Chapter Ten

Bella's POV

Lately my days are a blur. The only way I'm able to count is by the number of meals they bring. One for breakfast, one for lunch, a small snack, and one for dinner. It's the same everyday. I eat mechanically, leaving the metal tray on the table beside my bed before curling back into a ball and trying to forget.

I'm not sure what they had done to me. To be quite honest, I don't care. I just want to go home now, to be with the man I love.

After my eleventh meal, lunch on the fourth day, I set my tray on the table and pad barefoot to the bathroom, turning on the shower and stripping off my clothes. I stand in front of the mirror, looking my body over. There are no incisions, no stitches, no marks of any kind. I sigh and step under the water, letting it flow over my body. I press my forehead against the shower wall as the water trickles over my back and down my legs.

Since coming to Forks, I hadn't wished at all for a normal life. Now I wish that it would at least make sense. In the back of my mind I know that's too much to ask for.

The rest of the day passes by slowly. Susanna comes in to get my tray after I shower, then comes back with a snack. After several hours Thaddeus comes in with dinner. He looks me over before setting my tray on the table and walking out, locking the door behind him.

I eat slowly and then sit it to the side, going to the bathroom and changing into a pair of pajamas that were provided to me. The bed seems inviting now. I bury myself beneath the thick blankets and cry myself to sleep.

"Bella?" Edward whispers softly.

My heart leaps. "Edward?"

"In here, love."

I look around me. I'm in the hallway of Charlie's house. Edward's voice is calling to me from my room. I dash to the open door.

I scream, falling to my knees and covering my mouth with my hand. There's a small boy on my bed. His eyes are a dark green, his bronze hair dripping blood. A red trail trickles from the corner of his mouth as he looks down at my father's dead body.

Edward steps toward him, placing his hands underneath the boy's arms and lifting him up. He looks at me sympathetically. The little boy's eyes are wide, looking innocent and afraid.

"I'm sorry mommy." He says in a defeated voice. "I was so thirsty."

I wake up with dried tears on my face, screaming into the darkness. This is the first night I dream of the small vampire boy, but certainly not the last.

As the days and nights pass, more nightmares go with them. It's mostly the same. This small vampire child, who looks much like Edward, calling me "mommy" and killing people that I love. From my father and my mother to Jessica and Angela, I see them all slaughtered before my eyes. The horrid dreams don't seem to let up.

On the fourteenth day I shovel down a plate of eggs and bacon at breakfast. I feel as though I'm starved. Thaddeus comes in and does what he usually does. I lay down and drift to sleep.

It's hours before I'm brought another meal. I'm surprised to see Lucian bring it in himself. He sets down my tray and then perches on the edge of my bed, looking me over with perceptive eyes.

"Bad dreams, dear Bella?"

I nod. "Just a few nightmares. I'm fine."

His eyes rake down my body, from my head to my feet, and he smiles. "Eat up. It's imperative you keep your strength."

I nod as he walks out of the room. As I hear the door lock, I look over at the tray curiously.

Carlotta has put together a salad topped with grilled chicken and feta cheese. I pick up the fork and pop a piece of chicken into my mouth. As I start to chew, my stomach flips uncomfortably. I grimace and put the tray back. My stomach rolls and gurgles. I feel a lump come up in my throat. I run to the bathroom, dropping to my knees and emptying the contents of my stomach into the toilet. I keep throwing up until my stomach is emptying and I'm dry heaving into the porcelain bowl. I get up and blow my nose as I make my way to the medicine cabinet in search of something to help my nausea. As I'm searching I find a small box of panty liners. I pix them up, scooting myself into a sitting position on the counter.

I hold up my fingers, counting the days and weeks.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five.

Three.

Five weeks and three days. My period is a week and three days late. I drop the box and walk shakily to the vanity in the bedroom. I stand in front of it, stripping off my shirt. The small bump protruding from my abdomen shocks me.

What have they done to me?

I remember the conversation I overheard.

"Is the Doc even here?"

"I didn't even have to show him my face, only needed to use my thoughts! Very convenient, that little mind-reader."

They had done this to me and they had used Edward to do it. Daniel knew. That's why he tried to get me out!

I scream as loud as I can at the mirror, sinking to my knees and holding my hands to the sides of my head. This is all madness. Why couldn't I have a life that made sense? One simple life with Edward is all I want!

I gasp as a small flutter resonates through my abdomen. My hand automatically reaches down to feel. I'm rewarded with a small kick. My vision starts to blur from tears. No, not the tears. I feel faint. My head spins as the thing inside me continues to squirm and kick. My vision goes black. I wrap my arms around my abdomen, protecting my belly as I fall to the floor. A smile graces my lips as I slip into unconsciousness.

I have never wanted children. They're very unsanitary, always oozing something from their tiny bodies. Yet here, now, I feel my heart grow for this baby. I have no doubt that he belongs to Edward. He's strong already, growing very fast inside my womb. I feel more kicks and jabs everyday. The dreams continue, except this time they're not nightmares. They're just dreams. Dreams about our small baby boy, looking just like his father, his beautiful eyes shining up at my face. I wish so badly for Edward to know about him. It pains me that he's not here, that we didn't do this on our own. Yet in a way I'm okay with it because I have a part of him with me now, always.

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