A/N: And here's part two as promised :)

I do not own Twilight, but I own many paperclips :)

Happy Reading!

Frenchy_x

Chapter Fifteen: EPOV

I was crouched by Bella's sobbing form in the middle of the clearing gently rubbing her back and she got all the tears out of her system.

17 minutes later her sobs began to slow down and she looked up at me through tear filled eyes.

"I'm sorry" what was she fucking apologising for?

"You never have to apologise to me Bella. For anything." I still had one arm on the small of her back and before I knew it I was bringing my other arm back round to envelope her in a hug.

To my intense surprise she didn't cringe away. She fell into my arms gratefully and cried quietly against my chest.

She mumbled something against me that I didn't quite catch.

"Sorry Bella, what was that?" I pulled back slightly, keeping my arms around her so I could look at her face.

Shame washed over her features as she looked down in her lap "I..." she took a deep shaky breath, then looked me straight in the eyes "I cut myself" I saw three more tears brim over and fall down her face.

Taking one hand off her shoulder I swiped my thumb over her cheek, catching the tears and wiping them away.

"It's okay Bella, I'm not here to judge you" I smiled at her and hoped my face showed it's sincerity "I'm right here if you want to talk"

She looked taken aback at my comment and blinked a few times. I have expected her mouth to pop open.

"Edward" she whispered my name with so much emotion my chest constricted. She smiled slightly and shook her head. "If I tell you half of what's going on, you'll run away and not come back" She swallowed heavily "And I'm not ready for you to leave" She looked up at me and I swear I could see right into her soul.

She didn't want me to leave.

"That'll never happen, babe" I stroked her face softly "Promise" She leaned into my touch and nodded.

"It'll be easier if I start at the beginning" I nodded to show I understood.

I knew this was hard for her, but being honest I was fucking curious as anything to understand the elusive Bella Swan.

She swallowed hard sat cross legged on the ground and squared her shoulders.

"We're sitting in our meadow. Mine and Jakes." Who the fuck was Jake? Shit, did she have a boyfriend? No, she would've said...

"Jake was my whole world. He was my best friend. My only friend, really." She smiled fondly "He was brave, courageous, virtuous and honourable. He was my Jake" Her gaze fell into her lap and she barely whispered the last sentence "and that's what killed him."

Holy fuck...

"Oh My God, Bella! I'm so so-.." she held her hand up and interrupted before I could finish.

"If you care about me at all DO NOT say you're sorry." Her eyes held a fire I'd never seen before. She looked magnificent.

I just nodded and let her continue.

"Jake and my Dad were real close. Charlie was convinced we would end up married." She smiled "and it would have happened. Eventually" The image of Bella with another man force the air from my lungs. I closed my eyes and shook my head sharply.

"They went fishing every week down at La Push. I used to go with them but I was sick of falling in the lake" She laughed but it was dead. I noticed only then that she was telling this story as if she was reading it off a page.

No emotion.

Well that's a lie, there was plenty of emotion in her eyes. Just none in her voice.

"One Sunday they went to fish. They'd be gone all morning then they'd come home with a fish from the supermarket and try and pass it off as their own. They were never very good. They were always scared of hurting the fish with their hooks" There was the dead laugh again "They'd come home with the fish and I'd cook them lunch. Then when my Mom got home at three we'd all sit in the living room and watch a movie. Every Sunday. Until one Sunday, they just didn't come back..." her voice was raw by the end and she was shaking. I wanted to touch her, hold her, comfort her but I didn't know if she'd appreciate it.

But I had to know.

"Wh-What happened?" My voice was deep and embarrassingly it cracked. Her eyes flashed up and met mine.

"A little girl fell in the water. Her mother was looking the other way and didn't notice. Jake dived in to try and save her, he got her to the surface but his leg was caught in a pond weed. My Dad drowned trying to save him, even though it was far too late. He was dead before Dad even hit the water." Her eyes were filled with so much pain that I couldn't sit back. I leaned forward and crushed her to my chest.

My touch seemed to break a dam and she broke down in my arms. Sobbing, convulsing, grieving.

She had lost so much. My heart ached for her. I rocked her gently.

"And the little girl?" I had to know, had his sacrifice been worth it?

How she managed to speak through her sobs was beyond me. But she did.

"She lived... She had a... sore throat for a...a... couple of days and that w-was that. She never even knew...Ja-... who saved her. She calls him an..an angel."

"You know her?" My voice sounded incredulous.

"Not really," she sniffed and shook her head "but.. we all know h-her sister." I was puzzled.

"Who?"

"Jessica Stanley"

Jessica fucking Stanley.