Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight. I'm just doing something a little different with my story and her characters. NO copyright infringement intended. WARNING: CONTAINS DARK THEMES MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR ALL.

Hey kiddies. Are ya still with me? Your questions are going to slowly be answered, I promise. Hopefully all of them. Thanks again for sticking with this madness I know it's been confusing, but remember I wanted to you feel as though you were Bella and she was confused herself and filled with so many questions. Anyway, here is day 26

Red, My Sweetcheeks, my twisis, my friend, my supporter, fuckawesome beta, thank you, thank you, thank you!

Sis, I hope you get your copy soon. I just finished and I can't wait for part 2. Oh Fifty!

Day 26

My body feels numb. My leg feels heavier than usual. Something tugs at the skin on my right arm. I attempt to move, and when I do, my body vehemently protests, excruciating pain radiates from everywhere.

So much for feeling numb.

My head feels foggy, and a little euphoric. It's a high I've never experienced.

Something tickles at my nose. Fresh, clean air swirls in my nostrils.

I hear something beep behind me over and over like the steady rhythm of a heartbeat.

My eyes flutter, and I will them to open.

Expecting to be smacked with reality, I keep them closed. I don't want to see the dirt floor. I don't want to see the blinding light reflect off the metal table. I don't want to see him.

But everything I am feeling and sensing tells me the opposite. Something isn't right. Something is different.

As terrified as I am to find myself still in my prison, or strapped to that metal table, I push past the feeling and slowly open my eyes, peeking through my eyelashes.

My blurred vision takes in its surroundings.

Pale, white, pristine walls surround me. A television rests in the corner, hanging from the ceiling, the sound muted as Rachael Ray fills the screen. A striped curtain hangs to my left, soft sunlight filtering through it. My eyes scan to the right. A door is ajar. The sound of soft voices wafts through the air. And then I see him. Edward.

I squeeze my eyes shut, not wanting the image to disappear. I know when they open he will be gone. James's words come back to haunt me. He said there is no more Edward. There's only him.

A cold shudder rips through me.

The beep behind me goes off in rapid succession.

My breathing becomes erratic as images of cold, distant, ice blue eyes stare back at me.

The beeping grows louder, irregular.

Something stirs beside me, and immediately my mind conjures pictures of being strapped to the metal table. I struggle to move, to inch away from the movement.

A warm hand grasps my wrist and my entire body protests.

"Nooooooooooo!"

He can't have me. I need to fight. I need to survive.

"Bella, it's okay, it's me, Edward."

My eyes flash open, and instead of staring into icy blue, I am staring into comforting(,) emerald green.

My breathing hitches, and the beeping escalates.

Panic settles into my cells, and I can't breathe. I try to suck in any air I can(,) but my body rejects it, sputtering and gagging.

Edward reaches behind me, smacking the wall.

Before I know it, a flash of white comes into the room.

"Mr. Cullen, will you step aside please?" A woman in white asks.

My eyes plead with Edward since my voice fails me.

"I'm right here, love. I'm not going anywhere."

His words comfort me.

The woman in white reaches behind me and the beeping ceases.

I am slowly rising up, only my upper body moving.

My torso is on an incline, and that's when I realize I am in a bed, a hospital bed.

It isn't a dream.

The nightmare is over.

My breathing regulates as the nurse gently places her fingers on my wrist.

I feel my heart settle in my chest, and calm washes over me.

"Better?" she asks with a comforting smile.

I nod.

"It's understandable after what you've been through, Bella. My name is Carmen, and I am your nurse for the next few hours. If you need anything just push this button, and I will be in here in a flash, okay?" She offers me the call device.

"Tha-nk you," I utter, my voice shaky.

Carmen pats my arm, smiles warmly at me, and then leaves.

I feel hot tears stream down my cheeks.

"Bella."

Edward comes to sit beside me again, his face so full of concern it breaks my heart.

He takes my hand in his and brings it to his lips, placing tender kisses against my knuckles.

"What . . . what happened?"

"I don't think now is the time, Bella."

"Edward, please." My voice sounds like a chain smoker's.

"Charlie and I have been working with the FBI to find you. We weren't about to give up, even though it seemed so hopeless. But then he slipped up, and we found you."

His words bounce around in my head—FBI, slipped up. I try to comprehend what he's saying.

"How?"

"He tried to abduct another girl, but . . . but she got away. The description she gave us led us to James Stevens."

"James Stevens?"

"Bella, I knew him. We were in medical school together."

His words cut through me.

"You, you knew him?"

I feel the bile creep up my throat. Panic makes its presence known.

"Bella, we shouldn't talk about this now. You need to heal, and this isn't going to help."

"I need to know."

"Bella, please."

I start to push the covers off me.

"What the hell are you doing? Bella, you're gonna get hurt. Please, love, get back in bed."

I push his pleading words aside and fight against the sluggishness that consumes my body.

"Bella, please."

My body breaks out in a cold sweat, my heart pounds in my chest, and my breathing becomes erratic again.

I need answers. If Edward won't help me, I will find someone who will.

"Damn it, Bella, stop being so fucking stubborn. Please, stay in bed."

"No."

I feel his arms wrap around me, and I flinch away from his closeness.

Edward stumbles back at my reaction.

My heart accelerates, ready to burst out of my chest.

Breathing is impossible.

I feel as though I'm losing control.

I begin to hyperventilate and desperately try to suck in any air I can.

My body rejects it.

Full blown panic consumes me.

He won.

I'm going to die, and it will be because of him after all.

Things begin to blur while the world turns on its axis and spins out of control.

I'm falling, the floor rushing faster to me than physically possible.

Edward catches me and cradles me in his arms.

He's shaking.

"Nurse! Nurse! Nurse!"

The vibrations rips through his chest and then into my body

Carmen flies into the room.

The incessant beeping muffles in the back ground.

I'm floating.

Edward carries me and gently puts me into bed.

The burn is back, stinging as it enters me.

Euphoria grabs ahold of me again.

I am weightless.

I feel nothing.

Then everything goes dark.

A/N: So, another piece of the puzzle, no? Let me know what you're thinking. See ya tomorrow!