Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or Charmed

Chapter 24

I know I don't have much time, the longer I wait the worse Edward will get. We risk his stab wound becoming infected, him bleeding out, or even worse…but I push those thoughts back. He's going to be ok. I'm going to make sure of it.

Before I leave I grab a clean cloth and use it to apply pressure to the laceration, making sure it's elevated above his heart. Edward keeps his eyes closed but grabs my hand.

"I got it, it's okay," he weakly takes over.

"I'll be right back, okay? Where are your keys so I can get back in?"

He nods his head weakly at his jacket thrown across the room on the chair.

Within a few seconds, I have them, lock his door, and sprint to my truck. I pray that whoever is after him doesn't know where he lives.

There's a pharmacy less than 10 minutes from his building and I speed the entire way.

What has he been hiding?

I shudder to think what would have happened if I hadn't gone looking for him.

I'm not sure what to think. What could Edward possibly be caught up in that would lead to his attempted murder? If it was a consequence of his work why couldn't he go to the police and the hospital? Something told me I hadn't even reached the tip of the iceberg when it came to Edward.

I wasn't an idiot though. I realize Edward has lied to me, God knows about how much. But enough to understand he isn't everything I thought he was. And where that left us… I had no idea.

But I knew one thing, it didn't matter right now. I had one mission and that was to make sure he survived. I'd figure everything out later, and get him to finally open up and tell me what the hell happened and what he'd gotten himself caught up in.

I go over my mental shopping list in my head as I rush through the store filling up the basket in my hand. I have to move quickly as time isn't on my side, who knows how much blood has already been lost, and short of getting him to a hospital, there's only so much I can do.

Gauze, check. Iodine, check. Pain medicine, check.

I'm grabbing the Band-Aids when I hear my name.

"Bella?"

Angela stands at the end of the aisle, a large smile on her face. I notice her boyfriend Ben not too far behind.

"Ang! Ben, hi!" My voice sounds off even to my own ears. God, I pray she doesn't notice. Ben waves a quick hello, he's always so quiet.

"Hey! I thought that was you. How's everything going? I swear it's like we never see each other outside of class lately," she says with a small pout. I hope she doesn't notice the items in my basket.

"I know! I'm sorry I haven't texted you lately. Things have just been so crazy, but once it's over we should definitely get together!" I try and end the conversation.

I need to get out of here, I'm running out of time.

"I'd love that Bella," she smiles and I see her eyes glance down at my basket.

She surveys it briefly, filled with medical supplies. Her instincts kick in.

"Everything ok?" There's slight worry in her tone.

"What? Yeah! Of course, just stocking up. You never know when you'll need these things," I wave her off nonchalantly. God, I'm a terrible liar. But she has no reason not to believe me.

"Yeah, I understand," she nods but I can see the confusion underneath the surface. Please don't ask any more questions I mentally chant over and over. "Okay… well I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow?" I stare at her in confusion.

"The final?" she says as if I've grown two heads and fangs.

"Right! The final!" I nod frantically. "Of course. I'll see you there bright and early," I squeak out.

"Well, see you later guys. I'm going to get out of here, "I gesture towards the front of the store and quickly grab the Band-Aids throwing them in my basket.

I give them a quick wave and dart down the aisle before they can say anything else. I'm checked out quickly, grateful there's no line. I know Ang will have many questions for me later, but I can't worry about her thoughts right now. One crisis at a time.

I think I have everything I need to help him, I just pray that it'll be enough.

I can't lose him.

I'm terrified as I arrive back at Edward's apartment. There is a part of me that fears he may be gone…or worse, whoever's after him has found him to finish the job.

Those fears are alleviated when I unlock the door. He's still here. I breathe a sigh of relief.

He's fast asleep on the couch, but his breathing is shallow. Sweat pools on his temples and there's blood on the towel pressed against the wound. I take a deep breath at the sight and steady myself. I need to act now.

I walk over to him and gingerly brush the hair back from his forehead, he stirs in his sleep.

"Hey there, I'm back," I whisper. He shifts, before opening one eye and peeking at me.

"Hi," he whispers.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like I could run a marathon," he snorts through his nose.

"Ha-ha," I deadpan. "Seriously Edward?"

"I've had better days," he murmurs.

"Do you trust me?" I ask.

He nods, a sober look on his face. And I know he means it.

"I'm going to give you some pain medication, the strongest I could get over the counter. Then I'm going to suture your wound but I have to clean the laceration first so this may hurt a little. I'm sorry baby, but I'll do the best I can to make it quick," he catches my hand that's stroking his face, gripping it as tightly as he can.

"I have a high tolerance…I'll be okay," he nods.

I'm on autopilot as my brain slips into nursing mode. My training comes back to me as I go through the steps of washing my hands and then cleaning his wound with the iodine solution. It's bad, but I think I'll be able to dress it properly without taking him to the hospital. I'm not able to numb him as I would in the ER, but I pray he can bear it.

It doesn't appear to be infected, but I won't chance it. I'll keep checking it every few hours. And if I see any signs of infection I'm getting him to a hospital no matter how much he protests. Even if it's the last thing I do.

My touch is soft, but he still winces every few moments. I try to talk to him to distract him.

"Two people were at your office this morning …looking for you," I glance up at his reaction, as I keep working. He raises a brow as he winces slightly.

"Who were they?" there's a sense of urgency behind his words.

"D.A Bureau of Investigations," he doesn't react the way I expect him to. He almost looks…relieved.

"Did you tell them anything?" He murmurs.

"Edward, I don't have anything to tell, how could I?" I'm sure he hears the hurt in my voice because I sure do.

He nods before closing his eyes wincing again. I begin stitching the wound closed, as neatly as I can.

I refrain from asking about the cases or lack thereof that he's been working on. I plan to soon, but I know I must wait for now. I want all my questions answered but only when he's on the mend. I need him to be able to think clearly. There are too many secrets between us and I plan to get to the bottom of them all.

Finally, I finish the stitching and wrap him up. The bleeding has stopped and I think he may be okay after all. He'll have to take it easy recovering but I don't think he'll have to go to the hospital as long as it remains clean and uninfected.

"I see why you're going to be a nurse, you have magical hands, Bella Swan," he winks and gives me a weak smile.

"Enough of that," I give a small smile brushing him off, my voice as stern as possible. "No showering for a few days and I'm going to keep monitoring the wound. If I see any signs of infection, I will knock you out myself and drag you to the hospital."

He smirks, but he knows that I'm serious and gives a 'yes ma'am."

"Now we need to get you into bed so you can rest," I help him stand up and he's able to hold up some of his weight as we walk into the bedroom.

I pull back the covers so he can lay down and get adjusted, careful not to put much weight on his wounded side.

When he's comfortable I tell him to sleep so his body can begin to heal. He grabs my hand, squeezing it gently, his beautiful but exhausted green eyes burning fiercely up at me.

"Bella, thank you," he whispers. It's as if he wants to say more, but stops himself.

"Of course, Edward. I just want you to be okay. I was so afraid when I couldn't find you," my voice catches. Where were you? Is the question I want to add but I don't voice it. Not yet.

"I'm sorry," he whispers looking away briefly. It's as if he's ashamed to look at me. I clear my throat and let go of his hand.

"I'm going to go clean up the supplies and I'll be back okay?"

"Bella, you really need to go," he begs again.

"Edward, I told you I'm not going anywhere," I say with a firm shake of my head. Whatever has happened has made him terrified, maybe not for him but for me. But right now, I don't care. I'm not leaving until he's better and I have my answers.

He lays back with a sigh of resignation, closing his eyes and I head back into the living room.

It doesn't take long before I dispose of the bloody gauze and tools and clean up a little. I notice there are drops of blood on the carpet. I'll have to clean that later because bone-tiring exhaustion suddenly overwhelms me. It's later than I realized and the night has caught up with me. I feel myself crashing bad and the sun will be out in a few hours.

I'm back in the bedroom with Edward who's sound asleep and I lay next to him. I really should call Alice and Rose to let them know where I am and that I'm okay. I will in a few, I'm just going to rest for a little… and prepare for the onslaught of questioning I'm sure to receive.

I'm not sure how long it is before I fall asleep next to him.

I wake with a start. The room is dark, but I see some light trying to peek through the blackout curtains. I feel a strong sense of déjà vu.

Edward is sound asleep next to me in the same position he passed out in. My phone says it's almost 3 pm. We've slept the day away, but we both needed the rest.

My heart drops when I see the missed calls on my screen. Fourteen calls from Rose and six from Alice. Oh no, they must be so worried. I've been gone the past day and a half and never told them what was going on.

As if she senses I'm awake, Rose's name flashes on the screen as she calls again.

Fifteen missed calls.

I need to talk to her. I've been completely irresponsible. But I need to make sure Edward is okay first. I send her a quick text letting her know I'm okay and that I'll call her in a few. That doesn't stop her from calling again.

Sixteen missed calls.

I sigh.

"Edward?" I whisper shaking him gently, he doesn't budge. I call him again and he stirs slightly with a groan. He's still out cold. I check his wound and see the stitches held. I grab the painkillers and place them next to him, so he'll see them when he wakes up.

My stomach growls. God, when was the last time I ate? I can't even remember. I've been so focused on making sure Edward was on the mend that I'd neglected everything else.

I raid his fridge and cabinets, he doesn't have much. Thankfully, the milk he has expires tomorrow so I make a bowl of cereal. I know I need to eat but my stomach is in knots as I swallow each bite. I'm terrified of facing Rose and Alice and I'm not sure why. Maybe I don't want to explain to them what's happened to Edward. Maybe I'm afraid to face my own reality and the truth that things run deeper than I may have realized.

Edward has been lying to me. About work, about himself. God who knows what else?

Agent Anderson's words come back to me.

'Makes you wonder what he's be doing been doing with himself.'

I don't know how long I sit there staring at nothing. I'm zoned out, lost in my thoughts. I don't know what I'm going to do next, but I know I can't put talking to Rose off any longer.

I check on Edward one more time, grab my phone, and head to the bathroom. Rose's name flashes again and I pick it up nervously.

"Bella? Where are you? Where have you been? Are you ok?" Her tone is surprisingly controlled

"Yeah, I'm fine Rose. I texted you that." I speak softly, careful not to wake Edward in the next room.

"Bella, you should come home. I need to talk to you," her words are measured, but I can detect a sense of urgency behind them.

"Rose, I can't right now, I'm…working on something."

"Bella, I need to talk to you and it's very important…it can't wait."

"Okay, if it's so Important just tell me over the phone," I sit on the lid of the toilet, my heart pounding.

"It's about Edward and I don't think you're going to like it," Rose sighs.

"Rose, I thought we talked about this…" I want to hang up but something inside of me doesn't. It's as if the recent revelations about him make me think twice. I don't want to hear what she has to say but I know I need to.

"Bella," she continues. "I know and I'm sorry. Except it's serious okay? Just listen," I'm up and pacing now, the bathroom seems even smaller now as if the walls are closing in on me. She takes my silence as acceptance and continues.

"You know Emmett's buddy, Dan? Worked for the SF police department?"

"Sure," I say quietly.

"He does background checks for the club's new hires, background investigations, those types of things," she speaks quickly.

"Ok…"

"A few weeks ago, I was talking with Em about how worried I was about you and the whole Edward thing. He offered to have Dan do a quick check, just to ease my worries."

"Rose, I can't believe you!" My blood begins to boil, her controlling nature knows no bounds.

"I know Bella, I didn't even think he'd find anything! Honestly, I'd forgotten about it. I would've told him to stop it if I'd remembered. This was before our argument and I know I promised to give him a chance."

"Jesus Christ, Rose," I sigh.

"But Bella…he found something."

It's as if my world comes crashing down around me. My heart begins to race even faster.

I drop on the edge of the bathtub. I can no longer hold myself up because deep down I know this is it. I'm about to hear some of Edward's secrets. Secrets I've been afraid of discovering but desperately needed to know. I don't know what to expect or how I'll handle it, but I brace myself for Rose's words.

"What?" I whisper.

"It wasn't much to find out on him Bella, that's the disturbing part," she starts.

"Rose get to the point please…"

"Bella, he isn't who he says he is. He started working for the San Francisco District Attorney's office in July, but before that…there's no record of Edward Masen anywhere."

I don't say anything but she continues.

"Dan crosschecked the records of the San Francisco DA's office on Edward with the Chicago records. It turned up no results, so he widened his search to the state of Illinois. Still no matches. He ran the California records with every other state." She pauses. "Bella, Edward Masen didn't exist before six months ago. None of the things he's told you about himself check out. It's like he just appeared out of thin air."

"Rose that doesn't make any sense," the words sound hollow to my own ears.

"Bella, it does and you know it. Think about how evasive he's been with you. All the questions you have about his past, the secrets. He's not who he says he is Bella! You can't trust him, he could be dangerous!"

The contents of my stomach come rushing up and I fly up and lift the toilet seat.

Rose must hear me retching and is calling my name frantically. Finally, when I'm dry heaving and nothing else can come up, I stand up and grab a towel.

Rose is still on the phone when I pick it back up.

"Bella, where are you? Are you with him? I'm coming to get you!" I'm silent.

"Bella say something! Are you okay?" I hear keys in the background. She doesn't know where Edward lives.

"I have to go," I murmur.

"Bella! Bell-" I end the call mid-sentence. My eyes focus on nothing, as I process what I've just heard.

Nothing makes sense.

This can't be real.

The man who I've fallen head over heels in love with, the man I've bared my scars to, isn't real. Edward isn't really who he says he is. He hasn't been working. Someone's after him, and he won't say who. The lies are threatening to suffocate me.

What the hell have I gotten myself into?

As if I'm on autopilot I cut the sink on and splash water on my face, then grab mouthwash. My feet move on their own accord and I find myself in the bedroom doorway watching the man I love.

Except I no longer know who this man is.

He is still asleep on the bed where I left him. His chest is slowly rising and falling, his face upturned in a peaceful slumber. He always looks so young when he's asleep, much more content than when he's awake, free of the worry lines that tend to plague him. My love for him is undeniable, even now that I know he's a liar. And I hate myself for it.

Rosalie's words come back to me.

'He's not who he says he is.'

'You can't trust him.'

'Edward Masen didn't exist before six months ago.'

Edward Masen does not exist.

Who was he? Was he really using a fake identity? Was there any truth to Rose's words? Deep down I knew that there was.

I just didn't know how forthcoming he would be. Or worse…would he hurt me if he knew that I knew the truth?

A shudder runs through me. I know the Edward I knew wouldn't. But this man laying before me…wasn't him. Not anymore. Who knew what he was capable of.

My breath catches and I have to physically clutch my stomach to hold it together.

I will get answers, no matter what.

All the secrets, the disappearing, and the doubts began to resurface.

What else was he hiding?

Why his identity?

Who is he?

'Maybe he's running from someone and had to change his name. Maybe I can handle whatever it is. We can handle it together,' my inner voice pleads.

I can't acknowledge how naïve the idea sounds. I've been making excuses all along and look where my adolescent optimism got me.

There could be something much more sinister underneath the secrets and lies, something so big that it could destroy all we've built in such a short time.

I don't know how long I stand there staring at him, but I know it's only a matter of time before he wakes.

I have to act now.

I slowly exit the room, careful to close it as quietly as possible. I begin to scope out the living room. There's not much furnishing in the place save the sofa, end tables, and lamps. I spot his jacket strewn across the armchair. Rushing over I feel the pockets for his wallet.

Bingo.

I glance over my shoulder ensuring Edward is still asleep before lifting it out and opening it. Everything looks to be in place, his license, a credit card, and a few business cards are all that's in it. They all read Edward Masen and have this address. They were very convincing fakes.

Placing the wallet back in his jacket, I move to the side table beside the couch that houses a lamp. Opening the drawer, my eyes widen. On top of a stack of papers sits a single handgun, I'm not sure if it's loaded, and I don't check.

I close the drawer and move towards the bedroom, but something inside of me pauses. There, further down the hallway, the 'secret room's door is slightly cracked, left ajar. Maybe it's a sign or a death wish. I don't think too long on it before I tiptoe as quietly as I can to the room.

Taking a quick breath, I push the door open all the way and step in.

My breath catches at the sight before me.

Nothing could have prepared me for what I was seeing.

The room is sparsely furnished like the living room, holding a single desk and chair against one wall with papers scattered haphazardly across it, a small lamp sits on top of it. My attention is on the furthest wall though.

Adjacent to a window that looks to be covered in newspapers to black it out is a wall. A wall covered in pictures upon pictures. Some in color, some in black or white. Some are marked by writing or circled in red.

However, they all have one thing in common.

Me.

Variations of me litter the wall. Some are of me walking to class, getting coffee, going out to dinner with Alice or Rosalie, leaving the apartment, getting in Rosalie's car, me outside of the storage unit with my parent's things.

My mind races. What the hell is this? Some fucked up obsession? He's been following me.

He's been stalking me.

For how long? Some pictures are at least 6 months old... before I met Edward.

Rosalie was right. He is dangerous. Beyond dangerous.

He's been lying to me all while I fell more and more in love with him.

Edward is psychotic.

"Bella."

I nearly jump a foot in the air as I turn towards the voice.

Edward stands in the doorway, his shirt slightly closed hiding his wound, as he stares at me. His face is impassive, mine no doubt horrified, and we stare at each other for an insurmountable amount of time.

Finally, he breaks the silence first.

"What are you doing in here?"

I don't register his words for a few moments. Perhaps it's the shock of what I just saw or his audacity.

A snort of disbelief escapes me at his words.

"What am I doing in here? What the hell is this Edward? Have you been stalking me?"

He staggers further into the room. I take a step backward.

"Bella, I'm not a stalker."

"You could've fooled me," I say with a bitter snort.

"Bella… please I need you to listen to me," he pleads. I can tell he's calculating his every word and movement.

"Why the fuck are my pictures all over your wall?" I raise my voice.

"I'm sorry you had to find out this way, but I can explain everything," his eyes are penetrating, desperately wanting me to listen.

"Explain fast." My voice is cold, and I'm careful to maintain our distance.

"Please come in the living room, we can sit and I'll talk," he's almost begging now.

"No, tell me now!" I practically yell. He sighs and I can see he's calculating something. I suddenly realize I'm trapped in here. He's blocking the door. And no one knows where I am, much to my alarm.

How the hell is this happening right now?

"Bella please."

My eyes scan the room, trying to calculate how quickly I can run past him and out of here.

Suddenly a thought pops into my head. The gun!

It's in the living room and I only have a few seconds to dodge past him, make it to the end table, and grab it before he can reach me. He's still hurt and I know he won't be as quick. I can do it.

Suddenly, he takes another step in my direction. I don't think, I just act.

I bolt forward around him, running full speed to the living room. I reach it in seconds and yank the end table drawer open.

His footsteps have followed me.

With shaking hands, I grab the handgun lifting it up and point it at Edward.