EPOV
"You didn't want this, that's why you are running away," Kate accused from our shared couch.
I roll my eyes, stuffing what's left of my casual clothes into my duffle.
"You had James' dick in your mouth Kate, that is why I don't want to marry you," I tell her.
"It was a lapse in judgment, Edward." She argued weakly.
Even with the tears flowing down her face she was beautiful. Her blonde hair was in a tight bun, makeup near perfect except around her eyes. The tears made her blue eyes look almost crystal-like.
I at one time could see myself spending the rest of my life with her, but not now. I could forgive, but this is something that I felt ran deeper for her. She had feelings for James.
Kate was a girl that was charming and poised, perfect for carrying on the Masen name with me. Those were my dad's beliefs. She had proved that she didn't love me but the name that came attached to me.
"Kate, you can have the apartment, my mom will be here later this week to move my things into storage," I say, feeling the exhaustion as all of this hits me.
"Why won't you fight for me? For us?" she cries.
I hold back from rolling my eyes because her words are real, she honestly needs me to stay and this is how she thinks she is going to get me to bend.
"I have a flight to catch," I tell her, giving her shoulder a squeeze before I grab my duffle to leave her and her deception behind.
I'm startled awake by the fresh memory of me leaving Chicago. Kate hadn't slowed the texts, I actually had one from the night before.
In Forks, I was learning that my actions needed to be more thought out. After dropping Bella off, my uncle talked to me about my intentions with her and how I needed to think about my treatment of Jane and Heidi.
Jane was hurt by my dismissal of her a month ago. She also thought there was more between us. I was wrong assuming that she was okay with casual sex.
Bella was the one I was drawn to, but her age and trauma obviously gave me pause. She trusted me enough to tell me what happened to her. It took everything in me not to beat the shit out of that smug kid at the diner.
As much as I wanted Bella to turn him in, it wasn't my story to tell, she needed to be in control and I didn't want to make things worse for her if she wasn't ready to deal with what he did. There was something holding her back, I just wasn't sure what.
I push my thoughts of Bella to the side as I get ready for the day. The one thing about working construction that sucked was the cold. Emmett was helpful in his recommendation of layering clothes and pointing me in the right direction of getting a Carhartt jacket.
I tug my beanie on my head before I head out. My hair peeks out and is the longest it's ever been as I normally keep it neatly cropped to my head.
Today, Emmett and I were in charge of directing the traffic around Main Street while the other guys on our crew installed the wall around the diner parking lot.
I pull into a space near Emmett's truck where he is waiting for me with a bright neon green vest.
"All the ladies will be swarming once they get a load of you in this vest," he jokes, handing the vest to me.
"I don't want any ladies swarming after me."
"Not even, Swan," he heckles, wiggling his eyebrows.
I don't respond.
"She already has you whipped," he says, still talking. "You don't need to confirm nor deny anything I saw all that I needed to."
This makes me roll my eyes.
"I heard Billy let Janey go from The Tavern, know anything about that?" Em asks while handing me a sign.
"My uncle might have called him, I didn't want her to lose her job but apparently I wasn't the only guy she has done this to. It's costing him business," I explain.
"Are you planning on seeing Heidi again?"
I shake my head.
The smile he gives me is enough to know he still believes I'm only interested in Bella.
I leave him to walk down to my post with the sign, which is near the police station. I see Bella's dad a couple of times when he goes out for patrol. He nods at me each time I wave him out to go.
Em's dad lets us go around three-thirty, so I get in my SUV and start the short drive home when I see her.
Bella's hair is in a knot on the top of her head, she is in jeans and wearing my hoodie from yesterday. I can't see her face but with the way she keeps wiping at her face, I know she's crying.
I slow my vehicle, putting my window down.
"Need a ride?" I ask creeping beside her as she walks.
At first, she doesn't answer me or look at me for that matter, but when she finally turns her face toward me I see the sizable welt on her cheek and bruising around her eye.
I pull over enough so I'm off the road and hop out.
Once I'm in front of her I see the silent tears pouring down her face. I bring my hand up without even thinking to gently cup her jaw to get a better look.
"Who did this?" I ask, trying to stay calm.
"It happened after gym," she sniffles.
"Who did it, Bella?"
She shakes her head.
"If you don't tell me, I'll ask Tanya," I threaten weakly.
She glares a little before knocking my hand away.
"Please drop it," she says, hugging herself before sobs wracked her small frame.
I move toward her pulling her into a hug, she surprisingly lets me.
After a few minutes of me holding her, I pull back. "Can I please take you home?" I ask.
She looks hesitant but nods.
I help her into my SUV before making my way to her house, when I pull into her driveway she doesn't make a move to leave.
"When I was grounded, I broke Royce's nose while playing dodgeball," she confesses quietly. "It was this whole thing with his parents wanting to press charges, but the school came to my defense, even my dad."
"Did Royce do that?"
She shakes her head.
"I was trying to leave the locker room when Rosalie opened her locker as I was passing," she explains.
"Did you go to the nurse?"
Another head shake.
"Maybe we should let my uncle take a look, make sure you don't have a concussion," I say, trying to reason with her.
"Okay," she sighs.
Luckily enough Carlisle is off today and his car is in the driveway when we pull in, the unlucky part is Tanya is now home too.
I find him in the kitchen and usher Bella in ahead of me, one look at her, and my uncle is off his seat.
"What happened?"
"Uh, I was walking home when Edward saw me and suggested you take a look," she says, not answering him fully.
"Did this happen at school?"
She nods.
"Let me go get my bag from my office," he says, eyeing me before leaving.
Tanya walks in with her face buried in her phone as usual. She's able to make it to the fridge before noticing us.
"What the hell happened?" she asks, making her way over to Bella.
My cousin gently touches her face before Carlisle is back in the room shooing her away. "Go to med school, then you can assess people's injuries," he tells her.
She huffs but doesn't leave.
"What caused this?" he asks, once we help Bella onto one of the counter stools.
"The right side of my face hit a locker after gym."
"Whose locker?"
"Rosalie Hale's locker."
"You were walking past her?"
Tanya is about to jump in looking pissed as hell, when Bella is the one who speaks up. "I think she did it on purpose."
"Have you been having problems with her?" he asks.
Bella shrugs but looks at me.
"She's friends with Jessica Stanley and Alice Brandon," Tanya explains to him.
Carlisle obviously knew about the girl's smear campaign against Bella; they just didn't know that Rosalie was also involved.
He does a quick examination declaring that she has a mild concussion, he has Tanya help Bella into the living room.
"Has she told you why all her former friends, with the exception of Rosalie, have decided to torment her?" he asks me frankly.
"Rosalie dates Royce King," I pointed out to him.
"So she's hitting Bella with locker doors over Royce?" he asks agitated. "I need to call Charlie to let him know what happened to his daughter. Bella is obviously being targeted by these girls."
"I can't speak for Bella."
"Silence of what you do know isn't going to help her either," he says, giving me a knowing look.
Carlisle gives me one more meaningful look before he goes to his office to call Charlie.
This is the uncle that I spent my summers with after my parents' divorce. My mother liked to say he was a better father to me than my own. She wasn't wrong.
He taught me to ride a bike and spent time with me when I was learning to read. I knew that if he knew that Bella was raped by that entitled monster of a kid, that he would report it.
I sit at the counter pulling at my hair.
"This is about what Jasper knows, right?" Tanya says.
I look up at her, she's leaning on the counter across from me.
"What does Jasper know?"
"He won't say, but I find it odd that we never really talked to Bella Swan before Prom night," she says annoyed. "I like her, and she never did anything to me—"
"But?"
"That isn't the same girl I've known since preschool," she says matter-of-factly. "She was always seemingly airheaded, even though she has one of the highest GPAs in my class."
"That doesn't seem like her," I say, not really buying the airheaded description.
"It was her up until Prom," Tanya insists. "It's like an invasion of the body snatchers or something."
"What is?"
"Rosalie— the mousiest girl in the whole school, basically became Bella. It cost her a lot to get the quarterback but her behavior and mannerisms are exactly Bella."
"Was Bella a mean girl?"
Tanya shakes her head.
"Then she isn't like her as much as she tries."
She's quiet for a moment. "I know something happened, because the way Jazz is with her—"
"How is he with her?" I ask, because I've even wondered what her relationship with Jasper is.
"He's gentle, but that's just who Jazz is, but at school, he keeps an eye on her. He used to fool around with her friend Alice, but that stopped after Bella had her stomach pumped."
"Does Bella know about that?"
"No, and you keep that to yourself," she snaps at me.
It was a little concerning how many secrets the teenagers of Forks had. I only remember being really into baseball, girls, and maintaining a 4.0 average throughout high school.
"I won't say anything, but I think all you need to talk," I tell her.
"What do you know?"
"Like I told your father, Bella's life is hers and not for me to tell," I say simply, but I knew if it became imperative I would say something.
Tanya doesn't like this answer as she decides to leave the kitchen.
It's not long after that I hear Esme walking through the door with Charlie. I watch Bella's dad kneel in front of her noting the injuries to her face.
"Were there witnesses?"
"Jess and a few other girls in my class saw what happened."
"Did you report it to Coach Clapp?"
She shakes her head.
"And you went to study hall after it happened?"
A nod.
"Your teacher there said nothing?"
Another shake of the head.
Charlie heaves out a sigh before he stands, he squeezes Bella's shoulders before asking if Carlisle is in his office.
"He is," I answered from the doorway.
Charlie thanks me before going to find my uncle.
Esme goes to get ice for Bella's face and I take a seat beside her.
"He's going to go to the school tomorrow," she says to me and Tanya.
The defeat shows on her face.
"Bella, what she did was intentional," I reasoned with her.
"I just want to be left alone," she groans.
"She'll leave you alone if the Chief gets involved," Tanya says knowingly.
Esme walks in with an ice pack and helps Bella lay it on the side of her face.
I really felt for this girl and wished she didn't have to go through all this abuse.
A/N: Hope you all had an amazing Thanksgiving! Please review.