You guys made me so entirely happy for the past two days. The reviews have sky rocketed and I have over 2800 hits! I know I've kept you all waiting but my mom and brother kept taking the computer from me and I'm in the process of moving so...I kow you guys will love this chapter. I would like to thank everyone that reviewed. And as always my beta, BellaTonks, rules!

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Disclaimer: "You all have made me so proud. I feel like crying. This story is really, really good. Keep the reviews coming, people! And always remember, Reader4Lyfe owns nothing but the plot." S.M.

Chapter 8

EPOV

The weeks went by and she still hadn't mentioned anything. I thought about it . . . no, I thought about her every day. I didn't bring it up and neither did she. She was happier that way and so was I; if she was happy than so was I. However, I was careful around her. I weighed my words carefully when I spoke to her or around her. I treated her as if she were a fragile piece of glass, one that I didn't want ever to break.

I cared for her, maybe even loved her, but I wasn't sure yet. I needed to be sure. When Alice told me that she and Rose were planning to throw Bella a birthday party I was ecstatic. I thought it was the perfect time to tell her that I'd be there for her; that she could tell me anything and everything and I'd understand; no matter what.

Alice and Rose took her shopping a few days before the party. They bought her an earring and necklace set and they had her try on some rings to get her ring size. I had told them both that I wanted to get Bella a ring for her birthday, so Rose called me and told me what her ring size was. I went to a jewelry store that same day they took her shopping and hunted down the right ring. I went to three different stores before I finally found the perfect one for her. I knew she'd love it. It was a 14k white gold three stone, a blue diamond and white diamond ring.

I could tell that the clerk behind the counter didn't think I had the money for such an exquisite ring. With my father being a surgeon and my mother a very successful interior designer, they made a pretty hefty amount of money. I just hoped that Bella would like the ring. The diamond in the middle was the same color as her dress, midnight blue, which was my favorite color on her. She looked radiant in that color, even when she wore plain jeans and t-shirt.

Tonight was her party and Alice had called me to tell me that Bella didn't know whether or not I was going. I told her I thought I'd surprise her, I mean after all it is her birthday. Alice and Rose left before the party started to get things in ordered and make any last minute adjustments.

The club was about twenty minutes away from the school. Jasper and Emmett were going too. They offered me a ride, but I told them I'd ride alone, so they followed the girls.

It was quarter to ten when I finished cleaning my entire room. I wanted to bring Bella up here so we could be alone together (in a strictly platonic sense, of course). If things went well tonight, however, I would no longer be alone, Bella would be my girlfriend and I hoped the ring would help my case a little too. My room was completely spotless. I had my bed made, the kitchen clean, the bathroom thoroughly scrubbed and the small living area straightened up. I hadn't cleaned that much in one day since my mom and dad left for a three day vacation last year.

I took a quick shower and threw on my denim jeans and a white t-shirt. I put on a light black jacket, zipped it up and pulled a black blazer over it. I thought I looked like party material and then I ran a hand through my hair. As messy as it was, it was all I could do to it.

I grabbed the little black box from my bed side table along with my keys and phone and then headed out the door. It was close to eleven when I got there, even with my ridiculous driving. There was a huge crowd of people outside the club. They lined the side of the building trying to get past the bouncer. I walked right up to him and he eyed me.

"Cullen," I told him and he let me in after looking me up and down.

The place was packed. People were dancing in the center floor and sitting on high chairs, drinking, talking and laughing. I looked around for Bella, but I didn't see her. The lights were flashing from the ceiling which had drawn my attention to a big sign that read, 'Happy Birthday Bella'. I chuckled to myself, only Alice could pull something like this together in a week.

Someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned and looked down at my pixie-like sister, Alice. She smiled up at me.

"Hello, Alice." I hugged her.

"Hey, Edward, are you enjoying yourself, yet?"

"Not until I see her. Do you know where she is?"

Alice smiled wider at my eagerness.

"She just finished fending off Mike, the dog, I think."

I growled. I detested that boy with a passion. He was always all over Bella and he never let her breathe.

Alice turned around and looked for a second before showing me all her pearly whites and I mean ALL of them. "She's right there." She pointed to a table by a bar to our left. "Go get her, tiger."

I hugged her again and kissed her forehead.

I walked off in Bella's direction. I put my hand on her shoulder and she whipped around so fast I thought she was going to attack me. But she didn't, instead she froze in place; her brown eyes meeting my green ones. I loved her eyes, the way they always drew me in.

"E- Edward?" She choked my name out as if she wasn't expecting me to be here. Well, I was and couldn't help but crack a smile, that same smile that always made her weak.

"Hey, Bella," I smiled.

She wobbled a little and I caught her before she fell. I wrapped an arm around her waist and led her to a table. She sat down and tried to get her breathing under control, it was really erotic. Maybe I shouldn't have surprised her.

"Bella, are you alright?" I couldn't help the concern that etched in my voice.

She took in an unsteady breath. "Yes, I'm fine. I just didn't know if you were coming."

"Of course I was. Why would you think otherwise?"

She didn't answer. Instead she looked me over and at first I thought I'd forgotten something important, but then she had a sexy glint in her eye. I smirked to let her know I knew what she was doing and she glared at me. She turned her head away from me. I leaned forward and placed a finger under her chin to turn her face toward mine. Our faces were only inches apart now.

"You're cute when you're angry," I chuckled and she blushed. Man, I loved it when she did that, especially when I initiated it, I thought. I have to give her gift to her now or I never will. "I want to give you something." I said.

"Oh?"

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the little black box.

"What is it?" She asked. I chuckled again and pushed it across the table toward her.

"Open it."

She took it in her hand and slowly opened the box. Her breath caught and for a moment, I was scared she wouldn't like it, but then she sat there dazed, just staring at it.

"Edward, t-this is f-for me?" She stuttered.

"Yes," I said. She reached out to take it from the box, but I beat her to it. I took it out and slid it onto her ring finger of her right hand.

"Wow. It's beautiful," she whispered. She held her hand out to admire it. I stood up and walked in front of her. I took both of her hands in mine, it was now or never, I needed to tell her.

"Yes, it is beautiful. Just like you and that dress is . . . perfect on you. I love to see you in that color. It makes everything about you shine with more intensity." She blushed and then looked into my eyes. I'm sure she saw the raw care and passion and want and love that showed in them. The want was overpowered by the love at the moment. She seemed a little surprised when she saw the love, as if she'd only seen it a few times and not at the intensity I was showing.

I leaned forward never breaking eye contact to whisper in her ear, "Promise."

"W- What?" She stuttered as my breath tickled her ear.

"It's a promise ring." I said feeling triumphant.

"A promise ring, a promise for what?" she asked.

Here goes nothing.

"I promise to be there for you, no matter what. Whatever happens, I'll be there. I want you to know that." I stared into her wonderful brown eyes. With every word, I squeezed her hands tighter.

She seemed to be realizing something as I leaned closer to her.

She didn't move.

I leaned closer.

She stared into my eyes.

I moved closer.

Then she leaned forward.

Just as she was about to close the extremely small space between us, I was suddenly pushed to the side. I let go of Bella's hand, so as to not pull her down with me. I had fallen to the floor a little disoriented and angry at whomever interrupted me trying to kiss Bella. I looked up to see Mike blocking her view of me.

She tried to get to me, but he wouldn't let her. By the time I stood up and righted myself, Mike had already had Bella on the dance floor. He gripped her hips and started grinding against her from behind. She looked disgusted. I was about to run over to them to say and do some very unpleasant things, until someone grabbed my arm and then proceeded to wrap their arms around me from behind.

"Hey, Eddie. You want to dance?" I heard a nasally voice ask from behind me. Lauren. Her name was even annunciated scornfully in my head. She was a disgusting creature.

"Yes, I do, but not with you, Never, EVER with you. As I told you in gym all those weeks ago, stay the hell away from me. And if you ever touch me again, I'll make your life a living hell three times over and then you don't even want to know what I'll do next," I hissed the whole thing. She dropped her arms, completely taken back and I raced off to the dance floor. I didn't see Bella or Mike anywhere.

I tried looking for Alice and Rose or even Emmett and Jasper, but I couldn't find them. I couldn't find anyone. I panicked, sat down in a nearby chair and hung my head in my hands.

Then I felt this tugging in the back of my head. It felt like someone was calling out to me. It was faint, but I could feel it and hear it. I tuned everything else around me out and listened.

Then, I heard her.

Bella.

She was calling me.

She was hurting.

My Bella was hurting.

I couldn't take it. I felt like crying. I felt pain rip across my chest like lightening across the sky.

I followed it. I followed her voice, her cries of pain.

I went to the back of the club and saw a door. I put my ear against it and heard a growl. I turned the doorknob roughly and flung the door open and what I saw nearly crushed me. What I saw made fire burn in me hotter than the core of the sun.

Mike was on top of Bella, pinning her arms above her head. He'd ripped her dress. The side of her face, I could see, was redder than even her blush. Her eyes were drooping; she could barely keep them open. I growled, a menacing sound coming from my chest.

I ran to the couch and yanked Mike by the shirt and I pulled him off of Bella. I hurled him onto the floor and ran to Bella. Before I could get to her, though, Mike grabbed hold of my blazer and pulled me back. He punched me in the gut and then once on the mouth. I stumbled back, but didn't fall. I held my stomach and rubbed my jaw and another growl erupted from my chest as I lunged at him. I threw my fist into his eye and he stumbled back and fell. He got back up, a little wobbly, and charged at me again. I dodged him and he ran head first into the wall behind me. He groaned and slid down the wall slowly until he was nothing but a heap of crap on the ground.

I didn't hesitate to control my breathing or to stop the ripping and the growling coming from my chest. Bella lay broken on the couch, looking paler than usual. Her dress was torn down the middle . . . her . . . c-chest was showing; it was wide open. Her hair was frizzy and messy, even in her current state she still looked beautiful. I took off my blazer and wrapped it around her.

I grabbed my phone out of my pocket and dialed Alice's cell. She picked up on the first ring.

"Edward?"

"Alice, call 911, NOW!" I hissed.

"Why? What's wrong?"

"Just do it." I snapped the phone shut.

I scooped Bella up in my arms and she immediately gripped my shirt, tighter than ever before. "It's okay, Bella, you're safe now. I'm here. I'll always be here," I murmured into her hair. I smoothed it back so I could see her face. Her eyes were closed and she was breathing heavily. Moments later, I heard sirens and then my phone rang. Bella jumped.

"Yes, Alice," I answered my phone quickly.

"They're here. Where you guys? We managed to clear out the club but not a lot."

"We're coming out, now. You might want to send the police in here too. I'll explain everything at the hospital." I snapped the phone shut and slipped it into my pocket. I cradled Bella carefully, unsure if she was hurt or in pain. I walked out the door and saw Alice, Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper standing by the entrance.

There were police all around and EMS people standing behind them with a stretcher.

I walked over to them, crossing the dance floor and walking past a few people who hadn't left the club yet.

"Edward! Bella!? What happened?" Alice said when I reached her. Everybody crowded around us. The EMS guys told them to give us some room.

"Lay her on the stretcher, so we can get a better look at her," one of them said. I tried to lay Bella down, but she wouldn't let go of my shirt.

"Can we do this in the ambulance? I think all the attention is overwhelming her. She's scared." I kissed her forehead. "Oh, and officers," I said before I walked through the doors. They looked at me. "The man you want is in the room at the back of the club. It's wide open. He ran into a wall and he's unconscious." They nodded and ran to the back of the club. I turned and walked to the ambulance. I climbed in, barley keeping my balance with Bella clinging to me like a magnet attracted to metal.

The EMS guys pushed the stretcher in and one climbed in opposite me and the other two went to front seats.

"Sir, you're going to have to get her to lie down. I can't do anything when she's like that," he said.

I nodded without looking at him. I rocked Bella until she quieted.

"Bella, love, you have to let me go for moment so they can examine you," I murmured into her ear. She shook her head, but the she finally opened her eyes and looked up at me. I saw the pain and the fear and hurt that was spiraling around. I felt my heart split in two.

"D-don't leave m-me," she whispered her voice breaking. "Don't e-ever leave m-me."

"I won't. I promise." I took the hand that had the promise ring on it and kissed it. I kissed her forehead, her eyes, her nose, her cheeks, and finally her lips. When I pulled away, the ambulance started and the sirens went off. "Bella, please, you have to lie down. I won't leave you, I promise. I swear." She looked up at me again, her eyes brimming with tears. I leaned my forehead against hers. "Please, Bella. I'll be right here." My breath blew in her face and she was dazed for second before she slowly released her grip on my shirt.

I helped her lie down on the stretcher and she kept a firm grip on my hand. The EMS guy began his work. He tried to insert an IV in her arm, but she jerked away. He felt up her arms and noticed when she winced at certain places he touched. I rubbed circles on the back of her hand and kissed the ring on her finger. She kept her eyes on me, fearing that I would disappear at any moment.

We made it to the hospital a few minutes later. The guys in the front got out and ran to the back and opened the doors. They pushed Bella to the ER and they tried to keep me out. Bella screamed and thrashed and they tried to hold her down while they got an IV in her arm. Things weren't going to well.

"Let's sedate her. She's in shock," one of the doctors said.

"No! Don't sedate her! She's not in shock. She just wants me, let me in!" The doctor and the four nurses looked to the glass door I was banging frantically on. Bella stopped thrashing around and her eyes met mine. They were horror struck.

"Get the sedative," the doctor ordered. The nurses scrambled to drawers and cabinets trying to find the sedative.

"NO!" I screamed. I continued to beat my hand against the glass. "She's fine. Just let me in, please. She doesn't want to be alone." I was banging my hand against the glass so hard, that it broke. I practically punched a hole in the door. Everyone in the room stopped as did everyone else around me. Everything went quiet for a moment.

"Let me in," I pleaded.

The doctor looked from me to Bella and back again.

"Let him in," I heard the door make a humming noise. As soon as it cracked open I rushed to Bella's side. She immediately grabbed my shirt and I wrapped my arms around her as she cried into my chest. I pulled her into my lap on the bed and rocked her back and forth. My phone rang in my pocket. I opened it without looking at the caller ID.

"Hello?"

"Edward? It's Alice. Dad is on his way down."

"Thanks, Alice," I whispered. I hung up the phone and continued rocking Bella. She whimpered, but as I rubbed her back and whispered calming words in her ear, she quieted. I leaned back to take her face in my hands. "My dad, Carlisle, is going to come and check on you. Okay? He's the only one I trust to look after you, now. Okay?"

She nodded.

I wiped the tears from her cheeks with my thumbs and hummed a tune I had made up in my music class. Bella was so calm, that I thought she'd fallen asleep, but she shot right up when the door opened.

My dad walked toward us, looking blonde and young as always. He had his white doctor's coat on. He stood directly in front of me and smiled a little.

"Edward," he said.

"Dad," I said, relieved that he was here now.

"You look pretty bad. Your jaw is swollen and your hand is bleeding."

I looked down at my left hand on Bella's back. My knuckles were bleeding. I hadn't even noticed.

"Well I'll wrap that up for you and we're going to have to pay for that glass door." He walked over to one of the cabinets in the room and pulled some ointment, ACE bandages and some padding. "Here, let me see." I shifted so Bella was leaning on my side. She watched silently as Carlisle cleaned and wrapped my hand in a matter of minutes. "There you go. Now …"

He stopped not knowing Bella's name.

She spoke up before I could, though it was just a whisper, "Bella."

Carlisle gave her a warm smile. Bella's eyes lit up a fraction.

"I'm going to have to do some tests on you; x-rays, blood tests that sort of thing. But, um, do you want to tell me what happened? I might need to do a rape kit."

Bella visibly shuddered and shrank into my chest again.

"Dad, can we have a moment?" I asked. I needed to get her relaxed enough to ask something.

"Sure Edward. Here," he walked over to a different cabinet and pulled out some blue hospital garments, "you might want her to change into this." He placed them at the foot of the bed, smiled and walked out.

I looked down at Bella. She still had my blazer on, it was just buttoned up and her legs were showing all the way up to mid-thigh and one of her heels was broken. She also still had her earrings and necklace on, but the necklace was backwards. I moved down and saw the mark of the chain around her neck. I growled.

"Bella, d-did he r-rape y-you?" My words were strangled as they came out. She looked into my eyes and I sucked in a breath as I waited for her answer.

Sorry, guys another cliffy! I know I'm bad! Fill free to gather your pitchforks or whatever. I've already been threatened with a foot long sandwich from Quizno's, Bath and Body Works Body Spray and a lint roller. So if you want to kill me, just give me a a five minute head start first. I might not be able to update till monday but if guys beat the review count for last chapter-cough-22-cough-I'll update on sunday. Sound good? Great! I'll update when I update!

Reader4Lyfe, peace!