Chapter 14; Broken

Edward's POV;

I was an asshole. I knew it. When Isabella tried to be close with me I shut her out. Why? Because I was a scared asshole. I was fucking petrified. When I was inside her I forgot everything, including the raids. And afterwards all I could think about was losing her because of them.

So I did what I usually do when things get too much for me emotionally. I shut them off. I refuse to feel any emotions. And because of that I pushed her away. I couldn't help but kiss her when she left though; I had to have physical contact with her. But I could see that I'd just confused her, hell I was confusing myself.

I kept myself busy for the rest of the day, trying to wipe away the memory of her face after I rejected her touch. But then I got a phone call from my mother. She had been attacked. She was on her way to the hospital. She had lost consciousness. I didn't even register when the phone clicked off. I just stood there in shock, rage and fear ripping through me. Then I threw up. Over and over again until my throat burned and my chest ached.

I had to see her. I needed to hear her laugh, see her eyes sparkle with life. I rushed to my car and ran every stop sign on the route to the hospital. I ran through the wards until I found her. And when I did I almost wept.

She was lying in a bed, her hair fanned out around her. The right side of her face was bruised and swollen. I collapsed into the chair next to her and lay my head on her stomach, clutching her body to me as I fought tears.

"La mia bella ragazza altruista. Sono così dispiaciuto." I whispered to her.

I felt a hand on my shoulder but didn't even turn to see who it was.

"It was the Aro's son. They sent us a message by targeting her. Your mother said that their first target was Alice but Bella threw herself in front of her to save the baby."

My sweet, stupid girl.

"What's the prognosis?" I whispered, my face still buried in her stomach.

"She has a fractured cheekbone; it needs surgery. They will take her for it in the next couple of hours. They have her sedated to cope with the pain. She will be fine son. The same cannot be said for the Aro's. They targeted one of our own, and they will pay." I nodded in agreement.

"Don't worry, your brothers are already coming up with a plan of action, you just stay with Isabella for now."

"Grazie Papá."

I lay there with her whispering to her in Italian and praying that she would be okay. I would kill the Aro's for this. Every single of one of them will die for what they had done to her. I would show them no mercy as they showed her none.

When it was time for her surgery I had to be physically dragged from her side by my brothers. If it had been anyone else I would have kicked their ass just for touching me. In fact I would have kicked my brothers asses for manhandling me like that. But I was too broken.

Broken.

That word encompassed exactly how I felt. I felt broken beyond comprehension, like a fragile piece of freshly blown glass that someone had taken a sledgehammer to. I felt scattered, like millions of grains of sand in the middle of a storm. Only one person could put me back together again and she was more broken than me at this moment.

She had protected Alice and her unborn child without question or hesitation. I was so proud of her bravery. My anger and angst was directed at myself. I should have been there, she shouldn't have been hurt. I should have protected her.

How would she ever trust me again if I wasn't there to protect her?

When she cast herself in front of Alice, when he hit her so hard that he fractured her cheekbone, did she think of me?

Did she hate me for not being there to protect her? Did she hate me for freezing her out earlier that morning?

I had failed her. But I would make them pay, I would make them suffer and feel pain the way they did to my wife.

I couldn't sit still. I paced the hall, waiting for news. I could feel the worried eyes of my family on me but I couldn't bring myself to care, I was too preoccupied. Every second felt like an hour, every minute felt like a day and I felt like a hundred years had passed by the time the hour mark came.

What was taking so long? They said that this was a routine procedure! Was there something wrong? They said there was minute risk. Was she dying on the operating table?

Oh God please no.

No no no.

I couldn't lose her. I just couldn't. She was mine, my woman, my wife. The future mother of my children. She had to be okay, I didn't know how I would function without her.

Every time the doors would open I would look up, trying to catch the eye of the doctor but they were never there for me. None of them were there to tell me that the surgery had gone fine and that my Isabella would be better than okay as soon as possible.

Each time they would pass me and give news to a different family and each time I would resume my pacing, my thoughts continuing to race around in my head. I would imagine worst case scenarios and best case scenarios. I thought about the way I would torture the man who did this to her. I thought about the protective detail I was putting on her and everyone else in the family. I thought about the day I would marry her, after I proved to her that I was worthy by eliminating any threat to her. I imagined a doctor coming out to give me their condolences and most sincere apologies.

What I didn't prepare myself for was the sound of gunfire and returning shots outside.

It was them, the Aro's. Coming to fulfil their threat.

Good. That meant I didn't have to hunt them down. I looked to my brothers who looked just as ready for this fight as I did.

We were greatly outnumbered it was just my three brothers and a few men downstairs. The Aro's had sent about 30 men, including their heir; Alec.

It was an unfair fight for them really.

We each prepared our pieces before coming up with a plan. I thought to Isabella and prayed once again that she'd be okay before turning back to my brothers and the plan.

The Aro's would pay much sooner than I thought.

Yeah I know this is a bit short but I'm building up to a showdown, cut me some slack ;) Also, I started a new fic, check it ouuutttt!

La mia bella ragazza altruista. Sono così dispiaciuto; My beautiful selfless girl. I'm so sorry.