A/N: I'm trying to update roughly every week over the weekend (just found out it's NaNoWriMo) but due to midterms I haven't even thought about the chapter after this, so I've held on to this one before updating (which I wrote the same time as last chapter) to try and lessen the gap between chapter. I know this is annoying, when writers hold onto chapters and you're like "I need to read it NOW" but if I don't write for weeks, it is more annoying. Trust me. Hopefully another update in a week and a half. And finally remember how much 4000 words are. It's a lot to write each week.

Also, I update as soon as I've started writing the next chapter, so that if I decide to change something I can go back, so if you REVIEW I'll let you have a look at the next chapter (and this next chapter is REALLY good and has an amazing Edward/Bella/Alice moment.)

"Wearing the same dress she wore yesterday, She hides the bruises with the linen and lace." 'Concrete Angel' by Martina McBride.

"I hide every flaw, every feeling, and every insecurity behind makeup and smiles that weren't real."

I wake up, testing my body. It hurts less than the day before, but that's not a hard feet. I remember Dr Cullen's warning not to get my cast wet and go to find a carrier bag to wrap my arm in. Once it's taped in place I jump in the shower and allow the warm water to sooth my body. It's so calming to stand beneath the warm trickle as it drips down.

I let my thoughts drift back to my mother.

She giggles. "Oh Bella, don't be silly. It's just water." She says. I scrunch up my nose as I look at the rain pouring down outside. I don't want to go out in the rain. I hate the rain. I hate all cold, wet things. "Bella, we'll be late for school. Come on." She laughs as she tugs at my hand. I stubbornly refuse to go outside. She pulls my hand and I finally run out into the rain. Instead of getting in the car I stand there, tilting my head back and looking straight up at the sky, rain pour down at me, soaking my clothes, dripping down the back of my neck. I look over at my mother who is still laughing. "Oh Bella." I look back up to the sky and open my eyes. I'm back in the shower, water running down my face, mixing with the tears. I shut my eyes again and try to hold onto the memory of her. Her face, laughing as I get wet morphs into something else. Suddenly she's not laughing anymore but crying. We're in the house. She's clutching her stomach. "Oh Belle" She says, "It hurts so bad." I walk towards her to try and reassure her that everything will be okay despite the feeling in my stomach telling me that this isn't going to work out. "Call an ambulance Belle." She says. I reach for the phone and dial. It's too late when they come. She's not crying anymore.

I open my eyes, tears pouring down my face. I shake my head to try and get rid of the memory and brush my fingers under my eyes. It's too late to dwell on the past.

I step out of the shower and change into my clothes. I pull out another long sleeved shirt and sweater. It's lucky it never gets hot here. Once I'm dressed I walk over to my desk and stare at myself in the mirror. I look a mess, the same as always. I brush my hair up into a ponytail, which is difficult with my arm in a cast.

I take the tub of concealer and apply it everywhere, remembering to check places like the back of my neck for bruises, anywhere that would show. Once I am completely covered I apply a light dusting of brown eye shadow and mascara. Anything to make me look more human and less un-dead.

I grab my school bag and wander downstairs. Angela's picking me up again today because of my broken arm. I look around the living room to see what's out of place. There's still a red stain on the wall. Part blood, mostly tomato. I haven't managed to get it out yet.

As her car pulls up I run out to avoid her stopping or coming in. I never invite anyone here. I jump in a give her one of my trademark fake smiles. Am wait for her to start talking about Ben. Some phone conversation they had last night and how she's not sure how much he likes her, if he likes her as much as she likes him. I don't really care but I like to keep the conversation flowing about the other person, fake interest and keep them talking about themselves rather than me.

"So what did Edward Cullen want?" She asks. I'm thrown. I decide to answer with a half-truth, the easiest to cover up lies.

"He just came to apologise for running me down in the hall the day before." I say simply.

"Oh wow...that's very gentlemanly of him." She says. She seems impressed.

We pull up at school and walk inside together. Lauren and Jessica are talking about the latest movie they want to go see, some new film starring some good-looking actor. Not as good looking as Edward. Where did that thought come from. I shake my head to clear it. I have to get him out of my head.

At lunch everyone sits around talking. I don't need to do much, just mumble noncommittally and smile. Fake smile. I'm so good people can't even notice. Not anymore.

What would my mom say if she could see me now? Would she regret marrying Phil, not only because it caused her death ultimately but also because it causes my suffering. If she could go back would she change it? Would she not marry him? What about my father. Charlie. What would he do? Feel a stab of pain at the thought of the father I never had a chance to meet. He was a better man than Phil could ever be.

I'm suddenly aware of the raised voices across the table and try not to flinch. Jessica and Mike are yelling at each other across the table. Apparently she caught him with a cheerleader on the way to lunch, he's yelling back because he overlooked her, last Friday night, making out with a senior at a party. Harsh words are exchanged and the most over used words in their joint vocab are spoken.

"I can't trust you. I never want to see you again."

I let my mind wander, already bored by yet another break-up.

"Every day's the same, She fights to find her way, She hurts, she breaks, she hides, and tries to pray." 'When She Cries' by Britt Nicole.

Lauren and Mike have made up by the end of lunch and spend the rest of the afternoon walking around, hand in hand, gazing adoringly into each other's eyes. As I walk out of cafeteria I can't help but turn round to look at Edward's table.

The five Cullen's are grouped around the small table, all in pairs apart from Edward. Someone says something funny and they all laugh except Edward who scowls at Alice. Curiosity bubbles inside me. I want to know what they're talking about, I want to know what's so funny. Angela calls out may name and I snap back to reality and follow her to afternoon registration.

The rest of the day passes in a blur. As I make my way out to the car-pack to find Angela's car I catch the sight of Alice Cullen waving madly at me. Despite my temptation to walk away from her I find myself pulled in by her. I'm standing in front of her waiting to speak before I can realise what I'm doing, that I've come over to talk to this stranger.

She wraps he arms around me.

"I really hope we can be friends Bella. Best friends." Something about her stops me from telling her that we don't even know each other, that we'll never be friends.

She lets go and I back away slightly.

"Come over to my house." She demands. Slightly aggressively. I shake my head.

"I'm sorry Alice." Angela calls my name and I turn away and walk over to the car.

I'm silent all the way home. It's only when Angela stops the car I realise where we are. Home. So soon. I restrain the sigh threatening to escape my lips and force a smile at Angela.

"Thanks for the lift." I say.

I jump out of the car and run inside. I don't invite her in. I know better than that. Instead I make my way into the kitchen and get started on Phil's dinner. I open the fridge and take out the steak. I decide to grill it. Phil likes his food high in cholesterol. Maybe one day it will kill him. If I'm lucky.

I put the steak under the grill and switch it on to full. While it's cooking I take out a couple of carrots and some potatoes from the cupboard and begin peeling them. Phil will expect a nice home-cooked meal when he gets home and I don't want to upset him.

I throw the peelings in the bin and begin shopping the carrots into slices and put them in a pin, filled with water but don't turn on the over quite yet. I take the potatoes and chop them into small pieces, so that they will cook quicker. I place the potato in another pan and switch it onto full.

I check the steak. It's beginning to change colour. Less red looking and more cooked. The juices from the steak leak out and trickle into the grill pan. Blood trickles into the grill pan. I stare at it. It looks so much like my blood.

I hear the front door open and keep my attention focused on the cooking. I can hear him as he stomps through the hall and collapses in an armchair. Boo hoo, must be so hard for him, working all day and then finding the energy to beat me at night.

I check the steak, it's almost done. I switch on the hob under the carrots. As they begin to boil I take the potatoes off the heat and mash them into lumps before serving them up on his plate. I spoon a few carrots on before adding his steak. I carry it into him. Hopefully they'll be nothing wrong with it tonight.

I place the food down in front of him and back away. I head back into kitchen and eat my dinner. Just as I'm finishing he yells for me to come. I'm stop eating my dinner and walk quickly into the living room. What's wrong?

He motions for me to take his plate. Is that all? I breathe a sigh of relief. Thank goodness it's nothing more serious. Or painful. Just as I reach the edge of the living room he seems to notice my cast for the first time.

"Where did you get that?" He asks menacingly. Getting up out of his chair and advancing towards me.

"I-I went to A&E." I whisper, afraid.

"What did I tell you about letting other interfere in my life you stupid girl."

I step back afraid. Nothing I can say will lessen his again. It's too late now.

"Please. I'm so sorry."

He launches himself at me and wraps his hands around my throat. I'm suffocating. He presses down on my throat much harder than normal. It's almost as if he's actually trying to kill me this time. The black spots before my eyes merge into black patches as the world begins to dim. The rushing in my ears is almost deafening. I try to breath. No air comes in. I raise my arms, no longer attached to my rational brain and begin clawing at his face. I need air. I need oxygen. The black patches are taking over my entire vision. I feel dizzy. I can't breathe. No air. I gasp trying to suck in anything but there's nothing. His hands are securely wrapped around my throat.

I whisper and beg in my head. Please, someone, anyone, save me. Don't let me die. Not now, not when there's such little time left until I leave. Please let me live. If there's a god or anything out there don't let this be the end of me. Don't let him kill me. Not in my parent's house, not now.

I try to suck in one last breath but the world fades and sucks me under.

"I knew something was wrong, And I should have spoke out. And I'm sorry now, I didn't know, Cause we were so young." 'Kristy, are you doing okay?' by The Offspring.

[Edward's POV]

I spent the whole night thinking about her. Again. I can't get her off my mind. The others can see I'm distracted by her and tease me about it. Especially Emmett. Alice and Esme are overly excited. They treat it like some seventeenth century romance. There are no vampires in romances, on horrors. As I enter the school my head is filled with the thoughts of the other students around me.

Bella's not here, I wonder what's wrong with her. Suddenly I'm filled with concern. What happened? Is she sick? Hurt? Not hurt. How could I let something happen to her? I should have been there, watching over her, making sure she didn't get into any harm.

She sounded weird on the phone. I pay more attention at the sound of Angela Webber's voice. She's the closest human to Bella, from what I can judge.

Maybe she's really sick. Should I go round her house afterschool? No, she told me not to. That's weird, Bella telling her closest friend not to visit. My thoughts are preoccupied with her. I know I should stay out of it, I know I shouldn't interfere but for the rest of the day I find myself listening to the thoughts of others to try and patch together a story.

By the end of the day there are more rumours in my head than truths. From what I can patch together and validate; I seriously doubt Bella has been abducted by Aliens, she rang Angela to say she wouldn't be coming into school today because she had some sort of stomach bug.

How sick is she? Is it something more serious? Appendicitis? I walk out to the car where the others are already waiting. Rosalie has a bored look on her face while Emmett seems over excited. I turn to look at Alice and notice the slightly guilty look on her face.

"What did you do?" I growl. Alice backs up against the car even though she knows I wouldn't hurt her. Not in front of witnesses at least. Jasper moves in front of her. "What did you do!" I growl again.

"Alice asked your little human round for dinner." Says Rosalie in a bored voice.

"We can share." Jokes Emmett but I growl at him, not seeing the funny side.

"It's okay," says Alice, "She said no, you can hide away from her as much as you like."

I growl one last time before unlocking the car and getting inside. On the way home I drive much too fast. Rosalie complains the whole journey home while Emmett makes comments about Bella. By the time we pull up at the house I've had enough of their comments. And thoughts. As I step out of the car I run off into the woods. None of them could follow me even if they wanted to. I'm the fastest in our little family.

I running as the trees blur past me. Eventually I come to a clearing. There's a waterfall at one end a tiny flowers decorating the glass. It looks like something out of Alice's imagination. It looks unreal. The scent of Freesias drift under my nose and my thoughts drift back to Bella.

I know it's wrong but I have to find out what's wrong with her. I go to her house and climb up in the tree outside her house and try to peak in the window. Is this Bella's room? I can't hear her thoughts so I have no way of knowing whether she's in. I concentrate hard. I can hear the flutter of a human heart coming from inside the room, and I can't hear the thoughts of whoever it is so unless they have the same freaky mind blocking thing it must be her.

The curtains are open. I try to get a better look inside her room. I can make out the shape of someone lying in the bed. She must be sick, that's why she's off school. No need for me to worry. No need for me to come and spy on her. Like some creepy stalker. I'm about to leave when I'm distracted by movement inside her room. Like an addict I can't get enough of her.

She gets up from the bed and all I can see I her back. She's wearing some sort of slowing dressing gown that seems too big for her and covers up every inch of skin. I suck in my breath at the beautiful sight of her. I can't look away.

She turns around and I'm rooted to the spot. Her face is covered in dark marks and bruise. Mostly very recent judging from their colour. I'm horrified. How could anyone hurt Bella. There are finger marks around her neck. It's very obvious someone tried to strangle her. I'm not sure what to do part of me wants to confront her, rescue her. The other half of me says I should go to Carlisle and ask for advice. He'll know what to do.

I jump down from the tree before she can notice me up there. I have to find Carlisle and ask what to do. I'm reluctant to leave Bella alone. Whoever did this might come back. I make the decision to go find Carlisle. I can't deal with this on my own, I'm going to need his help.

I run back to our house and shout for Carlisle. He's there in a second, sensing my concern. Thank goodness he's home. I wouldn't want to disturb him at the hospital.

"It's Bella." I hear myself say. "I think someone's hurting her."

"Yes I think I'm okay, I walked into the door again, Well, if you ask that's what I'll say, And it's not your business anyway. Just don't ask me how I am." 'Luka' by Suzanna Vega.

A/N: Just in case you get confused the italics are Edward's POV when he was talking to Carlisle (in between the previous section and this one. Also the 'say it, out loud' chunk of dialogue is from the book, slightly edited.

I'm dreading going to school. The first day after I've been off sick is always the worst. Not only do I have to fake a note from Phil but I have to lie to everyone. Explain why I was off sick.

I cover myself in makeup once again. I can't actually remember the last time I went to school makeup free. How long after my mom died did this become a daily ritual? I look in the mirror at myself once I'm finished. I look a little pale but I can pass that off as being sick still. A grab a scarf from the cupboard and wrap it around my neck. Even my makeup can't completely cover the bruises marking my neck. I check to see if anything shows but nothing does. I'm all set for school.

I grab my bag and go wait on the stairs for Angela. I stare at the plaster cast on my arm and flex my fingers, wincing as pain shoots through my arm. I make a mental note never to do that again, at least until the cast is ready to come off.

I can make out the sound of Angela's car and I'm out the door instantly, waiting for her to stop the car so I can get in. The drive to school is quiet. We're almost there when Angela begins to talk.

"I'm glad you're feeling better today." Angela says. I smile at her and thank her but don't make conversation. Silence fills the car again. We arrive at school and I get out of the car, waving goodbye to her with my good arm. I don't really want to talk to Angela. She can tell something's wrong. So I'll just avoid her.

As I walk in through the main entrance I see Edward Cullen leaning against my locker. I walk over to him, with the most venomous look I can.

"It's Bella." I hear myself say. "I think someone's hurting her."

"Bella?" He asks.

"What happened to you?" He asks before I can open my mouth to give him a hateful 'go away'. I look self consciously down at me to see if anything shows. Nope.

"Nothing." One word. Monosyllabic. So very little meaning he can get from it.

"Her father. I think her father's hurting her."

"She doesn't live with her father." Comes a voice from behind me. Alice. I spin round and grab her by the shoulders.

"What's up with the scarf?" Okay, so now I know something's up. It's not that weird to wear a scarf. This is Forks after all, it rains a lot.

"It's...cold..." I say very slowly, drawing out the words.

"Bella..." He's looking at me with pity in his eyes. He knows something's up.

"What? Who does she live with?" I ask.

"Her stepfather. It's really quite sad. Her father died when she was a baby, and her mother died a few years back."

Stepfather. That must be it. He must resent her or something. I turn back to Carlisle.

"What?" I demand aggressively, brushing him aside and opening my locker. I have to get out of this somehow.

"Bella..." He says. "I know." Two little words. "I know what he's doing"

"How bad is it." Carlisle asks.

"She didn't come to school today. It looks as if someone tried to strangle her. As if someone tried to kill her."

Alice gasps.

"Say it. Out loud. Say it."

"He hurts you."

"What did you see?" I demand.

"N-nothing." She whispers, afraid. "I can't see her future, I guess it's too dependent on his temper and her spur of the moment decisions." I growl at her.

"Are you afraid of him?"

"No."

"What do I do?" I ask Carlisle.

"We can't force this Edward. Bella has to come to us. We can't take her." He turns to Alice, "How much time can you give us if anything happens?"

She concentrates hard. "Ummm...ten minutes maybe."

I sigh. That's not enough time if something happens.

"Then let me ask the most basic question. What will you do?"

"Edward, try to get her to talk to you. Beyond that there is very little we can do. We cannot go around making accusations no matter how justified."

I want to argue with Carlisle but I know he's right. There's nothing I can do.

"I won't hurt you."