Chapter twenty six

I started to panic, flipping through each photo again and again. These were horrible, some so private. Some with em with only my underwear on. Some I think were taken from inside my apartment! My apartment. Oh my god I think I'm going to throw up!

Rushing to the bathroom I barely made it in time before everything I had eaten came spewing out.

For the first time in my life I was truly scared.

I had no idea what time it was, or how long I had had my head in the toilet, but before mom walked through the door "Bella Honey, I'm here. Bella?"

her voice calmed me enough, but I couldn't find my voice

"Bella?"

"mom?" I whisper screamed from the bathroom. She came running in, a couple of photo's in her hand. Getting up form the bathroom floor I ran towards her and broke down crying.

It just all hit me.

And it hit me hard enough that one the water works started, there was no stopping this.

She supported me into the living room placing me back on the sofa where I just curled up and cried into her shoulder. All I could think about was the someone had been in my apartment. Someone had been through my stuff. Had taken picture of me in my most private moments. And Edward.

Esme Pov

I got into the kitchen and called Edward, angry tears trying to break free, but I couldn't I needed to be strong for my baby.

"Please pick up, please pick up"

"Hello? Mom?"

"Come home now!"

"Mom?"

"Trust me, call every body and get them over here NOW!"

"Mom what's going on?"

"Bella's in trouble" he hung up straight away, leaving me time to dial Carlisle. He had to know what was going on. Before I could even call him Bella walked into the kitchen, silent and exhausted but still alive.

She just started moving around the kitchen grabbing ingredients. I just left her to it, knowing she needed to work this out on her own. But if she produced sugar cookies...god I didn't want to think about it.

Unfortunately I knew the ingredients she took out. She was scared and I couldn't do anything to stop it.

"Dr. Cullen speaking"

"Carlisle" I gasped relived

"And how my girls doing" my Carlisle. I love that man with all my hear

"Sugar cookies Carlisle. She's baking sugar cookies"

"Are you sure?" his voice changed just like I knew it would. We both knew what this meant.

"No Carlisle I just like to say those words you know, because it's really fun to be worried"

"I'm on my way"

"But what about -"

"You're using sarcasm and our baby girl is baking those things. Trust me, I am on my way. I love you"

"Love you too"

So everyone was coming. They would all be here in a few minutes and now I have no idea what to do. Bella. Need to help Bella.

"Baby?"

"Mom, can you pass the eggs"

"Bella"

"The eggs. Please"

Silently we got to work. Cooking like we used to, together in the kitchen when she was younger and needed cheering up. But this was different there was no music that we would dance to. There was no laughing, no smiling at all.

Just silence. Cold unforgiving silence.

Bpov

I had no sense of time. No sense of anything.

Soon the cookies were in the oven, filling the room with a warming scent I couldn't smell. Sugar cookies had always been my comfort cookies in very bad situations. They were the only thing I would eat when I first went to Carlisle and Esme's in Seattle, the only thing I would bake because to me they were my island of comfort.

They reminded me of my Nana Swan.

She would bake them at Christmas time when I was younger and it was just heaven. Her smiling face calming me when no one else could.

The she died when I was ten years old, and for a while I didn't smile, and all I did was bake sugar cookies. My parent's actually started to get annoyed with me, but I didn't care. She had always been there for me in times of need, and these cookies were just a way of me keeping her close.

Now they were just a way of being safe. it#'s stupid to put so much on a little cookie but still, this is how I felt.

"Bella?" I herd Edward shout, snapping me out of my daze

"Bella" he breathed as I took a shuddering breath. I jumped into his embrace shoving my head into the nook in his neck. He just held me as I shook. I don't think anyone really knew what was going on

I looked up into his face to see a sizable bruise forming around his right eye

"What happened?" I moved to touch it lightly, only for him to wince under my touch "let me get something-"

"Bella"

"Please, just put this on" I handed him a bag of ice. I pressed it to his eye to have him wince again. He grabbed a hold of my wrists gently stopping me from helping him

"Bella. Tell me what is going on"

Giving up, I took his hand and led him towards the living room where everyone had gathered. Edward slung his arm over my shoulder in a protective manner, making me feel safer.

I could see Emmett giving him the stink eye from across the room. "you talked to him?" I whispered, looking up to him

"I had to"

"And he punched you"

"A small price to pay"

"I can't believe this" I clenched my fist behind his back trying to get to Emmett but Edward held me firmly in place

"Right now, there are more important things then you beating up your brother. Like your safety. Now can someone please tell us what is going on?"

I sat back down on the coach next to Esme who had collected up the photos and placed them back in the package.

Edward sat down net to me taking my hand in his.

"Now, promise you wont get mad. Any of you" I looked around at everyone poised and ready to jump into action. It was kind of making me nervous, which made me fearful but like I was gaining a little bit of control. I took a sugar cookie form the tray Esme had brought in and bit into the sugary deliciousness which immediately helped me to block out any unwanted feelings. I hate feeling afraid. I hate feeling weak. And I know each one of us hates feeling helpless, so this was going to be difficult.

"Bella-"

"Promise me, because you can get mad, you can smash things up and do anything you want but there is nothing you can do at this moment in time."

I looked around the room to see everyone there. Ali and Jasper, Rose and Emmett, Mom and Dad, Edward.

"Bella. What is going on?" Rose asked from Emmett's lap. They had gotten pretty cosy lately which kind of pissed me off. I mean, he sleeps with one of my friends, might get her pregnant and I haven't so much as batted an eye lid. But when Edward touches me, he goes all 'Rocky' on him.

I just couldn't even think about that right now.

Without even saying a word, I tipped the whole package upside down again. Like before each photo spilled out, slipping over the coffee table, some slipping onto the floor.

I started to turn each picture round so all the faces of me were visible.

"What the hell is this?" Emmett shouted as rose moved off his lap so he could sit next to me

"This Emmett, is my whole New York life documented. From moving in" I pointed to the picture of us two in the dark holding our stuff. How we hadn't seen the flash was beyond me "to me sleeping"

Pointing again to my first night in my new bed in my apartment. "to my first kiss. My first day on the job. James attacking me. My apartment being broken into. Me fighting James. Everything here is everything I have experience and more"

I slipped the picture of our first date into Edwards hands. He was livid, but trying not to explode in front of everybody.

He took in the scene before him much as I had the first time I had seen it. Now all shock had left my body, I could see the beauty of the picture. The evening sky, the lights in the trees. Edward looking so handsome as we both laughed.

Once again I leaned against him as tears started to slide down my cheek. Everyone was silent taking it all in.

Emmett was stuck on the one where I was in my underwear. "Someone was in your apartment? You are not going back there Bella. You can't go back there"

"Emmett. I can't impose on anybody while I'm here. I mean the whole reason of getting an apartment was so that I wouldn't have to stay with you"

"Bella you listen to me"

"You'll stay with us" mom butted in before we could get into an outright argument

"Mom, Dad"

"I'm not taking no for an answer Bella. There are no photos of us or our house in these. Please baby, please. You could move in today"

"What do you think?" I turned to Edward who was holding the picture of us together. Our first kiss.

"You're going. We all know that's probably the safest place for you right now"

"For us right now"

"Bella-"

"Edward. I can't do this without you. I need you" I grabbed his face between my hands to look into his eyes, needing him to understand how much I needed him.