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I am pleased to announce that this story has been nominated for Best All-Human in the Moonlight Awards! I am so flattered and excited! Please don't forget to vote!

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All in all this is a very important time for this fic. We're coming to the crux of the story, we've made it to over 250 reviews, we've been nominated for an award... It's all very amazing and awesome.

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They hit her.

More than that, they beat her.

Her beautiful face was in warped shades of purple, blue, black, and yellow. There was crusted blood under her nose and on her lip, and a little bit of it was sticking a piece of hair to her face. She had discarded a wet cloth, and I used it to lift that little piece of hair and wipe off the dried blood. We didn't talk – we barely even moved – she just let me clean her battered face. She was crying as I did it, and I think I probably was as well, but all I could focus on was her breathing. She was breathing, and she was okay, and that was the only thing that was keeping my intense rage at bay. My Bella needed me to be calm so that I could get her to sleep, safe and warm in her bed.

Cleaning her up took longer than expected and she actually looked worse by the end of it. Her eyes were swollen, her lip was split and there were just bruises all over. It was like they'd used her as a punching bag. Those fucking douchebag shit-sticks decided that because she wanted to tell the truth about their suspicious behaviour during what was meant to be her learning, they would teach her a lesson she would never forget. And it was so convenient that Carlisle had moved her to a room with an ensuite – there was no reason for her to leave. Carlisle would probably have planned to send Jasper up with food so that the two of them were the only people who saw her. The sneaky fucks were going to keep her from us under the guise that she was sulking because she was caught out on a lie.

"Edward?"

I shook my head slightly, broken out of my thoughts. "Yeah?"

"You didn't hear what I said," Bella mumbled, looking relieved.

"You didn't want me to hear?" I asked, confused. I set the cloth back down and helped her up. She winced as she stood, and I didn't even want to think about what harm they may have caused to the rest of her body.

"No, I was afraid that you were ignoring me." Her voice was thick, like she had a blocked nose and a sore throat, but the truth was right in front of me. Her nose was probably broken and she'd been crying for hours. She must have felt so betrayed and so confused. Who was I kidding? I had no idea how horrible she must have been feeling. I couldn't even comprehend it. Only Emmett would. "

"What did you say?" I asked, trying to look apologetic but throwing quick glances towards the door. I was considering getting Emmett but at the same time if I left now, there would be nothing to stop me from going into Carlisle's room and just outright murdering him in front of my mother. I had to stay and look after Bella, or I would do something regretful.

"I love you."

Those three words broke me. If there had been any question of me crying before, there was absolutely no question about it now. She had just been savagely beaten by two men who were supposed to love, teach and care for her and the first thing she thought to do was cover it up for them, and then she expressed her love for me – the one who was supposed to protect her and failed.

"C'mere," I blubbered, pulling her to me and burying my face in her hair. She struggled a little against me and as much as I wanted to hold her tight and just never let her go, I eased my grip and looked down at her. "I love you so fucking much, Bella. I really do," I whispered, wiping at my eyes. She brushed my hands away and gently dabbed at my tears. I don't know when she'd managed to get her hands on a tissue but there she was, drying my eyes all confused-like.

"Why are you sad?" she asked, pushing some hair off my forehead, one hand lingering on my cheek.

"I'm not sad, Bella. I'm just... overwhelmed. You are the most loving and caring person I have ever met in my entire life."

"Don't be sad, 'kay?"

"Okay," I chuckled. "Do you wanna talk about it?" I asked her, leading her over to the bed and peeling back the covers. She asked no questions when I slid in with her – she was probably overjoyed that I was going to stay all night – and told me that she didn't want to talk. I let her take her time curling up to me, as it was hard for her to get comfortable with all the cuts and bruises, and then I switched off the light.

I didn't sleep at all.

***

It was six in the morning when I heard it. The first stirrings in the household could be heard from underneath Bella's door as she snored lightly on my chest. I hadn't had a single wink of sleep, preferring to just comb through her hair and listen to her breathing – watching as her chest rose and fell in perfect time with mine.

A pair of footsteps lingered outside the door and the rage in me starting bubbling up as I thought of Carlisle standing there, plotting how best to keep this travesty a secret, but then I heard Esme's gentle sigh and the footsteps retreated. Sometime later, the front door shut and the gravel was crunching under someone's feet. I gently rolled out of bed and looked out the window to find Carlisle leaving in my Volvo. Immediately, my fists balled up and I had to train my eyes on Bella's sleeping form to calm down.

I crouched beside the bed and shook her awake. She grumbled something about morning cuddles that I didn't understand and she reached out for me and nuzzled into my shoulder. I smiled and kissed the top of her head, caressing her cheek softly.

"How are you feeling?"

"It hurts," she rasped, sitting up and stretching. She grimaced, the pain bothering her, and ran a hand through her forehead.

"Let's get you in the shower, okay?" I suggested, helping her up and guiding her over to the bathroom. I helped as she gingerly undressed and what I saw made me so full of blind, red fury that I almost took off on foot to the hospital. Carlisle would definitely pay. My Bella had grip-like bruises on her arms along with a myriad of pinpricks – no doubt results of all the tests Bella had been talking about. The rest of her body was painted with bruises, fresh purple covering parts of older faded yellow ones.

I couldn't talk. My jaw was clenched so hard that it was already starting to give me a headache. So I just switched on the water and helped her in. The only words I managed to get out were a promise that I would be back soon. I raced out of the room, down the stairs and into the kitchen. Esme's hand flew to her heart in surprise.

"Edward! You're in a hurry, where are you going?" She asked, turning back around and stirring her coffee.

"Nowhere."

"How's Bella?"

"I need to show you something," I said, trembling with anger. Something about my tone must have really gotten to her because she looked frightened as she agreed to come upstairs with me. "She wasn't lying, Esme," I told her, leading the way. Esme panted behind me, trying to keep up.

"Edward, I think she's just upset," she argued as we arrived in the bathroom.

"Really?" I asked, pulling back the shower curtain. Esme fell to her knees at the sight of Bella sitting in the shower like she always did, except covered in those horrific marks. "Look what they did to her."

"Honey I'm so sorry," Esme sobbed, but I didn't know who she was talking to. It didn't really matter. Maybe she was talking to the both of us. I left and got my cell, leaving Esme to care for Bella as I called Jacob. I was going to need every possible kind of reinforcement to help me get her out of here.

"Edward this isn't the best time." He sounded tired on the phone, but I didn't care. And I knew he wouldn't care in the end, either.

"It's Bella," I sighed.

"I'm on my way."

***

An hour later, the four of us were on Bella's bed. She didn't want anyone touching her but me, and I didn't want anyone else to touch her so we were both perfectly happy to just be in each other's arms. We let her explain everything that had been going on and I was disgusted with myself for not seeing it all sooner.

They had her strapped to a lie detector test every day, asking her questions about the past that she had never been able to remember. They took her blood and tested it. They strapped her to machines that monitored her brain and heart and asked her to do strange things like interpret inkblots or guess the suit or number of a hidden playing card. She told us all about the conversation she heard between Jasper and the people in the 'busy place' and from all we'd heard it became very clear that they all knew exactly what Bella was. They also thought that she knew what she was and was trying to hide it. They were trying to break her, and like the strong girl she was, she wasn't allowing herself to be defeated. She was holding on and not making things up just to satisfy them.

"You've been so brave," Esme whispered.

"I've been scared," she mumbled back, playing with my wristwatch. "Esme I have something else to tell you," she said, looking down into her lap as though she was ashamed.

"What is it, darling?"

"Edward stayed with me last night and I'm sorry for breaking your rules," she blurted out, blushing furiously. Jacob threw me a warning look, which I deflected with a quick shake of my head to indicate that nothing had happened between us. Esme merely tittered with soft laughter.

"That's alright, sweetheart," she assured. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"I'd like him to stay every night, please."

"I think that's out of the question, Bella, even with current situations in mind."

"What?"

"No, he can't stay every night. Maybe for a little while until you fall asleep," she compromised when Bella turned puppy-dog eyes on full power. "But he leaves once you're asleep," she clarified, looking at me more than her. I nodded in agreement. Did she know how hard it was for me to agree to that? Did she know why it was so hard for me to agree?

"Hey it's a Bella love-fest in here!"

Alice came skipping in from the hallway and stopped dead in her tracks.

"Alice, you need to leave."

"What happened to her?"

"Come on, Alice." Esme had gotten up and was trying to steer her out of the room, but Alice's feet stayed firmly on the ground where she stood.

"Alice?"

Jasper's voice sent a wave of hot fury coursing through my body, but Alice got to him before I could even pry myself from Bella's grip.

"What did you do, Jasper?"

"Alice-" Jasper couldn't even finish. He just held his hands up and kept shaking his head, backing up because all of us were killing him on the spot with our eyes. Out of the corner of my vision, I saw Alice's gorgeous little pixie face contort with rage.

"LOOK WHAT YOU DID!" she shrieked. "LOOK WHAT YOU DID TO HER!"

"Alice, I-"

"NO! There isn't ANY excuse for this! NOTHING, not ONE thing you can say is going to make this better."

"I didn't do this to her!" he spluttered, and Bella just whimpered into my chest, trying to hide from the conflict.

"GET OUT!"

Alice's words reverberated through the entire house. She stood there crying, pushing him away, beating at his chest with her little fists before weeping into Jacob's shoulder as Jasper backed out of the hallway and flew down the stairs.