Hey people, I think I will be able to keep my updates up =) So ye, now that I am a bit more organised, I can write more! Oh, and from now on, I will mostly be writing in Bella's and Edward's point of view, so don't forget if you ever want a chapter transferred into a different POV, let me know!

Chapter 20

Bella POV

Charlie is my father. My real father. He killed Renee; my real mother. He ruined my life.

No. He is not my father. Carlisle is more of a mother to me and I have barely even spoken to him. Yet, he definitely feels more like my father and Esme, she surely feels like my mother. And the rest of the Cullens. They don't feel like siblings, they are siblings, except Edward. Edward is… more.

Oh how I wished I had thanked the Cullens for everything they had done. Too late now I guess. I won't even get to see them someday in heaven because I am heading to hell. I also ruined many lives; I got Renee killed and probably Jane too. Yes, I will definitely not see the Cullens again.

I was even more sure I was going to hell when all the pain reached me. Wasn't Satan supposed to greet you with a pitchfork saying; 'Now you must pay you debt for eternity' or something like that? Here, there wasn't anybody or anything, just pain and lots of it.

Soon after the pain, came the beeping. Oh no, I wasn't dead, I was in the hospital. I groaned, how on earth did I survive this time? Then I realised that being alive wasn't such a bad thing because I could see the Cullens again. I struggled to open my eyes.

"Ugh." Wow, can somebody turn off the light? It was as if somebody did actually hear me because the lights dimmed.
"Oh Bella, you're awake!" came a gentle yet extremely relieved voice from my bedside.
"E-Edward?" I asked hesitantly.
"Yes, I am here. Oh, I am so glad you are awake!" I finally was able to focus on his face; he looked worn out.
"How long?" He understood immediately.
"Only 5 days." I groaned. "Your body needed time to repair itself. Wait, just let me call the rest of the family, they are anxious to see your eyes open." He smiled. As if on cue, the whole family walked in. That's when it hit me- I was in the hospital. Marc. Slap. Kitchen. Gun. Confession. Knife. Phone. Black. I tried to take deep breaths, but was unable to. How much did the Cullens know? Where was Marc?

"Bella, calm down." I shook my head, but then a wave of calm hit me and I relaxed.
"Bella, it's okay honey." Jasper said as he sat by Edward on the right hand side of my bed. I don't know why, but him calling me 'honey' put me at ease.
"Oh Bella! How are you feeling?" Esme cried. I frowned slightly.
"Fine." I lied. I saw Jasper shake his head.
"No need to be brave dear. Let me get you some more pain medication." Carlisle said warmly. There was moment of awkward silence. How much did they know? How did I get here? How badly was I hurt? Carlisle cleared his throat; here we go…

"Well, I will tell you what we know and we will take it from there, okay?" I nodded.
"Five days ago- after you called Alice- we rushed to your house to find you alone and in a critical state." Alone? Where did Marc go?
"We brought you here immediately and you went into surgery. Your left arm is broken. You have four broken ribs and a gun-shot wound on your upper-right thigh. There were complications as one of your ribs punctured your lung." I gasped and he looked at me evenly.
"When the nurse cleaned you up, we found carvings at the base of your hairline." I ignored the impulse to feel the cuts. Then Carlisle's voice lowered and he looked sad, almost hurt.
"You were also hiding a significant amount of bruises." I took a sharp intake of breath as silence filled the room.
"Who hurt you Bellsy?" Emmett asked. I shook my head and everybody sighed.

"Where's my dad?" They seemed hurt by my question, but Alice answered.
"I am sorry Bella, but we can't find him or get a hold of him." I sighed in relief, maybe he can leave me alone now, maybe he thought I was dead.

Rosalie then decided to change the subject for me.
"So Bella, how about we play cards?" She was trying to diffuse the tension and I was very grateful.
"Sure." I smiled weakly. Carlisle then excused himself as he had to work and everybody else gathered around my bed. They had smiles on their faces, but it was forced. However, I could see that they wouldn't press for details now. It was kind of strange; they all surrounded me, but I didn't feel crowded or scared, even when we accidently touched hands.

For once, I felt loved.

Edward POV

As we played cars. Bella brightened up which made everybody happy although we weren't about to let Bella off the hook yet. She was unusually at ease; she didn't even flinch when our hands temporarily touched.

Surprisingly enough, Bella won the game, and none of us let her win. She smiled triumphantly for a few seconds before her face fell. We all looked at her in concern, but before anybody could say something, she whispered,

"Its Marc. He is the one who hurts me. He-he" She took a deep breath, "Marc abuses me and I want it to stop." Tears rolled down her face as we were all in shock.

Oh my baby! No, no, no! Abused by her-her father?! – Esme
He-he couldn't have… Who would do that?! – Alice
If I find him, I will tear him apart, that monster! – Rose
How didn't I notice this before?! Bella is determined to make this stop, no more fear… - Jasper
That's it! I will never leave her side again! NO ONE will hurt her again! – Emmett.

Carlisle had heard Bella from upstairs and came running down.
"Bella, are you ready to talk?" He asked urgently. She nodded hesitantly.
"Please just listen and don't hate me." She cried nervously.
"Never." I vowed, which seemed to comfort her slightly as she started her story. Everybody braced themselves in their minds; they had to keep calm, for Bella. They had to.

She told us the story from the beginning, including the bits we already knew. All our expressions distorted slightly when she mentioned the family that had found her when she was a baby- she had no clue it was us… I suddenly had an eureka moment; this was the vision Alice had had of Bella all those years ago of Bella dying near her 16th birthday, it was true all along.

Apparently, Bella only had five years of a normal childhood. I frowned, only five years of innocence. My family were all thinking more or less the same thing. Our faces became more and more tortured as she remembered the night her adoptive mother left.

"And so, we moved here. Here, where he has abused me daily ever since. But of course, I can't give him all the credit." She chuckled darkly without humour. "Jessica and Lauren probably gave m a quarter of my injuries and Tyler too from time to time. The rest of the school just watched." She had managed to stay emotionally detached at the start of her story, but now, her voice broke and fresh tears wet her cheeks. Anger clouded my vision, those idiotic vile children! Can't Bella ever get a break?!

Alice would have been crying if she could, she went to give Bella a hug. Bella didn't move away, but she did tense. I smiled a little, it was still improvement. We all sat in silence, just looking at Bella, her bruises, everything. Anger and hatred built up in me again as I looked at her battered and scared body. Marc will pay.

Edward stop! She feels self-hatred again! Stop, she thinks your hate is directed toward her. – Jasper

I immediately softened my expression and looked directly into her warm chocolate eyes.
"Bella, you don't deserve anything you have been through. You deserve friends. We are here and will always be. We will never hate you only what happened to you. We all love you." I said sincerely as my family nodded. I reached for her hand slowly' giving her time to pull away, but she didn't. I rubbed soothing circles on the back of her hand while my family comforted her.

By the time she was finally clam, it was time for dinner and a male nurse came in with her food. She automatically tensed and started to breathe quickly as he approached her. Jasper took the tray from the nurse's hands.
"Thank you very much." Jasper said and the nurse looked confused but nodded and left. Bella visibly relaxed once he left. I looked upon her with pity. Carlisle's thoughts suddenly turned speculative. He quickly blocked them from me- oh no.

"Bella?" Carlisle asked.
"Please don't Carlisle. Please don't ask." Bella begged probably guessing Carlisle's thoughts. What was happening? Carlisle's brow crumpled in sorrow.
"You know I have to." My father-figure said sadly before looking pointedly at the family. "Do you want them to-"
"No, please don't leave me!" She cut him off. My heart clenched at her tone; she needed us. I squeezed her hand as a reassurance that I wasn't going anywhere.
"You all love me?" she asked doubtfully.
"Of course!" Exclaimed Esme slightly taken aback.
"No matter what?" Bella practically mouthed.
"No matter what." We all said firmly. She closed her eyes and leant back on the pillow. She nodded; "Okay." Carlisle cleared his throat.
"Bella, has Marc ever hurt you in any other ways than violent abuse?" He asked slowly, already knowing the answer. Bella took a deep breath.

"Yes…" We all froze.

Sorry again for the short chapter, I know the last one was short too. The thing is, I am just a slow typer, so I think that most of my chapters will be about this length- sorry. However, it means that I will try to update more often =)

Thanks again for all your reviews- they are really appreciated!