3

I felt physically ill as I stood there next to Carlisle and stared at the truck I'd inherited from my father, the ones with the words "You're mine, slut" spray painted in bright red.

"How the hell did this happen?" Carlisle snarled, pulling away from me and gesturing to my truck, and then to our belongings that had been shredded.

"We don't know," one of the movers said, rubbing the back of his neck. "When we came out of the hotel this morning, the truck had been destroyed, but we didn't look inside because we're the only ones with the keys."

"Clearly you're not," Carlisle snapped, shaking his head. "You didn't hear anything last night?"

All four movers shook their heads in perfect unison, like they'd rehearsed the roles in this conversation. I brought my hand up to my mouth and struggled to keep the bile from pouring from between my lips. It didn't take a genius to figure out who'd done all of this. Gabriel Varner was making sure we knew that he wasn't backing down, that he was still there, still after me.

"We filed a police report, and they assured us that they would be contacting you as soon as they could," one of the men standing before us said. "And we've got a call into the office, to see how we should handle what's happened as far as reimbursement and such."

"Just fuck it all," I muttered, drawing everyone's attention to me. "I give up."

And without giving them a chance to argue with me, I turned and walked back down the pathway to the house, past Edward and Jasper, Alice, Esme, Michael, and Tyler, and letting myself in through the front door. I managed to make it into our barren bedroom before my knees gave out and I crumbled to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. How much more was I supposed to take before I finally broke?

"Isabella!" Carlisle yelled, and a moment later, I heard the door to our bedroom open. When I looked up, I saw him standing in the doorway, a look of pure anguish on his face. "Oh, baby."

"Every time I start to feel like we're free, he comes back," I cried.

Carlisle was by my side in an instant, his arms encircling me. "I know, I know."

"This was supposed to be a fresh start, a chance to put all the misery we faced in Forks behind us," I rambled. "Why? Why destroy my father's truck? Charlie was a good man. No, a great man! Why take him from me?"

"I don't know," he murmured. "I wish I could tell you that everything was going to be okay, that we'll never have to deal with him again, but I can't. Until the police find him, until he's actually put in jail, we're going to have to be extra careful."

"But we shouldn't have to be," I grumbled, shifting so that I was sitting next to him with my knees bent in front of me. "We're supposed to be newlyweds, Carlisle. We're supposed to carefree and happy, just us and our boys."

"And we are," he insisted, placing his hand on my chin and gently turning my head toward him. "This is just an opportunity to really start over."

I shook my head. "You know what I mean."

"I do," he admitted. "And I won't lie and say that I'm not pissed about this, too, but, Isabella, we can't let him defeat us like this. Giving up, letting him get to us, is just giving him power over us."

"I know," I agreed, but before I could say anything, someone knocked on the door to our bedroom. Sighing, I said, "Come in."

The door was pushed open and a very nervous looking Alice came into view. "Um, sorry, to bother you, but the police just arrived."

"Okay, Alice, we'll be right out," Carlisle said. She gave me a sad smile before closing the door. Carlisle looked back at me. "You okay to do this?"

"Not really, but let's go," I murmured.

Carlisle scrambled to his feet and held his hands out to me. When I placed mine in his, he pulled me up, sliding his arms around my waist. "I love you, Isabella, and I won't let anyone take you from me."

"I love you, too, even if that did sound a little obsessive," I laughed.

"I'm obsessive over what's mine," he said, kissing me softly.

"Me, too," I whispered.

When Carlisle and I rejoined everyone outside, I could feel our friends watching me. I wanted to scream at them to stop, but I didn't. They loved me, and they'd been here for me when others turned their backs on me and Carlisle, proving more than once that they were true and real friends. And for that alone, I couldn't begrudge them their pity.

Carlisle stopped in front of Alice and Esme, and leaning into both of them, he whispered in their ears before pulling out his wallet and handing them one of his shiny, black credit cards. Before I could question him, or them, Alice squealed, grabbed Esme's hand, and took off toward their car.

"What the hell was that about?" I asked.

"Nothing," he lied, winking at me. And again, before I could question him, he turned to the two police officers who were taking to the four movers. "I'm Carlisle Cullen. This is my wife, Isabella. What are you going to do about Gabriel Varner?"

"Um, who is Gabriel Varner?" one of the cops asked, a tall rusty-haired man with small, beady brown eyes. The tag on his shirt said his name was McCoy. His partner, whose name tag said his name was Hitchens, looked just as confused.

"He's the son-of-a-bitch who has been stalking me for last couple months," I told them, drawing their attention to me. "He was one of my teachers last year, and just before I graduated, he attempted to rape me. Thankfully, my friend Jasper," I gestured toward him, "was able to stop him. However, the district attorney in Forks Washington seemed to feel that their wasn't sufficient proof that he'd attacked me, even though he left bruises on my arms, and Jasper walked in as he had his hand down the back of my pants. Then, about three weeks ago, he grabbed me at the supermarket in Forks, in front of my children, I might add. The police in Forks still didn't arrest him, and a week later, he attacked my father-in-law at our house, cutting his arm. And now, he's taken liberty to destroy everything we own. So, again, what are you going to do about Gabriel Varner?"

McCoy blew out a deep breath as he wrote down everything I'd told him. "You're sure the person who did this the same man who attacked you?"

"I don't know about any other stalkers yet, but we're new to town. Haven't had a chance to piss people off here yet," I quipped.

Hitchens' lips twitched into a smile.

"Do you think this is funny?" I snarled.

"No, ma'am," he said, quickly.

"Look, I don't mean to be bitchy. I really don't. But Gabriel Varner has made my life miserable. He's dangerous, and if he's followed us here, then we're all in trouble. He's made it clear that he won't give up until he gets me, and if that happens, I won't live to see another day. And I'd really like to watch my sons grow up," I pleaded. "So, please, help us."

"We will," Hitchens said, quietly. "Have you taken out a restraining order?"

"No, the judge in Forks refused to issue one, saying that Gabriel Varner hadn't done anything to cross the line." Carlisle paused. "Which is just one reason why we left. We weren't safe there."

"We understand, Mr. Cullen," McCoy said. "Now, the moving company is faxing a list of items that had been cataloged during the move, but you can tell if anything is missing?"

Carlisle shook his head. "Not right off hand."

"Okay, well, as you sort through everything, let us know so that we can add it to the case file," he stated. "We're going to put in a request for your case file in Forks, see if we can do anything about this man."

"Yeah, good luck," I scoffed. "Those assholes won't do anything to help me, not anymore."

"Mrs. Cullen, you're not in Forks, Washington anymore. Now, I'm not going to lie to you and promise that we'll stop this guy, or that he'll never come near you again. But I can say that I personally will do everything I can to help," Hitchens vowed.

Nodding, I brought my hand up to my mouth and tried to keep my tears from falling, but as they cascaded down my face, I knew I failed. "Thank you," I managed to choke out between sobs.

"You're welcome," he said. "Now, can you tell us anything else about this man?"

For the next hours, Carlisle, Jasper, and I told them everything we knew, which wasn't much. As far as any of us knew, Gabriel Varner wasn't married, didn't have any children, and that's when I realized just how much I didn't know about the man who had been stalking me. Who was he really?

"Okay, we'll be in touch this week, see if we can't get something done for you," McCoy said as Hitchens held a card out to us.

"If you need us, day or night, please give us a call," he said.

"Thank you," Carlisle told him as he took the card.

McCoy and Hitchens nodded before they turned and walked over to their car, climbing inside, and pulling away. Carlisle wrapped his arm around my waist as he turned toward the movers. "So what now?"

"The office has given us some space inside the warehouse to unload your belongings, so that you can sort through them. Then, they should reimburse you the cost anything that can't be salvaged, as it states in the insurance you paid for. I'm sorry we can't do more for you," one of them said.

"Yeah, us, too," Carlisle replied, dryly. "We'll be there first thing in the morning."

"Yes, sir," the four of them muttered, before they climbed back into their trucks and left with almost everything we owned. With the exception of the clothes we had, we had nothing. As the moving trucks turned the corner, Alice and Esme pulled up in front of the house. They hopped out and ran around to the truck, popping it open and started tossing out sleeping bags, pillows, several shopping bags that looked filled to the brim with clothes.

"What the hell is all of this?" I asked, gesturing to everything.

"We can't very well sleep inside the house without sleeping bag, can we?" Carlisle asked, taking his credit card back from Alice, who looked very proud of herself. "Thanks Alice, Esme."

"You're welcome," Alice chirped. "We got everything you asked for, except for the groceries. I figured maybe you and Bella could go to the market, since you know what the boys like more than we do."

"We'll stay with the boys," Esme offered.

"Wait a minute!" I exclaimed, causing the three of them to look over at me. However, I turned to Carlisle. "This is what you sent them for?"

He smiled widely. "Yep. I'm not going to let that asshole keep us out of our house tonight, Isabella. Tomorrow, after we go through everything, we can look for some new furniture, but tonight, we're camping out in the living room."

"You're amazing," I murmured, placing my hand on his chest as I leaned up and kissed him. "Thank you. I hadn't even thought about where we were going to stay tonight."

Carlisle brought his hand up to my cheek, stroking his fingers over my rapidly heating skin. "I told you I will take care of you, Isabella, and I meant it."

"Oy, we're standing right here!" Alice laughed.

I smiled and looked over at her. "Thanks, Ali."

"You're welcome," she beamed. "Now, go get food! I think a beach party is on the menu for tonight!"

—TW—

"Daddy, I want another S'more!" Tyler bellowed, leaping from my lap into his fathers, causing Carlisle to groan. Edward was sitting on the other side of the small fire, with Jasper in the sand next to him and Michael in his lap. Alice and Esme had already headed home, since Esme had to work in the morning.

"I don't think so, buddy," Carlisle scoffed. "You've already had four."

"But I want more!" he whined, falling back so that he was hanging off the chair. "Oh, everything is upside down!"

Carlisle gave me a look before he righted his son. "And this is why I limit your sugar intake, Ty. You're a maniac when you're on a sugar high."

"Am not!" he yelled, climbing off Carlisle's lap and running through the sand toward the water.

"Do not get in the water!" Carlisle and I yelled at the same time. However, before I could stand, Carlisle was on his feet and chasing after him.

"Oh, that little stinker is going to be feeling this tomorrow," Edward laughed, sitting in Carlisle's empty chair. He and Jasper had ran over to the bungalow and grabbed all the extra lawn chairs they could find. He looked over at me and smiled. "You almost look happy, Bella."

"I am happy," I said, but then added, "Well, almost happy."

"Me, too." His eyes flittered over to Jasper, who was sitting in the sand with Michael, telling him a story about ghosts and goblins.

"Have you had any luck finding a place to live?" I asked.

Edward shook his head and looked at me. "Everything that we can afford is on the other side of the city, and the ones we like are too expensive. We've tossed around the idea of buying a place, but Jasper's not sure if the gig at Berkeley is going to work out and doesn't think we should get into a long-term commitment if we end up having to move again."

"Oh," I replied with a frown. "Is that a possibility?"

"Probably not, but we weren't expecting to have to leave Forks so suddenly, either," he said. I nodded. "Are you ready for school to start?"

"No," I admitted. "I pretty scared, actually."

"Why?"

I sighed. "Because in Forks I was the smart girl who turned into the slutty girl. But here, I won't be the smartest person in my class, I'll be like everyone else."

"No, you won't," he disagreed. "You'll always be extraordinary."

Carlisle walked up the beach with Tyler hanging off his shoulder. "Time for bed, I think. Michael, let's go."

"No fair," he grumbled, but pushed himself off the ground and walked over to his father.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm the meanest dad ever," Carlisle laughed, leading him inside.

"Well, we should get going," Jasper said, offering Edward his hand. He took it and when Jasper pulled him to his feet, he snaked his other arm around his waist and kissed him. Jasper looked over at me. "We'll leave the chairs here, in case it's a few days before you get any furniture."

"Thank you." I stood up and hugged both of them. "For everything."

"You're welcome, honey." Jasper kissed my forehead. "If you need us, just call, okay?"

I nodded and watched as they walked around the house to where their car was. Turning back to the small fire, I was about to kick some sand on it when I felt Carlisle wrap his arms around my waist. I sighed as I leaned into his touch.

"You look so beautiful out here," he murmured. "Makes me want to touch you."

"Hmm," I moaned. "I want that, too."

Carlisle spun me around in his arms, his lips crushing down onto mine. And with him holding me, the feel of his lips on mine, I forgot about the truck full of damaged belongings, or my father's destroyed truck. In this moment, all that mattered was me and Carlisle and our boys.