Okay, seriously, you guys BLEW ME AWAY with the response to the last chapter. It was one of the ones I was nervous about and you all made me feel so much better about it and the rest of the story. If you're with me so far, I think you're here for the duration.
This was originally two separate chapters but in conversation with Gredelina1 I realized you'd have my head if I didn't get the Bella/Edward conversation to you sooner, so I've slammed them together and here it is.
Last but not least, thank you to Gredelina1. She betas, counsels, pep talks and shares her love every single day. Love you hon xxx
Chapter Seven — Traumatized
July 1995 ~ Bella is Seven
One day in the summer Bella was seven, I arrived too early to see her. Dawn was just creeping across the sky. I decided to explore the area a little while waiting for the time to pass.
I knew the location of our meadow so well I could have found it with my eyes closed, but when I came to the area, it wasn't there. There were familiar trees, the one that had two knots that looked a little like eyes that Bella had pointed out to me once, the half rotted stump of a broken tree that had been brought down years ago; they were there, but our meadow was not. It had not been made yet.
I laughed to myself. I would have made a fool of myself had I brought Bella out here for the first time, anticipating beauty, to find yet another group of trees. My mood buoyant, I set to work. There was no meadow yet, but there would be. I just had to create it.
I remembered the dimensions of our meadow perfectly, and I could see the trees that ringed it where they stood, so my first task was to clear away the unnecessary ones. It wasn't often I had opportunity to do something like this, to give my vampire strength free rein, and I was looking forward to it. I picked a tree at the very center, a towering spruce, and plucked it from the ground easily. I hefted it over my shoulder and set out through the forest until I was a few miles away from our meadow and at a small unnamed lake. I grinned as I dropped the tree to the ground and began to pulp it with my hands. I couldn't leave a stack of trees in the forest without people getting suspicious about their origin and how they'd been pulled, roots and all, rather than cut. I was covered in sawdust by the time the tree was gone, and there was a neat pile beside me. I kicked, threw and shoved it into the lake, chuckling to myself as it sank into the brown water. A days of Forks' predictable rain and it would just be more mud at the bottom of the lake.
I went back and forth again and again until our meadow was cleared and the trees were destroyed and hidden. I was left with a muddy clearing ringed by trees. It was nothing like the place I remembered, but it would be. There were a few more things I needed, and I would be able to get them without problem when I returned to my own time.
The sun had risen in the sky, and I knew Bella would be waiting for me soon if she wasn't already, so I brushed away the sawdust and dirt from my clothes and made my way back towards her house.
The TV was playing in the lounge and couch cushions were creaking which meant Ms. Harris had arrived and was settling herself in for a day of paid viewing while Bella was left alone. Upstairs a tap was creaking and it switched off and then I heard the rustle of a towel against skin. Bella was on her way. I stayed hidden within the trees for purely selfish reasons. One of my very favorite parts of the morning was seeing Bella's face transform when she saw me step into view. It was as if, like me, she wasn't truly happy until we were together. I knew that was romanticized rubbish. Bella was too young for one person to impact her like that. But it made me happy nonetheless.
I heard each of her soft steps on the stairs and then her stumble as she missed the last and skidded into the hall. She huffed with frustration and then carried on through the kitchen to the back door. It swung open and she came out, eyes bright with excitement.
"Edward?" she whispered when she had closed the door carefully behind her.
I walked forward, into her view. "Hello, Bella."
The moment that I had been waiting for came. She smiled beautifully and ran down the wooden steps towards me. She took my cool hand in her warm one. "Hi."
The grass was damp still with morning dew, but she didn't seem to mind as she sat down and pulled me with her. She stretched her legs out in front of her, not releasing my hand. She looked up at me and a small frown creased her brow. "What have you been doing?"
I frowned, too. "I have been waiting for you, Bella."
"You have stuff in your hair and dirt on your face."
I ran a hand through my hair and what looked like half a pulped tree fell out. I shook my head and it rained down onto my shoulders. Bella laughed, clutching her stomach as I attempted to rid my hair of the sawdust.
When I was sure the worst of it was gone, I rubbed a hand over my face, attempting to clear the dirt she had spotted.
"Did you eat a mud pie?" she asked conversationally.
I chuckled. "No, Bella."
"Good." She nodded. "You mustn't. Worms live in the mud, and they poop, and if you eat the mud, you'll eat the poop. It's germy."
I blinked.
"Marshall told me so," she said.
"Who's Marshall?" I hadn't heard him mentioned before in the past or present.
"He's at my school. He's funny. He told me about worm poop and I asked Mommy and she said he was right so I don't eat the mud anymore." She stretched, pointing her toes like a ballerina. "It didn't taste good anyway."
I laughed softly. "No, I don't imagine it does."
She brushed some of the sawdust from my pant leg and looked up at me. "So, what are we going to do today?"
"Whatever you wish, my Bella," I said softly. "Anything at all that you wish."
March 2005
Edward POV
"You have to hurry, Carlisle," I pleaded. "The cops and paramedics are here, but it's like they don't even see her. She's scared."
I didn't care the EMT's were busy dealing with the clerk and his gunshot wound; it was his own stupid fault anyway. All I cared about was the fact the woman I loved was traumatized and there was no one taking care of her.
There was nothing I could do for her. My presence was the greatest threat of all, and it tore me apart. When the scent of her blood permeated the room, it was all I could do to lock my limbs in place and hold my breath. Her desperate pleading barely registered through the haze of the thirst, but her wide, fearful eyes broke my paralysis and made it possible for me to turn on my heel and leave her alive.
"I'm almost there," he said. "Is she hurt?"
"She cut her hand on the glass. I couldn't stay. The blood."
I heard the soft purr of the Mercedes as it pulled to a stop, and I hung up the phone.
Carlisle hurried to the store, sending me a quick mental reassurance as he passed the mouth of the alley I had taken shelter in.
I'll take care of her, Son. Do you need to go?
Did I? The burn of the thirst was almost overpowering, but my need to be close to her was equally as demanding.
"I'll be fine," I said.
Very well.
He approached one of the cops that was standing guard outside the store, and introduced himself.
The gunman was prone on the floor, another EMT was preparing him for transfer. I had been exceptionally careful with the amount of force I had used. I'd wanted to incapacitate not kill. The killing could come later, when Bella wasn't there.
The EMT recognized Carlisle and he called him over for assistance with the clerk. I wanted to rage at him for even casting the idiotic man a passing glance when Bella needed him more. He advised them that there was nothing more that could be done here and that they needed to get him to the hospital.
Through his thoughts, I got my first real look at Bella since I had fled. She was curled against the wall her hands covering her face. Cautiously, Carlisle knelt in front of her and pulled her hands away.
She looked up at him, gasped his name, and threw herself into his arms. He was momentarily taken aback by the force of her reaction, but he soothed her as best he could.
"It's okay, Bella." He patted her back. "You're okay now."
The ambulance carrying the clerk sped away with sirens screaming. A distracted part of my mind wondered if he would live. I didn't care for his life, but I worried about the further trauma Bella would suffer if he died.
Carlisle called for one of the cops to get a blanket for Bella; she was trembling both from the shock and the cool temperature of his skin. When he released her to wrap it around her shoulders she seemed to come back to herself. She looked around the room, her eyes fixing on the gunman as he was wheeled out of the store.
"I want to get out of here," she said quietly. "Can we go outside?"
The cop nodded, and stepped back as she got unsteadily to her feet. Carlisle clamped an arm around her waist when her legs threatened to buckle and led her outside.
An ambulance had arrived for Bella, but when the cop led them to it she balked.
"I don't want to go to the hospital," she said sounding more animated than she had been throughout this ordeal. She crossed her arms over her chest to hide her injured hand. "I'm not hurt."
"You need to be checked out by a doctor," the cop said.
"He's a doctor." She gestured to Carlisle.
"At least come and sit down. We need to talk about what happened."
"Bella has been through enough for one day," Carlisle said firmly. "She is in shock. Your questions can wait."
Though he was speaking out of concern for Bella, there was also the very real issue of exposure to deal with here.
"It's okay," she said. "I'd rather get it over and done with now."
She took Carlisle's hand, a gesture that surprised him and me both, and then traced a message on his palm: trust me.
"Trust her," I said at a pitch only Carlisle would be able to hear.
Having no other option we did as she asked.
She allowed herself to be led into the ambulance. She sat on the edge of the stretcher, Carlisle sat beside her, still holding her uninjured hand.
"Can you tell me what happened?" the cop asked.
Her words were clear and concise as she told her tale. "I was in the store and a man came in. He told the clerk to open the safe, but the clerk said he couldn't. When he hit the security alarm, the robber shot him. He came to me and was talking, then I think he must have slipped on the glass as he fell. There was another shot as he fell, but I don't know where it went. He hit his head really hard. I heard the crack."
She was a genius. The bullet that had hit me, the gunman's head injury, it was all explained away.
"That would be the ricochet," the cop mumbled. I heard the story play out in his mind. He didn't question a thing. It all added up.
Does he believe her? Carlisle asked.
"Every word," I said softly. "I don't think we are going to have any trouble from the cops at least."
That is good. We have another issue to address, though. Bella clearly knows something, and I assume you weren't the one to tell her.
I rolled my eyes, though he couldn't see the gesture. We had spent hours together discussing the photograph and what it could mean. He knew very well I hadn't told her anything.
We will need to talk to her alone.
"Not now," I said firmly. "She has been through enough tonight to last a lifetime. It's a miracle she's still standing. We aren't going to add to that by interrogating her."
I know that, Son. I am merely planning ahead. You know what a risk this poses. Think of Jasper and Rosalie.
I hissed. They weren't going anywhere near Bella. They were my family, but Bella was my life. I would protect her even from them.
"We're going to need you to make an official statement, Miss. Swan," the cop said. "But we can do that tomorrow if you prefer."
"Can we do it in Forks?" she asked. "My dad is the chief there, and I'd feel better in a familiar place."
"Of course we can," he said squeezing her shoulder. His thoughts were full of admiration for how well she was handling it all. As were Carlisle's. She was remarkable.
He walked back into the store, leaving Bella and Carlisle alone. She waited until he was out of earshot before she spoke.
"Is Edward okay?"
Carlisle thoughts were momentarily blank with shock. After all that she had been through she was asking after me!
"He's fine," Carlisle said. "He is close, but can't be here at the moment."
"Yeah, I know, the blood." She looked down at her clothes; they were stained with both her own blood and that of the clerk.
She knows everything!
She saw his shock and sighed. "I know you must have a lot of questions, but I'm really tired. I just want to go home." Her voice broke on the last word.
"Okay," he said, patting her shoulder gently. "Would you like me to take you home, or should I call your father."
"Can you take me? I just want to get away from this place."
"Of course. Let me tend to your hand first, though. That is a nasty cut you have there."
She looked at the gash on her hand with disconnected curiously. "I've had worse."
Working swiftly and confidently, Carlisle cleaned her wound and stitched the gash closed.
"Will you be okay while I collect the car?" he asked.
She nodded and bundled the blanket a little closer around her shoulders. An EMT came and covered her stitches with clean gauze, and Carlisle came to me.
"You should hunt," he said. "I will take Bella home and then return to the house. Are you coming back or would you prefer to be with Bella?"
"I will stay with her," I said. I would not feel comfortable having her out of my sight even for long enough to hunt. I had been trapped by the sunlight today and she had almost been killed. I would not risk it again.
"Hunt first," he instructed, and then continued on to the car.
I watched as he helped Bella into the car and drove out of sight. I climbed into the Volvo and followed them back to Forks. Carlisle kept the speed lower than usual, to make Bella more comfortable.
She looked back over her shoulder at one point and saw my headlights.
"Is that Edward?" she asked.
Carlisle glanced at me though the rear-view mirror. She doesn't miss anything.
"Yes. He is worried about you."
"I'm fine."
When they pulled into the town limits I let them drive ahead and I pulled into a side road leading into the forest.
I hunted quickly, pausing after my second deer, wanting to go straight to Bella, but the memory of her scent was still close enough to make my throat burn, so I took down another.
When I got to her house Bella was making her way upstairs to her bedroom. I scaled the tree outside her window and watched as she gathered her bathroom things and disappeared. When she returned, she was dressed in her nightclothes.
Bizarrely, instead of getting into bed she came to the window and threw it open.
"Edward!" she hissed.
I froze in place, how did she know I was out here? Admittedly she knew more already than she should, but still…
"I know you are out there, but if you want to hide, that's fine. I promise I will explain it all tomorrow, but right now I just want to sleep. Go home to your family; they'll be worried."
There was nothing to be gained by hiding from her, she knew I was here. I crept along the branch until I was in her view.
She jumped when she saw me and clapped a hand over her racing heart.
"I'm sorry," I said quietly. "Are you sure you're okay? I could stay out here just in case."
In case of what? What could I possibly do to help her? So far she had showed no signs of being scared of me, despite all she knew, but now the adrenaline must be long gone; it was only a matter of time before she realized just how much danger she was in being close to me.
"I'll be fine," she said. "Go home. I will see you tomorrow."
Though it was the last thing I wanted to do I jumped from the tree and made my slow trek back home. I was out of sight of Bella's house, but within hearing range when I heard her cries start. I heard her father comforting her, but it still wasn't enough. I wanted to be there to comfort her. It took all my considerable willpower to keep walking away.
When I got back to the house, everyone was waiting for me in the dining room. Alice had told them I was coming.
She will be okay, Alice assured me. She showed me an image of Bella fast asleep and her father sitting in the rocking chair in the corner of her room.
I nodded my gratitude and took my seat beside Carlisle.
Esme reached behind him and patted my shoulder. She was reassuring herself that I was okay. Physically I was fine, emotionally I was a wreck.
"I have told everyone all that I know," Carlisle said. "And Alice has done the same, but I think it would be helpful if you could tell us your side of the story."
"I lost track of her," I said bitterly. I was furious at myself for this oversight. I had been following her from the shadows, but when it mattered most, I had been trapped by the sun.
"I looked for her, but I found the thoughts of that… man first. He was enjoying her fear. And then I heard the gunshot and…" I covered my face with my hands, remembering the horror I had felt. "I thought it was her," I said desperately. "I thought I'd lost her."
"But you didn't," Rosalie said. She was not reassuring me, but voicing her disappointment at Bella's continued existence.
A low growl built in my chest, cutting off abruptly when Carlisle squeezed my wrist. "Whatever you are thinking to hurt your brother, please stop," he said, fixing Rosalie with a stern look. "Let me make one thing clear now. Bella will not be harmed."
She opened her mouth to protest, but he held up a hand to stop her.
"She knows too much perhaps, but she has proven that she can be trusted. After all she had been through tonight, she managed to cover Edward's involvement in the aftermath, and even to create a plausible explanation for the robber's injury. She has protected our secret, and we will protect her."
Rosalie looked to Jasper, hoping he would support her, but he shook his head. He would do nothing to hurt Alice, and Bella had proven herself to him tonight.
I felt an intense wave of relief. I would have defended Bella with my life, but I was immensely grateful that I was not forced to fight my family.
Satisfied that the issue was finished with, Carlisle nodded for me to continue.
"When I got into the store the robber was preparing to kill Bella," I stated it baldly, watching the shock come into their eyes. Alice hadn't seen this part of the evening's events. "I incapacitated him and went to help Bella, but she had cut her hand, there was blood."
"How did you stop yourself?" Alice asked breathlessly.
"I very nearly didn't; the scent was overpowering. She spoke to me though, and the combination of that and her obvious fear was enough to make me leave." I turned my gaze to Rosalie. I wanted her to pay attention to my words. "She told me to keep the secret."
"How does she know so much?" Esme asked, not expecting an answer. "Admittedly she could have noticed the physical differences and pieced things together from that, but it doesn't explain her words. Keep the secret; it is one of the very first lessons we all learned."
"We can ask her these things tomorrow," Carlisle said. "She told me she would explain it all, but she was tired."
"Hardly surprising," Emmett said. "Most people need a nap after an armed robbery. It wears you out."
A laugh bubbled from me without warning. I was not laughing at Emmett's words as much as I was the ludicrousness of the situation. I had fallen in love with a human whose blood I thirsted for. If I could control myself there was still a world of danger out there that could steal her away from me. She had been in town three months and had almost been killed three times already. How was I to keep her safe when I was the greatest danger?
I could feel my laughter becoming hysteria. Jasper filled the room with calm and I marshaled myself long enough to address the next topic.
"I didn't kill the gunman," I said. "But I plan to rectify that as soon as possible. Are there any objections?"
"Yes," Alice said. "You can't kill him."
My mouth dropped open. I thought if anyone would support me it would be Alice, she loved Bella too.
"But you saw—"
She cut me off mid sentence. "I saw what he did and how scared she was, but think how she will feel if he died? You went into that store to protect her. You hurt him for the same reason. If he died, Bella will hold herself responsible. We need to let the human courts deal with him. It's the only way Bella can get some sort of closure."
"But if he doesn't plead guilty Bella will be forced to go to court as a witness. She shouldn't have to go through that, not when she would have to lie about so much."
"But if he pleads guilty she won't have to do anything other than give her statement in the morning." An inexplicable smile spread across her face. "Jasper, do you feel like making a trip to Port Angeles?"
He grinned wickedly. "You read my mind."
"What are you going to do?" Esme asked suspiciously.
"We're going to aid the police with their enquiries," Alice said piously. "If Jasper can influence them during the interrogation he can pump the room with confidence and bravado. The cops will become hardasses and the robber will be proud of what he's done and brag about it. That way they get the confession, and Bella will never need to go to court."
It was a genius idea, but it was dependant on their ability to get close enough and the robber being influenced in the right way. It could backfire and he could become confident about his ability to get away with it instead. It was the best idea we had though.
Alice was already searching ahead to see if the plan would work. I watched with her as she saw her and Jasper in a hospital corridor. Their wide smiles indicated that the plan was working.
"It will work," I said, answering Carlisle unspoken question.
"The police won't speak to him until tomorrow morning as they want to make sure he's medically sound first." Alice said, smiling widely.
"What happens next with Bella?" Carlisle asked. "She said she would tell us, but is she going to come to us, or should we contact her?"
She looked again and saw Bella in the police station with her father and one of the cops from the scene tonight. She searched ahead and saw Bella and I standing in what looked like a garden together. It was the same place I was in the photograph Bella had of me, and the scene of the vision.
Wherever it was, that was where Bella and I would declare our love.
August 1996 ~ Bella is Eight
Edward
The summer before Bella turned nine was one of the hardest for me, though I did my very best to hide it. Bella had been given a project to complete during her summer break, and she'd brought it with her to Charlie's to work on. The topic was When I Grow Up. The idea was that she choose a few examples of things she would want to do as a career. I thought it was an unusual topic for someone so young—how could she know what she wanted as a career so young?—but, as usual, Bella surprised me. She immersed herself in the topic, and many conversations were based on what she would like to do.
It would have been a pleasant way to pass time, discussing the wonderful future she could have had it not been for my awareness of the truth—no matter what Bella wanted to do, she couldn't do it as she had no future past the age of eighteen.
I was constantly aware of the fleetingness of our time together and the loss I would return to, but it was brought home to me on an almost daily basis for a couple weeks that summer.
"I don't think I want to be a cop like Charlie," she said thoughtfully, lying on her stomach with her knees bent and feet waving in the air above her.
"Why not?" I asked, though I thought I knew the answer from a past conversation— "Knowing me, I would trip and shoot myself in the foot by accident."
She surprised me though. "Because it seems really boring. When I go to the station with him, they're always doing paper things and talking. I've never seen my dad catch a criminal. I don't think he ever has."
I laughed softly. "Bella, how would you see him catch anyone if you only ever see him in the station? The criminals aren't going to hand themselves in. He has to be out to catch them."
"But the cells are empty, too," she said. "There should be people in them if they were caught."
I conceded her point. Forks was a low crime area; the most common complaints Charlie had to deal with were theft and vandalism.
"What about when you're at your other house?" I asked. Bella lived in the city. There had to be some police presence there.
She sighed. "There are lots of cops there. Sometimes they're running or driving really fast."
"There you go then. They're going after criminals."
She shook her head. "Nuh-uh. Mom told me they're just practicing. They have to do that so they're ready."
I had to give Renee credit for her ability to set Bella at ease. Life in a city was dangerous sometimes. If Bella was aware that every racing cop or car meant trouble, she would be afraid.
"Okay, not a cop," I said. "What else would you like to do?"
She rolled over so she was staring up at the clouds. "I can't be a nurse like some of the other girls want. There's blood and that makes me sick. I don't like hospitals either. They give you shots and I hate shots. I couldn't give other people shots."
"Not a nurse either," I agreed. "What else is there?"
"There's a vet, but I don't like being bitten, so I can't do that."
I laughed. "I don't think many people like being bitten, Bella."
"Vets do," she said matter-of-factly. "They have to because it happens a lot."
She smiled slightly, a secret smile that made me think this conversation was all a ruse to keep me away from the real topic at hand. "Bella, do you know what you want to do?" I asked.
She blushed and turned her face away from me. "I like to… I think sometimes I'd like to be a teacher," she admitted. "Like my mom."
I remembered this conversation from our time together before. Bella had never revealed her motivations for the career choice though, so I was curious to see what her child self had as reasoning. "Why do you want to be a teacher?"
Her blush deepened and she looked resolutely at the trees instead of me. "They get to sit on the big chair and tell people what good work they're doing and that makes people happy. I like to make people happy. And they have lots of holidays, you know, when the school is closed. My mom says summer is the best part of being a teacher. I like summers, too, because I see you." She glanced at me and then quickly looked away. "Daddy has to work in the summer and I think other people do, too, so if I had another job I wouldn't see you. I like seeing you."
My cold, still heart seemed to squeeze uncomfortably in my chest. She was seeing a whole life of summers together, and I could just deliver a handful more. I forced down the feeling though, and smiled at her. "A teacher it is then, Miss. Swan."
She beamed at me. "Yeah. I'll be a teacher."
March 2005
Bella
The next morning, I woke with a throbbing hand and a sense of impending doom. The memories of the night before came rushing at me. The necklace, the gun, Edward, Carlisle… the images bled into one another and the tears began to flow again.
"You okay, Bells?"
Charlie's voice made my head snap up. He was sitting in the rocking chair in the corner. The rumpled look of his clothes made it clear he had been there all night. A wave of affection rushed through me, warming me from the inside out.
Charlie had been alerted to what had happened by the Port Angeles police. When Carlisle dropped me off home, Charlie had met me there. He had been distraught at the idea of me being involved in the robbery and senseless with gratitude towards Carlisle for his assistance.
"I'm fine," I said, wiping my tear stained cheeks on the back of my uninjured hand. "It just caught me off guard."
He came to sit on the edge of the bed and squeezed my hand. "I know, baby, but it's almost over."
"Almost?"
"I spoke with the Port Angeles police department last night. They are going to send an officer down today to talk to you. They need to get an official statement."
I sighed heavily. More lies. It was worth it to protect Edward and his family, but I was scared I would do or say something wrong and screw it all up.
"I'll be right there with you," Charlie said, mistaking my reaction as fear. "They told me how brave you were last night. You need to be brave a little longer."
I scoffed. Brave? I had fallen apart completely at the end. Crying into Carlisle's arms. What must he have thought of me?
"You saved that man's life," he said with unmistakable pride in his tone. "The EMT said if you hadn't been there he would have bled out before they got to him."
Well that was something at least. I wondered about the robber. Was he dead now? Had Edward hurt him enough that he died, or had he gone back to finish the job in the night?
I examined my feelings as I gathered clean clothes and went to the bathroom to clean up. Did I want the man dead? That was an easy no. I didn't want Edward to torture himself with another death at his hands. I knew if he lived and was free, he would haunt my dreams and my waking hours, though. It was too much to think about, so I did what I always did when I couldn't bear something: I pushed it away and refused to think about it.
When I got downstairs, showered and dressed, Charlie was waiting at the kitchen table with a glass of juice set at my place.
"I wasn't sure if you would feel like eating," he said.
"Good call. My stomach is doing somersaults. Do we have a time to be at the station?"
"Whenever you're ready. Mark called and said they were there. You don't have to rush, though," he added as I gulped down my juice, almost choking.
"Sooner we get it over with the better," I said breathlessly, rubbing my chest. I had more important things to do today than hang around the station.
I went to the bathroom and brushed my teeth. When I finished, I stared at my image in the mirror. I was paler than usual and my eyes had an eerie brightness, I looked a little wired. I took a deep breath and counted to ten before I released it.
"Not yet, Bella," I whispered to myself. "Just a little longer."
My hands began to shake slightly as I remembered that was exactly what I had said to myself the night before when trying to staunch the clerk's bleeding. A flash of his ashen face crossed my mind and a solitary tear slid down my cheek. I was overwhelmed by all that had happened, and all that was to come. I had to be calm though. I needed to put on a good performance for the police first, to cast away any lingering doubt they may have about my story. I needed to protect Edward. I splashed my face with cool water and went back downstairs to Charlie.
The drive to the station was over far too soon. Soon I was being introduced to Officer Morse from the Port Angeles police department and being led into a small room.
Charlie looked out of place here in his civilian clothes, not the Police Chief at all but a father here to take care of his daughter. I was grateful for it. I didn't think I could have made my story work if I felt like I was being interrogated by my father, too.
"Did he die?" I asked, forestalling their questions. "The man with the gun. Did he die?"
Perhaps there was a little desperation in my voice; perhaps they were surprised I had asked at all. For whatever reason my question brought a sympathetic look from the cop and Charlie took my hand and squeezed it.
"No, he is just fine. He was interviewed this morning," Officer Morse said.
And what did he say? I desperately needed to know, but I couldn't ask without drawing suspicion. Luckily, Charlie was an impatient man, and he asked the question for me.
"What did he say? Did he have a good excuse for pulling a gun on my daughter? For almost killing a man?"
"You know I can't tell you this, Charlie," he said. "I need to hear Bella's story first. There are inconsistencies we need to clear up."
Inconsistencies? Oh crap.
"Bella, I need you to talk me through what happened," he said. "I need to know everything you can remember. Any detail, no matter how small, is important."
Clasping Charlie's hand so tight it must have been painful for him, I began. "I saw something in the store window I liked, so I went inside. I was looking at it when the robber came in."
"The suspect," he interrupted me. "We refer to him as the suspect until he has been formally charged."
Well bully for you. I thought irritably.
Charlie didn't seem impressed at the correction either as he scowled.
"The suspect," I said with heavy emphasis, "came into the store and asked to see some engagement rings. Then he pulled out the gun and told the clerk to open the safe."
"Paul Matthews," he said. "The clerk, the man whose life you saved, is called Paul Matthews."
"Yeah, him. He was supposed to open the safe but he said he didn't know the code. I think he was going for the alarm, his hand moved, and then there was a gunshot and I heard him hit the floor. I was on the floor then, too. I dropped when the gun went off."
He nodded encouragingly as I paused. So far, it had been the truth, now I was moving into cover-up territory and I was nervous.
"What happened next?"
"It's a bit blurred because I was scared. He was smashing the cabinets, and then he was talking to me. I think he must have slipped on all the glass because I saw him fall down. He hit hishead really hard."
"And there was no one else there?" he asked.
Damn. I had hoped the robber would have been a bit vague about events following Edward's intervention. Apparently, I was going to be disappointed.
"No one at all," I said firmly. "Just me, the clerk and the suspect. I would have noticed someone else there."
"What about the security tapes?" Charlie asked. "Can't you see what happened on them?"
"Afraid not. The store had the cameras on direct feed to a security system, but apparently, the system was out of service at the time. The entrance was fitted with a counter system that logged arrivals and that was working. It logged an extra person entering the store at the time."
"There were cops there, and the EMT's," I said. "What about them?"
He shook his head. "We included them in the count."
"Carlisle!" I seized on the excuse. "Dr. Cullen was there. He took care of me. Did you count him?"
Please say no. Please, please say no.
He shifted uncomfortably. "Actually, I don't know if we did. I'll have to check, but that seems to explain it."
I breathed a sigh of relief. The Cullens could mess with technological evidence, but if the robber had mentioned Edward's presence, we were damned.
"Is there anything else you need to know?" Charlie asked. "My daughter has been through a lot and I'd like to get her home."
"No, I think we have everything we need. You just need to read this. If it is correct, please sign here." He slid a copy of my statement across the table.
I scanned it briefly and was just about to sign it when Charlie snatched it from under my pen and studied it carefully. Apparently satisfied with it, he handed it back to me and nodded.
I signed my name with a slightly shaking hand and pushed it away.
"Can I go now?" I asked hopefully.
"Yes. Thanks for all your help, Bella." He paused as if considering something. When he spoke again his tone was quiet and confiding "I don't think you need to worry; the suspect has given a full and boasting confession. This was just procedure."
I wished he had told me that from the beginning. I could have relaxed then, rather than feeling the aching anxiety that had plagued me. Then I realized the full meaning of his words. The robber had confessed. That meant no court, no being a witness, and best of all, no risk to the secret. The relief was so intense it made me feel lightheaded.
Charlie guided me from the room with a hand at the small of my back. As we passed through the station his deputy, Mark, gave me a sympathetic smile. I wondered how I looked to him. Did he see the slightly manic look in my eye that showed I had faced one challenge today, but that the biggest was yet to come? The closer I got to the moment of revealing all to Edward, the more nervous I became.
My footsteps were leaden as I made my way out to the cruiser. I sat with my head against the window as the scenery flashed by. When he pulled up in front of the house, Charlie cleared his throat awkwardly.
"Will you be okay here on your own?" he asked tentatively. "I need to sort some stuff out at the station."
I had no doubt he wanted to talk to Officer Morse before he went back to Port Angeles. Charlie was a cop. He would want to settle his fears regarding what happened, and therefore my own. If I said I needed him, he would have stayed, but that would have merely been delaying the inevitable. Edward was surely somewhere close by, listening to this conversation and waiting my response as eagerly as Charlie was.
"I'll be fine," I said.
"You sure?"
I nodded and he squeezed my hand. "I'm real proud of you, Bells."
I didn't know whether he was referring to my statement or the event as a whole, but his words made me smile. "Thanks, Dad."
I got out of the cruiser and let myself into the house. He watched until the door closed behind me before driving off.
I let out a heavy sigh as I hung my coat on the hook and went to the kitchen. My hands shook as I filled a glass with water and gulped it down.
After waiting two years for this moment, the last eight weeks of which in his presence, I was scared of his reaction. If he didn't believe me… I was making myself crazy with 'what-if's'.
The soft knock on the door made me yelp. The glass dropped from my hand and into the sink
Edward called to me from outside. "Bella, are you okay?"
"Yeah, give me a minute." I walked into the hall and then, taking a deep breath to gird myself for the moment, I swung the door open.
He was as perfect looking as ever, but having him so close and alone, stole my breath. All the fear I felt about this moment vanished as I looked into his eyes. This was nothing to be scared of; this was what was supposed to happen all along.
"Bella." My name sounded like a song on his lips.
My reply was a breathy sigh. "Edward."
"May I come in?"
I stepped aside, to allow him in and shook my head to try and clear my muddled thoughts. I directed him into the lounge and then went to my bedroom to retrieve the wooden chest.
"I know you have questions," I began, "and I promise to answer them, but I need you to be patient and try to keep an open mind, okay?"
He nodded. "I promise."
"Okay." I took a deep breath and allowed my eyes to slip closed for a moment before speaking. "You are Edward Cullen. You are a vampire. And I love you with all my heart."
So… SHE SAID IT! Finally, right? Things will be able to pick up pace now and we'll move into the part of the story I had the most fun writing.
Thank you all for your support.
Until next time…
Simaril x
