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Chapter 5

Affections

Edward's Point of View

I can't believe what she had told us last night… Bella had left us speechless for hours. I'd tried to get to her and stop her from going home but she just drove off. And I didn't know where she lived either, so that didn't help. Alice's perky expression had never returned that night. Rosalie hadn't been there to hear Bella reveal what her father did to her and frankly, she didn't care about Bella. Rose had gone to meet Emmett at the movies and now, she was dating the guy. Fun… Not that I had anything against him but she could have stayed. Mom and Dad hardly talked to anyone. Mom had apologized to Dad for thinking that he had hurt Bella and he just forgave her that easily. But Dad seemed distant; like he was afraid Bella would get hurt even worse.

And I was silent. Seeing Bella bruised and in pain had been horrifying. All the feelings I had towards her just increased. I needed to protect her now, more than ever.

Today in English class, Bella didn't show up. At first, Alice and I thought that she was just a little late like yesterday but after the first half hour, we figured something was up but brushed it off. When the bell rang and Bella still wasn't here, Alice and I looked at each other worriedly and stayed after the bell.

"What do you think happened to her?" Alice whispered to me after people had started leaving.

"Don't know. Do you think…?" I couldn't finish that sentence. It was too painful. She couldn't be hurt badly enough to not attend school… could she?

"No. She can't be. She can't…" Alice mumbled to herself while we exited the classroom. Horrible as it is to believe, Charlie might have hurt an angel. "Someone should go check up on her. I'm worried."

"Same here, but do you have her address or phone number? I doubt the secretary will just give it to us for no reason," I admitted as we approached our lockers. "Can't believe Bella's not in school…"

"You mean Isabella Swan?" A soft female voice from behind us replied. Both my sister and I turned around to find a girl about our age with long light brown hair, a sweet face and a pair of glasses reflecting her light brown hair. "Mr. Banner told us that she would be out sick today and wouldn't be in for today right before class started."

"Now, why would he tell your class? She's only in his fourth hour class," Alice explained confusingly. Frankly, it made me wonder who knew about Bella's sudden 'sick day'.

"Frankly, he seemed a little mad that she missed today. She's been missing many days for about a year," The girl answered. "By the way, I'm Angela."

"Do you know anything about this?" I asked her, wondering if she could, by any chance, give us any more information about Bella.

"Not really. We never talked. She usually pushes anyone away from her," Angela answered sadly. Alice and I looked at each other sceptically and wondered how long Bella had been pushing people away from her. She told us last night that she had to give up a lot of things in her life. Just how much? "I'm sorry I can't be anymore help. But if you're planning on visiting her, can you tell her that I hope she gets better?" She asked before walking away with a slight smile. Well, it seemed like someone wanted to be Bella's friend besides us.

When Angela was out of sight, Alice whispered to me: "What do you think we should do?"

"Well, I don't know about you but I'm going to the secretary's office to get Bella's address and phone number. If calling her doesn't work, then I'm going over there, no matter what," I explained with the most serious look on my face. No matter what, I will make sure Bella's alright.

"Are you sure she'll give them to you?"

"Trust me, I'll make something up. It's just… something doesn't feel right," I said while walking over towards the main office with Alice by my side. We were both determined and nothing could stop us.

When we arrived there, Mrs. Cope the secretary smiled a very warm and friendly smile at us before asking: "Hi there, what can I do for you?"

"We'd like to have Isabella Swan's address and phone number, just so we can make sure she's alright and if she needs something," I explained, which wasn't exactly a lie. Bella might be badly hurt and we were just standing there, talking to this secretary.

"You know, just like friends would. She just forgot to give us her number," Alice continued with a sweet smile.

"Well, we're not supposed to give this kind of information out but…" Mrs. Cope was hesitating slightly. Not good.

"We're only making sure she doesn't need anything. We could leave on our lunch break and bring her some soup or something. I'm sure her father's pretty busy with work," Alice mentioned. Did Bella's father even work, other than beating his daughter? Quite the mystery. "Please?"

Mrs. Cope looked at us questioningly before writing down the information we needed and handed it to us with a slight smile. "Thank you!" Alice said right before the bell rang. Damn! We'd have to wait an hour.

"You better run off to class now. Wouldn't want you to be late," Mrs. Cope said and we walked away towards our next class. Both of us were upset that the phone call would have to wait but it can't be stopped. If we skipped class, then it would rouse suspicion and the secretary would probably have to take drastic measures. Unfortunately, we still went to class.

But as soon as classes were over, Alice and I went somewhere quiet and made the call.

Bella's Point of View

Ring… … … Ring… … … Ring… … … Ring… … …

Where was that sound coming from? My mind was so filled with pain that the ringing was bearable. Lifting my heavy eyelids, my vision was blurry. But I found myself in the living room. What was I doing here?

Suddenly, memories flooded my mind with events from yesterday.

The Cullen house… the awkward dinner with them… Alice and Edward picking on me… Carlisle looking at my injuries… telling the others… coming home to a drunken Charlie… getting beaten into unconsciousness… But just as the memories became more vivid, searing pain shot through me, making it almost impossible to think. The ringing stopped and the answering machine picked up.

"Bella, it's Edward. Just wanted to make sure you were feeling alright. Um… I'll call later. Hope you feel better," And then, the machine shut off and my mind went fuzzy with pain and numbness. Never had Charlie beaten me this badly before. What had I done to deserve such a life? Edward probably didn't even want to call. He just took pity on me for what he saw yesterday. Like I need any of that. Dark spots clouded my vision as I muttered Edward's name and fell back into unconsciousness.

Edward's Point of View

This is bad. Bella didn't answer the phone, which meant that she could be badly hurt. Alice had looked worried during the call and now that she knew I got the answering machine, her mind went into panic mode. And frankly, so did mine.

"I'm going to see if she's alright," I answered while going towards the parking lot with my sister behind me.

"Wait," Alice said and made me stop to spin around and face her. She looked so much younger now with her sad expression. Her face looked like it had lost five or six years of her life, making her look like a ten year old. She handed me Mom's cell phone as she spoke. "I don't know Bella that much but… I took Mom's cell without asking. If Bella needs to call you, just tell her that your number's on speed dial, number two," She explained before I took the phone. Giving her a big hug, I took off in my Volvo and tried to find Bella's house.

After a few minutes of searching, I came upon a big two story black and white house with only a one car garage, a large tree on the front yard and many windows. Seems like a cute little house, if it weren't filled with dark memories. Bella's red truck stood in front of the garage, showing that she hadn't left the house with it. That was a good sign. Now, hoping the door was unlocked.

Parking my Volvo in front of the curb, I got out and walked over to the front door. What would I see inside? Everything normal and Bella was actually sick? Maybe. But what if she was badly hurt and needed my dad's help? He couldn't come here. Dad had to work. If Bella needed help, I'd call my dad and ask him what to do. But what if Bella's dad was there? That was a definite possibly. I didn't know who her dad was or what he did for a living. But the answering machine did say that I had reached the home of Chief of Police Charlie Swan. Bella's name hadn't been mentioned. Her father had taken her voice out, probably.

No matter, I had to make sure Bella was alright. A part of my heart was attracted to her in the most affectionate way. Taking a deep breath, my hand reached for the doorknob and turned. The door opened immediately, revealing a beautiful hallway. Okay, how lucky was that? Taking one step inside, I closed the door immediately behind me and looked around. The kitchen looked fine, actually clean, except for the plates in the sink that hadn't been cleaned. Unfortunately, the feeling that no one was here sent chills up my spine. It looked like one of those horror movies that showed a poor innocent kid stepping into the house and never coming out. I'm not into those kinds of movies but other kids told me about them.

Okay, so the left side of the house was perfect. No one in sight. On my right was the living room. For a small house, they had a large living room. A large flat screen, many couches and seats, even a few desks. But what caught my eye was the person on the floor sprawled in an unnatural position. Flocks of brown hair told me that it was her, the person I had been looking for. "Bella!" I screamed, running to her. The sight in front of me was so horrifying.

She looked even worse than yesterday: fresh cuts on her forehead and face, a busted lip and black eye, blood running down her arms and legs, her T-Shirt torn at the bottom showed black bruises on her stomach. There was blood on the floor protruding from her head. But there was also blood on the corner of the table, meaning she probably hit her head there.

And she wasn't waking up. Not good. "Bella? Can you hear me? Bella?" She twitched but other than that, she didn't show any sign of life. Running to the kitchen, I searched every shelf and cupboard for a hand towel and placed it under the faucet. Running some water onto it, I squeezed the remaining water and rushed to Bella, who I turned onto her back and pressed the tower to her forehead, away from her cuts.

When pressing against her forehead, Bella winced and opened her eyes slowly but painfully. "Edward?" She asked weakly, trying to find me even though Bella was staring at me. She must not have a clear vision.

"I'm here Hun; it's going to be alright."

She chuckled softly but winced at the movement. "Hun? Ha… That's a new one…" Oh, so she was conscious enough to notice my calling her Hun?! But I still smiled and pressed the cool cloth to her face, trying to clean most of her wounds. She must want a comfortable bed right now.

"Bella, I'm going to pick you up and put you in your bed. Is that alright?" I asked her, trying to see if Bella would protest. But she tried to nod, only to gasp in pain afterwards from her head injury. Her breathing was very shallow and wheezy, indication some broken ribs. How hard had her father beaten her?

I picked her up as delicately as possible—apparently, it wasn't delicate enough since she gasped and her body went limp in my arms—and carried her up the stairs. "On the left…" Bella mumbled and I followed her directions that led straight through her room.

When entering, I looked around before placing Bella on the small bed. Her room was nice; a small bed with purple bed sheets; one dresser in the corner under a wall of pictures; a desk with nothing on it, only a stack of blank papers and pencils and a small closet opened, revealing a stack of long sleeved shirts. It didn't seem like Bella owned anything electronic. Did her father ban her from having any?

When placing Bella on the bed, she winced but opened her eyes. I placed the cloth back on her forehead and started talking to her, trying to keep her conscious. "How are you feeling?"

She chuckled, winced again and said: "I've felt better… Why did you come here…?" She asked weakly, eyeing me with the most saddened eyes. Suddenly, my phone started to vibrate, indicating I got a text message.

"One second," I said as I opened the phone and read the message.

From: Alice

To: Edward

How is she?

I sighed, looked at Bella—who had now closed her eyes and breathed in heavily—and replied back to my little sister, who was probably close to going back to class.

From: Edward

To: Alice

It's bad.

Unfortunately, Alice wouldn't be able to text me back without getting in trouble from the teachers. Placing the phone back in my pants, I grabbed the blanket at the end of Bella's bed and placed it on top of her to keep her warm. "Bella, I just came here to help you. And you obviously need it. Please let us help you," I answered, cupping my hand on her face, trying to soothe her. She opened her brown eyes and they glistened with tears. An angel like this shouldn't shed tears. Wait… did I just think Bella Swan was an angel? Sure, she's extremely beautiful under all the bruises—wait, she's extremely beautiful even with the bruises!—and her voice sang to me when she spoke.

Was I starting to have feelings for Bella?

Bella hesitated for one second and started speaking. "Last night was bad… He was drunk… He... Charlie called me a worthless bitch… and then told me… to get my fat ass… in the living room… that's when it started… He hit me with… a broken beer bottle and… I was out cold… I—I don't remember much after that…" She croaked, trying to give me as much information as possible. Bella needed help. She couldn't stay here anymore, unless she had a death wish.

"Bella, you're badly hurt. I'm going to call my dad and try to help you, alright?" She nodded but gasped once again in pain. How badly did she hurt her head? It sounded like she hurt it pretty hard, which is why it was making it hard for her to do any movement.

Getting my phone out of my pocket again, I walked to the corner of the room and dialed my father's cell phone number. He picked up on the third ring. "Yes son, what's the matter?"

"Bella wasn't at school today, so I went to her house and found her badly hurt. She has many cuts and bruises, possibly some broken ribs and possibly a concussion. She can't move her head without it hurting her. What should I do?" I asked, hoping Dad could help me from the phone line.

"Well, you need to keep her head leveled if she does have a concussion. And her father can't know that you were over today because Bella would probably suffer the consequences. As for the cuts, you're going to need to wipe those so they don't get infected. For the bruises, there's not much we can do to help those. You'd need to have a special cream, and I only have them at the hospital. If she has any broken ribs, you will need to tape them so she can breathe easily. Other than those things, there's not much you can do. Ask her if she's willing to come to the hospital so I can look at her," Dad explained and I placed the speaker of my phone to my shoulder and looked at Bella.

"Bella, would you be willing to go to the hospital so my dad can look you over?" I asked her soothingly.

She took one deep breath and said: "No hospitals… Charlie would know…" and I placed the phone back to my ear.

"She says no. Is there some way you can come at her house? It would be much easier and her father wouldn't have to know."

"Unfortunately, I have too much work on my plate at the moment to come over but I could try and get off work sooner and come see her," Dad explained, which made me smile. At least he was being kind towards Bella, after everything that happened last night. "Sorry son, but it's the best I can do."

"Well, if it's all you can do, that's fine."

"I better get going son. When you're done helping Bella with her wounds, you should go back to school. We don't want you to miss out on anything," Dad said.

"Alright dad, I'll go back to school. Bye." And then he hung up. There was no way I could disappoint my own father. He'd be upset with me afterwards. But I had a bad feeling about leaving Bella alone in this house.

I went back to Bella and saw that she had her eyes open and stared right at me. "Why are you all helping me so much…? I don't want your pity…" Bella admitted and that made my heart clench. We didn't pity her. All my family wanted to do was to help her get away from this life.

"Bella, we don't pity you. All we want to do is help you. And there's no way we're going to let you suffer any longer." And my little speech made me remember the cell phone Alice gave me before coming here. Fishing it out of my pocket, I handed it to Bella and she took it with a shaky hand. "Alice wanted me to give you this, in case you needed help. She's worried about you," I said and Bella smiled. She never had any friends. And having Alice and I beside her gave her spirit a boost. "By the way, a girl named Angela wanted me to tell you that she hopes you get better. See? There are people that want to be your friend."

Bella smiled at that and I started to treat her wounds. It took a while and Bella drifted in and out of consciousness but around one o'clock, I'd helped most of her wounds and gave her head a little leverage with the pillows. I'd taped her ribs and cleaned her cuts, which she gasped in pain many times when I touched her forehead. That's probably where it hurt most. But Bella didn't complain. She was strong.

I took out my phone and texted Alice. She'd be out of class in about five minutes, which gave me enough time to text her and tell her I'd be going back to school because of Dad.

From: Edward

To: Alice

I'm coming back 2 school. Dad doesn't want me to miss school and Bella's alright.

Pressing the send button, I looked at Bella and took a deep breath. At least Bella was safe for now and her wounds were clean. By the look of peace on her face, it looked like she felt better. "Thanks Edward…" She mumbled with a forced smile. I smiled back at the angel lying there.

"No problem. I have to go back to school but…" I hesitated, took her hand and looked into her brown eyes. "Promise you'll call if you need anything? My number's on speed dial number two. Please call if anything goes wrong," I pleaded and she nodded her head slightly.

I removed my hand from hers and walked towards the door when she said: "Thanks for caring Edward… Tell that to Alice too…" and that made me smile. She was letting us in. Bella wouldn't let us out of her life.

But when I left, that horrible feeling returned. What was it telling me?

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