Penname: Mina Rivera

Title of Story: They Will Pay

Rating: M

Beta: LaMomo

Pairing: Edward/Bella

Genre: Drama/Thriller

Word Count: 2369

Story Summary: They will pay for every hour that has gone by without hearing her voice. For every fucking tear our lovely child has shed. For every miserable second I haven't been able to kiss my wife. They will pay…with pain.

Standard Disclaimer: The author does not own any publicly recognizable entities herein. No copyright infringement is intended.

They Will Pay

Pain.

Such a small word, but what a world of hurt it carries.

In all my life, I never thought I'd be capable to experience such an amount of pain, but when the love of your life lies in a bed fighting for her life, all you think about is that.

Pain.

So much pain.

I watch my wife, my best friend, my lover—my entire fucking world—from the crappy recliner this hospital provided, wondering how the heck we got here. I wish I could take her in my arms and make it all better, but the words the doctor just delivered with pity in his eyes make the hole in my chest rip wide open.

She might never wake up.

I miss her smile. I miss her eyes. I miss her hair.

The nurse had to shave her long mahogany locks, and now her head is wrapped in white gauze.

She looks so fragile, so small…

It's not fucking fair!

It's all wrong. She shouldn't be like this, she doesn't deserve it.

Fuck, no one does.

A new word pops in my head and, with it, the fuel I need to move.

Rage.

So much rage.

For I know exactly who are the sick bastards that did this to her, to me, to us.

And they will pay.

They will pay for every hour that has gone by without hearing her voice.

For every fucking tear our lovely child has shed.

For every miserable second I haven't been able to kiss my wife.

They will pay…with pain.

-TWP-

"You sure about this?"

His question doesn't surprise me, what surprises me is how long it took him to ask in the first place.

"Yes," I respond, the word curt and final.

I have no doubts. It needs to be done.

For me, for my wife, for our daughter.

He nods once and swallows hard. I can almost taste the fear rolling off him.

"So, how much?"

He shakes his head. "Nothing, bro. I got you covered."

"And the supplier?"

He gives a smirk. "He's been dealt with."

I almost roll my eyes. "Speak out, Jacob. I have no time for riddles. Is he dead, yes or no?"

He nods. "He's dead. I put a bullet in his head."

"Good."

He hands me over a duffel bag with a grim smile.

"Here's everything, man. If you need anything else, call me."

I nod, not really caring. I won't need anything else from him anyways.

"Let me know when it's done, okay?"

My grin is dark and full of malice.

"Oh, you'll know when it's done."

I turn and walk back to my car.

As soon as I sit behind the wheel and shut the car door close, his trailer explodes and goes up in flames.

One down, two to go.

-TWP-

"Do you want some coffee?" she asks, walking to the kitchen.

I shut the front door behind me and follow her.

"Nah, I'm good."

She shrugs and gets a cup for herself.

"How's Bella?"

I give her a wide grin, hiding my disgust. She's got some nerve, asking after my wife, especially after what she did to her.

"Doctors say she'll wake up," the lie slips far too easily, but the way her eyes widen for a second is confirmation enough for me.

"That's great!" she answers with fake enthusiasm.

The house phone rings, just in time.

"I gotta get that."

I wave her off and sit on the breakfast bar. "Go ahead. I'll wait."

She walks out of the kitchen, like I knew she would. She never had that phone installed here.

She returns five minutes later with a grimace on her face.

"What's wrong?" I ask, my brows furrowed.

I should get a fucking Oscar for how well I pretend to be concerned.

"Another late night." She sighs, her face crumbling.

Late night is usually a synonym for a night out with the mistress, but I already know that.

"Sorry."

"It's okay, Edward. I'm glad you came, you needed to get out of that hospital for a while."

My smile is tight, but when I see her sip her coffee it widens with glee.

"Yeah, you're right."

She sets her cup down and starts coughing, her eyes watering with the effort. She slumps over the breakfast bar and then she's down on her knees, right in front of me.

The view is far sweeter that I thought it would be.

"Can't…breathe…" she splutters, and coughs some more. She grabs my pants as blood starts trickling down the corners of her eyes and mouth. "Help…me…"

I take my time standing up and then step back.

She falls on her hands and knees.

I crouch down and look her straight in the eye. "Help you? Like you helped my wife?"

She coughs more and then it's followed by a sob. I see her blood mixing with tears and snot.

"What's wrong, mom?"

"Edward…please…"

I grab her chin and force her face up, her bloody eyes meeting mine. "Begging is so unbecoming of you, Esme."

The words taste so fucking sweet leaving my lips. I had seen the tape so many times, and spitting the exact same words she told my wife is the perfect revenge.

"Son…"

"Not anymore."

I push her off and take a few more steps back, knowing the end is near.

She splutters and gags, blood pouring out of her mouth. Then, she collapses on the floor.

I watch the once coiffed and elegant woman I used to call my mother drown in her own blood.

Two down, one more to go.

-TWP-

I wait for him outside. It's starting to snow and the street light went out a while ago.

He'll have to walk to the car in the darkness.

He'll never see me coming.

Just as expected, I watch him walk out of the motel room. The busty brunette that was inside kisses him one more time, her hands gripping the lapels of his overcoat.

It disgusts me how much she looks like my wife.

Fucking sick bastard.

I snort when their battle for dominance finally ends, and she goes back inside while he walks down the stairs. He lights up a cigarette when he gets closer to the Porsche he bought a year ago.

Middle age crisis is quite expensive.

He gets in the car, and I wait another minute. When he tries to start the car and it splutters, I make my way to him.

He's out of the car now, kicking the front tire.

"Car problems?"

My voice startles him, and when he sees me in my all-black gear, he does the first smart thing he's done in his entire life.

He runs.

I chase him into the woods behind the crappy motel, his pathetic gasps letting me know exactly where he's going, even in the dark.

Soon, his Italian leather shoes are no match for my hiking boots.

He falls fast and hard, smacking his forehead on the roots of a tree.

My maniacal, merry laugh drowns his pleas.

"Son, please listen to me!" he begs, on his knees.

"I'm past listening."

I knock him out with an uppercut, the same he taught me back in high school.

I drag him back to his car, the darkness cloaking me in perfect anonymity.

Unceremoniously, I toss the man I once called my father into the trunk of his precious Porsche.

I connect the battery and then drive us to Jacob's hunting cabin.

It's the perfect place for what I planned. On the outside, it looks like a small dilapidated cabin, but underneath it, there is a concrete room the size of a three-car garage.

Jacob used it as a lab to cook all kinds of drugs.

The same drugs he once sold my father.

My blood boils just thinking about it, but then I take a deep breath.

I need to be calm for what's next. I vowed to take my time with Carlisle, and anger has no place in what I've prepared for tonight.

Oh no, I'm definitely going to enjoy every single moment.

-TWP-

The clunk of the pliers hitting the table echoes in the small concrete room.

"Hmm…what to use next?" I wonder out loud, tapping one gloved, bloody finger against my chin.

His groan is the only answer I get.

Understandable, I did break his jaw a while ago.

"I know, how about your feet? I've always wondered if that scene from Misery was accurate."

I take the sledgehammer with ease, all those years boxing through college paying off.

"Left or right first?"

He whimpers.

"Eeny, meeny, miny, moe. Catch a piggy by the toe…"

I let the sledgehammer drop on his left big toe, earning a shriek from him.

"If he hollers, don't let him go. Eeny, meeny, miny, moe!"

The hammer comes down with a sickening crunch against his left ankle.

His scream is music to my ears.

"You know, when Jacob sent me the video you were using to blackmail your own wife, I thought it was some kind of joke."

I slam the sledgehammer down on his right ankle; his agonizing cries pumping me with glee.

"Of course, the asshole thought I wouldn't know it was him that sent it to me, or maybe he was expecting me to forgive him."

Carlisle is sobbing, the tears trailing down his swollen eyes and cheeks.

"Asshole should've known better, right?"

I drop the sledgehammer and go back to my table decked with goodies.

"All these years, I always thought I should be on the lookout for him. Everyone knew he had a hard on for my wife for years."

I pick the scalpel and purse my lips. "Little did I know he wasn't the only one."

I walk back to Carlisle and pull his head up by a fistful of his hair.

"But she denied you over and over again, didn't she? You even drugged her once, but luck was on my side that night, and Emmett brought her home to me."

My face crumbles when I think of my poor, scared Bella.

"I knew she was hiding something from me. She wrote in her journals how she didn't want to hurt me with the truth. She knew how much I looked up to you!"

He sobs and stares at me.

"You tricked my mother into thinking Bella was your mistress. I've seen Angela, and she does look like Bella. The photos were really good. That's why I was merciful to her."

I almost miss his surprised gasp.

"But when you tried to blame it on Emmett, I knew something wasn't right."

I bring up the scalpel into his line of sight.

"He's like a brother to her, and the last thing he'd ever do is hurt his Little Bee."

I trace along his face with the scalpel, then down to his neck, and then down to his chest.

"You should've blamed Jacob, but since he was the one that helped you drug my wife, you couldn't do that, right?"

With sickening slowness, I carve out his right nipple.

He screams nonstop until his flesh hits the floor.

"Karma is a bitch, dad. You should've known better."

-TWP-

It has been two days since I was last in this room. I set the cabin on fire after I was done with Carlisle. The basement contained the fire, so there are no firefighters or policemen to worry about.

After I cleaned up, I spent the night on my daughter's bed, holding her in my arms. My little Maddy was so happy when she woke up with Daddy next to her. We made dinosaurs pancakes and then watched her favorite cartoons.

I dropped her off at school before I came back to the hospital.

I'm not surprised to find him in the room when I enter.

I sit down next to my Bella and take her hand. I kiss her cheek and greet her with a soft "Good morning."

After a few more minutes of silence, he speaks.

"I'm sorry, your mother bailed out of town with all the contents of your father's bank account."

"She's been threatening to do that for years."

He knows I'm right. There have been several public outbursts around town to back me up.

"And after finding out Carlisle was cheating… It gave her the perfect excuse."

"Right, we saw the photos."

Yeah, who hasn't? Esme personally made sure of that.

He purses his lips and then sighs. "Any idea where your father is?"

"You should ask his mistress."

"We did. Last time she saw him was on Thursday."

I shrug. "I don't know where he is."

"And where have you been?"

I raise an eyebrow. "Here. Where else?"

"Do you have an alibi?"

A throat clears behind me.

"Yeah, Chief. I've been here with him. He went home last night around midnight after I promised to stay here with her."

Emmett steps into the room in his scrubs and moves to check on my wife's vitals and medicine.

Charlie sighs again and rubs his hands against his thighs. "All right."

He stands up and places a hand on my shoulder, squeezing once.

"Thank you, son," he murmurs, and I know I have nothing to worry about.

This is his baby girl, after all.

He would've done the same.

I nod, biting my lip.

His radio crackles and the dispatcher's voice calls for him.

"I better go. I'll be back tomorrow."

"I'll be here."

Charlie closes the door on his way out.

"Is it done?" Emmett asks, scribbling something in the chart.

I simply nod.

"I cleaned up the house," he comments, placing the chart back on the holder.

"Thank you."

"Anytime, bro."

He bumps his fist against my shoulder and walks out of the room.

I'm left alone with my wife, hoping and waiting for her to wake up, the only condolence being that she will never be in danger again.

Because I made sure of it.

For her, for our daughter, for me…

For us.

And that's all she wrote! This was supposed to be my Maybe HEA entry, but then the due date passed me by and I forgot all about it. It was a good thing because I think it was a bit dark for the contest. Just a tiny little bit.

I honestly thought of this story ending two different ways, but I couldn't decide, so I just left it open ended. Hope you don't hate me.

I have no plans of expanding this, it's just something that popped in my head and was written in a matter of minutes. I don't think I could ever get back into this Edward's head again.

Thank you for reading.

xoxo Mina