Before we get started I would like to make a comment to one of my reviewers. The review was anonymous but she called herself (Anna). DING DING DING! You win the state game. Although I think you need to add one more season, we definitely have a sub-season called "Mosquito" in there somewhere and I most certainly will be putting Bella and Edward with Nat and Tab. They're probably my favorites out of all of the show choreographers after Tyce. I love Tyce!

~All my love and thanks to my bombdigity Beta!!! We don't generaly find all of the mistakes until after I've posted the chapter, but it would be worse without her help.

Chapter 21- Bad crowd

POV: Bella

The ride back to the hotel was quiet. Everyone was coming down from their adrenalin highs and the week of work was taking its toll on everyone. Even Alice was quiet in her seat as she dozed off with her head against the cold bus window.

Tomorrow morning would be time for everyone to work on individual solo routines. We wouldn't know until the show, who was in the bottom three couples but everyone had to have a piece ready just in case it was them.

The bus pulled up in front of the studio and everyone grabbed their things and headed inside. Emmett was trying to get plans together for a party on the seventh floor for anyone who wanted to come. I scowled at him when his back was turned. A party on the seventh floor meant Edward wouldn't be able to come down and stay with me. Emmett would expect him to be at his party.

I put my costume box away and changed out of my Bollywood costume. Alice's energy had returned as she, Jane and Leah talked about the party Emmett was pulling together.

"Bella, are you going to come hang out upstairs?" She asked me as I put my costume away in my box so that Max could unpack it tomorrow.

"I don't know Alice. I'm kind of sleepy. There's a lot of work to do tomorrow before the show."

She frowned. "Oh come on Bella, it'll be fun. You could hang out with Edward." She added trying to sweeten the pot so I would join her.

I little light bulb went off above my head and I half expected the others to see it. Emmett would expect Edward upstairs at his party and because of that fact I knew he wouldn't be able to come down to my room tonight. That didn't have to stop me from going up to his room though.

"Ok, Alice. I'll come up in a little bit. I'm going to get changed first."

She smiled. "Me too, I'll see you up there."

I found Edward in the hall outside of the costume shop talking to Emmett. He waved Emmett off and fell into place next to me as I started up the stairs.

"I won't be able to sneak down tonight. Emmett's expecting me upstairs." He said once the door was closed behind us and no one would be able to overhear us.

I nodded. "Would you be against me sneaking up?"

He hesitated for a second and I hoped I hadn't over stepped my place. I certainly wouldn't force myself on him. I glanced up at him and felt my traitorous cheeks burn. I caught his eye and a small smile pulled at his mouth.

"I would like that very much Bella, if you wouldn't feel uncomfortable."

We were stopped outside of the door to the sixth floor. I pushed the door open and smiled back up at him.

"I've never felt uncomfortable with you, Edward. I'll be up in a little bit."

"I'll see you soon."

He turned and started climbing the stairs to the next floor. I watched until he was out of my sight before slipping into the hall. The hall was empty but some of the doors were propped open and I could hear the others girls as they changed for the party.

I changed into a pair of lime green cotton shorts and a white long sleeved shirt. I ran a brush through my hair and decided to reject my shoes altogether. I bumped into Alice in the hall. She had changed her clothes and a big smile was plastered on her face.

"Bella, ready for the party?"

"Can we really call it a party? Emmett only started planning this gathering an hour ago."

"I think you'll be surprised." She said with a smile as she pushed the door out of our way.

I could feel the pulse of music grow as we got closer to the door to the boys floor. I opened the door and felt my jaw drop. All of the doors to the boys rooms were propped open and decorations had been hung across the hallway.

Speakers were lined up in the hallway and music was playing in the back ground. Several of the dancers were mingling in the hallway and even more could be seen inside some of the bed rooms. A table had been set up with snacks and there was a cooler with drinks. I wasn't sure I wanted to know how he had done it.

Edward came out of his room and found us standing in the hall.

"What do you think ladies?"

Alice jumped forward and nodded approvingly as she took in the decorations. "Very nice for how last minute this was. I probably could have done better." She walked off and vanished into one of the bedrooms.

"How did he do it?" I asked taking another step forward.

Edward shrugged his shoulders and I followed him down the hall and into one of the bed rooms.

"There are some things we just don't ask."

I wasn't sure whose rooms this was but they had set a dartboard up above the bed and Jake was competing against Laurent. I knew the gist of how to play darts. You throw the little arrow at the board and score points. That was about the extent of my dart knowledge.

I watched with Edward and some of the other dancers as Jake beat Laurent and then started hunting for a new challenger.

"Bells, you want a go?"

He held out the red arrows in my direction.

"I can't play darts."

"Oh come on, it's fun."He said shaking the arrows in my direction again.

Edward nudged me forward a step. "Go on Bella, try it."

"Fine."

There was some cheering and I was pulled up onto the end of the bed with Jake. You had to keep one foot touching the back head board at all times. Who ever had the dart closest to the center would be declared the winner.

"Ladies first." Jake said waving his arm out for me to go.

I tried to brace myself on the bed but Jake was moving around and I was having trouble keeping my balance on the soft mattress. I pulled the small dart back and let loose with everything I had. The dart flew forward and stuck with a dull thud.

The room burst into laughter. My little red dart was stuck in the wall next to the dart board. Jake moved closer to my side and hooked an arm over my shoulders.

"Hey B, you're supposed to hit the board, not the wall."

I elbowed him in the side.

"If you're so smart you do it."

"With pleasure."

Jake set up his dart and as he moved to throw it I jumped on the bed. Jake lost his balance and fell. I laughed long with the rest of the room as he got back up on the bed. His arrow had flown off to the side bounced off the wall and fallen on the floor.

"That's dirty fighting." He accused me with a scowl.

"At least I managed to hit the wall."

"You're up, no more tricks."

"Deal."

My next dart hit the outer rim and I cheered.

"I hit the board!"

Jake got one in the row next to the bullseye. He cheered and I set up my next dart. By the end of the game I had two darts in the wall and another on the floor. Jake had managed to get all the rest of his near the center but never actually hit it.

"Good game Bells."

I rolled my eyes. "You trounced me, Jake."

"What can I say, I've got a gift. Any one else want to try and take on the master?"

There was some whispering around the room. Jake had slowly been gathering an audience and no one seemed willing to take him on.

"I'll do it."

Edward stepped forward and offered me his hand as I jumped down from Jake's bed. Edward took my darts from me and jumped up next to Jake.

"You play darts Cullen?" Jake asked sounding surprised.

Edward shrugged. "When Emmett's your older brother, you learn a thing or two about party games."

"You can go first then." Jake offered.

Edward nodded once and braced himself on the bed. He selected one of the darts and sent it flying towards the board. There was a thud and some small cheers. Edward had hit just a few rows from the middle. It was better than the wall.

Jake smiled. "You're better than Bells at least."

"Hey!" I said offended as he picked fun at me. "Watch it."

"I'm just playing with you Bella." He said smiling sheepishly at me.

Jake and Edward battled it out, each round they got closer and closer to the center without ever hitting it. They were both down to one dart when Emmett walked in.

"Aw Jake you challenged Eddie. Your doomed. He's great at this game." Emmett said smiling proudly up at his little brother.

"Not doing so hot right now." Jake pointed out nodding towards the board. Emmett glanced at the board and scowled.

"Edward what the hell are you doing? I taught you better than that. Cream his ass allready."

Edward lined up his last dart and sent it hurtling towards the board. There was a thud and the room cheered as the little red feather stuck in the center of the board.

"I was building tension."

Jake used his last arrow but missed the center. The room cheered and Edward was labeled the new darts king of the seventh floor.

He jumped down from the bed and we made our way back into the hall. For the next two hours we mingled with the other dancers. Ate the food Emmett had made appear out of thin air and danced around in the hallway.

It was almost one when dancers started heading down stairs for bed and I slipped into Edward's room when no one was watching. His room was simple, all of the bed rooms were set up the same. There were no clothes on the floor and his suit case was shoved under his bed.

Edward was in the hall saying good night to everyone and letting the other dancers see that he was alone. Hopefully anyone who thought about it would think I had already gone down to bed. It felt kind of strange sneaking around, especially since we weren't doing anything but we had both agreed that we didn't want the other dancers to know how close we were.

I turned off the lights and slid under Edward's covers. The long day was catching up with me and if he didn't hurry up I was going to fall asleep before he even got in here. I stuck my nose in his pillow and smiled to myself. I should have thought about this a long time ago. His bed smelled amazing.

The door to Edward's room opened, then closed with a click. I could hear as he kicked off his shoes and then crossed the room to his bed. He rolled under the covers and I sighed as he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me against his chest. This was nice.

I didn't remember falling asleep but I would remember waking up in Edward's room for a long time. The clock said it was almost six. Not only had I managed to sleep through the entire night but now we were late.

"Edward" I sat up quickly and shook his shoulder.

He jumped and his arms tightened around my waist as he pulled me closer to him. "What's happening?"

"We're late it's almost six."

I rolled out of bed and hurried over to the door. I could hear people in the hall, I was trapped.

"Let me check." Edward opened the door and glanced out into the hall.

"Morning Edward, you slept in today."

"I was really tired. I'll see you guys downstairs."

He shut the door quickly before anyone else could talk and shot me a sorry look. "Emmett, Jasper and Erik are all in the hall."

I rolled my eyes "Great."

He shrugged. "So we'll be a little late for breakfast. We have the morning to ourselves to work on solo's. so it's not like anyone's waiting for us."

That was right. We didn't have to be right down today. "I forgot about that."

"They should clear out in a little bit."

I wandered back into the room and sat on the edge of Edward's bed. I pulled myself back and stuck my legs under the covers, it was still warm. I yawned and Edward smirked at me.

"Sleepy?"

I shrugged and rolled my neck wincing as it cracked. "A little bit. I'm sore."

He nodded. "I know what you mean." He stretched his arms above his head and his shoulders popped. I winced at the sound.

"Doesn't that hurt?"

"Not really."

Edward joined me back on the bed and snuggled against my side. His hair was a mess and I tried to work it flat with my fingers. He groaned into his pillow and I stopped, my fingers still twisted in his strange colored hair.

"What?"

"That feels amazing." His voice was muffled by the pillow and I started moving my fingers again. His hair was really soft, I was almost jealous. I moved so I was sitting on his back and let my fingers fall from his hair to his neck.

I worked the muscles on his neck and in his shoulders until I couldn't find anymore knots. By the time I was done it was 6:30 and the hallway was empty. Edward got dressed quickly and walked me down to my room so I could change.

I pulled on some clean clothes and brushed my hair out. We were easily the last ones down to breakfast. I grabbed a bagel and some orange juice. Edward and I slid into a table where Emmett, Alice, Erik and James were sitting.

"Good morning everyone." I said happily, trying not to notice the odd looks they were throwing us.

"Morning Bella." Alice said without looking up from her paper. The others brushed off our late entrance and said their own good mornings.

"Did Dad get a chance to talk to you last night Edward?" Emmett asked Edward. I kept my eyes on my bagel but I was all ears. I hadn't been able to stop thinking about the conversation Edward and Carlisle had shared at the studio.

Edward nodded. "Yeah, he talked to me."

"What did you think?" Emmett pressed. I glanced up at him, trying to use my hair as a shield. Edward shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know."

Emmett didn't press any farther and I wanted to kick him under the table. What had Carlisle talked to Edward about? Why was it a secret? Why did I care so much? It wasn't any of my business what Edward and his father had talked about. Why did I have to be so nosey?

I ate quickly and slowly the lounge thinned out as people left to claim work space in the open studios. I dumped my things and waved quickly at Edward before heading out into the hall. I stuck my ear buds in my ears and started flipping through my music trying to find a song for my solo.

I stuck my head inside the nearest studio. Victoria was stretching in the corner, taken. The next two studios I tried were also taken. I climbed up to the fifth floor and started searching the studios there. Alice was working in the first one but the second one was empty.

I plugged my I-pod into the speaker system and was about to turn the music on when I heard something outside the open window. I crossed over to the far corner of the room and glanced out. I was high enough to see over the nearest building but not high enough to clear the city line. Just off to the side of the window was a section of roof that probably covered the warehouses for the prop and costume shops. At first I blamed the noise on a bird but then I caught sight of Rosalie.

She must have crawled out the window because she was lying on the roof. Her head phones were plugged in so she hadn't heard me enter the room and it looked like she was crying. I tried to be quiet as I climbed up onto the window ledge but she glanced in my direction anyway.

"Bella?"

I wobbled a little on the window ledge and jumped to the open patch of roof. Rosalie reached out and grabbed my arm pulled me away from the edge. I scrambled closer to her and plastered my back against the wall. I'd never been afraid of heights but the space we were sitting on was only about six foot by five foot. One wrong move and it was bye bye forever with a five story fall.

"Hi Rosalie." I said with a smile trying to dispel the shiver of fear curling in my stomach.

She hurried to wiep her face and shoved her I-pod in her pocket. "What are you doing out here Bella?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "You looked like you could use someone to talk to."

She shrugged and turned away from me, moving so her back was pressed against the wall next to mine. "I'm fine."

I nodded but didn't say anything. We sat there for a long time, Rosalie was lost in her thoughts and I waited to offer my support if she wanted it, my promise to Jasper ringing through my ears. He had asked me in secret to be there for Rosalie if she wanted to talk and that was exactly what I was going to do.

"Bella?"

I glanced over at Rosalie. She was watching her hands as she wrang her fingers together.

"Yes?"

She glanced over at me and for the first time since I met her, Rosalie didn't look confident or strong. She looked scared and almost broken. "We're friends right?"

I nodded. "I'd like to think we're friends Rosalie."

"Please, call me Rose then. The people who are closest to me all call me Rose."

The only person I could ever remember calling her Rose was Jasper.

"Ok, Rose."

She smiled. "I can talk to you right Bella?"

"Of course."

"And you wouldn't tell anyone right? I mean if I asked you not to you would keep it a secret."

She had gone back to watching her hands.

"If you asked me not to, I'd never tell anyone."

"Even Edward?" She asked looking back over at me.

I nodded. "We don't tell each other everything. I would keep it a secret if it was important to you." Like he was keeping secrets from me. It was none of my business what Edward and Carlisle had been talking about but it was the first thing he hadn't openly told me about. Then again it was also true that I hadn't openly asked him about it.

She nodded again. "Good because it involves Emmett and I don't want Edward to know about this. They're a lot closer than most of the people here know."

I nodded again. I'd sensed a strong underlying connection between Emmett and Edward. They joked around on the surface and poked fun at each other but I was willing to bet they'd take a bullet for the other if that was needed.

Rose was twisting a piece of her hair in her fingers and she chewed on her lip before continuing. "It's not really about Emmett, he's great. I'm the one with the problem and I don't know what to do about it."

"Do you think I could help?" I asked scooting closer to her.

She shrugged. "I don't know if anyone can help me. It's something I need to work through myself, but maybe having one person in the house other than Jasper to talk to would make it easier. Don't get me wrong," she added, quickly glancing over at me. "Jasper's the greatest. He's always looked after me. He's been the best older brother anyone could ask for and so much more. I never deserved all of his kindness, not after some of the things I've done to him."

She turned away from me and stared out over the city in front of us. I didn't say anything, letting her sort out her thoughts for herself. She took a deep breath and continued.

"I suppose I should start at the beginning. You know that Jasper and I are twins right?"

I nodded. That much I did know.

"He's older than me by about seven minutes. That's not a lot of time, seven minutes, but it's the base of my whole relationship with Jazz-" She paused again and giggled before glancing over at me with a small smile. "Don't call him that unless he tells you, you can. He'll say he doesn't like it but it's not true. As far as I know I'm the only one who can get away with calling him Jazz. I have ever since we were little kids.

"Anyway, he's only older than me by seven minutes, buthe's always been the big brother and I was his little sister. He protected me, and when our parents died he was the only one I had left. We took care of each other but he was the one who always held us together.

"After our parents died our whole lives changed, we got bounced around from foster home to foster home. I remember this one time Jasper had an interview with this young couple. The woman couldn't conceive and they wanted a son who was a bit older. We were probably twelve at the time. I was walking past the room they were in and I over heard them talking to Jasper so I stopped to listen. I couldn't believe what I heard, they wanted to adopt him. They were so excited about it and I really was happy for him. Jasper was everything they had been looking for in a son and they thought it was a perfect match. They had a small home in Ohio with a lot of land and apparently the man's older brother had a son about Jasper's age.

"I remember standing in the hallway, crying over the farm they told him about. It sounded like a dream home, after what we'd been through, and he was going to get to live there. Jasper asked them about me and they said they hadn't planned on adopting two children. They didn't have the money or the bed space for a second child right now. They only wanted Jasper. He said no instantly. He refused to let them adopt him because I couldn't go with him. The woman taking care of us asked him to think about, to sleep on it before he turned down their offer, but he was very quick to say that he would never leave me behind.

"He gave up a home and a family that could have been everything we had been looking for. Later that night when I asked him about his interview he simply said it hadn't worked out and that the family had decided to look at another foster home. He shrugged it off and played it up like it was no big thing for him to throw a whole future away. To this day he still hasn't told me about the family he turned down for me and he doesn't know that I know what he did for me.

"We continued moving around the states, never staying in one place too long. As soon as we turned eighteen we took off without a second thought. They couldn't keep us at the foster home against our wishes and we both had acceptance letters to go to a big school in Austin, Texas. We took jobs on campus and took out student loans. We were going to work our way through school and then get our lives under control. We could be independent now, we had each other and we didn't need anyone else to take care of us."

She shook her head and chuckled softly at something she was remembering. "I was so damned cocky."

She paused again before continuing and I had a feeling she was cutting parts out of her story for my benefit.

"Let's just say I didn't adjust to the new freedom as well as Jasper did." She glanced over at me again and I had a feeling this was where her story took a turn for the worse.

"I mentioned before that I fell in with a bad crowd. I started hanging out with the wrong kids in school. Eventually my grades started slipping and I stopped caring if they fell or not. I started skipping work and acting up. Jasper was always on my case, trying to get me to study, trying to pull me away from my new friends."

She shook her head and rubbed at her eyes. I didn't say anything, but I scooted closer to her side so she would know I was here for her. She took a deep breath before continuing with her story.

"Looking back now I know he was just trying to help, but at the time it felt like he was trying to control me. I snapped at him more than once, told him to mind his own business. I said I didn't need his help and that I didn't want him to look after me anymore. I was a big girl now and I was so convinced I knew what was best for me. The closest of my new friends and easily the worst of them all was a boy named Royce King."

She shivered next to me and I watched as she locked her jaw. She wasn't crying anymore, I couldn't see any emotion on her face other than rage. She clenched her fists and locked down her other emotions so I wouldn't see them.

"When I first met him, Royce looked like everything I wanted to be. He was independent, intelligent when it came to people, he had his own place. I thought he was living the dream life. No one told Royce King what to do. He was his own person and he made his own rules. He was so handsome and he liked me. I didn't look twice before I fell head over heels for him.

"Royce was dealing some bad things, I knew that. Contrary to what Jasper would have told you at the time I wasn't blind. It didn't bother me that Royce was dealing because I was one of his main buyers. He gave me a discount because I was his girl. He always took our group out to clubs and bars and parties. I was the trophy girlfriend and he loved going out with me on his arm. I liked it too. Royce was a bad boy and there was a lot of attraction in that after the life I'd lived before. Always having to follow rules, never having a say in where Jasper and I were shipped off to next. I liked being in control and that's what I thought I had with Royce.

"I got involved with drinking and every kind of drug you can imagine. I went easy on Emmett at that club Alice brought us to. If I had wanted to I could drink him and any other man under the table without breaking a sweat. I knew Royce had a way with people. He was a charmer and good at speaking. He twisted transactions to his advantage. He manipulated the people who worked for him and I was naïve enough to think I was immune to his power. I thought he would never pull those tricks on me.

"Jasper tried to tell me that Royce was no good.I ignored him. When he pressed me to stop seeing Royce, I snuck out of the apartment we were sharing and went out with him. The harder he pulled, the more I fought back. Jasper even tried to ban me from seeing him. I yelled at him some more and when he tried to physically stop me from going I actually struck him."

She shook her head and I saw a tear break from her solid outer control. She sniffled and continued her story without ever looking over at me. In a way I was glad she didn't look at me. I wasn't sure what emotion she would see on my face. I was in shock. I never would have guessed that this was the kind of life Rosalie and Jasper had lived and I had a feeling the worst was still to come.

"I still can't believe I actually hit Jasper. I did more damage to my hand than I did to his face, but the fact that I would strike the one person who took care of me...well I can't believe it now. After I hit him, he stopped fighting me and let me go. I ran out the door and didn't look back. I called Royce and asked him to come pick me up. I didn't have any close girl friends and I needed a place to stay the night.

"Royce came and got me and seemed only too thrilled that I wanted to spend the night at his house. I was emotionally fried and not in the mood for anything other than a hot shower and a nap. Royce wasn't as thrilled with my 'don't mess with me attitude'. He said that I needed to loosen up and forget about my brother.

"After a few drinks I was feeling better and he was feeling very relaxed. Royce and I had always had a hands on relationship but we'd never gone all the way. I was still young and the thought of giving myself to Royce, or anyone for that matter, felt like falling back into a trap. I wanted to be with Royce, I liked the fact that he was there for me, and he was an escape from my life but I wasn't ready to sign on to any level of real commitment.

"As the night wore on Royce got more aggressive and I continued to push him away. I told him that he was drunk and he should go to bed, I told him I was tired and wanted to sleep. Nothing kept him away for long. Eventually I decided going home and sneaking in my bed room window was better than staying with Royce that night. Royce didn't agree with my going home so he wouldn't drive me back to my place. That left me with only one option.

"I sent Jasper a text and asked him to come and get me because I decided fighting with him was better than staying with Royce. Jasper had needed to pick me up from Royce's house a few times so he knew where it was. Royce got angry. He said that I owed him and that it was time to pay up. I started to feel caged again so I got angry right back. I said that I didn't owe him squat and that if I wanted to go home I was going to leave. I wasn't his property and he couldn't control me.

"I knew he was wasted, and I shouldn't have pushed him so hard but by then I was tired and I didn't care. Royce was an angry drunk. He started yelling and we got into our biggest fight yet. Jasper texted me back just as things started to get more heated and it threw Royce over the edge. He hit me and said that I could leave only when he told me I could go. He said Jasper was not welcome at his home and that if I knew what was good for him I would tell him not to come over."

She snorted and flicked her hair over her shoulder. She glanced over at me and shrugged one of her shoulders.

"I bet you can guess how I handled that statement."

I nodded. If I had learned anything about Rose from this conversation it was the fact that she didn't like cages. If Royce had tried to stop her from doing what she wanted it would have gone from bad to worse. "I can imagine."

She turned away from me again and I listened intently as she continued talking.

"I pushed him back and said that I could do what ever I damned well pleased. I got my phone back out and called Jasper. I was going to ask him to step on the gas and I thought being on the phone with him would make Royce more likely to let me go. Royce was good at doing things under the table. He wasn't as bold when there were witnesses around. I never guessed how violently he would react to my disobedience.

"I never even got a chance to speak to Jazz. Just as Jasper answered my call Royce attacked me. He tackled me to the ground and my phone slid out of my reach. I started yelling and he started yelling. I tried to fight him off and I called Jasper's name hoping he would come and save me again."

She paused and glanced over at me, seeing how I was taking her revelation. I wasn't sure what she saw on my face but she nodded along and I could tell she was editing again.

"I won't go into detail about what happened. I wasn't strong enough to fight off Royce. The harder I struggled the harder he hit back. I remember crying out in pain and watching as he smiled down at me. He liked that, the sound of my pain. I didn't find out until later but Jasper heard the whole thing. He'd listened over the phone as my world came crashing down on top of me and the man I'd trusted with everything raped me.

"Jasper raced to Royce's house as fast as he could. I heard him pull up and I called out for him. I remember hearing him pounding on the door as he called out my name. Royce was so smug about it.

"'It's too late for him to save you. He'll never get in the door. You're not going anywhere.'" She mimiced Royce with a sneer on her face.

"I don't know how he did it, some combination of fear and adrenaline probably, but somehow Jasper managed to break the lock on the door. I remember hearing it crash open and Jasper tackled Royce while he was still on top of me. They rolled away and I remember trying to get up. Later I would learn that I had a broken wrist and four broken ribs but at the time it felt like everything was broken.

"Trying to sit up hurt so badly that I blacked out for a few moments. I couldn't have been out long but when I woke up Jasper and Royce had gotten to their feet. They were still fighting and I remember screaming at Royce to stop. The screaming hurt almost as bad as moving did. I was having trouble breathing.

"When I screamed out it was like they suddenly remembered I was still in the room. Royce tried to get back to me but Jasper jumped on him again. Somehow I managed to roll over and I was trying to get to my phone on the other side of the room.

"During all of the chaos, Royce managed to get his hands on the bottle of wine we had emptied earlier. He broke the bottom off against the wall and I very distinctly remember the sound of the glass shattering and the sound as it rained down on the floor around me. Despite his best effort to keep Royce away from me Jasper was losing ground and now Royce had a weapon.

"Royce lunged at me and Jasper threw himself in front of me. I remember screaming again when Royce stabbed Jasper but he didn't make a sound. I don't think he even realized what had happened right away. He was so concerned with keeping Royce away from me."

She glanced over at me and brushed her hair behind her back so that I could watch her fingers as she traced the top of her rib cage.

"Jasper has a scar on his chest, along the top of his ribs from the broken bottle. He's never shown it to anyone as far as I know. He's very self conscious about it. He's always tried to keep it hidden because when people see it they ask what happened and he holds my secret very dear to him. He doesn't like to appear weak anymore than I do and I think he still blames himself for what happened to me. He's convinced he should have done more to protect me.

"After he stabbed Jasper, Royce let go of the bottle and Jasper managed to throw it out of reach. Royce and Jasper started fighting again and I remember freaking out at all of the blood on the floor. I knew some of it was mine from before Jasper showed up. My cheek was bleeding and I had some gashes on my legs and hands from my fight with Royce but most of it was Jasper's. I remember watching as the color of his shirt slowly changed where the blood was soaking it."

I shivered. What she was describing sounded like a scene out of a horror movie. I couldn't believe she had actually lived through it and it explained why she and Jasper always seemed more distant than the others. She must have felt me shiver because she placed her hand on top of mine and squeezed it softly before continuing with her horror story.

"Royce kicked Jasper's leg out from under him and Jasper fell pretty hard. I remember being afraid that Royce would gain the upper hand while Jasper was down. Then he surprised me by running away. I was confused. I tried to get over to where Jasper was while he was trying to get to his feet. I was trying to tell him to get away while he still could and he was telling me to run away. Maybe he hadn't noticed I couldn't walk but I was having enough trouble breathing while I slid across the floor that running wasn't an option for me but I had hoped he would still be able to get back to the car.

"Royce came back and I didn't notice until it was in my face but he had brought a gun with him. He said that he was sick of me and that I was more trouble than I was worth and he would be able to replace me with someone who could keep him satisfied. He asked us who wanted to go first, like being able to decide who would die first would make us feel better. I begged him to let Jasper go and he said that he didn't take requests from whores.

"I don't really remember how it happened. Royce pulled the safety on the gun and held it to my head. I remember trying not to cry because I didn't want him to have the satisfaction of seeing how afraid I was of him. Somehow Jasper must have gotten his feet back under him because he lunged at Royce and knocked him away from me again.

"I remember screaming as the gun discharged and trying to crawl away as they fought over it. I don't know what happened next but I must have finally blacked out. I woke up screaming in a hospital with a nurse standing over me trying to hold me down as she told me I would be all right. I was sore all over and I burst into tears as soon as I remembered what happened.

"I asked her where Royce was. I told her that Jasper had been injured and he needed help or he was going to die. I wanted to know if he was ok and where he was. I didn't know where I was or how I had gotten there and there was an IV in my arm. Needless to say I was freaking out just a little bit.

"My nurse asked me to calm down. I remember yelling at her. I was so sick of people telling me what to do and now all of my frustration was attacking the one person with in range. I apologized later for my outburst but it took her close to five minutes before I would shut up enough for her to tell me she was going to get a doctor who would tell me about Jasper.

"She led a doctor into the room. I don't remember his name. The doctor told me that I was ok and I snapped at him too. I knew I was ok. I was breathing and as far as I was concerned that meant ok in my book. I demanded he tell me about Jasper and I started freaking myself out because I thought they were trying to avoid telling me about him.

"He told me Jasper was ok but I needed to talk to a couple of police officers and they were waiting outside, if I was up to it. I asked him if I could see Jazz and he said I could once he woke up. I didn't want to go back to sleep so I told him I would talk to the officers. He let in a man who introduced himself as Officer Donovan. He asked me to explain what had happened at Royce's house and asked me about Jasper's role in the attack.

"Once I was done giving my testimony he told me that Royce was dead. Apparently during the fight Jasper had gotten the gun away from Royce and ended up shooting him. The police had shown up a few moments later, Jasper had called them before he burst into the house, they brought all three of us to the hospital. Royce died later during surgery.

"The death was labeled as an accidental death and Jasper wasn't convicted because it was self defense. He had needed surgery to repair the damage done by the bottle and we both could have easily lost our lives because I was young and stupid and reclas and I should have listened to Jasper, but I didn't and now I'm finally having to face all of my fears and I don't know how to do that and it makes me feel weak and I don't like that."

She started speaking faster and faster and eventually she snapped her mouth shut and scowled at the air in front of her. I didn't know what to say so I said the only thing I could think of.

"I'm sorry Rose I-"

Apparently that was not what she wanted to hear. She glanced darkly in my direction and cut me off before I could say anything else.

"Please don't say you're sorry Bella. You couldn't have possibly done anything to stop what happened and more than anything in this world I do not want your pity. That's worse than anything else you could do to me right now."

I nodded. "I'm Sor-"

She shot me a look and I bit down on my lip before I could finish what I was going to say. She nodded when I stopped and started wringing her fingers together again. I tried a different approach. Now that her guard was down I wanted to keep her talking.

"Why are you finding this so hard to deal with now?"

She glanced back over at me. "Emmett, I really like him Bella. I haven't let myself get emotionally close to any guy other than Jasper since I was nineteen years old. Royce has me freaked out all over again and he's dead. He shouldn't still be able to control me like this."

I nodded. "So you're not sure how to get close to Emmett."

She nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, do you think Emmett is going to hurt you like Royce did?"

"No, he would never do that. At least I don't think he would. I just can't seem to let my guard down enough to get close to him. He's such a great guy Bella, but he deserves so much more than me. Why would he want to settle for damaged goods when he could find someone so much better than me?

"I don't think Emmett considers you damaged goods. From what I've seen, he really likes you. Maybe you're just trying to push yourself too fast. If Emmett's the right guy, then it'll work out, don't you think so?"

She shrugged. "Maybe, I thought it was going to work out with Royce too and you know how well that went."

"Have you told Emmett about Royce?"

She shook her head. "No. I don't want him to freak out. Most people don't take my story as well as you seem to be handling it. I've only told a few people the very basics of my story and they all shut me down afterwards like there was something wrong with me."

"That doesn't make any sense." What had happened wasn't Rose's fault, not entirely. She made a few bad choices but Royce was the bad guy in this story.

She smiled at me. "You're incredibly kind Bella. I can only hope Emmett will understand the same way you do if I tell him."

"If Emmett's any kind of gentleman he won't freak out. I'm no master at relationships, trust me on that. I'm having enough troubles with my own. But it seems to me like he would need to know about Royce if you wanted to move your relationship past good friends."

She nodded. "Probably, I'm just not sure I'm ready to tell him yet, but it will probably come to that."

Her watch beeped and we both jumped. She glanced down and then back at me.

"It's ten and we need to get to work on our solos. If I go home today, it won't matter what I tell Emmett because I'll never see him again."

I nodded and we both crawled back into the studio and got to work on the solo routines we hoped we wouldn't have to use for a long time.

~Darkrose

I really hope you liked this chapter. I think its one of my favorites so far. I spent a long time trying to get the emotion right for Rose's character and I'm still not sure I got it down. Let me know what you think.