"Can you believe all the work that Banner has given us to do weekend?" Edward asked me as we spoke over the phone. We had done it every single night since we started dating eight months prior.
"I know, it's absolutely ridiculous," I replied. And it was true; he'd given us two essays and a test to do in preparation for the finals coming up.
"Are you still coming up to mine later? We might as well start on some of it." I smiled. That was my Edward, always putting the important things first.
I quickly looked at the clock and saw it was six. That left me about two hours to shower and pack my bag; sleeping at Edward's was my favourite thing to do. Not Just because of the sex (which was great, by the way), but because I absolutely love Edward's family. Esme, his mom, was practically my surrogate mom since mine had died when I was still a baby. She was my rock, and I knew that without her I wouldn't have made it through my brother Seth's cancer scare. Thankfully, he was fine, but she was amazing helping through it.
His dad, Carlisle, was a doctor, and we were very well acquainted due to my case of mild dyspraxia that meant I tripped over anything and everything. He was just as supportive as Esme of me as their son's girlfriend, and I was simply thankful that the father of the household approved of me. He had two brothers, Emmett and Jasper. Emmett was 13 and Jasper was 7, and he was the most adorable little child I'd ever met. Emmett was definitely going to be a handful when he got to be 17 like Edward and I.
"Bella?" Edward asked me, and I drifted from my daydreaming.
"Hm?"
"I said, do you want me to pick you up or are you going to drive?" He laughed.
I rolled my eyes, "Can you pick me up on your way back from Seattle?" He'd been there with Esme and Carlisle, helping them buy something for Jasper's birthday next week.
"Sure thing, I won't be here for much longer. I'll come straight there."
I smiled, "Thanks, baby. I love you."
"I love you too, baby. I'll see you around eight then, yeah?"
"Yeah." I confirmed, and then hung up the phone.
My dad wouldn't be home until about when I had to leave, so I'd probably wait for him to get home before I left. Jumping up, I skipped happily to the shower and washed myself quickly, making sure to shave extra carefully. Nothing killed the mood more than Edward asking where I'd gotten the most recent cut on my leg from. Well, other than his mom almost walking in on us.
With smooth legs, no cuts and strawberry smelling hair, I jumped out of the shower and put on some underwear, a pair of jeans and t shirt and started to dry my hair.
When I was done with that and my hair was curling down my back, I decided that I should get to work on some of the English homework I'd been set. Fully entranced in the work I'd been doing, I barely heard the door open.
I glanced at the clock confused, it was only seven; my dad shouldn't be home yet.
"Dad?" I called out tentatively. When I received no response, I crept over to the window. There was no police cruiser there.
An uneasy feeling swept over me and I began to hope that I'd imagined the door opening, however when footsteps began making their way up the stairs, I knew it was useless.
I ran to the door and slammed it shut with my body and locking it quickly, and then falling back and screaming as someone began pounding on it.
"Let me in, you little bitch!" A deep voice shouted and I sobbed, pressing speed dial one on my phone and hoping that it was Charlie. At that moment, I couldn't remember.
"Bella?" It was Edward that answered the phone.
I screamed as another pound came upon the door.
"Edward, help!" I sobbed into the phone as I curled into the corner of my room.
"Bella? Shit, Bella what's wrong!"
I couldn't answer him, because one last pound from the man behind the door knocked it down and I screamed and sobbed wildly as he stepped over the threshold and grinned sadistically at me.
"Hello, Isabella." He said in a low, friendly voice.
I didn't respond, curling tightly into myself. I was literally shaking at the fear that was coursing through my body. Was I about to die in the hands of this man? Who was he? Why was he here?
He glared at me. "I said, hello, Isabella. I don't like it when people don't answer me." His tone was now icy and I froze as he pulled out a knife from behind his back.
I quiet sob left my lips as he came closer and crouched down in front of me. His breath reeked of alcohol and his hair was greasy, it looked like he hadn't washed in weeks. He had piercing blue eyes and stringy blonde hair that went down to his waist, which was fastened at the bottom with a hair tie.
"Ooh, who are we talking to, hm?" He asked as he snatched the phone from my hand, his fingers lingering just a little too long. My eyes widened at the contact and I tried to push myself further into the wall. He noticed this and grinned.
He clicked the speakerphone button before introducing himself for the first time.
"Hello? This is James. Who am I speaking with?" He asked politely, and I gagged.
"WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU, AND WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT WITH MY GIRLFRIEND YOU SICK BASTARD?" I could hear Edward screaming down the phone and I wanted to plead with him to calm down, to stop him from making me more scared. I wanted the calm, collected Edward that made me feel safe.
"Temper, temper. That kind of abusive language isn't going to save our little Bella here." He said a crooning voice, lifting a hand up to stroke my cheek. I looked away from him to the side and he grabbed my hair and used it as leverage to thrust my head back into the wall forcefully. I cried out in pain as my head made contact with the plaster. I blinked a few times to clear the spots from my vision and whimpered in pain.
"STOP IT! WHATEVER YOU'RE DOING TO HER, JUST STOP IT!"
James grinned evilly before placing my phone on the nightstand and picking my up by my hair and throwing me into the wall. I screamed and sobbed in pain as I collided with the wall, begging him to stop.
"FUCKING BASTARD!" Edward screamed.
James glared at the phone and then held his knife out in my direction, his hand visibly shaking in his anger.
"I suggest you stop calling me that son, as there is a knife pointing at your precious little Bella as we speak."
My eyes screwed shut in fear, and I wished more than anything in the world that I could be anywhere other than where I was in that moment. I knew that Edward would probably be having a breakdown in the back of Carlisle's car, which was probably speeding down the highway as they tried to control their son. I wondered what my dad was doing, if he was thinking about coming home soon or if he was busy at work.
"I SWEAR, I WON'T HESITATE TO KILL YOU!"
"Edward," I whimpered. "Stop." I hoped he'd understand. His shouting was only making things worse for me.
"Aah, there's a good girl." James crowed as he stepped closer to me. He crouched down in front of me and I gagged at the smell of alcohol on his breath, and before I could realise what was happening, I could taste it on his tongue as well. Panic shot through me and I acted on instinct, kicking my legs and throwing my arms about in an attempt to hit him and get him off me. I finally managed to get a firm kick to the balls and he doubled over in pain, and I took the opportunity to scramble away from the wall and crawled on my hands and knees towards the door.
"You fucking bitch!" He screamed as he grabbed my ankle and dragged me back into the room. I whimpered in pain as my back scraped over the metal joining my room to the hallway and I screamed in absolute agony when he jumped on my leg. I could hear the crack and I felt physically sick.
"No, no, no, no," I sobbed like it was a mantra. I couldn't understand what this man wanted with me, or how he knew my name. The pain in my leg was bewildering and I could feel the blood seeping through my jeans and puddling onto the floor. The smell was making feel woozy, but the pain was unfortunately enough to keep me in consciousness. To faint right now would seem like a blessing, to get me away from this psychopath and the pain he was causing me.
I looked up from where I'd been sprawled on the floor in agony and saw James pacing around the room fiercely and talking to himself. It was like he didn't even realise I was there, despite everything. I saw that my phone was still open on the floor, so I began to slide over to it quietly. He didn't even look up from whatever or whoever he was talking to. I had to bite my lip to keep from screaming as my leg nudged the side of my bed, and the trail of blood I was leaving on the floor was making me feel extremely ill.
James looked up suddenly towards the door, like somebody had called his name. I looked in the same direction and saw nothing but my hallway, but he walked out and ran down the stairs like there was something burning him. His behaviour had taken a drastic turn since he'd gotten here, and I was beginning to fear his unstable mind more than I did his actions.
I sighed a breath of relief as I finally reached my phone and I brought it to my ear quickly.
"Edward?" I whispered, hoping he was still there.
"Bella! Oh my God, where are you? Are you okay? Where is he?" He asked in rapid fire, and with the speed of his questions and the pain from my leg, I could feel myself becoming disorientated.
"Um, what? I don't... I mean, what?" I asked, holding my head in my free hand as black spots filled my vision.
"Bella? I need you to calm down okay? Take deep breaths, baby."
I did as I was told and leaned against the wall. "Edward," I sobbed brokenly.
"Baby, are you okay?" He whispered back through a sob.
"I don't know!" I cried, trying my best to stay quiet. I had no idea where James had gone. "My leg is broken and the blood is making me feel dizzy, but that fucking psychopath just went downstairs and I have no idea where he is!"
"Oh God, okay, okay. Just... can you not just get up and go to the window and see if there's anyone out there that you can signal?"
I shook my head slowly as resignation set in, "Edward, I can't. My leg... it's not... well, it's more than broken. It's mashed up." I looked at my leg in horror for the first time, I could see the bone through my skin and the blood was dripping all over. It was bent at a funny angle and another bit of bone was sticking out through my skin. I couldn't believe he'd managed to do this with just his foot!
"Oh God... shit what do I do? Oh, fuck. Okay... we rang Charlie about ten minutes ago he's on the way, but he'd been in Port Angeles on a case. He's speeding with his lights on though, and we're about a quarter hour away, baby. Just hold on for me, please?"
That was when I started to fully cry. "Edward, I'm so scared."
"I know you are, baby, I am too. You need to make it through this, I can't be without you Bella." My heart broke as I heard the pain in his voice.
Heavy footsteps making their way up the stairs interrupted what I'd been about to say, and fear spiked through me once more.
"Oh God, Edward he's coming up the stairs. What do I do?"
Before he could answer, James burst into the room, knife in hand.
"WHAT THE FUCK DID I TELL YOU, YOU LITTLE BITCH?" He ran over to me and slapped the phone out of my hands and then proceeded to slap me round the face, the force of it caused my head to jolt to the side. "WHY CAN'T YOU JUST LISTEN TO ME? THEY KEEP TELLING ME TO KILL YOU; DO YOU WANT ME TO GIVE IN TO THEM? IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT?"
That's who he was talking to? The voices in his head? I decided I definitely feared that more than what he could do to my physically. This man literally wasn't mentally stable, and I was so, so scared. I knew he was going to kill me; I just wished he'd hurry up and get on with it.
As he stared at his knife like he was in deep thought, I wondered what I'd have been doing right now if he wasn't here. Probably packing a bag to take to Edward's house, or make my dad's tea. Would I ever get to spend a night with Edward again? Or make my daddy his tea again? Would I get to continue these memories that I was cherishing so much in that moment? Would I ever be able to tell my dad that I loved him again? Or Edward?
A sharp pain in my stomach shocked any other thought out of my mind other than the pain the penetration that the knife entering my flesh caused. I stared vacantly at James as he withdrew the knife, only to thrust it back down into my chest. My body slumped over and then I was lying on my floor and he continued to thrust the knife into me skin, all the while muttering "I'm sorry."
Everything went numb, other than the blood that I could taste in my mouth, and I let my eyes drift closed.
I thought of Edward.
I thought of my dad.
And as the blackness covered me in its quilt, I thought I love you.
I'd thought that death would be peaceful, easy. I thought that once I'd passed the pain would go, except all I could feel was the horrific pain of my broken leg and the overwhelming pain of my stab wounds. My eyes blinked open sleepily, and I wondered if I was in heaven or hell. The pain I was feeling was making me believe in the latter. However, the bright white light of the room tried to convince me otherwise. Stereotypically, I'd always believed heaven to be pure white innocence, and hell to be fiery red and orange. The mixed signals confused me, however as I opened my eyes fully and saw the angel beside me, I knew I was definitely in heaven.
"Bella," it whispered, and I smiled at the simplicity of this world.
"Why are you here?" I croaked through my dry throat.
The angel looked hurt and shocked, and I wanted to comfort it more than anything.
"You want me to leave?" He asked with adorable scrunched up eyebrows.
I shook my head, "I mean why are you here? You didn't die as well. I don't understand why you're here."
The angel smiled softly, a look of relief and adoration on his face. "You didn't die, Bella. You're here, you're in the hospital."
I scrunched my face in confusion, "Hospital?"
The angel nodded with a grave look on his face. "When we got to your house, I ran straight up to your room. Charlie was already there, there were paramedics all around you and Charlie was hovering right over you, and they were constricting that bastard from running away." I raised my eyebrows at the glint of anger in his voice and the tightness of his jaw. "God Bella, there was blood everywhere, and you were lying so still on the floor." He shook his head, as if to get the image out of his head. "I thought you were dead," He whispered as a tear fell down his face, and he took in every inch of me, as if reassuring himself that I was really here.
So I had survived. All the pain and the fear, I'd made it through.
"I thought I was dead too," I told him truthfully as I reached my arm up to wipe the tear from his face.
He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, holding my hand tightly in his own. "I love you, Bella. So much."
I smiled at him. "I love you too, Edward. Thank you for helping me."
"Sleep, baby. You need to rest." He crooned at me, and too tired to argue with him, I fell asleep to him kissing my forehead.
When I awoke for the second time, Edward was gone, but my dad was sat in his place. He had his eyes closed, and he had my hand held tightly in his own.
"Daddy?" I whispered.
His eyes shot open and he sat up quicker than I'd ever seen him move. He moved so he could cup my face in his hands, dropping my own.
"Bella, oh thank God you're awake. I love you so much, baby girl." He whispered and he stroked my face.
"I love you too, daddy." I cried as he hugged me too him gently but still fiercely, careful to avoid my injuries.
"Where's Seth?" I asked him once we'd broken apart.
"He's in the cafeteria getting some food."
Seth was my twin, but he'd been out with his girlfriend at the time of the incident. I was so thankful that he wasn't in, I loved him so much.
"Who was he?" I didn't expand, he knew who I meant.
My dad's eyes hardened and I'd never seen him look as mad.
"James Hunter. He was arrested a couple years back for killing his wife and claiming that the reason was because the voices in his head told him to do it. He wasn't arrested because they judged he was mentally ill, and he was sent straight into medical help. I guess they believed that he was healthy again and they let him free, but they're gonna have to answer to me about why the hell they let him out." He was practically shaking in anger, and I felt a surge of love for him. Charlie and I had an odd relationship. We didn't really show it, but we knew we loved each other unconditionally, so to see Charlie showing such affection made me smile.
"Why did he come to me? And how did he know my name?" I asked, and it caused the first time I saw my dad cry.
"I'm so sorry, Bells. I'm so sorry, it's my fault. I'm sorry. I was the one who arrested him all those years ago, and he told the police in the interrogations that he was trying to get revenge. I'd taken his life, so he was going to take away mine; you."
I shook my head vehemently, "No Daddy! It was not your fault! You were just doing your job!"
He nodded. "I do know that, Bella. But I guess I just feel guilty. You're my baby girl, and you're badly hurt. I'm going to feel responsible for not being there to save you."
I winced as I thought back to what had happened that night, and my dad noticed. "I'm sorry you had to go through that, you must have been so scared."
I nodded, "I was scared, I was really scared," I admitted.
"You don't have to be scared anymore, Bella. He's in jail, and this time they won't let him out. I'll make sure of it."
I smiled sleepily up at him, "I love you, daddy."
"I love you too, Isabella Marie."
As I began to drift off, Esme and Carlisle walked in with Edward, Emmett and little Jasper. And surrounded by love, I fell asleep. My wounds would heal, though I knew it would take much longer for the mental scars to heal, but with all this love surrounding me, I knew I'd make it through.