Disclaimer: All recognizable characters and the Twilight Saga belong to Stephenie Meyer. The story and any new characters belong to me.
I am posting this unbeta'd, but I will replace it if I need to when Marshmellow007 has given it the spelling, grammar and punctuation once over!
A/N: This chapter is all about Edward; what he thinks, how he reacts and feels and how he looks after Bella as he tries to be the boyfriend he promised her he would. There is quite a bit of controlling, obsessive behavior from Edward in Bella's future! There is also a lot of bad language from Edward in this chapter so be warned and it also includes a section on the aftermath at the hospital - but nothing too explicit.
…
Chapter 12 – Finding Bella (Edward's POV)
I rode my last wave into La Push beach and jumped from the board. The weather was changing quickly and the air temperature was dropping; I could feel the cold seeping into my muscles below the black full-body wetsuit I wore. Raising an arm, I waved in Jasper and Emmett and then jogged up the beach to Emmett's jeep where I propped up the board and began carefully stripping off the suit until I was garbed only in brief tight swim-trunks. Some guys liked to wear their suit sans swimwear but I wasn't one of them; I couldn't bear the rash I got around my groin.
Emmett kept buckets in the back of his jeep for rinsing the wet suits, so I grabbed one and jogged over to the mens toilet block to fill it with fresh water from the tap and then stuffed my wetsuit inside of it to rinse off the saltwater and sand. I wanted to go home to Bella. I missed her even though we'd only been apart for three hours. Jasper and Emmett said they wanted to go surfing today at breakfast and they talked me in to going with them. I was a moody prick this morning because of the anniversary coming up on Sunday and they all knew it, and were trying to distract me. It worked for a few hours but now I wanted to find Bella.
Grabbing a towel, I jogged over to the outdoor shower to rinse off the salt water as well as the sand that somehow always managed to find it's way beneath the neoprene suit. The fresh water was freezing and I stayed underneath the spray only long enough to feel clean again. Jasper and Emmett came running up from the beach as I was toweling off and I yelled at them to hurry up so we could go already. Emmett blew me the finger and Jasper just rolled his eyes and grinned as they headed to the showers.
Jasper was exactly the same as me when he first started dating Alice, spending every waking moment with her that he could get and even a few sleeping moments as well he didn't know I knew about. Emmett was a like a lovesick cow when he first started dating Rosalie but he seems to have forgotten what it was like to be caught in the fresh bloom of love. I might just have to have a little chat with Rosalie. I sniggered imagining Emmett in the dog house. How my tune had changed in less than two weeks since that day I'd told them all that I don't believe in true love.
By the time they were jogging back from the shower, I'd already hung up my rinsed wetsuit in the back of the jeep and strapped all three boards to the roof rack. A gust of cold wind came rolling up the beach reminding me that the weather had changed for the worse and it looked like it was going to pour with rain any minute now. I shoved my hands into the light-weight jacket I was wearing wishing I'd brought a warmer one, when my phone rang. It was Mom.
"Hey, Mom,"
"Hello, Edward," she replied, and she sounded a little harried, putting me on instant alert. "Edward, have you seen Bella this morning?" she asked me.
I stiffened, immediately wondering what was wrong. "Not since before we left for the beach. What's wrong, Mom?"
"Probably nothing, Edward, but Bella went into town this morning and she hasn't come back yet."
"How did she get into town?" I demanded curtly, waving insistently at Jasper and Emmett to hurry up.
"She took the bus, her note said, and she indicated she'd be home by lunchtime."
I looked at my waterproof watch. It was a quarter to one. That still qualifies as lunchtime, right?
"Have you called her cell phone?" I asked my mom as panic began to rise in my chest. My free hand found its way into my damp hair, tugging at large clumps of it until pain registered and I relaxed my grip a little bit.
"Yes, but a recorded message says it's out of service," she relayed to me worriedly. WHAT! That piece of shit phone of hers!
"Alright, Mom. Jasper, Emmett and I will drive into town and see if we can find her. Did her note say what she was planning on doing in town?" For fucks sake! Why couldn't she wait for me to fucking drive her if she wanted to go into town? I didn't like not knowing where she was or who she was with! Miss Swan was in for a lecture and a set of ground rules when I saw her even if she punched me in the nose again!
"She said something about a jeweler and …" her voice trailed off.
"And WHAT, Mom?" I almost yelled down the phone.
"A photographic supply shop," she told me. I couldn't understand why she was hesitant to tell me that but I'd be getting to the bottom of that as well!
"Anywhere else you can think of, Mom?" I asked as Jasper and Emmett grabbed the buckets to rinse their wet suits. I motioned for them to get dressed and forget rinsing their suits. That should tell you how worried I was because no serious surfer ever leaves their wetsuit to stew in saltwater, sand and urine.
"No!" she told me, her tone more harried than it was before. "Oh, Edward, wait! Maybe the aquatic center. She told me last night when we were cleaning up the kitchen after dinner, that her physical therapist wants her to take up swimming."
She hadn't told me that. "Right. Okay, Mom. I'll ring you when I've got her," I told her, hanging up before she could say anything else. I was already dialing Bella's cell phone when the others indicated they were ready to go by getting into the car. I climbed into the front passenger seat beside Emmett while Jasper sat in the back and leaned forward between our two seats. I got the same recorded message that Mom did, 'The cell phone you are calling is out of service.'
"What's up, Bro?" asked Emmett in a serious voice. He knew from my demeanor that this wasn't one of those times to fuck around.
"Bella's missing!" I told them, fisting my hair.
"Missing?" repeated Jasper calmly. "What do you mean by, 'missing'?"
"JUST WHAT I FUCKING SAID!" I yelled. What the fuck! "MISSING! Meaning, 'not here'; 'can't be found'; 'not where she's supposed to be'; 'not at home where I know where she fucking is!'" I screamed at him. I was panicking; I knew it but I couldn't help it.
"Alright. Calm down, Bro," said Jasper resting his hand on my shoulder. "Who was that on the phone?" he asked.
"Mom."
"What did she say?" asked Emmett.
I relayed to them what Mom had told me and they both looked a little worried. The aquatic center was close to a section of Forks with a lot of abandoned buildings, though the center itself was on a well maintained street.
Emmett's jaw tightened and he accelerated down the La Push Beach road toward the highway going well over the posted speed limit. The jeep could handle it being an off-road vehicle because the road wasn't the smoothest in places. The drive from La Push to Forks would take eighteen minutes if Mom was driving and about twelve minutes with Emmett behind the wheel. This was one time, I hoped the highway patrol were taking a piss break.
"Let's trying the area around the pool first," suggested Emmett as he made a hard turn onto the highway cutting off a fully loaded logging truck.
'Fuck me!' I gasped, snatching hold of the grab bar on the ceiling near the door. I watched my life flash before my eyes and every image contained Bella because my life only began two weeks ago when I met her.
"She probably went there last if she was shopping because it's close to a bus stop on the way out of town," Emmett said, almost distractedly.
"What do you know about the Forks bus service," I asked him suspiciously. We all had driver licenses and cars of our own since we were sixteen, and before that, Mom and Dad drove us everywhere we wanted to go.
He looked startled as though he didn't realize he'd expressed his thoughts out loud. "Oh, um ..."
"Spill it," said Jasper, trying to keep me distracted by picking on Emmett. I appreciated it for what it was and fist bumped him in thanks.
"Oh, alright. If you must know!" he griped, playing along. "I was grounded about a year ago for getting a speeding ticket and I lost my driving rights for a month, so, I had to take the bus a lot," he explained with a shrug of one massive shoulder.
"How come we don't know about this?" I asked. Our ridiculous prattle was helping to distract me but I was getting increasingly nervous as I noted the passing time. It was nearly one o'clock; ten minutes had passed since I'd hung up the phone on Mom and nearly an hour since Bella should have come home.
"I asked Mom and Dad to keep it to themselves," Emmett said, interrupting my thoughts, "You were all involved with that skank, Lauren Mallory, Edward, dippin' your wick every chance you got, and Jasper and Alice were all lovey dovey and didn't notice anything that wasn't directly in front of them. Rosalie knew, but Mom and Dad banned her from driving me anywhere except to and from school and in emergencies," Emmett confessed.
"What about us? We drove you around sometimes," Jasper said, scratching his head trying to figure out how he didn't notice Emmett not driving for an entire month.
"That was okay. But I couldn't ask you to drive me anywhere; it was only allowed if you offered. That was the compromise I had to agree to, to get Mom and Dad not to tell you about my punishment."
"Frankly, Emmett, I don't know why you bothered keeping it a secret. It's not like we all haven't been punished before," I said, as we entered the outskirts of Forks coming up on five past one. Time was passing fast! I dialed Bella's cell phone again but there was still no answer other than the tinny sounding recording. Fuck!
"Yeah, well, ahem … the reason for keeping it secret wasn't so much that I was speeding, but why I was speeding," he said, mortification evident in his voice.
"What!" I barked.
"I, um, took a Viagra, you know … to keep it, um, up longer and when it wouldn't go down even after … you know with, um, Rosalie a few times ..."
"Yeesss?" asked Jasper curiously, drawing out the sound.
"Well, I panicked and I was rushing into town to get Dad to, ahem, fix it!" he said with embarrassment, and he flushed red like a tomato.
"Why'd you take one of them for?" asked Jasper in disbelief when he stopped chortling. I tuned out most of Emmett's response; I thought it was more important to ask where he got it from, but that was a conversation for another time. I had an idea about the source but I pushed it aside to concentrate on finding Bella.
I was only half listening to their prattle now, because I was too busy looking around town as we drove to the the Forks pool, frantically searching for a slender girl with long brown hair walking along in the rain. The street lights had come on automatically when it got so dark because of the storm clouds and I hoped Bella was warm enough.
'Shit! I don't even know what she's wearing so I can look out for a particular piece of clothing. Shit!'
"Pull up in front," I interrupted Jasper and Emmett, pointing to the aquatic center. "I'll be back in a minute," I told them, jumping from the jeep before it had fully stopped. I sprinted inside to the front desk but the clerk was on the phone. 'Shit!'
I smacked the counter repeatedly with my hand, trying to get his attention but he ignored me and kept talking into the phone. Then the fucker turned his back on me!
"Hey! Hey, Asshole! Yeah, you, you dumb Fuck!" I confirmed when he turned around to glare at me. "This is an emergency. You hang up that fucking phone and get over here, right now, or I'm climbing over this counter and coming to you," I threatened him and I wasn't kidding. I was more than prepared to vault over the counter and beat the fuck out of him if it got me the answers I needed.
The pimply faced kid swallowed and hurriedly ended his call, almost running over to the counter and skidding to a stop about five feet from where I stood on the opposite side. Gutless wonder!
"Have you seen a slender girl; about sixteen with long dark brown hair; beautiful face," I asked him. "I think she may have come in here sometime around noon to inquire about swimming classes or water exercises."
"Lot's of pretty brunettes come in here, Man. Doesn't mean I remember 'em all," he told me disinterestedly.
"Well fucking try, Man," I snarled, "because this girl is missing and she's my girlfriend and I'm just a tiny bit worried and pissed off right now, Man, if you get my drift," I hissed at him. Fucking moron!
"Um, I wasn't on at noon, so I d...don't know if she was in here or n...not," he stammered out.
"Well, is there anyone fucking here, that might have seen her?" I screamed at him.
"Um, my boss, I'll check," he said scurrying off through a door at the back of the reception area. He came back lickety-split with his boss in tow; a paunchy middle-aged man with a bad comb-over and a florid complexion.
I asked him the same question I had the kid, but I kept my tone more respectful and nearly bit my tongue off doing it.
"Yes, I do remember her. She came in here just after 12.30 asking about water aerobics and water therapy classes."
"Yes! Good! That sound's like her," I said, relieved. At least we were looking in the general area where we know for certain she was last seen. "What time did she leave and do you know where she was going?" I demanded.
"Ah, she left about a quarter to one I think; I showed her the pool and the ladies changing room and I got her a brochure with the class details, fees and opening times," he told me, raving on about the useless details.
"Did you happen to notice which direction she walked in?" I asked him, through tightly clenched teeth. My jaw ached from my teeth grinding against each other and the metallic taste of dental fillings polluted my mouth.
"No. But she asked me where the nearest bus stop was. I gave her directions and she left."
"Which way?" I gritted out, my tone impatient.
"Out the door and turn left, walk about three hundred yards and make a right turn, then about another one hundred and fifty yards down on the left. It's in front of the Thriftway," he said but I was gone before he finished his sentence, letting the glass door slam shut behind me.
I scrambled into the jeep which Emmett had kept running. "She was here," I panted. "The manager gave her directions to a bus stop near the Thriftway market at around a quarter to one, maybe a little after," I told them. Emmett was already driving.
We drove the quarter mile distance to the supermarket pulling up out front of the store in the car park. I could see the bus stop with its seat for passengers to wait on but there was no sign of her.
"Wait here," I ordered, getting out.
I sprinted inside the market to check if she was inside and yelled, "FUCK!" because there were too many aisles to check in the few moments I had to spare. I was drawing the attention of the employees and the customers – good; this could work for me.
"Has anyone seen Bella Swan?" I barked. They all stared at me, oblivious or just dumb. "FUUUCK!" I yelled again fisting my hair.
"Attention Thriftway Shoppers," announced the service desk manager in a tinny voice. He was on the PA system. Fucking Ace! I sprinted over to him, grabbed the mike from his hand while he was mid speech and pressed the talk button. He was too stunned to stop me, not that he could have.
"ATTENTION, BELLA SWAN, IF YOU ARE IN THIS MARKET, YOU ARE ORDERED TO COME TO THE FRONT COUNTER – IMMEDIATELY!" I screamed into the PA system. My tinny voice reverberated loudly around the store, but there was no sign of a slender brunette Bella hurrying along the aisles obeying my edict. She wasn't here! FUUUCK! I threw the mike at the service manager almost hitting him in the head and sprinted out the doors.
There was a newspaper stand in front of the store so I ran over, interrupting a customer paying for a magazine. "I'm sorry, Man, but this is an emergency," I said, pushing him out of the way. The guy running the stand said he hadn't seen her and he'd been there all day. I thanked him; apologized to the customer again and ran back to the jeep, leaning in the open window in the rain.
"She wasn't here," I told them hoarsely, clenching my hands over the door frame. If she wasn't here, that means she was lost somewhere or someone had her. I didn't want to think about what the latter option might mean.
Jasper, the calm voice of reason spoke up. "Okay, Gents. What do we know?" he asked rationally, and then continued when neither Emmett nor I responded. "It's a quarter after one now and Bella was last seen about thirty minutes ago at the pool. We know she was given directions to this bus stop and presumably she started walking in this direction."
I nodded dumbly.
"How long will it take Bella to walk 450 yards, Edward?" Jasper asked me, as I was the only one who had walked any significant distance with her before.
"Not long on a flat surface. Maybe a few minutes longer than a person without a leg injury," I told him.
"Okay, so taking into account maneuvering around pedestrians and waiting for traffic to slow or pass so she could cross the road, maybe five to ten minutes to walk here. What time was the bus due to leave this stop?"
"What fucking difference does it make?" I yelled. I wanted to get going and look for her.
"Every difference, Edward. We're trying to pinpoint where on a 450 yard walk, she might have gotten lost or ..." he paused, "snatched," he murmured quietly.
My heart palpitated. How could somebody get lost walking 450 yards in broad daylight on a well marked street?
"Ten past one," said Emmett.
"What?"
"The bus. It leaves the Thriftway on weekdays at ten past one and gets to the stop near our driveway at half past the hour.
"So she could be on the bus," I said hopefully, "and we've simply missed her."
"Yeah," said Jasper, nodding his head, "but the paper guy said he hasn't seen her and she wasn't in the market. Call, Esme," ordered Jasper. She picked up on the second ring.
"Mom, it's me, Edward. Has Bella come home yet?"
"No! Edward, I'm getting so worried," she whispered.
"I know, Mom, so am I," I whispered back. "Mom, the bus left the Thriftway a few minutes ago but we arrived after it left. Can you drive down to the stop near our driveway and see if she gets off the bus?"
"Yes. Are you going to keeping looking for her in town?"
"Yes. We've pinpointed her last whereabouts to somewhere between the Forks pool and the Thriftway between 12.45 and 1.10," I told her, "but no one's seen her since she left the pool."
"Edward?"
"Yes?"
"I'm going to call the police and your father, okay?"
My hand found its way into my hair again, tugging at the strands. At this rate, I was gonna be bald by dinner time. "Alright. Tell the cops the area we're searching in and not to bother with the pool or the market. She's somewhere between those two places."
"Okay, keep in touch with me, Edward," she ordered and hung up.
"Let's go," I said, starting to climb into the front passenger seat of the jeep, then changed my mind and opened the rear passenger door instead. "Jasper, get in the front," I ordered. I wanted to be in the back in case we found her so I could drag her into the car if I needed to. "We should try out-of-the-way places first. She may just have taken a wrong turn and gotten lost."
"Good idea," agreed Emmett wheeling away from the kerb and making a U-turn to head through the car park, back the way we'd come.
We were driving toward the aquatic center, when Jasper noticed an alleyway about fifty yards on our left before Bella should have made a right turn. He pointed it out and Emmett roared down the alleyway that was only wide enough for one vehicle, but we didn't see anyone. The rain was getting heavier and it was getting increasingly darker and colder as time went by and we didn't find her. I was becoming more worried with every passing minute driving up and down; left and right through the maze of alleyways in the mostly abandoned industrial district.
"Turn your headlights on high," I told Emmett and he complied. "Try that way," I said, pointing to an alleyway on the right we hadn't investigated yet. I saw something from my peripheral vision as we passed a narrow lane; a flash of long dark hair under a security light and two guys!
"Emmett, STOP! Down here, quick! I think we've found her … and she's not alone," I snarled.
Emmett reversed sharply and pointed the jeep down the lane spotlighting a scene with the high-beam headlights that I never wanted to see again. Bella, my beautiful Bella was kneeling on the filthy, hard ground and some asshole had hold of her hair pulling her head back while the other one crouched in front of her holding her hands so she couldn't move or defend herself. She looked terrified and she was soaking wet, clothed only in a thin sundress.
"FUCKING HELL!" roared Emmett, verbalizing what I was thinking and feeling as the jeep burst into the car park and fishtailed in a semi-circle, coming to a screeching halt about six feet from the startled men and an ecstatically relieved Bella.
The three of us dove from the jeep before the motor had stop whirring. Jasper and Emmett gave chase to the two assholes who'd bolted up the lane; the blond guy was zipping up his pants as he ran. I was going to skin that fucker alive if he touched my Bella and I might still, even if hadn't, just for trying to.
I ran over to Bella, but I felt like I was running in slow motion, sluggish and uncoordinated no matter how much my brain ordered my legs to pump faster; like I was running through quicksand. Although it was only seconds – even if it felt like minutes – I imprinted on my memory, every single detail my eyes could absorb.
She was scrambling around with her hands looking for something to hold onto so she could pull herself up off the ground. A nasty bruise was forming over her right cheekbone and her mouth was bloody and swollen – one or both of those fuckers had hit her! I reached her just as she managed to grab hold of the fence behind her and began pulling herself upright. Both of her knees were skinned and bleeding and her thin sundress was torn at the neck and clinging to every inch of her body, delineating her panties and her bra. Her sweater, once white, was a sodden filthy rag on the ground beside her.
"BELLA! BELLA!" I yelled as I reached her, throwing my arms around her and pulling her close to me. She held her arms out to the side as though I was a stranger who'd run up to her on the street and accosted her. 'Shit!' That's exactly what had happened to her! She cringed away from me and my heart stopped in my chest for a few seconds.
"Bella? Bella, it's me, Edward," I said in a gentle voice so I wouldn't frighten her again. I let go of her, as much as I loathed to do it, and pulled my jacket off, placing it around her shoulders in a lame attempt to keep her warm. She was too wet for that and so was the jacket but at least the inside of the jacket was dry and held some of my body heat.
"Baby, it's Edward. Baby, I wont hurt you; let me help you," I crooned to her. She looked to be in shock because her eyes were staring straight through me; great black pools of nothing in her pale face. She was obviously traumatized by what had happened and I wanted to kill those two motherfuckers very slowly and very painfully.
I kept crooning to her softly as I reached out to button up the jacket. It was so large on her slender frame that I was able to button it up without her arms being in the sleeves. I slowly held my hand up where she could see it and brought it to her face so I could stroke my thumb gently over her bruised and bloody mouth. She flinched in pain but didn't cringe away from me – if anything, she leaned into the palm of my hand and I was elated that she seemed to recognize me.
"Oh, Oh, Ed...Edward," she cried out in sudden recognition. She burst into tears and leaned into me, resting her wet and clammy, bleeding face against my chest. I could feel her arms struggling to get free of the constricting jacket, so I unbuttoned the top few buttons and her arms appeared, snaking around my neck to hold on tightly. My arms encircled her body as I hugged her, rocking her from side to side in a soothing motion as I resumed the crooning nonsense that always seemed to calm her.
The sound of sirens coming closer alerted me that the police where likely on their way and I prayed my dad was with them. A police car pulled up in the alley across the entrance to the lane, it's blue and red lights flashing. Police Chief, Sam Uley got out of the car and came jogging down the lane towards us, his hand resting over the firearm strapped to his belt. My dad ran behind him, his medical bag clutched in his hand; he must have followed Sam here in his car.
"Edward," my dad said in his quiet and calm voice, but his eyes revealed his worry. He was assessing the situation and Bella's physical condition without even touching her. He was an amazing fucking doctor and I wanted to be just like him. Music was my passion, not my career!
"Dad!" I gasped, relieved to see him.
"Is she alright?" asked the Chief.
"No. But she will be," I told them.
"Let go of her, Son. I need to examine her."
"NO!" wailed Bella, clinging to me like a baby.
"Bella?" said Dad to her softly. "Bella, we need to get you into some dry clothes and I need to examine you," he told her.
"Take me home, Edward, please?" she cried beseechingly. "Please? I don't want to go to the hospital. I just want to go home. Please, Edward? Please?"
I looked at my dad for permission but he shook his head.
"Bella, you need to be examined and have your injuries treated," I said, trying to reason with her.
"No," she sobbed. "Carlisle can do that at home. Please? I just want to have a bath and go to sleep," she told me. "They … didn't rape me," she whispered. "You arrived here in time to stop them," she sniffled.
I exhaled a sigh of relief that they hadn't gotten that far but I was beyond enraged that they'd even tried and she still needed her other injuries treated even if a rape exam wasn't on the agenda.
I looked at Dad and the Chief to see if they'd changed their minds. They hadn't and they shook their heads at me. The Chief tried to explain to Bella why she needed to go to the hospital and he slouched down so he wasn't standing over her, to speak calmly to her.
"Bella, we need to collect evidence from you ..." he explained, trailing off.
"Can't we do that tomorrow?" I hissed. Fuck! They want to take her statement now!
"It's not that type of evidence," said the Chief, answering my unspoken question, or maybe I'd said it out loud. "We need the hospital to collect evidence from her body for DNA testing and forensic analysis," he clarified quietly, "to make a case against the men who did this to her."
Bella sniffled and I stroked her hair and rocked her, rubbing her back and arms through the cloth of my jacket. I looked down at it and stiffened. Even I'd watched enough re-runs of CSI to know about evidence collection and contamination of a crime scene. Had I contaminated the crime scene by wrapping her in my jacket; by touching her. Was her fragile body a crime scene now? I wanted to cry and yell and scream!
"Chief?" I called out hoarsely.
"Yes?"
"My jacket …?"
"It's okay, Edward. I understand. In crimes such as this, sometimes there can be contamination of the evidence during the rescue. We'll just need a sample of your DNA to rule you out, okay?"
I nodded and leaned down to Bella to whisper to her that we were going to the hospital now and I was going to pick her up.
"Dad, can I take her home after you've done whatever it is you need to do at the hospital?" Bella was nestled in my arms against my chest, her face buried against my neck. Her skin was icy cold and clammy.
Dad was hesitant, but then he nodded. "The ambulance is on it's way, Edward. Bring her up to the police cruiser; it should be here any moment," he said, and we all heard the sirens getting closer. I walked up the lane with the one woman, other than my mother, that I treasured more than any other in the world, being careful not to jar her in any way. She'd stopped weeping and seemed relieved to be leaving the car park and its terrible memories behind.
Dad quickly took her blood pressure and checked her pulse as the ambulance crawled up the alleyway. Jasper and Emmett were talking to a couple of deputies and the blond fucker who was zipping up his pants as he ran away, was sitting in the back of a police cruiser, his hands cuffed and attached to the cage separating the front and rear seats. He smirked at me, then blew me a kiss.
I growled at him. Not a semblance of a growl, but a real animalistic, honest-to-goodness growl like a lion protecting its pride. They all looked at me, blatantly startled by the sound I'd made – Dad, the Chief, Emmett and Jasper – even the deputies, but I didn't give a fucking shit! I'd do more than growl at the fucker if I ever got my hands on him!
"Where's the other one?" I snarled.
"He got away," said Jasper.
"Don't worry," said the Chief. "We'll have every officer on the Olympic Peninsula looking for him within the hour. He won't get far," he promised.
…
Dad let me ride in the ambulance with Bella while he followed in his car and Emmett and Jasper went to the station to give their statements about what happened. Bella and I had to give ours tomorrow, but the Chief said he'd come over to the house around lunchtime.
When we got to the hospital, Dad directed us into a private examination room and a nurse came in with a rape evidence collection kit. Bella got real nervous when she saw the kit and it was obvious she thought they were going to make her submit to an intimate exam. I clenched my fists, horrified that Bella might have to submit to such a test for such a reason.
"It's okay, Honey, I'm not here to do an internal exam, but the kit contains the items I need to collect other evidence from you. None of it is invasive and it won't hurt, I promise," she said softly, smiling at Bella.
"O...okay," whispered Bella. I reached out and squeezed her left hand in gentle support and offered to stay with her during the exam if she wanted me to. I didn't want to make an assumption that she'd be comfortable with me in the room after what had happened, even though I never wanted to let her out of my sight again.
"Stay, please," she pleaded. I nodded and the nurse said it was okay, so I stood by the bed and watched everything she did with an attention that bordered on morbid fascination.
The nurse used special swabs to collect fluid and blood from Bella's knees, hands, lips, mouth and cheek. She also scraped under Bella's finger nails and collected a blood sample then used a comb to collect evidence from Bella's hair, and fibers from her clothes. I also had to give an evidence sample via a swab of my mouth to dismiss any of my DNA that might turn up in the forensic results.
Bella had to surrender all of her clothing including her underwear and I stepped outside of the room while the nurse helped her to undress. My dad was waiting outside the door for the nurse to finish so he could go in and examine Bella. I leaned against the wall and blew out a weary breath.
"Are you okay, Son?" asked Dad with concern.
"Yes. No," I said more honestly. "What happens now, Dad?" I asked, but I wasn't sure what I was asking. Dad chose to interpret my question literally, but I think he knew I was asking something more.
"I treat Bella's physical injuries and we take her home," he told me matter-of-factly. "We be supportive of her feelings and make allowances for how she may react in the next few hours, days and weeks."
"Then what?" I whispered.
"I know what I'm about to say will sound trite and unfeeling, but … she tries to move on with her life and not let this single event haunt her for the rest of her days … and we get her the help she'll need to do that."
I gulped and nodded. I might need to go with her – when she gets the help, I mean, because I don't know if I can forget what I saw in that car park on my own.
"An assault always has more than one victim," Dad told me when I didn't say anything. "We … tend to forget that violent crime also affects the people who are closest to the person who was the target, but we're all victims in this, Edward; you more so than any of us, because Bella is your girlfriend. This happened to both of you," he said quietly as the door to the exam room opened and the nurse came out carrying evidence bags on a tray. She nodded to Dad and he went in and I tried to follow.
"I need you to stay outside for just awhile longer, Edward," he said with a gentle but firm staying hand on my chest.
I wanted to object and I started to, but Dad's stoic expression was unrelenting. He had a job to do and I wasn't needed or required. My shoulders slumped dejectedly, but I nodded my assent and my understanding.
"I'll call you as soon as you can come in, okay?"
"Yes," I whispered.
"While you're waiting, why don't you go to the cafeteria and get Bella a cup of hot sweet tea. Get one for yourself as well; and then stop by the nurses station for a set of scrubs so Bella has something to wear home," Dad suggested but it was really a command. "I'll need about half an hour," he told me then he closed the door to Bella's room, shutting me out.
My hands came up to my head and fisted my hair in frustration not only because I couldn't be with Bella, but because I was outwardly calm but also inwardly enraged. Each emotion was fighting for supremacy, and right now the rage felt like it was winning. I was afraid of falling from the precipice again like I did six years ago when Robert died. I called the one person who might understand.
"Hello?"
"Emmett. Talk to me, Brother," I begged.
"What's wrong, Edward?" he asked with concern. "Are you still at the hospital?"
"Yes. Emmett? Emmett, I can't … I can't seem to get a handle on my emotions right now," I whispered to him. "I feel … adrift, like I don't know where I've been or where I'm going," I said into the silence on the phone. "I feel just like I did when Rob died," I howled, no longer able to suppress my fear and guilt and relief.
"Edward! Don't you do this, Bro! What happened to Bella is not your fault. You can't blame yourself for something you had no control over," Emmett growled insistently over the phone.
"But I promised her I would look after her, that I'd be a good boyfriend to her," I sobbed, scrubbing at the tears filling my eyes. "And less than a week after I made that promise to her, she almost gets raped!"
"You cannot protect everyone all of the time, Edward! People are responsible for their own actions and decisions and everything we do or say has consequences, both good and bad," said Emmett forcefully, "and even the little, inconsequential things we decide can change the course of someone's fate." I was surprised at how enlightened he actually sounded and it distracted me for a few moments before he continued.
"Bella chose to take the bus into town rather than waiting for someone to drive her. Those thugs chose to follow her and assault her. Mom chose to call you and tell you that Bella hadn't come home and we chose to search for her. Every one of those decisions made by four different groups of people had a consequence; some of them good and some bad, but the outcome would have surely been different if any one of those decisions was changed or never made in the first place. Nothing is wholly controllable, Edward. Sometimes we can lessen the impact like we did today, but when all is said and done, some things are simply inevitable," he sighed tiredly.
I was silent, considering what he said.
"Edward, it wasn't your fault that the bolts were defective and it wasn't your fault there were huge storms in Chicago that week. It wasn't your fault that Rob was dancing around and fell against the railing and it wasn't your fault that he fell off the roof and died … just like it's not your fault that Bella took the bus into town because you weren't home and it's not your fault you weren't there to prevent her from getting lost and being attacked. You can't be responsible for everyone and everything all of the time, Edward. It doesn't work like that," he said.
I swallowed. I know rationally that what he was saying was correct, but I didn't want to let myself believe it. "But ..."
"No buts!" Emmett yelled down the phone, cutting me off. "Think about all of the decisions you've made that had a positive consequence," he said, "rather than dwelling on the things that weren't your decisions to make and you couldn't and can't ever control. Do it for yourself, Bro, and do it for Bella and Mom and Dad and the rest of us … before you make yourself insane with guilt and self pity. We can't do this again, Edward," he said, but it was a plea.
"I know," I whispered.
"How's Bella?" Emmett asked me after a moment.
"She's shaken, but she'll be okay. They didn't, um …"
"That's good Bro, real good. Um, Rosalie said to tell you she's available, to talk to Bella if she wants to get stuff off her chest, you know," Emmett told me.
"Yeah. Tell Rosalie thanks."
"When do you think you'll be home?"
"About an hour I think, maybe a bit longer. Dad's in there with her now."
"Okay, well I'll see you when you get home, Edward, and remember what I said, okay?"
"Okay. Thanks, Emmett," I said and we disconnected.
…
I was coming back from the cafeteria with two steaming takeaway cups of sweet milky tea thinking over my conversation with Emmett, when I saw the Chief coming out of Bella's room followed by my Dad. They spoke quietly outside her closed door for a few moments then the Chief strode down the hallway toward me. He nodded as he passed me and I turned to follow him with narrowed eyes of concern. Why was the Chief in Bella's room? He said that he'd see us tomorrow! I turned back to look at my dad with a puzzled expression and he waved me over to the nurse's station and met me there.
"What's going on?" I demanded, putting the paper tea cups on the counter.
"Bella's fine, Edward, but she told me some things during the exam that the Chief needed to know about."
"WHAT THINGS?" I demanded shrilly, and then lowered my voice when people stared with keen interest, eager for fresh juicy gossip. Nosy assholes!
"Keep your voice down, Edward. I know you're concerned about Bella, but you have to let the police do their job, okay?"
"Yes," I gritted out. "What did Bella tell you?" I asked worriedly.
"I can't discuss that with you, Edward, you know that," replied my dad flatly. Fucking bullshit!
My jaw was clenching again making my teeth hurt and I could feel a muscle begin to tick beside my mouth. I glared at my father with sudden dislike because he was acting the officious doctor and not my dad.
"If Bella tells you, Edward, that's different, but I can't breach the doctor-patient confidentiality agreement," he told me firmly, "not again, not even for you," he whispered.
I nodded slowly in understanding even if I didn't like it. "Can we take her home yet?"
"In about thirty minutes. I want her leg and hand X-Rayed before we leave; she's moving her limbs without excessive pain but I want to be thorough."
I nodded again. I preferred that as well. I wanted assurances that her physical injuries weren't more serious than they first appeared.
"Why don't you take that tea into Bella and I'll get the scrubs so she can change out of the hospital gown for the drive home," Dad suggested. I strode down the hall to her room without any further encouragement; I wanted to see for myself that she was okay.
Bella was reclining on the bed when I pushed the door open with my shoulder, holding the two cups of tea. She looked pale and uncomfortable, but otherwise she didn't appear outwardly distressed. I knew from experience, that what was happening on the inside, in the brain was often more important because emotional and psychological damage was silent and invisible.
"Hi," she whispered to me hoarsely, with a wan smile of greeting.
"Hi," I replied softly returning her smile with one of reassurance. "I brought you some hot tea," I told her needlessly.
"Thanks," she said, reaching for the tea and sipping from it slowly. She winced when the hot liquid irritated the weeping cut on her lip. Dad had daubed it with some type of antiseptic cream to protect it and prevent infection but it would be sore until it formed a nice thick scab.
"You can go home soon, Dad said, as soon as you've been X-Rayed."
"I know, he told me."
"Bella …?" I didn't know what to say or how to ask her what I wanted to ask her.
"I'm okay, Edward. Thank you for finding me. I'd just about given up all hope," she whispered to me with a violent shudder.
I sat down on the side of the bed and gently took hold of her uninjured hand in mine, stroking over the back of it with my thumb.
"How did you end up in that alleyway, Bella?" I asked her quietly.
She sighed. "It was my own fault, Edward. I wasn't paying attention and I must have made a wrong turn. I was lost before I realized that I wasn't where I was supposed to be anymore."
"Did those guys follow you?"
"Not from behind. I was making my way toward the street I could see ahead of me, when they came in from the other end and walked toward me. I'd seen them on the bus into town and they must have recognized me," she told me. "The blond one stared at me on the bus," she whispered, "and he blew me a kiss," she said. "I ignored them, but …" she trailed off.
I was fucking livid. I didn't believe for a minute, those fuckers hadn't followed her. They just came at her from an offensive position rather than a defensive one, cutting off her nearest means of escape which was the street she was walking toward. Once she was on the street, their chance to strike would have been lost. I'd seen the same tactic used in football. Use the most efficient means at your disposal to stop your enemy or in this case, your victim from reaching safety.
An orderly came in with a wheelchair to take Bella down to X-Ray and I helped her off the bed and into the chair. I wanted to take control of it but the burly orderly wouldn't let me even after I'd growled under my breath and bared my teeth at him. He just reciprocated and pried my hands from the handles. He was built like a brick shit-house and was just as strong as one.
I scowled but walked beside the chair as we took the elevator down one floor to the X-Ray department, and the fucking orderly made me wait outside. Prick! I was left to my own devices for ten minutes, so I paced up and down the corridor waiting for her to get done. I tried to sit but it was no use; I was too full of nervous energy and rage which had no immediate outlet.
The door to the X-Ray room opened just as I was turning on my fiftieth lap of the corridor and I rushed toward Bella and the orderly.
"Okay?" I asked her.
"Yeah, all good," she told me, as the orderly wheeled her toward the elevator.
When we got back to her room, Dad was there and the orderly handed him Bella's X-Ray films and left. He clipped them to the light-board on the wall and looked at them carefully for a few minutes before smiling at us and confirming that there were no new broken bones. All of us were relieved.
"Okay, Bella, you can get changed into the scrubs I borrowed for you and then we can go, okay? She nodded. "The chief sent one of the deputies over with your shoulder bag after they finger printed it and searched it for evidence so you can have it back now. It's on the chair beside the bed," he told her pointing to it.
Bella breathed a sigh of relief and Dad left the room. "Do you need any help?" I asked Bella. I wasn't trying to be a pervy prick, I assure you; I was genuinely concerned that she needed help dressing.
"No, I'm fine Edward. I'll tap on the door when you can come back in, okay?"
I nodded and left the room, pacing up and down the corridor like a caged animal just as I'd done downstairs outside of X-Ray.
…
Dad went out to bring his car around to the front entrance and Neanderthal man aka the orderly, wheeled Bella, dressed in the over-large baggy blue scrubs, to the front entrance to wait for Dad. As soon as he collected us, she'd be my responsibility again and the orderly could take a flying fuck for all I cared.
Bella was quiet on the drive home and she cuddled into my arms without me even asking her if I could hold her. I rested my chin on the top of her head and stroked her hair. She stiffened briefly which made me question what was wrong and then she forced herself to relax. I heard her sighing and I moved my hand from her hair to wrap it around her body, holding her against me protectively.
When we arrived home, it was nearly 5 o'clock in the afternoon and Mom was waiting for us at the front door. I helped a sleepy Bella from the car and picked her up wrapping her arms and legs around my body so she clung to me like a monkey, and carried her into the house. Dad and Mom looked at each with speaking glances but I didn't stop to try and interpret them, powering up the stairs to the third floor to the safety and comfort of my bedroom.
I sat on my bed with Bella in my lap and breathed a huge sigh of relief because I had her home where I could keep her safe. I stroked my hands up and down her back for a few minutes until she began to stir.
"Edward?" she mumbled sleepily.
"Yes, Baby?" I crooned.
"Can I have a bath, please?" she asked me pensively, as though she thought I might say no.
"Yes, Baby," I told her – anything she wanted. I stood up so I could sit her on the edge of the bed and strode into my bathroom to start the water running into the tub. It never even crossed my mind that she'd go to her own room – not tonight! I added some Epsom salts to the water to help relax her muscles and grabbed two clean towels and a washcloth from the tall cabinet in the corner, laying them on a chair by the tub.
I was grabbing the shampoo and conditioner from the shower stall so she could wash her hair, when it abruptly occurred to me that she might not appreciate using my 'Aveda for Men' products – her hair always smelled of flowers. Putting the bottles back, I smiled at her lovingly as she watched me curiously from her seat on my bed, as I powered through my room, across the hall and into her room, tossing her toiletries into a basket she had on the bathroom counter. I raided her panty drawer on the way back. Another time, I might have explored that particular drawer a bit more thoroughly but now wasn't the time.
"Let's get you into the tub, Baby," I said to her coming back into the room after dropping the basket of toiletries in the bathroom. I picked her up and carried her into the steamy room standing her by the tub, and then I stood around feeling useless, not knowing what else to do. Should I stay or go?
"I can take it from here, Edward," she told me softly, reaching up with her hand to stroke my face. "Thank you for looking after me," she whispered.
"I promised to look after you," I said, "but I didn't do a very good job of keeping you safe today," I croaked, wondering if she'd dump my ass for breaking my promise to her so soon.
"Yes, you did, Edward. You rescued me," she refuted softly. "You came looking for me and you brought the cavalry with you. I love you, Edward," she said, her voice raspy with emotion. She stretched up on her tippy-toes to kiss the corner of my mouth.
I gathered her body to me and hugged her, fighting back sobs of relief that she didn't blame me, and wonder because she loved me even after what happened to her today. "I love you too," I said, my voice cracking with emotion.
She pushed away from me gently. "I think the tub's full," she said dryly just as the water was about to lap over the edge.
"Shit!" I yelped and reached for the tap to shut off the water. "I'll have to let some of it out for you," I told her sheepishly, reaching into the deep tub to open the drain. I let out about six inches of water and then left briefly to bring her one of my T-Shirts because I forgot her pajamas when I was in her room and I didn't want to leave her alone again to go find them.
"I'll be in my room, Bella. Please call out to me if you need me," I pleaded with her.
"I will," she promised me, and I left her to relax and bathe, hitting play on the small stereo on my way out. The soothing sounds of the piano music she liked so much sounded from the speakers softly as I closed the bathroom door behind me.
…
Bella had been asleep in my bed for the last four hours and I'd spent exactly the same length of time sitting on my sofa watching over her and making a list of all the ways I could keep her safe. I had a list of 101 items – I counted them. Some of them would never work, simply because Bella wouldn't go along with them no matter how much I pleaded with her or demanded that she comply. My parents might be a stumbling block as well. I sighed and began crossing off items on the list until I'd reduced it to about ten or twelve that I thought she might go along with, and a few she wouldn't know about, and then I made a fresh list.
Nbr 1. Give Bella my old iPhone with tracking App so I know where she is at all times.
Nbr 2. Enroll in the same classes as Bella, so I can be with her at all times at school.
Nbr 3. Make my siblings guard her when I can't be with her (Pay them if necessary!).
Nbr 4. Drive Bella everywhere she wants/needs to go.
Nbr 5. Make my siblings drive her when I can't (Pay them if necessary!)
Nbr 6. Investigate all people who interact with Bella – friends, teachers, professionals (Hire investigator immediately!) (Have the investigator investigated!)
Nbr 7. Teach Bella to drive.
Nbr 8. Buy Bella a car with a tracking device so I know where she is at all times.
Nbr 9. Get Bella self-defense lessons and go with her. Investigate the instructor!
Nbr 10. Convince Bella not to live in her house when her Emancipation is granted.
Nbr 11. Find a way to sabotage her Emancipation! (Consider bribing the judge?)
Nbr 12. Buy Bella pepper spray, electronic whistle and a personal taser device. Teach her how to use them.
Nbr 13. Check with the FBI, possibility of tracking Bella with a satellite. (Is this OTT?) (Cost?)
Nbr 14. Marry Bella as soon as possible!
Nbr 15. Convince Bella that all these things are for her own good!
Nbr 16. Keep secret from Bella and parents items numbered 6, 11, 13 and 14.
I sighed and put the notepad in the drawer of the table by the sofa and pinched the bridge of my nose to relieve the pain of a tension headache forming behind my left eye. Bella hadn't moved in the bed from the moment she'd climbed into it after her bath. I'd heard the sloshing of the bathwater occasionally as she moved around and washed her hair while I paced up and down in front of the door for an hour so I'd be close by if she needed me.
She'd come out dressed in my T-shirt which reached nearly to her knees and hung off her shoulders, looking fresh and clean and very, very beautiful even with the darkening bruise on her cheek and her swollen lip. I'd led her by the hand to the bed and tucked her in after applying some antiseptic spray to her skinned knees and daubing her lip with a healing cream. She'd asked me to stay with her and I did, lying on the covers propped against the headboard with her head lying against my chest until she'd gone to sleep. It didn't take long – her body and her mind were worn out by the events of the afternoon.
I was desperate for a shower and I decided to chance leaving her alone for five minutes. While I was in my closet getting sleep pants and another T-shirt, I pulled my old iPhone from the drawer where I kept it and placed it on the charger so I could give it to her in the morning, after I'd downloaded the tracking App and synced it with my current phone. I planned on confiscating her old phone. I'd crush it into dust if I had to, to ensure she used this one!
I showered hurriedly, leaving the door ajar so I would hear her if she called out and then dried myself off and dressed for bed. While brushing my teeth, I noticed all of her toiletries spread over the counter and they looked perfectly at home; as though they were where they were supposed to be, mixed in with my own things. She was messy with her stuff, spreading out from one end of the counter to the other, but I didn't mind as much as I thought I would that things were out of place, because Bella's place was with me.
I left a dimmer lamp on low in the sitting area in case she woke during the night and then climbed into bed, pulling her body close to me and surrounding her with my arms. She stirred and rolled over, cuddling closer – her body warm and soft. She laid her head on my chest and sighed my name, just once, before drifting back to sleep.
I slept.
…
A/N: Well what did you think? Did you like Edward's list? – obsessive much!
Review and let me know your thoughts.
Forks does have a public pool but it's been closed since 2006 and is currently under renovation. The walking distance between the pool and the Thriftway market is actually quite a bit longer than 450 yards but I changed it to suit my story - artistic license.
Photos for the chapter are on my blog as usual. The link is on my profile page.
Chapter 13 available this weekend but it might be a short one because I'm bushed.