Bella's Point of View


Edward, Carlisle and I had just managed to get inside the house to see that Demetri and Darius were standing outside of the room Avery was in. Demetri was holding a bundle in his arms, watching down at the soft cooing infant.

The look on Demetri's face bothered me. I've never seen him look so awe-struck and full of love. Even when Darius was born, he never gazed down at our son with such devotion.

He glanced up at us, barely pulling his attention away from the baby to make eye contact. "It's a boy." His voice sounded strained with emotion.

Darius was at his side, watching the baby with fascination, and pride. "I finally have a brother."

His words struck me, and for a moment I couldn't respond. I felt like I was slowly deflating. I knew this was a special moment between Darius and Demetri and I didn't want to let my own personal feelings get in the way of that happiness. But it was hard to watch this.

Edward seemed to understand my feelings at this moment. He wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me into his side and leaving a kiss on the top of my head. This made me feel a bit better, but I still couldn't push the sour mood away.

Thankfully Carlisle ended the scene. "How is Avery?" He didn't even pause as we walked past Demetri and Darius; going straight into the guest room she was in.

I wanted to follow Carlisle and check on Avery as well, but I couldn't make myself move. I couldn't tear my eyes away from my son and Demetri bonding over the birth of the newest addition of the family. A family that I wasn't a part of.

"I think she will be okay, she is stable." Demetri called after Carlisle, not pausing for a second to follow after him.

Darius smiled as he walked over to Edward and I now. "I wonder what they are going to name him?"

I attempted to smile, but I didn't have the energy. "I'm not sure, maybe Demetri and Avery will need some help picking names."

Darius' expression lit up, but he noticed the edge of my tone and his cheerful look slipped from his face. "Are you alright mom?"

I nodded, forcing a small smile on my face. "You should be very proud of yourself, you helped your little brother into this world." I pulled him in for a hug.

Darius seemed to relax in my arms and hugged me back tightly. "I'm going to get back in there and make sure that Avery is alright." He said, before moving out of my arms and heading back in the room with Carlisle and Demetri.

I sighed as I rested my head on Edward's shoulder. Out of the corner of my eye I took note of Edward's pained expression.

Guilt twisted into my chest like a knife. I knew that I was acting like a scorned ex-lover. But this wasn't the case. I wasn't envious of Avery having Demetri. I was envious that Demetri was pulling Darius away from me. Now that Demetri was acting like the kind of man that deserves to be a father, Demetri may decide to spend all his time with his father and new brother. I knew it was wrong for me to feel this way. Darius was just as much my child as Demetri's. But I grew so accustomed to Darius only being mine, that it was hard for me to watch him accept his father back into his life.

That might not be happening right now, they may have just shared one moment together, but it didn't take Alice's abilities to see the future to see they would grow close again. I just needed time to come to terms with it, and accept it. This was the right thing to do for my son.

Edward's hand rubbed soothing circles on my back now, but stayed silent. I wished that I knew what he was thinking. But I wasn't able to speak just yet.

Carlisle popped his head out, looking in my direction with a calm smile. "Bella, would it be alright if you could assist Avery in cleaning up and getting her in some clean clothing?"

I nodded, leaning up to clean Edward gently, before racing to my closet. I skimmed through some clothes and decided on a dress, something comfortable. My next stop was the bathroom, where I filled a basin of water, and gathered soaps and lotions. By the time I made it back Darius and Carlisle were making their way out of the room.

I moved past them without a word and went straight to Avery's side. Demetri was sitting in the chair next to her bed, he was holding her hand in his and watching her with a content smile. Their baby was cradled in her arms.

This image was sickly sweet, but I couldn't bring myself to accept it.

Demetri looked in my direction warily. "Bella, I -"

"No," I cut him off mid sentence. "Don't talk to me."

Avery now looked at me with a sad gaze. "Please Bella, hear what he has to say."

"Why should I?" I spoke coldly looking away from the both of them.

"Avery has been filling me in on how I treated you and Darius both. Hell. Darius went into profound details of the horror that I put you through." Demetri said with a heavy sigh. "I don't know how I could ever do the things that others are saying to me."

"Well you did," Finally I looked in his direction. "And I'll never forgive you. Memories intact or not."

Demetri nodded, not appearing to look surprised by my words in the slightest. "You have every right to feel that way. I don't forgive myself. All I can do… is set the record straight with you. You asked me once… a long time ago about my past as a human…" He paused, waiting to see my reaction.

"You've regained your memories?" I glanced at him.

"Just the human memories." He admitted.

As usual, my curiosity burned inside of me. I have been wondering about Demetri's past for as long as I have known him. I didn't want to appear overly interested, so I began to help Avery clean herself up.

"I'm listening." I said quietly.

Avery smiled, with hope dancing in her eyes as she began washing off the blood from her skin.

"My family had always been poor, we never owned a home. We traveled from place to place. My father taught me and my siblings how to hunt, fish and survive off of the land."

"You had siblings?" I muttered.

"Twelve, to be exact." Demetri said with a chuckle. "I was the oldest."

Avery looked surprised. "Wow, and I thought I was going to die just giving birth to one child."

Demetri's expression became gloomy now. "Well, the last birth must have been the lucky number for my mother, she didn't survive the last birth of my youngest brother."

Avery reached over and touched Demetri's hand, looking truly guilty. "I'm so sorry." Her voice was kind and warm.

He took the top of her hand and kissed it, before turning his attention back to me. "With my mother passing... things just got more and more difficult to keep everyone fed and healthy. So my father decided to turn me and my siblings into a prostitution business. With the new steady income my father was able to purchase a house. He soon turned that house into a brothel."

As Demetri spoke I could feel pain filling in my chest, I could feel my concentration slipping. I desperately pushed against this invisible force. I wanted to hear more, but my body wasn't willing to accept it. The pain tormented me. Thankfully as Avery began to speak up I was able to distract myself from the agony long enough to regain control over my concentration.

"Demetri, that's awful… I can't even imagine what your life must have felt like for you." Avery said with a tear rolling down her cheek.

Demetri paused, to wipe the tear from her eye. "Things are better now, and I have you to thank for that Bella." He turned his sights back to me.

I refused to meet his gaze, I only looked to Avery. She looked as though Demetri's words had wounded her.

Angrily I glared at Demetri, and refused to acknowledge his comment. "Go on,"

Demetri sighed once again and nodded. "Most of my siblings perished from syphilis, which was a huge hit for my father's business. This angered him, soon he would have the rest of us searching the streets for desperate women to replace those who died."

"Disgusting…" I muttered, looking away from the both of them.

"Soon we had more women then we ever had before, so my father decided that his sons have worked enough, now they can enjoy the fruits of his labors. We could have all the women, drugs and alcohol we wanted." Demetri ran his fingers through his hair, seeming to be lost in his thoughts.

"I never could bring myself to do it… any of it. Needless to say this only angered my father. He was about to disown me completely. But one night he brought a maiden to my chambers. Of course they were both drunk. He forced the woman onto me. He screamed and threatened to kick me out of our family, if I didn't defile this woman. He brought out a knife and watched me have sex with this woman. He would tell me to hit her, to fuck her as hard as I could, to strangle her. If I would try to stop he threatened to stab me. So I did as he said. After it was done, he told me that I had to kill her. If she was to tell anyone what happened I would be arrested. So… he handed me the knife." Demetri paused, looking between Avery and I.

Avery's expression had turned grim now, she didn't make a sound.

I didn't know how much more of this I could listen to, but I didn't dare speak up. I needed to know how this story ended.

"Continue." Avery spoke quietly, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I killed the woman. And for once in my life, my father praised me. He said that I had truly become a man. This situation happened every night, for what felt like years. It became normal to me. But all of it came to an end, when I met a woman named Julianna. I had been scouring the streets for my next victim when I stumbled across this magnificent woman. The most beautiful woman I laid eyes on. Of course she followed me back to my home, we had sex, but right as I stabbed her, the knife broke in half off of her hard skin. It didn't leave a scratch."

"She was a vampire." I deduced.

Demetri gave me a short nod. "Yes, and she didn't appreciate the fact that I had attempted to murder her. So, she turned me. And sent me to Aro. I stayed with him, ever since."

The room was silent for a long time, before anyone decided to speak.

Avery's body trembled as she searched for the right words to say. "That was the most terrible thing I've ever heard." She spoke quietly.

"I wanted the both of you to understand me. All parts of me. Because right now, you both are the most important people in my life. You are the mothers of my children. As long as you are both alive, our children will never have to suffer the way that I have." Demetri said looking to the both of us with a sad expression. "My father was a monster, that made me an even bigger monster. I'd never want that for my sons. That's why it's hard to believe that I had let myself be that man again."

"If you know all of this… why aren't you back to normal?" I asked, narrowing my eyes. "If you know what caused you to act the way that you did, why are you so different now?"

"Well, I'm not certain, but I do have a theory." He offered. "There must be a particular memory from my past… that I don't remember… that is the true core reason that I've let myself become a villain."

"So there's worse things that you have done?" I snipped, looking away from him. "I'm not surprised."

Avery frowned at me in disappointment. "Bella, I can't believe that after hearing Demetri's story, you aren't able to move past his mistakes."

Now my sights were on Avery. I could feel that I was losing control of my temper. Anger flashed hot inside of me. "I'm sorry that I can't look my rapist in the face and forgive him of all his mistakes. I'm sorry that I can't look at the man that abused me and just accept he is a changed man and will cause no more harm to my family. And I'm sorry that you were stupid enough to fall for this rapist, vile, waste of existence." I spat in her face, before stomping out of the room, marching past Edward, Carlisle and Darius, before running off into the woods.

I ran. For hours. Until I was as far away as I could manage. When I stopped, I leaned against a tree and let out a bellowing sob. All my frustration, all my anguish, I let it all out. I've neve let myself lose control over my emotions. I would never allow myself to speak to anyone the way that I had spoken to Avery. I instantly regretted the words, the moment it escaped from my mouth.

"That was really loud." A voice came from the other side of the tree that I was leaning on.

I jumped back, startled and completely off guard by the sudden voice that I heard. How could I not have noticed that someone was so close by?

A small girl now moved out from behind the tree. She looked to be close to Darius in age. She offered me a small smile as she moved towards me. Her hair was honey blonde, with eyes of slate grey. She was beautiful for being so young. The air around her only faintly held the smell of blood.

"Are you alright Bella?" She watched me with cautious concern.

"How did you know my name?" I said backing away from her slightly. "Who are you?"

The girl left out a quiet, tinkling laugh. "I'm Casey, nice to finally meet you." She again moved closer to me and held out her hand.

She was the girl that Tidas spoke of. Caius' daughter. She didn't look how I pictured her to look. I suppose it made sense, she was practically Caius' twin.

I lightly took her hand, giving her a slight smile as I shook her hand. "Nice to meet you Casey, I thought we would be meeting officially tomorrow morning."

"Yeah, but I heard the commotion, with you and Avery and Demrtri. I just wanted to make sure that you are okay." She watched me with a puzzled look.

I sighed and went back to leaning against the tree. "I'll be fine. I just needed to get away from everyone."

"You know, Avery just wants your approval. You are her nearest and dearest friend. She wants you to support the first big choice she ever made. To trust Demetri." Casey said as she sat down across from me.

"I can't support her choices." I muttered, looking off into the distance. "I know who he really is. I don't understand why she can't see it? Why can't she see him for the monster that he is."

"Well, she does see it. But she also sees a man that has been through hell. And has a chance at redemption. She wants to be his redemption Bella. She wants to be that woman that sets this man on the right path. She wants to change him." Casey said with a glisten in her eyes. "If you ask me Avery is the most brave woman that I've ever had the pleasure of spying on."

"She is only going to get herself hurt in the end… or worse." I turned to look at the young lady across from me. I was surprised to feel that I was beginning to calm down. I was beginning to regain some clarity of the situation.

"I don't think that's what you are worried about." Casey said with a smile. "I think that you are just angry and hurt, that you aren't the woman that could change Demetri. You had him first. You inspired him to fall in love first. You wanted him to change for you. But he couldn't change for you, or for Darius. But he could for Avery and their new baby."

I glared at Casey now.

I'm not sure if I like this girl or not. She sure doesn't act her age.

"If I was able to give him back all his memories, he would just go back to being a murderous jerk. No one has changed him. Avery hasn't made him into a better person. He is the same." I snorted, folding my arms across my chest.

"You don't really believe that do you?" Casey grinned wider. "You know that he is evolving. You did more than just erase everything."

I was silent for a while as I pondered her words. "What are you saying Casey…"

"Your abilities don't erase someone's memories. You draw out a person's inner demons, and force them to face it, grow from it. Change. You can basically turn the devil back into an angel."

My head was spinning. "I-I don't understand. He didn't even know his own name when I had used my abilities on him."

Casey nodded. "You gave him a clean slate, but slowly his memories returned. Piece by piece. It starts with his human memories, but once he accepts his past and decides on changing, more memories will return, until… he receives all his memories and he walks the earth as a completely new man."

I stared at her for a moment, unable to process what she was telling me. How could she possibly understand my own abilities? How did she know so much? Was she that good at reading people?

"That just can't be the case." I said tiredly rubbing my hand over my face.

"Think about it. You still don't have all your memories. Don't you know why that is?" Casey continued, but her expression turned to a look of sorrow.

"Every time I get close to it… I just can't handle the pain that it causes." I sighed.

"That pain you are feeling. That's you fighting against acceptance. You don't want to move forward and grow from your past. You are putting your pain and grief in a box and sealing it away. You aren't facing your inner demons. You will never get all your memories back if you don't push through that pain and accept it." She spoke with seriousness coming to her face.

"How do you know all of this?"

Casey's smile returned now. "I know things. You can call it my ability. I know everything." Her words were full of pride.

As crazy as it sounded, I believed her. Just having this talk with her for a short while, I felt like I was sitting in an office somewhere, speaking to a therapist. This wasn't something that I was used to feeling. Usually I would be the one that would be there for anyone who needed to talk and give advice. It was odd to have such a deep conversation with someone who looked to only be fifteen.

"If you know everything, could you tell me if Demetri is going to hurt Avery in the end?"

Casey sighed, running her hand through her long blonde hair. "Unfortunately, seeing the future is something only Alice can do. I only know things from the present. I can't predict the future. But my knowledge is endless." Again she seemed overly confident in herself.

I wanted to test her, so I had one question that came to my mind. This would be the deciding factor, if I would truly believe all the things she had said.

"Who do I love?" I asked her quietly.

"Who do you love the most, or just in general?" Casey challenged with a smirk. "You love many people."

"You know exactly what I mean." I gave her a look.

Casey chuckled. "You love Edward the most, he is your eternal soul mate. But Demetri will always be your first love. A part of you. A part of Darius. You can never deny your connection."

She was good. She knew the inner workings of my heart and soul better than I did myself. Her power was truly frightening.

"Do you believe me now?" She smiled casually.

I nodded in reluctance. "I believe you… thanks for… talking to me about everything."

"Any time. Speaking of which, your eternal love has finally caught up with you." Casey smiled brightly. She now turned completely around to see Edward come flying into view. The moment that he saw her, he instantly took a defensive stance in front of me.

"Hey Edward, nice to see you." She smiled brilliantly. "You really are handsome, Tidas was so wrong about you."

I lightly rested my hand on his back, I could feel his rigid body begin to relax under my touch.

"Edward, this is Casey," I spoke to him quietly.

He seemed to completely relax now as he scanned over the girl. But in seconds he turned back to me, wrapping me in his arms. "Don't ever run off like that again…" His voice was strained.

"It's alright Edward, Bella won't get sick and perish like your mother did. Her death wasn't due to your negligence. You don't have to make up for it, by being overly protective to the only woman other than your mother, that you ever loved." Casey said with a warm smile.

Edward tensed, now glaring towards Casey with shock and aggression. "What did you say?" His tone sounded terrifying.

I have a feeling this girl is going to be a handful.


Sorry that it has been so long since I updated. I'll be working on the next update soon! As always leave a review if you enjoyed the story.