A/N: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight
Chapter 20
"Bella, please tell me what's wrong."
My mind went crazy trying to figure out what it was that had her so upset. Had someone else hurt her? Was someone still out there, threatening her? I leaned over and kissed her hair. "It's okay," I whispered.
I felt her take a deep, shuddering breath.
But before she could speak, Carlisle appeared in front of me. He held a scalpel and some bandages. "Hey bud," he said. "I'm going to cut away this sleeve, okay?"
I nodded and watched his normally capable hands work. I clamped my jaw as he moved over my shoulder. I knew he was being as gentle as he possibly could, but the slightest movement sent waves of pain through me. I felt Bella's hand moving over my back and I turned to see her watching my face. Her brown eyes were troubled.
I heard Carlisle hiss as he pulled away the fabric. I started to turn back but his voice interrupted me. "I want you to keep looking the other way, please."
I nodded and looked down at Bella's face.
"I didn't feel this," Carlisle murmured. "I suppose it happened after I had you stand up. What was I thinking?"
Since I was watching Bella's face, I saw her reaction immediately. Her pale face turned even paler when her eyes landed on my shoulder. Her hand that had been running gently over my back fisted in my shirt, pulling on the fabric still on my shoulder. "Bella," I gasped. "Honey release."
But her reaction caused me to look and what I saw made me immediately feel dizzy. I stared at the bone poking out of my shoulder. "Dad," I whispered. That really couldn't be good.
"It'll be okay, son," he said in a shaky voice. He sounded nothing like himself. His hands continued to clear away the ruined sleeve of my sweatshirt. "I just should have done this before I moved you. I should have secured your shoulder before I had you stand up." He shook his head.
"Dad, look at me for a second." My voice shook a little, but that was from pain. I waited until Carlisle was looking at me. "Dad, for a few minutes you weren't thinking like a doctor, you were thinking like a father. A father who just faced a woman holding a gun to his son's head. Please don't feel guilty. Please don't do that to your self."
For several seconds Carlisle just looked at me. I watched his blue eyes and slowly the clouds of guilt cleared away and my father, the calm rock that I depended on, looked back at me. I breathed a sigh of relief. He nodded and looked back down at my arm.
His hands moved gently now, confidently. "We will need x-rays to be sure, but from what I see and feel, your shoulder is going to need surgery. Obviously the bone is broken, but I'm worried about the shattered pieces."
Two EMTs appeared with a stretcher and Carlisle thanked them. He wrapped a bandage around my arm, securing my shoulder. It hurt like hell.
"I know that hurts," Carlisle said reading my face. "But it will keep it from moving further."
Then he and Bella helped me onto the stretcher. "I want you to sit," Carlisle said. "Lying down will hurt worse." I nodded and Bella sat down next to me. I put my good arm around her.
We made our way to the ambulance. On the way, I saw a familiar face talking to one of the policemen. "What is Matt doing here?" I asked.
Bella's head whipped around. "I don't know."
We watched Matt until we reached the ambulance. Once I was inside, Carlisle began poking around the back of the ambulance. He brought out a rather large needle and some clear fluid. "I want to numb your arm," he explained. I nodded and looked away as he started to stick the needle into my shoulder.
The relief was almost immediate. The sharp pangs reduced to throbbing ache. "Thanks."
The ride to the hospital was uneventful. Bella sat silently beside me, holding on to my waist, her head resting on my unhurt shoulder. I ran my hand up and down her arm.
What happened to her? Again my mind went crazy trying to think of what could have been done to her. Had Matt hurt her? Was that why she had said "They" hadn't hurt her? She didn't seem hurt, she seemed to be moving okay. But there were all kinds of ways to hurt someone.
I felt a chill come over me. I looked down at my sweet girl, remembering the way RJ had kissed her. He had believed she wanted it, even when she was trying to push him away. I leaned over and ran my lips across her forehead. "Bella," I whispered.
She shifted and brought her lips to mine, kissing me sweetly. I backed away and looked into her eyes. "Sweetheart you said they didn't hurt you. But did they touch you?" I kept my voice down, hoping Carlisle was busy and wouldn't listen.
Bella's eyes widened and she shook her head. "No, Edward I promise they didn't hurt me or touch me in anyway."
I closed my eyes and leaned my forehead against hers. "Good," I whispered.
The rest of the ride was silent. I couldn't push her, not now when we sat in an ambulance and my bone poked out of me.
When we got to the hospital I was wheeled into the emergency room. Carlisle led the way, refusing to let anyone tell him he didn't belong. He moved with such authority that no one really questioned his presence.
They didn't ignore Bella's presence so easily. "You need to wait in the waiting room," one of the nurses told her.
"No," Bella said. "I need to stay with him."
"I'm sorry, Miss," the nurse said. "We can't allow you in here. We are going to take him back to surgery after we prep, you can't be here."
"Bella," Carlisle said. "I promise that we will take good care of him. Nothing's going to happen and you can see him as soon as we are done." He touched her arm and tried to get her to come with him.
I looked at her silently. What was wrong? It was driving me crazy.
"Edward," she looked at me imploringly, as if I had the power in this room.
"Honey," I said quietly, touching her cheek. "You know you can't be here when they operate. I'm okay, I promise you that. Like Carlisle said, nothing bad is going to happen. They are just going to put my shoulder back together. I love you. So very much."
Her eyes filled. "I love you too," she choked out. She lifted my hand and gently kissed my knuckles. Then she slid off the stretcher. The tears spilled over her lashes. "I love you," she repeated. Then she allowed the nurse to lead her out of the room.
"Dad," I said not taking my eyes off her retreating back. "I'm really worried about her. Something happened and I don't know what it is."
I finally turned my gaze toward him. I saw he held a mask in his hand, I could see the worry in his eye, but I knew he was more worried about me at this point in time. "We are going to have to put you under," he told me. "So we can perform the surgery."
I nodded but looked at the mask warily. I watched as he placed the mask over my mouth and nose and then felt his hand running over my hair.
"It's okay son," he said soothingly. "Just breathe like normal." He sat down and put his arm around me. I leaned against him and closed my eyes.
When I opened my eyes, I lay in a hospital room. I looked down at my arm and saw that it was encased in plaster. A sling held my arm tightly against my chest and I saw a thick, padded bandage covering my shoulder.
"Hey," I heard the soft voice and looked to see Bella sitting next to me.
"Hi honey," I said quietly. I pulled on her until I could kiss her lips. "How are you doing?"
"Aren't I supposed to ask you that?"
I just looked at her.
"I'm okay." She bit her lip and her gaze fell to her fingers. Gently, she traced my hand. "I found out why Matt was there." She didn't look up. "Apparently he was out for a run and he heard the commotion at the field. He ran over and saw Victoria standing there, holding a gun to your head. Then everything went crazy, but he went after RJ, because after Victoria was down, RJ tried to go for her gun and finish what his mother had started. Matt tackled him and held him down until the police could get to him."
"Wow," I whispered. "And I was worried that Matt had something to do with it all."
Bella shook her head. "He really didn't."
"Bella." I reached over and lifted her chin until she was looking at me. "Honey you need to tell me what happened. I'm going crazy here."
She nodded and took my hand, gently kissing my knuckles again. I saw tears well in her eyes. She held my hand against her cheek. "I'm going to start at the very beginning." I nodded and ran my thumb along her cheek bone.
Bella took a deep breath and then started talking. "RJ was waiting in my room when we got back. I don't know how he knew that I would come back alone. Maybe he just got lucky. Anyway, as soon as I noticed he was in the room, he grabbed me and put his hand over my mouth. Then he called his mom and said he had me. He told me that Victoria was watching you and if I didn't do exactly what he told me, she would kill you.
He told me to go sit on my bed, and I did. He opened the door and looked out, obviously making sure that you were gone. Then he told me to get up and come with him. I did. I was so scared because I didn't want them to hurt you. When we got outside, a car was waiting. It wasn't until I got in the car that I noticed Victoria in the driver seat. Since she was in the car, I realized there wasn't anyway that she could be following you. I tried to fight RJ at that point because it hit me that I was trapped and if they drove away, that would be bad. But he put handcuffs on my wrists, and a blindfold over my eyes and pushed my head down against the seat.
I wasn't really scared at that point. I guess I just knew that RJ wouldn't hurt me. I was worried. But I wasn't scared. We drove for a while. I don't know where they took me because it wasn't until I was in the room that they took off the blindfold. I stayed in that room the whole time. When we left again earlier tonight, they blindfolded me again. The window was completely blacked out so I couldn't see out.
They weren't mean to me. The room had a bed and a comfortable chair. There were even some books I could have read. There was a bathroom attached to the room, as well. They brought me food for every meal." She stopped and took a deep breath. Her hand holding mine to her cheek tightened a little.
"There was also a TV. It only played one channel." She stopped again and the tears that had threatened began to fall silently down her cheeks.
"Bella," I whispered because I had a feeling I knew what was played on the TV.
"They had a cameras set up," she whispered. "One was at the baseball field. After they called you, they turned the TV on and we watched. They laughed at you when you ran in circles. They thought it was hilarious when you started screaming for me. Then they sent you that text. It was the hardest thing I have ever watched because I knew. I knew this was your nightmare come true. And you were in so much pain and there was nothing I could do about it. I could only watch. Then they used my phone to send the last text."
She closed her eyes and I pulled her against my chest. I held her with my one arm. I remembered that night so clearly. The fear had consumed me. If I had known she was watching, I would never have let myself lose control like that. "I'm so sorry," I whispered.
"So typical," she said softly. "Baby, it's not your fault." She lifted herself off my chest and kissed me gently. She brushed my hair off my forehead and then picked my hand back up. She began fiddling with my fingers. "It was then that I lost it. You were in such excruciating pain and they kept making snide remarks. Saying how this was exactly what you deserved. That you were finally feeling what they had felt all those years. That you stole from them exactly what they had stolen from you."
She blew out a breath. "I lost it. I began screaming at them. I told them that you had nothing to do with any of it. That you were just a child and that James was a grown man and he made the choice to leave them. I told them that if it was up to you, you would have sent James back to them in a heartbeat. Then I told them how he beat you all the time. How he enjoyed it and found any excuse to hurt you." Her voice dropped even more. "I told them about his closet of weapons. And then I told them how he came after you after he had killed your mother. How he made you cut your own wrist."
She stopped talking and closed her eyes. She lifted my fingers and kissed the tips.
"They started asking me questions. Like about what weapons he had. How he found you in Forks. What he made you do. I answered every question because I thought I was getting through to them. I thought they understood that James wasn't a prize and that it was best he was dead. I thought for sure that they would release me and that we could go on with our lives.
They finally left. I was a little surprised they weren't taking me back to the dorm. But the door was locked. I sat on the bed and watched Carlisle come to you. I was so glad he was there because I knew that you needed him." She stopped talking.
I waited for her to continue talking but she didn't. "Honey, you didn't do anything wrong," I finally said.
She shook her head quickly. "They came back the next day. They told me they had their plan ready and that I had been so much help." Her voice dropped so low I had to strain my ears to hear.
"They were going to recreate everything that James had done to you as a child. And then when they got tired of it, they were going to finish what he had started. I would watch you, because they had another camera in the quad and I prayed that you would never find the clues. I didn't care if I had to spend the rest of my life in that room. Over the next three days, they started transforming the room, getting it ready for when you finally found the clues.
RJ came in one day and screwed large hooks into the ceiling. Then he attached handcuffs to the hooks. He told me that is where you would hang while they beat you. Victoria brought in every weapon I had told them was in James' closet. She put them in their closet. Every time she left I closed the door to the closet, but she always opened it again.
It killed me, knowing what they were planning and knowing it was all because of what I had told them. They didn't hurt me. Not physically. But it made me sick, many times, to look at those hooks and know what was in store for you. Yesterday, when you found the clues, I threw up over and over again. I knew you would do whatever they said. I knew because you love me so much. I knew you would risk everything.
When they came into my room that last time, RJ held the blindfold and handcuffs. Victoria held the knife. She waved it in front of me, then made me hold it. She asked me how it felt to hold the knife that would dig into your wrists and kill you."
I stared at her, finally understanding why she didn't want to let go of me. She said they hadn't hurt her, but they had. They had torn at her, ripping at her heart, beating her with their words. "Come here sweetheart," I whispered, pulling her to me again.
"I saw you standing there," she said into my chest. "In the street lamp. You looked so alone, so brave. So beautiful. I knew that you would never save yourself, not when I was in danger. They had told me if I tried to warn you that they would beat you for every word I said. They didn't really have to tell me that. I knew you would never walk away, no matter what I said."
"You're right," I murmured. "Honey, I wish there were some magical words I could say that would heal the damage that they did. I can tell you that I'm okay. But you can see that with your own eyes. All I can say is that I love you. And I'm here. Always. Anytime you need me, you have me."
"I just need to hold you," she said softly. "As long as I hold you, I know you are safe. When I was waiting while you were in surgery, it was way too easy to imagine you in that room."
I ran my lips over her hair. If she was still alive, I would want to kill Victoria all over again for what she had done. I knew, without doubt that Bella would have nightmares. That those images that had been put into her brain would haunt her. I just hoped it didn't last too long.
AN: Hello dear readers! You all wanted me to update fast, I hope this was fast enough :o) I'm sorry about the last cliffhanger. I told myself I wouldn't do that anymore lol. But how do I keep you reading if I don't keep you hanging?
Anyway, now you know what's going on with Bella.
I was looking at the reviews and it hit me that this story could potentially reach 1,000 reviews. That is SO incredibly exciting. Thank you SO SO SO much for reading and reviewing. It really does mean the world to me.
Love,
Alison