I watched as Edward fell apart. He was curled up in a little
ball as Peter screamed at Charlie. And when he slumped onto the ground, his
eyes shut and his body trembling in abject fear. Turning to them, I screamed,
“Will both of you shut the fuck up! We’re going to get kicked out by security
and I need some help.”
Peter smacked Charlie’s head and crouched down to where
Edward was in a heap. “I hope you’re happy, Charlie. You know what happened to
him. Rose told you in explicit detail what this young man went through. Yet,
you still got in his face. You still hurt him. If Bella was awake, she’d tear
you a new asshole,” Peter sneered.
“It was because of him that she’s here!” Charlie snapped.
“No, Charlie. It’s not. She made the decision to go after Esme
on her own,” I said calmly, placing Edward’s head in my lap. I tenderly ran my
fingers through his hair. “If you can’t handle him being here, then you may
need to back off, Charlie. She loves him.”
“But, my little girl,” Charlie sniffled. “She’s fighting for
her life. I cannot walk away.”
“Neither can he,” I said. “He would do anything for her. He
would die for her, but he’s already beating himself up about what went down.
However, he faced the monster that tortured him for ten years, Charlie. He went
in there so he could help his mom and help Bella. Both of them would have died
if he hadn’t gone in there.”
“Take a walk, Chuck,” Peter said coolly. “When you can be in
the same room as Edward without screaming at him, we’ll let you back in to see
your daughter. For now, we have to preserve his mental health as much as
possible. Come on. Let’s go.” Peter grabbed Charlie’s arm and dragged him out
of the stairwell. “I’ll get a doctor or a nurse for Edward, Rose.”
“Thank you, Peter,” I said quietly. The two of them left and
I kept massaging Edward’s scalp. “I’m here, Edward. I know that I’m not Bella,
but I’ll do my best to keep you safe.” Sheri and another nurse came into the
stairwell. Edward was lifted onto a gurney and rolled out of the ICU. I
followed him as they brought him down to the emergency department. They
admitted him, giving him an IV and some medication in the IV. His distressed
face smoothed out and he settled into the gurney. I told the doctor about his
injuries and that he was under the care of Dr. Banner and Dr. Benson.
Peter Swan
Charlie Swan
