Chapter 10 –Present Day

Confession is Good for the Soul


I find myself standing in front of Room 13. I reach my hand forward and bang on the door a few times. I stand there waiting for someone to answer. I can hear the music booming from inside, I can hear people talking and laughing.

Eventually the door opens. A guy wearing a leather jacket with no shirt, with thin blond hair that is pulled back in a ponytail, stands in the doorway.

"Who the fuck are you," he asks.

"I'm here to pick up Bella," I inform him.

He starts laughing loudly.

"James, let me out," Bella says as she comes up behind him and tries to push past him to leave.

"You're not going any fucking where until you pay me for the blow, you little bitch," he spats at her, shoving her back in the room forcefully enough that she loses her footing and falls backwards to the floor.

My mind goes blank. All I can feel is my rage bubbling to the surface. My hand instinctively reaches out and clutches him by the collar of his jacket. I pull him violent forward, out of the hotel room. I feel myself slamming him on to the pavement. I see his lips moving but hear no other noise apart from the pounding of my heart in my ears. I bring my fist down and make contact with his nose. I see the blood begin to pour from his face and I feel the crack of the bone.

But I can't stop. I continue connecting my fist with his face. I feel a sharp pain radiate from my knuckles up to my elbow. But I don't stop. Over and over, never relenting, each strike as forceful and the last, I continue punching him.

A scream from behind me finally breaks through my rage. I faintly register someone begging me to stop. I hear her pleading with me. I her Bella call my name.

I release James and turn around searching for her. She is standing with her hands covering her mouth, tears streaming down her cheeks, a look of horror in her eyes.

Another voice calls out to me and I turn towards it. I see someone from another room with a phone to their ear yelling that they are calling the police.

I look down one last time at James and see that his face is covered with blood, his nose broken, teeth strewn on the grown near his head.

I come back to my senses suddenly and head towards Bella, I grab her roughly by the arm and start dragging her across the parking lot to the car. When we reach the car, I open the passenger door.

"Get in," I instruct her in a quiet tone.

Bella just stands there staring at me with that same look of horror on her face.

"GET IN THE FUCKING CAR, BELLA" I yell at her. She relents and gets in and I slam the car door.

We drive down the interstate in complete silence. Neither of us speaking a single word. My right hand is on fire and I am finding it hard to grip the steering wheel. I flex my fingers and wince in pain. I suspect I have broken something. From the corner of my eye, I see Bella reaching for my hand. When she attempts to hold it I snatch it back from her. She brings her hand back to her side clutching her seat.

As we are rounding the street corner in front of my building she finally speaks.

"Edward, talk to me," she whispers.

But I refuse. I don't even look at her. I've spent my life waiting for her to speak. Now it's her turn to wait on me.

I pull into the parking garage, park the car, and get out. I sprint to her side of the car just as she is opening her door. I again grab her by the arm and pull her to her feet, dragging her to the elevator bank. I push the button and stand there gripping her arm. She doesn't fight me though; she doesn't try to break from my grip.

We make our way up the elevator and to my front door. I let go of Bella's arm finally. I dig the keys out of my pocket and struggle with my left hand trying to navigate the key into the lock. My right hand is throbbing and swelling already. I finally manage to open the door and walk into the condo. I hear Bella follow me inside and close the door.

I make my way to the kitchen and snatch the freezer door open. I grab an ice tray and take it over to the sink. I start banging the tray on the edge of the sink until the cubes release from their compartments. I can feel Bella standing behind me, I can feel her eyes on me.

I reach over to the drawer and pull out a towel and begin scooping ice into it. I wrap the ice in the towel tightly and apply it to my battered hand. I turn to look at her. Her eyes are still filled with fear and her body is trembling.

"I'm so sorry," I whisper as I slide down the front of the counter to the floor.

I start crying uncontrollably. Groans are escaping through the violent sobs. I hear Bella walking towards me. I see her drop to the floor in front of me and reach her hand out. I feel her fingers stroking my hair. I glance up and our eyes meet.

"I'm sorry too, Edward. For everything," she says.

I lean into Bella and bury my face in her neck and continue crying. She holds me, stroking my hair and rubbing my bare back. I kiss her neck. My sobs start to wane and I move my lips from her neck to her ear. My body is beginning to relax now and my breathing regulates. I move my lips from her ear down her jawline. My tears have stopped now. My mouth moves to hers and I press my lips roughly to hers.

I pull her body against mine and continue to kiss her mouth. I grab her waist and bring her to sit on my lap. I rub her back with my injured hand ignoring the pain. My other hand grabs the back of her head forcing her mouth to mine harder.

I keep waiting for her to struggle, to fight against this. I know she doesn't want this but I am too consumed with the feel of her lips, her body. My need to possess her in that moment controlled my actions. I feel as though I need to claim her as mine and mine alone. So I continue to kiss her roughly, forcing my tongue into her mouth. I prepare myself for the moment when she pushes me away, but she never does.

Bella moans into my mouth bringing her a hand to my chest and running it down to my stomach. She is clutching onto me tightly with the other hand.

I realize that she is not going to push me away, that she wants this as much as I do. I push her back onto the kitchen floor and hover over her. I begin kissing down her neck once more. Her hands are at the waist band of my pants pulling them down. I reach under her skirt and remove her underwear, pushing her skirt up over her hips. I return to kissing her mouth as I enter her roughly.

I push myself into her as deep as I can go. We are both panting and groaning as I rock in and out of her. I feel the tension building in my stomach and know my orgasm is near. I quicken my pace and finally release inside her.

I collapse on top of her and lay my head on her chest. She strokes the top of my head as I begin to cry.

"I love you, Bella. I always have and I always will," I say softly.

"I love you too, Edward. Always," she replies.


Chapter Notes:

We are almost to the end now-2 more chaps. My friend made a comment recently about how much she disliked Bella in this story which confused me. I always felt sympathetic towards her. One day when my other story is all wrapped up and done, maybe I will need to write "Second Chances" from Bella's point of view. No promises though as this angst has been a bitch to write. The words came easy and I didn't spend a ton of time on grammar, but it seriously affected my mood. I have never been a sad person but this story brought me down as I wrote it. I guess that may sound weird but it is what it is. Thus, why I needed to just get it out and get it finished.