CHAPTER ELEVEN - ENDURANCE

BELLA POV

"Isabella"

My eyes snapped open to the sound of my name.

"Do you find my class boring?" Mr Banners asked.

"Sorry" I whispered.

I blushed and looked down so my hair would provide a curtain between me and my class mates. There was a reason why I sat at the back of every class; so nobody bothered me. I felt the ache in my ribs as I turned my body ever so slightly. Charlie sure did do a number on me the other night.

I didn't call Charlie my father because a father would never treat his daughter the way Charlie treated me. I was not a daughter in his eyes either; just some left over's courtesy of my mother.

My mother Rene was a loving mother who was also my best friend. It broke my heart when she died. I hadn't seen my father in a long time before my mother died; I didn't even remember him. My mother left my father when I was very young. She had taken me away to live in Florida and when she died I was sent back here to him.

My mother never spoke about my father so I had no idea of what a monster he was. At first everything seemed alright; awkward more like. We didn't really have any sort of relationship because I was a ten year old girl who just lost her mother and I was sent to live with a complete stranger who I was supposed to call dad.

It started off with a slap across the face on the odd occasions if I had done something wrong; then it manifested. One slap turned into a punch, then one punch turned into a beating. My mother had never struck me no matter how much I misbehaved so it was a shock when Charlie had hit me for the first time. I would always remember it; with every other beating from then on. On a lighter note I was glad and lucky that I only endured physical abuse; nothing sexual.

Six years have passed since I moved to Forks and both my mind and body has, you can say grown accustomed to Charlie's beating. I have endured so much torture over the years my body had got use to it. I have had many years of practice hiding my injuries, making excuses and covering up my scars. At first Charlie only hit me in places where I could cover it up easily besides not everywhere on the body even produces bruising. It was up to me to cover his ass when he slipped up and made mistakes like leaving marks or bruising which was visible.

I'm not going to lie, I am terrified of him and I have been ever since I came to Forks. I was young and brainwashed into thinking that it was all my fault and at some point I even started to believe that it was normal. The older I became the more I saw through Charlie's bullshit. I was scared of what he would do to me if I told anybody and I had nowhere to go or nobody to tell anyway. How was I supposed to run to the police for help when my father was a police man? I thought police officers were suppose to put bad guys away not be the bad guys.

I hadn't seen Charlie much this week; I tried to avoid him as much as possible. I was at school most of the time then afterwards I would avoid going home by taking long walks in the woods or reading books on park benches. During the weekend Charlie would go on fishing trips with his friend Harry so I was glad to have the house to myself.

The bell rang which pulled me out of thought and told me it was home time.

"Ok class study and revise over the weekend there will be a test on Monday" Mr Banners informed us.

I was grateful it was Friday so I could study without any interruptions whilst Charlie was away.

"Isabella may I speak with you for a minuet?" Mr Banners asked.

I nodded and slowly stood up to grab my things. My ribs were still aching from the kick I had received two days ago. I flung my bag strap over my shoulder and draped my jacket over my bag. I walked to the front of the class and waited for the classroom to empty.

"Isabella are you alright?" Mr Banners asked.

"Yes"

"Isabella you have been falling asleep in my class quite frequently"

"Sorry" I whispered.

"Are you getting enough sleep at home?"

"Yes I was just up late studying" I lied.

"Well your grades certainly show that you study hard Isabella but you may want to study during the day time as I need you fully alert in class"

"Yes sorry" I apologised again.

"It there anything you would like to tell me?"

"No"

"Ok" He said looking almost disappointed.

I nodded and left the classroom without another word. He wasn't the first teacher to have asked me that question. Maybe I am slipping up as well as Charlie I thought to myself. I crossed my arms and made myself look small as I made my way to the exit. I didn't have any friends or family for that matter I was completely alone. Luckily I made the transition through high school with ease, bullies didn't really bother me. I had the odd name calling like dirty slut for example but to my relief I was invisible to them; to everybody. Unknown to them I was a virgin.

I walked home which took me about an hour. Charlie's cruiser wasn't there thank god so I made my way up the porch step and went inside. I went straight into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water and quickly made myself a sandwich. I didn't want to come back down later when Charlie was here. I didn't even bother going into the living room because again I didn't want to get caught watching Charlie's flat screen TV.

I went up the stairs and into my bedroom which consisted of a single bed, a desk with an old computer that took ages to load and a bookshelf with books I had managed to acquire over the years. I pulled out today's homework and put my bag and jacket on the floor. I placed my homework on my bed then pulled out a pair of clean sweat bottoms with a t-shirt. I headed to the bathroom and locked the doors. I stripped off and caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror.

My skin was pale almost translucent. I felt sick looking at all my old marks and scars. How could anybody love this? I thought to myself. My long brown hair that once was healthy and shiny was now damaged and felt like straw. My brown eyes once full of love and happiness were now full of sadness and I had bags of tiredness weighing them down. My body had become too thin; I hardly ate or had an appetite. I tore my gaze away from how disgusting I looked then I had a quick shower. I got changed and tied my hair in a ponytail before I headed back to my room. I picked at my sandwich while I wrote an eight page English essay. I hadn't even noticed Charlie's cruiser pull up or noticed he was home until I heard the front door swing open. Was it that time already?

I heard the loud thud of his boots stomp around down stairs. He must have switched the TV on because I could here a football game. I waited until things were quiet before I carried on writing. I must have fallen asleep because the sound of Charlie's roars woke me up.

The clock indicated it was 9.49pm and he was arguing with somebody downstairs.

"I think you should mind your own fucking business!" He shouted.

He must have been talking on the phone because I didn't hear any responses. I heard more swearing then my heart skipped a beat when I heard the sound of his boots on the stairs.

I quickly stood up and back myself up against the wall because I knew he was coming for me. Within seconds my door burst open with an angry eyed Charlie stood in front of it.

"What the fuck have you been telling people at school?" He spat through his moustache.

I didn't reply instead I just stood there shaking.

"I asked you a question girl" He growled charging over to me.

He grabbed my ponytail in his hand, pulled me forward then slammed my head back against the wall.

"I don't know what you're taking about" I said clawing at his hand.

"One of your teachers called and expressed there concern for you. My, my, what have you been telling them?"

"Nothing" I said as tears began to slide down my face.

He slapped me around the face using his other hand then he threw me to the floor.

"Isabella there are two things in this world I hate" he said coming towards me.

"One is being ignored" He said kicking me the stomach.

A strangled cry escaped my lips as I hunched over.

"Number two is being lied to" He said kicking me again.

"Please" I begged through the second kick. "I haven't said anything"

"See there you go again LYING!" He shouted then kicked me again.

I could taste the blood in my mouth that had come up. I automatically curled up as he towered over me.

"You better hope for your sake you didn't open your fucking mouth. You know what will happen don't you?"

I knew exactly what he was talking about because he used to say it to me all the time if I ever told anybody.

"I've told you a thousand times before and ill remind you again" he said bending down.

He grabbed my hair again and pulled me towards him.

"If I hear you have gotten me into trouble in any way the only thing YOU will be able to hear will be the flies buzzing around your rotting body!" He spat.

I had know idea where my strength came from but within seconds I found myself biting down hard of his hand. I didn't know what was happening because I had never fought back before this was all new to me. My mind had taken over and my body was just going a long with it. He yelped in pain and let go of me. I somehow managed to crawl backwards then kicked him right between the legs. He groaned in pain as I continued to crawl backwards. I hit the door with my back and somehow managed to slide up the doorframe.

"You fucking bitch!" Charlie spat.

Without hesitation I took off running. I only managed to get to the top of the stairs before I felt Charlie's hand wrap around my waist. I kicked out and screamed at him again this was new to me. He let me go but shoved me at the same time making me fall down the stairs.

I tumbled all the way to the bottom and landed on my front. I groaned in pain as my ribs felt like they were about to snap. My shoulder had come out of its socket and my head was spinning. I heard Charlie's loud footsteps fly down the stairs but he didn't come straight to me. I tried crawling away as I heard the familiar snapping sound; it was his belt.

I waited for the first whip then screamed out in pain. Every time I received a whip the warm stinging sensation afterwards was comforting because I got lost in it so it dulled the pain.

I kept going in and out of consciousness; Charlie had gone too far. If he didn't stop now he would have killed me and that thought was the most comforting of all. In that moment I could only wish Charlie would for fill his promise. There would be no more beatings, no more being scared or worries; just peace. I would be with my mother once again.

I must have slipped into unconsciousness because I heard talking. I was petrified to open my eyes or to even move for that matter. My body was sore and aching. I could feel what could only be blood trickle around my body, off my head, around my face; it felt everywhere.

"What the fuck have you done!" I heard a panicking voice from the other room.

The voice was familiar; it was Charlie's friend Harry.

"Shut the fuck up and just help me move her!" Charlie growled.

Darkness devoured me once again.

My sore eyes slowly crept open and I was in a car; then nothing.

Seconds, minuets, hours or days could have passed I had no idea. I tried to open my eyes but only one of them could open as the other one was swollen shut. It was dark and damp. I could smell and feel dirt around my face. Was I in the woods? It felt like I was in some sort of ditch; a grave maybe.

Then I waited.

And waited

What for? Death, anything, I had know idea.

My mind felt like it was closing in on itself. I had completely given up.

I closed my eyes and sank deeper and deeper into the memories of my childhood when times were happier. For the first time in years I smiled to my memories of the only person who had ever loved me; my mother.

Death had sadly not came to me or had it? I was in a place I didn't know, limbo maybe?

It was dark and one thing I knew for sure was that I felt safe. All my injures were gone and all the pain had subsided; maybe I was dead.

"Good morning Isabella" I heard in the distance.

This voice was unrecognisable but I had heard it several times; maybe in my memory. I didn't have a face to put with this voice, it was male and sounded authoritative. Maybe it was God?

This voice would often talk to me although I had know idea where it was coming from or why it was even speaking to me. I never answered it because I didn't know how too. I would try and speak but nothing would come out and movement here was limited. It was almost like I was sat crossed legged in the middle of a pitch black room. Sometimes bright lights would break through and hurt my eyes. I never questioned why I was here and to be honest I didn't ever want to leave. I felt safe here, alone in the dark; this was my tranquil sanctum. Time had no meaning here.

Suddenly there was a change; a new voice had entered my sanctum.

I listened for a while then the realisation hit me that the first voice must have been God because now all I hear was an angel speaking to me.

"Hi my names Edward" he said.

His voice was almost musical, I pictured wind chimes as he spoke.