A/N: This is a difficult chapter. Please read with caution. See you at the end.

If You Could See Into My Soul

Chapter 10 – Sleeping Sickness

My new car growled as I pressed on the accelerator, and I grimaced. It was new in the sense that it was new to me, but it was over ten years old. I was really starting to miss my blue baby. I was grateful, however, that Sam had thought of me when the old SUV crawled into his garage. It didn't need a lot of work – new brake lines and tires – but the owner wasn't interested in putting any money into it. And so, Sam called me, and I was all too happy to agree. It was too good a deal to pass up, anyhow.

He promised me the body and engine were solid, there were just some noises that an older vehicle made, and I would have to get used to them. I knew Edward would have been happy to drive me anywhere I asked, but I couldn't do that to him. And he wasn't willing to let me borrow the Audi – his baby. He shook his head when he saw my new beast, but otherwise kept his remarks to himself, for which I was grateful.

I came to a stop in the winding drive, listening to the engine tick down after I turned the car off. Tonight had been kind of crappy. Not that any day at work was necessarily great, but the manager was completely useless, and I had run myself ragged between register and dining room. It took us nearly two hours to close, when it should have taken only one. Not to mention that they had called me in earlier than I was scheduled. Exhausted didn't seem like a strong enough word to describe my fatigue.

I wasn't surprised when I walked into the stone house and found my friends already at the end of a movie. Edward, however, was missing. I toed off my ragged work shoes and whipped the belt from around my waist, balling it up to stick in my backpack.

"Yeah, Bella! Show us what you got!" It was Emmett, giving a ridiculous whistle as I blushed ten different shades of red.

I rolled my eyes but decided to play along. As I made my way towards the stairs, I untucked my polo, pulling it slowly over my head to reveal a tank top beneath, swinging my polo over my head and launching it at Emmett. It was a necessary evil, having to wear two shirts when it was always incredibly hot in the damn building. But if I decided not to wear one, then my shirt would untuck from my pants, and someone would see ass crack or underwear.

"Fuck yeah!" Rose clapped for me as I ascended the stairs, and I was so thankful for my friends. My crap night was already beginning to turn around.

Edward's door was closed when I reached the top of the stairs, and I knocked on it softly before pushing it open.

"Edward?" I asked into the open room, but I got no response. I stepped inside, being sure to keep the door open behind me. The Dr. and Mrs. weren't so bad, and dare I say they were even beginning to like me. If all they asked for was an open door, I could oblige. Once inside, I could hear the sound of the shower in the adjoining bathroom and surmised that Edward was in there.

There was some heavy metal song playing on the radio, and I walked towards it. It wasn't the sort of music Edward usually listened to, and I flipped the case over in my hand curiously. Five Finger Death Punch. Cool name for a band. They weren't altogether bad, but not something I could listen to repeatedly. I wondered if the heavy rhythm was a precursor to his mood. He usually chose his music that way.

"…I could never be/ What you want me to/ You pulled me under/ To save yourself…" I grimaced at the lyrics. Jesus, Edward. Emo, much?

The water shut off, and I quickly shed my khakis, pulling on a comfortable pair of yoga pants. I had forgotten to bring a different shirt and turned to Edward's closet for help. I found a sweatshirt I had seen him wear before – a faded black Fall Out Boy pullover. It smelled delightfully like him. It was entirely too big for me, and I tugged the sleeves down, burying my cold fingers in it. I threw myself down on Edward's comfy bed, curling into a ball against his pillow. I glanced towards the wall, where the picture of him kissing the blonde had been but found that it was now gone.

Edward had easily sensed my jealousy when I pointed out the picture. He had furrowed a brow and snagged it from the wall. "Just an old friend," he had said. "A friend like Jacob is to you sometimes." And I had understood then; he meant she was a fuck buddy. I was quick to retort that things between Jacob and I were never like that, but Edward was unconcerned. Tanya was her name, and though she was beautiful and statuesque, he had no interest in her. Besides, he'd left her behind in Chicago. They hadn't even had contact since he'd left.

I pondered going back down the stairs to my friends, but I decided instead to wait for Edward. Besides, I'd been spending too much time with those douche bags anyway, they could spend a few more minutes without me. Movie night had turned into movie weekend…every weekend. It was going on a month now, and we all gathered religiously every Saturday night to watch movies. Well, everyone except Alice and Jasper.

I tried not to think about how distant my best friend had grown over the past month as she and Jasper spent more and more time together. Any time I found myself thinking too much about it, I could feel the familiar tightening of my throat. Alice was allowed to spend time with her boyfriend, of course. She just didn't answer texts too often anymore, and always had plans with Jasper when I suggested a night for just the two of us.

That was okay though. Edward was all too happy to text me at any time of day, or to hang out with me after work, even if we only did our homework and stole kisses. Being with Edward was easy, like breathing. He had some foul moods occasionally, but he never took them out on me, instead just asking for space. And he always apologized for a bad mood with my favorite candy, or a kiss, or a date for just the two of us, even though I told him repeatedly that he didn't have to be sorry for being human.

I yawned sleepily, feeling my eyelids flutter, as the bathroom door creaked open. If he was surprised to see me, he didn't show it. He was already dressed in a loose pair of grey sweatpants and band t-shirt as he raked the towel through his still wet hair. With his hand in his hair, his shirt rode up high enough for me to see a hint of copper hair on his belly, leading deliciously lower.

I bit my lip as I met his eyes. Of course, he was smirking at me, although it didn't quite reach his eyes. He discarded the towel, crawling into bed behind me, tucking me into his warm chest. The thought of pushing my hips into his groin crossed my mind, but I was really too tired to start anything. Edward and I hadn't gone there yet, and I wanted to be fully conscious when we decided to go further.

"Hi honey," he ghosted his lips behind my ear, inhaling deeply. He said I smelled good after work, even though to me I smelled of sweat and yeast. The price I paid to work in a bakery.

I felt my eyelids struggle against the sleep they chased, wanting to feel his arms around me a little longer. "Hmm," was my only response to his greeting, and he chuckled, tugging gently at my braided hair.

The bed shifted as he reached over to shut off the music, and I was reminded of how dark it sounded. I turned in his arms, looking into his emerald gaze. There was a tightness around his eyes. Though I could probably guess what the problem was, I chose instead to ask. "What's with the angry songs?"

"Hmm," he gave me an Eskimo kiss, and I wrinkled my nose, sticking my tongue out to lick his nose. "Just more bullshit with Carlisle. Nothing new."

I fought the eye roll I wanted to display, nodding instead. Edward was perpetually angry with his father, but I couldn't figure out why, and I was getting nowhere just asking. I knew it had something to do with his mother, but he would divulge nothing more, and even Emmett kept his mouth shut on the matter. Sure, Carlisle was arrogant, sometimes a bit of an asshole, but he loved his children – biological and adopted alike. Edward's problem went far deeper than Carlisle's attitude. And don't even get me started on the way Edward treated Esme. He was polite, of course, but there was an undercurrent of asshole in his tone when he spoke to or about her.

"Do you want to go watch the movie?" His voice was barely more than a whisper, lips kissing softly at the corners of my lips, eyes, cheeks.

"I'm so tired." Though I tried hard to keep the whine out of my voice, I was too fatigued to put that much effort into it. I was on-the-verge-of-tears-exhausted. "I think I just want to stay right…here." I punctuated my words with a kiss to his Adam's apple, watching it bob as he swallowed thickly.

His arms embraced tighter around me as his nose nuzzled my hair. "I rather like you right here."

I hummed in contentment, grasping his hand in mine, clutching it between us. Even if I wanted to stay awake, I didn't think I could. I felt so safe in Edward's arms, so incredibly wanted. If I could bottle the feeling that I felt in his arms, I would be a damned millionaire.

!#$#!

The world is a cruel place.

My car's engine groaned louder as I pressed the accelerator to the floorboard. The damn thing just wouldn't go any faster.

Cailee was with her. Renee. Cailee was with her for God knows how long, and Charlie was too incoherent to have even known she was gone. Thoughts of what the hell could have happened ran rampant through my mind, painting bleak pictures of a morose future. My throat threatened to close in panic, but I forced another breath into my lungs. Now was not the time to fall apart.

Charlie was going to be in so much trouble. My anger would be nothing compared to the backlash he would receive. The chief of police, too incapacitated to monitor his youngest daughter, allowing her to return to her mother, who had been court ordered to have no contact with Cailee, lest he was present.

The shit storm about to invade his life would be of a new magnitude.

He could lose her.

I could lose her.

The twenty-minute drive to the trailer park seemed to take years, and with each passing second, a new scene painted itself inside my head, bringing new horrors to the forefront of my mind. She had to be okay. I couldn't forgive myself if something happened.

As soon as I pulled onto their lot, I slammed the car in park, running to the front door. I pounded as hard as I dared, feeling the door shake in its frame. Fear and anger swirled around me, a tornado of emotion threatening to pull the oxygen from my lungs.

"Open the door, Renee!" I tried to sound angry, but the fear was too heavy. I sounded on the verge of tears because I was.

I could hear shuffling inside, the sound of glass shattering. I swallowed thickly, raising my fist to the door again.

"God damn it, Renee, I know you're in there! Open the door before I call the police!" The threat was empty, and she knew it. I couldn't call the police without Charlie being dragged through the mud, and I would prevent that as long as I could. There may be nothing wrong. Renee might have just spent the night with Cailee. Things could be totally normal.

The door swung open, and I repressed the bile in my throat. It was Phil. And he was drunk.

"Hey, Bel-la." He staggered, leaning his full weight against the door frame. If Phil was drunk, then Renee was…

I couldn't think about it.

"Where is Cailee, Phil? You know she isn't supposed to be here." I tried to sound firm, but I sounded like a child to my own ears. Because that's all I was; a child. I had never so desperately wanted to be carefree as I did in that moment. I wanted it all to be a dream, a nightmare. But my life was never what I wanted it to be.

I had been forced to play grown up for too long, and my chest ached under the pressure of my heavy heart. This wasn't fair. Not fair to me, to Cailee. Our lives were disasters, and we had no idea how to maneuver through them. And things were only about to get worse.

"Calm down," Phil muttered, pushing himself away from the door. I dared to take a step inside, surveying the bottles upon bottles of alcohol on every surface. The air was thick, hazy. It smelled of stale cigarettes and vomit.

Phil disappeared down the only hallway, opening a door that I presumed to be the bedroom. I heard two voices then, but neither were Cailee's. Wherever she was, she was quiet. He was back in seconds, carrying her limp body in his arms, and I had to suppress the panic again, forcing air in, out, in, out. I blinked away the darkness at the edge of my vision, taking her body from him.

"What did you do to her?" She was pale, and cold. But breathing. I could see the steady rise and fall of her chest, could feel her heartbeat against my chest. I dared to look at her pupils, finding the blue of her eyes taken over almost entirely by her black pupils.

"Oh relax, Bella. I gave her a little something to make her quiet. She wouldn't stop crying," Renee pushed hair away from her face as she walked towards me. She reached a hand out to Cailee, and I jerked back, stumbling out the door. Renee's face darkened.

"What did you give her?" My heart raced at the possibilities. The hospital was but ten minutes away, and I had to get there as fast as I could.

"Just an oxy." She waved a hand above her head, as though the pills were really no big deal.

"One?" My tone was biting, and I watched as Renee narrowed her eyes at me, taking a step forward. Panic swelled in me, threatening to pull me under.

"One, four, does it really matter? I gave her enough to shut her up."

Before she had finished speaking, I turned. Cailee's limp body refused to sit upright, and so I laid her in the backseat, promising to myself to drive as carefully as I dared while speeding towards the hospital. She never stirred as I drove, and I cursed Renee. Cursed Phil, and damned God. She was only a child. And I couldn't lose her.

I gathered her in my arms once I reached the hospital, jogging towards the emergency entrance. A nurse at the desk looked up as I burst through the doors. She immediately circled the desk and called for more help.

"Miss? Can you tell me what happened?" She was speaking to me, but I couldn't breathe. My mind was telling my lungs to inhale, but nothing was happening. I could see blackness encroaching my vision, see white spots dance across my view. The nurse put a hand on my shoulder, and I twitched away.

"O-oxy. My mother gave her oxycodone." The words burned my throat. I swallowed hard. Just a little longer, Bella, stay together a little longer.

"Somebody page Dr. Cullen," the nurse ordered over her shoulder. If I could have laughed, I would have. Of course, it would be Dr. Cullen in the emergency room. Of all the doctors in the damn world, it had to be him. Thinking of Carlisle made me think of Edward, and I wished I had said goodbye this morning. He was going to hate me. My life was too fucked up.

"Miss, can you tell me her name? Your name? Is there another parent I can call?" The questions rattled in my skull. Stringing letters together was getting more difficult. My tongue felt as though it were made of lead, and my mind had taken a temporary vacation. Some would say I was dissociating. They wouldn't be wrong.

"Bella? What's happened?" It was Dr. Cullen, and though he was right next to me, he sounded so far away. My panic spiked again. We were in an exam room, but I couldn't remember how we had gotten there. The same nurse from before was inserting an IV into Cailee's arm, and I looked away. My breathing was harsher now. I could feel my throat closing on me. In. Out. In. Out. Just a little longer, Bella.

"She said her mother gave the girl oxycodone." The nurse's voice was hushed, and I couldn't tell if she was whispering or if I had given up trying to keep it together.

Dr. Cullen was in front of me again. He was crouched down, and it was the first time I realized I was in a chair, back hunched and hair around my face. Maybe that's why everything was so dark. He placed a gentle hand on my knee, and I immediately reached out to grab it with my own. He didn't look down as he turned his hand over, holding me tighter. Grounding me.

"Bella," his voice was softer, eyes holding emotion I didn't want to give name to. "Do you know how much oxycodone your mother gave Cailee?"

I shook my head. My voice sounded garbled to my own ears. I don't know if he understood me or not. "E-enough to make her quiet. Th-that's what she said."

Carlisle said something to the nurse, but I couldn't make it out. I watched as she drew up a medication and inoculated it into Cailee's IV. Breathing was really getting quite difficult. I was suffocating. My hands flew to my throat, and I began clawing at it. Panic. The panic I had pushed away returned ten-fold. My heart hammered in my chest as I gasped for air.

It wasn't my first panic attack. There were breathing exercises I was familiar with, as well as grounding exercises, but I could think of none of that. The thing about panic attacks is that they're essentially a vicious circle. Panic about one thing, and soon you're panicking because you can't breathe, and still panicking about the other thing. Around and around.

"I can't breathe," I wheezed, followed by a chant of, "Don't call Charlie." My fingers continued to claw at my throat. I dropped my head between my knees, shaking so violently that my whole body vibrated. There was a hand on my back. I thought it was Dr. Cullen.

He was speaking again, but I couldn't make out much. All I heard him say was, "Edward."

!#$#!

Edward's POV

Bella was gone when I woke up. She did that a lot. Usually it was because of work or some other equally lame excuse, but I knew she wasn't working today. I think she was afraid to be so vulnerable, but that's okay. We could work on it together. I had no intentions of letting her go.

The house was quiet as I made my way downstairs. Esme had fixed breakfast and that's where I found the rest of my family. Well, everyone but Carlisle. Shocker. I took my usual seat next to Emmett, ignoring the cheeky grin on his face as he stuffed his mouth with a forkful of scrambled eggs.

"No Bella this morning?" He had a mischievous glint in his eyes, and I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of answering. Jasper, however, had no problem replying for me.

"She ran out of here like a bat out of hell almost an hour ago. Didn't even say goodbye," he shook his head, sharing a look with Emmett.

"Geez, Ed, you that bad?" Emmett joked. Rosalie jabbed him in the ribs, but he barely flinched. Rosalie glanced towards me, seeking, and looked quickly away. Whatever she was looking for she obviously didn't find.

"Boys, please," Esme interjected quietly. "Leave your brother alone."

Emmett and Jasper snickered but remained quiet otherwise. It pissed me off. I didn't need her to stick up for me. Emmett and Jasper were singularly minded, and if a relationship wasn't physical, to them, it wasn't really a relationship. But what Bella and I were building was deeper than whatever they imagined.

I mean, yeah, of course I wanted to be inside of her. Especially when she spent the night grinding her tight ass into my dick. And definitely after the conversation we had about Tanya, and then about Jacob. It really pissed me off to know that he knew what it was like to be inside of her and I didn't. But I could wait until she was ready. Because she was worth that, and so much fucking more.

I knew I loved her, but I also knew she wasn't ready to hear it. The realization that I loved her was one that came easily. I'd never felt that way about another human being. It swallowed me whole, consumed me, and filled me with an unexplainable warmth. My life was for her. That's the only way I could think to explain it.

I would do anything for her. Be anything for her. I would jump in front of a fucking bullet for her. The intensity of the emotion simultaneously soothed and terrified me. I couldn't imagine any other person feeling the same way I did for Bella. But watching Carlisle and Esme together, I was starting to wonder. It didn't make me any less angry at Carlisle, though.

The rest of breakfast was quiet. I washed the dishes afterwards, allowing Esme to plant a kiss on my cheek as she left the kitchen. She wasn't an awful woman, really. My problem was who she chose to spend her life with. Carlisle had a lot to make up for in my eyes.

My phone buzzed in my back pocket, and I quickly wiped my hands and pulled it out. It was the hospital, and I was confused. Carlisle rarely called from the hospital, and even more rarely called me. I hesitantly answered.

"Hello?" I started tapping my tongue ring on my teeth. Bella was right, it really was a bad habit. But there was no good reason for the hospital to be calling me. The thought of something having happened to Bella set me on edge.

"Edward? This is Charlotte, I'm a nurse; I work with your father. Bella is here, and Dr. Cullen asked me to call you. Would you be able to come down here?" Her voice was composed, devoid of any emotion. But that didn't stop my heart from hammering out of my chest. Something must have been really wrong for Carlisle to have asked for me.

I whipped around, grabbing my keys from the hook by the front door and pulling on my faded sneakers, not bothering to lace them. I snagged a jacket from the hall closet and slammed the door behind me.

"What the fuck happened?" I hissed, jamming my key into the ignition. I was tearing down the driveway before she had even responded.

"I'm afraid I can't release any information. Your father just asked that you come, if you're able."

I ended the call and threw my phone on the passenger seat. I pushed my car faster, trying to outrace the visions in my head of Bella seriously injured. My stomach did flips as I sped down the highway. I had only just gotten her, it wouldn't be fair to lose her.

I had just internalized a mantra of she's okay, you don't know anything yet when I arrived at the hospital. I ached for a cigarette, but didn't have one, so instead I returned to tapping my tongue ring.

"You must be Edward." The voice was familiar, but I didn't know her face. It must be Charlotte, the nurse who had called. I nodded, swallowing thickly. My voice had suddenly vanished.

"Bella has been moved upstairs, room 237. Dr. Cullen said you're welcome to go to her." Charlotte smiled kindly, and I nodded again.

She had been moved to a room already. That wasn't a really good sign, but I tried not to think too much about it. My knowledge of the hospital floors was vague, so I didn't know which patients were held on the second floor. The fact that Charlotte had met me at the desk and not Carlisle could be really good, or really bad. Was she so unstable that he couldn't leave her side?

But Carlisle wasn't in her room. Through the open door I could see her, a vacant stare on her pale face. There was a doctor in the room, but not one that I recognized. She had a bandage on her neck, and soft wrist restraints. But she was alive. My knees nearly buckled under the weight of the realization, and I swallowed back tears as I leaned against the wall.

"Edward." It was Carlisle. I turned to his voice, and for the first time in a long time, I let him take me in his arms. I had never been so afraid in my life. After my mother's death, I didn't think I could be truly afraid anymore, but I guess that's the terrifying thing about love. It makes us vulnerable to every emotion.

"What happened?" My voice was thick, and I pulled away from him, embarrassed. His eyes searched my face, though his own was absent of any sentiment.

"I can't go into great detail, but she had a panic attack. Bella was beginning to hurt herself unintentionally, so we've had to put soft restraints on her. She was given a tranquilizer also, Edward. She will be a little fuzzy for a while." I couldn't take my eyes from her. She looked blank. "She asked that we not call her father, and because she's seventeen, we legally don't have to. I thought she wouldn't object to you, though."

He shifted on his feet, looking suddenly uncomfortable. "Son, Cailee is here, also. And I'm afraid…I'm afraid Cailee may have to be removed from the home."

My head swam with the information. My body, suddenly too heavy, slid down the wall. No doubt Bella would blame herself for the current predicament. I wasn't sure she would want to see me now.

I tried not to hear what the doctor was asking her in the room, but I could make out the words 'diagnosis' and 'medication.' Bella spoke to him, but her voice was hollow. Like a ghost. I waited until the doctor left her room, before standing again. Dr. Gerandy, as Carlisle called him, began talking in a whisper to Carlisle, and they moved farther down the hallway, so I couldn't hear what they were saying.

He had removed her wrist restraints, and she curled on her side, watching me warily as I entered the room. I took a seat by her bed, pulling the chair as close as I could. I grasped her hands in mine, not aware I was crying until I saw the droplets on our joined hands. She tentatively reached up to brush the tears away, and I caught her hand there, holding it against me. She was so cold.

"Bella," my voice cracked, and I felt so selfish. Of the two of us, she had clearly had the worse day, and here I was crying about it. I was more relieved than anything else that she was alive, though. "Honey, what happened?"

"Renee. Renee happened." Her voice was flat, monotone. Whatever they had given her had taken the life right out of her. "Renee picked Cailee up from her friend's house. She gave her oxycodone because Cailee wouldn't stop crying. And Charlie didn't know because he was too drunk to know he should care. It's all my fault. I should have been there. None of this would have happened if I had gone home yesterday. Your dad had to call the state police and they're taking Charlie and Renee into custody – child neglect and abuse. And Cailee is probably being taken to some God awful foster home once she's awake."

She dropped her hand and brought it to her collar. She picked at the edge of the bandage, revealing raised red lines the length of her neck. She had done that to herself, Carlisle said so. But I didn't understand why.

"Jesus, Bella." I bowed my head, resting it on her stomach. She ran her fingers through my hair, tugging gently at the tangled locks. I hadn't even brushed my hair before running out the door, and I certainly hadn't kept my own hands out of it.

"You look like crap," she muttered, and I laughed. It was true, but still unexpected to hear from her. Even pale and listless, she was beautiful. I would make sure I told her that more often. "Still hot as ever, but crappy."

"Will you tell me now what happened to you?" It didn't escape my notice that she had told me about Cailee, but not what brought her to the hospital room. She raked a hand through her hair, pulling a little harder than was really necessary. I wanted to chastise her but held my tongue.

"Panic attack." Her eyes flickered towards me and away. In the brief moment our eyes met, I swear I saw fear in them. "I've had them before. I…"

Whatever she wanted to say made her nervous. I gathered her hands again, kissing them. "You can tell me anything, baby."

"I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety after Renee left. And I've been…medicated for it," she paused, brown eyes searching. Clearly the news had elicited negative reactions in the past, and she was wary to share the information with me.

"Okay," I murmured, brushing hair from her face. "That's okay. It doesn't change how I feel about you."

Her eyelids fluttered in what appeared to be relief, and she dragged a breath in through her mouth. "Except I haven't taken the medication in probably a month."

I shook my head, a little angry at the confession. "Why wouldn't you take it?"

She withdrew her hands again, curling herself into the smallest ball she could. Hiding. "It was too expensive. And I thought I was getting better…with you, I feel better. Better than I have in a really long time. "

Had Bella not been medicated, I'm sure a blush would have colored her pale skin. She sucked her lip into her mouth, eyes hesitantly meeting mine. I pulled her abused lip from her teeth, brushing my thumb over the battered flesh.

"That's a really shitty excuse, you know," I chastised. She didn't need to be told it was a poor reason, I could see on her face that she knew how wrong she had been. I rested a hand on her neck, thumb stroking over the bandaged wounds. The fact that she had hurt herself would be something I would never forget. And I would do whatever she needed of me to make sure it never happened again.

"I know," she agreed.

"And you know from now on I'm going to nag the shit out of you about it, right?" I smirked to lessen the bite of my words, and she hesitantly smiled back, a hint of pink coloring her cheeks. My girl was coming back to me.

"I'm kind of looking forward to it," she teased me. I chuckled then, amazed at the woman before me. For someone whose life was about to be turned upside down, she never let the fire in her die. I was one lucky bastard.

"I care about you, Bella. I…I love you." I'd never spoken truer words. And I would never go a day without saying them again, not with the way it lit a fire in her eyes, melting brown eyes into pools of chocolate, and spread a smile across her face. I would give anything to see the look on her face every day for the rest of my life. I fully intended to show and tell her every day just how much I loved her.

"I…" The words died on her tongue as the door opened behind us. I turned to see an officer enter the room, 'state trooper' emblazoned on the badge on his chest. He wore a hard scowl under bushy eyebrows and buzz cut. Carlisle stood silent behind him, a look of sorrow on his face.

"Miss Swan?" His eyes cut to me, taking me in with a sharp glance. His gaze softened minimally as he looked to Bella. "I'm officer Flynn. I need to have a word with you."

"I awoke, only to find my lungs empty
And through the night, so it seems I'm not breathing
And now my dreams, are nothing like they were meant to be
And I'm breaking down, I think I'm breaking down"

Sleeping Sickness - City and Colour

Also used in this chapter: Coming Down - Five Finger Death Punch

A/N: Like I said, a difficult chapter. It was really tough to write, and even harder to read over. The future looks a little bleak for Bella. In the next chapter, we'll see some of the consequences of Charlie and Renee's actions. Reviews would be really, really lovely.