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Closure

Convincing Edward's parent's to let us go see Mike was easier than I expected. They were supportive of Edward and I needing to do this in order to heal. As soon as we finished talking with them, Carlisle called my dad and they went to work booking a hotel for us for our weekend in Walla Walla.

Later in the week Edward and I talked to Kate about our plans, and she also surprised me with how open she was to the idea. I walked into her office believing she would be against it with the fear that it would set us back. But instead she said that wanting to face what took us down was a sign of our strength, but also warned us that it wouldn't be easy. And of course if we needed to, we could call her at any time.

When we left the hospital I felt lighter, not only did I have everyone's blessing for something I knew would bring me closure, but my arm was feeling better and stronger. I was making progress in physical therapy and I didn't have to wear my brace nearly as much. Basically the only time I had to wear it now was when I overdid things and I was in pain. It was so nice not having my arm taped to my chest anymore.

Friday afternoon finally rolled around and I stood in the Cullen's driveway as Charlie and Carlisle maneuvered everyone's duffle bags into the two cars. Despite the long drive ahead of us we managed some levity as Edward overdramatized his shock at Alice only having one bag to take with her.

Edward, Charlie and I were going to ride in Charlie's car, and Carlisle, Esme, and Alice were going to follow behind us in Carlisle's car. Edward and I were sitting in the backseat, and after an hour the long school day caught up with me and I let my head rest on Edward's shoulder and my eyes drifted shut.

I stirred a few hours later when I heard Charlie's voice coming from the front seat.

"Kids, we are here."

I felt a literal weight being lifted off my head just as I heard Edward yawn, realizing that he too had fallen asleep and had been resting his head on top of mine. I stepped out of the car and into the parking lot of the Holiday Inn Express were we would be staying. Edward got his crutches from the floor of the car before climbing out to stand with me. Charlie went inside to check us in

"How was your nap?" Edward asked as he leaned against the car.

"It was good. I had a nice pillow," I said with a smirk, "How was yours?"

"My pillow, or my nap?" Edward asked with a smirk of his own.

"Both," I replied as took his hand in mine.

"Both were great," he said as he pulled me closer and let his lips crash into mine. Our little make out session was abruptly ended with the honking of Carlisle's horn as the rest of our group pulled into the parking lot.

"First your dad, and now my family," Edward grumbled, "It's like they have a radar or something."

"Can't you two cool it for five seconds?" Alice joked as she got out of the car. Luckily we didn't have to answer because Charlie came out with our room keys. He handed me one for the room the two of us would be sharing, and he handed the Cullens the ones they would need for their rooms.

We grabbed our stuff from the cars and went inside. Our rooms were right next to each other on the second floor, and Charlie and I went into ours to drop our bags on the beds. We relaxed and freshened up a bit before heading over to the Cullen's room to order pizza. Carlisle was already on the phone ordering the pizza when we went in, and Edward and Esme were lounging on the beds. Alice was trying to squeeze all of her clothes into the closet. How she fit that many clothes into one duffle bag I will never know.

Dinner was light hearted and nice, but when Charlie and I returned to our room my nerves about the next day started to kick in. Between my nerves and Charlie's snoring I didn't get much sleep, and when the alarm went off I felt groggy. A hot shower and breakfast perked me up, so by the time we climbed into the car I was fully awake. We had agreed ahead of time that Carlisle, Esme, and Alice would stay back at the hotel while Charlie, Edward, and I went to the prison. It was comforting to know they would be there when we got back.

The drive to the prison didn't take long, and before I knew it we were walking into the huge and very intimidating building. Charlie checked us in, and after we were given visitor badges we were led to the visiting area. The visiting area was a big room with many metal tables and we sat where we were directed. Edward took my hand as we waited for them to bring Mike in. I could feel my pulse throbbing in my ears as my nerves over took me.

A short time later Mike was led into the room and I took in his appearance. He wore a standard orange jump suit, and his wrists and ankles were cuffed. When Mike lifted his head towards us, I saw that one of his eyes was bruised, and I had to hold back my gasp. He sat across from us and we were all silent for a moment as we tried to figure out how to proceed.

"Um, hi," I finally said.

"Hi," Mike replied quietly. I was silent again because having Mike right in front of me caused my mind to go blank.

"What are you guys even doing here?" Mike asked.

"I…I just thought that seeing you and talking to you would help me start putting this whole thing behind me," I said.

"Okay," Mike said as he shifted in his seat.

"Mike, I don't know how to reconcile this. You were being bullied, and I did nothing to stop that from happening. But I'm so torn inside, because the amount of sympathy I have toward you for being bullied can't compare with the pain I feel from you killing my best friend. Physically I'm healing, but I can't get past that or even begin to understand why."

"I am so sorry Bella," Mike said, and I saw tears begin to gather in his eyes, "I never meant to hurt Angela. I liked Angela."

"Why did you do it?" Edward said from beside me, "I know you were bullied, but why did you take things so far? Why didn't you talk to a parent or a teacher? Anyone?"

"Don't you think I tried?" Mike said, "I told teachers, and they did talk to Eric and Tyler, but as soon as nobody was looking they started right back up again. I told my parents and they just said that it was just a high school thing, and I would get through it. No matter what I tried, it didn't stop. I was so desperate, I just wanted it to end."

"You hurt innocent people," I said.

"I didn't mean to," Mike sobbed, "When the gun was in my hand and I saw Tyler and Eric, I didn't think. I just shot. Something came over me, and I wasn't myself. Then when I tried to duck into that room, you guys were there, and whatever was still in me just snapped and I saw red. In that moment, Bella, I thought you were just as bad as Eric and Tyler."

"I know," I whispered as I wiped away tears of my own.

"You aren't, Bella, and I know that now," Mike said, "I hope you know that, too."

"I'm getting there," I said.

"Good," Mike said before he turned to Edward, "I'm sorry, Edward, for everything, and I want to thank you for getting the gun away from me when you did." Edward just nodded and I could tell he was busy trying to process everything.

"You're a good guy Edward, and I am truly sorry for what I did to you," Mike said.

"Time's almost up," said the guard who was standing by the door.

"Look Mike," I said, "I am sorry for the part I played in what happened, but I don't know that I can ever forgive you."

"I wouldn't expect you to," Mike said with a sad smile, "I know you don't owe me anything, but will you do me a favor and stop blaming yourself for what happened? I am the only one to blame."

"I'll try," I said as the guard came over and pulled Mike up.

"I hope you guys have a great life together," Mike said.

"Bye," I said as Mike was pulled through a door and out of my life for good.

Charlie had stayed shockingly silent throughout the conversation, and once Mike was gone we left the room. We returned our badges and walked outside towards the car. I took a breath of fresh air and breathed easily for the first time in a long time.

Thanks to my beta Jenn! Thanks also to: sujari6, .best, Meggymoo02, barbiedoll123, boo1414, Iluvecookies, debslmac, MaryMary123, jansails, Mireads, whilewewereyetsinners, ellaryne for leaving a review it means a lot.

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