26

Edward stood next to the door, watching as Bella realized that she had family who loved her, needed her, and wanted her. He'd be lying if a part of him wasn't jealous that James got to hold her, hug her. He wanted to be the only one to make her feel better, to sooth the ache in her heart, to heal her from the trauma that she'd suffered. But he couldn't be, and he knew that. Bella needed all of them, and he needed her.

He felt someone tap his shoulder and when he looked back, Carlisle motioned for him to step out into the hallway. Edward spared Bella a look, before stepping just outside, keeping the door open. Just in case, he told himself. In case she needed him, or in case he needed her. And, boy, did he need her.

It wasn't practical, he told himself. She was only sixteen, and he was nineteen. Even if she hadn't been through more Hell than anyone he had ever known, their age difference would have made . . . whatever they had difficult, but she had been through Hell. Her eyes were full of fear and innocence, yet she had seen the face of true evil, and somehow survived. How? How had she lived through Hell day after day after day like she had? She hadn't, not really, and Edward knew that, but in the last two days, he'd seen her smile and heard her laugh, seen the way she held Beth, loved Beth. He'd watched as she tried to pretend she wasn't scared of him every second of every day.

"Figured we needed to give them a minute alone, you know?"

Edward nodded, sparing her another look.

"You okay, man?" Jasper asked.

And when he turned back to his brothers, he heard himself being honest with them for the first time in three years. "No, I'm so far from being okay. I just . . ."

He shook his head, feeling himself becoming emotional. He had done everything he could to distance himself from them, protect them from the truth of how he felt every morning when he woke up with the memories of the worst day of his life. Once upon a time, the four of them had been thick as thieves, but after the accident that killed their parents, Edward had shut down that part of him. Better to not let himself get attached to anyone, just to lose them again, but the moment he saw her, really saw her, that selfishness ended for him. She needed him, but he needed her more. More than he'd ever needed anyone, and it scared him. He had only known her for two days, yet he felt like a lifetime had passed in the blink of an eye.

"I don't know. I just don't like being here, you know?"

"You know none of us blame you, don't you, Edward?" Emmett asked. "For the accident, I mean. It wasn't your fault that they died. It was . . . Well, it was just an accident."

Edward nodded, because he knew they believed that, but if he hadn't gotten into that stupid fight, with that stupid asshole, he wouldn't have gotten in trouble, and they wouldn't have had to pick him up from school. They wouldn't have been on that road, at the exact moment the other driver had a heart attack and lost control of his truck, slamming into them head on, and his mom and dad wouldn't have died, and all of that was because of him.

"Talk to us, Edward," Carlisle pleaded. "Please, just talk to us."

"I am talking to you," he quipped, turning and looking back at her. She was still in James' arms, letting him hold her, being the person to sooth her damaged soul. "I remember the moment right before the truck hit the car, the look on Mom's face, the way Dad threw his arm over to keep her from getting hurt. I remember the sound of the metal crunching, and Mom's screams," he whispered, tears filling his eyes as he looked at them. "She told me to hold on, that help was coming. The last thing I remember is her telling me that help was fucking coming. I want . . ." He shook his head, dislodging his tears. "I never got to tell them I'm sorry, that I loved them, to tell them goodbye. It's not fair, because I fucking need them right now."

"None of us got to tell them that," Jasper murmured, placing his hand on Edward's shoulder, but he shrugged it off. "Sorry."

"Mom would have loved her, don't you think?" Edward asked, looking back at her. "She would make her pancakes all damn day, as many as she could eat."

"Yeah, she would have," Carlisle agreed.

At that moment, Bella leaned away from James, turning and looking at him. She smiled, the most beautiful smile he'd ever seen, and it took all Edward had not to fall to his knees. He wanted to hold her in his arms, but instead, he just stood there, watching her, needing her.

"Um, excuse me."

The four men turned and looked behind them, where they saw a young woman with long black hair and dark eyes eyes standing a few feet away from them. She looked at each of them before stopping at Carlisle.

"Carlisle, I didn't realize Mr. Swan was a part of your family," she said.

"It's complicated," Carlisle commented, before gesturing toward Edward, Emmett, and Jasper. "Dr. Tia Amun, these are my brothers: Edward, Emmett, and Jasper."

"It's nice to meet you," she replied, though Edward could tell she wasn't all that pleased to meet them as she turned back to Carlisle. "I understand complicated."

"Why does it matter?" Jasper asked, causing her to look at him with a raised eyebrow. "He's under police protection, isn't he?"

"Yes."

He pulled out his badge, flashing it at her, and it took all Edward could do not to call him a douche. "I'm a police officer, so there shouldn't be an issue with us being here, should there?"

"Dude, really?" Carlisle scoffed, reaching for Tia, who moved so that they stood in the doorway of James' room. "That girl, she's family, Tia. His family."

"She's the girl everyone's been talking about, isn't she?" Tia asked. "The one from the other night."

Carlisle pressed his lips together before nodding.

"Why didn't you just say that?" she asked, moving away from the room. "You got five minutes, and then you gotta clear out. Mr. Swan needs his rest."

"Is he going to be okay?" Edward asked, drawing her attention to him. "Is he?"

"He's very lucky," she replied. "An inch to the left, and well, he may not have been that lucky. He's lost a lot of blood, so we are giving him a transfusion, and he's on some high dose pain killers, but he should be fine. We are going to keep him a few days, just to keep an eye on him, watch for infection and such." She smiled, and for a moment, Edward could see the kindness in her eyes, and then she looked sternly at his brother and said, "I'm not playing, Carlisle. Five minutes."

"Thank you," he said, and waited until she was gone before he turned to Jasper. "Really, Jay? I'm a cop and I can do whatever the fuck I want," he snickered, mimicking their brother.

"Usually works," Jasper said, shrugging his shoulders. "I got a couple of patrol officers coming in to keep guard, just in case. Cap texted me that Sam Uley was cleared with superficial injuries and has officially been booked down at the station, but until we know if he was working alone, or not, I would feel better having someone keep an eye on James."

"Do you think he has a partner?" Edward asked, shifting his eyes back to Bella, who had wrapped her arms around herself, almost trying to keep herself together. This was too much for her. They shouldn't have expected her to come to the hospital. Edward had told them it would be too much for her, but they insisted that she needed to see that she was important to him. She was his family, after all.

"No, I don't," Jasper admitted. "I think Sam is sociopath, who thinks he can do whatever he wants, and sadly, so far he's been able to. Dude had this look on his face when we arrested him. He really thinks he's done nothing wrong."

"Crazy motherfucker," Edward muttered.

Carlisle sighed and when he looked at him, he saw him looking down the hallway, and when Edward turned, he saw Tia heading back their way. "Okay, okay, Tia, we're going."

Carlisle gave Edward a look before the two stepped into the room, drawing Rosalie, Bella, and James' attention toward them. "Um, sorry, but visiting hours ended, and we need to head out now."

Bella was immediately at Edward's side, clearly she was ready to go back to the house. He slipped his hand in with hers, feeling the same warmth and comfort that he always felt when he held her hand. She tilted her head back and looked at him, smiling. He wanted to pull her into his arms, hold her against him, but he didn't want to scare her.

"Go home, Rosie," James ordered, and when they looked at her, he saw Emmett holding her the way he wanted to be holding Bella.

Envied filled him.

"I'll check on you in the morning, okay? Keep your phone close, okay? Promise?"

"Yes, Rosie, I promise," he laughed, then winced as he grabbed his stomach.

Rosalie leaned down and kissed his cheek. "I love you, James. Thank you for, you know, keeping her safe."

James smiled and looked over at Bella. "I'll always keep my girls safe. Always."

She pulled on his hand, and when he looked down at her, Edward could see the unease coming over her again. He gave Carlisle a look before sweeping her out of the room and into the hallway, but she stopped when she spotted the two Jasper had called Newton and Crowley outside of the room with Jasper. They both opened their mouths to speak to her, but Jasper put his hand up, stopping them.

"Take her to the lobby," Jasper ordered.

"Okay," he murmured, and led Bella down the hallway to the waiting room. "Are you okay?"

She shifted her eyes to his, and shrugged. "Why were they looking at me like that? Like . . . like they knew me, or something?"

"Um, I don't know," he lied, unsure how much he should tell her. They'd given up on her, left her in the hands of Sam Uley for eight years, after all.

"Let's get out of here," Jasper groused as he, Carlisle, Emmett, and Rosalie came hurrying from the back.

As they walked out of the hospital, Bella kept herself close to Edward, almost like she was trying to hide behind him. He slipped his hand out of hers, and when she looked up at him with fear in her eyes, he couldn't stop himself from wrapping his arm around her waist, the feel of her against him eased the ache in his heart.

Edward opened the backdoor to the car, and gestured for Bella to climb in first, which she did. He slid in beside her, and as Carlisle headed back to the house, Bella scooted over and sat next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder, and looping her arm in with his. Edward smiled, knowing Bella Swan owned him in every way possible.

When Carlisle parked in the driveway, Edward expected her to lean away, but she didn't, and it was in that moment, he realized she'd fallen asleep against him. He slipped his arm around her back and under her legs, dragging her across his lap before managing to climb out of the backseat.

"Got her?" Carlisle whispered, reaching for her.

"Yeah, I'll take care of her," he whispered, and carried her across the yard, up the front porch, and through the open door as Carlisle held it open for her.

Esme, Alice, and Peter were still in the living room when they walked in, all three of them looking from him to the girl in his arms. He ignored them and carried her upstairs into her bedroom, but when he tried to lay her on the bed, she whimpered and grabbed the front of his shirt, so he shifted them so that he was lying next to her, his arms wrapped around her, her head on his chest, and in that moment, Edward knew there was no way he would ever be able to let her go. He loved her. He loved her more than he'd ever loved anyone.

Thank you for all of the amazing reviews!