So it took me a little while to get this chapter complete but better late than never. So READ AND REVIEW.

Disclaimer = I don't own Twilight.

Chapter 25

Hearing her voice

Edward's Point of View

Eleazar had left after supper time, arriving quite late at the club, which meant that we wouldn't receive any news until early in the morning. As much as it pained me to wait, there was no other alternative. All throughout the night, while Eleazar was gone, my mind kept racing and asking mental questions. Did he find Bella? Is she alright? Did James hurt her? How much has she changed…? Will she still love me if we bring her home? After the horrible things that I told her before she was taken, it would take a miracle for her to love me again.

Just as I was about to head off to bed for another sleepless night, Janet's phone rang. She answered and mouthed to us that it was from Eleazar. She asked him a few questions before hanging up a few minutes later. When we had asked her what he had said, my heart felt a little better. Bella was alright. That was all he would tell us. But it was better than nothing. Apparently, according to Janet, he would come and explain things more in detail in the morning. I wanted to know more about Bella and what he had seen but we couldn't ask miracles. It was nearly one in the morning and he needed rest. We all did.

As we went to bed, I changed into my pyjamas mechanically. All that my mind could think about was Bella and what could have happened between her and Eleazar. When entering the bed, my eyes couldn't fall. They only stared at the ceiling. Knowing that Bella was alright, that James hadn't taken her fully away from me, made my heart beat quicker than usual in anticipation and anxiety.

She would be alright… Bella would be back with us soon.

With that thought in mind, I tried to get some sleep but to no avail.

When waking up in the morning, my eyes felt heavy and my body wired. During the entire night, my body kept tossing and turning from nightmares and uneasiness. Nightmares about Bella being killed in front of me by a man with no face… and uneasiness because of the fact that I wouldn't know if Bella was alright at this very moment, that she would return to me safe and sound.

Today, Eleazar would explain to us what happened and my anxiety might worsen or would get better.

Before going down to eat breakfast, I got dressed slowly, staring out of the window into the forest. Throughout the changing process, my mind kept imagining Bella smiling at me, her hair moving in the wind and her eyes shining with love towards me and my family. How I longed to see that again…

Pushing the image aside, I got dressed as soon as possible and went downstairs to find the rest of the family already having breakfast. It was still very early in the morning and surprisingly, the police was still hard at work.

Sitting down at the table with the rest of my family, they watched me take an apple from the fruit bowl with a sad smile. I knew what they were thinking. They were beginning to think that this plan was going to fail. But it couldn't. Eleazar had seemed to gotten in and out without being detected by James and so, if Bella would be able to go back to his hideout and stay undetected until the phone call, then things could run smoothly. But there could be flaws… We didn't know how intelligent James was and how observant he could be. He might have already figured out what we were up to.

All we had to do was hope that he wouldn't figure out…

"Good morning, Edward…" Mom said, trying to sound cheerful through this melancholic atmosphere.

A small smile went to my face because of her effort. Mom could always make me smile in times of tragedy, even when she was in pain. I could tell from her eyes and her posture that her wound was still giving her grief. "Morning, Mom. How'd you sleep?" I asked, trying to lighten the mood for everyone. Obviously, it wasn't working.

Mom shrugged with slight difficulty but still smiled at me. "It could have been better…"

"It seems like everyone's night could have been better…" Rosalie mumbled, looking down at her bowl of oatmeal sadly. She really did want Bella back just as much as all of us but we were all powerless at the moment. The police had to take it from here. "I hope that Eleazar guy was able to help Bella."

"I'm sure he did. He should be back shortly. Janet informed us that he left early in the morning to come back here in time to explain to us what happened," Dad explained, wrapping an arm slowly around Mom's shoulders and looking at all of us. Just as he finished his statement, Janet walked over to us with a serious expression on her face, unreadable. Was something wrong…? "Hello Janet. How may we help you?"

"I just received a call from your fiend Eleazar and he says that he'll be here in about two and a half hours." Two and a half hours?! What time did he leave Tacoma? It was a five hour drive from there to here so he must have left quite early, considering it was nearly eight in the morning.

Dad nodded and smiled slightly. "At least we'll be able to get his side of the story soon," was Dad's last remark before Janet went off to continue helping the other police officers while Rosalie and Alice went off in their own direction, probably to talk to Jasper and Emmett. Mom and Dad stayed at the kitchen table and spoke privately, which meant that I was alone… again.

Many hours later, a knock was finally heard at the door. When hearing the sound, my heart jumped. While we waited for Eleazar to come back, I'd been pacing outside of the house, apparently annoying everyone with my incessant pacing. My worry had kept increasing with time, wondering if Bella really would be alright. About fifteen minutes before the knock at the door, I had entered the house, sitting down while tapping my foot against the floor. It was the only way to keep myself from breaking.

Walking to the door, I opened it to find Eleazar standing on the other side, slight bags under his eyes. He must not have slept much. "Hello Edward, nice to see you this morning," he said, trying to smile and lighten the horrible mood that surrounded this house.

Nodding to him, I let myself aside for him to enter and he stepped inside. "Nice to see you as well, Mr. Denali," I answered, closing the door when he had entered.

"Welcome, Eleazar. What news do you bring us of your expedition in Tacoma?" Dad asked, shaking his friend's hand and welcoming him to the kitchen table.

As Eleazar sat down, he placed his hands together and locked eyes with all of us, wondering where to start. But, after a few seconds, he sighed and began speaking, catching my attention the minute he spoke. "James has quite the business; many girls working there, some out of their own will and others terrified of what they're doing. Bella's one of those terrified girls. She's their singer, having basically every men watch her with... hungry eyes. But, while being on stage, she can't satisfy the men the way the other girls do, which is to her advantage." A sigh of relief escaped my lips when hearing this. When Eleazar began speaking, my heart began clenching in terror. I had been afraid that Bella was one of those girls who were satisfying the men out of force but thankfully she wasn't. "Last night, when I had went to the club, James had been hesitant about letting me 'see'," He did air quotes around the word 'see' but, with the look of disgust in his eyes, I could tell that he didn't do anything to Bella, which I was thankful for, "her but, after a little bit of money his way, he agreed willingly, which is when I gave Jacob the gist of the plan and the phone."

After the basic information he gave us, he paused to take a sip of the coffee Mom had brought him and looked at us. According to what he had said, James wasn't suspicious of his behaviour, which meant that he wasn't onto our plan. Bella was still safe for the moment. But there was one thing that bothered me a little.

"How was Bella? Did she seem alright?" I asked, somewhat wondering how she was feeling now that my love knew that we were trying to get her back.

Eleazar sighed and looked down at his coffee for a few moments before looking solely at me. "I won't lie to you, Edward. She looked very hesitant. When I gave her your locket, she wept. Bella was at a lost for words when she saw the pictures and when I repeated your words to her. But, every time I mentioned you all, she flinched and that horrible look of guilt appeared in her eyes. It was as if she could never forget what happened and forgive herself for her actions, even if they were unintentional." A frown made its way to my face when hearing this. My poor Bella... To think that she felt this way all on her own for so long, it was horrible. She could be happy once again if Bella only could see that we didn't hate or reject her.

We wanted nothing more than to show her that she was always welcomed and loved here.

"What will happen once she's brought back…?" I asked softly but shakily, hands fidgeting now. Just as Eleazar was about to speak, the phone rang, making everyone look in that direction. Looking back at Eleazar, the only question that rang through my mind was: Could this be? Was this really happening? Shakily standing up, I walked mechanically to the phone, looked over at Janet and got the nod to pick up the phone, seeing her place a set of headphones on her head. So that everyone could hear, I placed the phone on speaker and said: "Hello?"

"Are you Edward?" A man said on the other line. The voice sounded young but mature, whispering in a hushed tone for now. Who was this?

"Yes, this is Edward. Who is this?" I asked, trying to sound strong but could this be James? We hadn't heard his voice and so this could be the man who was torturing my girlfriend. "Are you James?"

"No, my name is Jacob and I've been trying to help a girl named Bella." My eyes widened and I looked over to my family, who were standing close to the phone, all shocked at this news. This was the Jacob that Eleazar was referring to."Look, I don't have much time but, while he's gone, you can talk to her. Just, I don't know how much you can get accomplished in such short time. I don't know when he'll be back."

"It's alright; we'll take whatever we can get," I responded, anticipating when Jacob will hand over the phone to my beloved. I didn't mind the warning but we had been wondering for days if Bella was alright. "Thank you for doing this for us."

Jacob didn't say anything but, on the other line, we heard walking and, in the background, Jacob's voice speaking to someone. "It's for you…" Jacob said to someone, maybe Bella?

We heard the phone being passed to someone and, upon hearing the female voice on the phone; my heart skipped a beat and probably stopped altogether. "Hello…?" my beloved Bella said, sounding tired and empty. At first, when hearing her voice, it seemed as if it was the most beautiful sound in the world that it froze me in place. My Bella was alright… She was still alive. The plan wasn't ruined completely, not yet. I must have taken too long to reply because Bella once again spoke. "Hello?"

"Bella…" I whispered, a smile forming on my lips when saying her name. This time, when whispering her name, it didn't hurt my heart. It felt a little better, somewhat whole.

Bella must have been in shock from hearing me speak because she remained silent for a while, too long for my taste. At least, during her silence, the police was still trying to track her location. "Edward…" she whispered back but in tremendous shock. It was easy to hear it in her voice. She didn't expect us to call her. "I… I wasn't expecting you to get a call from you…" Bella replied honestly, her shock still eminent in her voice. But it was also laced with sadness and guilt. Eleazar wasn't kidding when he spoke about her guilt. My poor Bella…

"Jacob called us Bella. And we're glad he did. We were worried beyond words about you," I spoke, looking over to the others and seeing them smile ever so slightly at hearing Bella. They were just as worried as we were about Bella's wellbeing that we wanted to make sure that she was alright. Every time that Bella went silent on the other line, my heart clenched in worry. "H… How are you doing, Bella?"

"As good as anyone can be in my situation… Eleazar hadn't told me that I would be talking to you… He just told me that the police were trying to locate me but nothing else," she admitted.

"The police are tracking your location now but we wanted to talk to you so badly Bella. We're worried sick, wondering if something happened to you or not, that we just wanted to hear that you were ok," I replied, taking a seat by the phone and desperately wanting to reach inside the telephone and hold my Bella's hand reassuringly. If what Eleazar said was true, Bella would be finding it terribly hard to believe us. "We're gonna make sure that nothing happens to you Bella. The police is gonna find your location and—"

"You shouldn't find me…" my beloved replied, horrible sadness mixing into her words.

A look of confusion spread over my face—the rest of my family must have done the same thing as well but I didn't dare look back to find out—as my eyes locked onto the phone. What was she talking about? She couldn't stay with that monster any longer. By tomorrow, Bella would most likely be dead… I could never let that happen. "I don't understand Bella… Why do you say that?"

"There really is no point in me coming back… Even if the police find me, nothing will change," she said, letting me realize what she was leading to.

Looking back to my family, Mom's eyes glistened with unshed tears; my sisters were holding themselves, trying to stay strong while Dad held Mom, his face unreadable. Bella felt as though we didn't want her anymore, which broke our hearts to think so. There had to be something we could do to change her mind. But, how could we do that? James had twisted her mind and made her do so many things that it would be tough to help her. But we had to try.

"Bella, we don't care about that. We know that it wasn't you who did all of those things. We just want you back… You're our family," I said, hoping that it would be a start to helping her believe us.

"I lost the right to have a family when I first received that text message… With Rosalie getting in that accident, Alice being suspended, M—Esme being shot and breaking the heart of the one person who made me happy, I lost every right to have a family…" Bella replied, breaking my heart at her words. Bella had wanted to say 'Mom' but changed it at the last minute. In her heart, she still felt that this was her family. But her mind said otherwise. "I've lost it all…"

"Bella, you know that's not—"

"Even if I were to return, it wouldn't change anything. I'd still see the hurt and the betrayal that I made you all feel. I'm just a traitor Edward… someone who breaks hearts and tears people apart. There's nothing for me to come back to… Not a family, not friends… not even love." Bella's voice sounded as if there were tears. Was she crying? An angel such as herself shouldn't be crying. Looking over to my family, there were tears flowing down their face from hearing Bella's words. It was true that, when Bella was being forced to betray us, we had pulled away from her. There had been; from time to time, anger and betrayal in our eyes but, since we've discovered the horrible truth, we've been trying to remedy that."I have nothing—"

Just as I was about to interrupt Bella and try to make her see sense, there was a slamming sound heard on the other side of the phone. Bella stopped talking and suddenly, a door was slammed open and we heard Bella suck in a breath. "Bella?" I asked worriedly, standing up and placing my hands on either side of the phone, looking down at it in worry. What was going on over there…?

"Well, well, well… What do we have here? Someone's trying to be rescued," the chilling voice of a man was heard, making me tense up in anger. This couldn't be… How could this happen? James wasn't supposed to figure it out. "That's very naughty Bella… And here we were getting along so well."

Bella must have dropped the phone because a loud crash was heard on the other line. "J… James… I… I can exp—" Bella began saying but was cut off abruptly. There was a slamming sound, followed by a female choking sound. No…

"Bella?! Bella, what's happening?!" I asked worriedly, hands clenching into fists as my eyes never left the phone.

"You know, I was planning on savouring you until tomorrow—grab a little more cash before you became boring to the audience—but with that little stunt of yours, I think I'll just take you here and now… You might be better than the other girls I've had but not by much. Maybe afterwards, I'll dump your body on the Cullens' front porch so that they can see you one last time before putting you in a box six feet under," James admitted, making my eyes widen and look over to Janet. She was frozen with fear as well but, looking over to the computer, they appeared to be recording this conversation while tracking Bella's location. At least they now had proof of James' evil doings. "What do you say Bella? Don't you think that you deserve to be punished for doing this?" James asked, his voice seemingly pissed off but also sickeningly cruel. How dare he threaten Bella like this?!

"P… Please…" Bella begged while choking on her words. James had better remove his hands from my Bella's throat—or wherever he was choking her—or I swear that I would kill him myself. "Just… l… let me… go…"

"Not likely Bella. You should know not to disobey me," James said, making me start to shake in anger. Janet's police officers seemed to have an exact location of James' hideout and stood up, running out of the house with their weapons in hand. "Now, I'm gonna have to—Agh!" James screamed, the sound of something dropping filling the phone moments later. What was happening over there?!

We could hear coughing and then scrambling while a door opened and the voice of a young man screaming Bella's name. It was Jacob. What had happened to him while James was in the room?! He was supposed to protect Bella, not get her hurt!

"Why, you little bitch…" James muttered, half in pain and half in anger.

I wish that we were able to know what was going on over there. Hearing this was driving me insane. Just as the scrambling continued to sound through the phone, a feminine ear shattering scream was heard. My Bella! My mind couldn't comprehend that the scream had come form her and it broke my heart to hear such a horrible sound but it was true. That sound had come from my beloved.

"Bella!" Jacob and I both screamed at the same time, my worry simply increasing from that sound. What had James done to Bella?! My heart kept breaking from hearing this and sadly, it seemed to only be getting worse. "Come on!" Jacob screamed, running being heard and then there was silence, only panting and grumbling. What was going on?!

After a few moments of horrible silence, James' horribly cruel voice was whispered into the phone. "Gonna get that bitch before she bleeds to death…" he said before we heard the phone being picked up but sadly, there was a crashing sound and the line went dead.

I slammed my fist into the table beside the phone and tried to take calming breaths. "What the hell was that?!" I asked, my rage taking control of me for the moment being. Looked over to my family, they were all standing there in shock. Luckily, Emmett wasn't here or else he would probably have a fit. But when my eyes scanned over to my father, his face was filled with sadness and hatred for James. When trying to find Janet, she seemed to have disappeared along with the rest of the police officers. They were all on their way to get Bella. "I hope that the police are out there looking for her… If this James put one finger on Bella, I swear that I—"

"He won't Edward. I don't know what happened over there with Bella but she will be alright. I promise," Dad said, placing a hand on my shoulder and looking me directly in the eyes. "James won't get away with this. That, I swear to you."

My mind and heart tried to believe my father's words but some part of me felt distant, as if his words were surreal. The police had better find her in time… I couldn't lose my Bella this way, not to this monster. I couldn't lose her, not ever.

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