PLEASE READ THE NOTE. IT IS IMPORTANT, REGARDING WHERE THE STORY IS GOING.

A/N: Blossom has reached 300 reviews. Some readers made my day with their awesome reviews. Thank you so much for you support. I hope to keep seeing more and more reviews with each chapter. From this chapter onwards, I am going to speed up things a bit. Instead of showing her daily progress, I am going to show her weakly. Of course, there are some events that need a whole chapter. But there will be E/B scenes now. I don't want this story to be any sadder than it already is. Bella is not going to have any physical problem due to her abuse, except less weight or low blood pressure. I want this story to be one which makes people smile. And I don't think I can achieve hat if Bella suffers even more than she already has. Of course, I am not saying that there wont be tears or sadness or an more nightmares. But I hope you all understand what I am saying, and I would like to hear your view about this.

This chapter is beta-ed by Beautiful Romance Queen and preread by MetHimInMyDreams and Twifansam. I sincerely apologize to all three of them, for not mentioning them in the earlier chapter. I was very eager and impatient to update and forgot to look over my chapter one last time before I posted.

Disclaimer: 'Twilight' is owned by Stephenie Meyer. No profit is made from this work of fiction. It is solely for the purpose of entertainment. The story is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to names, incidences, personalities, locations, etc. Is purely coincidental.

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13: BEAUTIFUL, IN EVERY SINGLE WAY
Third Person POV

Broken. She felt broken. The bruises on her body were fading, but what about her memories and nightmares? They were indelible. They made marks on her heart that could never be removed.

She had felt herself become stronger with each passing day. But yesterday she had cried. And today she could see that from her swollen eyes and red cheeks. They were reminders that she had let her guard down, and that she had failed to be strong.

Feeling dissapointed in herself, she slowly walked down the stairs to the kitchen, to get a glass of water. She opened the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of chilled water, along with a banana that she found in the fruit tray. She sat at the kitchen counter, eating it, while tracing the bottle's rim with her finger.

Suddenly, the light in the kitchen was switched on. She gasped and looked behind her, the bottle falling off the counter.

Brown eyes met green. Her swollen eyes didn't go unnoticed by Edward. He slowly walked towards her, carefully, upon seeing her clutch her sweater tightly in her fists. Her knuckles were white, and her eyes wide with fear.

She ducked her head, to not let him know that she had been cying. But she knew that he knew. She knew that he knew she had finally broken down to pieces. She saw his slipper-clad feet coming closer to the counter. He stopped near her.

"What are you doing her, Isabella?" he asked her. She felt good upon hearing his silky, warm voice. If not his calm smile, then his voice somehow encouraged her to come out of her shell, and to not be afraid.

"I…I was… hungry. And thirsty," she managed to say whisper. He hummed in acknowledgement.

"Even I was. I love to have a midnight snack. Chocolate at night sounds very cheerful. And tastes awesome as well," he said, and then chuckled to himself. "I sound like a girl," he mumbled.

She giggled then, but straightened her face when she realized that she wasn't meant to lsiten. Sensing her returning fear, he comforted her, telling her it was okay to laugh.

"Why were you crying?" he asked her suddenly. She was surprised at the question, though she knew it would be asked some time or the other. She dreaded the time,and now that it had come, she didn't know what to say.

"I-I….ummm…" she couldn't answer. Tears welled up in her eyes again, and this time, she didn't hold them back. Edward was at crossroads when he saw her start to cry. He didn't know whether comforting her would help her or frighten her. So he held out a hand to her and touched her shoulder slowly.

"I am so ashamed," she said, her head in her hands. The half-eaten banana and fallen bottle lay forgotten.

"Hey," he trailed, not knowing what to do. He gave her a hesitant, one-armed hug. She stiffened in his arms and pushed him away. But then she inched closer to him and let him hold her again. She didn't realize that she had needed this. But once she was in his arms, she revelled in his warmth. He smelt of wood and spice, and mint. It was good. Refreshing.

He let go of her and then stepped back to sit. The scraping of the chair filled the silence surrounding them. It was a welcome noise. She sniffled and wiped away her tears.

He didn't know what to say and neither did she. They just stared at the floor, comfortably silent.

"Every day is so wonderful
Then suddenly it's hard to breathe.
Now and then I get insecure
From all the pain, I'm so ashamed," Bella whispered to herself, forgetting that Edward was there.

But the reality was, that he was there. And he heard everything she said. Her song, and the insecurity, the low self-esteem laced in her voice. And that was when he realized that she was just like him. She believed she didn't deserve things or that people would get angry if she cried. She was ashamed of her past.

In her eyes, behind the thin membrane of tears, he saw silhouettes of himself lingering. He saw his past in her eyes. And he realized that no one except Bella would probably understand how much pain he had gone through as well.

He didn't know how to survive, but he realized that he could stop Bella from going into that state as well. He realized that he could give her the direction she needed, and stop her from reaching a point where all she would see was darkness. He knew he could help her. And he wanted to. Because he knew that maybe, by fixing her, he could fix his own broken heart.

And so, taking her fragile, soft hands in his, he called her name. When she finally looked up, he held her chin gently, locking her gaze on his green orbs.

"I know," he whispered. "I know what that feels like. Because two years earlier, even I felt like that. But I got over it. I kept my past behind me, and tried to lock it away. You know something? We are a family of freaks," he said, chuckling. "Everyone has gone through something bad. And I am still learning to mend my heart.

It isn't easy, no! But that does not mean it is hard. Do you know what I do, when I find myself whispering this song? When I know that that is my condition? Do you know what I do?"

"What do you do?" she asked, looking at him with wide eyes.

"I sing to myself, the next part. The next few lines. And today, you really need them to comfort you, to let you know that you don't need to be ashamed from the pain and the tears. Isabella…" he stopped.

Then he took a deep breath, and sang,

"You are beautiful no matter what they say
Words can't bring you down...oh no…

… And everywhere we go
The sun will always shine, always shine
And tomorrow we might wake on the other side."

A/N: There, you have it. Some E/B action. Sprinkled with some hope, smiles and confidence. I hope you like it. Please review and make me happy.