Chapter 5

My dad rubs my back and whispers encouraging things to me. "She probably just has a nasty concussion. She'll be fine."

Officer Cullen came in to the waiting room a short time after we did. My father began asking him questions from one officer to another. Officer Cullen wasted no time filling us in on what happened to the man from the apartment.

"We booked Mr. Stevens on assault and battery charges. He will also get a solicitation charge. If we can confirm it he will be charged with rape and attempted rape of a child," he says in what I think is supposed to be a reassuring tone but all it does it remind me of what could have happened to Natalie if I hadn't been there.

"Rape! Oh God. What if I hadn't distracted him or what if I hadn't moved here. She could be dead right now." I am now getting angry. "This is exactly why I told her not to bring those guys back to her apartment. How could she do this?"

Just then a doctor comes out and is calling my name.

"I'm Bella Swan. Is Natalie okay?"

"Miss Swan, Natalie is perfectly fine. She has a mild concussion and some bruised ribs. She's scared but awake and is asking for you," he says much to my relief.

"Oh thank God! She wasn't touched was she?" I have to know.

"No she wasn't sexually assaulted but she is very scared of what she saw. We are going to have a therapist speak to her in a bit. Miss Swan, I do have some bad news. Miss Larks is not well. She has several broken ribs, multiple severe lacerations and multiple broken bones in her back and neck. She has swelling on her brain and it is very likely that she may not wake up for some time if at all. We are moving her to ICU to see if the swelling will stop or if surgery will be necessary. It appears that the assailant used a knife to slice through her back and beat her into unconsciousness. She will likely have a long recovery process if she wakes up."

"Has Natalie been told any of this?" I ask, praying that she hasn't.

"No ma'am. She isn't ready to hear this. It appears she may have witnessed at least some of the abuse her mother endured."

"Oh God. Can I see her now?"

"Yes, of course," he says.

Officer Cullen follows me back to the room she is in, saying he needs her statement.

Just outside her door I stop and turn to him. "You can wait to get her statement. You heard what that doctor said. She is terrified and right now the most important thing is getting her to feel safe. You will wait until she is ready to speak to you. Got it?"

He nods and smiles. "You really care about her." As if this is some amazing discovery.

"Yes, I do. I love that little girl and she needs me right now," I say trying to calm my tears before I go in.

As I reach for the door, Officer Cullen places his hand on mine. "I promise I won't ask her anything tonight that may upset her. I'm glad you are here for her. Too often we see kids who end up completely alone after something like what happened tonight. She's a lucky little girl to have you."

I wipe the tears from my eyes and nod to him. "Thank you. She stole my heart the first time she spoke to me."

I open the door and gasp at the site before my eyes. She looks so scared. She's so tiny sitting on the big gurney. Her ocean eyes are wide and searching for something.

"Natalie, honey," I say because I don't know what else to say.

"Bella!" she says, sounding so small. "I want to go home. I don't want to be here." I can't help but rush to her and pull her small body into a gentle hug. I sit on the bed next to her and hold her.

"Honey, I know but you have to stay the night so they can keep an eye on you. You have a concussion and I'm sure your ribs hurt," I say though I'm not sure she really has to spend the night. I look to Officer Cullen hoping he knows.

"Why? I'm fine. I just want to go home with you, Bella. Please?" she cries.

"Ok honey, I'll see what I can do. I'll ask the doctor," I say as I turn towards the door. "Officer, can you keep her company for a moment?"

"Actually, how about I go ask the doctor and you two wait here," he offers. I just smile and mouth 'thank you' to him. He flashes me a beautiful smile and leaves.

"Who's he?" Natalie asks, almost sounding like her normal self.

"That's the officer that came to help you. Do you remember anything from earlier?"

She nods and looks down at her hands.

"Can you please tell me?"

She sniffles and nods again. "He was cutting her. They were both naked and she was crying. She was on her knees in front of him and he was behind her. She was begging him to stop. I tried to call for help but I didn't want him to find me. I don't think he knew I was there. Is my mom okay? She was bleeding so much."

"She's here, on a special floor. She's sleeping right now," I said, not knowing how to tell her just how bad her mom was hurt. "How did he find you?"

"He backed away from her and dragged her off the bed by her hair. She was screaming and then he yelled at her and threw her across the room. She stopped screaming. I thought she was dead. I screamed for her. He saw me and chased me. He had blood all over him."

I didn't remember there being blood on him but I was so worried about Natalie, I must not have noticed. "I'm so sorry, baby. He can't hurt you or her anymore, the police took him away." I needed to know for myself if she had been touched so I swallowed the lump in my throat and just asked, "Sweetie, did he touch you?"

She shook her head. "He told me I had to do what she wouldn't do. He didn't have clothes on. It really scared me so I tried to run from him but he grabbed my hair. It hurt so much. He started to drag me but I kept fighting and screaming. He threw me across the room. I guess I hit my head on the table or something. He kicked me in the side and I slid under the couch. I couldn't breathe. I heard your voice but then I don't remember what happened after that."

We were both crying when Officer Cullen came back in the room with a woman I assumed was a therapist or social worker. I refuse to let go of Natalie so I don't rise to greet her.

"Natalie, this is Dr. Walsh and she wants to know if you will talk to her for a bit," Officer Cullen says in a soft voice.

"Can Bella stay with me?" she asks with a shaking voice.

"I'm afraid not. I promise she'll be right outside the door and if you want to stop any time, I will," Dr. Walsh says kindly.

"Oh," she replies sadly.

"Honey, I'll be right on the other side of that door and you can call for me anytime you need me," I say hoping she knows I won't leave her.

"Natalie, I need to talk to you about what you saw tonight and see how you are doing. Then we can talk about your mom a little and then we can talk about anything you want," Dr. Walsh explains for both our benefit.

"Okay. Can we talk about my mom first?" she says as I kiss her head and start to stand.

I move to the door and follow Officer Cullen into the hall. We stand side by side against the wall.

"What did the doctor say when you asked about her request to leave?" I ask while staring holes into the door across from us.

"He said she needed to speak to the therapist and then he'd make a decision. Bella, she can't go back to that place tonight. I know your apartment is next door but that building is going to have people in and out all night and then a cleaning crew will have to come in."

"She said he was covered in blood, I didn't see it on him," I state unsure of how I missed it.

"Yeah, he had a lot of Miss Lark's blood on his abdomen and thighs. His hands were a mess too. Did she tell you anything?" he asks.

I fill him in on what she told me and feel sick to my stomach. "She saw him cutting her mother while he fucked her. She saw him beat her. She heard her mother crying and begging him to stop. She was afraid to call for help because she didn't want him to find her. She is just a baby and her threatened to finish off what her mother couldn't with her. What the fuck kind of person is this guy?" I sob.

Officer Cullen pulls me into a hug and lets me cry on his shoulder. I cry for what feels like forever but was probably only a few minutes. He keeps patting my back and petting my hair. His arms are strong around my shoulders and I feel so safe. I notice he never loosens his hold on me even as my tears slow and I begin to pull away.

"I'm okay. Thank you for….thank you," I say clumsily. "I'm sorry I lost it. What happens if they let her leave, can she go with me, Officer,"

"Edward, please call me Edward," he says cutting me off. "The EMT's listed you as her next of kin so that they would let you know what's going on, so she should be able to leave with you but you'll have to talk to social services about anything more permanent. Do you have somewhere you can take her for a few days?"

"Not really but I can book a hotel room or something. Can you help me with contact information for social services? If Heidi is this bad then she won't be able to care for her for a while. I can't let her go to a home," I say thinking out loud.

"Yeah, I can get you the info. You know she's a lucky girl to have you."

"No, I'm lucky to have her. She's strong and smart and wise beyond her years. She took care of herself without any help from me for a long time, I feel like this happened because I came along and messed up the system they had."

"No, how can you think that? Heidi Larks has been arrested on more than one occasion for prostitution and we didn't look into her claims that she had a child. The Seattle PD let her down by not checking on her," he says clearly thinking he should have done something.

"Yeah the police department should have checked. I won't fight you on that one."

He looks up at me and smiles. "See, not your fault!"

We sit in companionable silence for a while waiting on the door to open. I can't stop thinking about how hard this has to be for Natalie. I decide to proceed as if Heidi were not an option. I can't let her go back to her mother even if she does wake up. I know then that I will be filing whatever paperwork it takes to make Natalie my child. I can't imagine it being difficult to get a judge to grant me custody and then adopting her. I feel like I've made the right decision and smile.

"You should do that more often, it's beautiful," Edward whispers close to my ear. I gasp and look at him.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable," he says quickly, looking away.

"You didn't, just caught me off guard is all. Thank you," I say, feeling the blush creep up my neck to my cheeks.

"You are welcome. Look, I know this is the wrong time to ask so I'll wait but I just want you to know that once you get settled with her, I am going to ask you out on a date."

"Oh…" I say stupidly.

"Yes, I am. I feel like an ass because of the situation but if I had met you in, say, a coffee shop, I'd have asked you out instantly."

"Really? Well if it helps, if we'd have met in a coffee shop and you asked me out, I would have said yes," I say smiling.

"Good to know."

We wait a bit longer when the door finally opens and Dr. Walsh comes out.

"Miss Swan, may I speak with you?"

"Yes. Is she okay?" I ask.

"She's tough. She is sleeping. Follow me," she says walking into an empty room across the hall.

"Miss Swan, I know you aren't the next of kin but I understand why you were listed as such. I also know that Natalie loves you very much. She will have to stay tonight for observation but they will release her tomorrow. Can you handle taking care of her?"

"Yes, of course I can."

"Good because she will need some extra love and attention. I will recommend you to the social worker. First things first, she is very confused by the relationship she has with her mother. She believes her mother loves her but doesn't understand just how dysfunctional their relationship actually is. She doesn't know that it is wrong for her mother to leave her alone while she works. She does know more about her mother's line of work than I can believe, although I am glad she doesn't know the details of that. Unfortunately she did get a terrible introduction to it tonight. She is small for her age which speaks to the neglect she has suffered for years. I understand that since you moved in she has been eating more regularly and healthily. There doesn't seem to be any gaps in her schooling or medical care. I will be requesting her medical and school records to be certain," she says in a soft tone that belays the rapid fire of her observations.

"Did you tell her about Heidi's condition?" I ask.

"Yes, she was very upset but she knew her mom was in bad shape. She knows that her mom won't be coming home anytime soon and that there is a good chance she may not ever wake up. We talked about other family. She says she has none and that's why she was alone all the time. All in all, her mom tried to care for her the best she could but she did neglect her in the process. She also physically and verbally abused her. Natalie told me about a number of instances of abuse. I will look for anything I can to substantiate that in her records. She is very concerned that she won't see you anymore, more so than she is worried about her mother. I can see the love you have for her. Please understand that if it turns out that Heidi has some family, we have to notify them and they will be asked to take her in. I will request a meeting with them first but the court will try to keep her with family if at all possible."

I feel as though I have been sucker punched. Neither Heidi nor Natalie have ever mentioned any family so I never thought that would be a problem. I just figured they were all alone but now I realize how naive that was. While I am pondering the possibility that I will have to fight for her, Dr. Walsh speaks again.

"I want you to know that she has never been sexually abused. Never. In the business her mother is in, it is quite common for a prostitute's child to be abused but Natalie hasn't been. According to her this was the first time Heidi brought a customer home. She said she's been spending the night with you for the last month, so I assume that's when her mom started bringing them home. Were you aware of this?"

"Yes, I offered to keep her overnight so she wouldn't be alone. The first night she stayed over, Heidi had probably three separate clients over. She told me it was the only way she could make enough money to pay the bills, so I made her promise to never have them there while Natalie was home. They were doing really well. The rent was all paid up and Heidi was spending more time with Natalie. I was sure it wouldn't last because she was 'working' less but Natalie was enjoying her time with her mom so much."

"Bella, what happened tonight? Why was Natalie at home and not with you?" Edward asked.

"She's been spending a few nights a week at home because the bills are paid and Heidi hasn't had to take clients every night. Anyway, I had a party to go to. I thought she would be safe. I texted her around ten tonight and she answered around eleven. I got home around one a.m., took a shower and went to bed. I woke up to screaming. You know the rest," I say fighting off the guilt I feel for leaving her alone.

"Miss Swan, I'll be looking over Natalie's medical records as soon as I can get them. I will let you know what I find. I will need a number to get in touch with you. The social worker should be here in the morning so I will make sure she has my report. I'll be in my office on the seventh floor if you have any questions," Dr. Walsh says, packing her things and moving towards the door.

"Thank you." Edward gives me a piece of paper so I can write my contact information down. I hand her the slip and smile, "It's been a terribly long night and I want to try to sleep while she is."

We all walk into the hallway again and Dr. Walsh leaves us standing by Natalie's door. Edward takes my hand and slips a piece of paper into it. "This is my number. Please call me. I have to go take care of the paper work on this case."

I look into his eyes, seeing the hope in them that I so badly want to believe in. "I will. Once I get settled in somewhere, I will call. I'm glad you were there tonight. Thank you."

"I was just doing my job."

"Maybe at the apartment but here, you've done much more than your job," I say knowing that I couldn't have handled what I heard without him. "Can you possibly send my dad back here when you go out there?"

"Of course. Well, I better go. Talk to you soon," he says with a slight wave of his hand. He drops my hand and backs away.