"Fine," I repeated angrily.
It took six EMTs and two teachers — Mr. Varner and Coach Clapp — to shift
the van far enough away from us to bring the stretchers in. Edward
vehemently refused his, and I tried to do the same, but the traitor told
them I'd hit my head and probably had a concussion. I almost died of
humiliation when they put on the neck brace. It looked like the entire
school was there, watching soberly as they loaded me in the back of the
ambulance. Edward got to ride in the front. It was maddening.
To make matters worse, Chief Swan arrived before they could get me safely
away.
"Bella!" he yelled in panic when he recognized me on the stretcher.
"I'm completely fine, Char — Dad," I sighed. "There's nothing wrong with
me."
He turned to the closest EMT for a second opinion. I tuned him out to
consider the jumble of inexplicable images churning chaotically in my
head. When they'd lifted me away from the car, I had seen the deep dent
in the tan car's bumper — a very distinct dent that fit the contours of
Edward's shoulders… as if he had braced himself against the car with
enough force to damage the metal frame…
And then there was his family, looking on from the distance, with
expressions that ranged from disapproval to fury but held no hint of
concern for their brother's safety.
I tried to think of a logical solution that could explain what I had just
seen — a solution that excluded the assumption that I was insane.
Naturally, the ambulance got a police escort to the county hospital. I
felt ridiculous the whole time they were unloading me. What made it worse
was that Edward simply glided through the hospital doors under his own
power. I ground my teeth together.
They put me in the emergency room, a long room with a line of beds
separated by pastel-patterned curtains. A nurse put a pressure cuff on my
arm and a thermometer under my tongue. Since no one bothered pulling the
curtain around to give me some privacy, I decided I wasn't obligated to
wear the stupid-looking neck brace anymore. When the nurse walked away, I
quickly unfastened the Velcro and threw it under the bed.
There was another flurry of hospital personnel, another stretcher brought
to the bed next to me. I recognized Tyler Crowley from my Government
class beneath the bloodstained bandages wrapped tightly around his head.
Tyler looked a hundred times worse than I felt. But he was staring
anxiously at me.
"Bella, I'm so sorry!"
现象（4）
"行，"我愤怒地重复道。
六个紧急医疗救护员和两名老师——瓦纳先生和克拉普教练——才把客货两用车从我们身边移开，移到了勉强能放进担架床那么远的地方。爱德华强烈拒绝坐担架床，我也试图拒绝，可那个叛徒出卖了我，跟他们说我撞了头，很可能撞成了脑震荡。他们给我上颈托儿时，我差点儿羞死了。好像全校的人都来了，肃穆地看着他们把我推上了救护车。爱德华坐到了前面。真是叫人受不了。
更为糟糕的是，斯旺警长在他们还没有把我安全地弄走之前赶到了。
"贝拉！"他认出了担架床上的我，惊慌失措地尖叫道。
"我很好，查——爸，"我叹息道，"我一点事儿都没有。"
他明显没有相信我的感觉，转向离他最近的一个紧急医疗救护员问了第二个人对我受伤程度的判断。我把他放到了一边，去想那一堆杂乱无章地浮现在我脑子里的无法解释的画面。他们把我从车边上抬走的时候，我看见那辆棕红色小汽车的保险杠上有一道深深的印痕——一道非常独特的印痕，与爱德华肩膀的轮廓正好吻合……好像是他用了很大的力，撑靠在车上把那个金属玩意儿给弄凹了。……
接下来就是他的家人，远远地站在一边，表情各异，从反对到盛怒，但就是丝毫不见对他们这位兄弟安全的担心。
我试图想出一个合乎逻辑的答案，来解释我刚刚见到的这一切——来排除认为我神经不正常的臆断。
自然，救护车由一名警察护送到了县医院。他们把我从救护车上抬下来的整个这段时间，我都感到很可笑。更可气的是，爱德华却可以轻而易举地溜出病房，自由活动。我咬紧了牙齿。
他们把我放在急救室。急救室是一间狭长的屋子，里面摆放着一溜病床，床与床之间由一些蜡笔画图案的帘子隔开。一名护士在我胳膊上绑了一个血压袖带，在我舌头下面放了一个体温表。既然谁都懒得拉上帘子给我一点儿自己的空间，我想我也就没有义务戴那个傻乎乎的颈托儿了。护士走开后，我三下五除二，扯开了维可牢搭扣，把它扔到了床底下。
医护人员又是一阵慌乱，又一张担架床推到了挨着我的那张病床边上。我认出来是政府学班上的泰勒·克劳利，他头上紧紧缠着血迹斑斑的绷带。泰勒看上去比我原以为的要糟一百倍。可他还在焦急地盯着我。
"贝拉，我真是太抱歉了！
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