20

When Bella walked into the house, she was surprised, though she shouldn't have been, to find everyone sitting in the living room. And she did mean everyone. Carlisle and Esme, who sat as far away from her husband as she could, Emmett and Rosalie, who were snuggled as close as they could be, Garrett and Kate, Seth and Jake, Jasper, and Charlotte. It was only when the matriarch of the family sighed and stood up that Bella knew why everyone was gathered. They were staging an intervention. It hadn't been the first time, and she doubted it would be the last, but in that moment, she just couldn't sit and listen to them tell her how she was fucking everything up. Her nerves were already on edge, thanks to Edward, and she was barely hanging on as it was.

"I . . ."

Bella trailed off before shaking her head and walking upstairs, into her bedroom. She closed the door, leaning against it before sliding to the floor. Her heart was racing, her eyes filled with tears that she didn't even understand. They cared about her. Some of them even loved her, but they would never understand how hard it was for her to be back there, to face the horrors of her past. They may have been there, but she went through it. She would say she lived through it, but she wasn't living. Not really. She merely existed, but Edward? Edward made her want to live, really live again.

Bella was startled when someone knocked on the door to her bedroom. Aggravated, she scrambled to her feet and turned toward the door, prepared to tell Carlisle to fuck off. Though, when she opened the door, she was surprised to find Alice leaning against the door frame with a carton of ice cream in one hand and a bag of cookies in the other.

"Jasper's downstairs," she said, moving to close the door, but Alice stuck her foot out.

"I know. I came to see you," Alice replied, and before Bella could stop her, she was inside her bedroom. "I've always loved this room. Jasper told me how Charlotte refused to change it. You know, in case you ever came back."

Bella nodded and closed the door. "Why are you here, Alice? Did Jasper tell you to come up here?"

"No," she said, placing the ice cream and cookies on the bed before she turned and looked at her. "I want to get to know you, Bella, and I can't do that when you're running all the time. So, since Edward is working, I thought I would keep you company for a little while. You know, get to know the amazing B that Jasper and Rosalie talk about all the time."

"Amazing?" Bella scoffed, kicking off her shoes before she walked over and crawled onto the bed. She picked up the ice cream. "Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, huh? My favorite."

Alice grinned before she kicked her shoes off, and climbed onto the bed, too. She dug two spoons out of the bag, holding one out to her. "Charlotte told me."

Bella took the spoon and nodded. "So, Lottie sent you up here."

"She did," Alice laughed. "Well, not really. She's worried about you, and thought maybe you could use an unbiased ear."

"Unbiased, huh?" Bella helped herself to a spoonful of ice cream. "Has . . . has Jasper told you about my dad?"

Alice frowned, filling her spoon with ice cream as well. "He did."

"And you're still helping Edward take care of him."

She shifted her eyes up to Bella. "I am."

"How?" she asked. "How can you . . . you know what he did to me, right? You know how he . . . he beat me every day, right?"

"I do," she said again. "And I know about your daughter, about how you and Carlisle left town in the middle of the night, saved yourself from him."

"Saved myself?" she scoffed, helping herself to more ice cream.

"Will you . . . I want to tell you a little story, Bella. Will you let me?"

She nodded, causing Alice to smile.

"I don't know how much Edward has told you about our family, but he, Emmett, and Garrett grew up in this amazing, supportive household, but I did not."

"You didn't?" she whispered.

Alice shook her head. "I, um . . . No, I didn't, Bella. My dad and Edward's dad are brothers, and where his father is kind and compassionate and loving, mine was mean, cruel, and . . . a child molester."

Bella inhaled a sharp breath.

"He, um, started coming into my bedroom when I was five, and my mother pretended not to know, pretended that she couldn't hear me cry, pretended that the blood stains in my panties were normal, natural even. She . . ." Alice scrambled off the bed, bringing her hands up to her chest. "She never acknowledged what he was doing, never . . . not even when she walked into my bedroom while he was . . . while he raping me," she whimpered. "I begged her to stop him, begged her to help me, but she . . . she just left, closing the door behind her. And, um, a few minutes later we . . . we heard the gunshot." Alice brought her hand up to her mouth. "He . . . he scrambled out of the room, and I heard him screaming, 'No, no!' But I couldn't move. I couldn't move, Bella, because I was waiting for him to come back, to finish what he had been doing to me. But he never came back. I heard him crying and screaming, but he never came back for me. I heard sirens and the front door get broken in, but he never came back for me. I saw . . . I saw the police and paramedics hurry into their bedroom, but he never . . . he never came back for me. One of the police officers saw me, in my bed, my panties on the floor, my nightgown pushed upward," she cried. "And they wrapped me in a blanket and carried me out of my bedroom, downstairs, and outside to the ambulance. Right passed him. He never looked at me, Bella, never once looked at me."

Alice blew out a heavy breath. "They took me to the hospital and asked me the questions, you know? Who, when, where? I was so scared, so frightened, that I just laid there not saying a word. Not until the door to my room opened and my aunt and uncle were standing there," she cried, wrapping her arms around herself. "They came for me, Bella, while he never did. They held me when he never did. They loved me when he never did. With their help, I managed to tell the police what he had been doing to me for two years, six months, and eighteen days."

Alice walked back over and sat on the bed, folding her knees beneath her. "He was arrested, charged with sexual abuse of a child, child endangerment, and manslaughter in connection with my mother's suicide. We buried my mother, and my aunt and uncle took me in, gave me love and support, a safe place to . . . to, I don't know, heal, Bella. It took a long time, and a lot of therapy before I could even be in the same room with just my uncle. Edward stayed by my side for months, Bella. Months of me crying and scared of everything, everyone. He was my person, the only person that I could trust. When he met his wife, I . . . I was jealous," she whimpered with a laugh. "I thought he was replacing me with her, I guess. The night before their wedding, I locked myself in my hotel room and cried for hours until someone knocked on my door. When I opened it, Edward was standing there with a gallon of ice cream and a bag full of cookies," she giggled through her tears. "And he spent all night with me, reassuring me that no matter what he would be there for me, any time I needed him.

"When it as his turn to cry and scream, I was there for him, Bella, because Edward saved my soul so many times," she whispered, reaching over and taking hold of her hand. "And I know you're scared to let him in, to face your father, and why wouldn't you be? The man . . . the man hurt you so many times, but if you let us, let Edward, we'll hold you together, we'll love you though this."

"How did you let go of it? The pain? The . . . the anger?" Bella sobbed, pulling her knees up to her chest. "He could . . . he could have let me go, Alice. He never hid the fact that I ruined his life, that I took the love of his away just by being born, but instead of leaving me at a fire station, or giving me up for adoption, he chose to keep me, to . . . to hurt me every day. I don't know how to let that go, you know?"

Alice nodded. "You don't. I mean, you never really let it go. You learn to manage. I spent years in therapy, where they gave me a safe place to yell and scream, vent. Hell, I had a therapist who let me throw plates and glasses against the wall. It was oddly relaxing," she laughed before she said, "You're not alone, Bella. We all care about you, you're important to all of us."

"You don't even know me, Alice."

"No, I don't. Not really, but you're important to Jasper, and that makes you important to me." She smiled. "And you're important to Edward, so that makes you very important to me."

"He makes me feel again," she whispered, bringing her hand up to her chest. "Like really feel again, Alice. It's intense and it scares me, but I don't want to stop feeling again, because not feeling anything is . . . is worse than feeling everything."

"I know, sweetie. I know." Alice brought her hand up to Bella's face. "Now, enough heavy for a while, okay? Let's finish off the ice cream before it melts, demolish the cookies, and maybe binge watch some trashy chick flick."

Bella laughed and nodded. "That sounds really nice, Alice. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now, dig in. Melted ice cream sucks."

—You—

Bella waited until Alice passed out from pure exhaustion and too much junk food before she slipped out of her bedroom, snuck downstairs, and out onto the front porch. It was almost six in the morning, and a part of her needed to see him walk back out of that house. It was silly and stupid, but she needed the peace of mind.

She told herself not to go across the street to the house two doors down, but she couldn't stop herself. She wrapped her arms around herself as she walked over, feeling her heart racing, her legs shaking, and her hands trembling. She stopped at the curb, inhaling a deep breath before she stepped up and walked into the small, overgrown yard.

The door to the house opened and Edward hurried out. "Hey, you okay?"

Bella shook her head, placing her hands on his chest as soon as he got close enough to her. "No, but yes. Alice, um, kind of told me her story."

Edward tensed, his eyes flickering to Carlisle's house for a moment before he looked back at her. "She doesn't usually talk to anyone about him."

Bella nodded. "She's amazingly strong."

"She is," he agreed. "And so are you."

"Am I?" she asked, shaking her head. "I don't feel strong."

Edward grinned. "Yesterday you couldn't walk past the curb. Today, you're on the front lawn."

"So I'm strong because I managed to walk ten feet more than yesterday?"

"Yes." Edward leaned in, pressing his face against the side of her neck, inhaling a deep breath. "I'm glad you did, too. I've missed you."

"I missed you, too," she admitted. "Is . . . How much longer?"

"Not much. A day, maybe two," he murmured, leaning away from her.

Her eyes closed, and she released a heavy breath. "Is he in pain?"

"We're trying to keep him as comfortable as we can, but yes, he's in a little bit of pain."

She nodded, opening her eyes. "I should go."

Edward nodded. "My mom and dad are going to be here by four. Can I pick you up for dinner?"

"I don't know if I can meet your parents, Edward," she fretted. "This is all so new, so intense."

"Okay, that's fair," he said, sliding his hands from her hips around her back, pulling her body against his. "How about I sneak away? Pick you up for dessert?"

Bella smiled. "I could probably handle that."

"Seven work?"

She nodded. "Get some rest, okay? Promise?"

"I'll try," he said. "It'll be hard, though. Sleeping without you next to me."

Bella laughed, feeling her cheeks warm. "For me, too."

"I'll miss you, sweetheart."

"I'll miss you, too," she whispered, leaning up and pressing her lips against his. "More than I should."

Bella pulled herself out of his arms, turned, and hurried back across the street, two doors down. Pausing on the front porch, she turned and looked back, finding him still standing there, watching her. His grin grew as he lifted a hand and waved before he turned and hurried into the house.

Taking a deep breath, Bella turned and hurried into the house, pausing when she found Charlotte sitting on the stairs. She smiled and stretched her hand out to her. Tears filled Bella's eyes as she took Charlotte's hand, settling next to her.

"I'm sorry," she whimpered. "I didn't mean to cause so many problems for everyone."

"Oh, my sweet girl." Charlotte kissed the top of her head. "You didn't cause any problems. My son, on the other hand, is being an idiot." She sighed. "You're allowed to move on, to be happy, and if this Edward that I've heard so little about, makes you happy, gives you peace, then don't let my son take that away from you."

"I'm scared, Lottie," she cried. "I'm scared to let go. I'm scared to be happy again. I'm scared . . . that he's going to die and I'll never be able to move on. I'm just . . . I'm so scared."

"Me too, sweet girl." Charlotte tightened her arm around Bella, nestling her in her embrace. "But you know what?"

"What?"

"Finding the love you deserve is worth facing your fears."

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