By the time Edward arrived, I was a mess. I had already called the cops, who had come by and made a report. They had issued me a restraining order for Jacob but what good would a fucking piece of paper do if he was willing to break in anyway?

When Edward arrived I couldn't help but break down. I sobbed loudly, explaining everything that happened after I spoke to him earlier. His jaw was tight, his fingers flexing as he paced around the room. I didn't know what I was expecting from him, or why I was even involving him at this point—I needed to just leave.

"You're going to stay with me from now on."

Stay with him? I couldn't just up and move into his apartment because Jacob was taking tips from horror movies. I was happy with Edward but moving in was too much.

"Edward, I can't do that. This… Us—we're too new. This much stress and speeding everything up is just going to put a negative impact on our relationship."

"Well what the fuck should I do, Bella? Leave you here until the next time that piece of shit decides to come over?" His fingers were threading through his tangled locks and I longed to find a way to ease him. I knew it was hard for him to hear this and not be able to do anything. I moved towards him, wrapping my arms tightly around his waist as I pressed my face into his chest. His body instantly relaxed and I felt his arms wrap around my shoulders as he sighed.

"Will you at least stay in a hotel or something for now? At least until we can figure out a better long-term plan?"

"I guess so. Though it seems like a waste of money."

"Bella, stop. I'm paying for it. Besides- if there is any possible way that he's tracking your purchases or whatever the fuck it is he's doing I don't want him to see the reservation. Just let me take care of you, please." He needed this. I could hear it in his voice. I didn't argue—I simply nodded and led him upstairs so that I could pack. But this was only part of the plan—I needed to be able to protect myself and that meant I had to get my ass in gear quick.

When Alice recommended I take boxing classes with Jasper, I felt skeptical. Obviously I knew he had an interest in fitness since he owned a gym, but I had never actually seen Jasper in motion. Let me just fucking say—holy shit. Jasper was fluid, fast, and packed a serious punch. I was amazed at how agile he was, and equally impressed that anyone was even willing to spar with him after what I had witnessed. Jasper was eager to teach me, especially after witnessing the escapade with Jacob.

"Don't you worry Bells, I'm going to make you into the lethal little hellcat you were born to be." He winked as he wrapped my hands. Jasper was an interesting guy. He had this southern drawl that made you relax instantly when you were around him, the twang of his former home gripping his words. He was quiet, handsome, and always had this contemplative look. I never talked to him much but Alice told me he was hilarious. I had no idea what was going on between them but I could see the way he looked at her- as if no one else was in the room. I'd have to talk to her about that later on... whenever my ex was done being a lunatic.

I had put vacation in at work, deciding I was a little too frazzled to be of any use to them. For the next week and half I spent two hours a day with Jasper. He was hard on me—harder than Alice ever had been. My muscles screamed, my body dripped sweat, and my breath came out in erratic short spouts. I saw another side of Jasper completely. He was critical, his eyes darkening as he watched my every movement. When I made a mistake he would bark out "Again", and I would repeat the same movements until he gave me the nod of approval. But with each day I was growing better, stronger, and faster. He tested me constantly, pairing me with opponents that were far too capable for me—but the losses made me more determined, and I continued to push.

As Edward had decided, I had been staying at a nice hotel downtown. He visited every night and brought me dinner from the restaurant. On the nights that he stayed I tossed reality out the window and got lost in his touch. The more I was with him the more I began to realize how truly complicated Edward was. He was this enigmatic mystery who I gravitated towards. He surprised me, engaged me, and constantly opened new doors for me. It wasn't until now that I truly realized how big of a mistake Jacob and I had made by becoming romantic in any way. This was what life was supposed to be—this is what I had been missing out on.

I had been staying in the hotel two weeks now and I was beginning to get stir-crazy. With so much training from Jasper I figured at this point I was pretty much safe to walk the streets by myself. Not that I planned to strike every down that came within ten feet of me- but I could hold my own.

Edward had left early in the morning, something about a catering event they were doing—he was incredibly work-oriented. I showered and got dressed, deciding I would run a few errands today.

I made my way through the lobby and outside to the parking lot, trying to remember where I parked the car.

Here is the problem with me taking boxing lessons—none of the lessons mattered if someone came up from behind you and knocked you out. The training a that point was completely useless, and I was seeing a slew of colors before black washed over me.

When I came to I easily recognized the basement of my old home. We had remodeled it together and the plush gray carpet tickled my feet…wait, where were my shoes?

I went to stand but realized I was tied to a chair. This is fucking ridiculous. The panic started to creep in but I remember what Jasper always told me; remain in focus. I looked around the room, ready to find a way to release myself. But of course that would've been too easy, and life was never easy.

Jacob sauntered into the room in a pair of sweatpants and nothing else. I rolled my eyes and glared at him, my lips pursued.

"Oh Bella, come on. Don't give me that face." He grinned and walked over to the small bar he had built when we first bought the house. His back was to me and I couldn't see what he was doing, but the sound—was he snorting something?

"Jacob, what are you doing?"

He spun around slowly, a wide smile on his face.

"Just gettin' energized, Bella!" the powdery residue under his nose was evident. How long had he been doing this?

Suddenly everything started to come together. The drive he had through school, the confidence, the ability to work so many hours… was I this fucking stupid? Even the whole fucking thing with Victoria. I suddenly felt sick. How had I not noticed the difference?

"Bella, why do you look so worried?! We're going to have fun now that I finally got you back to where you belong!" He jogged over to me and planted a sloppy kiss on my lips. I kept my lips pressed tightly together, fighting the urge to bite him. I didn't want to anger him more when I was in this position—I needed to get out of this.

"Aww baby don't be like that. I'm sorry if you're not feeling too comfortable right now, but you're a sneaky girl and I can't take my chances. Smart getting a hotel room though. I almost couldn't find you. But then you used your debit card in the gift shop, thank God." He winked and headed back to the bar, sitting on one of the stools.

Fuck, he was right. I had used my card to buy a bottle of water on my way to training. How could I have been that fucking careless? I began to tug at the restraints, my patience wearing thin as I stared at him.

"Jacob, seriously. This is a horrible idea. You know eventually I'm going to get out of here and you're going to end up in jail. You're going to lose everything. Just let me go and I'll drop it. Fuck, Jacob. I have a restraining order against you! You're violating that just being in the same space as me." I pleaded with him but I could tell it wasn't making any difference. He was so far gone that he just smiled through the whole thing.

"Bella Bella Bella. Relax. We grew up together, babe. You know me. I always get what I want." He stood up, stretching.

"I'm hungry, I'm going to go get us something to eat. You just sit back and relax!" He blew me a kiss and with that he was gone. Once I heard the front door open and close I began to panic again. How was I going to get out of this? What was I supposed to do?

I began to think back to every movie I had ever seen—how did they get out of this situation? I had seen movies where the victim would somehow slam all of their weight with the chair into the ground, breaking the chair. Something told me I wasn't going to be able to do that without hurting myself. There had to be something sharp enough down here to cut through the rope. I tried my best at hopping in the chair, but it was heavy and soon I was toppling over and lying on my face. I fought the urge to cry, tears would do me no good here. I pushed myself onto my side and inched across the carpet until I made it to one of the support beams. Could this work? I forced myself onto my knees, and turned until the legs of the chair were against the beam. I began to bang them against the beam, wincing as the ropes cut into my legs. I kept going until I heard the wood of the legs splintering, and then gave it one more whack. When the legs broke I sat there for a moment, catching my breath. Now that I could stand I had to find something to get the rest of this off. I moved to the bar and was glad to see that Jacob had left a razor blade next to his pile of coke. It was too high for me to reach with my hands so I carefully picked it up with my teeth, whimpering when the blade cut into my lips.

I slowly walked over to a lower table and dropped the blade. I turned my back to the table and slowly reached out with my fingers until I felt the metal. Taking a slow breath I focused on turning it and began to slowly push it against the ropes. As they broke, my movements became more frantic, slicing into the rope until the rest of the chair fell and the ropes pooled around me.

I swallowed hard, willing my breathing to slow down as I flexed my wrists. I was okay, and I could leave. But did I want to? Was leaving the right move? Leave and call the police and hope they do something? Or stay and finish this once and for all? The idea of hurting Jacob left an unsettling feeling in my stomach; but if I had to choose between Jacob and myself... Fuck. What was I supposed to do?