Bella's POV
It felt so natural to say. So perfectly formed as it rolled smoothly off my tongue. The name of course—my name—Mrs. Bella Cullen. Or soon to be, but it didn't matter, the fact that we were now.
Edward had one hand on the wheel and the other held mine; learning each individual line in my palm with just the stroke of his finger before finally brushing over the glistening diamond ring that circled my finger. My excitement over my new name was barely contained and it wasn't my only new name, I now had another title I had always wanted but never got until now. Mom. After I had said yes Nick and Emma had crashed into my side hugging me almost as tightly as I was hugging them. Emma kept repeating it over and over again—she still was.
"Mom, Mommy, Momma, Mother, Madre, Ma, Mum, Mumsy, Mamma, Mutter, Mummy, Mama, MOM!" She laughed happily. I turned on Edward's iPhone and called Alice right after his proposal who told Rosalie and Jasper, and we were driving to see Emmett now. As the car glided into the parking space Emmett flung the hotel door open, nearly breaking it, and dashed over to me. I jumped out of the car and into his arms.
"My baby sister's getting married!"He yelled as he spun me around. We he set me down I giggled and waggled my fingers at him, flashing my ring at him.
"I know!" I squealed excitedly giving up the ability to contain it. Edward grinned, his green eyes sparkling gorgeously at me! Sometimes he just seemed way too good to be true. He had Nick and Emma on each side of him smiling equally as big. I rushed over to Nick and Emma and swooped them into a big hug somewhat like Emmett had given me.
"I love you guys!" I kissed them both.
"We love you too!" They chimed together, them Emma looked at me.
"When can we go home again?" She asked. I looked over to Edward for confirmation of my thoughts.
"In the morning?" I asked and he nodded, so I turned back to them.
"You ready to get out of this rainy place?" I placed them both on my hips.
"Yes!" Nick punched the air. "It's too dark and gloomy here." He wrinkled his nose as he breathed in deeply smelling the soggy air. We all walked into the hotel and they began to pack while I waited patiently helping nick and Emma when they needed it. Edward looked up at me.
"We should go get your things…" He said slowly. I began to shake my head but he held his hand out.
"It'll be fine we'll just go in, grab some of your stuff and leave." I hesitated; the idea of being able to have a toothbrush tonight and clean clothes was extremely appealing.
"Just a couple things…" I agreed. Edward gave my hand a warm squeeze and we got into the car leaving Emmett to babysit the kids again for a couple minutes. Arriving at the house was sort of terrifying in its own way; filled with those awful memories from before Edward showed up. I half wanted to just leave and forget all about needing to get my things but the other half wanted to charge in there and prove to myself that I could do it. James isn't home anyway, I reassured myself as I opened the car door.
"You can just stay here," I told Edward, "I'll only be five minutes." Edward nodded and I walked up the front porch steps. I blew his a kiss before entering the place I never wanted to go back. It was dark, almost too dark considering it was the middle of the day. I headed up the stairs and into my room flicking on the lights. I gasped and stumbled backwards falling against the wall. He was sitting on the bed detachedly just playing with the pocket knife he kept with him everywhere.
"J-James," I stuttered out standing up, "What are you doing here? I thought…" He slipped the knife back into its holder on his belt and stood up from the bed. He was here and of course it was just my luck at work again.
"That I was at work? You're kidding me right Bella?" He stood up from the bed and stood in front of me, towering over me so much I had to look up. His face was in that deadly calm expression that I knew all too well and I couldn't help the shiver that went up my spine. James's big hand reached up to stroke my face amazingly softly and brushed a stray hair away from my face.
"Bella, Bella, Bella. What were you thinking in that complicated mind of yours?" James was being too sweet, too kind and it wasn't natural. And to be honest I was scared. So I couldn't help myself—I bolted. I ran from the door ducking under his arms and I almost made it too the stairs before his foot shot out and I plunged head first down the stairs making loud, painful thumps when coming in contact with each step before landing and the bottom in a heap on the floor. I heard his footsteps as he walked down and knelt next to me.
"So stupid. Didn't I tell you not to leave me?" He whispered with a cruel edge to his voice. He caressed my face once more but when he removed his hand from my face it was caked in blood. "But instead you go and fuck with that Cullen boy, not anymore Bella. No. If I can't have you no one can."
I made some kind of noise of appalled alarm in the back of my throat but I couldn't speak. James seemed to take deep delight in my fear and laughed out loud. I groaned and tried with fierce effort to get back up and crawl to the door but he was too quick and threw me against the wall in the kitchen pots and pans clanging to the ground beside me. Coughing, I spat out a hoarse, "Please." But he just chuckled then proceeded to drag me away from there by my hair. It hurt so badly that I screamed so loud it hurt my own ears.
"Shut up, you little slut!" His hand came down on my face making a huge red welt on my cheek.
"No, no, no! Stop, please!" I shrieked. James's calm façade disappeared and anger twisted his face and he threw me down on the linoleum that my head made a sharp crack and for a moment black enveloped my vision sprinkled with bright stars. I fought hard but it felt like my arm was broken and my head was throbbing making me pretty sure I had a concussion.
"Edward!" I yelped. James had grabbed my face roughly, but when I tried to look away he snapped my gaze back to his unwillingly.
"He's not here Bella. Little Bella Swan. Remember I told you, you need me!" He said in a sing-songy voice unknowingly.
"You're wrong." I said weakly. Then added, "And it's going to be Bella Cullen!"
Then I leaned in toward him and then before he knew it I had conked my head hard against his forehead causing him to fall backward clutching his head as he experienced what I had felt earlier. But I was prepared for the pain unlike him so when he was on the floor I dashed for the front door. However I had underestimated his rebound rate, turns out his head was a lot thicker than I thought. He launched his hand out and grabbed my ankle causing me to crash hard to the floor. I managed to grasp a fistful of the curtain and I yanked it back making the pole it was attached to come out of the wall it was nailed to and it pinned James in the back, drywall bits falling on both of us causing me to go into another coughing fit but his grip barely loosened. So I did something I haven't done since I was a kid—I turned around and bit his hand hard, my teeth sinking in his supple flesh drawing blood. He yanked his hand back releasing me from his death grip. The sunlight now lit the room now that the heavy curtain wasn't blocking it out and I could see the door way once more. I propelled myself to it and slammed into a running Edward was coming inside.
"Bella!" He cried in horror taking in the disheveled sight of me which I'm sure was a bad one.
"Edward, run! We have to leave now!" I pushed him to the open door. He laced his fingers though mine locking us together and we headed outside. But then something came flying out of nowhere and dug itself in Edwards arm, James's knife. I screamed much louder than I ever did before, an ear-splitting scream that echoed emphatically throughout the house as Edward crumpled to the floor his hand shaking as he drew the knife out slowly his breath coming out in harsh pants.
"I'm fine, I'm fine. Let's just go." He dropped the knife, as the cold, hard, now blood-soaked metal clattered loudly to the floor. And was almost did make it until James finally got up and hauled me back. And of course Edward came back for me. This could NOT be happening to me! I thought in a panicked frenzy. This kind of things didn't happen in real life, just in movies and it defiantly couldn't be happening to me. I had almost made it out of this stupid, rainy town and there was no way in hell I was going to die here and now. I wanted to beg Edward to run and forget about me but I had already tried it and I knew it wasn't going to work. Edward fist smashed into James's face harder than I had ever seen someone do and then they were just a blur. A blur of flying fists and kicking legs.
Edwards face angrier than I had ever seen him before, angrier than that day on the beach with James angrier than Emmett was when he was beating up Edward. This was almost he was in full blown ferocious rage. I saw a flash of Edwards's murderous green eyes and then all I could see was James's electric-blue ones and abruptly I knew I didn't feel anything for him anymore. I know I had said when you love someone you never stop but he was hurting my Edward, the one I relied on the most, my fiancée and I hated him. I had never truly hated someone before, never wanted anyone to be hurt one purpose but now, more than anything, I wanted James to suffer the worst pain imaginable, to suffer everything that I had gone through and worse.
James was a true, one-of-a-kind asshole and my odium for him was consuming my entire body so much that I was shaking with it.
"Let him go, James!" I vociferated trying to pulled James off of Edward but he was gaining the upper hand in the fight with Edward pinned beneath him. James shoved me aside with barely any effort and I crashed against the kitchen cabinet my head breaking the wood causing the stars in my eyes to cover my whole vision. Blindly I reach around until my hand gasped around something heavy and hard, the dark blotches fading again, and I realized what I was holding—my iron sauté pan. I tighten my grip around it, holding it steady even though I felt like fainting. I raised it up high, over my head and then I brought it down. Hard. James's head clanged against it making a loud ringing noise as he collapsed to the floor, unconscious.
I all I could hear was the scream of police sirens coming closer and saw I Edwards's hands reaching out to catch me before I fell against the cold ground. Please don't go, I mentally begged and then finally gave in the blackness.
Only a couple more chapters left, I think…! Did that chapter move too fast? Sorry, you see at first it's a pain in the butt to find an introduction for the plan I had for the chapter so I start off with something completely random at first and blend into the ending which I hope wasn't too bad…
Love you,
Grace