Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Twilight characters.

Chapter 3

Bella's POV

I woke up lying on the floor in my room. When I tried to lift my head to look at the clock, a sharp pain shot down my spine starting at the base of my neck and continuing all the way down to my hip bone. I screamed in pain, tears running down my face.

My head fell back down and thudded against the hardwood. I was in so much pain that I just laid there until I knew I had to force myself to get up to get ready for school.

As I went to push myself up off the floor, a sharp pain tore through my arm starting at my wrist and stopping at my elbow. I looked down and saw that my arm was covered in a layer of burnt skin. I was thankful that I had a first aid kit in my closet. I would have to wrap that up before I put my shirt on.

I looked at the clock and saw that it was 10:30. I was more than two hours late. I wobbled to the bathroom. Skipping the shower, I brushed my hair and pulled it back into a messy bun. I put cover up on all my new bruises including the fingerprints around my neck.

I wobbled back to my bedroom and pulled on my jeans. I put my bra on and got my first aid kit out of the closet. I sat on my bed and took out the bandages. I unrolled them and began to wrap them around the burn as best I could with a cast on my arm. When I finished wrapping my arm, it was 10:45. I figured I might as well wrap the burn on my stomach, too.

By the time I finished wrapping my stomach, it was 11:00. I threw on my shirt and wobbled down the stairs and out to my truck. I pushed my truck as fast as it would go—which is only 60 miles per hour, by the way—all the way to school.

Once again, the only available spot was next to the Volvo. I got out and went to spend the last fifteen minutes of lunch in the library.

At the end of lunch, I went to fifth period. I was the first person there seeing as I gave myself fifteen minutes to get there on time. I sat down in the middle seat of table in the back corner next to the windows and rested my forehead on my arms, hoping to be able to sleep until class started.

However, I completely forgot about the burn on my arm and as soon as my forehead hit it, I shot back up, fighting to keep the pained expression off my face.

About two minutes later, I heard the door open and figured that the students were starting to finish lunch. I kept my eyes closed, taking a deep, meant to be calming, breath. It had the opposite effect. Charlie must have broken a few more ribs because the pain instantly tripled.

I didn't open my eyes until I heard the chairs on both sides of me scratch against the floor. My eyes popped open in surprise; no else sat at this table. In fact, most people tried to avoid me.

I looked up and saw Alice and Jasper sitting on either side of me. They were both staring at me; Alice looked concerned—that was to be expected, especially with what she saw in the bathroom yesterday—but Jasper looked like he was in pain. I couldn't understand why he looked like someone had burned him.

I was suddenly hyperaware of the burn on my arm as I moved to get my notebook. I winced as I felt the burn crack. I could almost swear that Alice and Jasper heard the skin crack when I saw both of them glance at my arm then at each other. I was sure that I saw Jasper wince as the pain started to grow.

I kept my face clear of emotion as the pain increased. I saw Jasper's expression change to one of agony and he held his arm to his chest. It was as if he were showing my emotions and pointing out the cause of them.

I felt my arm start to get wet and I knew I was bleeding. I closed my eyes and internally cursed myself for wearing my sky blue turtleneck. I opened my eyes and looked at my arm. Sure enough, a red spot was starting to show.

I started to panic and I knew I had to get to the nurse's office. So I thought up an excuse for the teacher and a believable story for the nurse. Once I was sure I had one, I raised my hand.

"Yes, Ms. Swan?" Mr. Green asked.

"Mr. Green, I'm not feeling well. May I go to the nurse's office?"

"Of course. Go ahead, Ms. Swan," he said.

As I gathered my things, Alice raised her hand.

"Yes, Ms. Cullen?" he asked.

"Would you like me and Jasper to take her?" she asked.

"Yes, thank you. You and Mr. Hale are excused for the rest of the period."

They had their stuff gathered and were standing by the door, waiting for me thirty seconds later. I grabbed my bag and books and walked out the door without looking at either of them.

I knew they were following me. Living with Charlie taught me to be hyperaware of my surroundings.

Thank god my locker was on the way to the nurse's office. I stopped and put my bag and books in my locker. As I slid my bag down my arm, it snagged on my sleeve and pulled the collar of my shirt down. I didn't think much about it until I heard Alice gasp.

I looked around and saw that they were both staring at my neck. I couldn't figure out why until I remembered the fingerprint-shaped bruises. My hand flew to my neck, pulling the collar up with it.

I shut my locker, keeping my head down so I wouldn't meet their eyes, and continued to the nurse's office. Ms. Cope didn't even look up as I entered. I was here every two days, if not more. She gave me full access to the nurse's office.

I walked right past her to the nurse's office. Alice and Jasper were right next to me. I glanced at each of them from the corners of my eyes and saw that their eyes were black. I knocked twice on the office door just to be polite. Three seconds later, the nurse opened the door and gave me a playful smirk.

"What happened this time, Bella?" she asked.

"I need some cloth bandages and one of my black sweaters. Oh, and a pair of scissors. I fell and burned my arm on the stove last night. I wrapped it this morning, but the skin cracked and it's turning my shirt red."

"Oh, the ever clumsy Bella." She sighed. She turned away from me and spoke to someone standing in the corner by the door. "Edward, be a dear and go get the things she requested." He nodded and walked out of the room. She turned back to me. "Go sit down, Bella. I'll leave you to wrap it yourself. If I didn't know better, I would say you were Dr. Cullen's assistant. You treat yourself better than I ever could. I guess that's what comes from a lifetime of clumsiness." She laughed. I laughed, too, but it was a harsh, forced sound. I hadn't truly laughed since the death of my mother.

Edward came back just as I sat at the desk. He put the things on the desk before going to stand next to Alice. She and Jasper were holding hands and they both had their eyes trained on me. As I reached for the scissors, I saw Alice reach up and grab Edward's hand.

Pretending they weren't there, I spent the next five minutes arranging the supplies Edward had placed on the desk. I was surprised to see a scalpel, anti-bacterial cream, and Latex gloves. I had never had the guts to ask for those so I had never used them.

I looked at Edward. His expression shocked me. His eyes were no longer liquid topaz . . . they were black onyx. I waited for the fear I had initially felt yesterday, but it never came. What shocked me most was the pure concern and love that seemed to radiate from him.

I looked back to the desk and as I reached for the scissors I realized that I had a cast on my other arm. I couldn't pick up the scissors. I had to ask for help. I knew this, but I also remembered what Charlie had said about why people would help me. He said that people would only help me to hurt me. Make me trust them and then betray me.

I looked back at Edward. Something told me that he would never do that to me. Something told me that I could trust him. The same something that made me feel safe with him and his brothers. I turned to look back at him.

"Edward, could you help me? I can't use the scissors with a cast on my arm."

I had surprised him; that much was clear. He looked like he couldn't believe I had asked him, but he was thrilled that I had. He also looked afraid.

He didn't answer for a moment. Then he smiled a crooked smile that made me catch my breath. He was gorgeous.

"Of course, Bella," he said. Then he came and sat beside me at the desk. He picked up the scissors and gently pulled my arm toward him.

He began working on my sleeve, trying to get it off without hurting me. Next thing I knew, he was pulling it off my arm and reaching for the anti-bacterial cream. I heard three hisses and looked up from my arm at Alice, Jasper, and Edward. They all had expressions of extreme anger masked on their faces. I looked down, ashamed that they had to see it.

What I heard Edward say next almost gave me a heart attack.

"Bella, love, please tell us the truth. Report the abuse. Come stay with us; we'll keep you safe."

I looked at him in shock. He called me love. Why had he called me love? Was it possible that he loved me? No, no one would love me. Would they?

"Why did you call me love?" I asked when I could speak again.

"Because I feel this strange pull toward you. It keeps making me want to protect you. Because I love you."

"You love me? How could you love me? I'm ugly and beaten and I am the reason my mother is dead. Why would you want me?"

"Bella, you are the most beautiful thing in the world. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. You are not the reason your mother is dead. No one but the one who shot her is the reason for that. You are the only one I want. I want to help you. Please let us help you."

Then he did the last thing I expected him to do. He took my face in his hands, leaned his head down, and gently pressed his lips to mine. I felt a shock of electricity surge through my body at his touch. In that one mo-ment, I realized two things. One: I loved him, always had, always will. Two: there was no way he was human.

When he pulled away, he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me to his chest. We just sat there, me with my face pressed against his chest, him with his face buried in my hair.

"Oh, Edward, what are you?" I sighed after a few moments.

I felt him stiffen against me. "What do you think I am, Bella?"

"I think you are an angel," I whispered.

He chuckled, but it was not a happy sound. No, it was dark and disgusted. "I'm no angel, Bella. I'm a demon, a monster."

I pulled back to look at him. "No, you aren't. If you were, you wouldn't be trying so hard to help me. You're my angel. It will take a hell of a lot to convince me otherwise."

"Does this mean you'll report the abuse?"

"Yes, if you promise to tell me what you really are."

"I promise."

With that, he stood and helped me up gently. He slipped an arm around my waist and pulled me to the door.

"I'm taking Bella to Carlisle so he can file the report. You and Jasper need to go and tell Esme that we will have a human living with us, so she needs to stock the kitchen. And buy a bed for my room, Bella will be sleeping in my room until you finish hers. Stock the bathroom and her closet," he told Alice as we walked out the door. She nodded and left with Jasper.

He walked me out to his car and opened the passenger door for me. I got in and he shut it behind me. The next second, he was starting the car and backing out of the parking spot.

Thanks to his insane driving, we were at the hospital two minutes later. He parked right in front of the doors and was opening my door and picking me up within three seconds. He carried me in and straight to his father's office. He knocked twice and Carlisle answered.

"Come in," he called.

Edward opened the door and carried me inside. He put me in the chair in front of Carlisle's desk and sat in the chair next to me.

"Hello Edward, Bella. What can I do for you?"

I looked at Edward and he nodded and smiled a crooked smile. He took my hand and started rubbing circles on the back of it with his thumb. I took a deep breath and looked at Carlisle.

"Dr. Cullen, I am being abused."

Carlisle looked surprised. "Would you like me to file a report?"

"Yes."

"Okay. I'll need to ask you some questions then. First, when did the abuse start?"

"It started when I first came here when I was nine. Child Services had sent me to live with him when my mother was murdered. That was the first night he beat me."

"Can you tell me what happened?"

"I'll try." I stopped and took a deep breath.

Flashback

When we got to his house, he pulled me out of the car by my hair and proceeded to drag me up the stairs. He threw me on the bed in my room.

"If you know what's good for you, you will do whatever I say," he growled. Then, he turned and disappeared out the door. He returned minutes later with three pairs of handcuffs. "Lay down and don't move," he ordered.

Terrified, I obeyed. He took one pair of handcuffs and cuffed my hands above my head to the headboard. He then proceeded to cuff my feet to the bedposts.

He leaned over and whispered, "Now I'm going to make you pay for what happened to Renee every day for the rest of your life, worthless bitch. And, oh god, it'll be painful, but if you tell anyone about it, I'll kill you and whoever you told. Understand?"

"Yes," I whimpered.

He started punching every inch of my body he could as hard as he could. After punching me for what felt like ages, he uncuffed me, threw me on the floor, and started kicking me; four times in the stomach, two times on my legs, and two times on my arms. At this point, the pain was so overwhelming that I was almost unconscious. I saw Charlie's foot swing toward my face, and then I knew no more.

End Flashback

By the end of my story, I was in tears. Edward came over and picked me up. He sat where I had been and set me on his lap, cradled to his chest. He started humming the melody that he had hummed yesterday and rubbed soothing circles on my back. We sat like that until the tears had slowed. After a few seconds of silence, Carlisle asked his next question.

"When was the most recent time he beat you?"

"Last night. He had come home early from work. He wants dinner to be ready and on the table when he gets home, no matter how early or late he is. When I opened the door, he grabbed me by the throat, pulled me into the house, slammed the door behind me, and then he slammed my head against the wall."

Flashback

I was greeted by Charlie's hand grabbing my throat and yanking me into the house. He slammed the door shut and slammed my head against the wall.

"Where have you been?" he bellowed. Then he looked down and saw my casts. His eyes went wide and his face turned purple. "Where did you get those?"

"I was taken to the hospital by Dr. Cullen's son, Edward. I didn't want to go but he made me," I whimpered.

"What did you tell them?"

"They asked me what happened and I told them that I was extremely clumsy and fell down the stairs. I didn't speak a word about what really happened. I know I deserve it."

"You're damn right you deserve it, worthless slut! Renee is dead because of you and I'm going to make you pay for it!"

With that, he punched me in the stomach, right in the middle of my burn, and released his hold on my throat. I fell to the floor, screaming in agony. He yanked me up by my hair and pulled me over to the stove. He turned it on and held my good arm over the flames, laughing as I was burned.

By the time he turned off the stove, I had a huge third degree burn on my forearm. He pulled me over to the sink and ran the water as hot as it would go over the burn for ten minutes, tripling the pain. Then he pulled me up the stairs and threw me in my room. I landed on the floor with a loud thud. He came after me and punched my burn ten more times before I saw his foot swing at my head and I slipped into unconsciousness.

End Flashback

When I was finished, Carlisle had a look of utmost fury on his face. I buried my face in Edward's chest and cried. He wrapped his arms around me and hummed until I calmed down.

"Do you feel that your life would be in danger if you went back?"

"Yes, I do."

"Thank you. I will call Child Services right now and file a report. In the meantime, you will stay with us and you will not go anywhere without one of us with you."

"Thank you so much."

"You're welcome. You and Edward go home and I will be there shortly."

Edward nodded and stood to go but I stopped him.

"Edward, wait for one moment, please," I asked. He looked confused but nodded. I turned to Carlisle. "Carlisle, could you please wrap the burn on my arm? Edward started doing it, but he never finished."

"Of course, Bella. Edward, sit back down. I need to go get a few things. I'll be right back." He stood and walked out of the room.

Edward sat back down and placed me in his lap. I leaned my head on his chest and closed my eyes. This was the safest I had felt around a man since I was nine. He wrapped his arms around me and rested his chin on my head. Neither of us spoke but we really didn't need to. We sat silently holding each other until Carlisle came back with bandages and anti-bacterial cream.

He wrapped my arm in two minutes and told Edward to take me to their house. Edward nodded and carried me out to his car. He put me in and buckled my seatbelt. He was in his seat two seconds later, starting the car and backing out.

Five minutes later, we were turning off the highway onto a long driveway. He pulled up to a gorgeous white house. It was a three-story Victorian mansion. I gasped when I saw it.

"Do you like it?" Edward asked.

"It's gorgeous," I whispered. "I love it."

"I'm glad you like it. Now, come on. Everyone's waiting for us."

He got out and walked around the car to open my door. Instead of simply offering me his hand, he reached in and picked me up. He shut the door and carried me to the house. Just as we reached the front door, it swung open and Alice was standing there, bouncing with excitement.

"Hi, Bella!" she screeched. She looked like she was going to hug me but then thought better of it.

"Hi, Alice," I mumbled.

She smiled and moved to the side so Edward could get through. He carried me into the living room with Alice following right behind us. Everyone was there except Carlisle. There weren't enough seats for everyone, so Rosalie was sitting on Emmett's lap and Alice sat on Jasper's lap. Edward went to the only empty seat and sat down with me on his lap.

I looked around and saw that everyone was looking at me with smiles on their faces. They were very good at controlling their expressions, but below the smiles, I could see worry and concern.

There was only one person there I didn't recognize. She was beautiful, just like the rest of the Cullens. She had caramel-colored hair, golden eyes, and a motherly smile. This must be Esme.

"Hello, dear. I'm Esme. It's so nice to finally meet you. I've heard wonderful things about you." Just then, Carlisle walked in and sat down next to Esme, nodding his agreement.

"What wonderful things? There's absolutely nothing wonderful about me or my life. In fact, before I met Alice, I was seriously considering just ending the pain instead of waiting for him to kill me. Home isn't the only place I get beaten. The kids at school have broken bones before. I didn't bother telling anyone because I was the outcast. I knew no one would believe me. My life was literally a living hell. Then you came." I paused and looked over at Alice. "Just so you know, Alice, you are the first person in eight years to ask me if I was okay and insist on me getting medical attention. That was the first time in eight years that I felt as if someone actually cared about me. Thank you so much." I was crying by the end of that speech, but I wasn't done. Edward wrapped his arms around me and made me lean back against his chest. He rocked me back and forth to calm me down. When I was calm enough to talk, I continued.

"I've spent my whole life getting used to the pain, getting used to the beatings, waiting for him to kill me, or worse . . . waiting for him to rape me. He came so close that first night. So close. I don't know what made him stop but he didn't do it. The only thing worse than dying and feeling like you still have something left is living while feeling dirty, damaged, used.

"Over the years, I tried to do everything I could to avoid the beatings. Charlie got me a fake ID so I could go and get more beer for him when he was too drunk to drive. Not that it really mattered, but he made me walk down to the store and back. The truck was only to be used for school. So I had to carry 24 packs of beer with a broken wrist and a sprained ankle. Then he would beat me because I took too long.

"Over the years, the beatings got more frequent and more violent. If I thought that first night was bad, it was nothing compared to the day before you guys came. When Carlisle had asked me if I had just laid on the stove, he was almost dead on." I heard everyone gasp when I said this but I didn't look up to see their expressions. I kept my eyes trained on my knees and continued. "Charlie had tied my hands behind my back, ripped my shirt off, and laid me on the stove. He turned it on and left for ten minutes. I knew better than to move. Charlie would kill me. I didn't scream; I knew from experience that screaming only made it worse.

"When he came back, he picked me up and carried me to the bathroom. I didn't fight him, he was too strong and I was in too much pain to do anything. When we got to the bathroom, he ripped off my jeans so that I was in my bra and underwear and put me in a tub of boiling hot water. He left me there for one hour. At this point, I had almost passed out from the pain. He pulled me out and threw me on the floor in my room. After that, he simply punched and kicked me until I was unconscious."

After I finished, the room went deathly quiet. I looked up from my hands and looked at everyone, almost afraid of what I would see in their expressions. But what I saw shocked me. Alice was sobbing into Jasper's shoulder and Jasper had an agonized look on his face as he rubbed soothing circles on her back. Rosalie looked utterly shocked that anyone could survive being set on fire. Emmett was a kaleidoscope of emotions. His expression was a mix of anger, sympathy, pity, and concern. Carlisle looked absolutely furious and rubbed Esme's back as she cried into his shoulder. I turned at looked at Edward.

"What are you, Edward? You promised if I reported the abuse you would tell me what you really are."

"You're right, Bella. I promised. Just promise me you'll listen with an open mind and if you want to leave after I tell you then I won't stop you."

"There's no way I'll want to leave." Even if I did, I didn't have anywhere to go.

"We'll see." He smiled his crooked smile at me. "Bella, we are vampires."