Chapter II

Emmett tossed the baseball to Brann, who threw it back left-handed.

They continued in this rhythm over and over again.

"Left- handiness must be genetic." Emmett stated.

Brann nodded. "My sister, Eliza, was a leftie two."

"So is, Alice, your mother."

Rowbin nodded once more.

"So, where did you learn how to throw?" Emmett queried.

"My adopted brother Doug Rowbin, taught me." Brann informed.

"Did you have a lot of adopted brothers?"

"No, just the one. We [Eliza and I] did have an adopted sister named Maxine though."

"Was she nice?"

"They all were very nice. Their parents treated us exactly the same as their own." Brann responded.

"How old were you when they adopted you?"

"We were only about a week old when Quintus and Leonna Rowbin adopted us."

"Wow, they sure didn't waste much time finding homes for the children." Emmett reacted.

"Well the nun-nurses worried a lot about corruption." Brann explained shaking his head briefly. "They figured that the sooner they got out of there, the less likely it was that the devil would take over their souls."

"Well, I personally think that the nurses belonged there themselves." Emmett joked.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

"So who named you? Your Father?"

"I don't think he could have cared less."

"Your mother then?" Emmett asked.

Brann shook his head. "No, actually it was the apprentice of Dr. Franklyn Karters."

"Another pervert."

"No, Clemmett Maxwells was nothing like his trainer." Brann objected. "He hated everything that Dr. Karters did and stood for. Clemmett did not condone torture of any kind."

"He seems okay."

"He was better than okay. He was a great person." Brann was somber. "Someone who did all he could to help asylum patients."

Emmett was silent for a moment. "So he was the person who named you."

"Precisely. He decided that Eliza Ruth Brandon and Brann Elliot Brandon were good names."

"Brann from Brandon your mother's surname." Emmett was sober. "Now your name makes sense."

There was a long pause.

Then Emmett tossed the ball again. "Rosalie, really isn't that bad once you get to know her."

"No one is as bad as they appear to be." Brann responded. Not saying anything about the exceptions there always were. Nor the exceptions both of them knew there were.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

"Edward, thank you so much for clarifying what the word ravish meant." Bella stated rather sarcastically.

"You didn't know what it meant?" Edward asked.

"Evidently not because I thought it meant overly extravagant."

"That'slavish, Bella, not ravish." Edward responded. "Did that definition even make sense in the sentence?"

'I thought that something was off. That's why I looked it up."

"You couldn't infer."

"Well let me read you the definition and you decide if you should have told me." Bella stated. "Ravish. Verb. 1. to steel; to seize or take by force. 2. to abuse; to rape. ravished…ravishing…ravishment."

"Something tells me that it's not the first definition."

"In a way he did steel something from them." Edward informed. "But the second one is more correct."

"Brann's father was a rapist."

"Violator… Ravisher… Molester." Edward responded. "Abuser. They're all tantamount."

"Pedophile."

"No, Bella. That term applies only to children under twelve."

She looked at him strangely.

"It's a common mistake." Edward admitted. "But it matters very little what you call him."

"Edward, please tell me that Franklyn Karters was not the same person as Franklyn Brandon."

"No Bella, Brann's father was not his grandfather as well." Edward reacted. "Sure, he was slightly abusive but Franklyn Brandon wasn't incestive."

"Define slightly abusive."

"From what I read from their minds, slightly excessive hitting and slapping."

"What a lovely father." Bella muttered.

"Well, compared to Karters he was the perfect person who never did anything wrong." Edward imparted. "I don't approve of what he did, but, at least Brandon cared about her. Actually loved her. At least he felt guilty about what he did, so guilty that he couldn't live with himself. At least he was a passible person compared to Karters."

"Was Karters really so horrible?"

"Bella…horrible is putting it far more lightly than words could ever express."

"What did he do to her?"

Edward was painfully somber. "Things that are just too horrible to be said."

"Like what?'

"Bella…" His voice was firm. "Trust me you don't want to hear any of the things he did… and I really don't want to say them."

"I don't need to know."

"Exactly." Edward put an arm around her.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

"I am not my insolent brother." The voice said, tauntingly. "If you scream it will only hurt more."

Alice threw the baseball, left-handed, back to Emmett who tossed it back again.

"Why didn't you see me coming?"

"You did this to yourself! You asked for it!"

"Are the walls more interesting than me?"

"Would you rather look at the wall than look at me?"

"I love the way you cringe."

"You love me admit it."

"If you hated it you'd fight!"

"Don't you love the way it hurts?'

"I love girls like you…gentle…compliant…trusting."

"Admit it you like it."

"Maybe it will be like me."

"Stop." Alice whispered.

Emmett caught the without even looking at it. He stared at her with a concerned look. "Stop what?" He asked.

Emmett couldn't hear the voices. They were only in her mind. The man who taunted her wasn't real- he didn't exist …anymore.

"Are you okay Al-?" Emmett questioned.

"I'm fine." She answered.

He didn't believe her, yet he didn't tell her that.

Emmett sat down on the fallen tree and motioned for Alice to sit down next to him.