Page 44

Throughout the day, Esme, Rosalie and Bree pampered the injured hybrid.

Bree needing to spend as much time with her injured mate as possible, and Esme and Rosalie enjoying the feeling of having someone around that they could take care of.

Pearl shied away from all of the attention at first and tried to insist about doing things by herself, despite her injuries.

But was forced to get used to the attention from the girls because of their own stubbornness and persistence.

When Carlisle checked on Pearl's stitches later in the evening, he noted that her leg sutures were red and looked slightly enflamed.

"Is your leg hurting right now?" He calmly questioned the girl.

"It's sore." Pearl admitted, then quickly added. "But it's nothing I can't handle."

Carlisle narrowed his eyes at the hybrid, causing Pearl to look away and avoid eye contact. "Your injury may be infected. We did clean it out as best as we could before we stitched it up, but, it's possible that we may have missed something." He said, whilst examining the area further.

"So... what do we do?" Pearl hesitantly asked.

"If the stitching is aggravating the wound and trapping dirt and germs inside, then I need to remove them and have the gash thoroughly cleaned." Carlisle replied.

"... Does that involve... stitching it up again?" The hybrid quietly asked, dreading the answer.

"Possibly. We may be able to leave it open and just bandage it up, depending on how much your body has healed it already. But, re-applying the stitches is certainly a possibility." Carlisle answered honestly, not wanting to hide the fact that it may happen, from her.

Pearl nodded her head warily, and muttered an "okay".

"First, let's remove them and see what we're dealing with." Said Carlisle, carefully removing the stitches on her right leg to investigate the inflammation in the wound.

Opening it up, Carlisle could see that the infection was only mild, and that he had caught it early.

Cleaning it up and applying some medication to it would sort it out no problem.

But there was something else he needed to consider, and when he realised that it had to happen, he knew that it would be an issue for the hybrid.

Hesitantly he told Pearl what had to be done, "Okay, it should be fine if we clean it up and apply some medication."

Pearl nodded and furrowed her eyebrows. "Why do you sound uneasy?" She asked, picking up on his hesitancy.

"With the way your leg is, and taking into account your other injuries.

It would certainly be best if your leg isn't the only thing that gets thoroughly cleaned out.

You've not exactly had... a proper bath or a shower since the fight.

Right now, anything could be inside your injuries, and it's only your leg that is showing signs of infection, at this point in time.

But, the longer we leave it, the more likely that your other injuries will become infected as well. " Carlisle explains cautiously.

"So... I need a bath then?" Pearl asks to clarify, not seeing the issue.

Taking a breath, Carlisle continues, "A bath that you'll no doubt need assistance for."

Pearl paled and began shaking her head rapidly in protest. "I... I can do it myself!" She quickly responds, stuttering slightly.

"I know you don't like the idea. But your not strong enough to stand on your own, or really move around all that much.

You won't be able to clean out your injuries properly, if you are on your own.

And aside from that fact, some of your injuries, you won't even be able to reach.

You are going to need help with them." Carlisle says to the hybrid in a firm tone.

"I'll manage." Pearl tries to argue.

"No you won't." Carlisle disagrees. "Your already in a lot of pain. Pushing yourself is only going to make everything a whole lot worse." He added, trying to persuade her into agreeing with him. But saying so in a tone that clearly said that he wasn't going to change his mind.

Pearl grumbled at him incoherently, and glared at the patriarch of the family, seeing that he wasn't going to back down.

And partially because, she did somewhat agree with him.

She was in a lot of pain, and Pearl knew that she would struggle to bathe herself and clean the wounds on her own.

But that didn't mean that she wanted to admit it.

Carlisle sighed. "I'm sure Rosalie and Esme wouldn't mind helping you.

Rosalie has some medical knowledge, so she would be able to take my place when cleaning out the more severe wounds.

I'm sure you would prefer her over me, in that kind of situation.

And when it's all sorted and your dried off, I can ask Rosalie to apply the medication to your leg for me.

" Carlisle offered, wanting to try and make Pearl as comfortable as possible with the situation.

Pearl growled slightly, clearly still unhappy with the solution, but didn't argue with him further. If she had to do this, all she could hope for was that it would be over and done with quickly.

"Can I call them?" Carlisle asked, wanting Pearl's permission before doing so.

Pearl nodded her head glumly.

To try and make Pearl more comfortable, Carlisle took the rest of the family out of the house, leaving only Esme and Rosalie with the hybrid.

Bree offered to stay with them, but her eyes had become quite dark, (showcasing her hunger) due to her lack of hunting since the wedding.

So she was told that she needed to come with them, so that she could feed.

Once the others had left, Esme and Rosalie were quick to reassure the hybrid that they would finish her bath quickly. So that it could be over soon. Pearl only nodded her head to them in acknowledgement. Too ashamed and embarrassed to make eye contact or speak to them.

Esme took care of running the bath and gathering the supplies that they would need.

Whilst Rosalie took care of Pearl, removing all of her bandages and helping her get herself undressed.

The latter caused Pearl to turn bright red.

Rosalie refrained from saying anything, understanding the girls reluctance and embarrassment about the situation.

Once the women got Pearl into the bath, they started the process of thoroughly cleaning out all of the hybrid's wounds.

Rosalie took it upon herself to wash out the gash on Pearl's leg, and the exposed bite marks that littered her body.

Being careful not to interfere with the stitching on Pearl's shoulder, as per Carlisle's instructions.

The shoulder wound wasn't showing any signs of infection, in fact, it was doing quite well.

So washing it could end up aggravating the wound, doing more harm than good.

And as it was still quite tender for Pearl, there was no point in doing anything to it.

So the women were careful to leave Pearl's left shoulder alone.

Whilst Rosalie took care of Pearl's injuries, Esme chose to take care of Pearl's long brown hair.

Since it had been a while since it was washed, (The first time in months, being in preparation for Edward's and Bella's wedding.

All the cleanliness was disrupted when Pearl shifted and got involved with many fights) Esme had her work cut out for her.

Shampooing and conditioning the hybrid's hair was a task.

One that Esme managed with ease, whereas Pearl, would have become so frustrated after working on it for 5 minutes, that she would have started debating whether or not it was worth it, and if she should just cut it all off.

Esme's patience was a god send, something that Pearl wished that she herself had.

Pearl remained still whilst she bathed. Only moving when either of the women asked her to. Although she did involuntarily flinch a couple of times, when Rosalie was cleaning her right leg.

'I can't believe I'm doing this! This is so embarrassing! I'm a vampire and a shifter for crying out loud! I should be able to bathe myself!' I ranted internally.

Sighing to myself, I had to admit, 'I was an idiot, getting this hurt.

If I wasn't injured, I wouldn't have to go through all of this.

I don't regret fighting Sam in order to leave his pack.

But did I have to do it right after Bella and Edward's wedding!

That was such terrible timing! It could have waited! '

'Why did I have to go and butt in. It wasn't my business to get involved. I shoulda stayed out of it...'

"Are you okay Pearl?" Rosalie asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

Looking up from the water, I answered the blonde, "Yes, I'm fine."

Rosalie hummed, not believing me, and continued, "You were glaring at the water like it was going to attack Bree." She stated.

"I was?" I thought, only to realise that I had said that out loud.

"You were dear." Esme answered, from her spot next to me. She was letting the conditioner sit in my hair for a bit and had already assisted Rosalie with all of the open wounds on my back, so she was sitting next to me instead of behind me.

"Oh" I didn't know what else to say.

Esme looked at me softly. Giving me the kind of look only a worried mother can give her child. "What's wrong dear?" She asked gently.

Rosalie cut in whilst tending to a scratch on my knee, "And don't just say that you're fine, or say that it's nothing." She said, whilst scowling at me.

I turned away from them, choosing to look at the wall instead. After all it looked much more appealing at the moment.

I heard Esme sigh softly after a minute. Then she spoke again, "Bree isn't the only one worried about you Pearl." She said. "We all are."

'Why though? It's not like I'm connected to them.

Not like how I am to Bree. And we aren't connected by blood.

.. although... a blood connection clearly doesn't mean that much anymore.

' I thought, thinking about Leah, Seth and Sue and how they clearly stopped caring for me after the other two shifted.

"What are you thinking about?" I heard Rosalie's voice ask.

I looked back at her, to find her directly staring at me. Her golden eyes meeting my own. "Could we not talk about this again." I said whilst gesturing to the bath. "I don't like being weak." I answered, ignoring her question.

"You aren't weak dear." Esme spoke.

"I know" I said quickly. 'I don't want to argue right now, I just want to be alone for a bit.' "But can we please not talk about it." I pleaded, wanting some silence in order to think.

Esme nodded and Rosalie sighed before also nodding her head. It was clear that they wanted to keep talking, but they could thankfully see that I was in no mood.

We finished soon after. Esme helped me get dry, whilst Rosalie applied the medication Carlisle had given her to my cuts, and the gash on my leg. When we finished, I still needed their assistance to get dressed.

'It's all so humiliating, but it's not like I can do anything about it.

' I thought. Everything hurts, it felt like my body had ran a marathon or something.

Even though I barely did anything on my own.

They got me changed into some pyjamas that Alice had bought for me at some point.

Then laid me down in Esme's bed to get some rest. They left soon after, going to other parts of the house, no doubt to text the others that they could come back.

Finally being left alone with my thoughts was a comforting and scary feeling. Two polar opposites, and yet, that feels like the best way to describe it.

'I care for Bree. I want what's best for her.

I want to be near her. I want to be around her.

I know all of these feelings stem from the imprint bond but they're still real.

I know that. And I know that she feels them as well.

What we have, is real. So, how come I'm finding it so difficult to figure out whether or not the Cullen's really care about me.

This should be easy, and yet, i'm stumped. '

'I used to think my siblings and parents cared for me, but, they had other priorities. And I clearly wasn't near the top of their lists. I don't even know if I had a placement.' I let out a short humourless laugh at the thought.

'They were my family. My everything. And... I mean nothing to them now. Did I ever mean anything to them? How am I supposed to find that out? It's not like I can ask them.'

'Do the Cullen's really care about me? Or... is this just some sort of obligation they have to Bree? Since she joined their coven and all, and I'm her mate.'

'How do I know if their love... is real?

They say it is... but... how can I be sure?

I don't like feeling this way. Being so uncertain.

.. it's... scary...' I finished my last thought, as my eyelids grew heavier by the minute.

The darkness that took over my vision, felt different this time.

It didn't wash away my worries, it just.. . covered them up.

Letting the darkness take over, I fell into a dreamless sleep.