Marie stared dubiously at Esme's Black Range Rover. She pulled it up to the front of the house and tossed the grocery bags in the backseat.
"You don't have to be afraid," She softly said. "It's just the grocery store. We'll be together the entire time."
Right. Just the grocery store. Marie hadn't been out of the house since she arrived. She knew that the media was heavily covering her case. They couldn't even watch the news because every channel was about her marvelous escape. The reporters were still scouring the town, waiting for the perfect moment to get a picture of her.
"I don't know..."
"Honey," Esme sighs. "You don't need to worry about the reporters or anybody else for that matter. I'll do all the talking."
Marie didn't want to put Esme in that position. She didn't want to draw any attention to herself and cause a commotion. She just wanted this to be a simple and fast shopping trip.
"If you are sure…" she sighed.
With reluctance, Marie pulls herself up into the car. Esme comes around to the other side and starts the car. The car jolts forward, bumping along the uneven road, and drove further and further away from the safety of the home.
Luckily the grocery store wasn't too far away. Fifteen minutes had passed since they left the house and pulled into the parking lot. Marie let out a sigh of relief, seeing the almost empty parking lot. She didn't take into account that it was a Monday morning and most people would be at work and school.
However, her optimism only lasted about five minutes. The moment they walked into the store, they were bombarded by a perky, annoying blonde haired woman. She walked up to Marie and Esme with a glint of curiosity in her big blue eyes. Her smile screamed anything but innocence. Marie shuffled behind Esme, weary of this newcomer.
"Esme!" The woman exclaimed.
"Hello, Karen." Esme politely smiled, showing nothing of her annoyance.
"It's great to see you! It's been so long!"
"Yes," Esme lies. "It has been so long."
The woman's eyes shift to Marie, who is intensely staring at her feet.
"You know, I hope everything is going alright. I can't help but watch the news…"
Esme sighs, knowing where this is heading. Karen Newton was the gossip of the town and was itching to get her hands on any information about Bella.
"I'm Karen," the woman spoke loudly as if Marie was deaf. "You must be Bella! I don't think that you remember me but my son, Michael and you were in the same kindergarten class!"
Esme wanted to roll her eyes. Just because she was traumatized did not mean that she was hearing impaired. Marie looks towards, Esme unsure of how to respond. She didn't want to talk to this nosy woman.
"Are you going to Forks High?" She raised her voice. "Michael goes there too. Perhaps you will be in some classes together!"
"For the moment, Bella is being homeschooled. We're still working on her resettling her into everything."
"Oh, I bet!" She dramatically sighed. "I don't know how you survived Bella. The awful things that man did to you-"
"Karen," Esme cuts her off. Her eyes sent the perfectly clear message- stop talking- but apparently, she didn't get it.
"I pray for you every night," she pressed her hand against her heart. "Bless your heart. Only God can lead you on your journey to healing."
Marie clenched her hands into tight fights, her knuckles turning whiter and whiter. She didn't want to talk about this anymore.
"Thank you, Karen," Esme clenches her jaw. "We appreciate it."
The woman's lips are pressed into a thin line as she looks between the two of them. She just wanted to talk to the girl. Was that too much to ask?
"We better continue on with the shopping…" Esme suggested.
"Oh, I suppose you're right. I do hope to see the two of you again," Karen breathed. "If you are ever around Bella, I'd suggest coming to a service at St. Patricks. They're held every Thursday night. Trust me when I say, your life can be changed if you just let in the power of God."
Marie is wide-eyed. She nods her head, not knowing what else to do. She had given up her belief in God many years ago. Two many lonely painful nights passed with no one to help. If there was a God then he must not love her.
"Thank you," Esme said. "We'll remember that."
Karen beams, happy that she's made an influence on their lives. The power of God worked in marvelous ways if only she could show the young girl.
"That went worse than I expected," Esme sighs as they drive away from the store. Bags full of groceries sat in the trunk while she ranted on and on about, Karen Newton. "... trust me, Bella, do not tell that woman a thing and do not believe anything that comes out of her mouth. She lives for gossip and is not a person that can be trusted with a secret. Do you understand?"
"Yes," Marie whispers.
"I'm sorry, sweetie. Karen Newton is just a handful, she makes my blood boil. Just forget everything she said-"
"W-wait," Marie stutters. "I actually had a question about something."
Esme's eyes flicker towards Marie while keeping her hands steady on the wheel.
"She was talking about services before. Does your family go to Church?"
"We do go to church…" Esme pauses. "Or at least we try to go every Sunday. We are Catholic so we usually go to St. Bridgets in Henderson, the next town over."
"Oh…" Marie doesn't want to make this any more awkward. Would they make her go with them? Just because she didn't believe in God didn't mean that she opposed to going to church.
"As you can see, we haven't gone in a while. Our main focus at the moment is well… you," Esme said.
"No no no," Marie hastily said. "Don't stop going because of me! I'm like interrupting your whole life-"
"Bella, it's alright," Esme tried to calm down the girl. "You come first and never assume that you are a bother. Didn't we talk about this yesterday?"
"Yes," Marie mumbles. She fiddles with the staticky radio, suddenly feeling embarrassed and guilty.
"Both of our families would go together to church every Sunday," Esme reminisced. "You and Alice were little rascals. You guys would chase each other in the pews while your mom and I chased after the two of you, trying to get you to sit still."
Marie couldn't help but smile. Bella sounded so free, so innocent. Marie wished that she could be like that again.
"Do you ever think about God? Or still, believe in him? I know that it's been such a long time…"
Marie swallows the lump in her throat. She didn't want to offend Esme but at the same time, she felt that she had to be truthful.
"I gave up believing in him a long time ago," Marie whispered. "Before, I would pray every night. I prayed that he would just give me a sign that he was watching over me. Day after day I waited but it never came. Eventually, I lost hope in God; in everyone."
"I understand how you can feel that way," Esme could feel the tears prickling in her eyes. "It must have been hard-"
"It was torture," Marie all but growled. "The one person who was supposed to be there for me left me abandoned. I would kneel on the hard ground until my knees were in p- pain," she stuttered. "James would laugh and mock and degrade me, telling me that no one was coming to save me. I was stupid not to believe him. I was so stupid!"
Marie leaned her head against the window as she broke down and sobbed like a child. How stupid she had been to believe that anyone was looking out for her. Only a couple of hours away the Cullens were living comfy in their nice fancy home.
The police showed up to James house several times but never bothered to look in the attic. They were so close yet so far away. It made her want to scream in anger every time she heard their footsteps fading from down below and the sound of their cars driving further and further from the house. Marie was angry at the world. She had for sure gotten the short end of the stick.
They pull up to the front of the house. Esme wants to comfort Bella but she's out of the car before she gets the chance to speak. Marie silently unloads the groceries and brings them inside. She doesn't bother waiting for Esme as she quickly puts them all away.
The house felt empty and quiet without everyone in it. Carlisle was at work and Alice, Edward, and Emmett was at school. Esme was only home because she had taken a leave of absence from work. She was a preschool teacher and everyone understood and supported her decision.
Mare realized that she had become used to the noise and chaos. The constant bickering and laughs from the family. Without it, this house just seemed… boring.
She was about to head upstairs to her bedroom when the shrill ring of the house phone caught her attention.
"Hello?" Esme said as she picked up the phone.
Marie didn't know what was being said but she watched Esme's face flicker from being confused too angry to terrified to neutral. Her eyes flashed to Marie's quickly and then away. She bit her lip and tapped her fingers delicately against the counter, humming a yes every now and then.
Who was on the phone?
As soon as Esme hangs up the phone, Marie asks. "Who was it?"
"It was the Portland Police Station."
Marie's heart races against her chest. What did they want? Did they have the test results already? Were they coming to arrest her? She had to start planning her escape now before they caught her. Carlisle said that he wouldn't let the police take her. He promised.
"It's nothing bad," she assures Marie. "They just compared your charts from when you were a child to now. As you know, you have lost a lot of baby teeth and have cavities and fillings that would make it impossible to positively I.D you," she said. "However, you had a few permanent teeth from when you were eight and are still there."
"Will, that prove who I really am?" Alarm raised in her voice.
"Not exactly," Esme shook her head. "Having cavities is apart of growing up and you may have them where they weren't before. That makes the scans inconclusive unless they can find a filling from a permanent tooth on the past scan to now. That can prove to them that you are truly Isabella Swan. However, if a filling has disappeared from one of your permanent teeth that you had when you were eight than that gives them an argument to claim that you are not Isabella Swan."
Marie remembers Officer Wayland's specific hatred for her. She bets that he was jumping up and down for joy at this information. He'd take anything he could to prove that she was not Isabella Swan. He wanted her to suffer.
"Is that all?" Marie breaths.
Esme shakes her head back and forth. How much more could she put her through? Marie already looked warren and beaten down. She didn't want to add any more stress to her life.
"The Police have been too and searched through James's entire house. James still hasn't been found but they've discovered some… things in his backyard," Esme struggled to find the right words to use. Her face was a ghostly pale as she remembered what the officer on the other line had uttered.
"W-what was it?" Marie's voice shook. She knew whatever it was, wasn't good. James was always a sick and demented person.
Esme leads her to sit down and whispers, "bodies. The bodies of over thirty young girls were found buried in his backyard. The police believe that there may be more. They are still digging up his yard."
Marie's stomach lurches. It's as if the temperature in the room has dropped and all hell has frozen over. Young girls, just like her had been murdered and dumped. She could have been one of them. Why didn't he kill her? Death would have been a more humane option.
"Were the bodies found by a big tree?" Marie whispered.
"I-I don't know," Esme said. "Why are you asking?"
Marie couldn't explain. She couldn't explain the feeling she within her. Going back to the few times James let her outside, she knew something wasn't right. Against all of her better judgment, she said, "I want to talk to the police. I need to talk to the police."
"Wha-"
"I need to see them as soon as possible. It can't wait!"
Esme could see and hear the desperation in her voice. She couldn't help her with whatever was going on. "I'll call them back right now.
Author's Note:
Hey everyone! I hope that you enjoyed this chapter! I just wanted to thank everyone that has read and reviewed this fic! Your comments and support mean so much and I know that I've definitely got to start doing the author's notes more. I wanted to shout out, SassYNoleS! They have so cleverly pointed out that the teeth scans may not prove anything and I didn't even think of that until I was writing! So I just want to give credit to them because they deserve it! I know that this chapter is shorter but I promise that the next one will be longer!