I hurried over the front yard as fast as I could. I almost ran until I was before my own front door, yet I was afraid to enter. But I had to.
As I hurriedly stepped over the threshold, two small bodies collided with my legs, and I immediately dropped my bags and knelt down to hug my children tightly. Rosalie was crying quietly and Jasper was hiding his face in my neck. I pressed them as close to me as possible and squeezed my eyes shut as I heard him approach.
"Two little bastards you've raised. Just as bad as you, both of them."
I opened my eyes to see my dear husband Charles looking down at us with a hateful expression on his face.
Normally I would never leave my children with their father if I had a choice. He'd made me. Any other day I would bring them with me when I had to go grocery-shopping while he was at work, but today he'd requested that I do it after he came home and leave them with him. I'd been devasted, but what choice did I have? I'd finished my shopping in record time and returned home filled with fear. Who knows how much he'd managed to harm my babies? They were only three years old, for heaven's sake! I was able to stop him from touching them on most days - receiving more and more hits, punches and kicks every time - but what had he done when I wasn't there to stop him?
He grabbed his jacket from the coathanger. I detected the direction his foot was taking just in time and yanked Jasper out of the way. I hissed when it hit my ribs instead. Charles let out an annoyed sound and slammed the door shut after passing through it.
I could feel both Rosie and Jasper relaxing, and my heart broke for both them. I let Rosalie keep her hold on me as I started examining Jasper.
His arms were full of bruises, and a big one, the size of a football, was visible on his back. Tears filled my eyes as I hugged him again, careful not to touch any of the hurt areas.
Rosalie was up next, and she was off even worse than her brother. Her little torso was covered in tiny bruises and I was certain I didn't want to know how they got there. After more hugging and crying, I brought them into the bathroom, where I gave both of them a bath before dressing them in their pajamas. It wasn't bedtime yet, but I didn't know how long Charles was going to be out, and I wasn't taking chances. Being able to get the kids into bed after hearing his car pull up before he came in was golden.
AN: My new AU baby. This is so short, but that's because it's just a "starter". The upcoming chapter will be short as well, describing Carlisle's situation, but then they're gonna be longer. Reviews are wonderful!
