Book Two: Eran

So, it's been while since all the drama had first started up. The last time we saw Belle and Eran, they were both in the hospital room. Eran was laying in the bed, hooked up to the machines that kept him alive, his eyes closed. It was so bad that at first Belle wasn't even allowed in to see him.

"He wouldn't want you to see him like this, darling. He's not going to make it. I'm sorry." The nurses would say, and that hurt more than anything Eran could have possibly done to her before. She didn't want to believe it. He wasn't dying. He couldn't die. She viewed him as someone that would always be with her. That would never leave her side. At nights, she found herself curled up on her bed, tears streaming down her face.

She always held on to the hope that one day, Eran would return. That he wasn't going to die. It was a regular prayer she found herself praying. Not only that, Eran was going to be a daddy. Laurie and Belle had mended things, so now, they were as tight as they used to be before Laurie and Eran had been an item. Belle was there for the pregnancy test. She was there for Laurie to cry against when they found out together that she was going to give birth to Eran's baby.

"Belle, I'm so sorry...I'm so sorry...He's your boyfriend, and...oh, I'm so sorry..." She sobbed into Belle's shoulders. this would be hard to work out, but they would work it out. They could, couldn't they? Of course they could.
"It's okay Laurie...I wasn't there at the time. It'll..."
"That still doesn't make it okay, Belle! I went and screwed..."

"Shut the fuck up, and listen to me, Laurie." Belle hissed, and pulled away to look her friend in the eyes. "You can't change what happened. You can't, so stop talking about how much you wish you could change it. It's going to be odd, since your my best friend, and Eran is my boyfriend, and people are going to be skeptical about the whole relationship anyway. If anyone says anything at all, I'll be the one that punches their face in." Laurie laughed finally, and nodded her head.

"Belle, your too good to me..." She muttered gently.
"Oh shut up. I'm not going to let some boy come in between you and me. Now, you are going to be the one to tell him once he wakes up, do you understand me?"
"But, but, Belle..." She stuttered, shaking her head. Belle shook her head, and said "No ma'am. I will not be the one to tell him that you are carrying his baby."

Now, let's take a moment and look at how Belle really feels. On the inside, she's crying, and her heart is breaking. She wants to just shut down, but she can't because Laurie and Eran both need it. Do you even know how awkward this will be? Laurie being your best friend, and Eran being your boyfriend? Gawd, Belle, just give up already. You can't do this. Those were the words that she wanted to listen to.

She just wanted to disappear, and not care if Eran didn't make it, yet the hard reality of it all was that Belle loved Eran, even though he cheated on her with her best friend, and now her best friend was pregnant with his child. If you really wanna know, she felt like slapping the shit out of Laurie right now, but that wouldn't resolve anything. Nothing would be resolved with that.

Belle sucked in a deep breath, and released it, closing her eyes for a few moments. "You won't have to tell him for a while, Laurie. The doctors aren't even sure if he's going to make it--" Laurie shook her head, and murmured "He'll make it, because he loves you, Belle. He loves you with all his heart. When we were dating, sometimes he couldn't stop talking about the things you guys used to do. I got jealous, and mad, and sometimes, we just wouldn't talk for days." Laurie looked at Belle, who was staring at the ground, shaking her head.

"Thanks for trying to make me feel better, Laurie." And before Laurie could reply, she took her friend by the arm, and led her through the store, pointing out cute things for Laurie, as if they hadn't just found out Laurie was carrying a child.

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Belle had walked in to the hospital room, allowed to see Eran for the first time in a while. He still wasn't awake, but his vital signs were getting better. She pulled up a chair, and sat beside him, holding his hand.

"Eran...I can remember the last time I was in a room just like this one, sitting with you. Only, the last time, you got hurt because you were protecting me. The same for the second one. The police said they would find the bastard that did this to you. They still haven't found them, Eran," She sighed softly, closing her eyes as she thought about the man who had done this to Eran. To her. To Laurie, and that baby. He should rot in the deepest pits of hell. "And I don't think they ever will."

She raised his hand to her lips, and kissed it softly. It could have been compared to the caress of butterflies when they first land on you. "Oh, Eran, you don't know how much I miss you. You don't know how much I just wish you would pull through. This isn't like you. You can do it. Even if..." The words were choked up, and she had to gather her thoughts about her once again. She couldn't break down in the hospital room, or they would ask her to leave so she didn't stress out the patient. She swallowed hard, and then thought about what she was going to say.

"Even if, you are paralyzed for the rest of your life. I would be happy with you just able to see me again...I would be happy with just being about to touch you again..." Tears were falling down her face, and the heart monitor had picked up. Apparently, Eran had picked up on her tears. So had the nurses.

"Honey, why don't you just call it a day? We don't want to stress you out, or him, right?" Belle nodded, and lifted his hand once more to her lips, and kissed it.
"You have to pull through...I need you." She got up, the chair scraping against the floor slowly as she took her time. "When you get out, you'll have to straighten up of course. No more partying...no more getting drunk off your ass..." She shook her head, and turned away.

"Goodbye, Eran." She then moved for the door, but found herself coming to a stop once more. She bit her lower lip, and looked over her shoulder.

"I love you, babe. Pull through for me....I love you."

And with that, she slipped out of the room.
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It was hard to concentrate in school. She was always looking at the clock, wishing school would just be over. She had finally gotten old enough to stay in her own apartment, although Eran's parents did come and check up on her every once in a while. They would ask her how she was holding up, and then invite her to come to the hospital with them. She declined their offer each and every time because that was their time. She shouldn't get in the way of that.

That would all change though.

Belle was sprawled on her bed, falling asleep after a rough night. She was startled when there was suddenly banging on the door. She jumped with a start, her heart racing. She took the time to glance at herself in the mirror, make a face, and then dashed for the door. She looked through the peep-hole, and was shocked to see Eran's mother at such an early hour of the day.

"Mrs. Vought, is everything okay? Is..." She was afraid that Eran had passed away in the middle of the night. That would have just been horrible. Mrs. Vought looked much to excited for that though. "Is Eran alright?"

"Yes! Eran is alright! In fact, he's fantastic! He woke up a few hours ago!" Her face was glowing with the joy that her son was finally awake, and well enough to see them. "He still is going to have to go through surgeries for his back injury, but the doctor says he has a chance to walk again!" Belle couldn't contain her excitement. She couldn't believe that Eran was awake. "Mr. Vought and I were going to go and see him. Would you like to come along"

Belle nodded, and said "I'll be right back! Lemme grabs my jacket, and fix my hair." Belle turned quickly, and nearly sprinted back up the stairs. She threw clothes around looking for a jacket suitable, and settled for a plain brown one with a few holes in it. She then ran a brush through her hair, and cursed to herself when the rubber band snapped; so she just left her hair down. Mrs. Vought was waiting downstairs, and smiled brightly when she saw her.
"Ready?"
Belle was breathless. "Yes...lets go."

They all three walked in together, and they had a nice visit. It was short, only 30 minutes long so they didn't tire him. The nurses came in and told them that they would be better cutting the visit off here. They nodded, and said their goodbyes to Eran. Belle had been quiet the whole visit, but just as she was passing by, Eran weakly reached out for her, and just managed to grab her hand.

Belle's breath caught as she looked over at him.
"Belle?"
She swallowed, and nodded her head. "Yes, Eran."
"You were quiet today...." He looked up at her, looking so innocent from beneath the curtain of fringe he still had. He reminded her of when they were still young. The big blue eyes that haven't seen the world in so long. "Why?" He asked softly.

Honestly, she really didn't have an answer. She just stared at him with her beautiful brown eyes. "Come here..." He muttered gently, his voice getting a little more firm.
Belle glanced toward the door, but did what he asked.
"Yeah?" She asked, leaning forward. He lifted an arm to brush her hair out of her eyes, but didn't answer her for a little bit.

"Your beautiful, Belle."
Her heart jumped inside her chest. "Thank you, Eran."
He got quiet again, and reached for her hand. She took it. "I miss you Belle." He murmured quietly, diverting his gaze from her eyes. "And I'm going to get better. I'll be able to walk again," He finally looked up again, and flashed her his famous smile. "Because you need me. And I want to be there for you."
A small smile lit up on Belles constitution. She couldn't help but smile.

"Thank you, Eran. I should go now...you need your rest."
Eran frowned, and looked as if he was going to argue with her, but she shook her head, and pulled away. "You won't be able to get better if you don't rest. I'll come back to visit you soon." She turned to leave again, but he grabbed her hand.

"Eran, please...." He lifted her hand to his lips, and gingerly kissed the palm of her hand as if it were the most fragile thing in the world. She couldn't help the tears that would fall next. He looked up at her, and muttered "I wish I could wipe your tears away, but I can't." He finally leaned back, clearly exhausted beyond words.

She pulled away, and began to move toward the door again, but his fragile voice stopped her.
"Belle?"
"Yeah?"
"I love you."