Marie

"Stay as quiet as possible. Don't you dare make a noise or there will be hell to pay. Do you understand?" He hissed from outside the cage.

The police were here. They were downstairs and wanted to ask James questions. Marie didn't know what about but James was terrified. He was terrified and pissed off that they had found him and was going to take his anger out on the young girl.

Marie jerked her head up and down, promising to obey as if her life depended on it.

And it literally did.

James had all the power and if he wanted to kill her then he would kill her. Marie could do nothing about it.

He stuffed an old sock in her mouth, gagging her, and with a grunt, locked the cage shut. Marie curled up into a little ball and tried not to cry. James draped a blanket over the cage and she felt him move her to the back of the room.

James was hiding her.

Marie's entire body shook with a force and she was trapped in the darkness. Marie was too afraid to move, she was too afraid to cry, she was too afraid to do anything.

She heard the officers ask James if he lived in this house alone and he said yes. They then asked him if he had a girlfriend and he said no but the officers didn't believe him. Neighbors had reported hearing a scream and were concerned. The police asked if they could take a look around the house and James happily obliged. He was certain that they wouldn't find Marie because he had taken great measures to hide her.

The door to the attic was covered by a rug hanging up on the wall and had a table situated right in front of it. The table and the rug had to be physically removed in order to see the door and after that's been done, you'd need a key to unlock the three deadbolts.

Marie was hidden in plain sight.

She could hear footsteps from down below and wanted to call out to them. She wanted them to know that she was here but was paralyzed by fear.

Fear of the unknown. Fear of James. Fear of the world. So she stayed silent with the threat of punishment hanging over her head and just tried to breathe.

Marie woke up shaking, sweating, and to angry voices coming from the kitchen. She tried to sit up but was tangled up in the blanket. She ripped it off and sat up. A mug of hot cocoa was sitting on the coffee table, untouched, and the room was darker than before. Marie realized that the sun had gone down. How long had she been asleep for?

A loud voice from the kitchen became loud and Marie couldn't help but feel shivers go down her spine. It was a boy's voice and he sounded very angry. She didn't know what about but didn't want to get in the way.

"What the fuck is that girl doing in our house?" he hissed. "And why is she sleeping on our couch?"

Marie felt her heart start to beat faster and faster and stood up on shaky legs. She made her way over to the doorway, so she could hear better. He was talking about her.

"Edward, language!" Esme whispered. "Don't use that tone with me young man and keep your voice down. Bella is exhausted-"

"You're calling her Bella now? She's already got you manipulated or are you just that fucking dense?" He interrupted.

So this was Edward. Esme said that they were happy to have Isabella home but this seemed like anything but.

"Edward, chill out," another man said.

There were two men, now. There were two men and Esme in the next room who were all stronger than her. Bella knew that this must be her other son.

"Edward Cullen," Esme gasped. "What did you just say?"

It was silent. Nobody said a word. Marie didn't dare make a sound.

"Wait until your father hears about this. You have no right to speak to me like that and don't you dare say or do anything to that girl. She's been through enough already and doesn't need you to terrorize her in her own home."

Edward let out a deep unamused chuckle and said, "I'm the only one who's willing to accept the fact that Bella is dead. This will never be her home so don't expect me to go and drop everything for her. I'll be staying as far away from her as possible."

"Dude-"

Marie let out a little whimper and that stopped all conversation. Tears welled up in her eyes and she unwillingly stepped into the kitchen. Her first thought was to run when she saw everyone.

The first boy's face was beat red much like his bronze tousled hair glared his emerald colored eyes at her. She couldn't help but cower under his glare and that's when she noticed the other one. He had brown curly hair, blue eyes and had a muscular build. Marie couldn't help but widen her eyes. From the look of his biceps, he could crush her in seconds and was at least a foot taller. However, Marie didn't feel the same type of fear she felt with the redhead. She just promised herself that she would stay away from both of them. But she knew that would be a challenge. They all lived in the same home.

"Did we wake you?" Esme sighed.

Marie shook her head side to side, trying not to be a bother but Esme didn't believe her. She shot her sons both an angry glare.

"I'm sorry, honey. We were just having a conversation. How about you sit down? You're looking pale." Before Marie could object, Esme had ushered her to the kitchen table and sat down beside her.

Marie fidgeted in her seat and desperately wanted to leave the room. There was so much tension that it was making her even more nervous.

"Aren't you going to say hi, kids?"

Emmett gave her a timid smile but was polite nonetheless. He looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here. Edward, on the other hand, couldn't even look at her. There was a nasty grimace on his face and his eyes were glassy. They held in tears that he refused to let go because he didn't want to seem weak. He didn't want to seem like he cared.

Edward had given up on hope long ago. He didn't want any of these imposters in his family or his life. He wasn't even going to give Marie the time of day because he had much more important things to worry about than some dead girl. He had to move on with his life and so did his family.

"Why don't you two sit down. I'll order some pizza for dinner and can wait for your sister and father to come home." Said Esme.

Edward snorted and rolled his eyes. "You never let us have pizza. What's the special occasion?"

"Well, Bella is home so I thought that we would order her favorite." Irritation coated Esme's voice and Edward found great amusement in that.

"So, Bella, what is your favorite pizza? Or has that changed in the past eight years?" He cocked his eyebrow.

"Edward, lay off her," Emmett mumbled, hitting his shoulder.

Marie's mouth went dry. She didn't know how to respond. What was Isabella's favorite pizza? Did she have any allergies? What foods didn't she like? The questions swirled around in her head and Marie didn't know what to do. Her hands trembled in her lap and it was silent in the kitchen. She brushed her out of her face and gripped the sides of the chair.

"I- uhm- I liked…" Marie stuttered.

She could feel Edward's gaze on her and after a few seconds of watching her struggle he said, "Your favorite is pineapple pizza and you liked Dr. Pepper on the side."

Marie was embarrassed and could only watch him saunter out of the kitchen with Emmett hot on his heels. Her cheeks were a bright red and she couldn't even look at Esme.

"Bro, what the fuck-" Emmett chastised him.

The room was now silent and Marie gnawed on her lip. She was so stupid and utterly careless. What made her think that she could pull this off? Edward seemed now determined to expose her and didn't seem to care if anyone suffered. A part of her felt hurt by the reject but she didn't want to show it.

"Don't listen to him. He's got his own problems, and chooses to take them out on everyone else. Trust me when I say that we've all been on the receiving end and my son will be appropriately dealt with."

Marie visibly shudders, wondering what was going to happen to him. She knew what being dealt with felt like and didn't want anyone else to suffer because of her stupid mistakes. She knows that Edward's pain runs deeper and he won't make her stay easy for her. He's going to try to tear her down every chance he gets. Marie is just going to have to be vigilant.

Who the hell puts pineapple on pizza? She couldn't tell if it was sweet or sour and it left a bad aftertaste in her mouth. Bite after bite, made her want to gag but she kept on eating. It was Bella's favorite so she had to keep on eating. It would look suspicious if she didn't. They had gone through all this trouble to get all this stuff and she was afraid they would be angry with her. They would be angry because she was acting so ungrateful and they didn't want a bratty kid.

Everyone, including Carlisle and Alice were sitting at the kitchen table. The two of them come home not that long ago but didn't say much about where they'd been or what they'd done. Alice looked like she had been through shit and was physically and mentally exhausted. However, she still forced herself to eat with the family.

Nobody really talked during the meal and Esme kept sneaking glances at Marie, to see if she was enjoying the food. Marie thought she had been discreet but Carlisle and Esme both noticed

her lack of appetite and her barely touched soda. They were concerned but out of politeness, didn't say anything.

Marie tried to wash down the aftertaste with the Dr. Pepper but that just made her throat feel clogged. Her stomach couldn't handle the combinations of food and it was much more than she ever ate. James didn't bother feeding her very often so Marie just become used to very little meals or none at all and didn't think much about it. It made her sick when she ate too much.

Marie, had had enough after a second slice of pizza and clutched her stomach. She couldn't keep the pretenses up anymore and just wanted to rest.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm exhausted. Would it be ok if I went to bed?"

Emmett's eyes went wide and all the kids kind of looked at each other shocked. Esme said, "Of, course, honey. Everything is set up in your bedroom. Do you need help finding your room?"

Marie breathed a sigh of relief. "No thank you. I think I can manage."

She brought her dirty dishes to the sink and headed upstairs. She heard the beginnings of a conversation but didn't pay any attention to it.

She was just so tired.

It didn't take long for Marie to get into bed and she sighed as she sank down on the soft mattress. Her pajamas were warm and soft and she struggled to find a comfortable position on the bed. She was used to the hard cold ground and didn't know what it was like to have comfort. She found it strange but didn't want to give it up. She didn't know how long she would have this bed and wanted this to last as long as possible.

However, the guilt of what she was doing haunted her mind. It wasn't right to take advantage of this poor family but she knew that she had no other choice. Marie just hoped she could pull this off. She had already made so many mistakes today and knew that Edward didn't by that she had amnesia. Every little mistake she made proved Edward's point and knew that he was watching her every move. Marie had learned to be very sneaky and quiet with James. She was the master of keeping attention away from herself but was finding that increasingly difficult now. Everybody's thoughts and actions were centered around her and that her feel something that she had never felt before.

It was love.

Marie felt loved and didn't want the feeling to stop. She knew that Esme and Carlisle cared for her and wanted her to be apart of their family. Everything about them screamed affection and happiness and hope. She wanted to be apart of that but everytime James came back to her mind.

She saw his sinister smile and heard his gruff laugh. She felt his hands roaming over her body and could picture her bones breaking. Marie tried to rid away the memories but everywhere she looked, there was a reminder of him. James was everywhere yet he was nowhere.

That terrified Marie.

She was starting to nod off when there were suddenly voices outside her door. It was Carlisle and Esme. They spoke in hushed tones.

"She didn't seem to like the pizza," Esme said. "Or the drink. She didn't seem to like any of it."

Shit. They had noticed.

"It's alright, Esme," he softly said. "It's her first night here so she must be a little out of it. Everything has been moving so fast."

"I know, I know," she said, "I'm just worried. It used to be her favorite and it didn't even seem like she liked the food."

Carlisle sighed. "Pizza and soda isn't something we should be worrying about. People's appetite changes overtime. Things are bound to be different and some memories of hers we may never get back."

"I know but it's just so different. Did you see her face when she saw Alice? She was terrified. She was scared of Alice, who she used to idolize. It's like she was a complete stranger…"

"Esme…" Carlisle sadly said. "Bella has been through so much and I doubt her first thoughts would be about Alice. Whatever she went through, traumatized her enough that she had to forget everything she knew. I'm sad about this also but there's nothing we can do now expect help her heal."

"You're right, Carlisle," she whispered. "I'm just worried. She's already so fragile and I don't know how we're going to tell her that her parents are dead. We really should have just let the police do that. She's gotta be wondering why her parents aren't here."

Deep in thought, the man didn't respond for a few moments. The two of them held onto each other for dear life and stood outside her door.

Finally Carlisle said, "We'll tell her when the time is right. It was to hectic today but tomorrow should be calmer. All we can do is be here for Bella right now. She's going to need us."