Disclaimer: Only the plot is mine. Anything else you recognize from the Twilight Saga belongs to Stephenie Meyer. The song belongs to Ducan Sheik, from Spring Awakening.

I don't scream, though I know it's wrong

I just play along

I lie there and breathe, I lie there and breathe

I wanna be strong- I want the world to find out

-The Dark I Know Well, from Spring Awakening the Musical

Chapter 7: The Dark Well Known

Bella

"Are you okay?" the deep voice continued.

I hadn't realized I was crying until now, but I could feel the tears rolling down my cheek.

"Yea, I'm fine, I'm fine," I said without emotion, wiping the tears from my face.

It was only now that I realized I didn't know who was talking to me. I looked up, only to see the old, matured face of Mike Newton staring down at me. All traces of "baby fat" from high school were gone. Instead, prominent cheekbones had finally appeared, along with a strong chin and deep baby blue eyes. His hair was a messy blond, it seemed as though he had accepted the fact that it had a mind of its own.

"Wow, Mike!" I exclaimed, "When did you get here?"

Sheepishly, he blushed, "Just a few minutes ago." He nodded toward the door. "Gianna's parking the car right now."

Recognition dawned on me. Gianna was one of the "popular crowd." I had always suspected that Mike had a thing for her, but he never said anything about it, which hadn't really surprised me, considering my social status in those days.

"I'm happy for you!" I spoke genuinely, because she had always seemed like someone Mike would like to be with. She definitely wasn't one of the "elite," but she was still accepted, and that was enough for Mike. He always had seemed like a puppy to me, a golden retriever type. You know, always there for whatever you needed, following you around constantly to see if you needed help. She would probably boss him around a little, but he could handle it, I was sure.

"Yea," he continued. "I was just about to go grab a table, but I saw you over here…" he trailed off awkwardly.

I smiled brightly. "Well, go on then!" My voice was traced with fake happiness and sarcasm, but thankfully Mike, being the person he is, didn't seem to notice.

"Okay!" He smiled at me. "See you later, Bella!"

I sighed, relieved he was gone. Mike had accepted my presence throughout high school, although I suspected that it was mostly because I had worked at his parents' shop for the four years I was in high school.

A thought burst into my mind. "Angela?" I asked. She was still sitting at the table, watching me and Mike's retreat.

"Yea?" she answered absent-mindedly.

"You never explained why you and Ben haven't gotten married."

"Oh, right!" she exclaimed. "Sorry, Bella! I had so much on my mind…"

"It's okay." I replied. Then, as an afterthought, "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

"No," she sighed, "I might as well tell someone."

"If you need to stop anytime, don't hesitate," I added gently. I could sense something was wrong with Angela, her happy glow was now eclipsed entirely by something worlds away.

"Well, Ben is still…" she seemed to be choking, her body curling into itself.

"Angela?" I leaned forward, worried.

"No, no." She waved my hand away. Angela took a deep breath and straightened up. In a clear, strong voice, she said, "Ben is still working out his affair with Heidi."

I fell limply back into my chair. Heidi? The girl was a bitch, whore, a beauty, and a living nightmare all combined into one. The "wanna-be playboy" was what Angela and I had jokingly called her.

I looked back up at Angela. She seemed better, but as I regarded her, I could see that her hands were clenched into fists, and her whole body was trembling uncontrollably. I waited, not wanting to force her into saying something.

She stared into the room, somewhere else entirely.

"Ben went to a dinner party six months ago, for his work. I knew that he would be at a wealthy house, and wealthy business men meant lots of money and lots of beautiful women. He told me before he left that he would always love me, and that no one could take my place in his heart. I knew that he was close to proposing to me that very night, because the dinner invitation was unexpected and came on short notice. We had been together for two years, and he had said that he had something special planned for us that night." She swallowed hard.

"When he didn't come home, I stayed up, waiting for him. But… he didn't come home that night. I told myself that it must be that he stayed over one of his friend's houses, not wanting to face the obvious…" her voice trembled, but she pushed on.

"The next day, I woke up in bed with him next to me. He didn't mention the night before, and neither did I. We went on with life normally. But after that night, he was so distant, almost ignoring me. He would disappear for up to a week, and when he came back, he was different. I would catch him staring out the window, humming when he thought I wasn't around."

"Oh, Angela…" It was too terrible for words. To think that this man had treated my friend like this, had pushed her around, thinking that she was okay with it… I alone knew just how well Angela was able to hide her emotions. I reached out blindly, trying to help her in some way.

She went on. "I kept telling myself to confront him, to take control and demand to know what was going on. But again and again, I didn't. I was too afraid of the answer, of the horrible truth that I knew was eventually going to come out somehow. I finally made myself do it. I reasoned with myself, trying to force myself to believe that it was going to be okay… He told me that very day that he was having an affair. He told me that it wasn't his fault that she kept showing up at work and seducing him. But I knew the truth. I knew that she must have been better than me somehow, that she was more beautiful than me, smarter than me, something! He could have resisted." Angela was quiet, but it was a deathly quiet. I didn't speak, not wanting to interrupt her.

"I stormed out of the house. Just packed my bags and left. I went to a nearby hotel, but he didn't know that, he was with her." Her voice was filled with a hatred that was worse than any pain possible.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. The old saying flew through my brain, and I shivered. Angela was scary.

"He came back." She said.

"What?" I asked.

"Ben. He tried to make amends. I suppose that I could only last so long without him, and look at me now. Pregnant with his child." She laughed mirthlessly. "I don't know why I went back to him. I kept telling myself to be strong, that he could never be the one for me after this. But I finally submitted. It was only after he told me that he broke things off with Heidi and was getting a restraining order. I still don't know why and what made me go back."

"Oh, Angela! My God, how-"

I was cut off by a male voice.

"Angela!"

I looked up to see a very muscular Ben Cheney running toward us. I looked at Angela again. Her mouth was set. Amazed, I watched her rework her features so she was smiling and the happy glow I saw at first was back. The only thing that I saw from the tortured person she had been from a few seconds ago was her eyes. I could see a difference now; they were the very essence of the torture she had to go through.

"Hey Ben," she said cheerfully, as he sat down next to her, "Remember Bella?"

"Bella?" he peered at me. "Wow, you look great!"

"Thanks!" I said, "Ang and I were just talking."

He glared nervously at her. "'Bout what, exactly?"

She leaned away from him slightly. I wouldn't have caught it if I hadn't been watching her so closely. Angela laughed, trilling, like mine, except it was a trill that was scared.

"Oh, you know," she said, in the same high pitch. "Just… things."

"What kind of things?" his voice grew even lower, and seemed dangerous. I shook the thought off. Ben had been one of the gentlest people during high school that I could remember, quiet and gentle.

Angela took a deep breath and seemed to brace herself. "Heidi."

"What?" he growled, putting his hands on the table and standing up. "You told her about Heidi?" Ben raised one of his hands, as if to hit her. Angela curled protectively around her stomach. "Don't you dare let me catch you telling anyone ever again-"

I decided to cut in. "Excuse me," I said pleasantly, "But her is right here."

Ben seemed to shrink in size. "Of course, Bella, I'm so sorry," he said smoothly. "It won't happen again."

Angela was still sitting, curled in on herself. It looked like she was trying to protect her baby. That was normal, though. Didn't all mothers feel that need to protect their baby first and foremost?

Then I saw it. Although her hair had been hiding it earlier, there was a series of purple marks along her neck, as though someone had hit her hard enough to bruise her. They were tinged with yellow, and continued to trail down under her shirt. I put my hand to my mouth, stifling the urge to throw up.

"Ang?" My voice was high, unrecognizable.

"Hm?" She looked up.

"Would you mind coming to the bathroom with me?" I got up from my seat, struggling to maintain my composure.

"Oh, sure." She got up as well, and kissed Ben on his cheek. "Be right back."

We proceeded to the bathroom. Thankfully, no one else was inside, and I was able to shove her inside and lock the door. Because it was such a fancy restaurant, there were several separate rooms to sit in and touch up make up. I pushed her in one at random and locked that door as well.

She sat down and waited. I stood there, unsure of what to do.

"Well?" she asked. "Aren't you going to go to the bathroom? Ben's waiting, you know."

"Angela, has he been abusing you?" I shrieked, trying to hide my impatience. How could she be sitting there so calmly?

She bowed her head, allowing me to see once more the horrible bruises given to her by a man sitting in the next room. As she looked up, I saw that tears were running freely down her cheeks.

"Ang, you need help. Please, let me help you." I begged, tears running freely down my cheeks also.

"No, Bella, you don't understand!" Angela pleaded with me. "He'll hunt me down, no matter what you do. You don't know what he did to me last time!"

I gasped, stunned. "You mean he's done this to you before?"

"When I ran away," she whispered, her head bowed. "He found me, and beat me. I thought I was going to die. I-I wish I had died."

"No!" I said firmly, wiping my eyes, trying to stop the tears. "We are going to sort this out, once and for ever. Just give me some time to think."

"Bella, it's not his fault!" she pleaded. "His father beat him as a child. Now his temper gets the better of him. I know I can help him. It will just take some time, that's all." She started to get up.

I pushed her back down. "How long?" I demanded. "Look at yourself! This isn't going to do anything for you at all. Think of the baby. If he does this to you, what will he do to your child? Do you want them to grow up, beaten and hurt, only to beat their children once then grow up? Wouldn't it be better for them to have a loving family, even if it was without their father?"

Angela submitted, sitting down and staying down. She looked so frail, so delicate.

"We are going to fix this." I told her, sitting down next to her. But first, let me get you some ice for your bruises."

"No!" Her head came up. "Don't leave me!" she begged.

"Okay, okay." I said, trying to calm her down. "I won't leave you alone. We can fix this."

We sat there, me trying to figure out a way to help her. Angela was close to a living death. I shuddered to think of the consequences for her child. Slowly, I put my arm around her, trying not to touch the multiple bruises covering her back. I sighed to myself, and thought, we'll figure this out. Somehow, we will.