Hello readers! Thank you for your lovely reviews. I was surprised to get 5 so quickly, but I promised and update after 5 so here you go. I know it seems that the drama just keeps coming, but once we get all of that out of the way, the fun can begin :) thanks for hanging in there!

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Enjoy!

EPOV

The panic struck through me when I heard the unmistakable noise of a gunshot. I looked up at Bella, who had the same expression on her face.

"I need to go out there," I said. I was frightened. And not fully because someone out there had a gun, but because he didn't know what to expect when I went out there. I carefully moved Bella from my arms and onto the mattress doing my best to not hurt her.

"Edward what if it's not safe? Please stay here with me," Bella pleaded, her red eyes rimmed with tears.

"I'll be fine. And when all of this gets straightened out, we are going to leave this apartment and go somewhere else, ok?" I kissed her forehead as she nodded.

I unlocked the bedroom door and slipped out of the room. The hallway leading to the living room has never seemed so long. I saw Mike, still alive, with a gunshot wound to his arm. There were paramedics taking him on a stretcher.

"What's happening?" I asked to nobody specific. I didn't care who answered, I just wanted to know what the hell was going on in my home.

"Are you Edward Cullen?" An older policeman asked me. I nodded. "Michael Newton pulled a gun on one of my men, so as a safety precaution they took their guns out as well. When asked to put the gun down, Mr. Newton refused and cocked the gun. One of the officers shot him in the arm. Now, Mr. McCarty told me that there is a domestic violence history between Mr. and Mrs. Newton?" Hearing him say Mrs. Newton made me cringe, but I nodded. "I understand that this is a very sensitive time for anyone involved. We are going to need anyone involved to come to the station tomorrow and I am asking that you get in touch with your lawyers and speak with them about the history of the abuse. However, as for tonight, Mr. Newton will be charged on several accounts and after he is released from the hospital, he will be made fully aware of his charges."

"Thank you, officer." I said.

"As for your house, we are going to ask that you find a place to stay for the time being until we collect any necessary evidence that might help with the charges against Mr. Newton for tonight as well as any case in the future if that is what you choose to pursue," he explained. He gave me his card and told me to call with any questions.

I found Emmett outside on the balcony. "Hey."

"This was quite the night, man," Emmett said making some of the tension go away.

"Thank you. I don't know what would have happened if you didn't come," I said.

"Dude, if I didn't show up Mike would have been dead. You were beating the shit out of that guy," Emmett said with quite the enthusiasm. I was glad I had someone like him to make situations like this feel less dramatic.

"When I saw him standing over Bella and the fear in her eyes, I didn't care what happened from there. I just jumped on him."

"You really love her, don't you?" I couldn't help but laugh because I had just told Bella that.

"Yeah, I do."

"Does she know?"

"She does. I just told her."

"I'm happy for you, man. You guys got a place to stay tonight?"

"I have to talk to Bella and see if she needs to go to the hospital and then ask her what she wants to do," I explained to Emmett. "We'll probably end up at my parent's house. It's far enough away and Bella is comfortable there." Emmett nodded.

We agreed to meet at my parent's house and when Emmett left, I went to check on Bella and grab a few things that we would need while we stayed there.

I opened the bedroom door and saw Bella lying down with her arms wrapped around a pillow. She was silently crying. I sat down on the bed next her and put my hand on her shoulder. "Babe, everything is ok. The gunshot was aimed towards Mike, but he's fine," I explained. "Are you ok? What did he do to you?"

"It's just my back and my stomach. I'm fine though. It's nothing ice and Tylenol can't help," she said, now calming down. "Are you ok? Your face was bleeding before."

"I'm fine, love. Lift your shirt up a little. I need to see what he did to you." I wanted to make sure that the injury really was fine like she said and that a trip to the hospital wasn't necessary. Bella was used to hiding her injuries, but if she was in pain, I wanted to make sure that I did everything I could to make her feel better. She reluctantly lifted it up. I sat down in front of her so I could look at her closely.

Her waist was covered in black and blue marks. There were large patches of marked skin all around her abdomen. "Oh, Bella. If I had been there sooner, I could have prevented this," I said as guilt washed over me.

"Edward, stop blaming yourself. I can't take that."

I leaned in closer to her stomach and placed light kisses where he hit her. I kissed every single spot that he laid a hand on her. Leading all of the way up to her cheek where he slapped her and down to her lips where my lips desperately wanted to be.

"I love you, Bella. I will do everything humanly possible to have that bastard locked up for good."

"I love you too, Edward. Thank you." I kissed her one more time and helped her sit up. I knew that with the bruising from tonight as well as her previous injuries, she would be sore for a while.

"We are going to stay at my parent's until we think of something else. Is that ok?" I asked. Bella nodded. I quickly grabbed some of the things we needed such our toothbrushes and a couple changes of clothes. I noticed that Bella is running out of clothes so I told Alice to meet me at Mom and Dad's with more. It would be best if Bella and I only had to explain what happened once.

When I had everything packed up in a duffle bag, I called to let my Mom know that we were coming to stay for a while. I knew it would be fine, but I didn't wanted to give them some warning before we showed up with a bag.

"Edward, you're calling me twice in one week? To what do I owe this pleasure?" My mom answered with her usual bright and cheery tone.

"Bella and I need to stay at your house for a little bit. Is that alright?"

"Sure, honey. But what's going on?" She seemed a bit frantic now.

"Can we just talk when we get there?" I didn't want to explain it more than I had to.

"Yeah, I'll see you soon."

"Bye, Mom," I said and pressed end just in time to see Alice's message saying she would be there soon. "Are you ready to go, love?' Bella nodded and I offered her my hand. She was able to walk now that she stopped shaking, but she was still slightly buckled over and I could tell she is hurting.

I walked her into the kitchen to grab some Tylenol and a bottle of water. I hadn't noticed before, but there was food set out on the counter. Bella must have been starting to cook when Mike came in. "What were you making?" I asked.

"I had gone to the market and got some stuff to make you lasagna for dinner. I wanted to do something nice for you since you have done everything under the sun for me," she said quietly.

"Thank you, Bella."

"For what? I barely started."

"For thinking of me and actually wanting to do something nice for me. You have no idea how much that means to me." I gave her a light hug, not wanting to hurt her. She took the Tylenol and we headed out the door.

I helped Bella into the car. When I sat in the driver seat, Bella reached over and grabbed my hand. I took her hand and brought it to my mouth to place a light kiss on it.

Nothing would ever change my mind. I would always love her. She deserved to be loved more than anyone. I know that wherever we end up in the future, nothing would make a difference in how I felt about her.

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