BPOV

After sleeping for several hours, I woke up with something nagging in the back of my mind. I looked down at my battered body and felt the outline of the ungodly sized bandage on my abdomen.

"Edward?" I asked, quietly. He eyed me cautiously.

"Yes?"

Even though I promised myself I would stay composed, I had a hard time saying what I was trying to say.

"Why didn't you change me when the accident happened?" After I said it, his entire face fell. He looked like someone had just stabbed him.

"What?" he asked in disbelief.

"Why didn't you change me? I was already bleeding and nearly unconscious."

"I…I wasn't thinking about that," he said, obviously flustered. "I was more focused on getting you out of the car alive."

"Are you saying the thought didn't even cross your mind?" I asked, challenging him. For some unexplainable reason, I felt terribly close to a breaking point. Like at any moment now, I was going to lose control of my emotions and start screaming.

"Yes, the thought crossed my mind, but, Bella, I didn't know if you would be okay with me doing that to you," he said, now kneeling at my bedside. I struggled to sit up, gritting past the pain.

"You thought I wouldn't be okay with it?" I repeated, angry. "Edward, that would have been the solution to everything," I hissed. "Everything."

"No, love, it wouldn't be. You need to heal, not physically, but emotionally. It wasn't the right time to do it. "

"Don't talk to me about healing," I snapped. "These bruises will go away and the stitches will come out. This is just like what happened with James. You didn't change me then because you were afraid." He flinched and ran his fingers through his hair.

"You're right, I was afraid then. Now, it's different. I won't because you aren't ready."

"Don't tell what I'm ready for Edward. I left my father and Ian to be here with you. Changing me is the one thing that will make everything better." Now, I had tears in my eyes. He grasped my hand.

"Is that what you think? That changing you now will fix everything? You aren't taking into consideration the fact that you won't be able to come near them without doing something you'll really regret after the thirst has worn off."

Angry tears spilled down my cheeks. My head sank into my hands and I felt him climb onto the bed next to me, pulling me into his comforting embrace. "I'm sorry," I mumbled. " I shouldn't have said those things to you."

"Bella, you should never apologize to me for speaking what's on your mind. Even though you edit what you're truly thinking, it's better than hearing nothing at all," Edward sighed. I rested onto his chest, and gradually relaxed. Occasionally, I hiccupped; my body was still reacting from emotional overkill.

"I don't think you were ready to leave," he said, quietly, placing a small kiss on my temple. I looked up at him.

"No, I wasn't. But I was ready to leave with you, and that's exactly what I did. I didn't have enough time to be ready for this, Edward. I knew that as long as I had you with me I'd be just fine. And I am, really," I tried to assure him. His expression proved that he didn't believe in what I was saying. "Having your family with me is a huge plus as well. I know I'll go back someday. All I can do is hope that someday comes soon." He started to protest, but I changed the subject.

"I'm hungry." He started to get up, but I pulled on his arm. "No, stay," I whined.

"Don't you want food?" he asked. "You need to eat."

"Can we ask Alice to bring it?" I asked, then realizing that she may not even be here. "Well…is Alice even here?"

"Of course she is," Edward sighed. "She wouldn't leave you. Everyone is here, but they want to let you rest. Alice just went shopping because we left without grabbing any clothes or personal items for you." My cheeks burned.

"She shouldn't be spending money on me!" I wailed. "Not after everything you all have done for me as it is." Edward's eyes narrowed.

"You are a part of this family," Edward said curtly. "At least, you are a part of it for as long as you wish to be. Don't be concerned about money. You should know by now that it's never been an issue. Just forget I said anything…Alice is shopping for herself." He tried to give me a convincing grin. I scowled and then winced because I moved too suddenly. He kissed my forehead swiftly and sprang off of the bed. "I'll go find you some food…and some Tylenol."

When I was alone, my thoughts crowded in my mind, rebelling about all sanity. A thousand different questions bolted around my head. What happened to Dan? Why do I even care? Are people looking for me? What about Charlie? Before I could get too overwhelmed, Edward was back, carrying a small platter with a plate of ravioli on it and a water bottle.

"This was the most decent meal I found in the kitchen," he explained. "It's only three, so the chefs haven't really started cooking yet."

"You snuck into the kitchen to steal me food?"

He shrugged and set the platter down next to me. "They won't even notice it's gone." I discovered, after taking the first bite, that the ravioli's were stuffed with mushrooms. I smiled and swallowed the bite.

"This is mushroom ravioli," I said. He nodded his head. "I ordered the same thing that night in Port Angeles. Do you remember?" I asked.

"Of course I remember," He replied and sat down on the other side of me. I ate the food quickly, not realizing how famished I really was. I gulped down the water between bites until everything was finished. I ate so quickly that the food sat in an uncomfortable lump in my stomach.

Not long after that, I dozed off. I wasn't sure if it was from the Tylenol or because I was exhausted from sitting in a bed for so long. I woke up to the sound of Alice knocking on the door.

"Bella?"

Edward seemed irritated that she woke up me, but he opened the door after I told her to come in. She was carrying bags upon bags of clothes, and I got the nagging sense that they were all for me. I eyed them wearily.

"You're looking a little better," she commented. I smiled weakly and gave her the thumbs up. "The good thing is that you're going to heal pretty fast. Your stitches can come out in a couple of weeks."

"How many stitches did I get?" I asked, morbidly curious. The bandage on my side was huge, and it felt like a knife was being twisted between my ribcage every time I moved. I didn't even know what happened in the accident—I hadn't asked.

Edward slumped on the bed next to me. "One hundred and seventeen stitches total, but they're dispersed," he mumbled. It took me a moment to digest what he'd just said.

"Well…that'll be a cool a looking scar," I said, trying to lighten things up. Edward turned towards me, looking exacerbated. It was then that I noticed how dark his eyes were. He was hungry. "Edward, why don't you go hunting," I suggested. "You're thirsty."

"I'm perfectly fine," he argued.

"No, you aren't. You won't be missing any fun parties while you're gone. Just go for a couple of hours. Blow off some steam, hunt." He didn't argue after that and kissed my cheek before leaving. Alice dug around through the bags, organizing their contents.

"Alice?" I asked hesitantly. She looked up at me. "What happened in the accident?"

"You don't remember?"

"Not very much. I don't know what happened to me. I remember hitting the tree and Edward pulling me out and driving to your house, but everything else is really blurry." She sighed and dropped the bag she was rummaging around in.

"You hit that tree going over fifty miles per hour, Bella. Your seat literally broke out of place, and when the windshield shattered, your body was being lurched out of the seat and directly into the broken glass. The lacerations were very severe," she explained. "You did end up losing a lot of blood, but not enough to put you in a critical condition. You also broke two ribs." She paused to let it all sink in. The sad thing was that as she explained it, I couldn't help but think that I'd had worse.

"Carlisle was worried that you might have broken your hand, too. It's only sprained, so he didn't bother with casting it. It's a miracle Dan's still alive. A miracle and a shame." I nearly choked.

"He's still alive?"

She sighed and put her head in her hands.

"I shouldn't have told you that, but yes, he's still alive."

"Did someone find him at the accident? Is he in jail? I mean, I don't think anyone knows about the domestic violence, but his blood alcohol levels must have been off the charts, right? Whoever found him had to have turned him in for drunk driving…right?" Her face was grim.

"No. He was found by a close friend. A close friend who knows how to keep a secret. They've got a lot of people out looking for you."

"Including Charlie?" I whispered.

"Including Charlie," she confirmed. Bile rose in the throat.

"Oh, God," was all I could shake out. Alice immediately rushed over to try and comfort me.

"Bella," she warned. "Calm down, everything will be okay. You don't need to be afraid or worried."

"What are we going to do now?" I asked, raising my voice. "Just keep running from them? Dan's got connections, Alice. Charlie has connections, too. I'm never going to be able to get divorce papers now, he's probably got every damn police station on the west coast notified of my 'disappearance'." I was going into hysterics by now.

"Shh, shh, Bella. Take a deep breath," Alice comforted, putting her tiny arms around me. "Don't worry about anything. We'll leave the country if we have to, but we are a family and we always stick together. No one is going to hurt you."

"It's not me that I'm worried about," I whimpered. "It all of you. I don't want to jeopardize your entire lives. I've done it once, I won't do it again. No. That's not fair." Her tiny face screwed up in mock anger.

"That's crap, Bella. We can't function as a family without you. It simply doesn't work. And you should know that we have connections as well. We have access to documents and other objects that Dan can't touch at all. You're going to win this. And I can get you divorce papers within an hour, if you'd like."

"Yeah, well good luck getting him to sign them," I sighed, sniffing. Alice laughed softly and ran her fingers through my hair.

"Everything's going to be just fine, you'll see."

AN: Well? Good or bad? What did you think? Any guesses for future events? If any of you are on Pacific time, you'll notice that I'm posting this right around midnight…that would be because I'm waiting for an episode of one of my favorite TV shows to load on my computer so I can watch it. Yes, I'm strange. I know.

Hope everyone had a happy Friday!