Good evening! Well, it's evening here, wet, cold and horrible. Blergh.

After standing up and wrapping my arms around her back, I unclasped the bra. When it was discarded in the corner of the room, I moved back to look at the girl. Under the full light, several scars were visible. Not huge ones, but ones which told stories. On her knees, bike riding perhaps? The ones on her fingers, cooking?

I sighed deeply and picked her up again then took her over to the tub. Once in the water, she just sat there and let me do what I needed. It was like bathing a small, broken child. She just sat there with her eyes closed and her head down while I washed her body. I was gentle; something I wasn't used to being with others outside my family, but with her, it was different. There was an overwhelming urge to be tender, to care for her, gnawing at me.

She tilted her head back as I washed her hair, but all of her movements were robotic. The girl had given up on life, I knew that now. Maybe, in time, she would learn to trust me and enjoy life a little. Possibly.

I hoped so because we would be together for a long time. There was no way I would let her go back to that woman. Ever.

An hour later I'd finally gotten her cleaned, and her hair washed and combed. When she was dry, I applied lotion to where the bindings had bitten into her skin. I also made sure to apply more lip salve so her lips wouldn't crack any more than they already had.

All this time she still hadn't said or done a thing. I led her to the room which was now hers. It was a light lavender in color, meant to be soothing, and hopefully, restful. The queen size bed was dressed in pale cream linens. I had tried to keep it neutral but could only do so much without asking my mother or sister for advice—and the less they butted in at the moment, the better.

I showed her to the closet, which was fully stocked. I'd had to guess the sizes but was confident there was stuff in there that would fit her. A small desk had been put in the corner for her, and a bookshelf, too, full of the classics. My hope was for her to settle well if only for the short remainder we would be here.

"This will be your home for a couple of days. After that, we're moving away from here. You can't escape. There are guard dogs on the property and CCTV in all rooms, including this one. Anyway, it's not like you have anywhere to go," I added offhandedly as I set her down on the bed.

In the dresser, I found clean panties and a sleep shirt. Moving to the side of her, I set them on the bed next to her.

"It's time for sleep. I'll come and wake you up in the morning," I said and then backed out of the room.

As I closed and locked the door from the outside, I heard a slight sniffle coming from her. It killed me to treat her like this, but I had to. There was no other choice. If anything happened between now and when we got home, the more she hated me, the better. I would explain everything to her once we were back where I was comfortable. Where we were both safe.

I just stood there, outside the room. After what seemed like a lifetime, I raised my palm flush with the door. "Happy birthday, Isabella," I whispered sadly before retiring to my own bedroom.

...

It seemed hours passed before I could fall asleep and then, all too soon, it was daylight once again. I got up when the alarm on my phone blared and dressed quickly.

When I checked on Isabella, she was sound asleep, still wrapped in the bathrobe from last night and laying on top of the covers. The clothes I'd laid out, untouched. At least she was warm, which I'm sure she'd appreciate, somewhat. With a deep sigh, I walked downstairs to make some breakfast.

It was going to be hard to hide things from her, but I had no choice, not yet. Alice would be over later to pack for Isabella. It would be great if they became friends, but I wasn't holding my breath.

Isabella would need to open up first. She needed to learn to trust us all, to trust me. I wouldn't hurt her, I could never hurt her, but people had. She had no trust left in her. Isabella needed to find herself again, she needed to be her again. In her short life, she had suffered so much at the hands of some nasty people. I wasn't perfect. Fuck, I was far from perfect, but I was a good guy, for her. I could help show her how to live again. Couldn't I?

When I took her breakfast to the room, Isabella wasn't to be seen, but I could hear her. I put the tray down on the desk and looked around. I found her huddled in the corner, on the floor. The robe barely covered her body as she sobbed deep, wracking noises from her chest.

I rushed to her side thankful she was showing some emotion at last. Then I noticed why she was crying and wanted to hit myself. I hadn't shown her where her bathroom was the night before and she had obviously been unable to hold herself any longer. The door to the en-suite had been closed, and it was my guess that she hadn't felt comfortable enough to explore. I felt ashamed of myself. How stupid could I have been?

"I'm so sorry. I didn't think. I'm so sorry, sweetheart," I murmured while picking her up.

I bathed Isabella once more and got her dressed. By then the breakfast needed to be reheated, so we went downstairs. The moment I let go of Isabella's hand, she put a good distance between us.

"I'm not a monster," I said somewhat dejectedly as her eyes stayed fixed on the plate. I'd given her no reason to trust me, and most of what I had said had been harsh, so why should she believe me? She had no reason to.

After she ate, I applied some more cream to the points where the ties had been. I'd expected them to be in worse condition, but thankfully they were healing. Next, I phoned up some contacts who were 'in the know' and asked for a prescription for vitamins and antibiotics. Isabella needed to be in good health, which she clearly wasn't at the moment.

...

After a late lunch, which Isabella hadn't touched, Alice came by. She was subdued and quiet around Isabella. It was shocking to me. I'd expected my sister to jump all over the girl because all my family owed her so much, but she was calm and sedate compared to her usual demeanor.

Alice was the very reason why I was here, and why I had to save Isabella.

Although something catastrophic had happened between the two girls, Isabella showed no signs of knowing my sister at all. The lack of recognition was heart-breaking.

Alice had bought her some more clothes, being quite vocal about hating my choices, and Isabella gave her a very faint smile. Was it finally recognition from the past, or was she just grateful for another girl to be around? Maybe we were starting to get somewhere with building trust.

Alice packed up the things Isabella would need to travel, and then left. Knowing it would be a while before I saw her again, I hugged her goodbye and told her to stay safe. I knew Jasper would keep her safe, but that was beside the point. She was my sister, and what she was about to do had rocked me to my core.

There are 2 sides to Edward and 2 sides to Bella. Just remember that lol. See you tomorrow!