3

Bella peeked through the mirror on the sun visor, checking once more on the small, fragile girl asleep in her booster seat. She hadn't been happy when Bella dragged her out of the car and shuffled her into Edward's sedan, or when she realized that they weren't returning back home. She screamed and cried for hours before passing out from pure exhaustion. Bella hated that Charlie couldn't have a normal childhood, that she'd been forced to leave everything behind. All her toys, her stuffed animals, her books. The only solace Bella had was that she had been careful not to leave anything behind that would lead him to them. She learned to always keep a bag packed for both of them. Better to be prepared than to be scrambling to get away. Life had taught her that lesson the hard way.

"She's okay, B."

Sighing, Bella flipped the visor back up and looked at Edward, who had one hand draped on the top of the steering wheel while the other was laid flatly on his left thigh. His shoulders were tense and she watched the way he constantly checked his mirrors, always worried that they'd be caught.

"She's feisty," he added, a smile curving at the corners of his lips. "Like you."

"She's nothing like me," Bella murmured, clearing her throat. "She's more like him, as much as I hate to admit it. Gets this look in her eyes when she doesn't get her way, and I can see the meltdown coming. A part of me wants to scream at her to stop, beg her to just not be like him one time. Just one fucking time."

Bella peeked over her shoulder at Charlie once more before looking at Edward. "Every night when I tuck her in, she asks me to tell her the story of how he and I met. I lie and tell her some bullshit about how he wooed me, loved me, needed me. I lie to her because I don't want her to know how he hurt me, how he tortured me, how he tore my body and soul apart."

Edward frowned, but didn't say anything.

"I was supposed to be free of him. Finally free, but I never will be, will I?"

"Probably not," he admitted, changing lanes and passing an eighteen wheeler. As he drifted back into the right hand lane, he sighed. "I just don't understand how he found you." Edward paused, sparing her a look before he added, "You haven't reached out to them, have you?"

"Of course not," she insisted. "It's just been me and her; just like you said it had to be."

Edward nodded.

"Have you been in contact with them?" she wondered, trying to make herself sound unconcerned. She failed of course.

"Talked to them last month. Played the part of the naïve federal agent well, I might add."

"And, um, they're okay?" Her voice cracked and tears flooded her eyes as she purposely kept her eyes turned from him.

"No," he admitted and she looked at him. He gave her a sad smile. "They held a candlelight vigil in honor of you this year. The eighth anniversary of when you went missing. They cried, B. They cried a lot."

Bella pulled her legs up in front of her as she once again looked over her shoulder at Charlie. "They'd love her, don't you think?"

"I do."

And without adding anything else, Edward drove faster.

—MfM—

"Ring-a-ring o' roses, a pocket full of posies. A-tishoo! A-tishoo! We all fall down. Cows in the meadows. Eating buttercups. A-tishoo! A-tishoo! We all jump up."

Bella sighed. "Charlie, that's enough."

""Ring-a-ring o' roses, a pocket full of posies. A-tishoo! A-tishoo! We all fall down. Cows in the meadows. Eating buttercups. A-tishoo! A-tishoo! We all jump up," she sang again, only a little louder this time.

Shifting in her seat, Bella turned and glared at the girl, noting the way Edward was gripping the steering wheel with aggravation. The little girl had been singing that stupid nursery rhyme non-stop for the last two hours, ever since she woke up from her 'nap' and realized that she really was stuck in the car with zero chance of returning home.

"Charlotte Renee, stop being a brat," Bella snarled, her temper getting the best of her.

"I wanna go home!" Charlie whined, putting her feet up on the back of Edward's seat and pushing. "I wanna go home right now!"

"We can't," Bella told her, pleading with her to understand. "Think of it as being on an adventure."

"I just wanna go home." And with that, the tears fell and Charlie started crying—again.

Half an hour later, and several turns, Edward pulled his car up in front of a small, brick house that seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. As he and Bella climbed out of the front seat, the screen door to the house opened and a tall, thin man with shaggy blond hair stepped out onto the porch, a shotgun clutched in his hands and pointed in their direction. However, as Jasper Whitlock's attention shifted from Edward to Bella, his lips curved upwards and he smiled.

"B? Is that really you?"

She tried to return his smile as she nodded. He tucked the shotgun under his arm and scrambled down the front steps, stopping just short of the car when Edward opened the back door and Charlie climbed out. His deep blue eyes shifted from the small raven haired girl to Bella.

"Damn, B."

"Yeah, I know," she murmured, rushing around the car and stopping behind Charlie, who turned and wrapped her arms around Bella's legs. "Been a long time, J."

"Too long," he added with a soft smile. "Didn't think I'd ever see you again."

"Kind of hoped I'd never have a reason to be here," Bella added.

Nodding, he shifted his attention to Edward. "Sure you weren't followed?"

"Yep." Edward reached over and placed his hand on Bella's shoulder. "Get them inside. I'll grab our stuff."

Bella shuffled Charlie inside the house. As the screen door closed behind them, she found herself drawn to a slew of pictures that hung on the walls. Pulling away from Charlie, she walked over and pulled one down, noting the carefree smile on her face. A different life, a different time, back when she was happy, when she didn't worry about footprints in the snow.

"B?"

Bella hung the picture back onto the wall and looked behind her, smiling at the small, pixie like woman standing in the doorway to the kitchen. Her long black hair cradled her face and her dark eyes were full of sparkle.

"Hey, Al," she whispered, opening her arms as Alice Whitlock rushed across the room, throwing herself into Bella's arms. "Missed you, little sister."

Thank you for all the reviews. I know this is confusing, but it's a delicate story to tell.