AN: Hello dear readers, I am so sorry for the delay…

I know some of you might be mad at me right now because this CHAPTER TOOK SO LONG, but please let me explain myself. I'm a pharmacy student, so when I say I have exams; it means that I literally have hundreds of pages to study and thousands of drug names to memorize. So please, I'm asking you to be a little patient until I finish my exams… I will eventually return to updating once a week after the semester is over, but for now my studies and education come first and foremost. I understand if some of you won't continue this journey with me, as for the rest of you, I sincerely thank you and hope you forgive the delay.

I hope you and your families are all okay, and my prayers to those who suffered from SANDY. Please stay safe.

As for a certain reader who had been "turned off" by my ANs, the solution is very VERY simple. You don't like it? Don't read it.

I want you to know that I read every single review and that I love you all for taking the time to communicate with me.

Okay, now on with the show!

Chapter 15: Rage

When I was little, my father was my hero. When I was just a small little girl, my father was my advocator and protector. I looked up to him, I treasured him and our time together, and I longed for his encouraging words and the look of pride in his eyes.

The man standing before me now was beaten down, broken and defeated. He no longer seemed larger than life, he was no longer the protector and the loving and devoted parent, he was simply a man who meant nothing to me, he was a man who hurt me in the worst way possible, and I felt nothing but anger and hatred towards him.

Charlie looked so different, so old; it was like years had passed instead of just months. He had dark circles under his eyes, and those eyes were hallow and lifeless. He was thinner and a lot less groomed. He looked so out of place in the fancy Entrée he was currently standing in.

"Used to be your… father" Edward stated, the look of confusion that was etched on his handsome face quickly disappearing.

"I still am her father." Charlie tried to say forcefully, and that was his first mistake.

It was like the straw that broke the camel's back…

"What the fuck did you just say?" I asked, surprisingly not screaming at him with all my might.

"Watch your language young lady!" he replied angrily. He then took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and searched for the composure that would allow him to bestow upon me his meaningless words. "Bells, I'm… I don't know what to say to you. I know what I did is unforgivable, but regardless of everything, I still am and will always be your father." He continued.

I just looked at him, shell shocked and trying to weigh my next words. A humorless laugh fought its way out of my trembling lips, and with all the nonchalance I could muster, I spoke to my father for the first time in months.

"I'll watch my words alright!" I smirked. "I'll watch my words just like I watched my world crumble and fall and disintegrate right before my eyes. I'll watch my fucking words just like I watched my future disappear. I'll watch my words; regardless of the fact that you didn't even have the decency to watch me get fucking married. I'll watch myself and how I speak to you, just like I watched you act all normal and unaffected by the fact that you sold your own fucking daughter to escape from your sins. I'll watch my words the same way you watched me plan and dream and enthusiastically gather my stuff and leave home thinking I was taking the first step towards accomplishing everything I've ever dreamed of." I told him, standing still. My eyes didn't water, my voice didn't tremble. This was my right, this was my chance to demand justice, and I wasn't going to be week while doing it.

"Bella…" My father cried, tears slipping slowly from his eyes. I had never seen my father cry before, but seeing him cry now didn't affect me in the least, his tears were crocodile tears for all I knew. "There are some things you just don't understand…" He trailed off, crumbling slightly. It was like he was barely standing, his knees about to give out at any moment.

"There are a lot of things I don't understand Charlie!" I yelled. "I don't understand how you could do this to your own daughter. I didn't understand how you could let me come to a new city, somewhere where I knew no one and had nothing, without even shedding a fucking tear. I didn't understand why I was suddenly being denied a job you promised me I would have. I feared for my life Charlie! I have no fucking money to go back home, I had no home and no one to ask for help, I thought I was going to starve and live on the fucking streets. But no, everything was straightened out after that, it all became very clear. I understood that my father fucked up and I had to pay the price, I understood that the only people who were supposed to love me and care for me, sold me like I was nothing and no one, like I held no importance and I had no self worth. I understood that I was suddenly marrying a man I knew nothing about, that I would be living with people I've never seen before in my life. I understood then that you are nothing but a worthless piece of shit, and I'm glad that I was being rid of you." My voice broke at the end; the effort I put behind my screams finally taking its toll on my vocal cords.

"I had no other choice Bella!" He yelled back, his frame trembling. "That future you were looking forward to? That's why I did it Isabella. You… You got the scholarship honey, but you didn't know about the living expenses, you didn't know that the university was going to pay only eighty percent of the tuition. I hid that information from you, because I didn't want you to worry. Bella… I had to take a mortgage on the house in order to pay for your education. I would have gladly paid for my sins baby, but that would have left your mother out on the streets, your scholarship would have been taken away, because a prestigious school like that wouldn't pay for the daughter of a convicted felon's education." He said.

I stood there, wide eyed and disbelieving. He was actually trying to pin it all on me. He had some nerve…

"So it was all for me right? You did all of it for me?" I asked sarcastically. "You got drunk and beat that poor man within an inch of his life for me right?" I yelled. "Don't try to make excuses Charlie, don't you dare try to justify yourself. Selling your own daughter is inexcusable, lying to her and deceiving her is inexcusable. You betrayed me; you made me feel like a whore, YOU SOLD YOUR OWN FUCKING DAUGHTER!" I screeched. "And for what? Money? My education? Well it doesn't matter now anyway. The future I was so looking forward to… is flushed down the fucking pipes." I told him standing taller, refusing to show weakness and cry.

"What do you mean by that?" He asked wide eyes and disbelieving.

"I'm not going to be studying medicine." I replied.

"What?" Edward and my father both yelled.

I ignored Edward, this wasn't his fight and he had nothing to do with this.

"Don't you dare fucking yell at me, you have no right to be even talking to me!" I yelled back. "You may not have an ounce of integrity, but I do! You may be a worthless asshole, but I'm not. I'm not going to spend God knows how many years leeching off of these people to get my medical degree. I won't do it!" I told him confidently.

"You… You dropped out of school?" He asked his voice so low I barely heard him.

"Why would I do that? To become an uneducated nobody like my used to be dad?" I laughed. "Not that it's any of your business, but no, I didn't drop out of school." I replied.

"What are you talking about Bella? Because quite frankly I'm confused as fuck here!" Edward touched my arm, gently turning me so that I was facing him.

"The other day, when I told you I had business to take care of?" I asked him. "I went to Columbia, and changed majors. It wasn't easy, I had to beg and plead and give excuses and sign too many papers, but I was able to change majors, from medicine to marketing." I replied.

"What? Why?" he asked, shocked.

"Because I could be done in three years tops, and then I could start working and take care of myself, and you and your family wouldn't have to pay thousands of dollars on my education." I replied.

Edward just stared at me, frowning slightly. Just as he was getting ready to speak, my father cut him off.

"I don't care what you have to do; you'll straighten out this mess. I didn't go through all of this just so you could throw away your future!" He yelled, taking a step towards me.

Edward took a step forward as well, intending on protecting me. But I had other ideas.

I saw red as I crossed the remaining distance separating me from the man who helped create me, and in one swift move, I punched him straight in the nose.

He yelped, and held his hands over his now bleeding nose; the look of shock etched on his face was quite comical. I would have laughed had I not felt the overwhelming sense of sadness, anger and loss.

"You have no say in what I do or how I live! Your words mean nothing to me. You mean nothing to me. If I ever see you again, I will kill you! So gather your pathetic self up, and get the hell out of my sight. You no longer have a place in my life, and you relay that to your wife too." I spat, staying strong, fighting the overwhelming urge to cry.

"Bella… I will do no such thing! You are my daughter and I love you. You have all reason to be mad, but please, I'm asking you to understand!" he pleaded.

"Get the fuck out, and don't come back. I'll get a restraining order if I have to!" I screamed. I had no idea if it was even legal to get a restraining order against my own father, but by God I was going to try.

"Bella…" Charlie cried.

I just looked at him with the most disgusted look I could muster, and then I turned my back on him and began to walk away.

"I'm turning my back on you, just like you turned your back on me when I needed you the most. Go home, and don't come back." I said, walking swiftly towards the stairs, heading to Edward's room.

"Go home Charlie, clearly she's still has a long way before she can forgive you. This isn't the end, but you two aren't just there yet." I heard Esme offer softly.

"Just… tell her that I love her. Tell her that her mother and I, we didn't mean to abandon her. We've been in Hell since the moment she walked out of our door. Tell her I'm sorry, that I'm so sorry, and that I'll spend the rest of my life begging for her forgiveness." His voice was pathetic and shaking; he was obviously crying. "I would have came to see her much sooner, but I wanted to give her time to deal with the hurt I caused her, I wanted to give her time to deal with the anger. I'm sorry." He finished.

I got to Edward's room and collapsed on the bed, wanting to forget everything that just happened.

In that moment, the cold icy fingers of reality gripped my heart. In that moment, I realized that I just disowned my father in front of the Cullens. In that moment, my strong facade slipped, and a river of tears cascaded down my face. In that moment, I felt the true meaning of pain and betrayal and loneliness.

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EPOV

I watched as Charlie stumbled out of my family's home. I watched as he cried blood and tears for a daughter he had just lost. And I felt absolutely nothing.

I felt nothing for the man who could throw his own child to the wolves. He knew nothing about us, and more importantly, he knew nothing about me. I could have been a monster, I could have been a criminal, I could have been the type of man that would give his daughter a beating for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but he still sent her my way anyway.

My only concern was the strong girl who just drilled her father a new one. I knew she was acting strong in front of him, but I also knew that she had reached her breaking point, because if not, she wouldn't have walked away.

I took the stairs two at a time, hurrying to go to her. We haven't been friends for long, and we still had a very long way to go, but I'll be damned if I wasn't going to be there for her at her most vulnerable state.

I opened my bedroom door, praying I'd find her in there, and luckily for me she was.

"Bella?" I asked gently because I didn't wanted to startle her, that girl was so jumpy it was borderline comical.

What I saw when I approached the bed was like a scene out of a horror movie. She had tears streaming down her clenched shut eyes, and just as quickly as those tears were falling, blood was pouring out of her nose.

"Jesus Christ!" I swore. She literally broke my heart at that moment. She looked so small curled up in a fetal position, her little hands clenched into fists as she rocked back and forth. She didn't seem to notice that her face was bloodied like she just had the beating of her life. But maybe what she was going through emotionally could be considered a beating of a lifetime; it wasn't everyday that one would disown their father.

"I'm so sorry Angel." I whispered. I grabbed the box of tissues sitting on my nightstand, and sat on the bed. As gently as could, I gather her in my arms and just held her. I put of few tissues on her bloody nose, and begged her to open her eyes. She just sat there, just shaking, still bleeding and crying, but no noise was coming out of her tortured little mouth.

"Come on; open your eyes for me beautiful. I've got you, open your eyes and look at me baby." I gently swayed us back and forth, whispering reassuring things in her ear, trying to get her to come back to me.

"He's gone Angel, he won't hurt you anymore. I've got you, I'm right here Bella. Open your eyes and look at me. Charlie is gone baby." I gently spoke.

As soon as I spoke Charlies name, a heartbreaking tortured sob forced its way out of her bloody lips. It was like a damp had broke, it was like she had lost the battle and couldn't keep refusing herself the chance to hurt openly.

"Shhhh, its okay baby, its okay. It's going to be okay I promise." I told her, feeling knives stabbing my heart repeatedly. I had treated her so badly at first. I was no better than Charlie.

All this time, she had been hurting; she had been bottling up her emotions and keeping quiet. This girl I resented because I thought she was going to fuck up my life just threw away her future in order not to be a burden to me or my family.

"Why?" She asked. "What have I ever done to them? Why would they do this to me? Why?" Her pain was so evident; it literally took my breath away. She was crying her little heart out, and I had no way to help her or make her pain go away.

"You didn't do anything Bella; you didn't do anything at all. He's the fucked up one baby." I told her.

She just cried a harder and shook a little more forcefully.

"My own parents don't want me anymore." She wailed.

"That's because they're idiots. You're the best woman I've ever known Bella. You're strong and smart and compassionate. It's their loss, not yours Bella, never yours. Your life is going to get better now, I swear to you. I'm going to show you everything you've been missing baby, I promise." I gently spoke to her, trying to distract her, even for a little bit.

We spent almost two hours, with her in my arms as I swayed us gently. She cried and reassured her, she grieved her broken heart, and I felt mine break for her. I spoke to her; I made promises of a better future and a brighter tomorrow. When I became too dark outside , I gently lifted her of the bed and carried her to the bathroom, grabbing a washcloth and wetting it, I carefully cleaned her face from the blood and then helped her stand her wash it more thoroughly.

I picked out one of the pajamas Alice has forced her to take, and asked her if she was able to change on her own. Standing next to the bathroom sink, she lifted her head and gave me the most heartbreaking expression I'd ever seen. Her eyes were watery and red, her lips a little chapped from the crying she'd done. I smoothed her hair away from her forehead and kissed her temple, clenching my eyes at the emotions she evoked in me. She whimpered and I hugged her tightly, repeating over and over again how sorry I was and how strong she was.

We stayed in the bathroom hugging for a few minutes, and then I left her alone in order to change. After exactly five minutes of me hovering and pacing next to the bathroom door, it opened softly and she got out, barely able to hold herself up. I quickly picked her up and carried her to her couch. "Stay right here baby okay? I'll right back." I told her.

As quickly as I could, I grabbed new sheets from the linen closet and changed the bloody sheets on the bed. Bella stayed put, watching me with lifeless eyes and a slumping body.

I headed towards her again and picked her back up. "You're sleeping next to me tonight okay? I want to make sure you'll be okay." I told her.

She just nodded and rested her head on my shoulder.

As I laid her in bed and gathered her in my arms once more, I found myself promising God, myself and her that I will do everything in my power to make sure she never feels that kind of pain again.

I hoped to God I'd succeed, but I had this ugly little feeling in the back of my mind, warning me, cautioning me, telling me that eventually, I was going to hurt her so much more than Charlie ever did.

After all, I was very good at breaking promises.

And that's how my fight… began.

AN: Again I'm sorry for the delay, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Angst filled, just like you and I both know you like it ;)

Thank you for reading, and please leave me your thoughts, even if you're only going to yell at me for making you wait for so long.

Until the next one which will hopefully be in next two weeks…