Here's chapter 21, enjoy :)

Bella's POV

The next two weeks went fast and we heard nothing from Charlie. The police were still searching for him but so far they had been no luck, they were trying their best and doing everything they could to find him but so far they had no new leads. I tried not let it get to me but It was all I could think of. I hadn't left the house since I arrived here and It was driving me up the wall. I was constantly on edge, the smallest thing causing me to jump out of my skin. To make things even worse, I was going back to school today after getting the go ahead that I was healed physically. I still had a lot of bruises and was still in a little bit of pain but nothing like what it was before. Carlisle had to do an pelvic exam to ensure he had done no serious damage when he raped me which thankfully he hadn't but it was the most embarrassing moment of my life, but Carlisle made me feel comfortable with him and I knew he would never hurt me.

The past two weeks I had gotten to know the whole family a lot better and they all made me feel so welcome and although I still had nightmares every single night, I felt happier than I have in a long time and I was enjoying the feeling but now all I could think about was what was going to happen when I went back to school. I don't know whether I could handle everyone being nasty to me again. could I really handle the constant name-calling or could I hope that things might be better? Edward had promised me that someone will be there at all times but I still worry.

'Hey love, you okay?' Edward said coming into the room and standing behind me. no matter how many times he calls me 'love', it still sends shivers down my spine. We were still just friends but we have grown even closer over the past two weeks. He was my rock and was always there for me when I needed comfort after having an nightmare, which I couldn't be more grateful about.

'Yeah, Im fine' I told him not looking away from the window, the last thing I wanted was to cause him anymore worry.

'Bella, you know your a terrible liar' Edward says chuckling. I sigh, he could easily tell when im lying and I don't know why I even bother to try to.

'Sorry, im just worried about tomorrow' I told him turning around and facing him.

'Bella we've been through this. I promise you that nobody will hurt you, none of us will let that happen' Edward said whilst wrapping his arm around my shoulders. He was right we had been through this loads the past two weeks but it didn't make me feel any less nervous than I already did. I felt stupid for going on about it so much but what I went through was hell on earth. He would never truly understand what it felt like to go through literal hell everyday in that place and the thought of going back to it right now made me feel sick.

This past two week had been the best time, I have spent in the past six years and even though it was plagued with nightmares I hadn't been this happy in such a long time. I felt like I finally had a family that wanted me and I felt the love from them all. I still couldn't understand how they could be so accepting of me and just let me into their family. Every single one of them had been there for me in some way especially Edward. I liked him everyday even more and I wanted to tell him but I didn't know how he would react to telling him plus I felt like I should wait a while before telling him because I knew I was nowhere near ready for an relationship not that he would ever actually like me back.

looking into his eyes, I saw nothing but honesty but how could he promise something like that? There was no way at all that they could possibly stay with me 24/7 and I couldn't expect that much from them. Having me in their home and part of their family was dangerous enough to them and it meant the world to me but I couldn't help but feel the guilt every time I thought about the things that my monster of a father could do to them if he found out that I was with them. I knew it wouldn't be very long before that happened and this happiness would end.

'Edward, how can you promise something like that through? there's no way one of you could be with me 24/7 and I can't expect any of you to do that for me. I just don't know whether I can handle them all starting on me again, it was hard the first time.' I told him. He stepped closer to me and placed his hand on each side of my face forcing me to look into his eyes.

'How many times do we have to have this conversation Bella? You are part of this family now and we all care about you deeply and everything we do for you will not be a problem and you wouldn't be asking too much of us. We want to help you get through this and I promise I won't let them hurt you again. I know its going to be difficult but you have to stay strong, it will get better. Please trust me' Edward told him trailing his finger softly down my cheek. I believed that he would protect him but I needed him to understand the pain I went through having to deal with the bullying on top of everything else that was happening.

'I know Edward and I believe you that you will all protect me but you have no idea the pain I went through all those years being bullied on top of what was happening with Charlie. I want to believe that everything will be okay but right now I cant imagine a life without pain in it, please just give me some time. Its going to take some time for me to get used to all of this' I begged him. They just didn't understand that I just couldn't go from six years of absolute hell to nothing but happiness no matter how much I wanted that to happen.

'Bella, I understand..' he started to say but I cut him off.

'EDWARD don't you dare tell me you understand! Did you go through six years of getting kicked, punched, slapped, stabbed, burnt and raped by your own father? Did your father blame you for killing your own mother? Did you spend all that time completely alone and then going to school and getting tortured further by bullies' I screamed at him with tears running down my face. How could he ever understand what that felt like?

His face fell at my words and I could clearly see the hurt cross his features. I instantly felt guilty for shouting at him like I did. It wasn't right to take my anger out on him and it just made me cry even harder. I fell to my knees as the emotions that had built up inside hit me hard causing my heart to clench. Edward was immediately by my side and wrapped me up in a hug which I flinched at and tried to pull away from him but he just held onto me harder.

'I'm sorry' I whispered to him.

'You don't need to apologise Bella, you were right I don't understand what you went through but what I do know is that your incredibly strong and you will get through this I promise' Edward said stroking my hair gently making me feel incredibly relaxed and helped my tears to slow down. I nodded at him feeling defeated and unable to argue with him about this any longer.

I stayed in edwards just enjoying the comfort he always give me when I had a breakdown like this. One minute about Edward was he is always there for you when you need no matter what even after telling him everything my father did to me. I thought he would be repulsed by me and never want to speak or see me ever again but I was very wrong. He stayed by my side through it all, he was my true hero and I would be forever grateful to him and his whole family especially Alice.

Without her, I don't know whether I would of actually survived much longer. She was the first person in years to actually help me and for that she would of always be a special part of my life. She was like a sister to me and I loved her as one.

As I layed in Edwards arms I began to feel sleepy and noticing this he picked me up and carried me to my bed before tucking me in and placing a tender kiss on my forehead.

'Goodnight my love' he whispered in my ear and like that I fell asleep and slept peacefully.

The next morning I woke up feeling so much more refreshed and better after finally being able to get a good night's sleep. All Night I dreamt of Edwards lips kissing me and the feeling that his kisses sent through my body. It was like mini fireworks being set off all at once. I had never in my life felt feelings for someone this strong than I did for edward. His velvety voice was soft as silk and his smile made me smile in return.

He helped get through each day and I knew I was going to need him today more than ever. I still didn't feel like I was stronger to get through this but I wanted to more than anything. For my mother and for Edward and his family. I was to blame for causing them the danger they were currently in and I needed to get through today and show them that im not just a lost cause and they didnt just help me for nothing.

So with that in thought I got up went into the bathroom and took a long hot shower to help relax muscles whilst chanting the whole time to myself ' I can do this.. I will do this' over and over and tried my hardest to believe it was true. God how badly I wanted it to be true, I didn't want to fail them.

After I finished my shower, I wrapped myself in a big fluffy white towel before walking out of the bathroom to find some clothes laid out on my bed for me with a note on top.

Thought you might want some help picking something to wear. Get dressed and I'll have something for breakfast ready for you when you come down

Alice xx

A smile appeared on my face at her words. I don't know what id do without that girl, she was always thinking of the small things and those were what meant the most to me. Knowing that I didn't have to worry about finding something to wear helped me to relax further. I had always had a terrible sense of fashion as Alice had pointed out the first chance she got which ended in her buying me loads of new clothes.

Of course I had tried to stop her not wanting them to spend so much money on me on top of everything else they had done for me already but I might as well of been talking to myself as they wouldn't listen to a word I said.

Alice was a ball of energy all the time which can be slightly annoying at times but she wouldn't be Alice if she wasn't that way.

I lifted the outfit up of the bed and was pleasantly surprised to find that I actually liked the outfit. It was a simple long-sleeved purple top and some nice designer blue jeans that hugged my curves perfectly. I also had a simple purple hoodie to go on top to keep me warm. To finish off the outfit there was a pair of black converse shoes which complimented the outfit perfect.

After quickly getting dressed, I applied a little bit of concealer to hide some of the bruises on my face that were still showing not wanting to give the kids at school any more reason to attack me. Im sure the story of how the chief of polices daughter accused him of abuse will be around the whole town by now and I didn't even know if any of them would actually believe me but to be honest I didn't care if they believed me or not.

Taking a deep breath I slowly made my way down the stairs to find the rest of the cullens sat in the kitchen cleaning up what looked like their breakfast plates.

'Morning Bella' Esme said giving me a motherly smile. We had become very close the past two weeks and she like her husband were the most caring and compassionate people I had ever met. She was beginning to become like a second mother to me. I would never forget my own mother and she would always be my mother but Esme was still like a second mother to me.

'Good morning' I told her returning her smile.

'Here's your breakfast Bella' Alice said handing me a plate of scrambled eggs on toast which made my stomach grumble loudly causing the whole family to laugh and of course I went bright red with embarrassment.

'Thank you' I told her sitting down and digging in. She give me a grin and sat down next to me. It tasted amazing, the best scrambled eggs ive ever tasted. The whole concept of eating when I needed still felt foreign to me after going so long without hardly enough food to survive.

After I finished my breakfast I got up and quickly washed my plate and then it was time to go. I could feel the nerves start to settle in and I had to take a couple of deep breathes to stay calm. It was incredibly hard to do with the thought of what I was about to face on top of the fact Charlie was out there. My head started spinning forcing me to have sit down.

'Bella are you okay?' Edward asked coming up beside me. I took a few more breathes before answering.

' Yes I'm fine, don't worry about me' I told him even though I was far from fine but I didn't want to worry anyone anymore.

'Okay well your riding with me in my car if you don't mind' He said giving me a small smile.

'Yeah that's fine, I don't mind' I told him standing up. He held his hand out for me to help me up which I accepted gratefully knowing how shaky my legs were right now. I followed him out of the kitchen into the living room where the rest of the family were waiting for us. When we entered Carlisle came up to me.

'Bella just so you know there will be police officers all around the school just incase your father turns up but don't worry we won't let anything happen to you sweetheart' he told me in his gentle voice that always put me at ease.

'Thank you Carlisle' I told him grateful that they would be someone their watching for my father.

'Your welcome Bella and I know today is going to be hard for you but just remember we are all here for you and if you need to come home if it gets too much then you can Bella' he told me placing a comforting hand on my arm. I nodded at him, I could see the love in his eyes as he spoke to me which made tears fill my eyes. He was like the father that I wished I could of have and he had done nothing but look after me. This family really were my lifeline and I knew that with them I could get through this day.

'Okay let's go' I said taking a deep breath and following the others out of the door to face the day I had been dreading.

Thank you for reading :) comment/ review please