*Isabella's POV*
Three days later, I was in Jacob's room again. He was sitting up more now, the colour returning to his face, though he was still slightly pale and moved with a frustrating slowness. I was settled in the chair beside his bed, reading to him from a book I'd found in a bookstore near the hotel.
"Oh my god, that book was a waste of time," he said, cutting me off mid-sentence.
I snapped the book shut with a little too much force. "That's very nice of you to say," I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "Since I spent the last several hours reading it to you. My mouth hurts for fucks sake."
He laughed, a proper, rumbling chuckle that made his chest shake, which in turn made me roll my eyes once more. God, he was such a child sometimes.
"Why do you think so?" I asked, genuinely curious despite my annoyance.
"First of all," he said, holding up a finger. "He repeated the book title like a thousand times. Love knows no end, love know no end, loves knows no fucking end." He said it in this ridiculous, dramatic voice that made me laugh in spite of myself.
"Second," he continued, his expression turning serious. "The main character was a self-conscious dick with trust issues."
"And third?" I prompted, raising an eyebrow.
"And third, the ending. Too optimistic. Didn't fit with the rest of the story," he said, rolling his eyes.
He paused, a sly look creeping into his eyes. "Anyway, how come a girl who doesn't believe in love has a book about love and relationships in her purse?"
"It's a comedy," I replied defensively. "I've been told it's full of satire and it's good. I wanted to give it a try."
"Who told you that?" he asked, his gaze sharp, missing nothing.
I rolled my eyes, trying to brush it off. "Also, I never said I don't believe in love," I clarified, a little too quickly. "Just that I like to stay away from love."
A slow, predatory smile spread across his face. He saw the opening and he pounced on it.
"Does that mean that my gut feeling is true," he asked, his voice dropping to a low, intimate murmur, "and you're totally in love with me?"
He said it so casually, but the question hit me like a physical blow, catching me completely off guard.
"Hello, Mr Lancaster," a doctor said, his voice a calm, professional intrusion into the charged atmosphere. I hadn't even fucking noticed he'd entered, but thank God he did. It was the perfect escape from Jacob's damn question, a question that was still echoing in my head, making my heart beat like a drum against my ribs.
"Hey, doc," Jacob greeted back, his usual charming smirk firmly in place. I saw my perfect opportunity to sneak out, to retreat to the safety of the hallway and collect my scattered thoughts. I started edging towards the door, trying to be sneaky.
"How are you feeling today?" the doctor asked, his attention fully on Jacob.
"I'm amazing, I feel no pain, I'm ready to go home," Jacob replied, laying it on thick. I simply watched from the doorway, my hand on the cool metal of the handle, my heart still thumping a frantic rhythm.
"While I like your enthusiasm, I'm afraid we still need to keep an eye on you," the doctor said, making Jacob's face fall into a dramatic pout.
Then, Jacob's eyes flicked towards me, a mischievous glint in them that I knew all too well. "Doc, do you see that girl over there?" he said, pointing directly at me. What the hell was he doing?
The doctor looked over at me, his professional gaze drifting over my body for a moment before turning back to Jacob. I felt a flush of irritation and something else, something I didn't want to examine too closely.
"So do you get it now?" Jacob pressed on, his voice full of fake desperation. "Discharge me so I can take her home. Do you think a goddess like her will wait forever for my sorry ass?" he said. This fucking bastard. He was using me, using my presence, my fucking body, as a bargaining tool to get what he wanted. He was clearly trying to manipulate the doctor, and a sick, twisted part of me was almost flattered.
"She'll be gone by tomorrow," he continued. Lies
"I need to get out, please doctor, have mercy," Jacob went on, his performance so over-the-top it was almost laughable, shocking the poor doctor into a stunned silence.
"Miss, can you please leave the room?" the doctor said, finally finding his voice and turning to me. "I have to do some checkups on you," he added, dismissing me with a professional finality.
I didn't need to be told twice. I gave Jacob one last glare, which he met with a triumphant fucking wink, and left, leaving them alone. The door clicked shut behind me, but I could still feel the heat of his question and the audacity of his performance burning in the air.
I waited until the doctor's footsteps had faded down the hall, the sound swallowed by yet another room. Then I stormed back into the room, letting the door click shut behind me. I was fucking fuming.
"What the hell was that?" I snapped, my hands planted firmly on my hips.
"What?" he asked, his eyes wide with a fucking clueless innocence that was so transparent it was insulting.
"You totally embarrassed me," I said, my voice tight with a fury that had been building for the last ten minutes. He'd paraded me in front of that doctor like some kind of prized cow he'd won at a fair.
"I'm not sorry," he said, a slow, unapologetic grin spreading across his face. The bastard was actually proud of himself.
"I swear to God, Jacob," I started, my voice rising in exasperation.
"Are you mad, sweetheart?" he asked, his voice suddenly dropping into a pleading tone that was so fucking manipulative it almost worked. "Will you leave me? Will you fly back to Raleigh now?" He leaned forward pouting , his eyes wide.
"Because tomorrow I can go home," he continued, the pout momentarily forgotten, replaced by a triumphant excitement. "I will call Elly and..."
"Jacob, that's amazing, I can't wait!" I said, cutting him off. The anger just melted away, replaced by a genuine, bubbling happiness. He was getting out of this fucking place. I leaned in and planted a happy kiss on his cheek.
"You're totally in love with this," he said, flexing his left arm, the one not attached to a bunch of tubes and wires.
"I am just happy you'll leave this place," I retorted, trying to sound casual and deflect like my life depended on it. "I don't believe a hospital is a comfortable place for you."
"It isn't," he agreed, his gaze softening. "Although, you staying with me non-stop and reading to me... it was one hell of a week."
"Don't get used to it," I warned, a smile playing on my lips. "At home, you have your PlayStation and everything. Don't count on me to entertain you."
"I'll bet we can keep each other entertained," he said, his voice dropping to a low, suggestive murmur that made me giggle.
"Stop, Jacob," I said, swatting his good arm playfully. "Nobody's having sex, you recently had surgery."
"I miss my horny girlfriend," he pouted, his lips pouting in a way that was both infuriating and adorable.
"You just can't be both, can you?" he sighed, inducing an eye roll out of me. "I got a caring, sweet Isabella, and my dirty girl is gone."
"Stop being so dramatic," I shot back, a knowing smirk on my face. "Because I can go back to being a total bitch and go back to Raleigh in 0.5 seconds."
"That was cruel," he said, but a slow grin spread across his face. "But it sounded more like you."