Chapter 7: A Protector

Bella sighed as she walked down the stairs in the Masen house when she bumped into Edward, making him drop the papers he had in his hand. "Oh I'm sorry," she told him her face flushing.

"It's alright," he answered.

She crouched down and helped him gather the papers. She lifted up one of the sheets to see that it was covered in music notes. Edward cleared his throat as he took the paper from her, adding it to the stack. "Can I get you anything?" He asked as he stood up.

"No, I was just going to look around a little," she replied.

Nodding he walked by her and went into the music room, closing the door behind him. Biting her lower lip, Bella grabbed her coat and left the house.

Walking down the street, Bella wrapped her jacket around herself. She looked around the large city, her eyes scanning over the many homes. Letting out a sigh, she stuck her hands in her pockets to try to keep her hands warm from the cool Chicago air.

Finding a bookstore, she went inside and looked around. So many books, it brought a smile to her face. Walking around she arrived at her favorite genre and looked through the many titles before finding a book that she found interesting. Pushing a strand of hair behind her ear she skimmed through the book she looked up, gasping to find a bunch of guys leering at her. The guys did wolf calls and whistled at her before walking off.

Feeling a little uncomfortable, Bella sat down at one of the tables looking through the book. Her mind drifted back to the book Edward had given her on the train, her own personal copy of Wuthering Heights, it was her favorite book. Biting her lower lip, she closed the book and looked at the time. She let out a gasp and stood up, she was there longer than she wanted to be. "Oh no," she whispered. She grabbed her jacket and darted out the door after putting the book back on it's shelf.

Back at the house, Edward walked down the stairs from his room to find Elizabeth standing by the window. "Is something wrong mother?" He asked.

"Yes, Bella said she was going to explore Franklin's Bookstore, it's very late she should be back by now," she replied worriedly.

Edward felt his heart skip a beat. "She's out in Chicago alone?" He asked.

"I thought you would've gone with her…" Elizabeth started.

Grabbing his jacket, he left the house before his mother could say another word.

Looking around, Edward hurried down the street to Franklin's Bookstore. "What is she doing wandering Chicago alone?" He muttered to himself. He hurried down the street, hoping Bella didn't get lost in the city.

Biting her lower lip, Bella started looking at street signs to find her way back to the Masen house. Rubbing her hands together, she felt the cold chill move up her spine, making her shiver. She wrapped her arms around herself as she walked up the street when she had a feeling she was being watched. Stopping under a streetlamp, she looked behind her to see the same group of men staring at her with the same grins like they had at the bookstore. "What is a pretty girl like you wandering in a big city like this all alone?" The leader asked walking over to her.

"I'm just passing through," she answered trying to walk by them.

She was suddenly surrounded by the men, her heart hammering in her chest. "Stay awhile, we're in no rush," one of the men commented. Bella suddenly felt one of the guys grope her behind making her spin around and smack him hard across the face. She let out a shriek when two of the guys gripped her arms.

"Ooh feisty this one, I like it when they fight back," the leader commented gripping her chin.

Bella jerked her chin from his grip and kicked his shin. The guy hissed before he backhanded her, feeling his knuckles connect to her cheekbone. Her head spun a little from the blow, making her stumble. "This won't hurt…much," the guy holding her right arm laughed.

"Get your hands off me!" She snapped trying to shake them off.

"Come on move her out of the light before someone sees," the guy on her left answered.

Bella tried to scream when one of them covered her mouth. She bit his hand and felt another blow to her face. "Damn this one is a fighter," the leader commented as he went to grab her legs.

"GET OFF HER!" A voice shouted.

Bella stumbled to the ground when someone ran into both guys, knocking them off balance.

Edward was halfway when he saw four men on a street corner starting to carry someone off. He felt his blood boil when he saw that it was Bella in their filthy clutches. Running across the street, he charged at the four would be kidnappers. "GET OFF HER!" He shouted crashing into two of the men that held Bella's arms. His sudden attack made the four guys drop Bella, the leader started laughing at him.

"I knew that was too easy," he sneered.

Edward stood in front of Bella lifting her up from the ground, having her stand behind him. "You stay away from her," he said in a dangerous tone.

Bella held onto the back of Edward's jacket as he stood in front of her four attackers. "Looks like someone doesn't like to share," the leader laughed. Edward swung out, his fist connecting to the man's chin. The guy glared, gripping Edward's jacket, throwing him against the brick wall.

"It looks like the little rich boy knows how to fight," one guy commented.

Edward glared at the leader, kneeing him in the stomach before he grabbed a hold of his arm, shoving him against his friends. When one of the guys ran towards him, Edward punched him in the face before kicking his stomach watching him tumble to the ground. The leader ran over to Edward throwing a punch at his head.

The young man ducked, punching the leader in the stomach. The leader grabbed Edward by the back of his head and was able to get a punch him. Edward felt the searing pain from the punch, then his world spun a little when the guy threw him into the wall. Edward was able to grab a hold of the guy's arm when he tried to grab him again, twisting it hard that he heard his wrist snap. The guy cried out in pain before Edward kicked him in the chest watching him stumble to the ground. Walking over to Bella, he held onto her hand. "If I ever see you come anywhere near her again, it'll be more than me you'll be hearing from," he informed. Tugging on Bella's hand, they left the groaning men on the ground.

When they arrived home, Edward was sitting in the parlor holding his head when Bella walked in. "Let me see," she said quietly. Sitting next to him, she had him look at her. Gently, she started cleaning the cuts on his head from when he was thrown into the wall. "You're lucky you don't need any kind of stitching done," she commented, feeling a little dizzy from the blood. Edward gave her a quizzical look.

"You alright?" He asked.

"Yeah…blood just makes me a little queasy but I'll be alright," she assured him.

He chuckled lightly. "What were you thinking wandering Chicago alone?" He asked. Sighing Bella dipped the cloth back in the bowl of hot water before she answered him.

"I just needed to think," she replied.

Edward remained silent, wanting her to continue. "I've done a lot of thinking this last week," she murmured.

"And?" He questioned quietly.

Sighing, Bella put the cloth back in the bowl, looking down a little. "I wanted to apologize for how I have been treating you, it was very unfair of me," she replied quietly. Edward smiled a little.

"I should apologize too," he commented.

"For what?" She asked confused.

"I should've tried harder to make it so you could stay in Phoenix," he replied.

Sighing, Bella rested her hand on his cheek. "I guess it wouldn't have done much," she murmured. They stared at each other before Bella let her hand drop from his cheek, holding her hand out to him. "I would like us to be friends," she added. Smiling, Edward reached up, grasping her hand in his.

"I would like us to be friends too," he replied.

Smiling, Bella kissed his forehead before she finished taking care of the cuts on his face. Her face ached a little from the two slaps she had received, but her mind was focused on taking care of Edward's injuries.

After cleaning the blood off his face, she was putting everything away when she lifted her head up, her head colliding with his as he tried to reach down to grab the rag she had dropped on the floor. "Oh ow, ow," she whimpered. Edward held his throbbing head, wincing.

"You're not the most graceful girl I had ever met," he commented with a chuckle.

"I'm sorry are you alright?" She asked.

"I'm alright, don't worry," he answered.

They laughed a little before he helped her gather everything, not knowing that Elizabeth was watching with a smile on her face. "I told you everything will work out just fine," Edward Senior whispered with a smile. He kissed his wife's cheek before walking upstairs. Elizabeth watched him leave before looking back to the room to see her son talking to the young woman. She somehow knew that he would be well taken care of and he didn't need her anymore to take care of his cuts and bruises. Smiling a little, she snuck up the stairs without them seeing.

After awhile, they were sitting in silence in the parlor. "So what is something about Bella Swan that no one else knows about?" He asked curiously. Bella laughed a little, playing with the bracelet around her wrist.

"That father and mother aren't my biological parents, that I was adopted when I was a week old," she replied.

Edward looked at her in disbelief. "Really?" He asked curiously.

"Yeah, I was left on their doorstep with only a picture of my biological mother," she replied.

Remaining silent, Edward twisted his ring around on his finger. "Do you know her name?" He asked curiously. Shaking her head slowly, Bella sighed.

"There was a name on the back of the picture but no…" Bella trailed off suddenly.

"What?" He queried standing up.

Bella walked over to the mantle piece of all the pictures and took one specific photograph. "This can't be…" she said in shock.

"What?" He repeated standing behind her.

Pointing at the picture, Edward immediately recognized it. It was a picture of Carlisle and Esme with Alice when she was an infant. "This is her, Edward! This is my mother!" she gasped in disbelief.