A/N: W-O-W!!! I'm so happy you guys enjoyed the last chapter and that I didn't screw it up! I was really afraid of ruining the most climatic chapter in the story, so it's good to know that that is not the case.

SO, Dragon1974uk asked why I didn't just have Edward summon the police right away instead of playing hero. Well, I did this because Edward tends to have a very overprotective and overreacting nature, I'm sure you all know. In my mind, as soon as Edward saw Bella badly hurt, he lost of his self-control and good sense, and went after Phil. It was a natural reflex to hurt anyone who has hurt Bella. That's why it took him so long to summon the police; as soon as he saw what Phil had done to Bella, his over protectiveness kicked in and he went into a blind rage. Hope that clears the air :)

Anyway, GAH! This is the last official chapter in the story!!! The epilogue should be up around the 26 or 27th of December, so this will be the last time I update for a few days. Anyway, ENJOY!!! As my English lit teacher taught me, this chapter is the nemesis. If you don't get it, look it up.

On with Chapter TWENTY THREE!!!

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Phil raised his knife, ready to plunge Bella through the throat. His arm holding the knife came down…

"NO!" I screamed.

A gunshot went off.

Phil, whose arm was in Midair, half-way to Bella's throat, collapsed to the ground with a sickening thud.

Chapter 23: Fix You - BPOV

Beep… Beep… Beep…

I groaned very quietly and reached over to my bedside table to shut off my incredibly annoying alarm clock. Seriously, why couldn't I have taken night classes? It would have spared me the extreme inconvenience of getting up in the morning. Who in there right mind would ever want to get up in the morning?

My hand reached over to my side, but didn't make it the entire way to my bedside table. A weird tugging was keeping me from extending my arm and further. My eyebrows furrowed as I tried to tug harder. I tried to pry my eyes open, but it felt as if they were glued shut. I heard some footsteps and a door closing, but didn't think much of it.

Finally after what seemed like hours, but was probably only a few minutes, my eyes slowly opened and focused on my arm, ready to obliterate whatever was holding it back.

It was an IV. Okay, well, that explains things.

… Huh, wait a second, an IV?!

My eyes snapped open fully and quickly scanned my surroundings. White. Huh. The walls were white, the bed was white, my freaking clothes were white. Did these people have some kind of mono-fetish? The smell of disinfectant and anything else sterile hit my nose and I recognized where I was. I felt like kicking myself for not noticing it sooner considering I had been in one so many times as a kid.

I was in a hospital. The IV and the beeping, which I now knew was the heart monitor, clearly showed I was a patient. But… why? My eyebrows furrowed again, but this time in confusion.

I heard a light velvet chuckle from my right and my head whipped around so fast I swear I cracked my neck.

Edward was sitting there, in a chair right beside my bed. He was leaning forward to his chin was resting on the edge of my pillow. In other words; only mere inches away from my face. My breath stopped for a mere second before coming back, but this time a little faster. He smiled before leaning back in his chair and looking at me in amusement. But underneath the surface of his eyes I could see worry and agony. And relief, immense relief.

"Edward," I breathed.

He gave me another small smile before reaching over and taking my right hand in his. He rubbed soothing circles in it, and didn't meet my eyes. I noticed that I had about a trillion different tubes stuck into me, including one that went to my nose, helping me breathe.

"Where is everyone?" I asked quietly.

"Charlie and my parents are getting lunch. Alice and Jasper and the others decided to step out and give us some time to talk," he answered. I nodded slowly.

"Edward, what happened? Why am I here?" I asked. Surely he would know why.

"You don't remember?" he said, looking back into my eyes. I studied him, so fast that he probably would not have noticed. He had his same bright green gaze and messy bronze hair, but there were dark circles under his eyes, as if he had been missing sleep. His messy hair was now twice as disarrayed, like he had been constantly running his hand through it; something he always did when anxious.

When I examined more closely, I noticed, to my horror, a small stitch line across his jaw. There was also some faded bruising on the left side of his face. How did he get hurt?!

I shook my head. "I don't remember… but Edward, how did you get those? Are you alright?" I asked, pointing at his small injuries. He simply shrugged them off.

He then looked at me in amusement again. "You're the one lying all beat up in a hospital, and you're asking me if I'm alright? Bella, you never cease to amaze me." I blushed crimson.

"You never answered my question," I said.

"Hmm?"

"What happened?"

"Right… so you really don't remember?"

I shook my head again. Edward sighed and ran his hand through his hair for what I was sure was the millionth time since… whenever I got in here.

"What's the last thing you remember?" he asked me. I looked up at the ceiling, trying to go back into my memories. For the most part they were blurry and nonsensical, just moving shapes and such. Surprisingly, as I searched farther back, the memories became clearer. It was only when I tried to remember the most recent events that it got fuzzy. You'd think it'd be the other way around.

"I remember…" I squinted, "the um, Winter Carnival…" Edward nodded, wanting me to go on. "And the…weeks after that were pretty normal. I remember classes with Max and Fang and Angela. I remember Carlisle and Esme sending us some photo albums. And then…"

"Go on," Edward urged.

I tried to remember. I really did… but the images and sound weren't coming in clearly. It was like I was watching an old, messed up tape where the visuals and audio were both faded with age. I shook my head helplessly at Edward. He sighed again and mumbled something I could catch under his breath.

"Keep trying Bella. What happened the day after we looked at the albums?" he said, almost pleading for me to remember. Why was it so important?

"Um…" I thought back as hard as I could. Okay, so I went to sleep with Edward after we put the albums away… no nightmares, that was for sure… okay, I woke up the next morning as usual… went to class… Edward met me afterward as always…

But what happened after that?

I had the nagging feeling in the back of my mind that it was something important, and not in a good way. It was something bad, somehow. I couldn't exactly remember it, but my body suddenly felt cold and afraid. A shiver ran up my spine as I tried to remember what happened. I slowly sifted through the blurry images; my dorm room, dumping my books on my bed, my computer screen…

Wait, my computer screen…

The email!

Remembering the email just brought back this whole trainload of memories, crashing into my brain like those cliché flashbacks in movies. But this time, it wasn't a movie.

The email, the poem, Phil, blackness… and then Edward came and found me unconscious on the ground. When I woke up, I told Edward… I told him… oh God, that's when I told him to leave, that it was over.

I tore my hand from Edward's as I put it over my mouth and started rocking slightly. The memories were all coming back to me now, coming so fast they were almost overlapping each other, just like ocean waves crashing against the shore. My eyes widened with every forgotten event that happened.

Saying goodbye to Jacob… going back to my dorm room… being gagged. I clamped my eyes shut as my mind went back to that night. Then… waking up in a theatre, on stage… Phil… pain, blood, Phil's sadistic grin. Tears started pouring down my cheeks remembering the pain he caused me. The torture. I cried at the helplessness I felt, the finality of death. My shoulders started to shake at how close I had come to really dying. I was a hair length away, yet I missed it. How was that possible?

"Oh my God," I whispered through my sobbing. "Oh my God…" Phil had almost won. He kidnapped me, tortured me, and he almost killed me. If… If I hadn't been saved when I was, I probably would have been dead by now. I would have been dumped somewhere for my body to rot. No one would have known where I was. I would've been reported missing.

Charlie. Oh God, Charlie would have been hurt so much… and Alice, and Emmett and Carlisle and Esme. Everyone would have been hurt and worried. It was all my fault.

I still couldn't get over how close I was to really dying. To never see the light of day or the darkness of night ever again.

Death was jut so final.

There was no going back after it. If you died, you died. That was that. No second chance, no way to say a proper goodbye.

And I was… so close.

I felt Edward wrap his arms comfortingly around me, sensing my distress. Not that it would have been hard to tell if you didn't know me as well as Edward did. He stroked my hair. "I know… shh, I know…" he soothed. His smooth voice brought back the memory of the last time I had spoken to him before today.

When I broke both him and myself by ending it between us. It hurt even more that he probably hated me right now. I knew he was only comforting me out of pity; I had been through a lot and it was only natural he be nice to me. Underneath it all he probably hated me for being so awful to him. I didn't deserve him, I always knew that. He didn't deserve all this. I was a mess and a pity-case. My life was pretty screwed and I could've sworn my sanity had gone to the place of no return.

Finally, I managed to calm down enough to speak and think coherently, but having Edward in such close proximity, invading my personal bubble, wasn't helping me at all. Usually I wouldn't have minded, but we weren't together anymore, nor would we ever be. Great, I not only ruined our relationship, but our friendship. Now the only thing I could feel left between us was awkwardness.

And it didn't help that I was still hopelessly in love with him.

I pushed Edward away to give myself some space. He leaned back in his chair without argument. Just as I thought; he hated me and was only being nice out of pity. He would never forgive me for being so awful to him. He would never be able to look past the mess I had created between us.

God, Bella. You screw everything up don't you?

I pushed away the urge to feel sorry for myself and looked back at Edward. He looked worried, as usual, but this time it was probably worry over my mental stability. But now I had to be strong. Well, semi-strong at the very least. It was back to business.

"W-what happened after went unconscious in th-the theatre?" I asked, hiccupping slightly. I remembered everything up to there. I had to know what went on after that.

Edward reached over and took my hand once more in his. I couldn't help but feel a little more at ease when he did that, even if I was sure the action was hollow.

"I found you…" I cut him off.

"But how did you find me?"

"Phil left me a note with a clue. Anyway, I found you and…" his eyes darted away from me before looking back. "… and I may have fought with Phil…"

"What?!" I yelled. There was a skip in my heartbeat, but it was from a mix of anger and shock over his stupidity. "Why the hell did you do that?! Did you have a death wish?!" I was nearly hyperventilating now. Who knows what Phil could have done to Edward. He could have killed him!

"Bella, calm down," Edward said gently. His voice soothed me enough to get my heart at its normal pace again, but I was still as mad as hell at him.

"Why?" I asked in referral to his moment of idiocy when he decided to physically fight Phil.

"Bella, he hurt you, so badly," Edward paused as if remembering a horrible memory. "I couldn't stand there and do nothing. I was so angry at Phil in that moment, I guess I lost all of my self-control and common sense." He grinned crookedly, but it had a tinge of sadness. I stared at him in disbelief.

"Well, you shouldn't have," I retorted, "I'm not that important." And I meant it.

"Bella, I don't think you will ever be able to understand just how important you are…" he said quietly, his eyes intense. I had to look away before I fooled myself into thinking he still wanted me. He must have been referring to my importance to my friends and family, not to him. How could he possibly love me after all the crap I put him through?

I shook my head a little before looking back at him. Luckily, the blazing look was gone so I was able to look him straight in the eye without blushing. "And then? What happened after you decided to be a tragic hero?"

"The police came in and pointed their guns at Phil. They told him to surrender, but he wouldn't. He said if they planned to take him down," he looked away from my eyes, "that you were going down with him." I shivered thinking back on just how close I was to the grim reaper.

Edward rubbed my arm in comfort and slowly went on, as if I were fragile, ready to break at any given moment. I probably was, but I didn't want him to be gentle or pitying. I was a big girl. If what I just went through wasn't proof of that, I didn't know what was.

"Phil was about to… kill you," his voice was oddly strangled, "but just before he could, a police officer fired his gun at him." My eyes widened.

"What happened to him?" I asked, my voice barely audible, but I knew he heard it.

"Dead," this time Edward's voice held no emotion over Phil's death, unlike his unease when speaking of my almost-one. "He was hit in the chest. He was alive when brought to the hospital, but was announced dead a few minutes later."

"Oh," I said, looking away. I couldn't describe the overwhelming relief that enveloped me, rendering me speechless. It felt so light to finally not feel paranoid about when Phil would jump out next. To not constantly be looking over my shoulder in case he was there, lurking in the shadows. Sure, death was never a happy thing, but in this case, it definitely wasn't sad.

I suddenly remembered Edward's injuries. "Is that how you got your cuts and bruises?" I said, jutting my chin towards his face.

"Is what how I got them?"

"Fighting with Phil," I clarified.

He looked at me almost sheepishly before answering. "Yes. But don't worry about me, Bella, I'm fine. It's yourself you should be worried about." And cue the sadness.

I internally rolled my eyes. I didn't need to be babied. I was fine, at least I was pretty sure I was fine. No one seemed to be crying over me or anything, so I was positive I wasn't going to die… anymore. I took my hand out of his again and without looking at his face, I clasped both my hands together and fiddled with my fingers in my lap. My eyes concentrated on those fingers as I said, "So exactly how bad am I?"

"Cuts and slashes all over your body, some of them were deep enough to need stitches. A deep stab wound in your leg , which actually scared the doctors for a moment," he let out a breath, "three broken ribs and a minor concussion. You lost a huge amount of blood. They needed to give you some transfusions. You…" He paused and reached over and put his hand on my cheek, gently directing my head so I looked at him. His eyes were glistening with unshed tears. "You really scared me back there Bella. Don't you ever do that again, okay?"

I nodded, a little confused on why he was being so firm on this. It wasn't like I was his girlfriend anymore. I would've been if I hadn't made such a screw up of it. God, I didn't think I'd ever forgive myself for what I did.

Edward's eyes filled up with guilt then and he whispered, "I'm sorry."

I looked at him, shocked. "Why are you sorry?"

He dropped his hand from my face, leaving my cheek burning. "For letting you get hurt. It's all my fault, and I'm so sorry."

Huh? Who the hell was it all his fault?! Was he pulling one of his 'I'm-so-selfish-I-hate-myself' gimmicks? I felt very irritated he could be so stupid. "Edward, I don't know what you're talking about. How could all of this been your fault? You had nothing to do with me getting hurt. If anything, this is my entire fault!"

"How is it your fault?" he asked, a frown on his perfect face.

"How is it yours?" I said back.

"Bella, I shouldn't have left you unprotected. Even when you pushed me away; I should've stayed by you, especially after reading that email. I should've known he would be coming for you soon. Thanks to my stupidity, you got hurt when I could have prevented it."

That was his reason? That had to be the most ridiculous thing I'd ever heard. Edward was more stupid than I thought. He couldn't have prevented it, no matter how much he wanted to. He couldn't go on blaming himself for something he couldn't possibly have controlled.

"Edward, that was uncontrollable. You couldn't have done anything to have saved me from it. You need to stop blaming yourself. My getting hurt had nothing to do with you."

Edward looked at me sadly. I could tell he didn't believe me, but at least he didn't protest. I wanted nothing more than to wrap my arms around him then, but I knew he probably didn't want that. Not to mention these tubes were really restricting from doing much with my arms.

"How is it your fault?" Edward asked me.

I shook my head. "I'm not saying it's my fault for just getting me hurt, but that it's my fault for pretty much the whole entire screwed up mess. I shouldn't have provoked Phil so much, even back in Phoenix. I'm the whole reason he killed Renee and I'm the whole reason he wanted to kill you too. It's…" my voice had raised a few octaves as tears stung my eyes again. "It's my entire fault and if I wasn't such a bump in the road in everyone's happiness; Renee's, yours, even Phil's, then maybe none of this crap would have happened."

It was silent for a few moments before Edward leaned forward and very softly, so that I barely felt it, he kissed the spots on my cheeks where my tears fell, wiping them away with his lips. "Oh, Bella…" he whispered, holding my face in his hands and staring intently into my eyes. "How could you possibly think something so absurd? How can you possibly believe that you, you, are at fault for any of this? Phil's provocation was of his own doing; he was angry for no reason. You did nothing wrong to him or anyone else. Renee's not gone because of you and you didn't create any of this mess. You could never do that, Bella. You are too perfect for words. You are so selfless, and that's one of the countless reasons why I love you."

He smiled at me and smoothed my hair. I looked back at him in disbelief. H-how could he love me after everything I put him through?! I was horrible to him, I caused him pain and sadness. The thought was almost impossible to comprehend. But he wasn't done speaking.

"And don't you ever think you are a bump in the road in anyone's happiness. Renee loved you and you always made her happy, no matter what you did. Phil wanted unattainable things for his contentment, things you couldn't have been expected to give him. He got exactly what he deserved, so don't you ever think you should have done things differently by him. And me… you are my happiness Bella. I never want you to think, in any way, that it is your fault if I am sad or angry. You only make me happy. Everything else wasn't your fault."

Tears came to my eyes again, but not for the reason you'd think. It was because I knew why he was saying this; guilt. Edward felt guilty that I got hurt. He still had that idiotic notion in his head that this was somehow his fault and now he felt so guilty, he thought he needed to make it up to me.

I wouldn't be anyone's charity case, not even Edward's. I didn't want him doing things to make me feel better out of guilt, especially if he had nothing to feel guilty over.

"Edward, please don't…" I whispered, looking away.

"Please don't what?" he said, confusion clear in his voice.

"Don't… lie to me," I said, turning back to him. He looked surprised and opened his mouth to say something, but I held up a finger, silencing him. "I know you feel guilty, even though you have nothing to feel guilty over. I understand that. But please don't lie to me. Don't sugar coat things for me because you feel guilty over my wounds. I'm a big girl; I can handle anything and everything you throw my way. I don't need your pity or your charity. It's alright that you hate me, I know you do. I made a mess of everything; Renee's life, our relationship, our friendship. I screwed up everything and I caused you pain. I was awful to you and I don't deserve you to forgive me, nor do I expect you to," I took a deep, shaky breath, "just please don't lie to me. Anything but that."

Edward stared at me for a long time. Just… staring. His eyes were full of the same relief and worry from before, but also had new emotions I didn't think he could find in his heart to feel for me again. Tenderness, care… love? No, it couldn't be. I put him through too much for him to love me anymore.

But I couldn't help but let a small spark of hope ignite in me.

"Bella," he chuckled and held my face in his hands. "Bella you are so absurd."

I blinked, confused. Did I hear him right? "H-huh, wha?" I said, sounding stupid, but what else was new?

"I said you're absurd," he repeated, still smiling like a weirdo. Probably was one.

"And why is that?" I said, a little anger unintentionally leaking into my voice. I couldn't help but feel as if he was mocking me.

"Because you couldn't have said anything more wrong than that in your entire life."

"I don't understand," I said, scrunching up nose slightly.

"Bella, love, I'm not pitying you or giving you charity for anything."

"So… you don't feel guilty?" I was so sure he did… so much for meaning anything to him at all.

"What? Of course I felt guilty. More than you could possibly imagine."

"You lost me again."

He smiled crookedly and began to stroke my cheek with his thumb. "Bella, my feelings for you haven't changed. Yes, I felt guilty, but whether I did or not, I still love you. In fact, this guilt, I think, is only making my love for you even stronger. Because of it and all that this mess caused, I realized just how close I was to losing you. I never again want to feel such agony and fear as I had then. I still love you so much. True, when you left me, I felt so much pain, but I don't blame you for that, Bella, just the situation. You were doing it because you wanted to protect me. I could never be angry or hate you for that."

More tears streamed down my face. Jeez, I was such a drain pipe nowadays. "You still… want me?" I said in a smaller voice than I knew I even possessed.

"Yes!" Edward said, a hint of frustration in his voice. "Of course I do! I will always want and love you, Bella. Don't ever doubt or forget it. Just say you love me back, and I'm yours forever. Even if you don't love me anymore, I'd still be yours."

I couldn't believe he still wanted me after everything I put him through, but I sure as hell wasn't going to pass this up! I wasn't as stupid as you think. "Of course I love you," I whispered.

I didn't have to say anything more as Edward crashed his lips onto mine. He held my face firmly between his hands as he kissed me deeply and lovingly. I could tell he was trying to convey all his love for me through that one kiss, and God could I ever feel it. It warmed me to the core. My hands found their way to his hair, tangling themselves in his bronze locks. I felt his tongue slide across my bottom lip and I granted him entrance at once. The passion increased tenfold and I felt light headed.

The heart monitor started beating erratically and Edward pulled away, slightly alarmed. When he saw my flushed cheeks and ragged breathing, he connected the dots to my jagged heartbeat and smirked. I hit his chest playfully as he pulled me into him, holding me as close as my tubes would allow.

"You should know what you're getting yourself into," I warned. "I'm a pretty messed up case right now. After everything's that happened… I'm not sure if I can heal properly." I clung to the front of his shirt with his hands.

"It's alright Bella. I can't expect anything more from someone who's been through as much as you have," Edward titled my chin up and placed a small, sweet kiss on my lips. "In fact, I'm surprised you've been this strong for this long. I know not everything's going to be perfect, especially given both our mistakes."

"Are you sure I'm worth it?"

"Bella, you don't see yourself clearly. I don't think I'll ever be able to say just how much you're worth. I love you Bella, and I know you're broken after all that's happened, but I'm here for you. I'll fix you."

"Promise?"

He hugged me closer and kissed the top of my head. "I promise."

A/N: THE END!!! Okay, okay, NOT really, but Hit or Miss?

Okay, so the epilogue will be up by around Dec. 26-27, whenever I have more time. In case you didn't read this before, I'm kind of stuck on what to do for the epilogue. I have a bunch of lovely, sappy scenarios I'd love to do, but I cannot do them all. All of them are romantic and contains fluff (something this dark story needs more of) so don't worry. I won't write a depressing epilogue. I think this story has had its fair share of depression and could use some fluff!

Anyway, I put up a poll on my profile as to what the epilogue should be! Vote and I shall write the scenario YOU have given the most votes for! Who knows, I may just pick the top 2 and put them together into one big epilogue…

The epilogue WILL take place years after the events of the story!

I narrowed down the choices to 4 options (I originally had more). Here are your options:

a) Graduation

b) The proposal

c) The wedding

d) Five years later (after marriage)

So go and vote! But before you vote, REVIEW!!!!!!!!

Oh, and since I won't be updating until after Christmas, I hope that everyone celebrating will have a very Merry Christmas and for those who aren't celebrating to still have a safe, happy holidays with your friends and family :)

Peace out.