Chapter 10 - Revealed

EPOV

Bella's slouched frame was shaking with the force of her tremors.

"Not Edward," she whispered almost inaudibly.

I took no offense at her refusal to have me perform the exam – though I was qualified, I wasn't nearly as qualified as Carlisle. And more importantly, I wasn't sure I could handle it.

We still didn't know the entirety of what had transpired – of what Bella had endured, and I imagined this exam would be our final confirmation. This missing puzzle piece that could finally complete the unclear picture she had painted for us. I didn't think I could manage it. If I had to, of course I would find a way, but I was glad in this moment to defer to Carlisle. His experience, his gentleness, his strength – Bella needed all of those things right now. I reached a hand out toward hers, desperately needing our bodies to connect, wanting so badly to extend to her some of the strength I had left.

Bella's hand wrapped around my own, a small squeeze pulling me out of my thoughts as I glanced down at her hand wrapped in mine. My heart lightened a bit at the sight.

Her eyes remained trained on the floor as she spoke "will you stay with me?" she whispered. Her hesitation brought me a deep sadness.

I would do anything for her.

Anything.

"Yes. Of course."

With her hand clasped in mine my thumb glided over the small cuts and bruises that no doubt served as reminders to her of what she'd endured.

"Will you see?" she wondered and I knew the question carried a double meaning.

"Edward can stand at the foot of the bed with you, and he won't see anything from there," Carlisle explained.

"And I won't read his thoughts, Bella. I will respect your privacy, love." She thought for a moment before nodding once and shifting her weight further back on the bed, stifling a gasp as she moved.

"I can give you some more morphine, and I think it would help a great deal with the exam, Bella. Would you like another dose?" Bella's brow furrowed, her worry evident.

"It makes me feel… foggy…"

"Yes, it tends to have that effect. I could give you a much smaller dose, and that might help with the fogginess. It won't ease the pain as much, but it should help some and you'll still feel more alert." Bella nodded again, her free hand clutching at her ribcage as she shifted on the bed.

"Ok, Edward, would you?" Carlisle asked, handing the fluid filled syringe to me. "I'll need to prepare some things before we begin," he explained. I nodded and with that Carlisle left the room and headed toward his office.

Bella's eyes didn't meet my own as I spoke "I'll inject this straight into your IV line, love. You should feel relief almost immediately."

"Ok..." she paused for a moment, her eyes searching the room for something "Alice?" she questioned.

"She left a few minutes ago. She wanted to give you some space. Is that ok? Would you like me to call her back?"

Bella shook her head.

"The others?"

"Emmett and Jasper are outside, Rosalie and Esme went hunting and Alice is at the perimeter of the forest, near the stream that crosses our land… they wanted to afford you some privacy."

"Ok." I could sense she felt comfort in knowing she wouldn't have an audience present for the procedure. I stood next to her, holding her IV line in my hand.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes," she replied, closing her eyes tightly as my finger pressed down on the plunger, releasing the liquid into her vein. In a matter of seconds, I could see a small measure of relief wash over her body. Her tensed muscles were more relaxed; her knit brows had pulled apart a fraction so that the tight lines in her face were less noticeable.

"Better?" I asked.

"Yes. Can you help me lay down?" she whispered, guarding what remained of her tender voice. I moved to her side, and as delicately as possible helped her into a reclined position, though despite my efforts I see how horrendously painful it was for her.

She lay in silence on the bed, unmoving save for the small tremors coursing through her. She was shivering.

"Are you cold, love?"

"A bit," she admitted, her fingers picking at the threads of the blanket covering her body.

"Once Carlisle is done we'll make sure you're more comfortable, ok?" Her head rolled to the side as she shut her eyes, her shoulders rising and falling with the force of her breathing. The tension in her body was so apparent. Her anxiety was building, but I let her be, understanding that all of this was overwhelming and accepting that despite my efforts to help, there was little I could do to bring her relief in this moment.

Carlisle returned to the room with a metal tray in his hands, a pale white cloth delicately draped over the top. He rested the tray on a trolley with wheels, pulling it to the foot of Bella's bed. He left once more and wheeled a portable examination table into the room, rolling it through the door before pulling it shut behind him.

The bed was mid-sized, smaller than usual given that it was meant to be portable. It was comfortably padded in a forest green leather material. It was clinical, cold and not at all like the bed Bella was on right now.

That was the point. Carlisle wanted this exam to be as clinical as possible – he hoped it would make Bella feel more at ease and serve as less of a reminder of her trauma than it would have if he examined her on a bed.

How would she feel if she was examined in the same bed she was to sleep in tonight? I could only begin to imagine how triggering the exam would be, and Carlisle was doing everything possible to lessen the trauma of it. He positioned the examination table in the corner of the room, pulling the table next to Bella's bed before locking the wheels in place.

"How are you doing, Bella?" he asked.

She didn't respond. She lay in the same position, her eyes sealed shut, her fingers still pulling at the threads of the blanket.

Carlisle glanced my way, mentally asking me the same question.

I nodded, not willing to center my own emotions in this moment – fully realizing that if I maintained anything by a hard exterior my resolve might crack and I might fall to pieces right in front of Bella.

"I want you to remember, Bella, that you're in charge of this process. You can tell me when to stop, how this makes you feel – you're in complete control. I'm going to do my best to explain what I'm doing as I do it, but if that feels too overwhelming for you, please let me know and I can stop," he reached beneath the examination table and pulled up the stirrups up, "these two metal contraptions are stirrups. You'll place your feet in them as I examine you. Once we're done I'll remove this examination table from this room and you won't have to see it again. Does that sound ok?"

Bella exhaled loudly, nodding as she averted her eyes away from us.

The next moments passed slowly and though it was only minutes it felt much longer. Carlisle asked Bella to undress from the waist below, and she wasn't capable of doing so alone. I could see how much anxiety the suggestion evoked, and I could see how hard she was working to suppress those feelings – to make it appear as though she was perfectly fine.

"Nobody here is going to hurt you Bella, ok?"

Bella nodded, tears brimming in her eyes as she purposefully inhaled and exhaled, trying to regain a sense of calm.

"I know that you're not able to get ready for this exam alone. I can help you. Would that be ok?" Carlisle's voice was gentle, reassuring and calm. His sureness was definitely easing Bella's anxiety.

A few minutes passed before Bella spoke.

"Leave please, Edward," she whispered, moving to position herself on the side of the bed with her legs dangling over the side.

I left without hesitation, standing just outside the door, listening as Carlisle helped her undress and situate her back on the bed, draping her enough that she was able to maintain some discretion in front of me.

When I returned I had to suppress a growl – Bella's feet were in the stirrups, a thin cotton sheet draped over, covering most of her body. She was shivering uncontrollably. Her legs were shaking and her teeth were nearly chattering with the force of the tremors.

She's cold, Edward. But she's also emaciated and probably malnourished. I rechecked her temperature while you were out and there's no fever. There's nothing we can do about warming her up until I've finished.

I nodded in his direction, taking a seat next to the head of the bed. Bella's eyes remained closed, her hands clasped and resting on her chest. I wasn't sure what she needed, or how to best support her. I knew from my own experience that pelvic examinations were generally quite uncomfortable for women, but this – this was like nothing I'd ever experienced before. I had no frame of reference for this.

And truthfully, I was terrified of what Carlisle would find.

I had been living in an uncertain state where I could, for fleeting moments, pretend that Bella was ok, that what had happened to her wasn't as terrible as I was imagining it to be.

I was sure that was all about to come crashing down around all of us.

But I pulled myself out of my head, reminding myself that I was here to support Bella, to lend her strength – not to fall to apart.

Carlisle shuffled around in the corner before returning to Bella's bedside. He made quick work of slipping on his sterile gloves, glancing at Bella as he did so, mentally assessing her emotional well-being.

The next few minutes were agonizing. Carlisle worked quickly, but no matter how hard he tried to be gentle, the process was painful.

Bella tried to stifle her own cries going so far as to press a hand over her mouth to dull the sounds. Carlisle had started by explaining each step of the process, but stopped as soon as Bella cried out t

She wasn't listening. How could she? It was taking all the strength she had to withstand the procedure, there was no way she was able to focus on what he was telling her. When Carlisle finished with the external examination, he moved on to the internal.

The moment he started, Bella bit down on her lip in an effort to stifle the whimpers, but it barely dulled the sound.

BPOV

Carlisle tried. I had to give him credit. His attempts to be considerate of my needs, to help me feel in control of the process were appreciated, but pretty ineffective. The reality remained: this exam was a necessity because something was clearly wrong. It wasn't an elective procedure, and it didn't matter if he stopped to explain every step of the procedure to me… it didn't register.

From the moment he started, the pain was indescribable. But the external examination was nothing in comparison to the internal portion.

"I'm sorry, Bella. I know this is painful."

I bit back a sob as he inserted something cold, hard and clearly metallic. I reached toward Edward finding his hand and holding on to it as tightly as I could. I pressed my other hand over my mouth, stifling the whimpers that were escaping my body unwillingly.

I was trying to stay present – fighting against the memories that were creeping into my mind, threatening to drag me away with them.

I focused on my breathing, on the room, on Edward's face… but it was useless.

The cold, hard pieces of metal that were sitting inside me were agonizing. It felt like I was being torn apart.

And I knew it wasn't Carlisle's fault. From what I could tell he was being exceedingly gentle.

"You're doing so well, Bella," Carlisle encouraged. I figured he must be finished when he came to a sudden halt, but then I felt Edward stiffen next to me and I peered back at him. His jaw was locked in a tight line, his eyes a sharp black and his body pulsing slightly.

Something was wrong. Carlisle had told him something was wrong from within his thoughts.

"What's… what is it?" My voice was low and my body completely rigid save for my shaking legs.

The room was pin-drop silent, which made Carlisle's loud exhale even more perturbing.

I looked back at Edward, but he was staring in the opposite direction, unable to maintain eye contact with me.

He was disgusted by me. Clearly this had been too much for him… it had been the last straw.

"It's ok, Bella. There is no need to panic. I think I've figured out the source of your pain and it's very manageable." I watched as Carlisle glared in Edward's direction, relaying a silent message to him. Edward's head snapped back in my direction, his eyes locking on my own.

The look I found there, in his coal-black eyes caused every muscle in my body to tighten uncontrollably.

"I'm sorry, love," he mouthed gripping my hand a bit tighter. My panic was mounting steadily and I was tired of their silent conversations that left me in the dark.

"What is it?" I demanded, a sharp edge to my ragged voice.

Carlisle paused for a long moment, apparently struggling to find the words he needed to explain what was happening.

"You have several lacerations inside of you that will require suturing, which likely explains the blood loss you've been experiencing" Carlisle explained, an apologetic, wounded look on his face.

His brilliant, bright eyes were teeming with despair.

My stomach dropped, my head began to spin and the room quickly shifted out of focus. I felt queasy, and I could feel the familiar ache in my stomach.

I swallowed thickly and wretched once before Edward had placed a basin beneath my chin, just in time for me to vomit bile into it.

Silent tears streamed down my face and I furiously rubbed at them, trying to gather my composure.

I waited for my breathing to return to a normal rate, and we all sat in silence for a few minutes. My shivering had grown worse and I could feel the deep ache of pain return to every inch of my body.

"It will be ok, Bella. You will heal. You'll be ok," Carlisle assured.

It wasn't just the intricacies of my healing that I was worried about.

I glanced at Edward, waiting to see disgust painted across his beautiful features. Surely this changed everything for him. Surely he was sickened by me now.

Now that he knew.

He knew what I was.

Who I was.

What I had become.

His eyes, however, were hollow, devoid of emotion and unreadable. They were locked on to the wall across from us as he stood stoically, unmoving.

He couldn't even look me in the eyes.

But in his face I could see it – I could sense the shift.

This was the confirmation he had been waiting for.

He knows.

The downward spiral of my thoughts were interrupted when Carlisle softly interjected.

"If it helps, I could sedate you for the procedure. It would mean that you fall asleep for a while and once you awaken everything would be complete and you would have gotten a few hours of rest." Carlisle shifted on the stool, pulling the drape down to cover me while we discussed the possible ways to move forward.

I thought about it for a moment. Mulled over the idea of being knocked out and drugged up. It was an escape – an easy out. It meant that I didn't have to be present in my own body. I didn't have to actively try to pull back the layers of filth that were clouding my mind to decipher the haziness of my memories.

I knew now what he had done but the haze was still there, still omnipresent. I couldn't remember exact details, but bits and pieces were floating in and out. Small reminders pulling me back into the moments earlier on the forest floor… with him.

My desperation… my will to fight, renewed by images of Edward.

"No sedation," I didn't want to be half present in my body anymore. I couldn't keep running from this. As soon as this was over… as soon as I was healed enough to leave, I would. But for now, I had to surrender to my injuries and give myself time to heal. I couldn't protect Edward and the Cullen's unless I was physically well enough to do so.

"What are my other options?"

"I can give you a local anesthetic. The needle itself will be painful but it should remove feeling in the area long enough for me to complete the procedure without causing you too much discomfort," Carlisle's voice was soft, sure and gentle. I wanted to look at him, but I was overwhelmed by the weight and strength of my shame.

"Ok," I whispered, closing my eyes as I pulled my hand from Edward's, overcome by humiliation. It was clear he didn't want to be here for this, so why should I force him?

"You don't have to stay," I offered, looking away from him.

He was pulled from his deep contemplation as his eyes captured mine in intense contemplation.

"I'm not going anywhere unless you want me to, Bella."

"You don't have to be part of this…" I trailed off, stopping myself before I could go any further. Edward pulled my hand into his, his eyes locked on to mine.

"Yes I do," he paused, running a hand through my hair, placing a soft kiss on my forehead before continuing, "I love you, Bella. You're my soul. You're my everything."

My heart lifted, if only slightly.

I believed him.

He loved me.

I could do this.

I would be ok.

This would be ok.

EPOV

Carlisle had made quick work of suturing Bella's injuries. I hadn't been listening as he examined her, in fact, I was doing exactly the opposite. But when he stopped abruptly and looked up at me I, started listening again.

There's significant tearing here, he explained through his thoughts.

I'd tried to reel in my anger, but apparently, I'd failed in my attempt. Bella knew right away that something was off. I could see her in my periphery, looking up from her place on the bed, trying to search my face for some clue as to what was happening.

I wanted to look at her, to reassure her in that moment, but it was taking every fibre of my being to keep control of my anger.

Finally, Carlisle explained it to Bella. He then detailed the procedure and her options, noting that she could be sedated or that she could choose a local anesthetic. She thought about it for some time and eventually decided she didn't want to be sedated.

In my own anger and rage, I'd managed to miss how much Bella needed my reassurance. I had assumed that this was difficult beyond description for her, but I hadn't imagined how many layers of pain she was working through.

She encouraged me to leave, in what I believe was an attempt to shield herself from the humiliation and shame she was feeling. I did my best to reassure her, to remind her that there was nothing in the world that could keep me from her now, not when she needed me and wanted me to be here.

Carlisle worked at unparalleled speeds. The advantages of vampirism were obvious here in his ability to finish what would take any other physician at least three-quarters of an hour in five minutes. I was grateful yet again for his skill and gentleness, and I could sense that Bella was too.

As he worked Bella pressed the palms of her hands flat against her eyes, her body shaking slightly. She remained motionless, and I didn't say a word, realizing she was probably trying to make it through this without dissolving into the pain of her memories.

When Carlisle finished, her eyes remained closed but her tears were brimming and falling freely down her battered face. She was hyperventilating and in seconds Carlisle was by her side, slipping an oxygen mask over her face.

"I'm sorry, Bella," he said, running a gentle hand over the top of her head. It was meant to be a loving gesture, but Bella recoiled from the touch, her body pressing closer against mine.

She pulled the mask away from her face for a moment "are we done now?" she asked, her eyes growing dark and heavy with fatigue.

Carlisle sighed.

"Nearly. I have a few questions. I know you'd like to rest, but I think it's best we get all of this out of the way first."

She nodded as she slipped the mask off of her face, laying it next to her on the bed.

"These questions will be rather difficult, Bella. But it'll help me figure out what the best course of care will be for you. I know it's uncomfortable, sharing all of this with me, and if there were any other way I assure you I would be more than happy to facilitate it. But this appears to be our only option…"

Bella nodded, her body folding in on itself more and more as each second passed.

"Ok," she sighed.

Carlisle nodded and pulled a file folder off of the trolley behind him, his pen poised above the paper.

He glanced at me, his expression intense.

This will be difficult. Can you manage?

I nodded. I knew what he needed to ask. I knew this series of questions and I was dreading it for Bella. I knew it would be impossibly painful for her to answer. I gripped her hand a little tighter in my own, hoping she had at least enough strength left in her to make it through this.

"As I mentioned earlier Bella, you had some fairly serious vaginal lacerations. These are the kinds of injuries we most often see in cases where a person has been raped–" but before Carlisle could finish Bella interrupted him.

"No… no…" she stammered out "that's… that's not what happened." I looked at her worriedly. Her denial meant she was still feeling shame, and her refusal was likely an attempt to deny what Carlisle and I now knew to be true.

"Bella, I know this is difficult. It can be very painful to vocalize what has happened, but you must know that this doesn't change our opinions of you."

"No. I don't… I don't know what you're talking about." Bella had completely detached her body from mine and was sitting in a rigid position on the bed, unmoving and staring straight ahead, refusing to make eye contact.

"We don't have to discuss the details of the assaults today – "

"Assaults?!" Bella was in hysterics, her eyes widening and her body tensing.

"What I saw today in my examination leads me to believe this likely wasn't the first incident?" Carlisle framed it as a question but I could hear in his mind that he was absolutely sure of this fact.

I hadn't known. Not until he said it aloud. He had done such a good job of keeping me at a distance and forcing me out of his thoughts that I hadn't known many of the details of his examination at all – the former included.

Bella had endured this more than once?

My hand reached out, finding rest against the bedpost to steady myself and in seconds the wood was pulverized to dust by my hand.

Bella's head snapped around to investigate the source of the disturbing sound and she recoiled away from me so violently that she screamed aloud in pain.

"Bella!" I reached for her but she pulled away from me, panting now as she tried to regain control of her body.

"Don't." She raised a hand as if to emphasize the point.

"I wasn't ra… that didn't happen to me," she insisted, breathing heavily through gritted teeth as she held her midsection.

"Ok, Bella. We don't have to carry on this discussion right now. We can finish it later. My major concern is considering the need for the morning after pill and screening for STIs." Bella's eyes widened and her face contorted in pain. Before I could make a move to comfort her she was shouting, her hoarse voice stumbling and cracking as she spoke.

"Get out!" she shouted, "leave me!"

Her body shook again, her sobs rolling through her in powerful waves. Carlisle stood from his chair, eyeing me carefully as he did. I remained in my position, hoping against hope that Bella didn't command me to leave, too.

My hope was quickly cut short when Bella's head lifted, her eyes meeting mine for the briefest moment.

"Go," she whispered.

I searched her face, looking for any sign that she might buckle, that she might reconsider and allow me this moment to comfort her. But she looked resolute and decided.

I hesitated for a moment but conceded when Carlisle's hand came to rest on my shoulder, a gentle pull from him directing me toward the door.

"We'll be downstairs if you need us."

Though I hadn't wanted to leave Bella's side, it quickly came to my realization that I'd missed a lot in the past several hours. So much had transpired since this entire ordeal had begun, and I'd spent most of it locked away, trying to make sure Bella would make it through this alive. That was my priority right now, above all else.

Now that I'd had some space away from Bella, and a moment to collect my thoughts, the weight of everything that was happening was beginning to crush me.

"How are you doing, Edward?" Carlisle asked, eyeing me seriously from behind his office desk. I was leaning against the back of the chair, unable to sit because for the first time since I became inhuman I felt restlessness pulsing sharply throughout my entire body.

"It doesn't matter," I snapped, crushing the chair beneath my hands before throwing what was left of it into the wall opposite me. Carlisle ducked, narrowly avoiding the flying remains. He sighed but said nothing as he pushed a stray strand of hair from his face.

"The others will be back soon. There is much to be discussed."

I nodded, agreeing.

"The perimeter, who is securing it?" I asked, the sudden realization that the thing that did all of this to Bella was still alive, well and presumably breathing.

"The Quileute wolves," Carlisle said uneasily.

"What?" I roared, my anger flaring in an uncontrollable way.

"I don't like it any more than you do, son. But it's a necessity. Our family has been rather preoccupied, and I've needed everyone's assistance in merely stabilizing Bella enough to feel assured that she'd make it through the day. As it is I'm still concerned about a number of things related to her health – namely her concussion. It has to be closely monitored. The rest of your siblings have been running my errands – procuring supplies from the hospital to ensure we have enough on hand. The wolves offered their help…" He trailed off, his eyes coming in and out of focus as he stared out the glass window behind me.

In the reflection of his eyes, I could see the bodies of my family members moving through the dense forest, weaving in and out. They were home.

"How do we know they didn't harm her, too? Or that they didn't know it and do nothing to stop it?" I shouted, my every thought consumed with everything that had transpired in the past two hours. The exam, Bella's reaction – the severity of her injuries and the confirmation we had just received that Bella had, in fact, been raped… multiple times.

How could I digest any of that? How could I ever process that information without completely self-destructing? There was nothing more horrific to me in this world than knowing Bella had been harmed. I had failed her.

"You saw inside of Jacob Black's mind, so you tell me? Do you think he knew?"

I thought it over for a moment, trying to remove the rage I felt towards all of them long enough to look at the situation objectively.

"No," I replied, sitting down in the chair opposite Carlisle.

"Right. And we know now that their minds are connected through their wolf forms, that they are all capable of seeing one another's thoughts, much like you are, when they've phased. It would be reasonable to assume, then, that they knew nothing about what was happening to Bella," Carlisle concluded.

I was resistant to agreeing, but I couldn't deny the truth.

"Fine. But how do we know we can trust them?"

"Jasper trusts them enough for this job. While you were with Bella he was meeting with the Alpha of their pack, Sam. Jasper assured me that Sam is horrified. Their entire purpose, the reason they exist, is to protect humans. Paul, in their eyes, has committed the gravest injustice."

"And if they find him before I do, they bring him to me," I spoke quietly, my voice deadly dangerous.

"As much as I am inclined to agree, they have a protocol set in order for when things like this happen in their communities…" Carlisle trailed off, surveying my face with careful hesitation.

I felt the anger welling inside me, growing and manifesting, taking a form that would soon become beyond my control.

"Like hell," I roared, standing to my feet again.

"Edward, we can cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, we need to focus on caring for Bella, finding Paul and ensuring that nothing that happens here upsets Bella more than she already is."

Before I could press the issue any further, Alice, Jasper and Emmett filed into the room, all with grave looks on their faces. They stood silently for a while, and from their thoughts I could hear that they didn't know what to say. This was unreached territory – none of us had ever encountered anything like this before.

"Esme and Rosalie are downstairs preparing something for Bella to eat… how is she doing?" Jasper asked. I shook my head, sitting again on the chair across from Carlisle. I didn't have words for this.

"Is she…" Alice started. It was rare for Alice to be speechless. A quick peruse through her thoughts and I could tell she hadn't seen anything related to Bella that would clue her into the results of Bella's exam.

"We only partially completed the necessary steps of the exam, but we were able to tackle the most important pieces," Carlisle explained. The silence was thick in the room, settling us all into an uncomfortable, unspoken heaviness.

"What happened to her, Carlisle?" Emmett asked, his voice more serious than I'd ever heard it before. Carlisle eyed me, and I nodded, giving him permission to proceed.

"Based on my examination, Bella was raped, and this likely wasn't the first time." The reaction in the room was instantaneous.

Alice folded in on herself as Jasper's arms wrapped around her waist, supporting her weight before she could fall to the ground. Emmett groaned and walked over to the floor to ceiling length window, leaning his head against it as his hands balled into fists at his sides. I could hear the reactions of Esme and Rosalie two stories down.

Devastation all around.

Jasper spoke first, his voice softer than usual, "this wasn't the first time?"

"No. I don't believe so. Bella didn't confirm this for us, she was unwilling to discuss any of this after her examination. She reacted quite defensively when I suggested that her injuries were the result of her being raped," the entire room tensed at the word, but Carlisle continued "I imagine she's experiencing a lot of shame and guilt right now. I'm sure it doesn't help that I had to be the one to perform the exam, either." Alice buried her head further into Jasper's chest, her small frame shaking from her tearless sobs.

"This wasn't the first time…" Emmett repeated Carlisle's words, trying to grasp exactly what all of this meant in his head.

"The examination showed some residual tissue damage and scarring in addition to the lacerations I sutured today," I inhaled sharply, biting back the roar of rage I could feel building inside of me, "if I were to guess, I'd say the older scars were about three to four weeks old." Carlisle closed the file folder containing all of Bella's medical notes on his desk, placing a firm hand on top of it, as though he was protecting the contents.

"It doesn't feel right to share this information with you all, but I know that you've already heard and witnessed enough to have your own theories. I don't imagine Bella will be very forthcoming any time soon," Carlisle sighed.

The room remained silent for a few minutes more as everyone allowed the information to settle in. I did my best to avoid their thoughts, it was too overwhelming as it was without piecing together all of the bits they'd witnessed throughout the day into one large, devastating picture that detailed the depth of Bella's trauma.

"So what can we do?" Emmett asked, pushing off of the window and coming to stand next to me.

"You can find him, and then you can bring him directly to me." The words were curt and clipped, my voice was low and filled with serious promise.

I would demolish him.

There was no question about it.

I would obliterate Paul, and make him pay a thousand times over for what he did to Bella.

The room remained silent, and there wasn't a single person in my family that dared to object… and a quick scan of their minds revealed that they were as eager to pay retribution as I was.

A/N: This was a hard chapter to write, oscillating between Edward's thoughts and Bella's thoughts was the only way I felt I could truly capture what this felt like for both of them. I know it's a slown burn, and that things are progressing at a snail pace, but it's how this has all unfolded in my head. Bella's story needs to be relayed in this way, and the process of her healing is slow.

I know some of you mentioned that there hasn't been a moment where Edward has reassured Bella, and reminded her that this isn't her fault. You're right! But we're looking at the immediate aftermath, crisis management and Bella's prelimary stages of physical healing. Things will start to pick up a bit after these next few chapters and the plot will slowly flesh out more and more.

I'd love to hear you thoughts - please leave a review!

xx,

missmarlee