Chapter 3

Mia Stella

Bella's P.O.V

I was woken up with a knock on my door. Who could that be? I sat up and looked in the mirror and I quickly tamed my brown hair and it fell in loose locks down my back. I moved to open the door and saw Caius standing there, holding a tray of food. I was at a loss for words and just stared at him.

"I thought you may be hungry," Caius said. I ushered him in and he placed the tray on my bed. I joined him and sat on the bed. I really wasn't hungry but he went through the trouble so I figured I would eat just a little. I felt uncomfortable with him watching me. I picked up the fork and shoveled a bit of the lasagna into my mouth.

"Thanks, this is really good!" I smiled at Caius. I continued eating until I was full. There was still a lot of lasagna left on the plate. Caius picked up the tray and disappeared with it, leaving the sparkling cider behind.

"You don't eat much." Caius said. It was more of a statement than a question. I shook my head. I didn't want to give him the wrong idea though.

"No," I swallowed a glass of the sparkling cider. Caius raised an eyebrow so I quickly clarified, "I don't have an eating disorder or anything. I just physically can't eat a lot." I tried to explain. I hope he believed. He simply nodded. It was awkward to say the least. I didn't know what to say to him. A part of me was afraid of him. It was understandable. Caius was one of the most dangerous vampires in existence even if he lacks any special gifts. His intimidation factor should be considered a gift. He looked as if he was having difficulty finding words.

"…Talk to me Isabella," he finally said after a long awkward silence.

"What about?" I was confused.

"Tell me about you," Caius demanded. He looked like he was trying to be nice but it almost seemed to be physically painful for him. "I want to know about your life." Suddenly Alec and Jane were in the room. I jumped up, startled. Jane apologized while Alec grinned and sat beside me on my bed. He paused for a minute before maneuvering us so I was sitting on his lap, giving Jane some space to sit with us the bed. Now there are three vampires on my bed. Wonderful.

I cleared my throat, "Well, my name is Isabella Marie Swan, I just turned eighteen. I don't have friends apart from the Cullens, I used to get bullied in school because I'm so pale. My mom is part albino so I inherited the paleness from her. I myself am not albino. I used to do ballet as a child but I didn't like it because I was too uncoordinated. I played guitar all my life. I took vocal lessons as a hobby. I can also play violin and a little bit of piano," I finished. My life wasn't that interesting but the three vampires were staring at me like I was the latest episode of a popular TV show. I skipped some of the important things that I wasn't really comfortable talking about. Alec looked like he caught on.

"There's something you're not telling us," Alec sighed. I gave him a dirty look. He chuckled. "Are you trying to intimidate me? Cute," I blushed slightly. Only Emmett called me cute when I was blushing or something whenever Edward would put his arm around me back at their house. I really missed Emmett.

"Well, my parents divorced when I was at a young age. Maybe around the time I was five or six. My mom remarried a man named Phil. He was an abusive man to me. Whenever mom wasn't around, he would always hurt me and did things to me a lot. He made me pretend to enjoy it. He told me he'd kill me if I ever told my mom, Renee. She still doesn't know to this day." A loud rumbling was heard coming from Alec as he mindlessly played with my hair. I continued, "when I turned seventeen, I asked my mom to let me live with Charlie," I blinked the tears out of my eyes. "I was diagnosed with depression when I went to a doctor later but I never told anyone so I never got proper treatment. I took out all my sadness on myself or with guitar and I wrote music to keep me going. And then I met Edward and you know everything that happened after that."

"When you say he did things…do you mean he sexually assaulted you?" Jane asked. Her eyes were darkening. I nodded. Jane growled. I could tell she was pissed. "Let me change the question. Did he rape you?" At the word rape, Aro and Marcus appeared in the room, followed by Demetri, Heidi, and Felix. My mouth was suddenly dry. "Did he?" Jane asked again. I desperately tried to find a way out of the conversation. Alec put a hand on my shoulder and looked me in the eyes.

"We need to know these things Isabella," Aro said. He looked angry, but not at me. Regardless, I still cowered under his intense stare.

"Yes," I whispered. A chorus of growls was heard amongst all the vampires in the room. I looked down as I felt Alec's arms snake around my waist. He leaned his head on my shoulder and cradled my body. I felt myself shake with the sobs that racked my entire body. Jane's position next to me was replaced with Demetri whom took my hand tightly. Caius leaned over and wiped the tears from my eyes.

Heidi asked the next question, "How old were you when this happened?"

"I was seven the first time it happened. It went on for ten years," I cried into Alec's chest. I was surprised when I was moved to Caius' lap and he held me close to him. I saw Alec taking a deep breath and tried to compose himself. "It was constant. He would invite friends over and they would take turns raping me. I had to play slut and if I didn't do a good job I would get an even worse beating than usual. He never hit me in obvious places that people would be able to see so no one would've found out!" I sobbed into Caius' chest and he rubbed my back.

"Isabella, we'll kill the bastard. Where does he live?" he growled in my ear. I debated on whether or not to tell him the truth. I don't want Renee to go through the pain of losing someone she cares about.

"Phoenix," I answered in between shaky breaths.

"Demetri, Felix?" Aro called. "Would you like to go on a mission?" Demetri and Felix nodded eagerly. I shook my head.

"Don't!" I grabbed Demetri who looked confused as he rose from the bed. Felix stopped cheering.

"Why not?" he asked, clearly annoyed. "He deserves it for everything he's done to you! No one hurts my little sister and gets away with it! Won't you feel better if he wasn't around to what he did to you to others?" Demetri had a good point.

"I barely know you and I hate seeing you unhappy! I'm all for killing that son of a bitch!" Felix roared. I was taken aback slightly. These people who knew me for less than a week were already devoting themselves to me and trying to fix my problems.

"I…" I glanced at Alec for a second. He gave me an encouraging smile. "I want to be the one to kill him," Determination sounded in my voice. Aro looked at me in shock. I knew that I wanted to be the one who makes him suffer the same agonizing pain he caused me. I wanted to see his body writhe on the floor in agony. I wanted to be the one who would make him scream for help.

"Isabella, are you sure?" Aro clarified. I was put back in Alec's lap.

"Yes," I yawned slightly. Demetri shook his head.

"I think you should rest. Jet-lag." Heidi laughed at my humanness. Slowly they filed out of my room leaving Aro, Alec, Jane, Caius, and Marcus.

"One of us should stay with Isabella tonight," Aro suggested. I guess they decided I shouldn't be alone. Alec seemed to volunteer and stayed behind as they all walked out of my room, shutting the door behind them after bidding me a goodnight.

"I need a human moment. Where's the bathroom?" I asked Alec. That was the kinda important thing he left out on his tour.

"Through that door," he pointed at a door in the back of the room. I thanked him and trudged all the way to the bathroom. It was fucking huge. My entire house in Forks could fit in this bathroom. I was in shock. I looked in the mirror for a while. I really hated the way I looked. I was pale, my eyes had dark bags under them, and I definitely did not fit in with the vampires here. Everyone was so perfect and then there's me. I stared at my wrist and decided to wrap it up. If I cut, Alec would be at the door in under a minute since he'd be able to smell the blood. The Volturi seemed to be intent on not killing me or letting me kill myself. I sighed as I sunk to the floor and leaned against the wall.

I'm just supposed to live then. The more and more I thought about it, the more the idea repulsed me. I had lost my will to live. The Cullens taught me to be happy. They taught me what family was. I was able to be myself around them. A single tear slid down my face. I didn't want to cry or else Alec would be worried. I would kill for one of Emmett's bone crushing hugs. I missed his ability to cheer me up whenever I was down. I missed Jasper and his encouragement and telling me I was worth it. I missed the secret guitar jam sessions we'd have at my place. I missed his empathy and our ability to bond over simple things. I missed Alice and her shopping sprees even though I despised it when she spoiled me. I missed Rosalie and her caring for me in her own way. She never showed it but I know she loved me. She tried to protect me from Edward. I should thank her for that. I missed Esme and her never ending motherly love and compassion. I missed chatting with her over a cup of tea and she would try and drink it to amuse me as much as it repulsed her, just to put a smile on my face. I missed Carlisle and his patching me up whenever I fell down. I missed the way I could talk to him about anything. I missed the fact that he helped me with my depression in secret and went through the extra effort to block his mind from Edward. I missed Jacob and the pack. I missed the barbeques at La Push beach. I missed his warm hugs and his caring nature. I missed working on his Volkswagen Rabbit. I missed Charlie and his awkwardness and his massive amount of love.

I didn't miss Edward.

I'm mad at him.

I thought he and I were going to get married. We had discussed it and everything.

I hate him.

I hate that I loved him.

I hate that deep down in my heart I still care for him and love him.

I heard a light knock on the door. Alec.

"Yes?" I called out to him.

"You've been in there for an hour. Are you okay?" Alec asked worriedly. I quickly reassured him.

"I'm fine. I just fell asleep," I hollered. Wow, an hour I spent here contemplating everything.

"You have three minutes or I'm coming in," Alec warned. I gulped slightly. I rose from my sitting position on the floor. I quickly grabbed the razor blade that I always kept hidden. I slid it against my other wrist three times and cleaned it. Alec most likely knew what I did but I didn't care. I started feeling nauseous from the smell of blood.

All of my bad memories are in the past. This is the future now. I have a new family. I just have to embrace it. I quickly brushed my teeth and took care of my business before stepping out of the bathroom. Alec looked at me suspiciously and I shrugged my shoulders, making sure I hid my wrist from him.

"Are you alright?" Alec asked me quietly. I nodded my head. He raised an eyebrow and grabbed my wrist looking at the new cuts. He sighed softly. "Bella…"

"I'm sorry," I whispered. Alec didn't respond. He looked me in the eye as he placed his lips on my wrist and kissed every one of my cuts.

"You are beautiful mia stella," Alec looked me in the eyes. "Remember that."

Tears flowed from my eyes as Alec wordlessly wrapped his arms around me and led me to the bed. I climbed in and got under the covers. It was nice and soft. Alec stood next to my bed, seeming as if he was unsure of what to do. I smiled at him and patted the space next to me. Alec raised an eyebrow before removing his shoes and climbed into the bed next to me, protectively wrapping an arm around my waist.

"Thank you for everything…" I whispered to him. I was asleep before he had the chance to respond.

Z: Hey there! As you see I've been changing things up a little. This rewritten version has long been overdue. I am extending the storyline as I feel that when I wrote it two years ago, I rushed the romance and drama and everything. I hope you guys don't hate the story now that I've made all these changes. I can't wait for the day this story becomes as popular as 'Heart Reborn' once was.

I love you all!