Disclaimer: Characters, (except the ones I create) belong to Stephenie Meyers. Lucky lady.

AN: Thank you so very very much for your response. I've tried to incorporate a few of your ideas into this chapter. Either way, without your reviews, this chapter wouldn't be what it is today. So thank you and please keep it up!

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Trafficking

Chapter 35

BPOV

"Bella, how could you even say that? Of course we're not upset with you. This is so exciting. You're developing a power!"

I was flat on my back staring up at the surprisingly powerful pixie who was now straddling me. I could only laugh at her childlike exuberance. Alice's eyes darkened for a moment, and the mood sobered.

"The question is can you ever forgive me? I'm so sorry. I didn't see anything until it was too late. I tried calling as soon as I saw it but no one was answering their phone. I figured I was too late. I'm so sorry Bella."

Alice still hadn't moved from her spot atop me, and had she not been so seriously depressed in her words, I would have laughed at the situation.

"Alice, really. It's most definitely not your fault. It was bound to happen. I'm just glad it was an animal and not something worse."

I smiled up at her trying to convince her that I really didn't blame her for anything. She is in no way responsible for my actions, ever. I am.

Seeing me smile caused a grin to spread across Alice's pale face and I poked her in the ribs trying to get her to move. I wanted to sit up. Alice got the message and gracefully leapt off of me, landing steadily on her feet.

I sat up and straightened my shirt. "So, am I deemed safe enough to leave the room?"

Instantly I regretted my words as I saw Edward grimace and shake his head. I had meant it as a joke, making fun of myself. I snaked one of my arms through his, enjoying the feeling of smoothing muscle beneath his thin shirt.

He kept his head bent and his low. "Promise me you won't refer to yourself in that manner. You aren't dangerous."

I pulled myself closer into him. "I promise."

Edward thoughtfully kissed me on the top of my head, nestling his lips in my hair for a few moments before I heard him groan. The vibrations tickled my scalp and I wiggled out of his arms to get away form the uncomfortable sensations.

"Edwaaard."

He laughed and grinned. "I'm sorry love, but the impatient thoughts of those downstairs are becoming quite irritating…and vulgar. Emmett is trying to force us out of the room with his dirty thoughts."

I stifled back a laugh. Now it was my turn to laugh at Edward's expense.

"I guess we shouldn't keep them waiting." I turned to Carlisle and Alice. "We wouldn't want poor Edward's innocent mind to be filled with improper thoughts and images."

It was nice to have Dad and Alice laugh with me, even if Edward was scowling in the corner. I took him by the hand and pulled him to the door and down the stairs, only to find myself stopping halfway, the fluttering of butterflies in my stomach immobilizing me. Edward sensed my apprehension and gently squeezed my shoulders in support.

I stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, all eyes on me. I hated being the center of attention, it made me very uncomfortable. I decided I needed to break the silence.

"Hi everyone." The tension in the room instantly melted and Esme flew at me wrapping her small yet strong arms around my entire body.

"Oh Honey. I was so worried. No one had any idea what was going on. You just – oh." She pulled me into a hug that could have rivaled one of Emmett's death grips.

"Mom," I gasped, my breath squeezed out of me. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

"Don't apologize dear. I'm just glad your okay." She pushed me back and held me at arms length, peering over me carefully as if to inspect my body for any signs of damage. I scoffed. As if Dad didn't already do that.

"So um…what happened." Leave it to Jasper to go in for the kill. I'm sure the varied emotions running rampant throughout the room was making him very uncomfortable. I looked to Dad, I would rather him explain this then me. He would phrase it so much more eloquently and I don't think I could get through retelling everything again without breaking.

Dad ran a hand through his pale blonde hair and smiled at me. "Why don't we all have a seat?" He gestured to the couches and I claimed a spot between the armrest and Edward.

"Where to begin," Dad hummed under his breath. "Well, to put it bluntly, Bella's power has developed. Or, well…is developing. I won't be able to say exactly what it is until I can observe more, but we do know it is more of a defensive power. It works out of intense emotion. Bella is mentally able to incapacitate whatever her emotion is directed at, mentally locking both of them. Neither is able to move until the object's of Bella's emotion, most likely anger, is killed. At this time we now that using the power drains Bella tremendously. "

Carlisle hesitated, studying everyone's face. He looked over to Edward who nodded at him. I hated their silent conversations.

"We really don't know much, this is all very new."

Edward gripped my hand protectively. "Let's just take it one day at a time."

AnPOV

I ended up spending the night in the purple room. Turns out there was new VIP at the establishment tonight with potential plans to make a very big investment.

James stopped showing up once Bella disappeared. I will never be able to burn the image from my mind of his angry face when he discovered Bella was gone. He threw a fit, yelled at Misha and never came back. Misha was beside himself for a while, worried that Bella would alert authorities to the underground business he was running. But weeks passed and the authorities never came, and the appearance of a new VIP placated his temper. I hadn't met him yet. He hadn't been upstairs with any of the girls yet and Misha had been punishing me with working upstairs every night.

I had begun to think that I had been forgotten in the sad, worn down purple room. I knew that it was no longer night, for I had managed to sleep – well more like give in to unconsciousness. My stomach grumbled, complaining about the absence of food, the sharp pains keeping my mind awake and aware.

But being aware gave me the ability to think, it allowed my mind to wander. What I wanted most was to free myself from here and run. Run until I could find my parents and throw myself in their arms, apologizing relentlessly. Beg for their forgiveness, plead for their love. I would most likely never go back to being their baby girl, I was too wizened, too unclean for that. But I could go back to being Ann Johnson, loving daughter of Mark and Sue Johnson.

I pulled at the knots in my tangled blonde hair. If I had a mirror with me, I know I would be disgusted with my reflection. I bet my parents wouldn't even recognize me if they say me right now. My once fair and even skin was pasty and mottled with hidden bruises and scars. My hair used to be blonde, envied by my friends. Now it lay at my shoulders, yellowed and curling like an old newspaper. I inherited my sparkling blue eyes from my father, but they were now dull, lusterless, sad.

The slamming of the door against the wall pulled me from my self-induced pity party. My heart thudded anxiously in my chest when I realized it was Misha in the doorway.

"Up," he grunted.

I couldn't get up. My sore muscles had stiffened overnight, I could barely lift my arm up, let alone lift my entire body.

Misha took three long angry strides, positioning himself directly over my shaking form. He bent down, grabbed part of my shirt and yanked me up.

"I said up." You have work. A special guest."

My head spun from being pulled into an upright position so quickly and Misha's evil cackling got pushed into the rest of the background noise as the roaring in my ears intensified. I stumbled, my legs not working properly as I was dragged back to my room. Misha threw me next to my trunk, my knees stinging as they came into contact with the hard floor. A cry of pain passed through my chapped lips and I mentally berated myself for being weak.

I looked up at Misha who was once again standing above me, arms crossed. The room was silent except for Misha's gravely orders. The other girls just stared, not brave enough to say anything, too curious to look away. It wasn't every day Misha was in the girls' room, scrutinizing every detail of one of his 'employees'.

"Get dressed. Wear something…nice." I tired to pull open the heavy lid of my trunk but struggled with the weight. Misha pushed me out of the way, throwing the lid open and shuffling through my things for a few moments before finding something he was happy with.

It was a sheer black dress, simple and plain, yet it still disgusted me. It was thrown in my face and Misha laughed as I clawed at it.

"Put it on. No bra, no panties."

Numb to any embarrassment, I stripped in the middle of the room, hissing as the dress brushed past tender areas.

Misha gave me a quick look over. "Good enough."

Not caring about my pain, he pulled my through the house, all the way to one of the private rooms. Before pushing me inside, he grabbed my face in his sweaty hands, looking me straight in the eye.

"Don't do anything to fuck this up. This guy is worth much more than James. He and I have agreed to a special arrangement."

Placing his hand on the doorknob, Misha turned back to me with one last instruction. "And whatever you do, don't make him angry. Now's not the time to be difficult, doll."

I shuddered as he stroked my cheek before ushering me inside the room and shutting the door behind me. Glancing around, I found the new customer lounging in an armchair in a corner of the room. The room was dimly lit, but that didn't stop my heart from beating furiously against my chest, accelerated by fear. I couldn't make out much of his face or his features, but his eyes. Oh god, those eyes. They practically glowed. They were a blazing red and watching my every move.

BPOV

I was beginning to feel more comfortable around my family. They had done everything in their power to assure me of their love.

"Who's up for a rousing game of baseball? Alice, what do you think?" Emmett wiggled his eyebrows at the pixie with an abundance of enthusiasm.

Baseball? Why would Emmett need to ask Alice? I was intrigued to say the least.

Alice's eyes glazed over and she stilled. Her visions were perhaps the only time she sat still, it was odd to see her not moving.

A grin slowly spread across her face as she emerged from her vision. "We're in luck. It's going to storm in half an hour."

"Sweet!" Emmett jumped up from his feet, fist pumped in the air. I was confused. Why were we going to play baseball during a storm? Wasn't it supposed to be the other way around?

Edward chuckled at my puzzled expression and I swatted his arm. "Always laughing at my expense."

Edward kissed the top of my head and wrapped an arm around my shoulder. "I'm sorry, love. But your face was priceless. I didn't realize we didn't tell you about our special baseball yet."

I cringed. "Special baseball?"

"Well, we aren't exactly normal, Bella. You'll just have to wait and see why we play during a storm though." Edward turned, very animatedly to the rest of the family.

"Is everyone up for a game?"

There was a chorus of affirmation and the throwing of multiple sets of keys, and I found Edward leading me to the garage. Him and I, along with Emmett and Rosalie were going to be taking Emmett's monstrosity of a Jeep to wherever it was we were going to play baseball. I was surprisingly nervous. I knew physically I could keep up with the family now, but the thought of trying my hand at this special baseball with them still unnerved me a little. Unconsciously, I squeezed Edward's hand tighter in hopes of easing my apprehension.

Edward through his head back and laughed a hearty chuckle. "Don't worry love. You can be on my team."

I raised an eyebrow at him questioningly. "You've got quiet an ego there, Edward. Besides, who said I wanted to be on your team."

Sometimes I swear Edward could read my mind with how perceptive he was of me. I hoped my uncharacteristic remark would throw him off.

Emmett whooped his approval from the front seat and Rosalie smacked his head. "Eyes on the road! You don't want to ruin another Jeep! I refuse to fix the next one."

Ignoring Rosalie's remark, but with both eyes on the road – more like dirt trail – Emmett continued to tease Edward.

"You tell him Bella. Little Eddie's team hasn't won in years. If you actually want to win, you come play on my team."

We all got a good laugh at the playful, yet competitive banter between Edward and Emmett.

Just when I was beginning to think Emmett was lost and to macho to say anything the trees abruptly thinned to a large clearing, dark clouds billowing head. Mom, Dad, Jasper and Alice were already in the middle of the field tossing a baseball back and forth.

Contrary to what I had said in the car, I really did want to be on Edward's team and told him so as teams were being picked. I knew this was just a game of baseball with the family but I couldn't bear the thought of being separated from my protector.

Our team was batting first. Edward stepped out to the plate while Dad and I waited patiently behind him. He stood at the plate for a few minutes but didn't raise the bat. What was he waiting for?

"Edw-"

Edward shushed me and we went back to standing in silence. I turned to Dad, looking for an answer but he only smiled at me. Thirty seconds later a huge clap of thunder shook the skies above and Edward raised the bat. I held back a giggle at the silliness of it all. After all that waiting, I had expected something a lot more momentous than thunder to happen.

Of course, I lost all want to laugh when I heard the nose the collision of the bat and ball created. Wow.

Edward made it to third base and mom declared him safe. I lifted the metal bat with ease and waiting for the pitch, hitting it, but not as far as Edward. Cautious, I only ran to first. Inning after inning flew by. Who knew I would actually enjoy baseball so much.

We were up to bat again with a tied score, when Edward swung and surprisingly missed the first pitch. The same thing happened with the second pitch. Emoting were beginning to escalate. Edward was getting frustrated, Emmett was beginning to annoy me and the rest of the family tensed.

I felt a shallow and tentative wave of calm brush past me, but it didn't do much to help. Before I could even grab him, Edward dropped the bat and pounced on Emmett mid-taunt. Emmett screamed unexpectedly like a small child as he hit the ground. The whole family erupted into chaos.

I was quickly becoming anxious with the disorder around me. Families weren't supposed to act like this! We were having fun, and now we were fighting. All I wanted was Edward, I needed to feel his arms wrapped around me.

Another wave of calm floated towards me but I pushed it away. Couldn't Jasper see that I didn't need that, that I just needed Edward?

"Edward," I desperately tried called to him but he didn't hear me amidst his wrestling match with Emmett. I looked around for Dad, finding his bright hair like a beacon in the dark. Unfortunately, he was all the way on the other side of the field.

I sank into a sitting position, not caring that I would ruin the clothing Alice had brought for me. Worried, Jasper sank to his knees in front of me, once again trying to calm me and still my anxiety. I tried to push him away, he was blocking my view of Edward and to be quite honest, his emotions weren't helping. In fact, they were making me feel worse. It was draining trying to fight them.

"Bella, try to calm down."

I tried to stop myself, but my brain was a second too late. Like so many times before I looked Jasper in the eye, except instead of those pools of gold bringing me comfort like every time before I was terrified. Unable to stop what I knew was coming, I cried out in warning to my brother, but it was futile. Like any other traumatic event, everything seemed to be moving in painfully slow motion. We locked eyes and all hope was lost.

AN: Review please. That's all I ask.

-lmbrtvll