Finally! I think this is the fastest I've uploaded...haha I'm quite proud of myself. Here we have it: Bella's reasoning and what happened to cause the mess Edward saw in J's office...

BPOV

I clamored up Charlie's old stairs to my room. The room I'd slept in since I was born. Pictures from my two years at Forks High School remained tacked to the cork-board over my desk, and the oak dresser I inherited from Grandma Swan stood proudly in the corner near the small window. I took a minute to do the most girly thing imaginable: jump up and down and squeal, as quietly as possible. Edward Cullen was interested in me. The plain and ordinary girl-next-door type that usually ended up watching her life-long crush drive off with some bombshell. Not that he was my life-long crush or anything.

Before undressing, I sniffed his shirt deeply, and caught all of his scent, it was musky and fresh, and I didn't want to let it go. Reluctantly, I stripped and pulled on a clean bra and fresh underwear. I chose my pink lace set, it always made me feel a little more confident and sexy. Sometimes I wished that I could wear my underwear on top of my clothes, just so someone could see how good I looked. Of course the whole outfit would look truly bizarre. Shut it Swan, you're stalling.

"Hey, you didn't find Narnia and not tell me did you?" He called. I giggled. I couldn't remember the last time someone made me giggle. I threw on my favorite jeans and a comfy tee and bounded down the stairs. I wasn't expecting him to be at the bottom and I ran full-force into him.

"Oomf." I couldn't help but smile up at him. There's no way I could let this man out of my life. "Sorry, clumsy."

We chatted casually, but his question from the car loomed over my head like a Washington storm cloud.

"So to answer your earlier question, no." It felt so good to finally get it out of my system.

"Huh?" Crap, I'd have to spell it out for him. I knew he'd be hurt, but I couldn't let him ruin this awesome connection between us with a stupid title.

"I will not be your girlfriend." I sighed with relief now that he knew. His wide-eyed stare made me feel guilty, but this was for the best.

"But, you—I thought, what?"

"Edward, I think you should go." I tried to apologize with my eyes, but he wouldn't look at me. He hurried out my front door, and I followed him out to his car.

"I promise I'll call you." I shouted before he slammed his door shut. I winced at the finality of the sound. I went back inside and tried to reassure myself that this was for the best. I knew I'd have to tell him soon, I just didn't know when the right time was. He'd need to know why I was broken.

"Emmett's birthday is coming up, what should I get him?" Rose asked. I could tell she was nervous, but I knew she couldn't go wrong with anything. Emmett was a good sport and could take what she could dish.

"You might kill me for suggesting this, but I've seen marshmallow-shooting machine guns online."

"Oh my god, that's incredibly perfect. E-mail me the link." We continued talking about whether or not we should let Alice throw Em a party. We decided that pizza at Jasper's was the best plan.

Edward visited for a few minutes before having to prep for his show, and I was getting a little nervous for him, there were more people here than average. This could be sort of a breakthrough for them. If they ever got a decent name. Currently, they were The Mutants, but it would probably change next week. Nobody ever agreed on anything for longer than a month. I told Edward that no record label would ever sign a band that couldn't decide on a name.

Jasper's started buzzing when Mike Newton starting testing the crew's microphones.

"One...Two, Three, Hey Jess!" He beamed. I knew they'd end up together. Jessica Stanley had always been in love with Mike. It just took him all of high school to figure it out.

I turned back to the man I was serving when out of the corner of my eye, I saw him.

My body froze. This was the one scenario that I had buried so deep in the back of my head, I was sure it had cobwebs. My insides screamed to run, but if I did, he'd surely be fast enough to catch me, and strong enough to bring me down. Self preservation finally presented itself an opportunity, and I ducked under the bar top and tucked myself into one of the shelves that were hidden by the front counter. I shoved bottles of rancid tequila out of my way and bit my hand to keep from screaming. No. No. NO. I mentally chanted.

Maybe it wasn't him. Maybe that guy just looked like him.

Who was I kidding? Even after five years, my body still recognized that twinge of fear that his presence required.

"Bell—Hey! What the fuck?" Rose cried as I dug my nails into her ankle.

"Whatever you do, don't say my name." I hissed under my breath. I felt the familiar quake in my chest that signaled my oncoming breakdown. "I need to get out of here." My voice cracked.

"What is it?" She whispered from the corner of her mouth.

"Rose, he's here. Dimitri is here." I trembled.

"Fuck on a stick." She looked around the crowded bar, searching for the man who ruined me. "I see him. He's watching the band." Our quiet exchange was probably getting some weird looks from the people surrounding the bar, but I didn't have the ability to care.

"Get Jasper." I pleaded. I thrust my head back between my knees and silently prayed that I was somewhere else, and that was just some indigestion induced bad dream.

"I think we're out of tequila." I heard Rose say above me. Jasper's face popped in right in front of me and it took all of my energy not to scream and claw his face off.

"Bel—mfmmf." I covered his mouth with my hand and told him that he needed to walk really slowly to the bathroom.

"I'll be crawling on the floor following you." I finally freed him from my hand.

"What the hell is goin' on here?" His accent was really thick when he was angry.

"I'll tell you if you can get me out of here." His face softened, he nodded once and stood up.

"I think I have a few extra bottles in the back." He said to Rose, and I could see her blond waves nod in agreement. I hoped the dim lighting and Edward as a distraction would cover my ass.

Jasper strode slowly over to the employee's bathroom, me following slowly on my hands and knees. I was shaking so much that I almost fell over. Once we were both inside, I pulled myself onto the toilet and let it all out.

I sobbed and tugged at my hair all while forcefully stepping on my own toe, hoping to channel the pain into a physical state. The adrenaline from my escape still coursed through me, and my cries were becoming more like moans. Hands tried to steady my shaking but they were just like his, and I would cry louder, shrinking away from them. A thick cloud surrounded me, and all I could see was him and all the nightmares he starred in over the years.

I vaguely heard voices around me, but I couldn't make out who the belonged to. My shirt clung to my body, wet with tears. My hands wouldn't stop shaking. My eyes couldn't stop staring at the old scar on my wrist. His favorite target. Smaller hands gripped me this time, and I knew they couldn't be his. Rose's soft voice penetrated the fog momentarily, and I fell into her embrace. She, with the help of someone else, dragged me into Jasper's office, which shared a door with the bathroom. I balled up in the big leather chair, still shaking.

"I'm going to get Edward." A bell-like voice stated. Edward. His hands were the only ones I wanted around my shoulders. His words calming me. With the mention of his name, things became clearer, and the fog started to lift.

Rose continued rocking me, and my body began to feel the exhaustion that was typical post-panic attack. This had been my most recent. I hadn't had one in maybe two years. But the pain never dulled, not once. I heard the door swing open.

He found me.

I screamed with all of my might, hoping that someone might hear me, and stop him.

"It's him!" I cried to no one in particular. My mind was still reeling from the thought of him tracking me down, hunting me.

"Shhh. No baby, it's just Edward. I promise it's not him." Rose cooed. My body eased, and my limbs went limp.

"Bella, baby what happened?"

Without realizing it, I threw myself at him, needing his arms around me. Fresh tears welled up, and another shuddering sob fell from my mouth. The thought of Dimitri taking me from Edward's world ripped at me. I had to tell him, there was no way around it now.

"H-he's b-back. H-he c-came lo-looking f-for m-me." I sputtered.

"Who did this to you? I'll fucking kill him." He seethed. I placed my palm on his cheek, as if he was the one needing comfort.

"I'm going to go look for him." Jasper snarled.

"I know what he looks like." Rose added. The two left, and it was just Edward and I huddled in Jasper's office.

"Please tell me what happened." He whispered while running his hands through my hair.

"D-Dimitri was h-here." I was beginning to get my bearings, and I stopped shaking so much. His fist balled up and he pressed his forehead into mine.

"He—he didn't touch you, did he?" I shook my head. I truly would have lost it if he had.

"Edward, I can't be your girlfriend because of him." His face was raw and confused. "I'm too scared." I added feebly.

"Whatever he did, Bella, I promise you, I'll fix it." If only he knew.

I have to tell him now.

"I remember it like it was yesterday. Jake calls me his elephant because I never forget anything. The first day of high school, my first day as a freshman at Eden Valley High was the morning after a rare thunderstorm in Phoenix..."

I had just come back from the security office with my locker combination. It took me about five minutes to finally find locker number 1217. I spent another five minutes trying to get the thing unlocked. I sighed heavily and kicked the locker, but my big toe sustained more damage, a fact that only served to make me even angrier.

"Do you need some help?" A deep voice said from behind me. I jumped a little, startled to find someone else in the almost deserted hallway. He was very attractive, with cropped brown hair and soft gray eyes. He was athletically built, a football or soccer player I guessed.

"Yeah, I can't seem to open my locker. I'm not sure if they gave me the right combination." I shrugged.

"May I?" I handed him the scrap of paper with the three-number code and moved out of his way. I recognized him from this morning's 'Welcome Back' assembly. It was clear he was popular, and probably older, a junior at least. With a resounding 'click', my locker stood wide open before me.

"Thank you so much, life will be easier with a locker." I tried to impress him with a semi-flirty smile, and surprisingly, it worked.

"Dimitri Dunmore, at your service, my lady." He was so charming; I couldn't help be immediately feel at ease.

"Isabella Swan." I extended my hand for a good old fashioned shake, but he took it and kissed my knuckles instead.

"What a beautiful name." I was flattered, and a week later, I accepted his offer to be his girlfriend...

"Can't you see? I was so young and trusting. He took advantage of that." Edward continued to run his fingers through my hair, an act that comforted me much more than he would ever know.

"Don't beat yourself up about that. We were all young and naïve once." He said softly and rested his cheek against my own. I wanted so badly to kiss him and forget all about Dimitri, but Edward was too much of a gentleman, I couldn't take out my emotional confusion on him; it wasn't fair.

"No, you need to hear all of it. How he first hurt me."

Dimitri's red Malibu pulled up in front of my house, right on time.

"Bye mom! Bye Phil!" I shouted as I ran out to greet him. We drove for about ten minutes until we pulled off the main road and into the familiar vacant parking lot behind the old car factory near school. We'd stop here every morning before school, to get some privacy.

His kisses started out hungry and fast, much different from our usual routine of slow and lazy. I broke away to catch my breath.

"Dee, what's up?" I asked while stroking his hard chest.

"I'm just nervous. I've been meaning to ask you something."

"Yeah?"

"Isabella, will you go to Winder Formal with me?" Oh no, dances. I thought he would know better than to ask me. My lack of coordination directly translated into dancing as well.

"Do we have to go? I mean, we could have lots of fun without a stupid dance." I smiled and pushed his hair out of his eyes, just the way he liked. He reached for my wrist, and pulled it away from his hair with frightening force. His eyes turned cold and hard and his grip on my wrist tightened.

"Dee, you're hurting me." I whimpered, but he only tightened his hold on me further.

"And you're hurting me, Isabella. Why don't you want to go with me? Are you ashamed of me?" He roared.

"No! I'm just really bad at dancing! Please, Dimitri, let go!" I pleaded. He twisted my wrist a sickening amount in the wrong direction before throwing it back into my lap. Tears pooled in my eyes and streamed down my face. When I looked at my already swollen wrist, I knew there'd be bruises. Already my mind was searching for an explanation to give my teachers and Renee. I'd tell them I tripped and fell on it. My clumsiness surely would back that up.

When we pulled into the school lot, he leaned over the console and wiped away my tears and gave me a slow kiss. We walked in silence to my first class, where he dropped me off every day.

"Be good, Isabella." He whispered harshly in my ear before leaving me in the doorway, my wrist throbbing.

The office door opened, and an angry looking Rose and Jasper entered before slumping down on the ratty old couch in the corner.

"We couldn't find him, darlin'." Jasper muttered. "Forks is a small town. If we pass out pictures, someone is bound to see him." He added.

"You still have your old year book, Bella?" Rose asked. I nodded slowly, knowing exactly where the book would be; shoved under my bed beneath a pile other things that reminded me of Dimitri. "We should get you home, too."

"I can't go home. He probably knows where I live. He'll be waiting for me!" My heartbeat sped up as I pictured him sitting in the tire swing near the front door.

"She's right. I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking." Rose held her head in her hands. With Edward's help, I stood up and went over to the couch. I pulled Rose into a firm hug.

"You've done so much for me, I love you so much." I whispered. She brushed her hair out of her eyes and sighed heavily.

"You're like a sister to me Bella, I'll do everything in my power to protect you."

"That makes two of us." Jasper grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze.

"Three of us." Edward joined us, and placed a protective hand on my shoulder. He smiled tentatively, causing his eyes to crinkle a little. Just like Charlie's.

"Um, is it okay if I stay with you?" I squeaked into his Edward's ear.

"You have no idea how much of a relief that would be."

The drive to Edward's was quiet. He kept peeking at me, probably to make sure I didn't revert back into a slobbering mess. I didn't blame him though, every red car we passed caused the knot in my stomach to tighten.

"How long did he...hurt you?" He finally broke the silence, and looked at me, obviously pained.

"Two and a half years." I murmured. I was ashamed of how weak I had been, too weak to leave, too weak to say anything. It wasn't like anyone would have listened. Renee was preoccupied with her hobbies and Phil, and Charlie was thousands of miles away. I didn't have real friends in Phoenix, not like the ones I clung to in Forks.

"Fuck Bella, you didn't say anything?" He pinched the bridge of his nose at a red light.

"He threatened me." My voice wavered, and I was on the verge of opening the gates to things I tried to force out of my memory.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell. I just can't imagine that piece of garbage doing that to you for so long." He pulled into the long Cullen driveway, white-knuckled from the forceful grip on the steering wheel. He opened my door for me, and draped his warm jacket over my shaking shoulders. Upon seeing me, Esme went into hysterics, calling out for her husband and offering me every refreshment under the sun.

"Peppermint tea would actually be very nice." My throat was still horse from screaming, and peppermint reminded me of Edward, of course. He sat me on one of the posh white sofas and smoothed my hair.

"My father is a doctor, he may want to ask you a few questions. Don't worry, he's very good at what he does." He tried to smile again, but it failed when he noticed my shaking hands.

"Are you going to be okay?"

"Bella, so long as you're fine, you don't need to worry about me. I promise." He kissed my forehead lightly. Mentally I prayed that my past life would never cross paths with my present life ever again.

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