Make sure you guys review even if it is just to tell me how much you want to beat with me a stick for updating so late, it's just that I had so much textiles coursework to be getting on with, if I knew the subject entailed so much hard work then I would never have taken it! Oh well, please review, I can't tell you how much your reviews mean to me.

Chapter 13

EPOV

'Darkness. Darkness was all I could see as I ran down the gravelled footpath. I had been out during the night, sometimes even at midnight, my mother was too ill to notice and was always in bed by nine o'clock anyway to notice whether or not I was in the house and my father, well, he couldn't care less if I was hanging off the edge of a cliff. Yes, I had been outside alone at night and I had never felt any fear or apprehension so being outside now at night shouldn't be any trouble for me and yet as my feet fell upon the footpath I could feel my heart beat erratically and perspiration bead my forehead, not out of the exercise but out of the discomfort of terror.

There was hardly any moonlight to illuminate my course; black clouds shielded the moon's light from the eyes of any living being, therefore, I was sprinting in pitch black darkness without any notion of where I was heading. I only knew that I was running, running away from the blood-curdling screams of agony that came from behind me but no matter how fast or how much I ran, the screams were as loud as ever, as though they were coming from beside me, even as I ran as fast as my legs would carry me. I flinched every time I heard a new scream pierce the air, even as I ran.

However, I felt my foot stumble over something which caused me to plummet towards the ground, my face landing in the gravel. I spat out the gravel that had entered my mouth when I landed on the footpath and sat up as fast as I could so that I could recommence my attempts at escaping the screams. However, as I sat up, I saw something that made me forget all about trying to stand up again- although by no means did it make me forget the heart wrenching screeches- something that made my blood turn to ice in my veins, something that caused a frosty chill to grip my heart: as I sat up, the clouds in the sky revealed a sliver of moonlight that fell upon me, illuminating a gravestone- only now did I realise that I had been running in a graveyard- a gravestone that was engraved with the words:

R.I.P

John Mason

Loving Husband and father

'Lost in a humane blurring crowd,

For how long shall this jostling crowd shroud?

The darkness that spreads over the lives of some.'

The more significant thing that scared the living daylights out of me about this grave- aside from the name that carved the stone- was that where the body should be buried, there was nothing there except for a deep, deep hole that was empty where the body should go, I peered into this deep, empty hole with a sense of foreboding and as I gulped and looked away I found myself looking at a pair of shoes. Shoes that were splattered with blood. I looked up to see the face of the wearer of such spine-chilling shoes, only to see my father standing there, his face gaunt and white as his death-cold eyes glared murderously at me…'

I jolted upright, drenched in sweat and attempted to jump of the bed in my cell swiftly, too swiftly as I hadn't realised how close to the edge of the bed I had been, thus causing me to fall out of my bed, my forehead banging slightly against one of the bed's railings as I plummeted towards the ground. Sunlight fell through the bars of the small window built into the back wall of the cell. I still had difficulty thinking of this place as MY cell. I wiped the sweat of my forehead, relieved to see that it was only a nightmare, however, my relief lasted only a second before I took in my surroundings. I was glad that I was no longer in that graveyard but not any happier to see that I was awake to find myself in this jail cell.

My heart was still beating wildly and I was breathing heavily as though I had actually been running in that horrible graveyard rather than just dreaming it. When will these nightmares end? I was afraid to go to sleep every night now lest should I have such dreams as these and therefore I endeavoured to fight sleep every night without any success but even when I did fall asleep, I would wake up again in only a couple of hours. I hadn't had a decent night's sleep since…that night and I was sure my appearance reflected that.

I began to pace up and down. I wanted my trial to start as soon as possible. This anxiety was gnawing at my insides each minute. I came to an abrupt halt as I contemplated something else: today was my father's funeral. I had every wish to avoid the whole event but there was one desperate desire that urged me to attend John Mason's worthless funeral: the desire to see my mother. She had blatantly neglected to visit me or send any word of contact. I wanted to go to the funeral and see if she was being taken care of even if she wasn't going to talk politely to me, she would probably screech at me again, not that I blamed her, I deserved it.

My life had always been a dark vortex of misery but I'd pretty much gotten used to it, at least before it had been in my control but now it was rapidly spiralling into disaster. Before all of this, I had been able to endure my life as I was always able to turn to Bella. She was the first person I had ever allowed to invade the solitude I set up around myself when I was upset, she was the first person to become my friend…

'I couldn't help it. I couldn't stand just having to stand around and watch him shout at mom and then hit her again and again. I wish I was tall enough and strong enough to stop him from hitting her but I was only a scrawny little ten year old who couldn't do anything to help his mom. That was why I ran out the house like a coward while he beat her up, if I tried to stop him then he would just start beating both of us up. I had to get out of there before I started crying and made him angry, he hated crying, it always made him angrier which made him hit mom and me even more.

That was why I needed to get out of the house before I started bawling. I just ran, running always made me feel better, like I was doing something instead of just standing around, doing nothing. I ran but then felt my face hit the ground, surprisingly. I never tripped whilst running, I was good at running. I looked up and saw why I had just fallen, a boy about my age had tripped me up.

"You should watch where you're going Mason, oh, I forgot, it's hard to watch when you're going when you're crying like big baby" the boy jeered.

I hadn't realised that I had been crying till I touched my cheek just now to feel a wet tear there. I guess I had been thinking too much about my git of a father.

"Do you want us to get your mommy for you?" the boy jeered whilst his friends laughed as though it were the funniest thing in the world, although personally I think the only funny thing around here was that boy's face as he looked like the baby around here, with the chubby cheeks that only a five year old would have.

"Or is your mommy too much of a chicken to come out here for you, Mason?" he sneered and anger like I had never felt before made me stand up and glare at the boy.

How dare he talk about my mom like that? He had no idea how lucky he was that he didn't have a father like me and that his mom didn't need him to look after her and yet here he was making fun out of my mom. I stepped towards him, feeling so angry that I wanted to punch him and kick him so hard and so much that he wouldn't be able to scream anymore because I hurt him so much. As I felt my fist get ready to punch his face, I stepped towards him and he stepped back, now looking scared (was I looking so angry that he felt scared of me now?) I lifted my fist slightly to begin punching him but then the look of fear and pain on my mother's face when my father was hurting her came into my mind and I no longer wanted to hurt the boy, I didn't want to make this boy look like my mother because no one deserved the life me and my mother had.

For the first time ever, I no longer felt fear when I thought of my father, but anger. I hated him now when I realised what he put me and my mom through. I hated him more than I could ever hate anybody and now I was never going to let him hurt my mom again even if it meant that I would have to let him beat me. I didn't want to be like my father in any way at all. He was an evil monster and I never wanted to be anything like him, i now decided that I will always be the opposite.

"What's the matter, Mason? Too scared to say anything" the boy mocked, bringing me out of my hate-filled thoughts about my git of a father.

I said nothing, but turned around and began to walk away but the boy grabbed my shoulder and spun me around so that I was facing his stupid face again.

"Don't you dare walk away from me, cry baby Mason" he said.

"Leave him alone, Mike" a girl with dark hair and chocolate brown eyes shouted with an angry look on her face as she glared at the boy.

"Why? He's a big baby and chicken, you know, Bella" he replied.

This made me angry and I shouted so angrily that it even surprised me "Call me whatever you want but don't you ever say anything about my mother, you hear me, you bitch" as I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and slammed him against a wall, I was surprised that I could do this, he wasn't exactly light, I never knew that I was that strong.

"G-g-got i-i-it" he stuttered, looking terrified.

I let him go and he ran away without looking back once and I sank down onto the ground, thinking off my beloved mother who was still being treated badly by my father.

"Are you alright?" the girl said as she sat down beside me.

"No, but it doesn't matter, why should you care?" I wasn't being rude on purpose; I couldn't understand why she would care about whether or not I was alright.

"Not everyone is as selfish and uncaring as Mike, you know" the girl said.

"Strange, everyone, I know is as bad as him or worse" I argued, not believing her words, I wasn't normally this honest, but something about the wide eyed brown innocence about her pretty eyes made me feel comfortable about being this honest with her.

"Come on, I'm sure your parents at least treat you way better than that, they must look after you and love you to bits" the girl replied.

I winced at how wrong her guess was and also about how her words reminded me that I had to look after my mother as she was ill. The girl seemed to notice how uncomfortable I was about her words, did she notice everything?

"Is there something wrong between you and your parents?" she asked and she looked genuinely worried.

Again, I felt that I could be honest with her, so I answered "My mother is ill so I have to look after her", deliberately not saying anything about my father.

"And your father?" she asked.

I stiffened and said nothing, wondering if I should just walk away and go back to my mother now but the girl as though she read my mind said quickly:

"Please don't go, you don't have to answer, I didn't' mean to make you unhappy, I promise I won't ask again if you don't like to talk about it"

I smiled, liking this girl more and more. She was kind and seemed honest and caring and she certainly wasn't one of those people who were so nosy they wouldn't let anything drop. This girl seemed to be happy to just listen to people talk if they felt like it and she seemed to like making people feel better if they were upset. She wasn't like anyone else I knew, she said not everyone was like Mike but so far she was the only person I had met who I thought I might be able to care for for other than my mother.

"What's your name?" I asked, wanting to get to know her more.

"Isabella but I like Bella" she answered.

"I'm Edward"

"I was just on my way to meet some of my friends, would you like to come?" she offered.

I though about it but as though she knew that I was going to say no quickly said "Oh please come. I'm sure they would all love to meet you, they're really nice and friendly, at least try to get to know them, for my sake at least" she begged.

"Alright, but only for a little while, I'm getting worried about my mom, I want to be home soon to see if she's alright" I replied, again, being honest seemed so easy with her.

She grinned widely as though my presence made her happy. She got up and I did the same, following her to meet her friends.'

Bella had introduced me to all her friends, Jasper, Rosalie, Emmet, and Alice and I was happy to find that I thought them all quite amiable and over the years, the six of us became quite close, almost like family.

"It's time to go" an officer informed me as he stopped in front of my cell.

I nodded and he unlocked the cell to step inside to hand cuff me, with that, he led me out of the cell. It had been days since I had even breathed air outside of the cell but I couldn't exactly enjoy it as I knew that I would be getting many stares when I step outside and arrive at the funeral in handcuffs. The whole journey I hardly noticed as I was too immersed in my thoughts about my father. I had always hated him and wished for him to be out of my life but I had never hoped or even thought that I would ever have to attend his funeral.

I only realised that we had arrived when I felt the officer tug on my arm and I clambered out of the car. I hadn't expected so many people to come, I had always made sure that no one knew that much of my father so it was a surprise to see so many people flock here to grieve his death, who am I kidding? Not I, that was for sure, Forks was a small town, any news was big news around here, most people had most likely come here to get a good gawping chance at the supposed murderer (myself, obviously) of the guy they hardly knew.

I searched the crowd for the familiar face that had compelled me to come here in the first place. I saw Bella, Emmet, Rosalie, Alice, and Jasper smile comfortingly at me and I tried to smile back but quickly went back to scanning the crowds for my mother. I finally found her, cowering away from the guests who approached her as she sat in a corner. She was dressed in black, her skin white, pale, and sickly looking, she looked like death walking, she sat with her shoulders hunched, and looked so desolate and vulnerable that my heart throbbed. I longed to saunter up to her and comfort her but then the quiet murmurs that came from the guests were stilled as the coffin was brought out.

There were no tears as no one had known him that well. Well, that was what I had thought until a heart wrenching sob broke the silence and every head swivelled around to stare at my mother as she wept her heart out. I wanted to so badly to go and console her but the handcuffs and the officer on my side forced me to stay where I was.

I saw Esme attempt to soothe her but my mother instead fell upon her knees and continued to cry. I felt anger possess every fibre of my body, anger and hatred for my father overwhelmed me and I found tears pouring out of my eyes as I heard myself yell in a voice hoarse with tears and emotion:

"Do you see what you've done to her, John Mason? You ruined her life and yet she grieves over your death and you could never find it in your heart while you were alive to return any of her love."

Everyone turned to stare at me as though I had lost my sanity and out of the corner of my eye, I saw the officer who was supervising me shoot me a warning look but I was past caring. I was too overcome with anger and hatred for John Mason to listen to any reason.

"She always loved you even though you didn't deserve it and I hate you. You ruined my life, I never had a real mother because you ruined her health with all your abuse and because she was too ill I had to look after her even as a kid. I hate you for hurting my mother, I hate you ruining her life as well as mine, and though I regret that I ended your life because I never meant for you to die, I don't regret that you can't hurt her anymore. I'm glad you're dead and can't hurt her anymore" I yelled.

The officer was now glaring at me and all the guests were staring at me with shock. But now the tears were staring to blur my vision and I could only shout at the top of my voice:

"I hate you, John Mason, I don't want you to be dead, I want you to be alive so that I can take away all your drinks and make you see what you've done to her because no one can ever do anything but pity her. I want you to be alive and suffer worse than her and then I want you to die a slow, painful death, you don't deserve to live, but you don't deserve to die so quickly without suffering any punishment"

The officer was now forcefully dragging me away and he was too strong to resist. All I could do was watch my mother weep pain-filled sobs as I was dragged off. As I watched her through tear–filled eyes, I shouted as loud as I could:

"I'm sorry mom that you got such a terrible life. I'm sorry that I didn't do the right thing before and get you taken away from him, and I'm sorry that I couldn't die along with that bastard John Mason".

BPOV

Everyone was staring at Edward as he was dragged off by the officer, astounded. Tears had flowed freely down my cheeks as I had listened to Edward's scornful, hate-filled words but as I heard him shout apologies to his mother, a sob wracked my body and Alice wrapped an arm around my waist as Rosalie put an arm around my shoulders. Edward was suffering so much. Never before had I felt so acute a need to help him, I knew that the more I saw him suffer, the harder it became for me to stay composed. It seemed as if fate was doing everything to torture Edward, but I was not going to let any pain come within ten miles of Edward, not anymore.

As I said before, I am so sorry for the late update but please review because I need a favour from you guys. I don't know much about court so if you want me to write about Edward's trial, you're going to have to review and tell me some stuff about court and help me and if you don't want to hear about the whole trial then you're going to have to review and tell me. So if you want the next chapter, you're going to have to review and help me out.