Chapter 14
WARNING- THIS STORY CONTAINS MATURE THEMES SUCH AS SELF HARM AND ABUSE, PLEASE DO NOT READ IF THIS MAY UPSET OR TRIGGER YOU IN AN WAY
I have suffered with self-harming before not long ago, and please if you or any of your friends/family are going through it, get help and just remember it DOES get better and you're not alone. I'm always here if you need any help I'll understand xx
Disclaimer- I do not own 'Twilight' or any of the other books written by Stephanie Meyer. All characters mentioned in this fanfic belong to the wonderful author and not me (although I wish Jacob aka Taylor Lautner belonged to me )
This story is set in New Moon, just after Edward left Bella and she is depressed and lonely.
Bella's POV
I stand there in shock, not believing that Jake had just blurted out the one thing I asked him not to tell anyone. I feel betrayed and scared. I didn't want Edward to know anything about this, he liked Charlie, what happens if he doesn't believe me? What if he tells his whole family I'm a liar and they all think badly of me too? I feel the familiar feeling of a panic attack coming on, it feels like I'm underwater and I'm struggling to breathe. I gasp for air as my chest goes tight and my hands shake uncontrollably. Breathe, Bella.
"is she ok?" I make out Edward saying, he sounds worried.
"Yeah I think so, looks like she's having a panic attack, these happened all the time after you left" Jacob says purposely.
"oh" is all he replies, sounding guilty.
For gods sake, I think while trying to calm my breathing, can Jake stop blaming Edward already? I get that they don't like each other but doesn't mean they need to act like this all the time around me. But, then I can't really blame him, when Edward left, I was a mess and Jacob was the one left to pick up the pieces. Now he's just overprotective all the time. I feel my breathing get a rhythm to it again and my chest loosening up and I sigh in relief. God, I hate panic attacks.
"Better?" Jacob asks.
"yeah" I answer quietly, remembering why I was panicked in the first place. I look at Jake accusingly and he must read the hurt in my eyes because he looks back at me apologetically.
"I'm sorry for letting it out Bella, but we need to tell somebody, you can't carry on living like this, things are getting out of hand. Do you know the amount of times I wait for a text or call from you and when you don't respond straightaway I worry that you've been beaten so badly that you might be dead?" his voice shakes and I feel ashamed for making him feel like this.
How could I have been so selfish? I'd burdened Jake with my problems, only worrying about myself and I hadn't once thought of how it might affect him. To know he had been stressing over what I'd told him was like a knife to my heart. Why did I always hurt the people around me? It really would be better for everyone if I was just dead. This thought swirls round and round in my mind like a dark cloud, filling my brain with all these bad thoughts and intentions whilst any good thoughts I might have had are ripped away.
"I'm sorry Jake, I didn't think you'd care about it this much. I would have never told you if I knew it'd make you miserable."
"Of course I care Bells, I'm glad you told me so you can get help, something needs to change, I hate the thought of you being in the same house as Charlie."
Edward squints his eyes in confusion, "Wait, Charlie is hurting Bella? Charlie as in her dad?"
"yes."
"Oh my god, how long has this been going on for Bella?" he says sadly.
"I don't know, about a year and a half?"
"WHAT? Did you know about this, mutt?"
"Bella told me a few months ago," Jacob answers, flinching at Edward's outburst.
"you mean you've known for that long and you didn't do anything about it?" he says incredulously.
"I made him swear not to" I jump in to defend Jake.
"so what? He just left you even when he knew you were in danger every time you went home!"
"Who the hell do you think you are? You haven't even been here to witness what's been going on, I know I should have done something but I was scared, I didn't want to make things even worse if they didn't believe me and Charlie was told I knew! Just shut your mouth, bloodsucker, you don't even know what you're talking about" Jacob yells angrily.
"Whatever" Edward mutters, turning to look at me, concerned.
"We need to tell someone Bella, Jacob or me can't protect you from this."
"I know."
Dread sinks in as I realise the weight of what's about to happen. I watch in silence as Edward calls the police and explains to them what's been happening. They ask him load of questions and he answers all of them in a brisk tone, any traces of the silky voice I knew so well gone. He hangs up and Jacob looks at him questioningly.
"They want us to go the station, they're going to examine Bella's injuries and decide where to go from there."
I feel sick at the thought of someone seeing the many marks on my body that Charlie has created over the past year. To them, it happens every day as part of their job, to me, it's letting a stranger into my personal life and letting them see for themselves everything I've had to endure because of him.
I can't even begin to describe how I felt on the way to the police station, it was the scariest moment of my life. I don't think I would have been able to get through it if it weren't for Jacob holding onto my hand the whole way, telling me over and over that everything would be alright. As we walked in, we had to tell the woman at the desk our names and she called the officer's name that Edward had spoken to on the phone over her radio.
A short chubby middle-aged man with balding hair comes up to us, a serious expression on his weathered face.
"Isabella Swan?" he asks me.
I nod, too fearful to speak. Jake and Edward wait outside, Jake giving me a smile of encouragement and Edward a thumbs up.
The officer shuts the door and he and a friendly looking lady motion for me to take a seat on the brown sofa before sitting on the one opposite me. They introduce themselves as Lieutenant Barnsley and his co-worker Hailey.
"so Isabella, we've obviously been told why you've come here today. You are claiming you've been physically abused by your father Chief Swan, is that correct?"
"yes," I answer, already assuming they won't believe me as they addressed Charlie as their chief of police instead of just his name.
"okay, can you tell us when this started, what exact incidents happened and when as well as who knows about this matter please?"
I take a deep breath and tell them all about when Charlie started being an aggressive drunk after my mom's funeral, how the first time he ever beat me was after we'd gotten home from the funeral, the names he'd called me, the times he would end up injuring me so badly I'd have to go to the emergency room, how I'd hid this from everyone around me for so long and that Edward and Jacob were the only ones who knew. They listen intently, occasionally scribbling down notes on their pad as I speak, never once showing any kind of emotion on their poker faces as I share my story with them.
After all that's done, they lead me to a secluded room, a youngish woman with shoulder length blonde hair and glasses already in there. She gives me a friendly smile, not wanting to look overly cheerful in a situation like this. She's introduced to me as the medical examiner, Sylvie Winters and it is revealed that she will be the one to take a close look at my injuries. I still feel terrified at the thought of having to show my scarred body off like this but I'm grateful that it is a kind woman that will be doing it, her smile made some of my fear ebb away.
She instructs me to take off my clothes behind a white curtain and put on a gown and when I come back, she has what looks like a bright lamp and medical equipment ready on a side table. I lie down on the bed carefully as my heart thumps inside my chest. Sylvie looks over the deep scars running up my wrists sorrowfully as she moves onto my bruised, beaten face and the old marks on my back, legs and hips. She stops around my left leg, feeling the bone fragment still sticking out slightly even after having it in a plaster cast for so long.
"have you broken your left leg before?" she checks.
"yes."
"now I hate to ask this but was this injury caused by Charlie Swan or was it an accident?"
"he did it," I answer.
She nods slowly, as if she already knew but just wanted to confirm the fact.
"right, we're all done here. If you want to head back to the waiting room and we'll get back to you when we decide the best course of action to take next."
I make my way back to Edward and Jacob, relieved to see them after spending so much time with strangers interrogating and examining me. Jake smiles as he sees me but Edward stays silent, in his own thoughts.
"What happened then, Bells?" he asks.
"They just asked me a load of questions and then took me to a different room so they could see the injuries for themselves as a kind of proof I guess."
"Just think, after all this is over, you'll never have to see Charlie again" Jake says happily.
"Yeah," is all I answer with because something inside of me refuses to believe life is ever that easy, that this whole thing isn't over yet.
We wait in that room for hours on end, all of us tense about the outcome that they'll give us when they come to a decision. I'm just about to fall asleep when Edward nudges me and I look up to see Lieutenant Barnsley again, a sheet of paper in his hands. We look up at him expectantly and he has a grave expression on his face. Fear clings at me as I wait for whatever horrible answer he's going to give us. I wish I'd never told anyone in the first place now, if Charlie ever finds out I told other people about this and actually accused him to his own workmates, he'd be so mad he'd probably kill me.
"What is it?" Jacob asks desperately.
"What's happened?" Edward says, his fists clenched.
"We're very sorry but there's not enough evidence to support the case. We won't be able to take any legal action about this but because you've recently turned 18 years of age, you can move out and stay with somebody else who's willing to sign a document allowing you to but Chief Swan won't face any consequences because of the lack of evidence we could find in order to prosecute him."
My whole world collapses around me as Jake grips onto my hand tightly, tears leaking out from my eyes as I sit there, cursing the world for being so unfair.
Thanks for reading, I was very wary to write this chapter as I don't know all the specifics of how the justice system works in regards to physical abuse, I'm sorry if I got anything wrong, this story is purely fiction. Hope you liked it :)