Somehow we made it through the rest of the day. By the time I collected my homework and reached the parking lot, I was panicking. I knew that Edward could feel the panic radiating off me, but he was too curious about what I had to tell him to give me an out. He drove us as close as he could to our meadow and carried me on his back for the rest of the way. I waited while he spread the blanket out in front of us and we both silenced our cell phones. He was in no mood for distractions right now. I summoned my strength by taking a deep breath.

"Ok, when you were away hunting with your family, Mike and Jessica came by to drag me to some party at La Push beach. Knowing that I wouldn't be seeing you, I allowed it. I talked with people and hung out with Jake for a bit. I know there was alcohol there so I made sure to always get my own drinks and didn't bother with a cup. I didn't trust anyone there. After that, it gets murky and the next thing I know, I was waking up in the forest, completely naked." He gasped, but kept his anger in check. I was watching his face

"It wasn't consensual, nor was it a one time thing. I also have a theory of who was behind it." Having understood the meaning behind my words, Edward stood up.

"Would you excuse me for a moment, my love?" I panicked.

"Are you leaving me? Are you angry with me?"

"I'm not leaving you, but I am angry about what happened to you. I need to de-stress. I will be right back to hear the rest of your story. Ok?" I took a deep breath.

"Break a tree for me. I love you; only you." He smiled at me.

"I love you too." He bent down to kiss me and I held on tight.

"Can I come with you; ride on your back while we destroy a few trees?"

"I suppose for a few minutes. I will bring you back here and go take down a deer then. Is that alright?"

"Yes." With his help, I got on his back once again. I held on until we reached the trees. Then with one of my hands braced at his elbow, I got to feel the raw power he exuded when we knocked down some trees. It felt great to expend some of my anger this way. I even laughed a little. He dropped me back at the blanket and took off for a snack. He was back ten minutes later.

"I apologize for my absence, my love. Please continue with the story."

"I understand. Thank you for helping me to deal with my anger." I put my hand on his cheek. He took it off and held it in his own. I pulled it away, not wanting it to be crushed.

"There's still more to be angry about; I'm protecting my bones." He nodded.

"Anyway, my theory is that Victoria is behind it. Carlisle said he could smell a hint of vampire on my clothes that didn't belong to any one of you. I thought, why would a vampire target only me at a party full of drunk, incoherent teenagers? I think she got someone to separate me, beat me, rape me, carve a message in my skin and leave me for dead. I think she was close enough to make sure it happened, but far enough away to not be tempted by my blood."

"What message?" Knowing that this question was coming, I was already lying down and lifting up my shirt. He gasped upon seeing the words 'damaged goods' carved into my skin. I covered it up and never bothered to wipe the tears away.

"There's more; I'm pregnant. That's why Carlisle has all that equipment at your house. He's going to treat me privately. I'm so sorry Edward. I'm so sorry." This snapped him out of his anger.

"What are you sorry for?"

"I lied to you. I tried to keep it from you for as long as I could. If my dad hadn't threatened me last night, I would have kept it to myself. He's right, you do need to know. I was trying to spare you as much pain as I could. I'm sorry."

"Your anguish is mine as well. I knew something was up. I understand now why you did what you did. You're not at fault for any of this. You are my mate and I will always love you."

"I know, but I wanted it to be so special for us. I give myself to you as you give yourself to me; fully and completely. Now, I can't do that and it breaks my heart."

"It will still be special, Bella. You can still give yourself to me just as I will give myself to you. The next time will be your choice. You've given me your heart, the pleasure of knowing your mind, your company, your love and you're going to let me take your soul. You can still give me your body without worry that someone else popped your cherry. I doubt that whoever it was took the time to treasure you and make you feel good, like I will. I love you Bella."

"I love you too, Edward. Thank you. Esme told me pretty much the same thing; that you wouldn't leave me. Carlisle and my dad tried as well. Does everything make sense now about why we told my dad what he knows?" I asked him tentatively.

"Yes. I see now that you are doing it for his protection."

"Edward, will you kiss me?" He smiled and seemed to know that this wasn't just any ordinary kiss I was asking for. I needed affirmation that he was not going to leave me. He leaned forward and I playfully leaned back, making him follow me to the blanket. He hovered over me and started to kiss me on my neck before moving up my jaw and finally claiming my mouth. I invited his tongue to play with mine and of course, it was in my mouth. He was lying next to me, but I felt one of his hands on my waist. I moved my shirt out of the way, craving as much skin to skin contact as I could get. He groaned and pulled my body so it twisted closer to him. I wrapped my arms around him and sunk one of my hands in his hair. I didn't try to move his clothes, for fear that he would take it the wrong way. I wasn't ready for that and I knew he was waiting for our wedding night; even if he was ready. I broke the kiss, but continued to snuggle with him.

"Thank you." His thumb was still making small, comforting circles on my waist.

"Anytime." He smiled down at me. My cell phone started to vibrate against my hip. I looked at it and decided to answer it.

"Hey Dad."

"Bella, where are you? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I'm with Edward."

"Did you tell him?"

"Yes and you were right. My fears about him were silly."

"I'm glad baby. Are you coming home tonight or staying at Edward's?"

"I haven't decided. Have you eaten?"

"When you weren't here, I ordered a pizza. Tomorrow, I would like another lesson in cooking though."

"Fair enough. I will be home eventually; I just don't know when. If I stay at Edward's, then I won't come by. I have some clothes at their house."

"Ok, just give me a call and let me know if that's what you are going to do."

"Ok, bye Dad."

"Bye." I hung up and looked at Edward. He was smiling at me.

"Wow, he really is accepting this isn't he?"

"If he's not, then at least he understands. He still needs to come over and see all the cool aspects of your life."

"Invite him over tomorrow and give him his lesson there. We can show him whatever he'd like to know."

"Ok, I will when I talk to him next. Speaking of cooking, I'm getting a little hungry." He stood and pulled me to my feet. I watched him shake out and fold the blanket in the blink of an eye.

"Would you like to stop somewhere or I could cook for you?"

"You choose. Some kind of pasta sounds delicious right about now." I hopped on his back again and we were tearing through the trees as fast as he could run. I kissed his neck. He set me on the hood of his car and put the blanket away. He came to stand in front of me, between my legs and kissed me for a minute or two. My grumbling stomach put an end to that make out session. Ten minutes later, due to his excessive speeding, we were pulling into his driveway. I was suddenly nervous. Edward's hand on mine reassured me somewhat. We walked in the door and straight for the kitchen. It was Emmet that had to say something in front of his whole family.

"Whoa, you smell a little different, Bella. Did you two finally lose your V-cards?" He was teasing, but no one laughed.

"I didn't lose it Emmet, it was stolen." I fought the tears as I ran from the room, through the kitchen and out the back door. Edward gave me a minute and followed me. He waited patiently and let me ruin his shirt with my tears.

"I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?"

"I've been so worried about telling you, that I forgot about telling your family. I didn't want to anticipate how I would handle it if you left me or not and I didn't consider their reactions."

"You have nothing to apologize for. I did remember something though."

"What's that?"

"You did ask me to bring this for you. Do you want to wear it?"

"Yes." He slid the ring on my finger.

"Why did I take that to school?"

"It's silly now."

"Nothing is silly with you Bella."

"I just…if you changed your mind about being with me, I was going to formally give it back to you."

"This is your ring for all of eternity. I told you, you are my mate. You belong to me as much as I belong to you. Nothing could drive me away." He kissed me and led me back inside. Emmet was waiting for me in the kitchen.

"I'm sorry Bella. If I had known, I wouldn't have cracked a joke like that." I hugged him.

"I know. There's more, but I want to eat first and then I will tell everyone." He nodded and left the room; hopefully to comfort Rosalie. I turned to Edward with a fearful look in my eyes. He noticed of course and I searched for a paper and pen.

-How is Rosalie? Will she be able to handle the whole story?- Edward read my note and scribbled one of his own.

-She's very angry right now and I'm not sure how she will react to the news of the baby or Victoria. Do you think you should tell her privately? Would you want to?- I shrugged. He took the pen.

-Alice is seeing that she will have a similar reaction as I did…wanting to destroy nature. She will be gone for a while and she will be fierce with need to kill Victoria. She may not show it, but she considers you to be one of the family and she doesn't like it when one of us is threatened.- I reached for the pen.

-I'm glad that she has Emmet.- He smiled and continued cooking my meal for me.

"Edward?"

"Yes?"

"If I ask you to do me a favor, would you do it?"

"It depends on the favor; though most likely I would."

-Tomorrow at school, and probably every day after that, would you 'eat' meals with me?-

-You mean actually chew and swallow?- I nodded. He gulped.

-Why?-

-I don't want to throw up alone. I figured if you eat with me, it would be like sympathy pains. Does that make sense?-

-Sure, I can do that.- He grimaced, but made his promise.

-Good news is that if I do ever stop throwing up, you can stop eating with me.- His smile was weak. He was not looking forward to joining me for my type of eating.

"Does it start now?" He asked, setting a plate in front of me.

"Not tonight. I'll let you know." He looked so relieved that I had to laugh. I dug into my dinner with gusto, moaning at the taste.

"Thank you; it's so good."

"You're welcome, I'm glad you like it."

-Does it all taste the same to you?-

-Pretty much. There are subtle differences, but not many. You have no idea how disgusting that pasta smells to me right now.-

-Well then I really thank you for the sacrifice you are making for me.-

"I love you." He nuzzled my neck from behind.

"I love you too." He opened a window to hopefully air the fumes of my dinner away from the rest of his family. I went to the fridge, since I was really the only to use it, and grabbed a bottle of water from the supplies they kept in there only for me. So far, so good, I wasn't feeling any nausea, though I was sure it wasn't going to last. I still have to tell my tale one more time. Reluctantly, I finished my meal and washed my dish. Edward protested when I did this, claiming it as a stalling tactic; he was exactly right. I turned to put my leftovers in the fridge when I saw that it was already done for me.

"Come on, I'll hold your hand the entire time." I dragged my feet, forcing him to either walk slowly with me, or carry me. He wisely chose the slow walking. I felt six pairs of eyes gaze upon me with sympathy as Edward and I sat on the loveseat. I found the inner strength to tell my family everything that happened to me, my theory, and even about my dad knowing the big secret. Though I was met with hisses of anger on that part, they did understand why it had to be done. Carlisle shouldered the blame for making the decision to tell Charlie without first consulting everyone in a family meeting like he usually would have. They understood, they didn't like it, but they understood. Rosalie left the room in a blur and we could all hear her loud screech of anger followed by the crumpling of trees.

"I need to do that again, Edward, will you take me?" He nodded and I climbed on his back.

"You're knocking down trees? How in the world are you doing that?" Emmet asked and I invited them all to follow me. They laughed when they saw how Edward helped me channel my anger and I laughed again as well. They joined me for a little bit before going out to hunt. Edward and I went straight up to his room. Somehow, I managed to keep my dinner from reappearing. That let him off the hook for now. He held me as I drifted off to sleep.

A/N: Reviews are wanted and appreciated. I love to read them and respond to each one. Have a great day! Kelly