Alright people, here's a short chapter but filled with emotions and… Rosalie's going to do something unimaginable!!!! So, if you want to know what she's going to do, READ AND REVIEW!!!!

Disclaimer = I don't own Twilight!!!

Chapter 10

A new friendship

Edward's Point of View

Rosalie never came back to school. Emmet was pretty worried about her but never really showed it to anyone but us. Alice and I were anxious to go back home and hang out with Bella. She seemed so lonely. Maybe doing activities would boost her mood a little. We drove home right after school and almost ran into a sad looking house. Mom was in the living room, crying with a box of tissues in her hands and looking out the window. Dad was sitting in front of Mom, saying soothing words like: "She's going to be fine," and: "She's recovering." Who was he talking about? And where was Rosalie?

"Dad, what's going on?" I asked him curiously. He turned around and his face was unreadable. Oh no. Not good. Something terrible must have happened. He hasn't had an unreadable face like that in a long time. No one could see through his doctor face. Not even Esme. Dad sighed, got up and walked towards us.

"Charlie went after Bella today." My face literally fell and Alice gasped in shock as she placed a hand on her mouth. Oh no…

"What happened? Is Bella alright?" I asked but Dad interrupted me when he lifted his hand to shut me up.

"Of what Esme told me, Rosalie came home and said some things to Bella that made her leave. Unfortunately, Charlie must have been listening because he grabbed her and led her out into the forest. Rosalie went after Bella and found Charlie holding a knife to Bella's throat." Oh god… I don't want to hear anymore. But we need to know what happened to Bella. I need her to be alright. Dad took a deep breath, closed his eyes for a few seconds—trying to compose himself properly—and said: "He stabbed her Edward. He hit a main artery and she was losing a lot of blood. Luckily, I was able to stop the bleeding and stitch it up but—"eH

"Where is she?" I asked, stopping his explanation.

"In her room, resting. She's had a rough few hours Edward. She needs to rest."

"I can't believe that bastard dares to even try to—" Alice interrupted me when she placed her hand on my arm. Looking at her, she had a few stray tears running down her face. Her eyes had now gone red with tears and they were puffy. Her green eyes alone told me to calm down. Alice was the only one, besides Mom, who could calm me down easily. I composed myself and asked: "Where's Rose?"

"In her room. She won't come out," Mom said as she joined Dad. He placed an arm around her waist and brought her close to him, trying to soothe Mom.

"Why won't she come out?" Alice asked curiously, her voice rough from the tears.

"Rosalie was there, trying to get Charlie to hand Bella over. She… you might want to talk to her about it. She might reconsider coming downstairs," Mom suggested.

We both nodded and went up the stairs towards Rosalie's room. It was unbelievable what someone could miss when you're gone to school for a few hours. And it was hard to believe that He Charlie would do a stupid stunt like this so close to the house. To think he actually escaped! Arriving to Rosalie's room, the door was slightly open. Alice and I looked at each other before pushing the door open slowly.

We saw Rose sitting on her bed, her knees brought up to her chin. She had her arms entangled around them, rocking back and forth. Her eyes looked horror-struck. Rosalie didn't even look at us when we entered. Alice and I noticed one of her hands was still bloody and staining her jeans. It must be Bella's blood. "Rosalie?" Alice asked softly and hesitantly. Rose looked at us and a few tears ran down her face. "It's alright honey, she's going to be alright."

"All the things he said to her…" She mumbled as we sat on Rosalie's bed. Alice placed an arm around Rosalie's shoulder as she kept mumbling to herself. "She… Bella just wanted… Oh god… I can't believe I was such a bitch to her…" Alice brought Rose into a hug and rubbed her back soothingly as Rosalie cried.

"Rosalie, what happened out there?" I asked her softly, trying not to jostle her when she was this upset. Rosalie separated from Alice's embrace and looked at me with puffy red eyes.

"Mom told me to get Bella back… I went outside and found her truck door open. Then she… she screamed and, as stupid as I am, I went into the forest, only to find her… Charlie had covered her mouth and had a knife against her throat. Even when I tried to get to Bella, he just dug the knife deeper in her throat…" Her voice was cracking with tears once again. Poor Rose, she had witnessed everything that had happened. "I… I couldn't just… I tried to get to her. She looked so helpless. I had judged Bella so… oh god…"

"Rosalie, what happened after that?" I asked, trying to get more information out of Rosalie. Alice glared at me to be careful and I looked sympathetically at Rosalie.

"He… he taunted her when I tried to defend her. He told her that I was lying again. Apparently, he'd heard my conversation with Bella in the living room. He'd been listening the whole time…" She seemed to be remembering everything that had happened, not just Charlie's encounter but also everything she had said to Bella beforehand. "Charlie had insulted her… calling her a bitch and a slut… He was so rude to her… After he insulted her, he… he placed the knife on her back. I tried to threaten him but he… he just…"

"He what Rosie?" Alice asked, using Rosalie's old nickname. It showed that Alice was the youngest of us all. Whenever she was scared, she'd pull out the old nicknames to make her feel better, not that we minded.

"He stabbed her. Bella's eyes just… she was in so much pain but she couldn't scream. Charlie's hand was still on her mouth. She couldn't do anything. He took it out of her and put it back to her throat. Bella tried to focus on me but then Dad called for me. Charlie just threw her to the side and ran. I didn't bother running after him. There was no point. I'd never catch up to him, especially in heels. I… I ran to Bella and tried to get her to wake up and when she did, she… she said that it'd be easier on everyone if she died… Oh god! I was such a bitch to her!" Rosalie finally said before crying on Alice's shoulder. How could Bella ever say that? But it showed that Rosalie was having a change of heart.

"It's alright Rosie… She's alright…" Alice cooed in her sister's ear. I got up and rubbed Rosalie's shoulder before exiting her room. It shocked me at how Rosalie looked when she told us the story. Her face looked so pained. Did it affect her that much? Poor Rosalie…

I walked towards Bella's room and hesitated. My heart wanted to see her so bad, to make sure with my own eyes that she was alright. Dad said that Bella was resting. Had her wound drained her so much? She must have been on the verge of death, once more. God… how many times will Bella have to suffer to be free from this man? Charlie won't stop looking for her until she's dead. Reaching for the doorknob, I twisted it open and saw Bella sleeping on her side. Her back was to me and unfortunately, her shirt was lifted high enough for me to see the gauze wrapped around her torso. Some of her blood had seeped into it. Her breathing was laboured, indicating that her wound was giving her grief.

Walking over to her, I kneeled down and stood only a few inches from her bed. She looked so peaceful. I hesitantly placed a hand on her cheek and Bella stirred. How could a woman so beautiful and so full of life have such a horrible past? Opening her beautiful brown eyes, she found me and smiled. "Hey…" She whispered sadly as I kept my hand on her cheek.

"Hey there Hun. You've had me so worried. How are you feeling?"

"I'm so sorry…" She completely ignored my question and closed her eyes as a stray tear fell from her face. Bella tried to lift herself up but gasped in pain.

My hands hovered above her body as she slumped back into the bed. "Don't move Bella, you're only going to hurt yourself even more." She met my gaze and all I saw was sadness and guilt.

"Edward, Rosalie could have been badly hurt today. If anything happens to any of you, I'd just—"

"Rosalie's just fine, Bella. None of us are going to get hurt."

"But what if you did Edward? What if Charlie went after any of you to try and get to me? You can't imagine how horrible I would feel if he—" I placed a finger to her lips and she shut up immediately.

"Bella, Charlie wants to come after you, not us. We—"

"Edward, what if—"

"Bella, listen to me. He's not going to come after any of us and he won't touch you ever again. Do you hear me? We're going to protect you and do whatever it takes to make you safe," I said, trying to make her understand and all of this stress was not letting her heal. Her leg must give her much grief and now, her back wound wouldn't heal right if she kept on worrying about us. "Now just focus on healing."

"What about Rosalie? Is she alright?" Bella asked worriedly.

"She's a little shaken up but isn't hurt." Suddenly, Alice came in the room with Rosalie by her side. Obviously, both of them had been crying because their eyes were red and puffy. "And she's behind you." Bella tried to move but ended up gasping in pain, closing her eyes and stiffening her body. My hands, once again, hovered above her as she stayed on her side, unable to do anymore.

Alice and Rosalie looked worried as Bella positioned herself into a position that wouldn't hurt. Unfortunately, she wasn't successful. "Is it alright if I talk to her?" Rosalie asked, her voice hoarse and raspy from the tears. The girls walked into the room and came to Bella's bedside.

"Um… alright," was Bella's simple answer as Rosalie sat where I was. Alice and I looked at the both of them and exited the room, closing the door behind us. But, seeing as we're still kids, we placed our ears to the door and tried to listen in to their conversation.

Bella's Point of View

My back felt like it was on fire. Any sort of movement would cause a stab of pain erupt in my back. Rosalie sat next to me and looked me straight in the eyes, her green eyes bloodshot from crying. She must have been crying because of Charlie. He was quite awful to her. "Rosalie, I'm really sorry for putting you in danger today. You could have been badly hurt and it would have been on my conscious. Never in my life have I wanted to put anyone in danger for what my father has done," I said but she just shook her head.

"Don't apologize for anything. Nothing was your fault. I… I should have believed everything you said about Charlie. I'm so sorry for everything that I said to you. And I really shouldn't have acted that way. It wasn't right at all," She said honestly. It was hard to believe at first but never have I held a grudge against someone. Never. Not even against Charlie.

"It's alright Rosalie. You were right. I shouldn't have—"

"No, don't say it. None of the things I said to you were true. I should have been more respectful with you. It… it wasn't correct. And you're not a burden to anyone," She said with a slight smile. Even now, when she's telling me all of these things, I still feel a little guilty for having to put them through all of this.

"But I still—"

"Bella, please. Don't feel guilty, or sad or… or anything! How about we just… just start over? You know, a clean slate?" Rosalie asked, hoping that I'd accept it.

"Of course Rosalie. I'd love to," I said, not reconsidering my statement. She smiled and sat closer to me. This might be the start of a beautiful friendship.

Oh wow… Bella and Rosalie are going to be friends? And I know I ended it short but hey, if you want another chapter shortly, REVIEW!!!

Bellacullenswan17

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