My Hero

Chapter Twenty One

Carlisle's POV

I stared at Bella with disbelief and horror; was this really happening? I couldn't quite produce a reply just yet, and Bella realised this because she continued speaking with a quiet voice, which broke my shocked heart.

"It..." she murmured, "It all started about two months after I first met him. He came into the house, completely drunk, and... and he hit me." I winced and she swallowed, summoning the courage to continue. I gripped her hand tightly, unable to think clearly. Surely nobody would deliberately cause harm to somebody like Bella? She was too beautiful to bruise and batter...

He disgusted me.

"Then, after my first day at w-work, I snapped at him because he d-didn't take any interest at all in me, and... and then he p-punched me."

I saw her eyes close in despair and I fought back the increasing hatred which was growing inside me. I had believed that I had caused the bruises on her face, when it was really down to that horrific excuse of a man. I was beginning to see red.

"A few days later... he..." She seemed completely terrified now and I hated seeing it; it sickened me. "He... forced himself on me, and... and that's how I became p-pregnant."

I closed my own eyes in complete revulsion. I was incredibly tempted to run after that disgusting piece of dirt and rip his foul body into several pieces in the most painful way possible. How dare he harm Bella? He had no right... who does he think he is? I clenched my free hand into a tight fist, trying to control my breathing.

"And he's... he's always threatened me, because he d-doesn't like me seeing you," she gasped, tears trailing down her cheeks now. "B-but it's not your fault, I... I just..." She trailed off, breaking down completely into a flurry of sobs and I pulled her gently towards my chest, cradling her preciously. Her whole body was heaving and I clutched her, desperately trying to ease her pain. I never thought it would happen, but I really wanted to hunt down the vile animal who had completely ruined Bella's life, and torture him with a slow and painful death. I hated him with my entire existence and was beyond caring about my beliefs. I absolutely loathed him.

I couldn't even contain how much I despised him.

And to think, I had been speaking to him just a few minutes ago. Apologising to him, when after all it had been all his fault that Bella's precious child had died. I felt a wave of fury pass through me, so I took a long, shaky breath, something which didn't really help.

My thoughts turned back towards Bella who was still crying against me. I rubbed her back and rested my chin in her smooth hair, praying for her pain to end. Just thinking of her in any sort of discomfort… and he had caused her unnecessary, purposeful pain. I bit my lip with an incredible force, which should have caused it to bleed. Instead, it produced a dull ache which slowly spread through my body.

Bella's sobs eventually quietened and I felt her head turn towards me. She looked at me with raw, red eyes and her cheeks were damp with tears. I wiped one away that was still trailing downwards and stared at her in remorse.

"Bella," I sighed, surprised by my own voice; it was shaky and quiet, paralysed by the shock. "Bella, I'm so s-sorry that you've been suffering like this." I closed my eyes in despair. "I should have put a stop to it. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

She shook her head, about to protest but I placed a finger gently on her trembling lips.

"Bella, it's taken so much courage from you to tell me about all of this," I continued, my anger subsiding slightly at the sight of her beautiful face. "I admire you for that, but I must ask you something."

She sniffed and waited patiently for my question.

"You can finally escape from... from that vile... man, I can protect you." I paused, noticing the fear in her eyes. "Would you... would you like to come and live with me? And my family?"

She looked at me for a long time, and I waited patiently.

"C-Carlisle," she began, "I... I wouldn't want to be a burden-"

I realised I was within inches of her as I protested. "Bella, you wouldn't be a burden! Far, far from it. You can stay with him! Please, just consider it."

She had sadly sorrowful eyes as she thought. "If... if you're s-sure, Carlisle."

I placed my hands on her shoulders and forced a small smile. "Of course. Your safety is my only priority now. Nothing else matters anymore."

"B-but y-your... your family, what will they say?" she asked, and I shook my head.

"I'm sure they'll oblige under the circumstances," I replied, giving her a reassuring smile. She responded by throwing her arms around me, crying once more.

"Sssh," I soothed, rubbing her back carefully. "Bella, it's all going to be okay; you're going to be alright now. I'm here for you."

She sobbed a little more, and I heard her muffled reply. "I k-know, it's j-just... I'm free, at l-last." She pulled away to face me. "I've been trapped with him for s-so long and now, he's out f-finally of my life."

I nodded. "He's history."

At least that was what I thought.

My rage overwhelmed me when I saw the revolting person in question, heading smugly towards the room. I rushed up and headed outside, not even stopping to think about my actions or their consequences.

He smirked obnoxiously as I strode towards him, tightening my fists by my sides. I grabbed him by the collar and pulled him into an empty room, causing a few patients to look up in interest. I ignored them as I slammed him against the wall, causing him to flinch. Good.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he shouted, struggling pathetically against me. My grip was tight, though, and he could hardly move. I tightened my hand around his throat, feeling anger pulse through me in raging waves. I could hear his heart thumping wildly as I spoke to him.

"People like you disgust me," I sneered at him, slamming him once more against the wall. A low grunt escaped his lips when his head connected with the bricks.

"It's not nice, is it? Being threatened like this! You're vile! You sicken me! Bella was pregnant when you pushed her down those stairs! You murdered her unborn child!"

My hold was becoming ever stronger and I could see that he was struggling to breathe. I didn't care, though; I wanted him to suffer as much as possible for what he had done. He spluttered a reply which caused my fists to tighten.

"It... was... her... f-fault!"

I pushed him with as much force as I could manage onto a nearby bed. He staggered backwards, hitting his head on the wall again. I stormed over to him, and he cowered back away from me. I imagined my face was now similar to how it looked during hunting; full of bloodlust and rage.

"You listen to me," I shouted, leaning within a few inches of him. "You stay away from Bella, or I swear you'll regret it! If you lay another finger on her, I'll break it."

He pulled a face. "Ooooh, I'm so scared." He flew his arms around like a fool and I clamped my hand around his wrist, causing the smile to vanish from his horrific face.

"Do you understand me?" I breathed, glaring at him. He nodded reluctantly and I headed towards the door, unable to stand his company anymore. I heard him call after me.

"Go on! Go back to Bella! You got your way eventually!" he spluttered, cursing under his breath. "She was boring me, anyway! You're welcome to her!"

I hurried towards Bella's ward, nearly exploding with rage. Bella looked up as I joined her and she had the familiar look of fear in her eyes. I hoped that wouldn't be a permanent feature; I missed her smile.

"What just happened?" she asked, shaking slightly. I placed my arms around her, my uncontrollable rage softening immediately. "Did... d-did you see Mark?"

I was glad that she hadn't seen what had just happened, and I quickly made up an excuse.

"No, no, it was just Alice," I lied, taking a deep breath. "I guessed that you didn't want any visitors, so I talked to her outside. I apologise for rushing off."

My voice was still shaking from fury and I wondered if she saw through my lie. However, she smiled timidly and said, "Did you ask her about... me, well... l-living with you?"

I swallowed. "Yes. She... she's fine with it."

Bella smiled happily. "That's g-great. Thank you so much, Carlisle. You really have s-saved me, dramatic as that sounds."

Her eyes were becoming teary again so I wrapped her into a soft embrace.

"Yes," I sighed. "It's all going to be alright from now on."

Bella's POV

I was still completely heartbroken over... well, I couldn't even think about it. But Carlisle's presence was helping me greatly; everytime my emotions wavered, he was there hugging and comforting me and it felt amazing.

It was three long weeks later, which had gone by with pain and recovery, and Carlisle entered the room to tell me that I could finally go home. I was incredibly nervous and excited about this; I didn't really know what to expect. I just hoped that Carlisle's family liked me and that they didn't mind me being there. Especially his ex-wife...

He gathered the few things I had with me and assisted me towards the door. The crutches had made a comeback and I was practically an expert using them, despite the pain they caused in my arms. I felt Carlisle's hands inches away from mine, ready to catch me if I fell.

He assisted me to his black Mercedes and gently lowered me into the front seat. It had seemed like ages ago since I had last been in there, but the circumstances couldn't be more different.

We made our way through the town, and on the sidewalk there was a woman carrying a young baby in her arms. My heart gave a painful ache and I found tears yet again trailing down my cheeks; I was surprised my eyes hadn't dried up yet. But the jealousy and heartache was always too much.

Despite this, almost instantly Carlisle's hand was on mine, and I smiled faintly, grateful for his concern. It provided a little relief.

After a while, Carlisle took a turn down a narrow road and we disappeared to drive among the trees. It was exceptionally quiet and oddly calming being away from all the noise and mayhem, and I relaxed back into the seat, marvelling at the scenary.

"The house is away from civilisation, so there's no chance..." he trailed off, but I knew what he meant. I nodded gratefully and stared in awe as a grand house came into view. Everything seemed open and I could just see a group of people waiting outside for us. My heart began to race and Carlisle, as though he sensed this, turned to smile at me.

"Don't worry," he said gently. "They really do like you."

I just stared ahead and tried not to tremble as the car engine stopped.

Carlisle's POV

Everybody stared at us expectantly as we pulled up and I briefly remembered the conversation I had endured with my family to allow Bella to stay.

"Listen, everyone," I announced, stepping into the middle of the room. Jasper and Alice looked up from a game of chess while Emmett and Edward stopped a fierce arm wrestle. Esme and Rosalie walked in from the kitchen and looked expectantly at me. I cleared my throat nervously.

"I don't have much time, I need to get back to Bella but..."

I was interrupted by Alice. "Is she alright now? How about the child?"

I took a long sigh. "Bella's fine, she can go home soon, but the child... she... she didn't make it."

There were gasps of sadness all around the room.

"That's awful," Esme said sadly, and Rosalie added, "How is Bella coping?"

"Not too well," I answered. "Especially considering the fact that her partner hits her."

There were louder gasps this time and several murmurs of disapproval.

"The lowlife," Edward muttered, echoing my own thoughts.

"How could he?" Alice sighed. "Why didn't I see this?"

"How did you find out?" Jasper asked.

"Bella told me," I replied exhaustedly. "And now I have promised to protect her. That's why I needed to speak to you all..." There was a long pause and I continued, "Would there be any objections to her... living here?"

There were heads shaking around the room and Esme said, "Of course. She'd be safer here. It seems logical."

I nodded gratefully. "Thank you all. Would you all be able to control yourselves, do you think?"

There were nods, some reluctant, and I sighed in relief.

"Thank you again. This... this means a lot."

Esme walked up towards me. "And we know that Bella means a lot to you too. She'll be needing you, so this is your chance."

I smiled at her as Emmett spoke.

"This should be fun, having a human in the house," he grinned, wringing his hands together in such a way that I gave him a disapproving look. I turned around and took one last look before heading towards the hospital.

And now I stood there, opening the door for an incredibly nervous looking Bella, who wasn't aware of the great times she was going to have. I smiled at her in determination as we walked towards the family.