Chapter 4: Nightmares

"I don't think Bella is holding it together very well." Emmett said from the far corner of the quiet living room.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious!" Said Rosalie, as she punched him in the shoulder.

"What? I just thought that it needed to be said. I mean, she stripped down in front of all of us! Carlisle, did they really brand her? Is that what those awful marks were?"

"Seeing as how she has shown them to you all, I don't believe that it would be breaking any confidence to tell you that yes, he branded her with a ring. It looked like an old class ring, but the swelling and the seeping were still too fresh for me to get a good look at the symbols there. Once they've formed scars, however, it will be much easier to read what they say."

"There will be scars?" Alice asked quietly. "It's so unfair. She was with us, two kick ass vampires, and still she was pulled out of a back door and savagely beaten and raped. How does that work? Literally right under our noses as we danced and joked around with Jess, Angela, Ben, and Mike, Bella was suffering the worst night of her life and we had no idea!"

"I know, Alice. I feel guilty, too." This came surprisingly from Rosalie who was seated on the floor in front of Emmett. "I even looked back once, saw she wasn't there, and assumed she had gone for something to drink and that was probably right in the middle of it all."

"Girls, you can't blame yourselves, blame the men that did this to her. Blame the deviants that broke our Bella and work hard at putting the pieces back together. Try not to mention it in her presence, we will come together after she has gone to bed in the evenings and discuss any random memories she may have mentioned or anything else that might help us figure out who it was that hurt her. But only after she is sleeping." Esme stressed the last part. She didn't want them caught talking about her again. Obviously that was an anger trigger for Bella and she couldn't handle knowing she was being discussed and wasn't a part of the conversation.

"I'm really worried about her." Carlisle said to the group.

"Me, too." Esme agreed. "She's only cried that once and she just seems a shell of her former self. I suppose that's to be expected, to some extent, but what do we tell Charlie when we take home a broken Bella?"

"We can only hope that while she is here, she will decide to tell Charlie and the authorities herself. There is little else we can do." Carlisle hugged his wife. "I do want everyone to stay relatively close to her. Make sure she is eating and not spending all of her time in the shower. Distract her with movies and walks on the beach. Anything you can. Edward, for some reason, she has taken to trusting you and wanting your company. I admit I'm a bit baffled, but use that trust to help her through this terrible time, ok?"

"Baffled, Hell, I'm downright shocked!" Emmett exclaimed. "These two barely say two words to each other for nearly a year, and suddenly she is begging him to sit by her bed all night and she holds his hand when she gets scared? It's a little creepy!"

"Emmett, she has been through a horrible trauma. There is no way to know why people seek help from some and not others. I would have assumed she would be asking for Alice's help more, or even Esme's or asking advice from Rosalie, but it is Edward she has bonded too, for some reason, and we will respect that. The human psyche is a unique and complicated place." Carlisle chastised.

Just then, they heard Bella's bedroom door click. She slowly exited, wearing one of Edward's shirts and another pair of leggings and started to descend the stairs. It was obvious that each step was painful for her.

"So, are you ready to cart me off to the loony bin, yet?" She tried to joke. There were a few charity chuckles but for the most part, everyone smiled that horrible, pity-filled smile they all seemed to have glued to their faces. Their heads slightly cocked, their mouths pressed together in that hard line with just the edges going up. God, she hated that smile. She wanted to slap it off all their faces, but that would only succeed in breaking her hand, which made her smile, despite herself.

"Of course not, Bella. I will go warm up some of your dinner. It is a light vegetable soup, since you 've had some trouble keeping food down." Esme stood to leave.

"Yeah, sometimes vampire hearing sucks. You can't even spew in private!" Bella said, which brought a little more laughter.

"Sorry about that, Bella. Trick of the trade, I'm afraid." Edward said. "How would you like to watch a movie? We were all discussing what we wanted to see. It's two against two. Emmett and I want something with guns and bombs and Alice and Rose want a chick flick so you get to be the tie breaker!"

"Ugh, I don't know. I think I have to side with the girls this time, guys, sorry." Bella said as she playfully put her hands up in defense against Emmett.

"Fine, chick flick it is. Go ahead, Alice, pick one." Emmett grudgingly agreed. She dug through the DVD's until she came up with one filled with romance and love and all the gushy stuff the guys hated and they groaned, which made Alice even happier as she put it into the DVD player.

Despite the heat, Bella grabbed a blanket off of the couch and covered herself with it. Carlisle made a mental note to check her temperature later. She slid down next to Edward and smiled when Esme handed her a steaming mug of what smelled like delicious vegetable soup. She almost felt normal. Almost. She would have to talk to Carlisle later. She was dreading that. The abdominal pain was getting worse and she feared she needed some antibiotics for the wounds she didn't want him poking around again. But that could come later. Right now, just a movie with the family sounded nice, Bella thought as she sipped her soup and tried not to think about her broken body for a couple of hours.

Dark.

Cigarette smoke.

Beer.

"Dirty Whore"

Pain.

Blood.

Burning.

Cutting.

Tearing.

"Bella! Bella! Wake up, it's just a dream, wake up!" And Bella woke to find Edward holding her and hearing the last strains of a gutturally screamed "NO!" that must have been coming from somewhere deep within herself. She was breathing heavily and freezing, though her skin felt like fire. Edward rocked her as she found herself, once again, crying into his chest.

Carlisle was coming back into the room with his doctor's bag and everyone else was standing around with that damned pitying expression. It made her blood boil to even look at them, so she focused on Edward's face. It was twisted with anger and worry, but no pity. Never pity from Edward. And that was all she needed right now. Why couldn't the others stop looking at her that way?

"Bella, you fell asleep during the movie and gave us a bit of a start when we couldn't wake you from your nightmare. Are you feeling better now?" Carlisle asked.

"Yes, Carlisle, now that I've gotten my bearings. I'm sorry to have disturbed everyone's movie." Bella responded. It seemed as if every other word out of her mouth was 'sorry' these days.

"Don't be silly, Bella. We didn't mind. You saved Edward and me from that horrible drudge Alice called a movie!" Emmett said, trying to be supportive and light-hearted.

"Bella, you appear to be running a fever. Your skin is very hot but you seem to feel very cold. That's not a good sign. Do you mind if I take your temperature? It is really for your own good." Carlisle asked.

"Of course not, Carlisle, go ahead." Bella knew what he would find, but she had no idea just how high her temperature would be.

"102.6!" Carlisle announced. "Could the rest of you give us some privacy? I have some questions to ask Bella about her recovery so if you could take a run down the beach for a half hour or so, save for Esme, so that she can truly have some privacy, that would be very much appreciated by Bella, I'm sure."

There was a chorus of "yeah sure", "OK", "I need to stretch my legs anyway", and a few others thrown in to make her feel better about kicking them out of their own house so she could talk to Carlisle and Esme without the others hearing her.

Once they were gone, Carlisle turned to Bella with all seriousness and she dreaded the question she knew was about to come.

"Bella, I need to check your wounds for any infection, ok?" Bella just nodded. "We will start with your head." Carlisle stated as he gently pulled off the bandage and poked around to see if there were any signs of infection present, then he replaced the dressings.

"I need to see your legs now, alright?" Bella didn't nod, she simply got up and started walking up the stairs to the bedroom where she covered herself with the blanket, removed her pants, and raised the blanket high enough for Carlisle to see the cuts and burns on her legs. He quietly replaced the ointment and the bandages and pulled the blanket down.

"Now your back, if that's ok with you." He implored.

"Esme, will you come help me so that my chest stays covered?" Esme quickly entered the room and silently held up the blanket while Bella removed her shirt so Carlisle could see the wounds on her back. He replaced the dressings on the deeper ones but announced that they all looked fine.

"Now Bella, I have to ask you something and I need you to answer honestly. Can you do that?" Carlisle asked her.

"Yes, Carlisle. I could never lie to you." Bella said in a shaky voice, knowing what was coming next. Esme held up the blanket once again and Bella replaced her shirt.

"Are there any marks on your chest that Esme and I haven't seen that could be the culprit?" Carlisle asked.

Bella looked down into her lap and barely whispered an answer.

"There are some bite marks, but they aren't yellow and they are mostly bruises. The skin was only broken in a couple of places and the skin isn't hot or red around them."

"Would you mind showing Esme so she can make certain?" Carlisle gently implored. He was nothing if not thorough. Bella hesitated, and then finally nodded.

"Thank you." Carlisle said. "I will be outside the room to give you full privacy.

Once Carlisle had exited through the door, Bella hesitantly began to raise her shirt once more, but Esme didn't see anything and looked puzzled. That's when Bella removed the sports bra, which covered a large area of her chest, and Esme gasped in horror at what she saw. There were at least eight bite marks of differing sizes and degrees of depth on Bella's breasts. Some had bruised only slightly, others a deep purple. True to Bella's word, the skin was only broken in two small spots and neither was infected.

"My sweet Bella, I am so sorry." Esme said. "You can put your shirt back on now."

"Could you help me this time? I'm getting so sore, it's hard to do it myself so many times in a row." Bella asked sheepishly.

"Of course, dear!" Esme quickly helped Bella dress, and then gave her a gentle hug before called Carlisle back into the room. Of course she didn't need to fill him in, the vampire hearing had done that for her.

"Well, it looks like the outside cuts and bruises are healing on target, Bella. That means that something else is causing the infection. You understand that, right?" Carlisle slowly explained, not wanting to put her into another shocked tirade or make her a puddle in the corner again. Bella simply nodded.

"How are you feeling elsewhere? Internally?"

"Carlisle, we both know that is where the infection is. Can't you order some antibiotics or something?" Bella asked, hopefully.

"I wish it were that easy, Bella, but I have to take a culture of the infected area to determine what type of infection we are dealing with before I can prescribe the right medication. Fortunately, with vampire sight, I don't need a microscope, but I do need the cultures and that means another quick examination." Carlisle told her, apologetically.

Bella's face was stone cold, her body rigid. She looked him in the eye.

"Just do what you have to do and do it quickly, please. She said with no waiver in her voice, showing no fear. "Esme, will you please stay with me? I want to get this over with before the others return from their run."

"Of course, dear. Carlisle can manage that timeframe, I think." Esme looked pityingly at Bella and it took everything in Bella not to punch her right then and there.

Carlisle made quick work of positioning Bella on the bed and taking the samples that he needed. Bella held tightly to Esme, but just squinted her eyes closed and gritted her teeth through the pain. Finally, when he was done, Bella quickly dressed and then ran for the bathroom where she vomited her vegetable soup. This time it was Esme who held her hair back. 'Pretty soon the entire family will have protected my hair from my vomit', thought Bella, dryly.

"There was definitely evidence of infection. I will take these to my study and have a look as quickly as possible and send someone out for medication. Infections like these are nothing to be messed with. You do want children someday, right, Bella? It wouldn't take much for an infection of this voracity to leave you sterile and possibly take your life." Carlisle tried to explain.

"Carlisle, right now I wouldn't care much if it took my life and as for children, what man would ever want sex with me? The broken virgin, branded by another man? Scarred in all the wrong areas? There will be no children in my future, even if I do survive this." Bella said with a deadpan expression.

"Bella, don't talk like that, everything looks bleak now, but you WILL heal and the scars will fade and you will go on with your life and meet someone and have babies and a life like everyone else. This is a huge bump in your road, but it's just a bump. You will learn to live with it, you will learn to get passed this. I promise you!" Esme said as she grabbed her in a hug.

"How do you know that?"

"Rose did and you are a stronger person that Rose, though you can't tell her I said that."

"I don't think so, but thank you. I would like to be alone now if you don't mind." Bella requested, just as they heard the others returning, laughing and joking as if what had happened upstairs had never taken place. The third time she had been violated in as many days. She didn't know how much more she could handle. Or how much more she wanted to handle.

So much for being alone. The entire group gathered in her bedroom.

"Edward, will you—"

"Of course! You need only ask and I will be perfectly happy to sit by your side all night if that is what you need." He replied after hearing the beginnings of her whispered request and zipping up the stairs with lightning speed.

"Technically, you didn't give me the chance to ask." Bella smiled sheepishly and Edward grinned back.

"I suppose I didn't. Bella, you were saying something?" And she playfully slapped him on the shoulder, which left her hand stinging from the cold hard stone that was his body. As she stood shaking her hand in the air, Edward grabbed it and gently kissed it, surprising her and himself. He quickly let her go.

"You shouldn't go around hitting vampires, it is dangerous for your health." Edward said wryly and grinned, as if nothing had happened.

"Yeah, I keep forgetting you guys are so different from me. I guess that's a good sign, right? Shows my lack of prejudice or something?"

"Bella, dear, I don't think you have a prejudiced bone in your body! To you, everyone is equal. Even that awful Jessica." Edward said, with disdain.

"Hey! Jessica has some very good qualities!" Bella retorted.

"Oh yeah? Name three!" Edward challenged.

While Bella and Edward's playful banter went back and forth, Carlisle and Esme were whispering to themselves in the corner of the room so low they could barely hear each other and no human ear could ever pick up the sounds of their voices.

"Why do you think it is Edward that has been able to reach her? Not an hour ago, she was so despondent upstairs and now she is sharing playful banter and seems to be in the moment, which she so rarely is right now. Why is it that he can do something the rest of us cannot and pull her out of that Hell for even short periods of time, Carlisle?" Esme asked, perplexed.

"I don't know, Esme, darling, but I am thrilled that she has found someone that makes her feel better for those short stints." Carlisle replied softly.

"Oh, me too! I just don't understand it. They rarely spoke to each other before now and now they are inseparable. I would think that a man would be the last person she would want around."

"Apparently she trusts Edward implicitly and I've noticed that he is more comfortable around her. He doesn't seem so stiff and waiting for her to crumble. I don't know if his ability to read minds also give him a certain sense of empathy or if he simply comes by it naturally, but he doesn't seem to be constantly worried about her the way that the rest of us are. Maybe she sees that he has a faith in her the rest of us are lacking. Perhaps we aren't giving her enough credit." Carlisle mused.

"What about other rape victims you've dealt with? How have they recovered and what do you recommend?" Esme asked.

"Aside from Rose, there have been few rape victims I've treated in my time. Hospitals typically prefer female doctors handle those cases, for obvious reasons, so I'm at a bit of a disadvantage as well. In my experience, however, she will need a great deal of time and space to heal from this and some encouragement from us to tell her parents what happened and to go to the authorities with her story. Far too many of these cases go unreported and the perpetrators are never apprehended. But we can't force her to do anything she isn't ready for. Trying to do that will only push her further away from us, the one support system she does have right now. " Carlisle exclaimed.

"That's too bad. I was hoping you might have some more insight, my loving husband." Esme said facetiously as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Perhaps it is time we retire to our room now and leave the young ones alone?" Carlisle responded.

"Gross, Bella can't hear you, but we still can!" Came Emmett's voice with a groan. Despite himself, Carlisle chuckled and Bella stopped and turned to him with a start, as if she had forgotten there were others in the room. The spell was broken and the playfulness with Edward came to an end.

"We are going to take leave of you, kids, if that is ok with all of you."

"Ew, just go! Alice exclaimed from the opposite side of the room.

Carlisle and Esme laughed as they backed out of Bella's room and disappeared into their own.

"Why ew?" Bella asked. "They're older, maybe they want to go to bed or some—" Then she cut herself off when it dawned on her that vampires don't sleep. "Oh. Right, ew." And the others laughed while she blushed profusely.

After a couple hours of board games in the living room, Bella announced she was exhausted and the others looked relieved. She suspected they were all going to be up to amorous activities of their own soon and she didn't want to think about that. She made her way, stiffly and with aching muscles, to the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face before climbing into Edward's long sleeved t-shirt and leggings and emerging from the bathroom looking grim and so tired, Edward thought she might fall over. He quickly walked over and picked her up into his arms.

"We have to stop meeting like this." Bella smiled shyly.

"You look dead on your feet, Bella. You should have gone to bed long ago. Tomorrow you will sleep earlier, ok?" Edward practically ordered her.

"I didn't want you to have to leave the party earlier than you had to, but I did push things a little tonight." She yawned and curled herself into him.

"How many times do I have to tell you that we are here for you, and that includes me? I'm not interested in hanging out with my family. I can do that anytime. We are here to help you. Tomorrow, bed by 9:00, no arguments." Edward insisted.

"No arguments," she said sleepily. "The cold makes my bruises and sore muscles feel better, thank you.

"No problem, I'm here to serve, now let's get you to bed!" Edward had barely tucked her in when her eyes began to fall shut and she drifted off. It wasn't long before the nightmares began again.

Heavy breathing.

Sweat.

Blood.

Tearing in half.

"Bella! Bella, wake up!" Edward begged. She was fighting him in her sleep and he was afraid she would hurt herself. "It is just a dream, please wake up!" Finally, Bella woke with a start and a cascade of tears. She was confused, lost, could still smell the smells, hear the sounds, and feel her body being ripped apart. She whimpered and crawled as far from Edward as she could go.

"Bella, it's just me, just Edward. Do you want me to get one of the girls?" They both heard a flurry of activity outside the bedroom door and Bella came back down to reality quickly enough to register what he had said and shake her head.

"OK, you don't want anyone else, do you want me to go?" Again, she shook her head. Slowly, she crawled back down to Edward and put herself in his lap, her head on his chest once more and she whispered.

"Please protect me, Edward. Make the bad dreams go away." Bella was like a child, so Edward treated her like one would treat a child. He carefully lay her down on the bed and crawled in beside her, careful to only touch her upper body. He put his arm under her shoulders and held her to him, gently rocking her and whispering calming words until she fell asleep.

Bella awoke the next day with a start. She realized she was wrapped in blankets but also in Edward's arms and that, miraculously, she hadn't had another bad dream all night.

"Look who's awake, sleepy head!" Edward laughed as Bella blushed her familiar shade of pale pink and unwound herself from him. Taking her gesture to mean she was uncomfortable with his proximity, he quickly jumped from the bed and landed deftly in the chair next to it. That's when Bella noticed the clock. It said 1:00 and judging by the bright light outside, it wasn't the middle of the night!

"No way! No freaking way! It can't be 1:00! I went to bed at like midnight last night and I slept until 1:00?"

"You needed the rest. Carlisle was ecstatic, though he was surprised to see me lying next to you. I hope I didn't do anything wrong, it was the only way to get you to sleep. You sleep like a rock that way, only a few murmurings but when I stroked your cheek, they stopped completely and you went peacefully calm again. Did I do anything wrong, Bella?"

"No, apparently you did everything right. Here I've been trying to act all brave and adult and maybe I needed a little bit of being a child to find some peaceful moments when I can. Thank you, Edward, for being there for me."

"Anytime, Bella, you know that."

"It must have been incredibly boring, watching me sleep all night." Bella said and blushed again.

"On the contrary. I found it fascinating watching you sleep and dream. A vampire body is never not in control of itself, it has no subconscious. A human mind while it sleeps looks so free and unencumbered, most of the time. It is just fascinating to watch." Edward explained as Bella blushed again and didn't even really know why.

At that very quiet moment, her stomach took the opportunity to growl louder than she had ever heard it growl before!

"You're hungry! Maybe we can get something of substance inside you today. You are looking a little pale and thin, Ms. Swan, and we can't have you losing weight. That would NOT do!" Bella appreciated the fact that Edward made her feel normal. She knew he wasn't looking at her black eyes or her bruises and cuts. He was just looking at her as if she were the same old Bella and for that, she would be eternally grateful. Someday she would have the courage to thank him. Now, however, she just smiled and nodded, shyly, and he disappeared to whip up some culinary genius, no doubt!

She was lying on her back, staring at the ceiling, not really knowing what to do with herself when there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," she said, expecting a very welcome tray of food but instead finding Esme and Carlisle entering her room and closing the door behind them.

"How are you feeling, Bella?" Carlisle asked.

"Better after starting the antibiotics yesterday. Truly. I don't need another examination right?" Panic was beginning to rise in her voice.

"No, no, nothing like that. We wanted to talk to you about how you're doing in general. You went through a really terrible trauma and Carlisle and I were thinking that maybe you should go talk to someone." Esme interjected.

"No, no way!" Bella sat up and slowly swung her feet off of the bed, getting up to pace the floor. I told you that if I let you examine me, there would be no more mention about what happened. I'm fine, I slept all night last night and well into the day. Edward is downstairs making me lunch because I'm starving. The black eyes are almost green now and the rest of the bruises will fade with time. The cuts will heal. I'm fine!" Bella ranted as she paced.

"It's ok, Bella, please don't get upset. We were just hoping you would—" Esme was abruptly cut off.

"I feel like everyone wants something from me! They either want me to crack or they want me normal or their morbid curiosity wants every detail. Everyone but Edward. He doesn't want anything, just to sit by my bed and hold my hand to make me feel safe. I'm tired of everyone wanting something from me. I have nothing more to give, don't you understand?" And Bella fell painfully to her knees in wracking sobs.

Hesitantly, Carlisle and Esme moved slowly to either side of her and placed her in a gentle hug, rocking her back and forth.

"We are terribly sorry, Bella, if we've handled this situation incorrectly in anyway. This is unfamiliar territory for us. Just please tell us what you want and we will give it to you, no questions asked." She ignored Carlisle and just sobbed quietly, her head on Esme's shoulder.

Edward, having obviously hearing what had happened from downstairs, quietly entered the room with a tray of food. A garden burger and a spinach side salad. Her favorite meal. But her hunger had gone away and her stomach felt like lead. He walked over to where they were sitting on the floor and quickly swooped Bella up into his arms and sat her on the bed. He placed a fork in her hand.

"Eat," Edward said simply and quietly.

"I'll try, she responded as Esme and Carlisle, looking distraught and confused, slipped out the door. Before long, Edward had Bella talking about everything from school to Charlie to her beat up Chevy truck and Bella had found her appetite and began eating her meal voraciously, finishing every bite.

"Thank you, Edward." Bella whispered as she placed her fork on her empty plate.

"For what?"

"For everything." And they sat quietly for a few moments.

"Bella, can I ask you something?" Edward asked, breaking the comfortable silence. She bristled, but nodded. What if he became like them? What if all he wanted to know were details about what had happened, what if he wanted her to talk to him about everything after all and this had all been a ruse?

"Bella, why me? Why not Alice or Esme or even Rosalie? Why do I bring you comfort? I would think you would want to be as far away from men as possible." Bella thought in silence for a moment before she answered.

"I don't completely understand it. I just know that you want nothing from me and that I trust you and right now, that's what I need." She intentionally left off the part about him being as pissed off as she was. She didn't want that to change if she brought attention to it.

"Ok, I guess that makes sense. I was just curious." Edward smiled and grabbed her plate.

"I think I'm going to get dressed and go spend some time in the sun, should I cover the stitches with something that is thicker, like cotton dressings, to keep the sun's rays at bay? I'm thinking some time alone with a good book might be just what the doctor ordered." And she smiled at him.

"Are you sure you want to be alone?" Edward asked, with concern.

"Yes, I think I need some time to think and what better way to do that than in the California sun. Besides, if I don't come back with some kind of color, Charlie will be suspicious. He may be a quiet man, but he notices everything!" Bella replied with a nervous smile.

"Carlisle!" Edward called. Within seconds, Carlisle was at the door with the material he needed to protect Bella's wounds from the sun.

"I hear our patient wants to spend some time in the sun! That's a wonderful idea! Get out, get some fresh air and enjoy the blue sky for a change." Carlisle was all smiles as he entered the room.

"I will give you two some privacy," Edward said as he exited.

"We will leave the waterproof bandages on for now and I will change those later tonight. I will tape some gauze over the wounds to keep them nice and protected from the sun, ok?" Bella nodded her approval and slowly raised the leg of her pants until one long slash was uncovered, then the other, then finally Carlisle covered the cut on her head.

"That should do it!" He exclaimed as he placed the last bit of tape on her head. "Just be careful out there and take things easy and stay out of the water, ok?"

"Of course." Bella said, a little irritated that he would repeat the no 'bathing' rule yet again. She had been attacked, not struck dumb.

"I will leave you to dress, then." Carlisle said as he started to leave the room.

"Thank you, Carlisle."

"You are very welcome, my dear. Oh, I think I hear Esme coming. You might want to wait to get dressed in case she needs you." And he was gone.

"Bella, honey, can I come in?" There was a timid knock at the door and Esme's quiet voice asking permission to enter.

"Yes, I'm decent." Bella replied.

"I hate to bother you, dear, but your father has been calling my phone repeatedly and asking to speak to you. I keep putting him off, but he is becoming rather insistent. Do you think you are up to having a conversation with him?" Bella felt the panic rise in her chest at the thought of talking to her father.

"Esme, I can't right now. Please. I'm going to the beach for a little while. I'm going to sit by myself and collect my thoughts. What if I promise to call him tonight when I come back inside. Could you live with him bugging you until then?" Bella said with hope and pleading in her voice.

"Of course, darling. Whatever you need." She gave Bella a quick hug, which again Bella tried not to cringe away from, and left the room, closing the door behind her.