A/N: Well this took longer than I wanted it to...my life is chaotic, stressful, and often makes me so mad I could kick puppies. So...yeah, I'm feeling more of a teenager than usual. Anyways, enjoy reading :D
With thoughts of Edward, I had swung around the corner when I felt a hand go around my mouth and something go around my neck. Before I could struggle, I heard their voice.
"Hallo, mein schones."
BPOV
I froze. Panic surged through my system, making me feel paralyzed. I knew that voice, and felt bile in my throat rise up from the foul smell of their breath. Where are you, Edward? I thought. I knew I needed a plan to escape, but my body was starting to go limp.
James spun me back around the corner, pushing his forearm into my stomach, pinning me to the wall. His other hand encircled my throat. He pushed his scarred face into my hair, breathing deeply. I whimpered, trying to turn my face away from his, but he only tightened his hold on my neck.
"Ah, come now, ziemlich. Don't fight me," he sneered.
I lifted my arms to his chest to push him away, but he rammed his arm into my stomach, hard. Gasping for breath, I struggled to see past the black edges blurring my vision. Looking behind us, he saw an office door, and started to drag me towards it by my hair. I started to scream in pain, but was cut off by his hand covering my mouth. Beginning to lose hope, I acted out of desperation.
So when he took that split second of concentration to unlock and open the office door, I moved my head, and bit into his hand as hard as I could. I actually bit so hard, I could taste the rustiness of his blood. Spitting his blood out, I grabbed my chance and ran for it.
As I started to run though, he grabbed the back of my sleeve. Roaring with fury, his hand lashed out, striking my cheek with a force that put me on the ground. With the door propped open, James grabbed my ankles, dragging me into the room. He quickly closed and locked the door, turning back towards me with a smile.
"I told you not to fight me," he said, "Didn't I?"
Not answering him, I curled into the fetal position, trying to get away from him. Laughing, he jumped on me, straddling my body and digging his knees painfully into the sides of my waist. In an attempt to get him off of me, I tried to free myself, and tried to claw his face. But he grabbed my hands, and put them above my head, holding them there with his left hand.
"Please! Please...don't..." I cried, thrashing underneath him, not willing to give up. "HELP! SOMEBODY! PLEASE!" I screamed. My throat felt raw, and hurt like hell. James slapped me again.
"H-help me...please...s-somebody..." I whimpered quietly.
Tears were running freely down my face, blurring my vision even more. My face felt swollen, and my body tired from my pitiful defenses. He grabbed my waist with his free hand, bruising the skin there. I tried to move again, but I could feel my strength and will slowly draining away. His hand traveled underneath the hem of my shirt, snaking its way up to the underside of my breast, making me shiver with revulsion.
I couldn't find it in myself to find any more strength to fight back anymore. God knew I tried, but I could already feel the icy fingers of unconsciousness edging into my mind. I fought to keep the drowsiness away, but I was losing. I began to feel limp, and then I couldn't feel anything at all.
Edward, I thought, then slipped away.
EPOV
I started to go to the restroom to see if Bella was there, when I heard a muffled scream come from down the hall to my left. I felt panic when I recognized that it was Bella screaming. I broke out into a dead sprint, running for her, praying to God I wasn't too late. Getting to the door, I tried to open it, but it was locked.
"BELLA! Bella, can you hear me? Please, say something!" I strained to hear a response from the sudden silence. But instead of hearing Bella, I heard footsteps, but it came from behind me. Swinging around, my gun was already out and trained on the source of the sound. But I lowered it when I saw Jasper.
"What are you doing here? Where's Alice? Charlie?" I asked.
"Safe. Bella?" When he asked, I looked back to the door. To hell with it, I thought, then pointed my gun at the lock, and fired. Hearing the lock to the door break, I kicked the door open.
And I saw Bella on the ground, eyes closed. When the door slammed open, James looked at me and smiled. "Come to join, Eddie?" He laughed.
Seeing red, I didn't hesitate. I rammed my body into his, knocking him off Bella, throwing him into the office desk with a thundering crash. Enraged, I felt my fist connect with flesh, pounding into James' face over and over again. I knew that my hands were bleeding from hitting him so hard, but I couldn't feel any pain, just fury. My fist punched him again, and he lost his front teeth. I hit him again, James now not responsive at all. But I raised my arm to ram into his face yet again, when I felt a hand on my shoulder. Through my want to kill, I saw Jasper, and my head cleared a bit.
"Enough. Bella needs you."
That was all he needed to say for me to forget about James. I got up, and rushed to Bella's side. Falling to my knees, I felt agony rip through me. Her face...Her beautiful face. My hand reached out to stroke her swollen face, the bruises on her cheekbones, the cut on her bloodied lip.
Jasper's voice pulled my attention from her face. "Edward...ah,shit." Checking her for further injuries, he had lifted her shirt, only to reveal bruises all over her upper body and torso. The left side of her ribcage was starting to turn a horrible purple color. In other places, you could see outlines of James' hands everywhere. It made me want to go back to James and end his existence. But I knew that Bella came first.
"Did he?" I asked. I knew that Jasper knew what I was asking him, but I was too scared to ask out loud. I saw that her clothes were still on, but I couldn't know for sure.
"Thankfully, no. We came in time." Jasper said after a quick check. Breathing a sigh of relief, I scooped her up, and started out the door.
Leaning my head in James's direction, I said to Jasper, "Get rid of him."
Without any hesitation, Jasper took out his gun. I stepped out of the office with Bella in my arms, closing the door. I looked around, seeing it was clear. Seconds later, a shot rang out from the office. Jasper came out, dragging James.
"I'll put him in one of the crematoriums. I'll strip him first...none of the officers will recognize him."
Puzzled, I wondered how Jasper thought that the guards wouldn't recognize the sonofabitch, when he dragged the rest of the body out. The shot was to the head, making him unrecognizable. Nodding my head, I looked back to Jasper.
"Wait for me in your office. I'll be there shortly to tend to her, you know, make sure nothings broken."
"Thank you," I said sincerely. I turned and made my way back to the office.
BPOV
I was drifting along, feeling light as a feather, not a care in the world. For a moment I wondered if I was dead, that maybe I was in heaven. But little slivers of pain were slowly creeping their way in, only slightly uncomfortable at first. But then I started to feel more, no longer feeling peaceful. The little slivers became knives, a stabbing pain that I could feel everywhere.
I awoke with a moan of pain, my body aching. I heard voices calling me, but I couldn't separate or recognize them. Memories seeped back into my mind, panicking me. My arms flailing, I tried to get away, and then screamed. I opened my eyes, sitting up fast. Too fast.
I grabbed my ribs in pain, a cry escaping my mouth. Blinking through tears, I tried to look around, but the pain had brought stars to my vision, making me lay back down and close my eyes. But my hearing finally came back to me, allowing me to listen.
"She has a black eye, several cuts on her face, a bloodied lip, bruised ribs, and only a minor concussion. Not anything too serious, even though it looks a lot worse than that. There are also a lot of hand outlines all around her torso, so they are gonna take a while to fade. Her throat, though seriously bruised, isn't crushed. Talking at first will hurt, and will feel like sandpaper." Jasper paused, "She's a fighter. If she didn't have even half the mentality she did, she wouldn't have walked away with just cuts and bruises," he said fondly.
I felt someone take my hand, and heard Alice, "I'm so sorry Bella...I had no idea."
"N-not... not your fault," I managed to say. Jasper was right. My throat felt like shit.
The hand in mine flinched once in surprise as if not expecting me to talk. I felt someone else take my hand. I heard Edward, "Bella, honig? How do you feel?"
"It hurts," I whimpered.
"I know, meine liebe. I know." I felt him kiss my forehead, and gently squeeze my hand before letting go. With the only ounce of strength I had, I grabbed his hand back.
"Don't go. Please." I whispered. Then I felt myself slip back into sleep.
A/N: It's not as long as I want it to be, but it's really late, and I thought I should update anyways. I'll update again either tomorrow or Sunday...depends, but I will. Reviews are looooove! :D
-VanaBana