Sorry people! I know it's been a while, but I'm back in school now and updates will be less frequent, so sorry! Anyways, starting in the next chapter, I'm going to start making a dedication to my best reviewer and that person will also get a sneak peek at the next chapter!
Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight!
Bella's POV:
"What?" Edward panicked. I heard him sobbing on the other end and wished I could hold him in my arms, but I couldn't. I didn't notice the woman coming back from the restroom until she was seated at her desk again.
"Oh!" she exclaimed. "I almost forgot. He told me to give you this." She handed me an envelope with my name on it in sloppy writing. She looked to Alice, probably wondering what was wrong with me, but Alice just shook her head.
"The kids?" she asked and the woman left again. I opened the envelope and heard Edward saying something, but I ignored him.
Hey, Bells. Guess who? I'm pretty sure you already know, but just in case, it was pretty fun pushing you out of that window. Ring a bell? Good. Now, as you've noticed, I have your beloved little Nicole. She's a very beautiful young lady, you know. A lot like her mother.
Anyways, if you ever want to see your daughter again, you'd better do exactly as I say and not get the authorities involved. Her school thinks she's being homeschooled with her grandparents now, so they aren't expecting her. Don't do anything until you find my next letter.
I started crying harder and showed Alice the letter. She pulled me into a hug when she finished reading it.
"Bella?" Edward asked.
"Yeah?"
"Did you hear me?"
"No."
"I want to know if you would come home for now. I know you want to get a...a divorce, but please, at least stay with me until we get Nicky back and know that Andrew won't bother us again. I need to know that you're safe." I wanted to be with Edward so badly right now, but would I be able to handle it when he left? At the moment, I didn't care; all I wanted was to be with Edward until we could get our baby girl back.
"Yes," I whispered, thoughts of the pain I'd be in already sinking through. I heard Edward sigh in relief.
"Okay. Would you like me to come get you?"
"Alice can take me."
"All right. I lov-" I hung up before he could finish saying the three words that would give me false hope, only making matters worse when the time for us to seperate came. Alice, who had kept her arm around me, now let go and I saw my niece and nephew were in the room. The woman (she should really wear a name tag) was carrying Lilly and little Johnny ran up to his mommy. Alice picked him up and then reached for Lilly.
"Anything else I can do to help you ladies?" the woman asked. Alice turned to me.
"You know, it might be a good idea to get Emmett and Rosalie's kids, too." I nodded, understanding what she was saying. We didn't want to risk losing any more kids to Andrew or anyone else.
"Okay," Alice said. "We're going to pick up Tyler, Samantha, and Angie Cullen."
"All right. Just a minute." A few minutes ago, we were walking back out to the car with all five kids. I held two year old Angie in my arms and Alice held Lilly, leaving the other three to walk.
"What's wrong, Auntie Bella?" Angie asked as she wiped a tear from my cheek. I hadn't even realized that I was crying again. Her bright blue eyes were full of concern, but I knew she wouldn't understand even if I told her.
"It's nothing, sweetheart."
"Where's Nicky?" Tyler asked. He was only four months older than she was and they were best friends. I bit my lip to stop the sobs before they came. What should I tell him?
"She's visiting her grandma, Tyler," Alice answered.
"Oh. When will she be back?"
"Hopefully soon."
"Yeah, hopefully. I miss her." I couldn't help it. A sob escaped my throat. All of the kids looked at me. We were at the car now and I was sure it would only be a matter of seconds until I broke down. Alice must have sensed it and gathered all the kids into the car. I put Angie in and closed the door.
"Should I have Jasper come up?" Alice asked. "He can take the kids and I can take you home." I shook my head.
"I don't want to make anything difficult on you, Alice. Edward offered to pick me up; I'll just ride with him."
"Are you sure? I don't mind."
"I'll be fine. Thank you so much, Alice. You're the best sister in law a girl could ask for." I gave her a big hug and pulled away before I started crying.
"All right. I'll call Edward for you. Stay here, he should be here soon." I nodded and watched her go back into the car. I waved as she drove away and walked back to the daycare center. The door was locked. That was weird. The daycare was open until seven, and although I didn't have a watch with me, it was obvious by the position of the sun that it wasn't even close to seven. I knocked on the door, but no one came. I knew the woman was still there; there was only one door for her to exit through and I would have seen if she had done so.
I banged a few more times before giving up. I slid to the ground and put my face in my hands, letting the tears flow freely. Why wouldn't they let me back in? It was as if that woman was purposely locking me out. A shiver went down my spine as I realized that might be the case. Why would someone lock me out?
I heard footsteps and then the sound of someone stopping in front of me. That was fast. I quickly stood up and looked into the eyes of someone who definitely wasn't Edward.
"Why are you crying?" he asked. He looked like he was about my age and was strangely familiar. I shook my head and looked down at my feet. I didn't want to talk to a stranger about this. Suddenly, I felt a cool hand on my cheek, wiping my tears away. I flinched and was uncomfortable when I realized he was only inches from me and my back was to the wall.
"Don't be afraid," he whispered and I gulped. Where the heck was my husband? Maybe he decided that he really hated me and sent this man to finish me off. No, Edward would never do that, would he? I didn't have time to think. Instead, I pushed the man's arm away, kneeing him between the legs as I did so, and ran away from him as fast as I could.
Edward's POV:
"What?" I exclaimed and broke down into tears. Why didn't I get rid of Andrew when I had the chance? I could have killed him and we would never have to worry about this again. But now, thanks to me, he had my little Nicky. I thought back to a few hours ago when Bella and I had been so happy about our new baby. Now, she wanted to get a divorce with me and the same man who abused her in high school escaped from prison and has our daughter. This was officially the worst day of my life.
Then I realized something else: with Andrew back, Bella would be in danger, too. She might not love me anymore, but I still loved her more than anything in the world.
"Bella," I croaked. "You're in danger, now. Please, come back home so I can know you're safe. We can go through with the divorce if you really want to once we get Nicky back and he's taken care of, but please stay with me for now."
I waited for an answer, but all I heard on the other end was sobbing.
"Bella?" I asked.
"Yeah?"
"Did you hear me?"
"No."
"I want to know if you would come home for now. I know you want to get a...a divorce, but please, at least stay with me until we get Nicky back and know that Andrew won't bother us again. I need to know that you're safe," I pleaded, secretly hoping I could talk her into staying with me.
"Yes," she whispered. I sighed in relief.
"Okay. Would you like me to come get you?"
"Alice can take me."
"All right. I love you." I heard the click of Bella hanging up before I finished. She obviously didn't feel the same way for me as she used to, but I would always love her with all of my heart.
I decided to do something to occupy my time while I waited for Bella. Hmm, let's see. The dishes need to be done, so I pulled out a clean towel and started drying clean dishes. I finished putting the clean dishes away and was getting ready to start another load when the home phone rang.
"Hello?" I answered.
"Finally!" Alice exclaimed from the other end. "I've been trying to get ahold of you on your cell for ten minutes now! Bella needs a ride."
"Okay," I said, heading upstairs to get my car keys and cell phone. "Where is she? Your place?"
"No, she had me leave her at the daycare."
"All right. I'll be there in five minutes."
"Okay. And don't think this means you're off the hook; the only reason I'm even letting her ride with you is because she wants to. She's broken hearted, to say the least, and I wasn't about to argue with her." She hung up before I could respond. I went outside to my Volvo and headed for the daycare.
Oh no! What's going to happen to Bella? What about little Nicky? What will happen between Edward and Bella? Will they decide to get a divorce?There's only one way to find out... Anywho, should I include a flashback chapter with just a few cute moments that happened over the past few years so you can get to know Nicky a little better? Let me know what you think! Review! The person who leaves the best review gets a preview of the next chapter! :D