural leaders.
Esme just wanted to nudge the two into talking again. She knew they were friends. Carlisle advised it wouldn't work if she nudged them and that they'd have to figure it out themselves.
So, there she was with Y/n with the packed snacks in hand, outside.
Giving just a little nudge.
The two women reach the three and hold out the packages, smiling with kindness.
Seth immediately took the two for him out of Y/n's hand and hugs her, thanking her before sitting down and eating.
Y/n smiles at his childish behavior and his quick hands knowing the extra snacks were for him, reminding her of Chris which made her heart hurt.
She missed them. Jacob could feel the sorrow from her, his eyes faltering a bit before being stern again. Facing away from her.
Esme holds one out to Leah but Leah ignores it, turning away from her. Of course, it made her spirit falter a bit but she smiles and holds one out for Jacob who gratefully took it.
Y/n looks to Leah and takes the one from Esme's hands, smiling at Esme. "I'll give it to her, Esme. You head back inside and worry about the others."
Esme smiles and sets a hand on the younger girls cheek. "You are a sweet girl. I can't believe anyone saw a monster in you."
Y/n's breath gets caught her in throat as she watches Esme walk away, her heart beating a bit fast at her choice of words. She quickly pushes it away and faces Leah, walking up to her.
Y/n sets a hand on Leah's shoulder, "Leah-"
Which quickly became a mistake.
Leah growls and snatches her shoulder away from the woman, "Get your leech hand off of me. You won't change my mind about you, freak."
"Leah." Jacob growls, going to reach for her but Y/n stops him.
"Leah!" Seth gasps in disbelief at his sisters behavior towards his friend. "You can't just-"
But Y/n smiles at him and he backs down, looking at something else.
"Leah, I don't care if you hate me or like me. I care if you eat and stay healthy." Leah glares at her, "The last thing you need to do is ignore the kindness being given to you. Esme offered you food as a gift for helping but you rudely ignored her when she had good intentions."
"I don't owe that leech a damn thing." Leah practically growls at her, "I didn't want her disgusting murderer food." Leah glares harsher, "Especially from you."
Y/n stares her down, "I don't care what you think of me or what you feel about me but pushing your entire hatred towards her and not even acknowledging her, really angered me. It was disrespectful."
Y/n then speaks with sternness, holding her ground against the angry werewolf who slightly cowered under Y/n's authoritative aura.
"That leech, you say she is, has a good heart and kind personality. She was just trying to take care of you and help you out a bit by feeding you. She didn't have to, but she did because she wants you to be fed and thanked for being here with us when you didn't have to be. The least you could've done was mumble a "thank you" and take it. You didn't even have to eat it, you could've gave it to Seth or Jacob or just throw it away when she walked away. But instead of having manners, you rudely ignore her and turn away. Were you not raised right? I know you don't owe her anything but acknowledge the fact that there's someone out there who does care for what you do."
Y/n then holds the packaged snack out to Leah. "I'll move past it this time- But let's try this again. Will you take it or will you blatantly, disrespectfully ignore me like you did to Esme."
Leah stares at her before slowly taking the package out of Y/n's hands and holding it.
Y/n smiles, "Good. Thank you for being here even if it's just because you didn't want to be stuck with Sam and just watch your brother. We all appreciate it."
"No problem, I guess." Leah faces away, "I still won't change my mind about you."
"That's fine with me, Leah." Y/n then backs away and turns to Seth with a smile. "Seth, how were the snacks I prepared for you?"
If you could see his tail, it'd be wagging so fast from happiness.
"They were delicious, Y/n! Thank you and thanks to Esme!" Seth smiles brightly, "Will there be more?"
Before Y/n could speak, Jacob did."
"Don't be greedy, Seth. Take what is given to you and settle down." Jacob spoke with authority, spooking Y/n a bit but not enough to just nod and tuck her tail away like Seth.
Y/n looks to Seth and nods, "There will be, Seth. I'll make sure of it."
Seth immediately brightens up and smiles, now facing away in a good mood.
Y/n turns to walk away and get back inside the house but is sadly joined by- none other than- Jacob.
"You spoil him, Y/n." He spoke, reaching her side which was a distance from the two siblings. "He's going to start expecting more from you."
"Good. It means he's going to have high standards instead of settling for some lazy girl who wouldn't lift a finger for him." Y/n continues walking, her back facing him.
Jacob sighs, knowing she's giving the cold shoulder. "Y/n, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said what I did back there yesterday."
Y/n laughs, "I'm already over that, Black. But words don't fix anything, actions do." And she walks away, leaving Jacob to stand there in hurt as he begins to believe he lost a friend.
As soon she enters the house and reaches upstairs, she enters a room by mistake and is met with an intense atmosphere.
Carlisle, Edward and Bella were looking at x-rays of Bella's 'pregnancy' body and they were not pretty.
Y/n then walks out to give them the privacy needed. She then joins Jasper and Alice, engaging into small talk to help calm her frustration over Jacob.
"Your rib is cracked but there are no splinters." Carlisle turns to Bella, "You haven't punctured anything."
"Yet."
"Edward."
Edward then looks to Bella who, by god, looked to be a damn corpse. Bella looks away from Edward holding her stomach.
"It's breaking her bones now. It's crushing you from inside out." Edward's eyes water.
Bella looks back up at him and his face pains her, but she wants the baby.
Edward then softly spoke again, "Carlisle, tell her what you told me." Then looked to Carlisle, "Tell her."
Bella's eyes narrow and she looks to Carlisle. Carlisle glares at Edward but she ignores it as he looks to her. "Carlisle, tell me. It's alright."
Carlisle then walks up to her as so does Edward. "The fetus isn't compatible with your body. It's too strong. It won't allow you to get the nutrition you need. It's starving you by the hour. I can't stop it and I can't slow it down." Bella swallows thickly, "At this rate, your heart will give out before you can deliver."
"Then I'll hold on as long as I can, and then-"
"-Bella."
She stops and Carlisle gently grabs ahold of her arm for comfort.
"There are some conditions that even venom can't overcome. You understand?" Bella nods and Carlisle sighs, rubbing her arm. "I'm sorry." Then walking away, leaving the couple be.
Bella then directs her eyes somewhere else, away from Edwards cold stare. The thing inside of her was killing her and they all knew it, yet her mind doesn't change and she wants it to be a baby so bad.
She wants it to be a baby from the man she loves.
And she wants it born properly.
"Edward, I'm sorry." Words finally leave from her chapped lips.
"I can't live without you." He faces away from her, looking outside the window.
"You won't. You're gonna have a part of me. He'll need you." She tries convincing her husband, desperate for him to agree with her decision.
Edward then looks to her, "Do you honestly think that I could love it, or even, tolerate it if it killed you?"
"It's not his fault." Bella fights back, "You have to accept what is."
Edward's anger couldn't be contained. "Because you've given me no choice! Bella, we're supposed to be partners, remember? But you decided this on your own. You've decided to leave me." He looks to her baby bump in hate.
"Don't see it that way-"
"-Well, I have no other way to see it. Cause it's me who'll lose you. And I don't choose that." Edward looks to her with pain. Just the mere sight of her pained him so so much. "I don't choose that."
Edward then walks out of the makeshift hospital room and leaves Bella to basque in the cold, painful room. To breathe in the icy tense air.
Y/n quickly gets up as she sees Edward rush out, a coat in hand. She moves to follow him but Jasper grabs her wrist and she looks to him.
God, her eyes. So beautiful and tense. It made Jasper's shy away.
"What is it, Jasper?" She asks him, wanting to him to answer fast as she heard the door slam shut.
Jasper finally spoke, now looking at her directly. "Be careful if you're going to follow Edward. The pain he's in, it's connected to hurtful anger."
Y/n nods and quickly goes after Edward, closing the door shut behind her and rushing downstairs in time to catch Edward.
"I saw the way you looked at her as she looked at Edward with concern, Jasper." Alice spoke. "You can't be jealous if you haven't told her what you feel for her."
Alice then gets up to check on Bella and leaves Jasper to soak in her words of wisdom. And she was right.
Y/n grabs Edwards arm and he looks to her, "Edward, where are you going-"
"I need fresh air, I can't breathe." He forcefully pulls away from her grasp and turns to walk away but she steps in front of him. "Y/n, move-"
"-Edward, talk to me."
The look in her eyes made him melt away and his eyes begin to water.
"The thing inside of her is sucking her life dry and she sees no problem with it, Y/n." Tears stream down his face, "She chose that thing over me. She'll die believing that thing inside of her is a baby."
Y/n's eyes falter with sadness as she reaches for his face, "Edward, love.."
Edward grabs ahold of her wrists and removes her hands from his face, dropping the jacket onto a chair and sitting down. His eyes closed as the tears fell onto his hands that hid his face away from Y/n, leaning on his knees.
Y/n sits on the arm of the chair and rests her hand on his back, both in silence for a moment before Y/n speaks again.
"Edward, I want to do right by you and help convince Bella to get rid of it but it would do no change. Both physically and mentally for her." She then rubs his back in a circular motion. "I respect Bella as much as I do you, she chose what she wanted. You must be her husband and stick by it too."
Edward then gets out of the chair and faces Y/n, angry and upset. "How can I be her husband if she is dead, Y/n?! How?! Explain that to me! I cannot just respect her choice of keeping the evil thing inside of her and killing her inside out! I can't!" Tears begin to flow down his face more quickly, "How can we just be married and already reaching our "till death do us part" oath. I can't live without her."
Y/n stands up and slowly wraps her arms around him, pushing his head into her shoulder and holding him until he sobbed out a lung.
The saddening sounds being heard all over the house by his family members.
Even by the wolves outside. Jacob couldn't help but feel hurt that Bella chose to die and that Y/n chose to comfort Edward.
He couldn't decide which one hurt him most.
Later in the evening—
No One's POV
It has been hours later after the mini argument between Edward and Bella, and after Edward returned home from leaving for a small breath of air that Y/n advised him to do. The house was cold, still. And more tense.
And it was Bella's turn to be comforted by Y/n.
Bella, Y/n and Rosalie all sat in the bathroom. Rosalie helping by turning the bath water on and checking for the right temperature. Y/n returning from getting comfortable, soft, suitable clothing for Bella to be changed into. Bella resting on a chair in a robe, waiting to be helped into the bath.
It was silent, as they all knew their roles.
As Rosalie finds a suitable temperature for Bella and moves to get shampoo and other things, Y/n goes to Bella to help her undress and get into the bath.
As Y/n took the robe off of Bella, her heart sinks.
There Bella stood, her skin pulled so tightly across her bones that they were seen. Her bones so sharp that they could cut Y/n if she reached and touched them. It was like she could see Bella's organs too if they weren't slowly rotting away from the thing inside of her.
Y/n took her gaze off of her body and took the robe from Bella, turning to fold it and tuck it away, leaving Bella to stand on her own.
Bella stands in front of the mirror and stares at her reflection, in slight discomfort at the sight of her scrawny, dying body. She had changed, drastically.
'Does he... does he still love me even if this is what I look like?' Bella thought to herself as she observes herself more before meeting eyes with Edward.
Y/n could feel the woman's energy shift and she looks in the mirror to see Edward staring at Bella. Edward meeting Y/n's eyes for a split second before focusing back on his wife.
And her dying, rotting body.
Rosalie notices and moves to close the door as Y/n drapes the robe onto Bella's shoulders, the both of them shielding Bella away from Edwards pained, cold gaze.
"Come, Bella. Let's get you into that bath." Y/n smiles at Bella as she took the robe off and helps her in alongside Rosalie.
The two of them creating small talk with Bella as they wash her and bathe her so she wouldn't hurt herself more.
Bella was in enough pain.
Why let Edward add more emotional pain to her?
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No, because the scene where Bella is getting ready to take a bath, pains me every single time. The song doesn't help either. 💔.