I was trying to get this chapter to you guys yesterday but my mom took the laptop as soon as she walked in the door from work and I didn't finish typing the whole thing and she didn't get off till like 2 in the morning and kept it in her room. So I had to wait till she left for work today.
This is what happened to Bella the night before and some other stuff that happened too. You'll find out later what was in the bag she brought in from her car.
I would like to thank the few people that reviewed. I've gotten over 200 hits and I'm quite proud of myself. I'd love more though.
I need ideas for the next chapter so please help me out….I'm kind at a slight loss as to how to start it out and stuff…….but enough of my ranting READ ON!
Disclaimer:"People, help Reader4Lyfe out with her story. She hasn't taken my characters and I'm enjoying this story so far." S.M.
Chapter 4
BPOV
The fear that went through me was unbearable. I was on auto drive from the moment Edward stopped the car. I'd forgotten something important in my car so I went to get it, completely forgetting about Edward. I walked to the building and I heard a car door shut but didn't pay any attention to it. A few seconds later Edward came walking by side. He didn't speak to me.
I was scared. Scared for my life, scared for my mother, who I reluctantly left with that monster of a man. I was scared that if I got too close to the Cullens and the Hales that he'd do something to them. He'd told me and my mother that if we ever said anything about the abuse and the beating and the threatening that he'd kill us. I didn't want to drag them into my worthless problems, but I had a distinct feeling that I already did.
My hands were shaking as I tried to open my door to my room. I felt a warm strong hand cover mine and take the keys away. I turned my head and saw Edward. He opened the door but I couldn't move. My legs felt like they always did after Charlie beat me; like shit. Edward grabbed my hand and pulled me into the room. I heard the door close behind me and Edward led me to the couch. I sat down. I stared the wall but I saw nothing.
I thought Edward left but he didn't. He was looking at me. All of a sudden I saw Charlie's face. I saw him kicking me. Then I saw my mother the day I came from the other school. Her arm was in a cast and her midsection was wrapped up. I felt nothing but pain. I hated the pain. The only way I was able to deal with it was with my mom. She was always there for me. She kept me fed and stitched me up when Charlie did a whole lot of damage.
I didn't want any more pain. I don't want any more pain. I saw Edward when I blinked. He looked concerned.
"I don't want to be hurt any more. I can't take any more pain." I whispered.
"What are you talking about?" I can't be alone. Not now.
"Stay with me. Please, Edward." You can't leave me here all alone, I thought. "I don't want to be alone. I can't be alone." His figure started blurring. I thought we were in an earthquake and it wasn't until Edward grabbed my hands and started rubbing circles on the back of them, that I realized I was shaking. His warmth and strong hands sent electric shocks up my arms and that slowed the shaking.
Then the shaking was replaced by tears. I started crying. I thought that he would leave now. I was practically breaking down in front of him and there was nothing I could do about it. I couldn't control my tears as they flowed endlessly down my face. I cried for my mom. I cried for myself, for the pain I had to endure for over ten years of my life.
Then suddenly I was in his arms. I gripped his shirt like I was hanging on for dear life. I think I probably was. Or at least that's what it felt like. He started rocking back and forth, just holding me. It helped a lot. I managed to quiet myself down but I still kept hold of his shirt. I didn't want him to leave me. I slipped into the darkness a little while later.
I felt movement under me. I knew I was moving but I was too far under to really tell where I was going. I felt something cover me, like a blanket and then arms wrap themselves around me. Whatever or whoever was there, I knew wasn't a threat to me. I gripped tighter to whatever was under me. I felt something press down on my hair. Then I fell back into the darkness.
Charlie came towards me in the living room of my house. He had his gun in one hand and my mom's hair in the other. She was crying and grabbing at Charlie's hand to let her go. Tears were streaming down her face and she was so red she would put a tomato to shame. Charlie put the gun to her head.
"NOOO!!" I screamed. I backed up against the wall. Charlie pointed the gun at me, shot it and missed. He then pointed it back at Renee. I tried to get up but I couldn't move my legs. I looked down and my legs were a nasty purplish color. They looked and felt broken. I felt something warm slide down the side of my face and get in my shirt. It slid all the way down to my chest, staining the white shirt I was wearing.
"Charlie let me go! Let go! We didn't do anything. We didn't say anything to anybody." Renee pleaded with him. He gripped at her hair. He kneed her in the face and she started bleeding.
"WHAT THE HELL DID I TELL YOU, HUH?" Charlie yelled. "I SAID IF YOU EVER TELL ANYONE WHAT GOES ON IN THIS HOUSE I'D KILL YOU!" His eyes were enraged to the point where they looked blacker than pitch.
"What a—are y-you t-t-talking about C-Charlie? I n-never said an-anything t-t-to anyone." I whimpered. My legs hurt, my arms hurt, my head hurt, everything hurt.
"YOU LYING BITCH! I KNOW YOU TOLD SOMEBODY! I'LL HUNT THEM DAMN CULLENS DOWN TOO. I'M NOT GOING DOWN!" Then I heard the gun go off again. But this time there was a scream. A heart-wrenching, ear-splitting scream. I looked up at Charlie who smirked. I followed the barrel of the gun down to see my mother with a hole in her head bleeding on the wooden floor of the living room.
"MOM!! NOOOOOOOO!!" He killed my mother. "Y-y-you won't g-g-get a way w-with this, Charlie!" I said. Charlie stalked towards me.
"Oh. I think I already did." He leaned down in front of me and waved the gun in my face. "There's no one here to save you. Your bitch of a mother is dead, so she can't protect you anymore." He laughed.
"YOU MONSTER!!" I screamed and then the gun went off. Everything went black.
I woke with a start. I rubbed my eyes. They felt dry. I wanted to roll over but found that I couldn't. Something was holding me in place. I looked up and gasped.
Edward.
He was here.
Holding me.
He looked down at me and smiled. But the smile didn't reach his eyes. They looked pained and scared and worried. It hurt me to see him like that. I wanted to take his pain away but I knew I had to get rid of my own pain first. And with the nightmare I just had, I don't think that'll be possible any time soon.
"Hey." He said.
"Hi." I whispered.
"Are you okay?" He looked truly worried.
"I'm not entirely sure." His forehead creased with even more worry. I tried to get up but he held me there, his arms acting like a cage. I looked up at him. "What do you want me to say, Edward?"
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing." I said too quickly. He gave me an incredulous look. "I'm fine. Really."
"You're not fine, Bella. You screamed for half the night. There are bags under your eyes from crying so much. You kept saying, 'Charlie, you monster! You killed my mother. Don't touch me. Stay away from me.' That doesn't sound like nothing to me."
"I was dreaming. I talk in my sleep. I say crazy things sometimes." I couldn't let him know about Charlie. At least not yet.
"Bella―" I cut him off.
"Please…" I whispered. I looked him in the eyes. Those green orbs shining with concern and something else I couldn't fathom. He took my face in his hands. His breath blew in my face. It clouded my mind for a moment. "I don't want to drag you into my problems. I don't want to hurt you." To me my voice was barely audible but he caught every word.
"You can still tell me. You can trust me."
"Not now. I'm not ready to tell you, Edward. Not now. You don't need m―" The door flew open and in came Alice and Rose. They froze when they saw us. Edward's gaze never left my face. I gazed back at him. He moved his head to the side but came forward. He placed a kiss on my neck before picking me up, off his lap and placing me back on the couch. We never broke eye contact. Alice and Rose moved out of his way when he finally broke it and walked out of the door. As soon as the door was shook they rushed over to me.
"Bella, are you alright? What happened? You look terrible!" Rose was the first to speak. Alice sat wide-eyed and speechless. I knew I needed to tell Edward. I just wasn't ready. I knew it's only been a day but they already felt like family to me. I knew Edward would always be more than family to me but right now I couldn't deal with it.
"OMC! Bella, what happened to your arms?" Alice asked. I looked down and saw that I had on a shirt sleeved pajama shirt and sweats. Oh, no! The bruises. He saw the bruises. He changed me. He wasn't supposed to see that. I made a mad dash for the bathroom. I closed the door and locked it. I curled up into a ball in the corner of the bathroom and cried. Again. I heard knocking on the door.
"Bella. It's Alice. I'm sorry. I should've never set you up like that last night. I just thought that you guys would make a great couple. I ju—" She stopped. I heard some murmuring and then an exasperated sigh and someone walking away. I don't know how long I was on the floor like that crying. It felt like an eternity before I picked myself up off the floor and looked in the mirror. I had huge purple bags under my eyes, my hair was a mess, my clothes were all wrinkled. Talk about a hideous sight.
I decided to take a shower. I unlocked the bathroom door and walked out. Alice and Rose were on the couch. They looked mellow. They stood up when they saw me. I walked to my closet and grabbed my toiletries, clean under garments, and shorts and a short sleeved shirt. I turned back around and went back to the bathroom. I saw that Rose was about to say something but knowing what she was going to say I answered.
"I'll explain everything when I come out."
The shower was hot. It burned my skin but I didn't care. It relaxed the muscles all over my body. I washed my hair with my strawberry shampoo. I have to say I was in there for a long time. I dried myself off slipped on my under garments. I threw on the shorts and shirt. I braided my hair into one big braid to hang over my left shoulder. I rung the water out as I braided.
I left the bathroom and sat on my bed. Alice and Rose came and sat on either side of me. I sighed and began my tale.
"When I was four years old I witnessed my dad, Charlie, beating my mom. She told me to run but I was four and was still having trouble walking. H-he came after me. He beat me with his belt. He beat me when he felt like it or when he thought I did something stupid or wrong. He did the same to my mother. She defended me over the years. She kept me well fed and stitched me up when he did a lot of damage. She's a nurse at the local hospital in Forks.
"Charlie only got drunk when she wasn't home. And when she wasn't home, I usually was, so he vented it out on me. But that didn't really matter. Whether or not he was drunk he still beat us. He said that if we ever told anyone what was going in the house he'd…kill us." I heard their sharp intakes of breath. My heart started to beat really fast. My breaths came in gasps. My ribs protested and I worked extra hard to try to calm my breathing down. Alice rubbed my back and Rose squeezed my hands. When I had everything under control I smiled weakly at them. Rose nodded to let me know that I could continue.
"A few days before I came here Charlie beat me because I was late coming home from work. My boss wouldn't me use the phone and we were slammed with people so I had to work over time. My mom tried to convince him not to let me go because the last time I went I was expelled for fighting. When I got back my mom had two broken ribs and a broken arm. When she argued with him about it he cut her lip and gave her a black eye. I told her I couldn't leave her again but Charlie had already bought my plane ticket.
"He said if I put up a fight there would be consequences. I had no choice. I didn't want him to hurt my mother. He drove me to the airport, gave me my ticket and some car keys and left." I took a deep breath. Rose looked staggered and Alice was slouched down a little. There was a long silence. It was so thick you could cut it with a chainsaw. Rose broke it first.
"If h-he beat you t-that bad, wouldn't you scream? I mean, wouldn't your neighbors hear you?"
"No. The house is a little outside the town. Isolated. But even if it weren't the people wouldn't suspect anything anyways."
"Why?" Alice spoke this time.
"He's the Police Chief of Forks. He can practically get away with anything. If they found out, he'd make up a story and get away with it. He's crazy, not stupid."
Alice's eyes travelled over my body. I had dark bruises all over my legs and arms.
"When I hugged you the other day, I thought you looked shocked but there was a hint of a grimace on your face. What was that about?" She asked.
I sighed and lifted up my shirt. They gasped again as I showed them my bruised ribs. Rose covered her mouth and turned away.
"That's what he did to me with his work boots when I came home late." I said. I pulled it back down.
"What happened that night, with Edward?" Rose asked.
"I-I don't really know. When he was driving us back here I thought about what Alice said about us being friends. I never really got close to other people. I was scared of what Charlie'd do. Then I thought if I got too close to you guys I'd get you in trouble with him. I didn't want that. You are too nice to be involved in mess like this. But then the thought of him brought back the memories, the years of torture he gave my mother and I. I was shaking and crying. I begged Edward not o leave me alone, not to hurt me. He never left. He stayed. I had a n-nightmare. About Charlie.
"He killed my mother right in front of me. He said he was going to hunt you all down and hurt you right before he killed me. When I woke up I wasn't scared. Edward was there. He told me I was screaming for half the night. That I was talking in my sleep. He wanted me to tell him. He begged me. I told him it was just a dream. I didn't like lying to him. It made me feel uneasy. He changed me. I didn't want him to see the bruises. I didn't want him to see how tortured, broke, and mangled I was. He kissed my neck before he left." I chuckled, realizing something. They looked at me with confused gazes. "That was the first time I'd been kissed anywhere by a guy." I explained. Their eyes widened.
"Really?" Rose asked, appalled. I nodded.
"Wow." Alice breathed.
"We have to tell Edward." Rose stood up and went for her phone. I jumped up to stop her.
"No, Rosalie! Not yet. Not now." I pleaded.
"Why not? He needs to know."
"I know, Rose. I'm just not ready for him to know, yet."
"When?"
"Soon. As soon as I'm ready, he'll know everything." It took her a minute. She stood there with a calculating look in her eyes and on her face.
"Okay." She sighed.
"Thank you. So much." I gave her a tight hug.
I knew right then that they would be here for me. Alice came over and joined in the hug. She spoke the words I'd just thought.
"We're here for you, Bella. No matter what, okay?"
"Thank you, guys."
We watched movies and ate popcorn and drank soda for hours. It turns out that I slept for that whole night and half the next day. Rose and Alice apparently 'lost track of time' and didn't come back until that afternoon. I'd spent the rest of that day locked in the bathroom. We were up all night. Jasper came over and stayed with us for a while. Alice missed him and Emmett and Edward had something to do. So he was bored and lonely.
We started school in two days. We were going to get our schedules tomorrow. I was excited about starting school, now. I had friends that felt like true family. I had shoulders to lean on and comfort but Rose and Alice's shoulders weren't the ones I wanted to lean on. I wanted his shoulder to lean on. I wanted his comforts to soothe me. I wanted his arms around me. I wanted to be saved.
Hey people. I hoped you like this chapter. It was seven pages long on microsoft word. That's my longest chapter so far. There's going to be some surprises coming up in later chapters. I need some more reviews though. I'd really appreciate it.
"Click me! I'm down here!" Says the purple review button. "You know you want too."