5
"B?"
Bella pulled herself out of Edward's safe embrace, immediately missing the comfort his arms offered. Tears saturated her face as she spoke. "I was nothing to him, Al. Nothing, but a toy for him to fuck with. He knew it, I knew it, and the moment I realized he knocked me up, I knew I had to get save her. He would have used her against me, stolen her away, and . . . Well, it was one thing to let him hurt me, I couldn't let him do that to her. Not to her, Al."
"So you just what? Faked your death? Left in the middle of the night? Pretended the rest of us didn't exist anymore? It's been five years, B! Five years of grieving my best friend!"
"Trust me, I know how long it's been," she murmured, dragging a hand through her hair. "I've spent the last five years running from the man who made it his mission to torture me, Al. You know what he did to me, what I let him do to me. Every time I look in the mirror, I'm reminded of how stupid I was for letting a piece of shit like him ever touch me in the first place."
And without letting them stop her, or reassure her for the hundredth time that it wasn't her fault that he lured her into a world where she thought it was normal to be beaten, raped, tortured, Bella wrapped her arms around herself, walked past Edward, Alice, and Jasper, and found herself curling up next to the dark-haired, five year old girl who gave her a reason to run. A reason to live. A reason to fight.
—MfM—
"You know what I love the most about you," the smooth, silky voice whispered in her ear, causing her to shutter and pull away. Yet, the weight of his body against hers made it impossible for her to move. "The way you beg for mercy."
Bella fought the tears that burned her eyes, desperate to be stronger than she actually was.
He laughed — fucking laughed — as he grabbed her hair and yanked her head back against him.
Bella screamed.
"Music to my fucking ears, my love."
Bella startled as she awoke, springing up in the bed. For a split second, she forgot where she was, forgot about the pain and humiliation she was running from. Forgot about the small girl who had fallen asleep in her arms. The girl who was no longer sleeping next to her.
Bella scrambled off the bed and rushed out of the room and through the small house, finding Charlie sitting on the couch in the living room with Edward while old reruns of Tom and Jerry played on the T.V. Blowing out a hurried breath, she tried to keep from scooping the girl up and running out the door with her. It was an impulse she had fought every day since the young girl was born.
"She woke up about an hour ago," Alice said, coming from behind Bella and leaning her head on her shoulder. "I made her some eggs and toast, but she didn't eat them. Offered her some milk and juice, but she also said no."
"It takes her a while to adjust to new people," Bella whispered. "I'm actually surprised she's out here like this. She's . . . Well, I spent the first two month sitting next to her when she started Kindergarten because she'd throw a tantrum if I didn't. She has his temper."
"Hmm," Alice hummed. "That must be as difficult as leaving everything behind."
Bella nodded. "The only reason I agreed to run like I did, Al, was because I knew you were safe. He promised me that you were safe. I wouldn't have left you alone. You have to know that."
"He told me," she said, leaning away from her. "I just . . . I grieved you, B. I thought . . . I thought he had killed you, killed her, and I cried for you. Then you just show up here after five years and you have this beautiful little girl and I've spent the last five years grieving the death of my best friend."
"I spent the last five years trying to hide," Bella murmured, shifting her eyes to Alice. "He found us, Al. Found us in the middle of fucking nowhere."
"Oh," she whispered, shifting uncomfortably.
"You may have thought I was dead, but he never has. Every month, on the twenty-eight, I get a card. With flowers or butterflies, something stupid, cheesy, and romantic. An anniversary card, where he tells that soon we're going to be together again. So, yeah, Al, I faked my death and ran away like a coward, so that beautiful, sweet little girl, would never, ever know that Marcus Volturi was a monster, who rapes, beats, and tortures girls like her, and nobody can stop him. Nobody."
Bella pushed away from the wall and left Alice standing there with fear in her eyes and tears falling down her face.