7
The minutes that followed Edward's decision were nothing short of organized chaos. Alice, Jasper, and Edward set off immediately to gather everything they needed to take with them. Financial papers, medical records, thumb drives with God only knew what on them. Well, that's not true. Bella knew. She knew firsthand the content that those drives held. The evidence of the hell she had been through, the utter and humiliation she suffered at the hands of a monster.
Bella tightened her arms around Charlie as they sat on the wooden porch swing and watched Alice, Jasper, and Edward run around frantically. She struggled not to fall apart, not to weep and beg God to forgive her for putting Charlie in the midst of such hell. It was one thing for Bella to pay for her sins, but Charlie was innocent, naïve, and Bella wanted to keep her that way. It's why she left everyone behind, let them believe she was dead. It was easier, she told herself. If they didn't know, they wouldn't keep looking.
Alice rushed out of the house with three small bags clutched in each hand just as Jasper came tearing from behind the house in a large, black SUV that looked like it had seen better days. He threw open the driver's door and rushed over to Alice, taking the bags from one of her hand and leading her to the back, where they stowed each bag.
Edward pulled the front door shut and turned his attention to Bella and Charlie, the green in his eyes filled with fear and worry that did little to help ease Bella's mind. He knelt in front of them, placing one hand on Charlie's back while cupping Bella's face in his other.
"I won't let him hurt you again," he murmured.
"You won't be able to stop him," Bella whimpered, her eyes burning with unfallen tears. "Nobody can stop him, E. He's too powerful."
"I will not let him hurt you again," he repeated, pushing up on his knees and pressing his forehead against hers. "And I won't let you hide from me, either. Not again."
"We need to go!" Jasper called out, pulling their attention to where he and Alice were standing. "Sorry, but we've got a lot of ground to cover and not nearly as much daylight as I'd like."
Edward nodded and turned his attention back to Bella. "Trust me, B."
"I do," she whispered. "With my life, and with hers."
Edward didn't reply as he stood up and offered her his hand. Though she wasn't sure they were making the right decision, Bella found herself letting him pull her up and leading her and Charlie to the rundown SUV. As Edward got Charlie settled in the backseat, Bella took one last look at the chard car, the smoke still billowing off it in soft curls.
"B, come on," Edward murmured, sliding his hand along the bottom of her back. "We've gotta get out of her."
Giving him a subtle nod, she climbed into the back seat next to Charlie and pulled her seatbelt, the nervous feeling in her gut intensifying as Jasper started the SUV and pulled away from the house. If Marcus could find them in the middle of nowhere Texas, what would keep him from finding her back home?