A/N Short couple of chapters ahead. I hope to be able to post the futuretake faster than this. Now off to see Harry Potter!

Chapter 37

Edward Pov

September 5th, 2011

I pulled up my pants and flushed the toilet, turning towards the sink to wash my hands. Glancing in the mirror above the sink, I analyzed my disheveled appearance. I ran a wet hand through my messy hair and sighed when it stuck out in every direction possible. I needed a haircut badly. Again. It had only been about three weeks since the last time I had cut my hair, and I was already starting to resemble Cousin Itt. Sometimes, it still amazed me how fast the fucker was growing.

I turned the water off and wiped my hands on a towel before turning around and exiting the bathroom. Lazily, I made my way back to Isabella's bedroom.

She was sitting on the floor, cross-legged, her luggage opened in front of her.

"That's all?" I asked surprised, walking towards her bed to sit down. We were supposed to head to the airport early the next morning, and I was spending the night at her house.

"Yeah." She shrugged, not looking at me as she went through her cosmetic bag to make sure she had everything she needed. "Why?"

"You packed light," I said, lying onto my back with my arms folded under my head.

"Well, we'll only be there for two days, so…"

"Mmhmm," I murmured in agreement, closing my eyes. "Are you nervous?"

I heard her sigh. "Extremely. I just want James to get what he deserves."

"He will," I assured her, despite the fact that I wasn't so sure myself.

We remained silent as she countinued with what she was doing, and I started dozing off.

"Kids!" Chief's muffled voice came from downstairs, sobering me up. "Dinner is ready!"

I groaned, rubbing my hands over my face roughly. "Jesus. I don't want to eat the food he made."

"Don't be rude," Isabella admonished, zipping her luggage. "He's just trying to do something nice for us."

"Still…" I muttered. "Can't we just order pizza or something?"

I felt the mattress sink as she sat down next to me. Opening my eyes, I saw she was staring me down. "No," she said firmly. "You eat or you starve. Your choice."

I frowned, taking hold of her hips to pull her on top of me. "When did you get so mean?" I murmured playfully, trailing small kisses down her neck.

She smiled and was about to answer when Chief called again, "Bells! Edward!"

"We're coming!" I yelled back, pecking Isabella's lips once before letting go of her.

She got to her feet, extending her hand for me to take. We made our way downstairs at a leisurely pace and entered the kitchen where Chief was setting the table. He had on one of Isabella's flower aprons, and I had to bite back a laugh. He definitely looked… interesting to put it mildly.

"What do we have for dinner?" Isabella inquired, taking a seat. I could see the amusement in her eyes as she gave her father the once over.

"Pasta." Chief beamed proudly, placing a steaming bowl on the table in front of us.

"Yum," I said sarcastically as I sat down, gaining a deathly glare from Isabella.

"You didn't have to cook, Dad," she said sweetly, redirecting her attention to him. "You know I don't mind doing it."

He shrugged, taking off the apron and tossing on the back of his chair as he joined us. "I gotta learn to do it properly eventually. Everything has a start, right?"

She nodded. "Right."

"Come on," he urged, clasping his hands. "Dig in."

Isabella grabbed the bowl first while I eyed it suspiciously. She put some pasta on her plate and started eating, ignoring the apprehensive glances I was throwing her way.

I sighed, grabbing the bowl and following her example. Mentally, I said a short prayer, asking God not to let me die of food poisoning, and dug in.

"So?" Chief asked, looking between us expectantly. "Opinions?"

"It's great, Dad," Isabella said, swallowing thickly and plastering a fake smile on her face.

He grinned at his daughter. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Edward?"

I looked up at him like a deer caught in the headlights. The food was burnt. If someone would have told me it was actually possible to burn pasta, I would have never believed it. Even I was capable of making pretty decent raviolli.

"It's…uh… great," I lied when I saw Isabella glare at me menacingly.

Chief reached over to pat me on the back affectionately. "I'm glad you like it, son. Maybe I should cook more often."

"You definitely should," I mumbled under my breath, twirling my food around.

I had a feeling I was going to ask Isabella to make me a sandwich as soon as Chief went upstairs to his room.

~~ 0 ~~

We arrived to Paris on Wednesday morning at four-thirty a.m. Jean-Paul was waiting for us at the airport. He greeted Bella warmly in French, then addressed Chief and me in his heavily accented English.

On the drive to Felix's house, I held Isabella's hand. Chief Swan was sitting up front with Jean-Paul, leaving Isabella and me alone in the backseat.

I saw her look out her window blankly and decided to scoot closer to her. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and leaned over to whisper in her ear that everything was going to be okay. She looked up at me and smiled, but I could tell she wasn't so convinced.

We arrived and stepped inside the house just as Felix was coming down the stairs looking half-asleep. He told us that Renee and Phil were already there sleeping, then guided us to the second floor where our rooms were.

We had a few hours to rest until later that afternoon when the trial was scheduled, so as Isabella took a shower, I cosed the curtains because the sun was already starting to make its presence known. We slid into bed around six a.m. but neither of us was able to fall asleep even though we were pretty much exhausted. Eventually, after about an hour, we gave up and decided to kill the time talking.

By the time we made it to the courthouse at two p.m., Isabella was a nervous wreck. I tried to put on a strong face for her. I comforted and assured her that James was going to get what he deserved, but on the inside I was just as afraid and stressed as she was.

She eventually went with her lawyer while the rest of us stayed behind, waiting for the judge to arrive and the trial to begin.

At some point I noticed that not only was the judge was missing, but James also.

"Where is he?" I asked Chief, leaning towards him.

"He should be brought in any minute," Felix answered instead, staring straight ahead.

I glanced to the left where James' parents were. I had never seen them before, and I didn't know what they looked like, but I knew it was them. You had to be blind not to see that both their appearance and their defiant demeanor screamed pretentious, rich assholes.

Examining his mother, I realized how much James looked like her. She was dressed impecably in a beige suit, had her platinum blond hair pinned up in what I had once heard Isabella call a French twist and was fidgeting with some sort of feather fan in her lap. Even though her nervousness was betrayed by her agitated hands and the rhythmic bounce of her right leg, her stoic expression showed no sign of emotion. She was staring blankly into space, her sharp features mirroring the ones of her son almost to perfection. It was disturbing how just looking at her reminded me of motherfucking James.

Next to her, her husband sat, his posture tense. He had his arms crossed over his chest and was frowning deeply, his eyes sweeping the room as if he was searching for something or someone. I realized he was probably wondering the same thing as I was. Where the fuck was his son? Both his almost annoyed expression and the way he looked around the room as if he owned the place spoke volumes about him. This man was not used to losing. Ever. I knew right then we were fucked.

Neither he or his wife even spared a glance in Isabella's direction who sat quietly next to her lawyer.

"His father looks like a royal asshole," I muttered to no one in particular.

Felix chuckled dryly. "He is."

"And his mother… well, she looks like a pretentious bitch. I bet those feathers are ostrich or something."

Again, he chuckled, but didn't say anything as the room suddenly grew quiet. A door to the right opened, and James stepped in accompanied by a cop in uniform. He was dressed in black slacks and a white button down, his blond hair combed to the side neatly. As he took in his surroundings, his gaze fell on Isabella and a barely-there smirk made its way to his face.

I watched as he started walking, his hands in handcuffs in front of him and the cop follwoing close behind. His eyes never left Isabella, and when he was in front of her, he stopped abruptly.

"I'll never give up on you," he said in English, loud enough to be heard even from where I was, feet away. He looked up to me, and an evil, provoking grin took over his face.

I didn't even realize I was on my feet and moving towards him until I saw Isabella jump from her seat.

"Edward!" she said panicked, just as strong arms wrapped around my shoulders, stopping me in my tracks.

"I'll fucking kill you, motherfucker!" I yelled, feeling the the blood rush to my head and the veins in my neck sticking out in rage. "You're dead, you hear me?"

In the back of my mind I knew it wasn't very smart to threaten him in a room full of people, but right then I couldn't bring myself to give a fuck.

I started being pulled backwards just as the cop shoved James towards his seat.

"Who the fuck do you think you are, boy?" he yelled back, his expression contorting to one of hatred as he refused to move. "I'm going to squish you like a coackroach. Both of you." The cop snapped at him in French as he continued shoving him, and James turned to face Isabella. "You'll regret having left me for him. I swear to you."

I began fighting to get away from Chief Swan and Felix who were now both holding me back.

"Don't you fucking threaten her," I gritted, my face red with anger and my fists balled at my sides.

All of the sudden, another cop appeared by my side. He reached out as if to grab me, and Felix stepped in front of me, starting to speak in French quickly.

"Calm the hell down," Chief whispered in my ear, his grip on me like a vice.

"I can't fucking calm down," I spat. "He fucking threatened her."

"He's an idiot," Felix said in his thick accent, starting to push me towards my seat. I glanced behind him and saw that the cop was now leaving. "Making threats is all he knows."

He forced me to sit down, this time between him and Chief, so they could make sure I wasn't going to outburst again.

I saw Isabella glance at me with sad eyes, and it fucking broke my heart. I wanted to scoop her up and take her out of there. I wanted to protect her from him and from every other evil out there.

I sincerely wished and hoped with all my being that this was the last time she ever had to see him.

"His father is furious," Felix noticed, and I turned my head to see that indeed James' father looked like he was having an aneurysm. "I can assure you he's going to keep a close eye on James from now on."

"Do you think he knew?" I asked, forcing myself to calm down. "His father?"

"Oh, yes." He nodded, looking deep in thought. "But I have a hunch he didn't agree to it. Aro is not stupid. He knew the enormity of his son's imbecile actions. I really don't think he had any desire for more problems with the police."

"Too bad we can't accuse him, too. He deserves to be in jail next to his son."

He sighed. "It's her word against theirs. There's no evidence she has been in their house, and even if there was, they could simply say they couldn't have known she was being kidnapped by their son. She has been his girlfriend for a long time, after all."

Finally, ten minutes later, the judge stepped in. She glanced around briefly, her eyebrows knitted together as she sat down. She started speaking in French quickly, and so the hardest day of my life began.

Since I couldn't understand a word they were saying, I kept watching people's expressions, trying to figure if what was being said was good or bad. Around four, James' lawyer asked for a break, and then, just before the clock turned six, there was the second and final break.

It didn't take them long to decide on a sentence. At seven p.m. sharp the judge came back from break holding some papers. She sat down again and started speaking as people around me gasped in surprise. I heard the gavel hit the sound block, and my heart started galloping as I craned my neck, trying to decipher everyone's reactions. James had his head bent, talking to his lawyer, and his parents were already on their feet, walking towards him.

"What did she say?" I asked frantically, turning to Felix.

He shook his head, seeming disappointed. Chief Swan was looking at him as apprehensively as I was. A few seats away Renee was whispering furiously to Phil.

"A three year sentence."

"What?" My eyes widened in shock. "Three years? He should be getting at least 8. This is fucking ridiculous!"

"I know." Felix sighed heavily. "It seemes that his father has been throwing his weight around. Once again."

I was stunned. I could't fucking belive it. After all he had done, he was getting away that easily. It was so fucking unfair.

Just as I was getting up to head towards Isabella, I heard James call to her again, "Je te trouverai, Isabelle! Je t'aime encore." (I will find you, Isabelle! I still love you.)

I had no idea what he was saying to her, but from his tone and the way he kept struggling to get to her, it wasn't something I would have liked having translated.

"You fucking sicko!" Isabella replied, her voice trembling, and I rushed to her side.

Her lawyer passed by me, his brow furrowed as he stopped to engage in conversation with Felix.

As I reached Isabella, I wrapped my arms around her. As soon as I did that, she hid her face into my chest and started sobbing.

"Shhh. It's okay, baby," I comforted, stroking her hair and kissing the top of her head.

I glanced around and noticed that both James and his parents were now gone.

"I'm just glad it's over," she said softly. "I don't want to see him ever again."

"I know. I want to get the fuck out of this country already. I can't wait to get you home."

She looked up then and gave me a watery smile. "Yeah. Home."