Chapter 12: Sympathy for the Devil

I wanted to fucking strangle her.

I wanted to wrap my arms around her and hug her.

I wanted her to tell me the goddamn truth.

I wasn't a patient guy by any means, never had been. As a matter of fact I had been told on more than one occasion and by several people, that I lacked any form of patience whatsoever. I was apparently rash, single minded, and had some serious unresolved self-destructive tendencies. I found that a bit harsh and personally preferred the labels quick thinker, focused and bad-ass risk taker.

What-the-hell-ever.

The less than stellar opinion of my psyche had never bothered, or hindered me before. Who the hell cared what some over paid Manhattan shrink had to say anyway. I knew I was fucked up ten ways to Sunday, I could have told my parents that and I didn't even have a damn degree. What the hell did they think was going to happen? My sometimes mental instability wasn't some big covert secret, so could I please get a hundred bucks an hour for that assessment? Of course not. And even though they were never forced to sit in some overdone office on a pretentious leather sofa, Alice and Emmett were messed up more than they let on. They pretended like they didn't see the dark shadows that controlled our world but they weren't blind, just better at hiding it than I was.

With Bella though, I knew that if I kept making hasty decisions or pressured her before she was ready it would only cause more problems and a bigger headache for the both of us. The girl was a closed book for Christ's sake. Locked tight with a clasp and tucked away in some dark corner so no one could read her. A tiny glimpse of her inner pages was visible if you looked hard enough, showing only what she wanted people to see. But In order to fucking help her she had to open up and let me read a chapter or two. She was too stubborn and untrusting to do that though, and every time I thought I was getting close to really unraveling the mystery that was Isabella Swan she shut the damn cover on me. I had to be patient with her, as hard as that was going to be for me. I had to give her time.

"So what do you want to eat?" I asked without turning to look at Bella's bruised face. I tried and probably failed to keep the edge out of my voice. There was a long, awkward stretch of silence while I waited for her to answer but she just fidgeted loudly in her chair at the table.

"I can make it…if you want. I don't mind."

"What is it with women wanting to feed me?" I grumbled, running my hand through my hair as I remembered the weird conversation I had with my mother just the night before. She had seemed fine today, her usual motherly self, but something felt off when we spoke in the kitchen last night. It was odd for her to be so distant, it put me on edge—especially with Marcus and his thugs coming for dinner. Dealing with them was going to be shitty enough. "I can make food Bella, I'm not a complete imbecile."

There was a sharp intake of breath behind me and I turned around, seeing her lower her head as her hands began to twist together anxiously in her lap. I groaned internally when she pulled her lower lip between her teeth again, remembering how close I had been to doing the exact same thing upstairs. Whatever the hell happened between us—the weird electric charge when I helped her up, or the magnetic pull that brought me nearly an inch from kissing her— I couldn't let it happen again. What the hell was wrong with me anyway, the girl needed fucking help and I almost attack her? Was I one of those sick pieces of shit who got off on seeing a girl in pain?

I didn't think so, but this whole thing with Bella was beyond unsettling at this point. From the moment I met her there was something that lured me in, made me curious to know her. At first I thought maybe it was just because she was Alice's weird friend, someone who I didn't know we could trust since she had clearly been lying to Alice since they met. Then it was because she needed to be rescued from her sadistic father and I was clearly the only one willing to do it. Then as much as I hated to admit it because that shit is just fucked up, it was because I wanted to know her and help her. I didn't even know what to do with that little epiphany.

"Hey?" I said softly, trying to clear my mind of the disconcerting thoughts and making her look up warily. I offered an apologetic smile that I hoped she understood. "Don't worry about the food alright? Just sit and relax while I take care of it."

She nodded but still looked nervous.

We remained silent while I made sandwiches, the air tense and charged with our nerves and frustrations. Bella looked unseeingly out the window into the gray afternoon, holding the icepack to her black eye. I did my best to ignore the questions burning at the back of my throat—I shouldn't push her. I wouldn't push her. When the food was done and I put the plates on the table though, I managed to grow a pair of balls and ask the one question that really had been nagging at the back on my mind since she told me about her mother and the Blacks.

"Bella, does Jacob know about his dad and your mom?" She looked up at me, brown eyes wide, and I waited for her response. It had confused me that Jacob could be so close with Bella and then be cut off without a word. Did he question not seeing his friend after her mom died, or did he know what was happening with Bella? If not, what had Billy told his son to keep him from her?

"I—I'm not sure." She took a bite of her food and thought for a moment. "I mean I always thought he did. But I suppose it would make sense if he never figured it out himself that Billy wouldn't tell him. I'm sure he felt guilty for betraying Jakes mom. She was sick for a while and passed away not long after we started going for hikes in the woods."

"Guilt?" I scoffed, remembering the many times my mother told me how guilty my father felt about what happened all those years ago. Guilt didn't mean shit. It didn't change anything. It didn't take the nightmares away. Besides, I doubt Jacob would be as excited as he was about going to that cabin if he knew the truth, so I didn't think his father was exactly forthcoming.

Bella watched me, silently asking me to elaborate, and I sighed wearily.

"Guilt is like a fucking copout." I told her. "People think they should just get a free pass because they feel bad about some shitty thing they did, or because they caused someone grief. Just own your damn decisions, you know? Or better yet don't do something to feel guilty about."

She watched me for a long moment and I shifted uncomfortably under her surprisingly penetrating stare. Here massive brown eyes, even swollen and bruised, were like a gateway to something deep within her soul that she tried to keep hidden. After a moment she offered me a small smile and looked out the window again.

"I guess in a perfect world it would work like that." She murmured softly. "People owning up to their faults, thinking of others, doing the right thing from the start without hesitating over the consequences it could have for them. But people are flawed Edward, we make mistakes and then we feel bad about not measuring up. To err is human, remember?"

"Yeah, but what about being a good person? Or screw that, just a fucking decent one? I don't think our fathers feel bad about not measuring up. They actually seem to go out of their way to do the opposite."

Bella lowered the ice-pack, her brow creased in confusion. She opened her mouth as if she were about to say something, but a distant noise caught my attention suddenly and I held up a hand to stop her. I strained to hear for a second and then stood from the table.

"Edward? Are you alright?"

"Wait here." I said, looking over my shoulder at her as I walked out of the kitchen and down the short hall into the living room. I pushed the curtain slightly to the side with my finger. My mothers' Mercedes was parked in the driveway, two nondescript black vans pulled up right behind her as she stepped out of the car onto the driveway.

We were so fucked.

"Bella?" I called, looking out the window for another moment before letting the drape fall back into place. "Bella, come on we got to move."

Her eyes were wide with panic as I raced back into the kitchen and grabbed her plate of food from the table, tossing mine into the trash before glancing quickly around the room to make sure everything was where it should be. Luckily I was a bit obsessive compulsive when it came to keeping things neat so the kitchen was exactly how it usually looked without a spoon out of place. As I sighed and ran a hand through my hair I could feel Bella's anxious stare on me.

"What's going on, what's happening? Is it Charlie?

"No, it's not Charlie." I told her, glancing over my shoulder to make sure she was following me out of the kitchen. We were halfway up the stairs when I heard the voices outside getting closer to the door. My father had explicitly told me to stay away from Bella, that things had to run smoothly for the next couple of months or there would be serious consequences. I definitely didn't want either him or Marcus to find her standing in our living room. It wasn't that I was afraid of them, they could both do whatever he wanted to me. I doubted mom would let them do anything anyway. I was afraid however, that Marcus and my father would send Bella back to Charlie if they found out I had been hiding her from their new associate. I couldn't let that happen, who knew what he'd do to her.

"My family is home." I continued, trying to keep my voice steady. "My father brought some of his…umm…co-workers…for dinner. I don't think it's a good idea if they know you're here."

She let out a heavy breath and her worried eyes relaxed just a little.

"Oh. Yeah. Right…Okay."

We continued up the stairs and turned the corner to the hallway just as the front door was pushed open and the muffled voiced became clear. I froze mid-step when I heard the familiar, gritty voice that belonged to the one person I could say I truly loathed in life. Everyone else was a saint compared to him, including my father. He was the reason my father was who he was. I felt my free hand clench into a fist at my side as I thought of how close he was, just down the stairs, only a few feet away.

"I am happy to hear the transition is going so smoothly."

"Yes, it has been better than we could have hoped for. I don't foresee any problems from this point on."

"That is good to hear Carlisle. I am pleased with the initiative you have shown these past months."

"Thank you. I am glad you are pleased with our work."

"Esme, my dear this living room is exquisite. You've made this a lovely home."

"Thank you Marcus. Alice helped me decide the color scheme."

"I told her since the house was so enclosed, lighter colors would work best. Especially since—"

I felt the bile rise in my throat, burning and causing my eyes to water. Unable to stand there another moment without putting my fist through the wall, I turned on my heel. I didn't think putting a hole in the wall would go over well at all—with my parents or with Bella. She was standing right behind me, her brow creased and eyes narrowed in confusion as she looked at my tense shoulders and clenched fists. I stepped around her and cocked my head for her to follow me, and though she did I could feel her curious gaze on the back of my neck.

I felt my body grow less tense the further we got down the hall, further away from Marcus and the utter bullshit that was my life. I ushered Bella into my bedroom and let out a small sigh of relief as I closed and locked the door behind me. Running an anxious hand through my hair I turned to face Bella who was standing silently at the foot of the bed, waiting to see what was going to happen next. I placed her half eaten sandwich on the top of my dresser.

"So I'm pretty sure I have to go down there." She nodded and shuffled her feet uncomfortably. "You know, dinner and shit…I shouldn't be long. Two hours at the most."

"Okay."

"You can watch television if you want, or read. I know I'm not huge on the classics but I do have some on my bookshelf if you want to check them out."

"Okay."

"We'll figure something out Bella, you don't have to go back to that house. I think we really have to tell someone though, but since everyone in this damn town is clearly blind or incompetent, I'm not sure exactly who to trust with the information."

'You can't trust anyone with the information." She said softly, and then looked up at me with wide eyes. "Edward, maybe this isn't such a good idea. If anyone cared about what's going on they would have asked already. I'll be eighteen in less than a year, I really can handle Charlie. I'll just have to be more careful for a few months."

I stare incredulously at her for a long moment, once again taking in the numerous injuries littering her body because of her father. How she managed so long in the first place was miracle in my mind, but it was clear to me that whatever she was doing to handle the situation was no longer working. She'd probably be dead before her birthday if she went back. I felt my hands clench again at the thought but I tried to keep calm so that I wouldn't scare the hell out of her.

"Don't." I ground out, causing her to arch the eyebrow of her good eye in question. "Don't do that."

"Don't do what?"

"Take ten damn steps back." My voice was forced through gritted teeth, but then I let out a deep breath to relax the tension I felt building in my body. "You came to me for help, and I want to help you Bella. We will figure something out, I swear. I can get you to that cabin. You'll be safe there until we can come up with a plan."

"Edward—"

"Promise me you'll stay until I come back up here Bella, because I can't promise anything about what I will or won't do to get you out of that house again if you go back."

Her eyes went wide again for a moment, well as wide as they could, then she broke eye contact by looking down at the carpet under her feet. I waited to see what her response would be, my shoulders tense and my jaw clenched in anxious apprehension. I didn't know what she would say, I couldn't make her stay, and I could have totally just scared the shit out of her by being so demanding.

"I promise." She whispered, but I didn't believe her. Her nervous tone made it clear she was merely placating me and that it was very likely she would be gone when I finally managed to claw my way out of the hell waiting for me downstairs. I crossed my arms over my chest and arched an eyebrow, consciously making sure that there was a smirk on my face so that I didn't appear angry with her. It must have worked because after a moment she groaned in frustration. I didn't have to fake the smirk when she did that.

"I said I promise. I won't go anywhere Edward."

"Thank you." I sighed, letting out a breath I didn't even realize I was holding. I ran a hand through my hair and grimaced as I realized I had probably stalled long enough. On cue—as if she could read my mind—my mothers' voice called out from down the hall, letting me know they were all home and summoning me downstairs to say hello.

"I have to go now." I grumbled out; then turned to Bella with a sigh. "Just relax for a bit, alright?"

She scoffed lightly but nodded her head gently and I moved to open the door. My hand was barely touching the handle when her voice called out softly behind me. I paused and looked over my shoulder at her. She opened her mouth as if she was going to say something, then closed it and pursed her lips. Her pale face suddenly began turning a light red color as she blushed with embarrassment.

"Yeah?" I prompted after another moment of hesitation, wondering what had her looking so adorably flustered. I cringed inwardly as my inner asshole began to laugh mockingly at me for being so dense. Whatever, he was a dick.

"Thank you." Bella murmured quietly. "For everything."

I grinned at her and her face somehow grew impossibly redder, which again could only be described as adorable. I continued to inwardly flip off the hysterical douche in my head.

"Sure thing, Swan."

With that I opened the door and stepped out, closing is securely behind me before making my way slowly down the hall. I sucked in a deep breath as I made my way down the stairs. God, I really didn't want to see Marcus. It would be bad news if I blatantly ignored the fact the he and his cronies were here though. Marcus would be offended, my father would be beyond pissed, and if they started to actually give a shit by sticking their noses in my business then they could find out about Bella. Needless to say I was choosing the lesser of two evils. I could handle one damn meal with the killer elite.

"Ahhh eccolo, il mio bel nipote!" A loud voice called out as I reached the bottom of the stairs. I won't lie, I cringed a little at the honeyed tone. When I stood unmoving for a long moment, just staring, Marcus stood from his place on the sofa and extended his arms outward toward me. "Come Edward, give your uncle a proper welcome."

The fact that Marcus was my blood made me want to recoil, but men and women who lived within the realm of the mafia world were usually excellent liars by nature— you didn't last long if you weren't. For example if you ever got pinched, you either spilled your guts and got a bullet to the head, or you lied through your teeth and kept any potentially damning information to yourself. Though even then you could, and probably would, end up with several holes through your chest if you were considered too much of a liability. Yeah, and they were all about respect and loyalty to the family. I call bullshit on that one. But as much as I hated to admit it, I was part of their world—it literally coursed through my veins. I had lived it for the past seventeen years, and while Alice and Emmett were truly better at it than I was, I could fake it with the best of them when I needed to.

I took a step forward. Marcus was surrounded by several men in matching black Armani suits, including both my father and Jasper, who flanked him closely on either side of the sofa. My eyes shot to my father's cold face, but as usual it gave away nothing of his inner thoughts or emotions. No surprise there. Jasper and two other men, both tall with dark hair, olive skin and hooked noses stood stoic as well. Again, someone stop the presses.

"Ciao." I gritted out as he placed his large hands on my shoulders and proceeded to kiss both my cheeks in greeting. The pressure of his long, boney, fingers on me had my stomach in knots. I felt like I needed to hurl.

"Sei cresciuto!" He laughed, his dark eyes creasing at the corners as his thin lips pulled into a wide grin. He reminded me of the Cheshire cat. Especially with his long brown hair pulled back making it look like his head had a tail. "Soon you will bigger than Demitri and Felix."

"Yeah." I mumbled, looking at the two hulking figures standing a few feet away. "I think Emmett might take that prize."

"Yes, indeed." Marcus nodded, taking a step back before looking over at his brother. "Carlisle where is my other nephew? Sicuramente sapeva che stavamo arrivando."

"Yes, I informed him of our arrival." He replied, a sigh of frustration in his voice. I internally smirked at his annoyance with Emmett. I'd have to remember to do something non-shitty for him soon. "I'm not sure where he is but he will be home shortly for dinner. I apologize for his absence."

"Sì…naturalmente, i ragazzi sono ragazzi." Marcus said with a hearty laugh. My father nodded in agreement then turned to me, his gaze steady and cool as he met my stare.

"Edward, please go see how long dinner is going to be. Your mother and Mary-Alice are in the kitchen preparing the meal."

For once I didn't argue at all. He was, however unintentional, giving me an out and I sure as hell was going to take it. I nodded at him and walked down the hall to the kitchen. Esme was at the stove pouring white wine into a steaming pan while Alice stood at the kitchen island enthusiastically dicing vegetables. The sleeves of her red silk blouse were pushed up to her elbows and her face was pinched with intense concentration.

"Alice, I'm pretty sure you're going to slice your finger off if you keep mutilating the poor carrots like that."

She didn't seem to hear me at first. After another second she looked up, knife poised in her hand above the vegetables, with confusion in her eyes.

"Hmmm…What?" She asked then shook her head as she quickly seemed to understand. "Oh yeah…you know me, I just get really into cooking."

My eyebrows rose incredulously. Not only was she horrible at it, but also Alice hated cooking—with a passion. Ever since she burned her hand with hot oil when she was little, she steered clear in fear of doing herself a major injury that could keep her from gymnastics training. She gave me a small, forced smile then looked back down at the carrots before dicing the thick orange sticks again without another word. Something was definitely off with her, she was acting really weird. There was so much happening though, between Bella hiding upstairs and Marcus being in the next room, I decided not to call her on it right then. I would talk to her later if it really started to worry me. Or who the hell knows, she would probably go to mom if it was something big. I wasn't exactly the one my little sister ran to when something was on her mind.

"Edward, miele…was there something you needed?"

I turned to my mother who was still standing at the stove but was now wiping her delicate hands on a light green dish towel. She was a successful business entrepreneur, with her own design company, but in that moment she looked every bit the classic Italian homemaker—the dutiful moglie. Her hair was piled into a loose bun on top of her head, a red apron was tied around her waifish waist, and like Alice the sleeves of her silk button down were pushed up. She was a great mother as she was, but because Marcus was what she called old school and beyond set in his archaic ways, when he was around she pretended to be nothing more than a stay at home wife with a hobby her generous husband allows her to pursue. I knew it was not a mindset that my father shared, it was something I actually respected him just a little for, but it still pissed me off to end that he allowed my mother and sister to pretend to be less than they were because his brother wouldn't like it.

As I opened my mouth relay the message from my father, a sudden loud crash from the front of the house caught our attention and all three of us whipped around so fast I was sure we'd have whiplash. I immediately stepped in front the archway that led into the kitchen, knowing that it could easily be a member of a rival family after Marcus or even my father. I widened my stance to ground myself and flexed my hands at my sides. If someone came down the hall they'd see me before mom and Alice, hopefully giving them enough time to get out the sliding glass door on the other side of the kitchen. It wouldn't give them much time since I anyone who came at me would most likely have a gun, but hopefully enough. A familiar booming voice rang out clearly in the next second, followed by my fathers' annoyed one a moment later.

"Emmett's home." Alice announced with a smirk. The tension in the room evaporated immediately, the strain in my muscles eased and I ran a hand through my hair. I was coming to see it as a nervous habit. One that was probably going to make me go bald or some shit.

"They want to know how long dinner is going to take." I sighed, turning back to my mom again after another moment.

"About another forty-five minutes." She gave me a knowing look then put a finger to her chin as if wondering about something. "Why don't you let them know and then come back so you can help Alice with the vegetables?"

"God yes, please help me." Alice begged, her brow furrowed as she tried to peel an onion. "I should not even be allowed in a kitchen."

So I did.

After letting the Goodfella's and Emmett know how long it would be until they could stuff their faces, I went back to the kitchen and helped mom and Alice with the meal by finishing up the cutting of the vegetables and making the polenta that would serve as a side dish. If Marcus thought it odd that I was helping in the kitchen, he didn't say anything, and forty minutes later everyone was seated tensely around the dining room table. Marcus sat at the head of the table, Demitri and Felix on either side of him poised as if ready to attack at the flick of a boney finger. My father sat alert at the other end, my mother and Alice on his sides across from Jasper and Emmett. I was in the middle—or course.

We ate in silence for a while, the only sounds being the silver spoons against the antique Italian bowls mom brought out for special occasions. We were nearing the end of the first torturous half hour when, right as Emmett opened his mouth to say something that I was sure was going to be some lame-ass attempt at a joke, a muffled noise still loud enough for us to hear came from upstairs. We were all quiet for a moment, our eyes on the ceiling where the sound came from.

"What was that?" Emmett asked after a moment, breaking the silence at the same time Felix, Demitri and Jasper stood from their spots and pulled their glocks from the waistband of their pants.

"Fermi!" Marcus gestured to Felix and Demitri before pointing to Jasper across the room. "Controlla cosa è stato e occupatene."

He nodded stiffly and wasted no time promptly walking out of the room. A few moments later we could hear the sounds of heavy footsteps above us as Jasper searched the second story for any sign of some unseen threat. In the silence I was sure everyone at the table could hear my heart pounding beneath my chest, and my blood felt like ice in my veins as I waited for the inevitable. My gaze lifted from the antique bowl in front of me and met Alice's eyes across the table. I was sure the utter dread in her stare mirrored mine though I knew it was for completely different reasons. She was worried about the dangerous situation she thought Jasper was in just a floor above us—she was waiting for gunshots. Of course only I knew what he was going to find up there, and I was powerless to stop him.

Thank you so much to ArekWithlock for some of those Italian translations, you're awesome. Thanks for helping me not look like an idiot! :)

Authors Note:So I know it's been a pretty suck week in the fandom. I'm not even going to comment on it. I just hope a nice (well maybe not so nice) chapter update will help put a smile on all your pretty/handsome faces. I do have some male readers out their right? Hmmm? Anyway, as always reviews with your feedback are incredibly appreciated. Love you all.

P.S. Don't forget that I am writing a Jasper/Alice outtake for FandomForColorado. If you want to see more of them please donate for the cause as it will only be available there.

XOXO

TRANSLATIONS:

Ahhh eccolo, il mio bel nipote! : Ah there he is, my handsome nephew!

Ciao: Hello

Sei cresciuto: You grew.

Sicuramente sapeva che stavamo arrivando: Surely he knew we were coming.

Sì…naturalmente, i ragazzi sono ragazzi: Yes…of course. Boys will be boys.

Miele: Italian term of endearment meaning "Honey"

Moglie: Wife

Fermi!: Stay!

Controlla cosa è stato e occupatene: See what it was and take care of it.