Disclaimer: I don't own, Stephenie Meyer does, I'm just borrowing for my entertainment. Ben and Eric are mine, though.

"You can trust me, Bella."

She audibly heard the words, but mistrust had been ingrained in her too long for her mind to allow her mouth to begin disclosing her entire life history. It was not that she did not trust Edward, it was just that she could not pour her heart out to anyone. So she did what she had always done in these situations – she changed the subject and curled tighter into his embrace, comforted by the stone arms wrapped tightly around her. "Why can you come out in the daylight? I always thought vampires could only come out at night."

Edward smiled at her misconception. Film and literature had painted his kind in a false light for centuries, which had actually been of benefit to his species. "That's just a myth, Bella, fabricated by directors and writers to make for a more interesting story."

She drew her brows together in confusion. "But the girls at work said that your family always disappears on days the sun actually shines – that you take off on camping and hiking vacations. You really go camping?" she asked in disbelief.

He shook his head. "No. We don't go out in the sun in public. It's one of the main reasons we chose to live here. Direct sunlight shows us in a way that people would know we're…different."

"How?"

Her pulse had returned to a regular rhythm, so he elected to answer her questions first, then he would bring the conversation back to this Rick person. Slow and steady wins the race. "I'll show you sometime."

She made a noise of contentment and reached up to idly play with the buttons on his shirt. "Does it burn?"

He laughed again. "No, just another myth."

"What about garlic?"

"Myth."

"Stakes through the heart?"

He shook his head. "Nope, the only thing a human could do to kill one of us is set us on fire."

She shuddered at the thought. "Crucifixes?"

"I'm actually quite fond of them. Carlisle has a large cross that hangs in our home wherever we are that his father carved. You'll have to see it sometime."

She sighed and continued to fiddle with his buttons. His scent was soothing to her and she found that her mind had strayed away from Eric, which was where she preferred it to stay. She knew, however, that Edward would not let her off the hook so easily. He was right; he had told her of things he had never spoken of to another human, so if they were to move forward, she owed it to him to tell him of her past. "You remember I told you that I moved here from Jacksonville," she whispered, swallowing hard and chewing on her lip.

Edward heard her heart rate quicken so that it was hammering frantically. He held her tighter and vowed to himself that regardless of what she said, he would only react outwardly in a tranquil manner. He could rage later, after he had left. "Mmmhmm."

She took a deep breath. "Edward, there's a lot you don't know about me." She hid her face in his chest.

"Bella, there was much you didn't know about me until a few moments ago. Let's just get everything out in the open, then we'll both feel better. Whatever it is, you can tell me." He stroked her arm with his fingertips in an effort to keep her calm.

"Okay," she said, more to herself than to him. "Well, here goes. Ben and I ran away from Florida. We basically escaped and now we're in hiding." She let out a humorless laugh. "For starters, Bella's not even my real name." She risked a glance up at him to see him looking down on her, his face relaxed, although his eyes were tight.

"What is your real name?"

"Anna…Anna Russo," she said, the name sounding foreign on her tongue after all this time. "And Ben's name is really Ethan."

Edward cocked his head to the side, continuing to study her face. "You don't look like an Anna to me. No matter what, I think you'll always be Bella." He smiled at her with the crooked smile she loved so much.

Her breath left her in a whoosh. One huge secret out and nothing had been destroyed. "I don't think I could ever go back to being Anna anyway. And I think it would confuse Ben. He probably doesn't even remember what his real name is anymore. But…he does remember…Eric," she said, feeling the bile at the back of her throat at actually voicing his name.

Edward nodded. "He mentioned him a few times. But only by name and in drawings. What did he do to you, Bella?" he whispered, keeping his voice smooth by sheer willpower only. Hearing the bastard's name on Bella's lips was enough to send the monster into a frenzy, pushing and clawing, desperate to rip this man's throat out.

She took a shuddering breath and allowed her mind to take her back – back to her other life, back to a time when she did not believe hope was a possibility. She did not realize she was crying until she felt Edward wipe the tears off of her face. "Sorry," she whispered.

"Don't be sorry, Bella. You don't have anything to apologize for. Just take your time and tell me what happened." He pushed and shoved his base instincts back into the far reaches of his mind; anyone that could cause Bella to shed tears months after contact deserved the worst he could do to them. All in good time.

She nodded and sniffled. You can do this…it's Edward. He just verified that he's a frigging vampire for God's sake… "Okay…okay. Edward, Eric was…not a nice man. H-he was a surgeon and we met at the hospital. He was very charming, and stupid me fell for everything he told me." She shook her head in disgust at herself.

Edward stroked her hair back from her face, while part of his brain imagined slowly pulling Eric's fingernails out, one by one, enjoying every scream of pain ripped from his lips. "You weren't stupid. He's the asshole, Bella, remember that. You did nothing wrong. Nothing."

She looked up into the face that had come to mean so much to her in such a short period of time. She inhaled his scent, allowing it to soothe her, and gripped onto his hand for support. She nodded, prompting herself to continue. "Anyway, Ben and I moved into his house shortly after we started dating and everything was great…for a while. Then, he got caught writing false prescriptions and his license was suspended. He started drinking and one night, I came home a little late from work and…he slammed my head into the wall, knocking me out." She heard a growl rumble deep within Edward's chest and looked up to see his eyes darkening. "Edward?" she asked timidly.

He closed his eyes and breathed deeply. It would not avail him for Bella to become afraid because he went all psycho-vampire while she was telling him about her past. He pulled himself back together and opened his eyes to see her still staring at him, wide-eyed. "Sorry, love. It's not you. I just…I've seen memories from Ben and then hearing it from you…just the thought of someone causing you pain brings out the worst in me." He offered her her favorite smile as a way to show he was back in control.

She gave him a small smile in return. "He never hurt Ben, Edward. I made sure of that. I would have died before I let him touch my son," she said angrily, her mind back in Jacksonville.

He looked down at her intently. "I know. The pictures Ben drew of the three of you always showed you placed between him and this…man," he sneered, "if that's what you can even call him. But you don't need a psych degree to know what it meant. Ben always saw you putting yourself between him and Eric." He spat the name out as if it was a filthy curse.

She felt her eyes well up with tears at this revelation. She had never known that Ben had been so observant, and she hated the fact that he still carried these memories with him. Hopefully, he was young enough that as time went on, he would slowly forget them. "Oh," she said softly.

"So…" Edward prodded, trying to get the story back on track.

She twisted her fingers in her lap. "Well, it was a cycle. He was sorry, he'd never do it again, he'd get pissed off, he'd do it again, he'd be sorry, blah blah. And it kept escalating. He lost his license for three years and so he just moped around the house, drinking, and hanging out with his friends, who I never did like. So, after about nine months of this, I decided I had to get out, and I made plans."

"Why didn't you leave earlier?" he asked, curious. Bella did not seem the type to sit around and take shit off of anyone, but he realized the Bella he knew may have been different from the Bella – Anna – he corrected himself, she had been before. The name sounded odd to him, even in his mind.

She shook her head. "I couldn't. I threatened to the first time…when he knocked me out, and he told me if I ever did, he'd kill me and Ben both. And I knew he would. He has powerful connections with some people I wouldn't want to cross in a dark alley."

Edward smiled widely, exposing his teeth. "I'm sure I could handle them." His eyes had narrowed again and his mind had wandered to the various methods of torture he could inflict on these people who would have dared to hurt his new family. They thought they were scary? They hadn't seen anything yet.

"I'm sure you could," she said with a small smile. "But I couldn't and I didn't know you yet. So, I made plans. A coworker figured out what was going on and helped me get some things together. She's Charlie's sister, so she's why I ended up here."

He gently stroked her cheek. "Remind me to thank Charlie's sister, then, for bringing you and Ben to me and bringing life to my dark existence."

She rolled her eyes at his hyperbole. "You can buy a Hallmark card. Anyway, she hooked me up with a guy that did identities and set me up with a place to go, so I started saving up money. Then, when I knew the time was getting close, I put all the cash in a bag and hid it. One day, Eric went completely crazy and stormed out. I knew he would be gone for a while, so I did it. I packed my stuff really quickly, grabbed Ben, got my new IDs, and bought bus tickets for 'Anna' and 'Ethan' to Boston," she explained, making air quotes with her fingers around her and Ben's original names. "Then we got on a plane to Seattle. And here we are," she finished, amazed that once she had started with her narration, how easy it had been to bring Edward in on her secret.

"So he doesn't know where you are?" Edward inquired, slightly disappointed. He was itching for a chance to dismember the bastard, slowly, joint by joint.

She shook her head. "No, and I can't see how he would ever find us here. There isn't any connection we have with the Pacific Northwest, let alone, Forks."

He placed a kiss on top of her head. "Thank you for telling me."

She sighed and wrapped her arms around his waist, settling even closer. She was amazed that she actually felt better now that he knew. "Thank you for listening."

"So, Eric is not Ben's father?" he asked innocently. Now that the walls were down, he wanted to know everything about her. He immediately felt her stiffen in his arms.

"No."

He waited to see if she would expound on her response, but silence permeated the air. "Bella?"

"Edward, I'm not one to open up and share, so tonight is a huge step for me. Please, just…don't go there. That's a whole new breakdown," she pleaded. "And I don't have the emotional energy tonight."

Edward looked at her shrewdly. He was afraid that if he didn't pull it out of her now, he would never catch her so unguarded again. "Bella—"

"Edward, I promise, I will tell you the whole story some other time, but I am honestly too exhausted tonight. Please?" she asked again, softly.

He gazed into her deep, brown eyes and knew he would never be able to deny her anything. He would not press her, but he would hold her to her promise. "Pinky promise?" he asked with a smile, his little finger extended.

She smiled, her adrenaline rush beginning to wear off, the emotional walk down memory lane, along with the huge case of nerves earlier, finally catching up with her, exhaustion beginning to settle in her bones. "Pinky promise," she said, wrapping her finger around his, then sighing in pleasure when he lightly pressed his lips against hers. Maybe Ben would not interrupt this time.

***

Edward ran through the woods, wanting to put as much distance between himself and Bella as possible. He had barely managed to control his rage throughout their conversation, but his thin hold was about to snap and he wanted her nowhere near him when it did. Being in her presence, her scent calling to him like a drug, had been difficult enough, but to then hear her tell of what she had suffered… He had to get away for a while; he needed an outlet for his anger.

The things she had told him coupled with the already distorted images he had seen in Ben's mind had unleashed within him a bloodlust more powerful than any he had ever experienced before; even his desire for Bella's blood held no candle to the desire he felt to spill this…monster's blood. For this man that Bella had been paired with at one time – if one were even generous enough to call him a man – would die. Edward would make sure of that; he would end his miserable, pathetic existence with his own hands. Not his teeth. Oh, no. He wanted no part of that…human…to ever enter his body. Edward would never soil himself with the malevolent blood that pumped through his veins. But he would shed it. He would watch with a gleeful smile as it ran in rivulets and streams, finally slowing to a steady drip as Eric's body was exsanguinated, his life's blood slowly soaking into the ground, never to provide life to the evil that was this man ever again.

Once Edward was at least a hundred miles away from Forks, he stopped and perched on top of a cliff, overlooking a ravine, watching the moonlight shimmer on a river below. The picturesque scene should have calmed him, but it did not. His breathing accelerated and he continued to feel the rage pound throughout him; he felt the monster within rattling his cage, attempting to force his way out.

With a growl, Edward relented and allowed his anger the escape it so desperately desired. He felt it take over, felt the overwhelming hatred flow through his limbs and invade his mind. He knew his eyes had turned a deep onyx, could feel the venom dripping from his teeth. He turned to the forest standing serenely behind him and narrowed his eyes, preparing for the hunt that would hopefully satiate his need to kill. He could not return to Forks until he had appeased the monster enough to force him back to his cage; he could not put Bella and Ben in any danger.

He jumped lithely into the thick trees and prowled, looking for his next meal. He was in the mood for a fight and the black bear bumbling along looked irritable enough to suit his mood. He was not concerned about taste tonight, only attitude.

He sprang from his perch with a growl and wrestled the bear to the ground. It never stood a chance.

***

"You look awful…happy," Charlie said, looking at Bella with a sideways glance. "Ed McMahon stop by today or something?"

Bella rolled her eyes, trying to wipe the wide smile off of her face unsuccessfully. "No. Can't I just have a good day?" It had been such a long time since she had experienced a good day and she wanted to bask in the afterglow of Edward's visit. She had thought she would feel bad or dirty after Edward learned the specifics about Eric, but she only felt relieved, light. She did not, however, want to give Charlie all of the details.

Ben giggled. "Edward kissed her," he whispered, before clapping his hand over his mouth.

Charlie raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Blabbermouth," she mumbled, ruffling Ben's hair, suddenly extremely interested in the Mariner's game on the television, feeling her face turning scarlet. "Oh, they scored a point!" she exclaimed, trying to turn the subject back to one of Charlie's favorite areas of discussion.

"Run. They scored a run, Bells." He was just as happy as she was to change the subject as anything related to kissing made him extremely uncomfortable.

"Oh. Well, that's what I meant."

"He's itchy," Ben said, seriously.

Charlie took a deep breath. "Ich-i-ro. Boy, if you weren't three, I'd say that was blasphemy," he said with a sigh.

"What are you talking about? Who's itchy?" Bella asked, confused. Baseball rules were confusing enough to her, but now the two of them were talking as if in a foreign language.

Charlie breathed out hard. This was too much. "That's his name. Ichiro Suzuki. He's a Mariner's legend. Now can everyone please be quiet until a commercial?" He had just missed an amazing play at second base trying to explain that no one was itching.

Bella shook her head. "I'm going to go give Ben his bath then we're going to bed. 'Nite." She hurriedly made a run for it. Anything to get out of discussing kissing Edward with Charlie.

***

"Edward," Carlisle started when Edward walked in the door.

"Man, what the hell happened to you?" Emmett asked, mouth agape at Edward, whose clothes were shredded. Edward usually kept his clothing spotless when he hunted.

Alice was standing behind Jasper, her eyes wide. I'm sorry, but I had to tell them. I saw you…

Edward peered into her mind and he saw a vision of himself standing in Bella's kitchen…with Eric. He was ecstatic to see that Eric was lying on the floor, much like in Alice's earlier vision of Bella, and he was dead. Edward looked around at his family, who continued to stare at him as if he had just grown tentacles and was speaking in Klingon. "What?"

Carlisle looked at him with concern. "Son, are you all right?"

Edward looked at everyone in confusion. He was not sure why they were all acting so strangely. He nodded. "Let me go change…then we'll talk," he said, cautiously.

He listened to his family's thoughts while he was changing out of his destroyed clothing and he suddenly realized what their issue was. Alice had seen a vision of him killing Eric in Bella's kitchen. But they did not know who Eric was; they believed he was just going to kill some random human. They probably had no idea it was even Bella's house. Some days it was easy to forget that his family could not read his mind as he could theirs.

And Alice's vision also meant that the fucking bastard was going to come to Forks, apparently. Let him come. I'll rip his fucking throat out and gut him like a fish. I'll make him beg me for death before the end.

He continued to allow the murderous thoughts to run through his mind as he walked into the dining room and found his family around the dining room table, as if prepared for an intervention. Seriously?

"Edward," Esme said, standing up to embrace him. "Are you all right?"

He wrapped his arms around her, suppressing a groan. He knew she was only worried about him and that none of them knew the details of the situation. "I'm fine." Well, he was more…in control. His tussle with the bear had relieved some of his tension and anger, at least until the object of his rage came calling at the good town of Forks.

"What's going on?" Rosalie asked, concern etched on her beautiful face. "Is the child okay?"

"If I can please explain, I'll fill everyone in," Edward stated, looking around the table.

"The floor is yours," Carlisle said with a nod. We're all here for you, son. Tell us what you need us to do for you.

Edward gave him a nod of thanks then spoke. "I saw Alice's vision and I know she's told you all what she saw. I can assure you that I understand it much better than you do and that everything will be fine."

Esme breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God."

"So you're not gonna whack the dude?" Emmett asked causing Rosalie to roll her eyes in frustration.

"I didn't say that."

This statement caused an uproar.

"What?"

"What the hell do you mean?"

"You can't kill a human!"

"You'll break the treaty!"

"Holy shit!"

"Oh, Edward, no!"

Edward held his hands up for quiet. "Please, let me finish." Everyone quieted and looked at him, most with incredulous expressions. "Carlisle, I know you do not condone killing another creature, no matter the reason, but in this case, I must disagree."

"Edward, he's just a man, a human."

Edward shook his head. "No, he's much worse. He's a horrible excuse for a human being," he spat, shaking with anger.

"Sweetheart, why don't you start at the beginning," Esme suggested, her perfect features drawn in confusion and concern. "I'm assuming this has something to do with Bella and Ben."

Edward sat down heavily and nodded. "Yes." He filled them in on Bella's past, culminating with the all-encompassing rage he felt toward Eric. "Bella feels sure that he will kill her if he ever finds her, and Alice had a vision several months ago that showed Bella in her kitchen, dead by human hands. Knowing what I know now, I think she saw Bella's future if this bastard finds her. And I will not allow it." He stared at each one of them, hard, daring anyone to argue his point.

"I think you need to take him out, eliminate the threat," Jasper said quietly.

"Jasper!" Esme gasped.

He shrugged. "Obviously Bella is the victim here and she will be in danger as long as he's alive. Same with Ben. So, you exterminate him, problem solved. She's free to live her life and Edward's not strung out, ready to snap at any time."

"You do have a point," Carlisle said quietly. "Bella and Ben are our biggest concern. And while I do not support harming anyone, we must protect them and if this man is a danger to them, then, Edward, you must do what you feel is right."

Edward swallowed hard, shocked at Carlisle's blessing to rip his enemy apart. "Thank you."

"Edward, Alice's vision shows you killing him in Chief Swan's house!" Rosalie said, standing up. "You'll expose us if you do that! And what of the child?"

"What about Bella?" Alice asked, looking pointedly at Rose.

"I'm with you, bro," Emmett said, placing his vote out for all to hear, his support for his brother always unwavering.

"Look," Edward said, loudly, "we all know Alice's visions are subjective, so let's not worry about the details too much today. We need to see if we can find out anything about this man, where he is, see if we can find out when he arrives in Forks. Then, I'll…introduce myself," he said with a wide smile, teeth flashing.

"We must be very careful," Carlisle said, ever the voice of reason. "He must never be tied back to us."

Edward nodded. "Don't worry. He'll never be found. And even if parts are…discovered, no one will ever be able to identify him."

"What about dental records?" Rosalie asked. "We cannot have the Volturi breathing down our necks," she hissed.

Edward flashed her another smile. "Not a problem."

Emmett slapped the table, his eyes hard. "Bring him on. He'll learn real quick, you don't fuck with the Cullens."

***

Eric Anderson excitedly checked his email. His BlackBerry had just buzzed, signaling an incoming message and he was expecting a colleague in Manchester, New Hampshire, to be sending him some information. Any minute now.

Eric had brushed off his mother's request to accompany her and his father on their vacation to Seattle. He scoffed. Seattle? Really, what the fuck could possibly be in Seattle that he would ever want to see or do? All it did was rain, and he could see the ocean from where he was. Plus, he knew his mother would fuss over him the entire time – tell him he was not eating enough, was drinking too much, was moping too much. She would tell him that he needed to move on from Anna and work on his recovery program so he would be eligible to reapply for his medical license. Then his father would start in on the fact that he did not pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to send his son to medical school so he could sit around all day and be a damn drunk. Blah blah blah.

He excitedly opened the email from Dr. Mathew Seigler, who was a neurologist in Manchester. He had sent out a call for help to all of his medical contacts on the Eastern seaboard when Anna had run off. He had discovered she had gone to the greater Boston area – amazing what some well-placed bribes would do – and, as a nurse, she had to be working in the medical field somewhere. One did not just up and switch careers. He had sent her picture and description out to everyone he knew with the request to notify him if anyone had seen her. Mathew had emailed him with the news that a nurse had started working at Elliot Hospital who matched Anna's description. Bingo.

He was salivating, he was so excited. He could almost see her expression when she opened her door to see him standing there; he could almost taste the fear that would radiate off of her as she realized it really was him and then tried to run.

He was shaking from excitement at the fantasy…he would catch her. He would let her run first, let her think she had a chance; plus the thrill of the chase was what got his blood pumping. Then he would tie her up, so she would know she had no chance in hell to escape. He would tell her everything he was going to do to her, then he would tell her everything he was going to do to Ethan.

It was a shame the child had to die. He did not condone child murder – he was not a monster, after all –but Ethan was a part of her and he had to eradicate every part of her from his life before he could move on. She was a cancer that had metastasized into every cell of his being; she had to be destroyed.

Plus, he had to punish her for leaving him, and what better way to do that than to tell her in shocking detail how her child would die.

He opened the email, the maniacal smile on his face reflected back to him on the screen.

Eric,

Sorry, man, but this girl's name is Jennifer Vanover. She's married with two kids, so no way this is the girl you're looking for. Tough break.

Mathew

Eric sat in the ergonomic chair for a few minutes, reading the few lines over and over before he threw his glass against the wall, watching as the crystal seemed to shatter in slow motion.

The fucking bitch had escaped him again. But he would find her. And he would make her suffer even more when he did.

End Notes: Wow, over 100 reviews! I never in my wildest dreams expected to ever reach that mark, so THANK YOU to everyone who has left a review! You guys rock! Also, thank you to everyone who has read, alerted, or favorited this story…hopefully this chapter did not disappoint!

I tried really hard to keep Edward in character for this chapter and Bella's revelation to him…I've been editing this chapter all week, trying to make it more Edwardish. Please let me know what you thought! Your feedback is my driving force to get these chapters done and up quickly!