Summary: Isabella lived a perfect life with her husband until the abuse started. With the death of her mother, she may have just been given life-changing gift: a way out. But with it comes a whole new world that she may not be ready to face. Maybe with the help of her green-eyed savior. Mafia, Crime, Abuse, Hurt/Comfort.

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. Stephanie Meyers owns characters but the plot is of my original work.

Enjoy!

This chapter is dedicated to my newborn son, Ashton.

Chapter 25 - Hope

Two days passed quickly. Although the nights weren't as easy, talking to Edward on the phone until I fell asleep helped. It frightened me how I depended on him for sleep. How long before he gets tired of tiptoeing to my bed every night? The morning after the second night, I was woken up by a knock at my door. I hobbled out of bed, and peeked my head out. I found Charlie standing there, cup of coffee ready in hand.

"Morning," he said.

"Hi," I said as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes. "What time did you guys get in?"

"Not too long ago," he said. "Come downstairs, I have some things to tell you."

"Okay," I said, and I went back inside to change clothes.

Downstairs, I followed the voices to the veranda where Carlisle, Esme, Charlie, and Edward were sitting. Breakfast was ready, and I greeted a good morning to everyone before sitting down in the seat across from Edward. His eyes caught mine and he gave me a quick smile. My heart fluttered, but I masked my face, just in case Esme was watching us closely.

"I was just telling them about the trip to Greece," Charlie said. "Next time we go out there, you're coming with us."

"I'd love to," I said, taking a bite of the waffles Esme made. My eyes rolled to the back of my head, and I groaned. "Oh my god, Esme. This is so good."

Esme laughed. "Thank you," she said.

"I've been here for over a week, and you never made these waffles. I'm sorry Charlie, but I'm moving in here officially," I joked. Everyone laughed except for one. When I caught Edward's eye once again, his face was strained. His gaze was locked on my lips, and I quickly grabbed a napkin to wipe my mouth.

"What is it you wanted to tell me?" I asked Charlie.

"Jason sent me the official document for the restraining order on James. He can't come within 500 feet of the FSC building, my house, or anywhere I am present. With that said, James was confirmed on a flight out of New York City about an hour ago. He'll be back in Chicago before we even finish breakfast."

A huge part of me was relieved that James was gone. His threat was only subdued for now, but I already felt safer knowing that there was distance between us. The other part of me was devastated that I would be moving back into Charlie's house, which meant that Edward would no longer be able to sneak into my room late at night.

"Oh thank goodness," Esme said.

"It's about time too," Charlie agreed. "Bella can come home."

When I looked at Edward, he was frozen in his seat.

I quickly glanced under the table before giving him a gentle kick. The expression he gave me was funny, almost as if he was asking if I really just played footsie with him. I gave him a pointed look before responding to Charlie.

"Well that's a huge weight off my shoulder," I said. "It's just temporary, but I'm glad that I can breathe."

After breakfast, I trudged up the stairs to start packing my clothes. I didn't want to, but I didn't have a reason to stay here anymore. Well, reasons that wouldn't get me in trouble. As I started pulling clothes off the hanger in my closet, I felt Edward's presence before I heard him say anything.

"Hey," he said.

Without thinking, I ran into his arms. Immediately, the stress and anxiety in my body disappeared, and everything felt right again. He wrapped both of his arms around me, tightly and securely. When I breathed in his scent, I felt funny inside.

"I missed you," he said after a couple of minutes.

I hesitated.

"I missed you too," I admitted.

"Ready to go home?"

"I don't have much of a choice."

As I continued packing, he hovered around awkwardly. He seemed unsure of himself, something that the Edward I knew never was. After a couple more minutes of watching him have an internal debate within himself, I put him out of his misery.

"What is it?"

He didn't respond.

I waited for a couple of seconds before resuming what I was doing.

"Why won't you go out on a date with me?" he asked.

My heart stopped.

"What?" I asked, surprised.

"Why won't you go out with me?"

"Edward, you never asked me."

"I asked you to get dinner with me," he said.

"Wait," I held up a hand. "You never responded to me."

"You turned me down," he said.

"I would never turn you down!"

"You didn't say yes."

"Wait, Edward. I didn't say no."

He ran a hand through his hair and crossed the distance between us. He towered over me, and he took my hands into his.

"Bella, go on a date with me," he said.

I swallowed audibly.

"Edward, you don't wanna date me," I said as I started to back up.

He took a step forward and ducked his head to look at me.

"Bella, what if I do?" he insisted.

"I'm damaged," I said.

"You aren't damaged. But if you really think so, then I'll help you get through everything," he said. "Go on a date with me."

I stood with my mouth open. I tried to find malice in his face, his eyes, but I didn't see anything. Edward was genuinely asking me on a date.

"You're serious?"

"Never been more."

My blush started creeping up my face, and soon, I was glowing hot. He chuckled and brushed his fingertip along my cheek.

"Say yes," he said.

"Yes," I echoed.

"Tonight, let's just go out to dinner and talk. All we do is talk here, in your room, late at night," he said. "Not that there's anything wrong with that, but you're worth so much more. You're worth more than sneaking in here after my parents go to sleep and whispering so that no one else hears us. You deserve more."

"You're going to be the death of me," I breathed.

He closed the distance between us even more.

"Not before you kill me fist," he said.

His face was inches away from mine. I could feel his sweet breath dancing on my skin, and it was intoxicating. I closed my eyes and accepted that he was probably going to kiss me. He almost did because I felt that electricity buzzing against my lips.

"Bella? You need some help?" Esme's voice called out.

I jumped away from Edward, with my face red-hot. Edward beside me was frantically bouncing back and forth as he silently asked me what to do. But it was too late because Esme entered the room.

"What are you doing here Edward?" Esme asked, her hand at her chest. A devious smile, though, was placed on her lips and her eyes flew quickly between Edward and me.

"I just wanted to make sure Bella had everything she needed," Edward said. "I'll…I'll see you tonight."

I nodded.

"Mom… I'll be downstairs," Edward said, and he skirted around her at the door.

There was a silence between us after Edward ran out.

"It's not what it looks like," I finally managed to say.

She hummed to herself and started folding the clothes I had placed on the bed. A small smile was still playing on her lips.

"I'm sure," she said.

"Esme," I sighed. "Please don't turn this into something more."

"I won't," she said. "If you tell me the truth."

"There isn't anything to tell," I said.

She paused to stare at me before she continued folding my shirts.

"But you'll see him later?" she asked.

"We're going to have dinner tonight," I said. The devious smile was back, but I was quick to shut her down. "But don't get your hopes up or anything because I don't want anything serious right now. It's too soon, and I don't think I can do it."

"Of course," she nodded solemnly. "I understand. I'm just glad to see you and Edward are getting along. In fact, I'm glad to see you getting along well with the rest of the family."

"They're pretty great," I smiled fondly.

"And I support you…and Edward," she managed to sneak in.

I squeaked. "Esme, please…" I sighed and fell onto the bed.

"I'm not saying now," she waved me off. "I'm just saying that this is the first time in a while that I've seen Edward spend so much time at the house. First time I've seen him care about someone new since…

I craned my neck to look at her, wondering why she trailed off.

"Since?"

"Since…since Jessica."

"Who is that?"

"Edward's first and last love…"

"What happened?"

"I'm afraid you'll have to ask him that on your own. It's not my business to say. If Edward feels comfortable enough to share that with you…then you must mean so much more to him than you thought," she said, smiling softly.

"Esme, I don't know how to say this nicely, but I don't think Edward is for me."

A scowl immediately crossed her face. "Bella…"

"Hear me out," I said. "I have so much baggage. Hearing loud noises frightens me, meeting new people sends me running in the other direction, and saying the wrong words can send me into some kind of hyperventilation. Marie? She came back just by hearing his name. She took control of my life so quickly it felt like I took ten steps back. It felt like I was starting over and I hated it…Sometimes I don't think I'll ever be me again. Cause Esme, before…James…I would have loved Edward with all my heart."

"You really don't think you'll ever be happy again?" she asked.

"It's so hard, Esme," I said. "Even if I tried to love someone again, it's hard to imagine a world without all the pain I've been through. I think about it all the time. Before I go to bed, when I wake up, while I get dressed, or take a bath…something always triggers me. It's like I'm a ticking bomb. Bringing a person into the picture, loving someone, it's hard to imagine what that future looks like. Especially when I don't even know where I'm headed."

"Bella, you need to slow down," Esme said as she took hold of my hand. "You need to take things one step at a time. Yes, James was too close for comfort, and it scared you. The first step is learning to be happy again, which you did. You were happy, don't you think?"

"Yes," I agreed. "But it was temporary happiness. I was able to mask it away. I traveled, and it was great. Only because in the back of my mind, I knew James couldn't find me in South Korea or Uganda…It was my comfort blanket. Then when I came back to reality, it all set in. I lost my life. A piece of me really did die when I stopped being Marie, and I became Bella Swan. Nothing can bring that back."

"Then James still wins," she said.

"What?"

"You're letting him win."

"How?" I gasped as I stood up and started pacing.

"The one thing James wanted the most was to take away your happiness. Right?" She asked. "Did Renee make you happy?"

"The most," I said.

"Your stories, your books, your teaching…those things made you happy?"

"Yes," I cried softly.

"What else made you happy?"

"Music," I said. "Like Debussy…classical music because Renee loved playing it around the house. Art, even though I can't draw, I love looking at paintings in museums. Esme, I don't care how lame I sound, but I love going to museums. And food. I love burgers, waffles…and cheese!"

There was a tingling in my stomach, as I said these things.

"James took away that happiness. And you can't let him win by living in the past. You have to move on with your life and forget about him. Because the best form of revenge is happiness,"

Instantly, a surge of anger coursed through my body.

"There!" Esme exclaimed. "That face right there is Bella. She's stronger and wiser. She's the girl who escaped from that horrible prison, built a new life for herself, found a family, and became happy despite what she's been through."

Tears fell down my face, but I was smiling.

"Bella, nobody said it was going to be easy. You just have to close that chapter of your life. What's been written can't be changed, but you have to keep writing. And if the rest of your book is going to be filled with fear and sadness, then it isn't a life well lived. You're young, with a chance to change your life, and that makes the world your oyster."

X

"You ladies act like you aren't going to see each other again," Charlie laughed. "Esme, she's only fifteen minutes away."

I gave her a tearful smile and griped our clasped hands tighter.

"Thank you for everything," I said to her.

"Car is packed," Sam said as he walked in with Edward behind me.

My heart rate picked up when he smiled crookedly at me. I was reminded of our plans for tonight, and I blushed. He smiled even brighter.

Carlisle also met up with us in the foyer and hugged me goodbye. As I slid into the car with Charlie, I took another glance at Edward. He stood beside Esme, and when he caught my eye, he smiled once again.

Driving home, all I could think about was Edward's face. His facial expressions, his smiles, and his eyes. It was so different from what I remembered in a man. Not men like Charlie or Carlisle, but the type of man who made my heart skip a beat and brought butterflies to my stomach.

After my talk with Esme, my brain couldn't keep up with the thoughts running through it. Some new kind of hope started brewing inside of me. Edward made me happy, that was a fact. I mean, everyone made me feel happy, protected, and most of all…loved. Especially with Charlie and Esme. But there was something different with Edward.

One thing I knew for sure...I was no longer going to let James win.

This chapter was edited by SunflowerFran. Thank you!

I'm a little afraid to come out of the shadows after such a long hiatus. I hope you all didn't loose hope with me. I just needed time to be with my family. With that said, I promise that VIMF will be finished.

More fluff, angst, and romance to come!

See you soon!