For Your Eyes Only

Chapter Ten - When Secrets Were Revealed

"So," I said slowly, pulling up outside the horribly familiar grey building, "here we are."

Edward nodded and I could feel him looking at me; his gaze made the side of my face prickle. It always did. I tried not to, but I eventually glanced over at him and managed a small smile.

"Nervous?" he asked gently, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Slightly."

That was a lie; my stomach felt sickeningly light and my skin was breaking out in goosebumps, even though the temperature was quite comfortable. This was actually a bit like how I reacted before my driving test, except that was followed by excitement at finally being independent. And Charlie was waiting at home for me, unlike now.

"Like I said before," he continued, "I'm here for you."

"Yeah."

There was a brief pause. "So, are you sure you remember everything? I don't mean to pressure you, I just want to be sure. It's-"

"I think so," I murmured, suddenly not in the mood to talk. Edward probably sensed this because he quietened down when we stepped out of my truck. We headed slowly forwards, each step taking an unbelievable amount of effort.

"Bell-" he began.

"Edward, I really am sure, you don't need to ask me again. What I do need is to do this for you."

He smiled a little. "Thank you."

I opened the doors and stepped inside, feeling an immediate change in atmosphere. Outside, the air was fresh and clear, but inside it was stuffy and claustrophobic.

I began to feel a tiny bit sick.

We carried on towards the front of the room and a middle-aged man behind the tall counter glanced down at me, his blue eyes scrutinising my face almost immediately. He had a pile of paperwork stacked in front of him and I felt instantly intimidated, as though everyone in the room should be looking at me. The way his forehead furrowed and the way his mouth was constantly dropped downwards made me feel even worse. It felt like I was wasting his time, judging from his facial expression.

"How can I help you?" he suddenly asked, in a deep, hoarse voice.

I stammered almost straight away. "Um... I... I have some information about an accident that r-recently happened."

He raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Right. I'll just take your name and details..." I told him everything shakily and he nodded passively. "And you'd better wait over there until an officer is ready to see you." My eyes followed his hand and I saw a few blue plastic chairs waiting for me.

"Thank you," I murmured, nervously hurrying towards the seat. The room was covered in crime posters and painted in a dull white colour, with stains covering some of the surfaces. Other people who were waiting in there with us coughed and fidgeted around, unable to keep still.

I hated this place.

Glancing at Edward in desperation, I tried to show how I was feeling through my eyes. He seemed to understand and gave me a small smile. "You've got this far now, Bella, you can't turn back. You've been so brave."

He was acting like a father figure, comforting a child who was about to visit the dentist.

For a few moments, I thought of Charlie, and sighed in longing. It felt like at least a month since I'd last visited him and I just needed to see his crinkle-eyed smile once more. I wondered how he was doing; I knew he was strong and hoped he'd kept sober for another week.

"Miss Swan?"

A young woman with caramel waves and a warm, welcoming face approached me suddenly with her hand outraised. I shook it automatically and stood up, assuming that this was the detective. I was a little alarmed at the short wait but was grateful all the same; the waiting was intense and maybe it showed that they were taking me seriously.

"Hello, I'm detective inspector Esme Adams. I'm here today to conduct the interview. I've heard that you have some information about a recent accident?"

I nodded nervously. "Y-Yes. It involved somebody c-called Edward C-Cullen." I swallowed, trying to make my voice sound stronger. "He was hit over by a car and had some belongings stolen."

"Ah, yes, I remember hearing about this. You'd better follow me."

I shared a brief look with Edward and walked down the corridor, suddenly feeling a little bit more confident. DI Adams didn't seem too intimidating and I was determined to fulfil Edward's wishes.

She led me into a dark room with a small table in the middle, along with a tape recorder. Another woman followed in after her.

"This is my colleague," she told me. "She needs to be here for the interview as a witness." I nodded again, feeling like a bobblehead. "Please, take a seat." I did so, and she soon asked, "Do you need anybody else here with you?"

I sneakily glanced at Edward who was sitting beside me. "No, I'm fine, thank you. Please, let's just get this over with." I wrung my hands under the table in anticipation.

They both nodded and pressed the record button, the sound echoing around the room. After a few boring details were given to the tape, DI Adams turned to look me straight in the eye. "Miss Swan, were you present at Mr Cullen's accident?"

"N-no," I stammered, feeling a little shaky. "But I arrived a few minutes later, I think, and saw Edward there on his own in the middle of the road."

"You're speaking about Mr Cullen as though you're close," she observed.

"Um... well, I've visited him a few times in hospital," I hesitated.

"And what happened when you found him?"

Fidgeting around in my seat and hearing some reassuring words from Edward, I answered. "I sat with him and phoned an ambulance. He was barely conscious, but managed to tell me some details about what had happened."

She raised her eyebrows. "What did he tell you?"

"He told me that he'd been hit over and that... that two men stole some of his belongings. They took two gold necklaces and his wallet." I paused, looking at Edward for comfort. "He... he also told me about how one of the men looked. He was tanned with long hair, and had a scar on one of his cheeks." I thought for a moment, trying to recollect what I'd memorised. "They were both wearing hoodies and... and that's all I r-remember, sorry."

"Those are quite a lot of details," she murmured, looking at some files. "But the accident happened nearly a week ago. Why have you taken so long to tell us this information?"

My mind froze. "I... I was scared." That was true. "I was still in s-shock. I'm s-sorry."

"It's strange. The doctors don't recall anybody riding in the ambulance with Mr Cullen..."

"I h-had to be somewhere," I lied. "I regretted it, but I did go to visit him later on."

"And how is he?" she asked.

"Not so good, r-really," I answered. "I just really hope he pulls through."

Edward's eyes met mine at this point and we shared a smile. Subtly, of course; I always had to pretend that I was looking around the room.

"Do you have any further details about the necklaces?"

"It was a sort-of pendant," Edward murmured to me and I repeated this quickly. "And my wallet had my ID in there, too," he added, which I, again, passed on. They nodded, taking some notes.

"Well, thank you for all this information, Miss Swan," DI Adams concluded after a moment. "You've been very helpful. If we gain anymore information we'll be sure to contact you with the details you provided."

I nodded, a weight suddenly lifting off my shoulders. "Is that it?"

She smiled. "Yes. We'll try our hardest to find these criminals and hopefully retrieve Mr Cullen's belongings."

"Thank you." I hesitated, hovering upwards. "Uh... bye, then."

The speed that I walked out of the station was almost inhuman, but when I stepped outside and inhaled some fresh air, I immediately felt better. Edward joined my side and was smiling widely.

"Bella, you were fantastic!"

I blushed while we headed towards my truck.

"Thank you so much," he said softly. "I know that must have been difficult for you."

Turning to face him, I waved my hand dismissively, careful that nobody was around. "It wasn't so bad, after all. Let's just hope they find those... those... well, maybe it's best if I keep the word in mind to myself."

He nodded eagerly and chuckled at the same time. "Thank you."

We arrived home a little while later and I was surprised to see a blond man waiting by my door, along with a black Mercedes parked outside. As we approached, I realised that it was Dr Cullen and suddenly felt my heart beating a little faster.

Climbing out and heading towards him, I took a deep breath. "Dr Cullen?" I called.

He whipped around suddenly, his face breaking out into a smile. "Miss Swan," he said, sounding a little relieved.

"Bella," I corrected, and he chuckled.

"And I'm Carlisle. No more formalities, please."

"Okay," I blushed.

"Anyway, I'm sorry to bother you. I called about ten minutes ago and you weren't here, so I figured I'd just wait." He paused. "That probably sounds quite desperate, but I'm here for a reason, I promise."

I couldn't help grinning at what he'd said, despite the mystery as well; he sounded a little flustered for a brief moment there. "Oh? You'd better come in, then."

Quickly unlocking the door, we all stepped inside and I shared a glance with Edward. He gestured towards the kitchen, murmuring, "Can I please have a quick word?"

I nodded, turning to Dr Cull-, no, Carlisle. "Um... can I get you some coffee?"

"Oh," he smiled. "That sounds brilliant, if it's not too much trouble..."

"No, it's fine," I smiled back. "Take a seat in the lounge, I won't be a minute."

After filling the kettle and gathering some cups, I turned to Edward. The sound of the kettle boiling hopefully blocked out my whispers. "What's wrong?"

He frowned, as though he was thinking deeply. "I know this sounds strange, but that man looks a lot like my father."

That was the last thing I expected him to say. "Really?"

He nodded slowly. "Yeah. It's quite scary... but I'm absolutely sure that my father died a few years ago."

I shrugged as the steam flooded the room. "Maybe it's just a coincidence."

"But, Bella, he has my surname."

Chewing on my lip, I poured the water into the cups. "I'll ask him if you like. Although I did ask him before, and he didn't know."

"Thanks, Bella," he said, smiling at me crookedly once more. I was increasingly loving the way he said my name; it just seemed to roll effortlessly off his tongue.

I set the cups on a tray and threw together a couple of biscuits, then joined Dr Cullen - Carlisle - in the lounge, smiling at him warmly; it was a really natural thing to do around him and I couldn't stop myself.

"Thank you, Bella," he said politely, cradling the cup in his hands. "How have you been feeling lately?"

"I've been great," I lied. "The injuries barely bother me anymore, actually. Thanks for asking."

"That's good." He frowned, a crease appearing between his eyebrows. "Sadly, that's not the reason why I'm visiting you. I really don't mean to burden this on you, but I've noticed that you've been taking an interest in a patient named Edward Cullen." I froze involuntarily and saw Edward stiffen too.

"Is he a friend of yours?" he asked.

I nodded. "Yes."

He seemed anxious. "Well... I couldn't help thinking about what you said before... about the two of us being related. It seemed too much of a coincidence for us to both have the same surname so... I did some research. I looked at some family history websites on the internet."

"Right. And?" I prompted, feeling nervous for Edward.

"Well," he said slowly, "I've found out that I am, in fact, Edward's uncle."

My eyes bulged in surprise. "I... I'm sorry, w-what?"

"It turns out that my parents had me around ten years after Edward's father," he explained, "and that I was never told I had a brother."

"What?" I frowned. "Why not?"

"My father never told me I had an uncle," Edward intervened. "What the hell were they playing at?"

His voice was full of anger that I'd never heard before and it made me shiver.

"But... why were you kept away?" I asked.

"I have no idea," he sighed. "Maybe out of shame or something. But I never knew I had a brother, and, as a consequence, I never knew I had a nephew, Edward. I'm not sure if he knows about me or not."

This was all mind boggling. Edward had an uncle that he never knew about and, for some reason, there were secrets in that family that we'd maybe never understand.

Carlisle was leaning forwards, running his hands through his hair. "It's all very confusing. But I'm going to find out a bit more and... well, I was wondering if, when you visit Edward from now on, that I could come in and see him too?"

I swallowed, freezing once more; I'd never be able to visit him. "Sure," I managed. "But, I have to warn you, it's not looking good. Edward has some very bad injuries."

I glanced over at the subject of my sentence and saw him in the corner of the room, staring at the wall in what looked like rage. I'd never seen him like this before and didn't know what to do.

Things were never simple anymore.