Hello Everyone! I just wanted to discuss a few things. A few people have asked why Bella didn't take Leah and Seth with her or stated she shouldn't have left them behind. I'm right there with you! When I was plotting this out, I struggled with Leah and Seth, but I decided to go for what I believe is realistic for the character. Bella is still very young, she doesn't quite understand how bad things at home are. In her mind, things are not great, but they're not at 'child abuse' level. This is due to her conditioning. The decision to have Bella leave and Seth and Leah stay was not made lightly. There will be consequences for that, part of this story is Bella figuring out what is her fault and what isn't.

So bear with me, I don't intend on just leaving Leah and Seth behind because Bella left. They're still her siblings and she still cares about them.

Anyways, I think you guys will enjoy this chapter. The bright side of things, there will be so much more B & E from now on!

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

xxx

DEC 2007: Carlisle's House

As soon as I open the front door to the house, Edward lurches out of the living room chair. His stance is rigid, face tightly wound and I can tell he wants to come towards me. Carlisle steps in after me and sets his keys on the counter. He looks at Edward's face and then to Esme.

"Edward, go to bed," he says. "Your mom and I need to talk to her."

But Edward doesn't move. He just continues to stare. It's like the whole room is being stripped away, piece by piece till all that remains is just the two of us.

My dad moves towards him and places a hand on his shoulder.

"You did good, you told me and she's here," he says softly. "So go to bed, she's had a stressful day and your mom and I need to figure out what happened."

Edward gives me one last glance before turning and heading to his bedroom. I want to run to him, fall into his arms.

Esme rushes up to me and gives me a hug.

My skin crawls. I hate hugs.

Just breathe and act normal.

I count to three in my head, my body relaxes some in her embrace. She then leads me to the kitchen table.

"I'm going to make myself some tea, would you like some?" She asks.

Bleh. No thanks.

I hate tea.

"Can I have some coffee instead," I mumble out.

Esme frowns a little.

"It's really late as it is-

"It's fine Esme," Carlisle interjects before pulling out a bag of coffee. "Besides, I have a feeling I'm going to need some tonight anyways."

Esme nods and the two of them get the drinks ready. My dad comes back, mug in hand with some sugar.

"I already put the creamer in there," he says as he and Esme sit down across from me.

The liquid is warm, and soothes my aching throat as I drink.

"Bella, I really need to know what happened," Carlisle says.

Where do I even start?

My mother is bat, shit crazy and you left me with her?

Or that I think Charlie might want to have sex with me?

My stomach rolls at the thought. Suddenly I feel like I can't breathe.

No, no, no, NO! I can't deal with that right now.

But what if he does?

Shouldn't they know?

I nearly throw the mug across the room.

And if he doesn't? I'll ruin his life just because I'm so screwed up!

"Please Honey," Esme's sweet voice breaks the inner war going on in my head. "Just talk to us."

I close my eyes and grip the mug tighter.

"Mom's always been," I start before pausing, trying to find the right word. "Difficult," I finally settle on. "But lately she's been worse, edgy, paranoid, more angry than usual," I continue not looking at them. "She got angry with Leah. My sister popped off to her, and I mean, she shouldn't have, but it was like someone took over my mom's body. She completely lost it."

I tell them about the car, how she threw my sister against, slapped her, screamed at her. How I pushed back and threatened to call the police.

"What happens now," I ask.

Please don't call social services.

An uncomfortable feeling spreads throughout my body.

He should, you know he should.

"I don't know Bella," he says before a hand over his face. "Your mother has always had issues, but I do believe she loves you and your brother and sister. I'll call social services, and tell them they should probably do a psyche eval on her. She probably needs medication, or at least therapy."

There's roaring in my ears. I knew this is what would probably happen. It doesn't make the sting any less effective.

"I don't want them to go back into the system," I say.

"Your mother acted irrationally, but the court generally likes to keep families together. They'll probably court order family counseling and private counseling for her. She may have to stay out of the house for a while. They won't automatically put them back in foster care for this," my dad says.

I let out a sigh of relief.

Thank god.

"Why don't you go to sleep, you've had a long day," Esme says with a soft smile.

I nod and walk to the kitchen, rinse my mug before placing it in the sink.

"We'll figure this out Bella," Esme says as I walk towards my room.

I don't say anything.

I fall on my bed.

How will Edward and I keep this up living under the same roof?

Excitement and fear run through me.

It's riskier like this, more chances of us getting caught, especially now that Rosalie is at college. My door opens.

I sit up and see Edward's stormy expression. He doesn't say anything, doesn't move after closing the door.

My heart beats wildly in my chest. My fingers twitch.

"I'm fin-

He rushes to me, his hands everywhere, my face, my neck, my arms and hands. He's inspecting me, his eyes are wild, his touch rough and desperate.

"I'm fine," I breathe out.

But he doesn't stop, it's like my words only spur him on. Finally I grab his hands, forcing him to stop.

"I'm fine," I say as I look into his eyes.

He falls on his knees, kneeling between my legs, his arms wrap around my torso.

"No, this is anything but fine," he finally says. "I wanted to go, I argued, but Carlisle wouldn't let me."

I run my hands over his back. His fingers play with the hem of my shirt line, inching past the material and splaying on my skin. My breath hitches.

"Christ Bella," he breathes as he stands, his hands running up my abdomen, his face inches from mine. "When you called," he continues his lips caressing my own. "I nearly went insane," he kisses me hard.

It's a desperate kind of kiss. It's all teeth, pressure, tongue probing and licking, hands groping, breath gasping and moaning kind of kiss. We fall onto the bed, him on top of me, grinding our pelvises against each other.

Something wet falls into my mouth.

I'm crying.

He stops.

"Don't, please," I beg him. "I need you."

Just make me forget.

His lips press against my neck, as his hands grope my breasts. They're timid, unsure, almost afraid in their kneading.

I kiss him harder, biting his lower lip.

He groans in my mouth, rubbing against me so hard it hurts.

We rock together, wetness floods my underwear.

The pressure is too much.

"Colorado," I breathe out, clinging onto him.

"What," he asks not stopping his movement.

Oh fuck, I'm almost there.

"Shower," I get out, my tone scratchy.

He stills immediately, his eyes wide eyed, and cheeks tinged pink.

But I don't stop. I keep rocking against him, moaning.

"I touched myself," I grind out, closing my eyes. "I saw you and I touched myself," I say as my hand ghosts over his pajama covered erection.

His eyes darken, heavy lidded with lust. Suddenly he pulls me closer, kisses me with aggression, digging his arousal between my legs. I cry out into his mouth.

"I can't hold out," he pants. "Come baby."

My thighs clench together, against him and his mouth opens, his thrusts jerky and erratic.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," he chants, thrusting against me.

I fall over precipitous, his name on my lips.

My legs shake, give out as I grind out my orgasm against him.

He kisses me, groaning into my mouth as we come down together.

His body collapse on top of me, his lips kissing my cheeks, my nose and my mouth, his hand entwines in mine.

We stay like this, hands together, bodies pressed and breathing hard.

I love him.

The thought slams into me with such force, such intensity, I feel like I'm going to be crushed under the pressure.

I love him.

My fingers curl around him, holding his hand tighter.

I love him.

His free hand gently caresses my face.

"I'll tell you what happened, but tomorrow," I say my eyes fighting to stay open.

He brings my hand to his mouth and presses a kiss there.

"Tell me whenever you're ready," he says. "It's not like I'm going anywhere."

We lie on the bed a little longer before he gets up.

"I uh, need to clean up and go to bed," he says running a hand through his hair. "I can't risk falling asleep in here," he says with a shaky laugh.

"Kay," I mumble before slipping under the covers.

I'm so tired.

"I'm really happy you're here," he whispers before quietly leaving.

Me too.

I drive out all thoughts of Leah, Seth and sisterly duty out of my mind. Tonight I'm just going to enjoy what happened between Edward and I.

I'll feel guilty tomorrow. Tonight I just want to be happy.

Carlisle might be a dick, but he isn't just going to ignore what Renee did to Leah.

One other thing to note, Bella hasn't faced Charlie for what's he done to her just yet. She's still somewhat in denial over it. Trust me, it won't be this way forever. Bella will need some time to heal to start seeing things more clearly.

Hope you guys enjoyed this one!