Previously:
"Bella!" Edward bellowed as his crew caught up.
"Man, she just swiped my truck," Emmett half chuckled and half cried causing Edward to snarl at him.
Holding his hands up, he laughed heartily, "Dude, ever hear of Lo-jack," Jasper couldn't help but snicker at Emmett's idea.
Edward reached over and kissed Emmett on the head. "Brilliant! Let's get to work shall we?"
Bella drove like crazy to the only safe place she could think of, her parents' house. She was fighting consciousness and knew she had lost a lot of blood. She had to roll the windows down so she wouldn't throw up from the copper smell as it penetrated the cab of the hummer. When she arrived at her parent's house, she decided to park along the side in the shadows, hoping to not draw any attention, unwanted or wanted. The last thing she needed was to have Edward and his goons find her. She needed to think, but it was difficult with her current condition. As she half hopped, half slid down out of the cab, cradling her wounded arm, Bella cautiously surveyed the surrounding area. No cars had followed in her pursuit and to her knowledge no one knew where she was. Not a single soul was out on her former street in the rainy town of Forks.
She saw her father's police cruiser parked on the opposite driveway, her mother's VW bug was also parked there. Making her way to the front door she stopped on the porch to retrieve the spare key that was hidden in the hanging flower pot. Twisting the bottom back on, she made her way to the door and unlocked it. It wasn't horribly late so she thought her father would be sitting in his chair watching the latest game on his big screen TV. Her mother would be at the kitchen table working on her latest harebrained idea which last time was scrap-booking.
Last time Bella thought, Last time was months ago.
Her parents thought she was dead. Jacob had even said so.
They are going to freak. She thought. As she was about to open the door a wave of dizziness swept over her and she leaned against the door frame. Taking a brief glance toward her arm, she shuddered from the blood and kicked the door open. What she found inside surprised her.
Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Sure there was furniture, but, no parents. No lights, nothing. She shut and locked the front door and stumbled her way toward the kitchen. Using the moonlight shining through the windows she found a dish cloth in a drawer. She wrapped it around her arm to try to minimize the bleeding. As she squeezed it tight, another wave of dizziness hit her and she collapsed to the ground.
"Shit." Bella mumbled.
She waited until she felt strong enough to move up the stairs to the first aid kit in the bathroom. Slowly, she stood on wobbly legs leaning on the counter for support. Once she had her bearings, she made her way to the staircase. Very carefully she put one foot on the stairs, using her other hand she gripped the banister and made her way up.
Once on the landing she moved to the door on the right. Stepping into the bathroom, she turned on the light and winced. Her eyes adjusted and she continued toward the medicine cabinet for the first aid kit. Feeling groggy by the second, she opened up the door to the cabinet and reached in bringing the kit down. She eased herself to the toilet and looked at her injured arm. The towel was drenched in blood.
She shook off the queasy feelings and began to unwrap it. Blood was steadily seeping out of the cut and running down her arm. The cut was extremely deep. Shaking her head, she worked quickly at cleaning the wound, ignoring the searing pain, and then continued wrapping it with gauze. She hoped that it would hold until morning so she could try to find a doctor. She had a feeling she needed stitches but she just couldn't make her way to the hospital. She stood up and slowly made her way to her bed. She barely made the bed before she slipped into the darkness.
Meanwhile...
Emmett accessed the lo-jack system from his iPhone. "Amazing what technology can do now days."
Jasper laughed at him while Edward scowled.
"Anything yet?" Edward asked.
"Patience is a virtue, bro," Emmett said. Edward let out an impatient sigh.
"Emmett, I fully comprehend that, but Bella is injured. It is so bad that she is in desperate need of medical attention. Because she's so stubborn and thinks I'm trying to hurt her severely she won't seek it, at least not nearby. Her life is in danger whether she knows it or not and time is really of the essence!" Edward said flabbergasted.
Emmett's phone beeped stating that it had a location. "Dude, location locked on the car. I think she went to her parents' house."
Edward nodded, "Then to her parents' house we go." Deciding that it would be best to just have Emmett and Jasper, Edward sent the rest of his men home. The three of them loaded up in Jasper's jeep and headed to the Swan residence.
"So, Edward, why do you think she ran?" Jasper asked.
"I don't know, J, I thought everything was fine. She was finally accepting things, or so I thought." Edward sighed. "Then that night in the piano room," Edward mumbled.
"Wait, what happened in the piano room, Edward?" Jasper inquired.
"I kinda forced myself on her," Edward half whispered; half mumbled.
"WHAT!" Emmett and Jasper both exclaimed!
Jasper slammed on the breaks knowing that Edward didn't have his seat belt on. Edward braced himself, but it still lurched him forward enough to earn a smack to the forehead.
"Shit! God dammit, Jasper! What the fuck is wrong with you?" Edward yelled. He had his hand held up to his head. "I think I'm bleeding you asshole!"
Emmett slapped Edward upside the head, "Emmett, I swear to God," Edward was about to start in on both of them, when the car door was ripped open and Edward was smashed up against the side of Jasper's jeep multiple times by Emmett's massive hands.
"I. SWEAR. TO. GOD. I. WILL. KILL. YOU!" Emmett exclaimed while shoving Edward with each word.
"No wonder she wanted to get the hell away from you. Here we have thought we were helping you, well not anymore, we are done! We will help Bella, but not you. I can't believe you Edward. Have you lost all reason?" Jasper asked.
"I didn't do it. I didn't rape her. She was crying and just went limp. I know I'm a heartless ass, but I'm not that heartless. I had been drinking, I...it's no excuse, but...I..." Edward shoved Emmett off as he came to a realization. "Oh no, she thinks I did! She thinks, I...that...I...me...," Edward mumbled as he walked a track in the dirt. His hands went into his hair and he feverishly paced back and forth, mumbling more profanities.
Jasper and Emmett looked at each other and shrugged. Emmett motioned Jasper forward and Jasper motioned Emmett forward. They each shook their heads at one another before finally Emmett put out his fist. Jasper shook his head, "No."
"Just do it," whispered Emmett. They shook their fists three times before Emmett kept his as rock and Jasper was scissors.
"Dammit. Every time," Jasper muttered. Emmett had a huge grin on his face and shrugged his shoulders. Emmett motioned his hand toward Edward as if saying, after you. Jasper shook his head and approached a very aggravated Edward. He was still mumbling and pulling on his hair.
"Hey, Edward, are you ok?" Edward looked up from his rambling and tilted his head to the side.
"You're making no sense. Are you saying that you didn't rape Bella?" Jasper asked.
"No. I didn't rape Bella. I almost did, but when she went limp and started crying, I couldn't. She blacked out and I carried her back to bed. I swear I never touched her..." Jasper gave him a condescending look as Edward continued, "Aside from the crap that I have done. I did not rape her," Edward said with so much conviction that Jasper believed him.
"All right, Edward. I believe you. But, you have to promise to start reigning in your anger. I told you from the beginning that this was a bad idea, to make her so dependent on you. For Christ sake Edward, you abducted her, told her that she doesn't exist in her world anymore. She believes it; especially after you had Jacob feed her more lies. How much more of this are you going to continue if we get her back?"
Edward shot Jasper a murderous glare, "I will have Isabella and she will have me. It's inevitable. Eventually, once she accepts things, I will tell her the truth..."
"And on that day, Edward, you will lose her. Take her running away from you as a sign. I am not going to help you get her back if you are going to treat her worse than a dog. You say that you love her, prove it. Emmett and I will help you any way we can, but, you have to let her live. Show her that you love her without confining her. Because I promise you, Edward, if you continue like this, the Bella that we all love, that you love, will be nothing but a shell. Courtesy of you." Jasper poked him in the chest to push his point home, "Then you will have no one to blame but yourself."
Edward slumped against a rock while Emmett and Jasper regrouped by the car. He thought long and hard about what Jasper had said. He knew on one hand that if he wanted to have a true relationship with Isabella, he would have to come clean. On the other hand, he thought his way could be more effective.
Yes, but will you truly have her love or are you going to scare her into love? He thought. No matter how he would go about it, it was inevitable. He loved Isabella and he would have her, forever.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Sorry it took so long, I'm sure the excuse of
life" is getting really old, but it is what it is. New job, new things to learn, trying to get a house, spending time with the husband, friends and family, vacations, it's been hectic. Of course my beta has been busy too and it's hard to connect when both people are extremely busy.
However, I wanted to say thank you to the reviews and the kind words from the readers. I am sorry for keeping you hanging, but your words of encouragement and the fact that you like the story have meant a lot. So big thank you and loves! Also, as always, thank you to my beta Nails 233. You are AMAZING and thank you for everything you do.