Chapter 33: Tears of an Angel

BPOV

It all happened in a blur.

I wished I could have explained it better than I recalled, but there was no real recollection of a moment that tilts your world on its axis. I wished I could have remembered perfectly what happened. It was the adrenaline that caused the fuzziness I think.

I remembered pulling on Edward's shirt. If he hadn't been in a complete rage, he probably would have choked because I was pulling so hard.

But he didn't even know what was going on around him. All he knew was what was in front of his eyes, and that was Jacob, and he wanted to destroy him.

And he did.

I screamed for him to stop as loud as I could, but it was never loud enough. I was pulled away by various men, but I screamed and pushed and fought as hard as I could to get to him. If I helped him last time, I could help him again, right? Right?

I tried to tell myself that, but my common sense weighed in. There was no stopping him. I had never seen him in such a rage. This went way beyond his IED, I thought.

He was murderous.

I could hear the sound of fist hitting flesh. The sound of Jacob's cry and the sound of bone crunching under the hands of the man I loved. People pulled on Edward. They pulled and pulled, but he seemed to fight them off with no effort on his part.

"Edward STOP! Baby please!" I begged with him.

There were tears. I did recall those. Tears that choked me. It was like someone had their hand around my neck and pushed until I couldn't breathe anymore. Sobs tried to come up, but they just got stuck and I would start to shake. I tried to break free from the hands that bounded me, but I couldn't. I was too weak. I needed to get to him.

Finally someone grabbed Jacob out from under Edward and about five men had to hold Edward back.

"Get your fucking hands off of me!" Edward screamed.

"Let me go!" I yelled to the two men holding me back as well. I looked around for Emmett. Maybe he would help. I looked and saw that he was one of them men holding Edward back. "I can help him!" I screamed. Both men exchanged looks but still wouldn't let me go. "Get your fucking hands off of me!"

Edward's head whipped in my direction. Anger. Pure anger was there in place of my Edward. He didn't look like himself, and he didn't even look like Edward in the middle of an episode. He looked five times worse. He looked scary, but his green eyes looked right into mine and I couldn't forget that my Edward was in there. No matter how much those people thought he looked crazy. He wasn't.

"You better take your hands off of her right now!" He yelled at the two men beside me and they instantly let go; both of them afraid of him.

My arms ached from how hard they were holding me, but I wouldn't dare complain. With the way Edward was, there was no telling what he would do.

"Edward, you need to calm down." I said as calmly as I could.

Edward looked around at everyone with their eyes on him. Men were holding their women in their arms like they were protecting them from a monster. But he wasn't a monster! He was caring, funny, beautiful, unselfish, and just…perfect. I hated that I was the only one who saw that. Instead they saw a man who just beat the shit out another man that I personally thought deserved it.

"You all can fuck off now! The show's over." He said loudly and no one made a move. Edward kicked a chair out of his way in anger. "Stop fucking looking at me!"

"Edward! Stop." I said in warning.

He looked up at me, and stalked toward me. I involuntarily stepped back, and he grabbed onto my wrist. I swallowed down the small yelp I was going to let out because he gripped my wrist so tightly. He didn't mean to hurt me. He didn't.

He started to drag me towards the door, but Emmett stopped him with a hand to the chest. "Edward, I can't let you leave." Emmett's happy go-lucky face was gone. He was dead serious and he looked a little angry himself. There goes that friendship, I guess.

"What the fuck? You can't make me stay here."

"I can, and I will. The cops are on their way."

"No!" I said and got in between them.

Edward groaned and clutched onto his head with both of his hands. I felt relief when he let go of me. I never thought I would feel that way before…but it wasn't him. It wasn't.

"Yes, I can't let that shit go down in my place and let him go. I could lose my business."

I kept my eye on Edward. He had his hands in his hair and he was mumbling to himself. I turned back to Emmett.

"Please." I begged. "Please just let us go. You don't understand."

He shook his head. "I can't. He needs to stay here. I'll be in a shitload of trouble if I let a criminal leave my bar."

"A criminal? No, you don't understand. That guy threatened me and his little sister." I let out a shaky breath. "His baby sister. What would you have done if he threatened one of your children?"

"My children aren't a part of this." He snapped. Maybe I shouldn't have said that, but I was fighting for Edward. I needed him to see what I saw. Jacob fucking deserved that. He threatened Alice! "That's something the cops will have to sort out."

"Please! Emmett, if he gets arrested, they will take her away from him. That little girl, she worships him…she has no one else. They will take her away. Please…I'm begging you."

He looked affected by my words for a second, but the look on his face went away and was replaced again with the serious one that meant he meant business. "I'm sorry. You can take him to a back room or something, but I can't let him go. I'm thinking of my children right now, and I won't risk my business."

"Bella don't even bother fighting with him." Edward snapped.

I swallowed back the lump in my throat and my shoulders slumped. "Okay." My voice cracked. I covered my mouth and cleared my throat. "Can you just bring us to a room so I can…" I was going to say, 'say goodbye' but I couldn't. It would make it too real. There was no getting out of this situation. If I tried to make my way out with Edward, it would only make it worse. Edward's behavior was unpredictable.

"Sure." He said and turned, expecting us to follow.

I started walking and grabbed Edward's hand. Thankfully he just followed me without a fight. His hand was hot. His whole body was. I could feel the body heat radiating off of him. Emmett stopped at a back room and waved us in. I pulled Edward in and Emmett left us alone with a warning that we better not try to leave. I let go of Edward's hand and walked further into the room. I crossed my arms in front of me so I didn't hit something…or him. I felt the anger boil up inside of me. I wasn't going to lie, some of it was at Edward, but most of it was towards Jacob, Emmett, all those people out there, and whoever was directly responsible for all the suffering Edward had to go through. It wasn't fair. It was problem after problem and my poor Edward couldn't catch a break.

"Can you believe all of those people?" Edward asked.

I turned towards him and kept my arms crossed. I didn't want to take my anger out on him, but I didn't know if it was possible. He was the closest thing.

"What are you talking about?"

"Those people staring like idiots." His hands were shaking but he tried to stop it by rubbing his hands together.

Just looking at him anyone would have thought he was fine, maybe just a little shaken up over what had happened, but I knew better. It was in the way his shoulders were tense and his eyes were darker. The sweat on his face and his shaking hands were all a dead giveaway. He was having an episode. He was a live wire, basically.

"As if that fucking asshole didn't deserve everything he got and more…"

"What the hell were you thinking?" I seethed before I could even think about it. It was the anger. It was coming out in waves and I couldn't control it. I wondered if this was how Edward felt every time he had an episode. It was alarming.

"Are you fucking serious right now, Bella?" He asked as if what I said was completely invalid.

I got that he had IED, but he was able to control it before! Why couldn't he do it this time? We shouldn't have come here. How were we supposed to know? Of all places for Jacob to be on a Friday night, it had to be here? Now Edward was going to get arrested. His parents are suing for custody…holy fuck.

"I didn't need your help! I can take care of myself!" I screamed at him.

He looked shocked and took a couple steps toward me. "Are you really fucking yelling at me when I just defended you?"

I groaned and ran my hands through my hair. "Yes I am yelling at you because you made a really fucking stupid decision in there! Do you know what this means? The cops are on their way!"

"He won't press charges." He said and waved his hands as if it was obvious. I thought not.

"Edward, you beat the shit out of him and he hates you! Obviously he is going to press charges."

"He won't." He said, sounding just a little bit less sure of himself. He was in denial.

"How do you know? And don't fucking tell me you make sure of it or some shit like that."

"Oh I will make sure of it."

I felt like I was out of my body. I walked right up to him and grabbed onto the front of his shirt tightly and shook him. Tears already ready to fall. I was falling apart because I could see his life slowly falling apart in front of my eyes.

"Shut up! You will not do that." I yelled.

He growled angrily and ripped my hands off of him. "And so what if I did? You can't control what I do, Bella. Fuck." He turned from me and had his hands balled into fists at his side.

"I am trying to help you, you asshole. Excuse me if I love you and don't want you to be hurt."

He turned to look at me. He looked hurt along with angry. "And that doesn't go the same for me? I love you, and I try to protect you, and this is the shit I get from you? Fuck off, Bella."

It's not him. It's not him…"Don't talk to me like that." I said in barely a whisper because his words sliced through me so hard I could barely even breathe from the pain. Not just of his words, but of the whole situation. Every second that passed meant another second closer to them taking him away from me.

"Well stop bitching at me then!"

Despite my thoughts deep inside, I couldn't control my brain from reacting to what was right in front of me, and that was the love of my life potentially losing his baby sister. Someone so essential to his existence. I was angry. I wish I didn't take it out on him.

"Bitching? You think I am bitching at you? I am mad because I love you and I don't want you to have your sole reason for existing taken away from you!"

He covered his ears with the palm of his hands. "Shh…stop yelling. Alice is at home. She's at home."

"Edward…" I didn't think I could hurt this bad without actually dying. He was hurting so bad and he didn't even really know what was going on. He wasn't in his right mind. It wasn't him, but he still felt the pain and he didn't know what to do with it. He wanted to block it out.

He sucked in a breath through his teeth and gripped his head. "Fuck, what did you want me to do? Walk away after he put his hands on you?"

"You should have! I am far less important."

He let go of his head and glared at me. "Don't start that shit, Bella. Stop saying shit like that and don't blame yourself. Nothing can help me. I'm fucked."

I wanted to slap or shake him. One of the two. Or both. He never sees his worth. Ever. "Shut up, Edward. You're pissing me off."

He snorted and then laughed maniacally. "I'm pissing you off, really? How pissed do you think I am that I defended my girlfriend against a ridiculous excuse of a person, and then she yells at me for it? How pissed do you think I am right now?" He screamed.

I stepped back from the tone of his voice and by how much his eyes got darker. He was losing control…he didn't have it at first, but now it was worse.

"Everything is always fucking wrong!" His hands clenched and unclenched as he was trying to hide his shaking hands or stop them. It wouldn't work. He had not control of his body.

I couldn't yell at him anymore. I didn't want to in the first place. I walked up to him and put both of my hands on his face hoping he would calm down just a bit. "Baby, I know you love me, and I know you only did that to defend me, and thank you, but you really, really, shouldn't have done that, and you know it."

He pushed me away again. It seemed nothing would work for him in that moment. "You think it's so easy for me, Bella? Do you think it is easy for me to just turn off one part of my heart to salvage the other?" He screamed and hit his chest with each word for emphasis. I could see the tears in his eyes. It killed me. "No. You don't. You have no idea what I go through every single day of my miserable life, and stop trying to act like you do!"

There were a lot of things I wanted to say, and I also wanted to say nothing at all. "I'm not trying to do that, baby, I just want to help you."

He covered his face and groaned. He was breathing deeply, and I didn't say anything so I could give him some time. And then in an instant, the door was being broken down, and about four men were all over Edward. They grabbed him, and of course, out of instinct, Edward tried to get away.

"What the fuck?" He screamed.

"Sir, we are going to need you to calm down."

Edward wouldn't have any of that. He didn't know what he was doing and I saw him turn from semi-calm to absolutely enraged. His face was red and he fought and kicked to get away.

"Get your fucking hands off of me!" He seethed.

"Edward, stop! Just calm down, baby." I said hoping he would listen to me, but he didn't. He just fought harder until the four men took control of him and slammed him face first into the ground and my heart dropped at the sight. "Stop!" I screamed.

One of the men sat on his legs and a man had each of his arms pinned behind his back. Edward still tried to get away, but there was nothing he could have done. He yelled out when he tried to move but got nowhere. I covered my mouth to prevent making the inevitable worse. I just had to accept that there was literally nothing I could do for him at that point. He would be brought into jail and I would have to find a way to get him out, and find a way for him to keep Alice. Him keeping Alice was the most important thing.

The only man not holding him down roughly put handcuffs on his hands behind his back. The two men holding him down pulled him up and the third guy got up to hold the door open. I went to run after him, but the last police officer put his hand out. "Ma'am, we are going to need you to stay here for some questions."

"No you don't understand. I need to go with him." I said. I tried to get past him, but he put his hand out again.

"I'm sorry Miss, but I can't let that happen. You can go as soon as I am done questioning you." He sighed heavily.

"What is there to say? Yes Edward beat up Jacob Black, but it wasn't without reason. Jacob put his hands on me and indirectly threatened Edward's six year old sister."

"Is there anyone else who heard him threaten the child?" He asked.

"I don't know, but I heard him." Please don't tell me that they wouldn't take my word for it. I swore if Jacob got away with this with a slap on the wrist or some shit, I would never trust the justice system ever again.

"Okay, well why don't you come with me, I will get what I need for this questioning, and then you are free to go."

"Can I go see Edward?"

"Yes, but visiting hours are almost up, so you might not have much time."

"Do you think he will be in for long?"

He sighed. "Not sure, ma'am. Although, by the looks of Mr. Black. It won't be any time tonight."

I put my hand to my head trying to ease the ache, but it wouldn't go away.

I didn't think it would be going away any time soon.

I ran into the police station to the front desk.

The fucking police officer questioned me for about a half an hour. Way longer than I thought necessary, but I guess it had to be done. The man at the desk looked highly bored and slightly aggravated. Great. Just what I need right now.

"Excuse me, I was wondering if I could see my boyfriend?"

The police officer who asked me the questions said I could probably catch Edward before he had to go into a cell. I felt nauseous of him even being in one of those, but I just pushed that back. He said when they brought him there, they would have him in a holding room while they got all of the paper work done. According to the officer, there was no way they would let Edward go tonight.

He also said something that alarmed me the most.

Social services would go get Alice.

He said that would take a little while because they needed all of the paperwork to go through and be signed by all the right people first. I texted Bev just to ask her if they were done at the movies. I would not tell her over a text or phone call. She told me the movie had about a half an hour left, and then they were heading back to Edward's place. I figured that gave me enough time to go see Edward real quick to check on him, and then meet them there.

I didn't know much, but what I did know was that I would do everything in my power to make sure they did not take Alice away from Edward's home. There must be a way around it. There had to be. Maybe Bev had some ideas or connections. I didn't know, but all I knew was that I would fight for Alice and Edward with all I had.

"Name of your boyfriend, please?" The man asked.

"Edward Cullen."

He typed his name into the computer and looked up at me. "He is in holding. You will have to go sit over there and wait for an officer to come out and escort you in."

I nodded. "Okay thank you."

I walked over to the place where he told me to sit, and before I could even fully sit down, Bowman came walking out of a pair of doors. I guess he was called in by an officer or something when Edward was brought in. He looked disheveled and stressed out.

"Oh Bella, you're here." He said in relief. "Then I don't need to go find you."

"Bowman, what happened? Where is he?" I asked urgently. I was aching to see him. I needed to make sure he was okay.

He sighed. "You won't get to see him right now, Bella."

"What? Why not?"

"He is out of control. He's a danger to himself and others." He sighed and put a hand on my shoulder. "They have sedated him and placed him in solitary confinement."

I swallowed down the lump in my throat. I couldn't cry right now…I couldn't, but fuck if it didn't hurt me to hear that. They drugged him and placed him in a dark room all by himself. He was all alone and oblivious to what was going on because he was obviously still having an episode if he was trying to punch an officer.

"How long will he be there?"

He shrugged. "There is no way of knowing. The paper work is on its way to a judge right now to find out when a trial will be. His parents are already on their way."

"Wait, what?" I asked loudly.

"Now don't worry about that right now." He said calmly. How could he be calm? "They won't get Alice if that is what you are thinking. They need to be here to sign some papers. There is a very good chance that this custody trial will be pushed up to an earlier date."

I pinched the bridge of my nose with my fingers and tried to take a calm and soothing breath, but I was delusional if I thought something like that would have helped me. I couldn't even think straight. It seemed everything that could have gone wrong, did. I couldn't take it.

"How early?" I asked. "The officer said they will be coming for Alice. Is there anything you can do about that?"

"I don't know how early, but I will let you know as soon as I know and I'm so sorry, but that is out of my control. Alice is under the guardianship of Edward, and since he is incarcerated right now, she needs to go somewhere."

"Yes, but what about me? Or Bev! Bev should have some kind of legal tie to her right?" I couldn't see why Edward wouldn't do something like that to ensure Alice had someone to stay with when he wasn't around. Like a God-mother or something.

"In any other case, she could stay with Bev, but since there is a custody battle going on…I'm sorry…there is nothing I can do. You can try to talk with the social worker when they arrive, but that will be your last resort."

I nodded my head in understanding. Between me and Bev, we would make it happen. Alice would want to stay with us. How could a social worker not see that? "Okay, well call me if there is anything new."

"I will." I nodded and turned to leave, but he called me back. I turned towards him. "What?"

"He's really bad right now. I don't think I have ever seen him that deep into an episode. This won't be easy. I just want you to know that. I don't want you to get false hope."

"Don't you dare say that again." I said warningly and walked closer to him. "You are his fucking lawyer, now do your job. I don't care how it has to be done, but just get it done. He cannot lose Alice because of this. He just can't. So I am going to hope, and so are you. We can't give up on him. He needs us."

Bowman nodded his head, looking intimidated by my words. Good, because Edward didn't need people doubting him or the situation. It was like me and Edward talked about. Alice belonged with him. That was the truth. No one could deny the truth.

That's the mindset Edward and I wanted to have, and I wouldn't let it go for anything. Since Edward wasn't able to help himself at the moment…I would help him.

When I walked into his apartment, I was struck by how everything was the same. That sounds a little weird, but that is what I felt.

I turned the light on, and everything was silent throughout the place. Alice's shoes were on the ground by the door. The little pink sneakers looked well worn and I thought maybe I could buy her some new ones. There were some bills on an end table and a spelling test with a B+ on the top in red ink.

I walked further into the house and into the kitchen. I turned the light on, and there was a box of Cheez-Its on the kitchen table and of course a few dishes in the sink. Edward said there had to be a ten dish limit before he would actually do them. There were only three so I did them really quick. I straightened up the kitchen as best I could. I didn't think of anything. I let my mind shut down for the time being. I would go back into salvation mode once Alice and Bev got back. There was nothing I could do right then except clean the kitchen for Edward when he came home. I was sure he would appreciate it.

After I was done in the kitchen, I went into the living room. There was a puzzle on the floor and a coloring book on the coffee table. I sat on the ground in front of the coloring books and looked at the pages that were open. I smiled slightly when I saw the picture of a monkey colored in all different colors and the words that were so Alice on the side of it.

Ecy the big smelly monkey

I could see Edward rolling his eyes at her. I could see him sitting next to her and tickling her in 'punishment' when he really just wanted to see her smile and laugh. He would tell her she was mean and tease her a bit, but I know he would save it. I once came across a box in his closet that was filled with all things related to Alice. He looked a little embarrassed when he saw I found it, but I told him not to because it was the sweetest thing ever. He claimed he wasn't sweet, but he was. He just didn't flaunt it much.

I set the coloring book back on the coffee table and looked around at the rest of the room. Everything looked so normal and so right. It was definitely a home that was filled with love. The random coloring pages taped to the wall and the little and big shoes by the door were proof enough. It was crazy thinking that everything was essentially the same, but completely different at the same time. I wouldn't want to change that apartment for anything. This was their apartment and it would remain that way forever.

I heard keys in the door. They are here.

I got up quickly and ran to the door to greet them. Bev still didn't know. She had asked when we had texted before if everything was alright, and I just told her I would tell her later. I couldn't ruin her night with Alice, especially not through a text or a phone call. She deserved to learn it face-to-face.

When she opened the door, I saw her holding a sleeping Alice over her shoulder, and she looked a little tired and out of breath holding her. I reached for her right away and took her in my arms. She didn't move of course because she was a known deep sleeper. She just sighed softly and remained asleep on my shoulder. I turned from Bev, but I caught the look on her face. I could tell she already knew. Not the details, but she wasn't stupid. She knew that if I was here, Edward would have undoubtedly been here with me if he could have been. But he couldn't.

I brought Alice to her room. I nearly broke down when I saw a new picture on her bedside table. It was a picture of me, her, and Edward laying out on the floor in their living room. I remembered the day perfectly. We were having a lazy Sunday, and Alice wanted to watch a movie. We all sat on the couch together and watched it, but you couldn't put Alice and Edward together without there being some kind of conflict. He kept on flicking her ear. She wanted to sit on my lap, so I thought he was a little jealous. Well anyway, it ended in a wrestling match between the two of them, and then I somehow got involved and we ended up on the floor. We stayed down there for a while and just talked and joked with each other. Alice saw I brought my camera and insisted that we take a picture.

It was my all time favorite picture. Alice had her arm around my neck and her other hand over Edward's scrunched up and smiling face when he tried to give her a kiss on the cheek. It was the most dysfunctional yet perfect picture ever. I didn't even know that Edward had it printed, let alone put it on Alice's bedside table, but the gesture meant a lot to me.

I placed her gently onto the bed and kissed the top of her head. She snuggled into her pillow and I pushed her hair out of her face. She looked a lot like Edward. She was beautiful of course. Although they looked alike, they were beautiful in their own way. I was glad she was sleeping. At least she was protected from what was really going on around her for a while. Even if just for the night.

I went out to Bev, and she was standing by the couch. She looked like she was thinking intently about something or about someone and I didn't even have to guess to who it was. It was obvious.

"What happened, Bella?" She asked.

I walked past her and pulled her to sit with me on the couch. It would be better if she sat down. She was still breathing heavy from having to carry Alice all the way up the stairs.

"We went to a bar to see a comedy show. There was a guy there, you know that guy Jacob that we told you about?"

"Oh no…" She said, already knowing what was coming.

"He touched me and made an inappropriate comment about Alice, and Edward…he just snapped." My voice cracked. It was something about having Bev around that just made me want to let everything out, like with Bev around, everything would be okay if I did. Unfortunately this time, Bev looked like she wanted to join me. "He fought him and it was really bad. He beat him up pretty badly and I wouldn't be surprised if the guy is in the hospital right now."

"You don't know for sure?"

I shook my head. "No one told me. Everything just happened so fast."

"He's in jail right now isn't he?" She asked.

I nodded my head and bit my lip. It didn't work. I put my hands over my face and a sob escaped me. "They sedated him, Bev. He's all alone in there…"

She pulled me to her chest and I held onto her tight. "Shhh…sweets. I'm sure he's okay. He's a strong boy."

I pulled away. "But Bev, you don't understand. I blew up at him! I screamed at him and blamed him but it technically isn't his fault! He can't control it but why does he have to do this?"

"Honey, it's okay if you let your anger out. He knows you love him. You have a right to be frustrated. Don't beat yourself up for that, alright? You know he wouldn't want that for you right now if he was in his right state of mind." I couldn't believe Bev was able to comfort me when I was sure that she was probably about to fall apart herself.

"I know, but I didn't even tell him I loved him before they took him away. We always promised to tell each other we loved each other before leaving and I didn't do that."

She put a hand on my back. "It's okay, sweets. He probably won't even remember."

"I know but still…now he's all alone."

She sighed and wiped a tear from her eye. "What about Shortcake?"

I let out a shaky breath. "Bowman says they will take her until the trial. They have moved up the custody trial for an emergency I guess."

"You mean social services are coming here to take Alice away?" She asked almost in a panic.

"The officer said they would, but there is no way of knowing when. It could be tonight tomorrow or a couple days from now depending on how everything goes with the courts I guess."

Bev got up from the couch and paced in front of me. It was the first time I actually saw Bev scared, and that alarmed me more than I could explain. She always had everything under control and now she didn't. If it alarmed me, I couldn't even imagine how she felt.

"We need to think about something to do. I have a friend who works for social services; maybe I can get him to postpone it or something. I don't know."

"I was thinking, and Bowman said it might work, that we tell the social worker that we will keep her until the trial. She obviously would want to stay with us, and if she told them that, then they might be lenient, right?" I realized how invalid it sounded when it actually came out of my mouth, but it was still a possibility, and there was no way I wouldn't try it.

"I don't know what I am going to do. If they come here, I will try and talk them down. I am listed as Alice's second caretaker on all of her medical records and at the school. They should take that into account, and if they don't, I have a lot of money I can give them. I will give them whatever I can. We will not let them take that girl from this house. She doesn't need to stay in an orphanage or whatever waiting for a trial to begin when she has perfectly capable guardians here. That just doesn't make any sense. Yes…I will talk to them and we will make this happen…" She continued talking in her rant. I think she mostly talked to calm herself down and reassure herself. I listened for the same reason.

She continued speaking, and my concentration was on her and her plans until there was a sound of a door opening down the hall and little feet running into the living room. I turned immediately, my heart in my throat as I looked at her. She tripped at the end of hallway and fell down. She caught herself with her hands and remained on the floor. It didn't take me long to notice she was crying. She must have had a nightmare or something when I felt like I was living one.

How am I supposed to tell this little girl that she may not see her brother for a long time?

I didn't think I was capable of it.

I got up from the couch and ran for her. I knelt down beside her and rubbed her back as she cried. "Alice? Are you okay, honey?" I asked.

At the sound of my voice, her face whipped up to look at me. "Bella? What are you doing home?" I was about to answer, but she interrupted me. "Where's Ecy? I n-need him."

I looked over at Bev and she had her hands over her face to hide her tears. I couldn't expect her to do it all on her own. I was practically a part of this family now so that meant I had to help out as much as I could. I looked back at Alice, her shining eyes caused a pain in my chest when I knew the amount of pain I would see in them in a couple of seconds.

"Alice, honey…Edward isn't here right now."

"Where is he? I have to talk to him. I didn't get to call him before I went to sleep and I had nightmares! I have to call him."

I ran my hand through her hair. "Edward isn't coming back tonight."

Edward had told me he always wanted to be honest with her. This was as honest as I could get. Sugar-coating it wouldn't work.

"Where did he go?" She asked. She sniffled and tried to hold her tears back. She was trying to be strong.

"He…he…"

"Alice." Bev said to get her attention. She walked over to us and sat down on the floor beside us. "Your brother got really angry, and the police men got mad, so they made him stay with them."

"Like last time when he had to sleep in nasty jail?" Alice asked.

"Yes, Shortcake." Bev said sadly.

"Will he be home tomorrow?" She asked, looking at the both of us back and forth desperately. She wanted us to tell her something that would ease her little troubled mind and heart, but we had nothing.

"No, sweetheart." I said.

She looked at me and her breathing picked up. "No…no! He promised me! He said that he would come back after a date night! He promised me. He said I wouldn't miss him, but I do! I miss him and I want him to come home right now!" She said stubbornly with a stomp of her foot on the ground.

"Alice there is nothing we can do." I said and rubbed her back.

She shook her head. "No, no, no, no…" she repeated over and over again.

"Alice. Honey, please stop."

She got up from the ground and pushed against my chest with her little hands. "No! You can't tell me what to do!"

"Alice Millicent Cullen do not hit Bella again." Bev warned her in a tone I never heard her use with Alice, but Alice didn't look phased at all

She stomped her feet in a traditional tantrum, and I honestly couldn't blame her. I felt so bad for her. "Alice, just calm down pretty girl…everything will be okay." I said.

"No it won't! Last time Ecy went to jail they took me away! I didn't see him for a lot of days and it wasn't fair!"

"Alice, you need to calm down honey." Bev said.

Our main goal was to calm her down because she was getting herself worked up, and it scared me a little when I saw her hands shaking and the quick gasps for breath she was making as her little body tried to keep up with her haywire emotions. She was breaking my heart to pieces.

She looked between the two of us, and then ran to the door. I got up right after her and caught up with her when she reached the door and her hand was on the door knob.

I pulled her back against me and she kicked and screamed. "Alice! Stop!"

"Let me go! I need to find Ecy! ECY!" She screamed as if he could hear her.

If he could have heard her, he would have found a way to get to her. The misery and desperation was too much for me to bear, never mind how Edward would feel.

"Alice stop!" I said and Bev tried to hold her legs down as she kicked around. She stopped screaming and instead just tried to get away from us. She was fighting and fighting hard for him.

Everything took a complete turn when there was knocking at the door. Bev and I instantly looked at each other and could just sense who it was. Bev let go of Alice's legs and gently pushed me towards the hallway.

"Take her in Edward's room! I will talk to them, okay?"

I nodded and ran with Alice to Edward's room. I brought her to Edward's bed and pulled the covers back. I pulled her so she was looking at me, but she stopped fighting. Instead she was just crying silently and sadly.

"Alice, you are going to have to listen to me. Don't be too loud, okay?"

She nodded her head. "I'm sorry, Bella. I just want my Ecy…that's all. I just want him to tell me goodnight. That's all."

I pulled her to me and laid down with her. She held onto me tightly and silently cried into my chest. "I know, angel, I know. I know for a fact that Edward wants to see you too, but sometimes things happen and…"

"You can't always get what you want." She finished for me. "Ecy always tells me that."

I tried to listen for what was going on in the other room, but we were too far away. I decided to not focus on that, and instead focus on the little girl that I held so tightly. I would hold onto her for as long as I could for Edward.

"Your brother loves you more than anything, Alice."

"Ecy's my bestest friend in the whole entire world."

"I know."

"I don't want him to be in jail, Bella." She sobbed.

"I know, honey, I know."

"He's never coming home is he?" She asked between cries.

"Not tonight."

"Do you think they give him blankets in jail?"

I heard footsteps getting closer to the room and I didn't think my pain could have gotten worse.

They were going to take her.

"I think so." I choked out.

"Good, good. Ecy likes lots of blankets. He gets mad if I take them from him."

"I know."

Closer and closer they came. I could hear Bev begging them. This couldn't be happening.

"They need to check his sugar. That's important." She said.

A halt of the footsteps. They were outside the door.

"Alice. Please remember that your brother loves you so much, okay?" I said.

"I know that, Bella."

"I know, but you need to remember that, okay? He loves you more than anything. I love you, and so does Bev."

"I love you too, Bella."

"We will make you happy, okay?"

She nodded. "Okay."

I held her closer to me and I didn't want to let go. Alice was the last and most important part of Edward that I had. If I let her go, that would mean I was also letting go of half of the love of my life. He couldn't live completely happy with her gone from his life, and he would hate to know that she wasn't sleeping in her bed while he was away. It would kill him to think that. He needed her happy all the time. I would find a way to make that happen, but at that moment, nothing was in my control.

They came in. There were three of them. A woman with red hair and a business suit, and two men dressed casually with her. Bev came in after them and she was quietly sobbing to herself.

The woman walked over to us and Alice looked up at her. "Alice is it?" The woman asked.

Alice looked over at Bev for assurance that she could talk to the woman, but she saw Bev crying and she got distracted.

"Bev! Don't cry!" She said. She reached over for Bev, but Bev couldn't have gone to her. One; they probably wouldn't have let her, and two; she wouldn't have been able to let go either.

"Alice, my name is Ms. Marshall. Now I am going to have to ask you to come with me, sweetie."

She looked over to me in a panic. "They are taking me away."

I couldn't answer her. I just pulled her to my chest and held onto her tightly. The woman gave a look to the men, and they both went to grab for Alice. I held onto her as much as I could, but it wasn't enough against the two men. They both got a hold of her, but she wouldn't let go of me. I probably had scratches on my neck from her fingernails, but I didn't care.

"No! No please don't make me go! Please!" She screamed.

One of the men got her arms from around my neck and they pulled her away. She was no longer in my arms. "Remember what I told you, angel." I said to her, swallowing the lump in my throat, and trying to block out her cries because they hurt me so badly.

"No! Bev! Bella! Help me! Don't let them take me away! Please! I'll be good! I promise!" She screamed. "I don't want to go away!"

The men had her in their arms and they brought her out of the room. I got up from the bed because I wanted to make sure they got her in the car safely, and I tried to reassure her as much as I could.

"Alice! Please calm down, honey. Everything will be fine, okay? Remember what I said."

"Please Bella! Please!"

"I love you Alice." I said weakly.

What else was there to say? Nothing I said to her would ease her mind, and nothing I said would change theirs. I was helpless. Lost. Defeated. I didn't fight hard enough. Edward's sister had been taken out of my arms. Who knew where she would sleep tonight. She would be alone just like her brother. It killed me to think that the two most amazing and perfect people would have such horrible things happen to them. When they got her out of the apartment, I tried to walk back to Edward's room, but I couldn't make it. Instead I ran to the bathroom and let everything that was inside my stomach, out.

I rinsed my mouth and didn't even bother with the tears. I sat down on the ground in front of the sink and brought my knees to my chest. I could hear Bev crying to herself softly in the room down the hall and that completely broke me down. The tears fell, the sobs overtook my body, and my heart broke piece by piece.

I didn't know what would happen next. I didn't know what I should have done in the present. I didn't know what really happened to our lives that night.

All I knew was the pain.

The pain of knowing that everything was all of a sudden fucked up.

Everything.

Cover my eyes,
Cover my ears,
Tell me these words are a lie.
It can't be true,
That I'm losing you.
The sun cannot fall from the sky.
Can you hear heaven cry?
Tears of an angel.

Tears of an Angel, by RyanDan

Alright, now, I am sure that must have been hard for you all, but understand that this is hard for me too. This chapter took a lot out of me and I stressed out a lot over it. You can even ask Alexa.

But here it is, and I really hope that you all won't give up on me. If any of you have read any of my other stories, you know I believe in HEAs. That's all I am going to say about that.

Big thanks to Alexa once again for her help on this chapter. I went to her freaking out because this chapter had so much weight to it, and it was hard to handle at times, but she helped me through, and I can't say how much that meant to me. Love you!

I'll update next chapter ASAP.

Thanks so much to everyone who reads, recs, reviews, or whatever you can think of for this story…it means a lot.

Please review…it will mean some great inspiration for the next chapter. Thank you.