Chapter 3: Video

EPOV

Even while severely injured after being beaten nearly to death, Bella was still the most stubborn person on the planet.

Not even a few hours after she'd woken and she gave her statement to the police officer Charlie had sent to talk to her, she'd insisted on leaving the hospital the next morning. She'd begged with Carlisle to let her go home to Charlie's house, not at all wanting to stay. I knew she hated the hospital, embarrassed by all the questions and looks everyone gave her.

But still, she needed someone keeping watch on her. Carlisle amended that between myself, Alice, and Charlie, Bella would be well-looked after, and that he would come by sometime later on around noon to check on her and make sure that she didn't aggravate her injuries further.

I sighed, helping her gently out of my car and supporting her to the front porch of her house, with Alice closely behind us; it was decided that our cover would be Alice "staying over" for the next few days on Charlie's sofa. It would be convincing enough. I, of course, would stay there at night, watching her, making sure she slept through the night and took her pain medicine.

As we opened the front door, Alice called out, "Charlie?" He rose from the sofa and went to meet us at the door.

"I thought your father said she was supposed to be there for another few days?" he asked gruffly, glaring slightly at me. Seriously, couldn't you persuade her to stay there longer?

"Yeah, she had other ideas," Alice said, rolling her eyes and shaking her head, incredulously. Even injured, she's gotta have her way.

"I hated the hospital," Bella mumbled as she leaned against my chest heavily.

"Come on, let's go upstairs," I murmured, guiding her in the direction of her room.

"Don't leave." She clutched at my shirt tightly.

"Where else would I go?"

Charlie sighed heavily. He's really devoted to her . . . but still, doesn't change that he left her once, if he did it again . . . but the way he'd hovered over her at the hospital, the way he apologized . . .

Alice and I continued venturing up the stairs with Charlie closely following. As we laid Bella down on her bed, he moved to remove her shoes while I leaned back against her headboard, and Alice sat at her feet, draping her quilt over her. Bella's head leaned back against her pillow while I stroked her hair from her face, but before we could truly get her to settle down, we heard a knock at the door.

"I'll go get it," Charlie grumbled. As he moved to answer, I heard Angela and Ben's thoughts.

She's going to be so humiliated when she hears what happened, but she needs to know. We have to tell her.

I flared with anger as Angela recalled what she'd found that morning. Bella sensed my body stiffening.

"What's wrong?"

"Angela and Ben are here to tell you something. You're not going to like it," I said behind a clenched jaw as I heard Charlie answering the door.

"Angela, Ben, what are you doing here?"

"We need to tell Bella something. It's bad, Chief Swan, really bad." Angela's voice was nervous.

"Come in. But don't overwhelm her she's gotta sleep."

Their footsteps pounded as they rushed up the stairs. When they arrived at the threshold, both their faces paled significantly.

"God, Bella," Ben whispered, shaking his head in disgust at what Lauren and Jessica had done to her, the extent of it.

"What?" she murmured, barely acknowledging them as she came close to nodding off.

"Something's happened," Angela whispered, "the video Jessica took of Lauren beating you? She uploaded it on YouTube."

Bella's body went rigid as her eyes flew open, her breath nearly hyperventilating as she whispered, "What? Why?"

"So they could get views, I guess," Ben hissed, disgusted.

"It's really out there?"

"It is. It's already got over five-hundred views, and it's only going up higher; Katie and Eric told me. Mike saw it, too," Angela whispered, shaking her head as tears filled her gentle brown eyes. She sat down on the floor near Bella's bed, her face falling into her hands. "They're sick . . . I can't believe for five years I was friends with two people who ended up doing this to someone . . . and they're bragging about it, like . . . like this is all a joke to them, and they don't even care, it's like they're getting high off of watching you be . . ." Her voice choked at the end.

Ben wrapped his arm around her instantly. "I know."

"I mean, I knew Lauren was always bitter. But never did I think she'd do this to someone."

"Angela, you couldn't have known," Alice whispered comfortingly. "None of us did." And it was true. Even Alice didn't see it coming because Lauren and Jessica kept it hidden; they made it look like a last-minute decision, they were sneaky about it, quick. Even I couldn't pick it up from their thoughts, either.

"Did you see it?" I asked her quietly.

She shook her head. "No . . . not yet. And I'm not sure if I want to. I mean, why would I want to? It's bad enough that I found you like that, Bella, you could've died, you were blue, I'd never seen anything like it in my life!" A sob went past her lips.

Bella, whose eyes were flooding tearfully, shook her head as she buried her face into her pillow. I smoothed her hair down her neck. "So, the whole world knows?" she mumbled.

"Pretty much," Ben whispered, the traces of an apology there.

Suddenly, we all heard the phone ringing and Charlie answering, and I could hear Renee on the other line.

"Charlie . . . Charlie oh God! Is it . . .? Is Bella? Where is she?! I need to talk to her! NOW!"

I closed my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose. Renee knew; someone must've told her about the video footage being out there, and she must've seen it.

Bella, who had a sixth sense about her mother, whispered, "Renee!" as Charlie came up the stairs, phone in hand, away from his ear as he winced at the piercing shrieks Bella's mother was releasing.

"Bells," he whispered.

"I know." Bella's voice trembled as tears began to soak into her pillow.

"Charlie, I'll talk to her, give me the phone," Alice whispered, extending her hand out as she rose from the bed. Charlie placed it into her hand and Alice pressed the phone to her ear. "Renee, it's Alice. Bella's out of the hospital but she's trying to rest now."

"Alice, I need to talk to her! I . . . I have to know . . . is she . . . will she . . .?!"

"She'll heal, but she needs to relax; what's worse is the person who recorded the video was someone she considered a friend. Give her time to process it all. She doesn't need hysterics right now; she just needs everything to be calm, normal, as normal as it can be." Alice's voice remained soothing as I kept stroking Bella's hair, keeping her tucked against my chest as I rocked her gently.

"Alice, let me," Bella mumbled. My Bella, always so selfless, thinking of everyone else, worrying for her mother's reaction even though she was the one lying injured on her bed.

"Bella, no," I told her gently. "Right now isn't the time for you to worry about comforting your mother; let someone else take care of you for once instead of worrying about everybody else."

"I can't argue with you on that, Edward," Charlie told me, surprising me with his response.

"Renee, I know you're worried. But Edward and I are taking care of her, so is Charlie. And Carlisle's going to be by soon to check on her. Just give yourself some time to calm down, and then fly out here," Alice continued before she hung up the phone, handing it back to Charlie before moving to sit on the bed at Bella's feet again.

"Bella we'll come by tomorrow, all right," Angela whispered. "Feel better soon." She leaned a kind hand against Bella's shoulder before exiting, Ben at her heels. My dead heart clenched with the natural kindness Angela had towards Bella; she truly had been a good friend for her, someone whom Bella could rely on.

I sighed heavily, leaning a kiss against her head and lying my head on her pillow, crushing her gently to my chest and humming her lullaby, quietly, hoping I would be able to help her rest a little longer, at least until Carlisle came to check on her.


RPOV

I felt my breath catching in my throat as my eyes locked on the video image before me, the venom behind my eyes stung as my hand flew to my mouth. If I could get nauseous, I would be vomiting right now.

"You are just a pathetic, regular whore!" Lauren Mallory's sneer pierced through as she shoved Bella against the rows of lockers in the change room.

"How am I a whore?! Name one guy I slept with!"

"Cullen, of course! Or how about that Jacob Black guy down at La Push, mmh? I bet they pass you around a lot between them."

"Shut up, Lauren! Just stop, please!"

The slap delivered to her face was so loud, it echoed through the locker room. But Lauren didn't stop. She went back in and slapped Bella again, and again, grabbing her by her hair and jerking her head back as she aimed a punch at Bella's eye, brutally. I could almost see the bruises already forming on her ivory skin as she cried out in pain.

"Fight back!" Jessica Stanley was sneering. But Bella refused. She took another blow delivered to her face before Lauren punched her in the stomach, hard.

I closed my eyes, unable to watch as a sob went past my lips. Jasper, on the other hand, was stiff, every inch of his muscles not moving as he just sat there, watching, his shock and anger for what happened to Bella pouring off him in waves, elevating the rage I already felt.

"Get a good shot of this, Jess. I wanna upload this later. Just make sure you get my good side!"

"Good side my ass!" I snarled through my sobs as I felt large arms wrapping around me, and I sunk into Emmett's embrace as he hugged me tightly. I could hear him growling.

"Come on, you little coward, fight back!" Jessica was taunting. Another sharp punch could be heard as Bella's head slammed into metal, and it cracked into the linoleum beneath her.

"Get up!" A sharp kick, probably to her face. I heard Jasper beginning to sob quietly. I peered from Emmett's chest to see his shoulders were trembling hard at the sight of Lauren dragging Bella out of the locker room and out of the gym to outside, in the cold, slamming her into the brick wall and continuing to beat her, while taunting her to fight back. He was no doubt caught up in flashes from his past with Maria and those newborns. He buried his face in his arms as he sobbed brokenly, something that was extremely rare from Jazz – he never cried, not this openly, not unless he was in the deep waters of a panic attack.

Watching as Lauren continuously beat Bella senseless; I could almost see Royce on top of me, beating me and beating me, ripping my clothes off and . . . I shuddered hard in Emmett's arms as a sob went past my lips, and Esme came upstairs with Carlisle, who'd been in his office grabbing his medical bag to bring to the Swan residence.

Esme's face twisted into a very rare snarl as she hissed, "Turn that off!"

Emmett briefly released me, going over to close the browser. Esme continued to glower.

"Why would you . . .?"

"We needed to see how bad it was," I whispered, my voice breaking. "How could anybody . . .? When Jazz and I found her she was blue! She . . . She could hardly breathe! She could've died, they didn't even care."

"I know." Carlisle's voice was marred with agony for what Bella had to go through. His jaw was in a hard line as his eyes reflected unmistakable, rare rage. He walked over and leaned a hand on Jasper's shoulder. Jasper, who continued tearlessly sobbing with his head hidden in his arm, looked up.

"Jazz you should go talk to her," I whispered.

He nodded in agreement, his eyes pained as he pushed his hands through his hair. He silently followed Carlisle out of the room, but even I could tell he was debating on what he should say to Bella, how he should say it, knowing that their experiences were so close. Granted, Bella had never been violated the way Jazz and I had been, but still, she'd been betrayed by someone she thought she could trust, she'd gotten beaten senseless and left for dead. And I was so sure she wouldn't want to speak to me about it – I made my distaste for her lack of respect for her own humanity well-known, to a point where I made it seem I hated her; I'd been a complete bitch, just as much as Lauren and Jessica, what could I possibly tell her that would make any of it better?

Emmett, who knew me better than I knew myself, tightened his arms around me. "Rosie, I know you'll make it right. Eventually. When the time comes, you'll know what to say." He leaned a kiss into my hair, and I sighed. I hoped he was right.


BPOV

I awoke to cold hands gently touching me, and I groaned. I wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep, but my body was so stiff, so sore. A dull ache spread through my stomach, my back, my head, everywhere as the pillow under my head seemed to grow harder.

"Her bruises are fading a little," I heard Carlisle whispering.

"I still can't believe Jessica could stand there and watch that happen, encourage it," came Jasper's Texan accent.

"I've had glimpses of her mind," Edward was whispering behind a clenched jaw, his teeth ground together. "She never cared about Bella, she only cared about Bella bringing her attention."

"Well, she's getting attention now," Alice hissed. "I hope she's satisfied. She'll have plenty of popularity in prison."

I blinked my eyes open, my lids heavy as I shifted slightly on my bed. Carlisle's butterscotch eyes stared at me gently.

"How are you feeling?"

"Hurts," I mumbled.

"Would you like more pain medicine?"

I nodded as Carlisle and Edward both propped me up, helping me sit against the cradle of Edward's stone arm before Carlisle handed me two pain pills, which I placed in the back of my mouth before he helped me drink a glass of ice water, which felt cool down my throat. I sighed heavily as I leaned into Edward's chest, breathing as carefully as possible.

Carlisle gently brushed his fingers along my cheekbone as I shivered slightly, and I felt weight shifting on my bed. I opened my eyes more to see Jasper sitting where Alice had been moments ago, close enough to touch, the closest he's ever sat near me since our time in Phoenix. Only his eyes seemed to be contemplating something. He kept glancing downward from his wrist, to up towards my face, which I was pretty sure was purple and swollen, still, and each time he looked at me face, his eyes seemed to be filled with agony for the way I'd been so brutally beaten.

"Did you see?" I asked him.

"Rose and I did," he murmured as his reply. His shivered slightly; I'd never before seen him horrified by anything. This was a first. "It was worse than the video tape James made." His lips curled around James's name as he remembered.

I shuddered, nodding in agreement.

"How much do you know about me, Bella?"

I shrugged. "Not much."

Jasper glanced at Edward, asking, "She doesn't know?"

"No, I'm sure you know why I didn't tell her that story," Edward replied.

"But she should know. She's one of us now." The sincerity in Jasper's words caught me off guard. As little as I had to do with him, especially since my last birthday when he tried killing me, I hadn't realized he thought of me that way. But I also distinctly recalled him telling me, "You're worth it," before we left for Phoenix, him telling me his family's biggest fear was losing me. Tears stung in my eyes at the memory. Did he really think of me as family?

Jasper, sensing my tears, glanced at me, his eyes kind as he reached over, taking my hand in his and rubbing his thumb over my knuckles while he sent tendrils of calm in my direction, allowing me to silently feel all the warmth and love he felt for me, brotherly affection, nothing more. He then nodded at Carlisle to turn my lamp on. The bright light warmed the room as he reached for the arm of his sweater, slowly pulling it up to reveal his forearm. I didn't realize at first what he was doing until he suddenly released my hand, and he placed his arm directly under the glare of the light. Looking at his wrist, I saw a curved half-moon embossed there, teeth marks.

"Jasper . . . you have a scar just like mine," I mumbled.

"I have lots of scars like yours, Bella." He seemed to shudder as he kept pushing his sleeve up, revealing hundreds, possibly thousands of bite marks that marred his snowy, stone skin. I choked back a gasp, tears stinging in my eyes further.

"Jasper, what happened to you?"