Turned Out

(Long) Author's Note: I want to apologize to all my wonderful readers; there was a bit of confusion at the last chapter. Laurent is not a vampire in this story. He is simply a horrible and creepy rapist. When writing Chapter 2 I determined the rapist needed a name. I was fully prepared to name him Mike. But, upon the pleading from one of my good friends (um…Alice) who did not want to see Mike turned into a rapist again I picked the next name that came to me…Laurent. So, yes, James did attack Bella in Phoenix, like in Twilight, but for the purpose of my story Laurent and Victoria were not with him. Once again, I am very, very sorry for any confusion. Please continue to bring these things to my attention. What makes sense in my head does not always make sense to the rest of the rational world. Perhaps now is the time for me to mention that this is the very first piece of fiction I have EVER written. Hence the constructive criticism being greatly appreciated! This chapter is from Edwards Point Of View.

Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer is the lawful owner of the Twilight Series and all the characters within. I simply moved them to New York and taught Bella how to dance. No copyright infringement is intended.


CHAPTER 3

EDWARDS POV

For two weeks we had been back in the States, living in New York City. Carlisle was now working at the prestigious Mount Sinai Medical Center in Manhattan while the rest of us "kids" attended New York University. NYC was not our typical choice of a place to live. There were too many sunny days here but everyone in our family knew that the most important thing in my world was somewhere in this city, so we packed up our belongings in South Africa and headed to the Big Apple.

I had been distraught ever since leaving Bella behind in Forks. I didn't really have a choice at the time; she needed to be protected from the dangers our kind brought with us; James' attack and Jasper's close call proved that. I simply used Carlisle's job offer to help fight the AIDS epidemic in South Africa as an excuse, a horrible excuse to protect the one I loved most. And every day since then I had regretted my decision. I tried telling myself I did what needed to be done. I know Bella would never have left me, even if her life were in danger. Well, more danger than having a boyfriend who was a vampire and being friends with six others, even if we did abstain from drinking human blood. My depression frightened my family. Esme constantly tried to get me to talk to her and Jasper was forever sending waves of peace and happiness at me. I spent all my time in my room, listening to my music, and attempting to shut out their thoughts. I could only take hearing someone think, "Poor Edward, he's so lost without Bella" so many times.

Before moving back, I had Alice call Charlie on the pretense of checking up on Bella. He told her that she was living in NYC but refused to tell where or what she was doing there. With this information, Alice tried to get a vision for me, but something was blocking her. No one, not even Carlisle could figure out why she couldn't see Bella but that didn't stop me. As soon as we settled into our apartment we kept in the city, I began my search. I spent every night and every cloudy day walking the streets, hoping to catch sight or scent of my precious Bella. Would she welcome me back or would she be angry with me for leaving her like I did? I had to take my chances and find her. She held half of my un-beating heart; without her I was not whole.

I knew that Bella would be dancing. It was what she lived for, despite the fact that she had never let me watch her even so much as rehearse. She would allow me to sit outside the studio door, listening, but never actually let me see. Whenever I asked her about this, she would tell me it was because she was shy. Being the gentleman I was raised to be, I never pushed her, but secretly prayed for the day she would share her gift with me. Dancing is such an intimate gesture from my little Bella. I once asked Alice if she could see if Bella would ever dance for me, but since Bella had not yet decided, she never could give me a straight answer.

I spent my search of the city checking out every dance studio listed. Tonight I had decided to check out the American Ballet Theatre on Broadway. It had once been a dream of Bella's to be a principal ballerina with this prestigious company of dancers. I only hoped her dream had come true, and that I would find my love once again. As I walked near the building housing the American Ballet Theatre studios, I caught that scent, her scent, my Bella's scent; a beautiful mix of lavender and freesia. For all my time on earth I would never forget that smell.

Bella's scent was surprisingly strong seeing as how it was nearing midnight; the longer a scent is outside the more it dissipates. I pushed that thought to the back of my mind and followed, hoping it would lead me to her new home. Suddenly, about two blocks from the studio her scent became much stronger and came at me from a dark alley to my left. This couldn't be correct, why would Bella be going down a dark alley late at night? I turned to follow the scent trail and heard my angels terrified and pain filled scream at the same instant I saw him. A large bald man had his hands around her neck strangling her while thrusting into her and grunting in pleasure. A deep growl erupted from my chest as I ran towards him at my top speed. Before he could even pull out and thrust again I grabbed him by the back of his shirt and threw him against the opposite wall. I heard him hit with a thud and collapse on the ground, pieces of brick raining down upon him. "Bella, Bella are you okay?" I stupidly asked. Why would she be okay? She had been raped. At that thought, another growl escaped and I started to move towards the brick covered bastard lying on the ground. He had hurt my Bella and I would not let him get away with it.

Before I could reach him again my sweet angel whispered, "I love you Edward, please don't leave me again," before passing out. Without another thought, I reached her side in milliseconds, "I will never leave you again Bella," I whispered in her ear, not knowing if she heard me.

I whipped out my small silver phone and called Carlisle, my finger dialing so quickly it was nothing but a blur. I knew it was his night off but I needed to get Bella to the hospital immediately and I needed him to be the one to treat her. "Hello" Carlisle answered. How could he be so calm at a time like this? "Carlisle, I found Bella, but she's been raped and needs immediate medical attention! Come get us NOW," I screamed into the phone, adding the address of where we were. "Bring Emmett, Jasper and Rosalie too."

"We're on our way; if she's bleeding try to stop the flow. I'll call ahead and have the hospital prepare a room for us".

The closer I looked at Bella the more injuries I noticed. Her breathing was shallow and a moan of pain escaped with every breath. I could smell her blood and knew she was bleeding from multiple wounds. I tore my scarf from around my neck and pressed it against the wound on the back of her head where her blood flowed freely. I also removed my coat and wrapped her in it to cover her naked form. I thought she was bleeding between her legs, but I couldn't bring myself to violate her again in such a way. If I could get the head wound to stop she would be all right. She had to be all right, I couldn't lose her again! Not after I had just found her! As I waited for my family to come, I gently cradled Bella in my arms, singing her lullaby.

Just then a sleek black Mercedes screeched to a stop at the opening of the alley, followed by a shiny silver Volvo. My family had arrived. Everyone jumped out of the cars and ran to us, Carlisle arriving first. At his first look at Bella, his eyes became dark and filled with pain and worry. "Oh my God! Edward I'm so sorry, we must get her to the hospital immediately" came Carlisle's thoughts, louder than the rest. He leaned down and gathered up the limp and broken body of my angel before walking swiftly to the car. "I'll be right there," I told him, turning then to Rosalie, Jasper, Emmett and Alice. Speaking so fast that only another vampire could understand I said, "I can't leave Bella. The bastard who raped her is right there, do something with him…"

"I know exactly what to do" Alice interrupted tapping a manicured finger to her temple. "The police who investigate will never know we had anything to do with it."

I smiled, seeing her vision and nodded to the rest. While I walked away, Alice quickly told the others what to do before catching up to me. "I'll drive," was all she said.

At that, we both slid into the Mercedes and drove towards the hospital at top speed. Bella was awake again and moaning in pain, tears flowing down her pale bruised face. I hummed her lullaby and she seemed to gather some comfort from that sound for her moaning quieted slightly.


Author's Note: Thank you so much for reading! I hope you are enjoying the story. I would LOVE to hear what you think about it...things you like and things you didn't like. If you have a moment PLEASE (pretty please with a Cullen on top!) review!