AN: Thank you all so much for all of the support and encouragement that you've provided me with! It really means a lot to me. I had some time today, and it motivated me to get another chapter out! Hope you all enjoy!

Maybe I had been too harsh.

Edward had dropped me off three hours ago. It was nearing two o'clock in the morning now, and I couldn't sleep. I was filled with too many conflicting thoughts on the nights events.

Had Edward crossed a line? Absolutely. Maybe I could understand the criminal check considering his families social status. But digging deeper? I wasn't sure that I could so easily forgive that. It was my decision who to share my story with, and he had taken that away from me.

It seemed like he understood that he had messed up though. And I couldn't ignore the nagging voice in my head that was telling me that he dug into my past not because he wanted dirt, but rather because he cared. I'd spent so long denying my past and pretending like it didn't exist, but maybe it was time to embrace it for what it was.

My therapist had told me that embracing it would help me move on. But because I had refused, and continuously placed blame on myself, she'd had to help me find different methods of coping with my feelings.

And still the nightmares had returned. So, was it time to embrace her methods?

He picked up on the second ring, and I sat silent on my end of the call, at war in my head about whether or not this was really something I wanted to do.

"Bella?... Are you okay?" He asked after a few minutes had passed.

"I'm not saying that I forgive you." I finally told him. "But those reports don't tell you everything. It's my story, and I want to tell it the way it really happened, and not just how some officers painted it to be."

"I'll be there in twenty minutes." He offered.

"Fine." The line went dead before he had a chance to respond to me.


"I met Jake shortly after I'd turned seventeen."

Edward was sitting in my desk chair watching me carefully while I was curled up in the corner of my bed, the blankets drawn tightly around my body.

"I'd always been very focused on my studies, and being the daughter of the chief of police in a small town, there was never much opportunity to have any sort of crazy fun. I'm pretty sure people even referred to me as stuck up, thought I tried my hardest not to fit into that stereotype." A small, bitter laugh escaped my lips. "And when I met Jake, I wanted absolutely nothing to do with him."

"He was loud, and rambunctious. He drove a motor cycle, and was always followed by a pack of guys from the reservation like he was some sort of god. The idea of it all just didn't appear to me what-so-ever, no matter how handsome he was." I explained, shaking my head slightly.

"But there was another side to him. It wasn't one that he liked people to see, really. There was a boy underneath that tough exterior that was hurting. He'd lost his mom, and his dad is an alcoholic. Things hasn't been easy for him, and he tried to hide that pain under the facade that he didn't have a care in the world. But I got to see that other side by accident one night, and I felt like I really understood what he was going through. So I gave him a chance. And I fell in love with that boy who was hiding underneath." I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes as I recounted the good memories that I had with Jake. "He showed me that it was okay to branch out and have fun, and that I didn't need to spend my life hiding out of the fear of failing the expectations that others had put in place for me."

"Things were great for a couple of months. And then.. he started acting different. I knew that things at home weren't great. He'd show up with cuts and bruises that he didn't want to talk about, but I was positive that they were from his dad. One night he showed up at my house at like two o'clock in the morning and he was crying. He never told me what happened, but I stayed up with him the entire night until he felt okay. And after that night things really shifted. It was the first red flag that I'd chosen to ignore." My heart was pounding in my chest and I dove deeper into the story.

"We started arguing a lot. It was always about little stuff that didn't matter. Sometimes I'd get so frustrated that I was ready to give it all up and walk away, but he was hurting and I knew I couldn't just walk out on him like everyone else had. Every day he changed more. He became more aggressive, more easily agitated, and more possessive. And it wasn't just him being jealous if I'd talk to another guy or something of the sort. He didn't want me interacting with my friends anymore, he didn't trust my family. He was convinced that everyone was against us, and that we'd be better off without him. That's when I began to think that something was really wrong." Edward had moved the chair closer to my bed, hovering hesitantly, like he wanted to reach out and comfort me, but wasn't sure if it was okay.

"He needed help. I knew that, and I didn't want to just give up on him. I wanted him to get better. But when I brought up things like therapy or counseling, or even trying to move out of his home, he'd get so angry. One day, I pushed it too far and he backhanded me across the face in an attempt to get me to be quiet. That's when I realized that I couldn't ignore the red flags anymore. I needed out of the relationship. But I was too deep in." The tears that had been lingering in my eyes started to fall now.

"Three days after he hit me, I went to his house. He'd called and messaged me over a fifty times, apologizing for his actions and swearing he'd never do it again. He'd sent flowers and chocolates and a stuffed bear as if it would win me over. But it didn't. I told him that I just couldn't do it anymore, and that I'd been letting things slide for far too long, and that I was done." I squeezed my eyes shut, taking a deepA breath as the memory flooded my mind. "All I remember is a sharp pain in my head, and then waking up hours later."

Edward looked like he was in pain hearing the story. I couldn't blame him. The police reports had sugar-coated the reality of it all.

"I was tied to a chair in the basement of his great-grandfathers cabin. It was located deep in the woods on the reservation, so far in that the only people who knew it was there were him and his father." I explained. "I was there for three days. He'd be gone during school hours, now playing the part of the concerned boyfriend who had no idea where his girlfriend had disappeared to. At night he'd torment me. He'd use a knife to cut thin lines across my arms and legs, using it as means to get me to tell him I loved him and I'd stay with him. He wanted us to runaway together, and get away from everyone who was standing in our way." Edward reached out and grabbed my hand, giving it a tight squeezed. I surprised myself by not pulling away. I laced my fingers with his and squeezed back.

"He came home with a gun that third afternoon. I have no idea where he got it from. But I was convinced that this was the end for me. He was going to kill me. He came down to the basement and told me all I'd have to to was admit that I loved him. And I was going to. I was desperate at that point. A noise upstairs distracted him, and he went to see what it was. And then I heard gunshots." Whatever was holding Edward back seemed to not bother him any longer. He got out of the chair and crawled into bed with me, wrapping both arms around me tightly and pulling me into him so that my back was pressed against his chest.

"You don't have to finish." He told me.

"Yes I do." I said, taking a shaky breath.

"Jake shot my dad in the shoulder three times before another office shot Jake's leg and they took him down. My dad's injurious weren't life threatening, but he did have to have surgery to reconstruct a part of his shoulder. And it's doubtful that he'll ever had full use of his arm again."

"Bella, I am so sorry." Edward whispered. "I never should have dug into your past. You're absolutely right, it was your choice about who you wanted to know, and I violated your trust and privacy. It will never happen again." He promised.

"I feel so guilty every single day." I said, ignoring his comments. "That my dad can't keep living his life like he used to, and that I put my parents through so much pain because I ignored every warning sign. I ignored every negative interaction because I wanted to help someone who was hurting. So before you and everyone else continue to tell me that it's not my fault.." I couldn't even finish my sentence as the tears began to flow harder.

"Maybe you did ignore all the signs..." He agreed with me, resting his chin on the top of my head. "But you were only trying to help someone who really needed it. You're such a strong person, and there is no need for you to be carrying around so much guilt."

I wanted to argue with him, but I couldn't stop crying. So instead he held me tight and hummed soothingly until I was utterly exhausted, all out of tears, and drifted off to sleep.


I wasn't ready to wake up, but the sunlight streaming through my window had settled across my face.

As I blinked my eyes open, the nights events flooded over me, and I couldn't help but feel like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. I went to sit up, and realized that there was something draped over my side. I turned my head slightly and my eyes widened.

Edward hadn't left, but instead had fallen asleep with me.

I gently slipped out from under his arm, not wanting to disturb his sleep, and went into my bathroom. Standing in front of the sink, I took a good look at myself in the mirror. I had makeup smudged on my cheeks, my eyes were red-rimmed, and my curly hair was an absolutely mess. To say I looked rough would've been an understatement.

Turning away, I turned the shower on and stripped out of my pajamas, stepping in and letting the hot water wash over me. I didn't get out until the water began to run cold.

I felt much better now that I was clean and my face was free of any trace of the previous nights events. I gathered my damp hair up into a bun on the top of my head an slipped back into my pajamas before opening the bathroom door as quietly as possible.

Edward was still sound asleep, and I didn't blame him. I'd kept him up rather late last night, and he deserved some rest. Especially after all the heaviness that I had unloaded on him. I grabbed one of the sweaters that I had discarded on my floor the other day and pulled it, grabbed my phone, and left him to sleep the morning away in peace.

Snuggled up in the living room, the first thing I did was call my mom and check in with her. I desperately needed to hear her voice and know that her and my dad were doing alright. Once I'd done that, I e-mailed the professor of the only class I had today and let him know that I was sick. He was quick to reply and tell me to get better, and that he would forward the lecture notes to me. And lastly, I e-mailed my therapist and asked if we could either set up virtual visits every other week, or if she could set me up with someone here in New York.

When I had made the decision to move here, I thought that that distance would solve all of my underlying issues. But I was severely wrong.

But now, I was finally ready to move forward with my life.