Hi all! Probably won't update again for a few days, so merry Christmas! Enjoy!

CHAPTER TEN

CHARLIE'S POINT OF VIEW

I marked my daily tally on the wall. Day number 821 of this hell. 821 days since I had last seen my baby girl, 821 days since I had any freedom at all. Even longer since those monsters ruined my life.

I could still see them. Every time I closed my eyes, two bright red ones looked right back at me. They tortured me. They bore into me.

I tried to imagine the only light I ever had to hold onto. Every single day I thought of her. Every single day I longed to hold her. I had missed so much, and I tried to cling to the promise I made her that day in the court room as they tore her from me. It was as much for me as it was for her. "I'll see you again someday, Isabella. Daddy will always love you."

I smiled sadly to myself. I wasn't insane when the judge decided it, but I sure was now. She was two years older. Every birthday I had missed was another stab in the heart. If I ever saw the monsters again, I'd welcome death. It couldn't be any different than what I already felt everyday.

I heard a knock at the door before I heard it unlock. That was unusual, because they usually just barged in to give me my medicine. Not that the medicine worked, as I was falling apart more and more everyday.

"Mr. Swan?"

I looked at the visitor. It wasn't the doctor. It was a new face I had never seen before. "What?"

"You have a visitor today."

"No, that can't be right." No one ever came to visit me. I didn't have anyone who cared.

She looked at her clipboard to confirm. "Yes. It says right here, a Mr. Emmett Cullen and a Mrs. Rosalie Cullen."

I stared at her in confusion. "I don't know them."

She pushed her glasses back to where they had slidden off from. "Well that's neither here nor there, Mr. Swan. They signed up to visit you. Are you familiar with our visiting procedures?"

I shook my head.

"Well, they will come in and are free to stay without incident until visiting hours are over. However, if at any point you feel unsafe there is a panic button we will provide you with. If they feel you are a threat to their safety, they will alert us and we will be quick to remedy the problem. There will also be a guard outside the door in case it is necessary." I shuddered, remembering my outbursts when I first arrived. They had to subdue me several times.

"What time are they coming?" I asked, trying not to seem too eager.

"They will be here in 30 minutes. See you then, Mr. Swan." And she left.

The time ticked by slowly. I watched the slight movement on each hand of the clock until 29 minutes has passed. The last minute I spent pacing around my room, dealing with all the emotions I was facing. I was nervous. I didn't know these people, so what could they want with me? I was excited. Maybe God was granting me some form of hope through strangers. I was still empty though, because no matter what they couldn't give me back the last two years of my life.

At 10:30 on the dot, my door made noise once more. I turned to face these mystery visitors, and felt my jaw drop. In walked the woman from before, who carried a panic button as promised. But that's not what got me. Trailing gracefully behind her were two stunning creatures.

The pale white skin, the beautiful and mysterious aura, the grace... It was them. It was the monsters. My heart jumped a second time when I saw what followed the gorgeous blonde creature.

Bella.

My Isabella. She was looking at me. She was smiling at me. Everything stopped, and I crouched down to meet her as she was running up to me.

"Daddy!"

Hearing her say my name and cry happily into my shirt filled me up the way I never thought I'd be completed ever again. I had my daughter in my arms. This was the reunion I'd always wanted. I was then reminded that she was in the company of the monsters, and I quickly maneuvered her behind me.

"What are you doing with my daughter?" I asked them, trying not to show my fear.

They looked caught off guard, and scrambled to answer me. I didn't care. It wasn't good enough. "She's had enough of your kind in her life, she doesn't need any more monsters."

The blonde was dumbfounded. The man was stuttering.

"Daddy, they aren't monsters. They rescued me." I heard Bella defending them, and it sickened me even more. What had they done to my baby girl?

"She has met our kind before?" The man, Emmett I believe was the first to recover.

I smirked. "Didn't you ever wonder how her mother died?"

—

ROSALIE'S POINT OF VIEW

I didn't know what to say, but it all started to piece together in my head. Her obsession with vampires, her instant liking to us, even her father. He wasn't crazy. He clearly knew the truth about something the rest of the world wasn't able to accept.

"Before you judge us and I ask more information, I think it's fair for you to hear about us. We are not like the rest of our kind." I was careful not to say the word vampire, because so far we had danced around it and Bella was clearly emotionally observing from Charlie's arms. "We pursue animals instead of the usual choices. We value life and your daughter's life, particularly." I stopped, deciding it wasn't the best moment to tell him we were going to adopt her.

"Where did you find her?" He asked gruffly.

My face turned somber. "I was an employee at the orphanage she was placed in. I could tell you all the details, but they aren't anything I want her to have to listen to nor anything a parent wants to hear. Long story short, I rescued her from a beating and she has been living with me for the past few days."

I'd seen a lot of sadness in my life, but I had never seen a face as broken-hearted as Charlie's when he heard even the overview of Bella's misfortune. I was no empath, but I could feel his overwhelming guilt like he was throwing it at me. He turned towards her and softly said. "Bella, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry Daddy failed you." He cried into her as she had done only minutes before.

Emmett and I let them have that moment before we cut in. "Can we hear your story then?"

Charlie looked at us and sighed as he began to tell us the Swan family tale. He and his wife, Renee had gotten married right out of high school. They had Bella a few years later, and everything seemed to be perfect. "Everything was fine until that fall night. It started storming, and we lost power. Otherwise I like to think I would have seen some sort of sign. We were all huddled in the closet, hiding from the tornado. Then the door creaked open." He closed his eyes and willed himself to continue. Bella was looking at the ground in a somber fashion. I wanted so badly to go hold her, but I knew this is something she shared with Charlie. "Renee was the closest one. They killed her right in front of us. We never even got a chance to process what was happening. I assumed we were next, but put up a fight. I begged them not to hurt Bella, they realized how much agony I was in. How desperate I was. She decided to torment us instead of killing us. We moved around, and she followed. She found us wherever we were, and I slowly learned all about your kind along the way. I tried to warn everyone during Renee's murder investigation, but no one would listen. That's when they said I was crazy and brought me here."

I leaned down, unwilling to resist any more. "Bella honey, do you know what we are?"

She looked up at me. "You can't be the same."

Emmett tried. "Bella, you need to know something."

Charlie looked at her. "Bella, I don't know what is going on. But these people are like that woman with the red hair. They are-"

She cut him off. "Daddy, they are going to adopt me."

We sat and waited for his response. His eyes widened, we heart his heartbeat quicken. We prepared for a blow up.

It never came. "Bella, is it true that these people saved you? Do you believe they are monsters?"

She nodded. "They would never hurt me."

He looked deep into her eyes. "Baby, you need to know that I understand. I'm not angry or upset at you. I'm so proud of you, and if this is the last time I ever see you then I am grateful for the chance. Mommy and I will always be with you in your heart, and I'm glad you will have a new family if it means you won't be hurting anymore. I hope they can give you what I never could." Bella embraced him, grateful to hear it. We all were.

"My name is Rosalie and this is my husband Emmett. We will gladly bring her to see you from time to time, and we will help her write to you. We love Bella with everything we've got, and as you know we can never have children of our own. We will take care of her, Charlie." I hoped he could see on my face and hear in my voice how genuine I was.

Bella smiled at him and told him goodbye with a promise to write and visit often. Emmett helped her out of the room, and I was right behind them when I heard his small voice. "Wait."

I turned. My husband and soon to be daughter had already left. "Yes?"

"I need to tell you something. Those vampires are still out there. If they find Bella..." he trailed off, his voice breaking.

"Have they ever hurt her, Charlie?"

"The female bit her once. The man smacked her away, saying she was too young and sucked some of it out. They said they would come back later to finish the job."

My jaw dropped. That explained so much. Her intelligence, her beauty... And the way her wounds healed so quickly. It all made sense. She had vampire venom flowing through her. Not enough to change her, but enough to help her. My mind was screaming to talk to Carlisle.

"We will take care of them. Do you know their names?"

"Victoria and James. She has bright red curly hair, and he has long slicked back blond hair."

"Thank you Charlie. We will let you know when we get them."

"About that... I don't know if visits are a good idea. Please don't tell Bella... I have stage 4 cancer. I'm dying."

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