Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or its characters. I am making no money…

Special thanks to Jayeliwood for your support and ideas, but most of all for your help with commas. She is the best beta a writer could ask for. I must also thank ObsessingOverEdward and TheSpoiltOne for all their contribution. All three of you rock!

Chapter 28: Matt's Birthday Party

Edward Cullen

I thought I had accommodated to Matt pretty well. I had set up a routine and surprisingly got along just well with him. But I didn't think nothing could prepare me for fifteen screaming six year olds and their parents. I was surrounded by red and blue balloons, streamers, and more Spiderman decorations than I cared to notice. Overwhelming was probably the understatement of the year.

"You look scared," Alice commented as I approached my family. Bella had invited my parents and my brothers to the party. Alice was leaning against Jasper holding baby Ethan. I could tell by the look in her eyes that it wouldn't be long before I became an uncle yet again. She was absolutely enthralled by her nephew and by Matt.

"I think I need a drink," I answered honestly making her laugh.

"Sorry, Edward, this is not that type of party," my mom replied, stating the absolute obvious. I hadn't been to a child's party since I had been a child.

"I think I pretty much see that," I replied, scanning the crowd for Bella. The last time I had seen her she had been refilling the chips and making sure there was enough ice in the coolers.

"Edward! Edward!" Matt yelled as he jumped on me from behind.

"Hi there, Spiderman!" I couldn't help but notice the smile on Alice's face. Bella had gotten Matt a complete Spiderman costume for his birthday and he had insisted on wearing it to his birthday.

"It's not Spiderman, silly," he replied with a loud laugh. "It's me, Matt."

"Well, you sure fooled me." I took off his mask revealing the huge smile on his face. "I thought you were really Spiderman."

"One day, I will be." Matt had decided that he wanted to be Spiderman when he grew up. He wanted to be a superhero.

"Are you having fun?" I inquired curiously.

"This is so cool. I am having the best party ever." His grin definitely couldn't get any bigger. I was really glad he was enjoying himself. "Have you seen Dad? I want to show him my costume."

"I can't say I have, Matt," I answered, keeping a straight face. As much as I hated that bastard Bella had invited him. I knew he was Matt's father, but that didn't change the fact that he was an asshole.

"Why don't you go play, Matt? I'll go get you when I see him," Alice suggested, giving me a knowing look.

"I'll be in the bounce house." I watched Matt run off towards the bounce house wondering why his father was missing the party. What could be more important?

"Mike's not here yet," Alice sighed just as Bella approached us.

"Is something wrong with Matt?" she questioned as she handed me a soda can and took a seat next to me.

"He's asking for Mike," Alice explained causing Bella to shrug. I could tell by the look in her that she was extremely disappointed that Mike was late. How could that piece of shit be late to his own son's birthday party?

"I have no idea where he is. He was supposed to be here three hours ago. I'm glad I didn't ask him to pick up the cake or anything," Bella stated, biting her lip. "He promised he'd come."

"Maybe he's in traffic," my dad suggested causing Bella to laugh.

"He's just irresponsible, Carlisle. I make no excuses for my ex-husband." Mike was just an irresponsible jerk.

"Speak of the devil," Alice sneered as Mike entered the backyard. I took a deep breath and reminded myself that he had the right to be here.

"Wasn't he seeing somebody?" Emmett asked curiously.

"I'm thankful that bitch isn't around," Bella answered before standing up. "I should go be civil."

"Do you have to, love?" I questioned, wrapping my arm around her shoulders as I noticed that Mike had spotted us. He was not exactly thrilled that I was here.

"Edward, be good. The party is almost over." The only up side to the situation was that the party was almost over. He wouldn't be around for long.

I kept my distant from Mike throughout the party. He didn't approach me and I didn't approach him. I could tell there was something wrong with him. I didn't like the way he was eyeing Bella almost like she was food, but he had remained respectful.

I had an uneasy feeling about his presence, but I had to ignore it. Emmett and Jasper kept an eye on him as well on my request, but they too had not found anything to fault him. Yet, Jasper had noticed that he reeked of alcohol when he ran into him by the coolers.

Why would he come to his son's birthday party smelling like a bar? Something was definitely not right.

Bella Swan

I was extremely happy that I had pulled off the perfect party with the help of Alice. The Spiderman theme had been a success, and I had already been asked at least four times who had been my party planner. Alice definitely had a future in party planning if she ever got tired of fashion. However unlikely that was.

We had just finished singing Happy Birthday when I carried the cake inside to the kitchen to cut it. I hated cutting cake outside and much preferred to do it without a dozen people hanging around waiting for their piece.

I began cutting the cake and setting up the blue and red plates on a huge tray when I heard the kitchen door open. "Hey there, sexy," I heard an all too familiar voice say as the door closed behind me. I knew instantly that the voice didn't belong to Edward. And Edward was the only person on the face of the planet allowed to refer to me as 'sexy.'

"Mike, that's not my name," I said, turning to look at him. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"There's something you can definitely help me with." He took a few steps towards me. The tone in his voice and the look in his eyes were giving me goose bumps. I felt like I had suddenly become his prey.

"Mike, can you please go back outside? I'll bring out the cake when I'm done cutting it," I said, hoping he would just leave. His presence was making me feel uneasy and slightly panicked.

"I don't want cake," Mike kept walking towards me causing me to keep stepping back until my back hit the counter top.

"Mike, are you drunk?" I could smell the lingering stale smell of whiskey on his breath. It was disgusting.

"No," he lied as his hands went to my hips causing me to push him back.

"What the hell are you doing?" I had to find a way out of the corner I was in. Mike was definitely drunk and I didn't feel at all comfortable being alone with him.

"Just reclaiming what is mine." His hands returned to my hips, pulling me into him. I hated the way he spoke of me as if I were an object and not a person.

"Mike Newton, get your hands off of me. I don't think Lauren will appreciate this," I answered, hoping that mentioning Lauren's name would cause him to react and leave me alone.

"She's not in my life anymore." His face inched nearer to mine causing me to push his chest away. But I couldn't, he was too strong. How was I going to get out of this?

I tried to process what he had just said, but the situation was making it hard to think. Had she dumped him? Had he dumped her? They both deserved each other. Yet, that explained why he was acting the way he was.

"Get the fuck away from me," I said, pushing harder with no success before his lips came down to mine. I moved my head from side to side trying to stop him. He reeked of alcohol and this whole situation was disgusting. I didn't want to be anywhere near him. I needed to get away. I needed help. I needed Edward to stop him.

"That's no way to talk to your husband. Now is it, baby?" His hands moving from my hips to my ass before pushing me further into him. He was definitely turned on by all of this. And I knew that he wasn't going to stop. Somebody had to come in to stop him.

"Don't touch me," I repeated, pushing against him as hard as I could.

"Wouldn't us getting back together be a wonderful present for Matthew?" One of his fingers slipped past my thin red top to touch my bare skin making me shudder.

"It's over. I never want anything to do with you. Leave me the hell alone," I stated before using all my strength to stomp down on his right foot.

He immediately roared in agony, increasing his hold on my ass before smacking me straight across the face. I bit my lip and closed my eyes to stop myself from screaming. I didn't want to cause a scene and have the entire party see what was going on. I couldn't do that to Matt. It wasn't right.

"Listen to me you little bitch. You fucking belong to me," he stated in anger as his hand grabbed one of my breasts squeezing it roughly. "This is fucking mine."

"Mike, please," I closed my eyes as the tears trailed down my cheeks. I didn't know what else to do. I wasn't strong enough to push him away.

Why wouldn't anybody come in?

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

Edward Cullen

"Did you see where Mike went?" I asked Jasper as I grabbed a bottle of water from one of the coolers.

"I haven't seen him since Bella went inside to cut the cake," he answered as we both looked around, trying to spot the bastard. Could we have had the luck of him leaving?

"Is Bella still inside?" Charlie questioned as grabbed a soda can. "One of Matt's friends is leaving and his parents want to say goodbye."

"She's inside cutting the cake." I noticed that she had been taking quite a while to cut the cake. "I'll go get her," I offered before Charlie followed me into the kitchen.

I felt my blood begin to boil and the rage in me exploded as I stepped inside the kitchen. Mike had Bella up against a corner and he was groping her roughly. Bella was struggling and I could clearly see a red hand print on her tear stained face. Who the fuck did this monster think he was?

"What the fuck do you're think you're doing?" I practically roared as cleared the distant between us in two steps, pulling him off of her and throwing him against the far wall. At least the noise outside would drown out anything that was going on in here.

"Give me one damn good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now?" I questioned, clenching my fist. I was literally on the verge of tearing him into pieces.

"You're not man enough for her. She belongs to me. She always has and always will." Mike stood up before launching himself at me. I felt his fist collide with my jaw before I was able to return the blow just as hard and knee him in the groin. He would not be using his dick anytime soon.

"You stay the fuck away from her," I yelled just as Charlie reacted, pulling him away from me and pressing him against the wall.

"Go to Bella, Edward," Charlie ordered before turning his attention to Mike. "I'll deal with this son of a bitch."

At that second I was torn between beating the living shit out of him and going to Bella. The fact that he was breathing was not sitting well with me. "Edward," Bella cried from the floor as she softly reached for me and ultimately making up my mind for me.

"Love, are you alright?" I asked, rushing to her side. "Did he hurt you?"

"Make him go away," she pleaded as her arms wrapped around me and Alice walked inside with Renee not far behind her.

"What happened?" Alice asked in shock just as Renee closed the kitchen door.

"Renee, I'm taking this sad excuse of a man down to the local station. David owes me a few favors and will be able to deal with him," Charlie said as he pushed a struggling and cursing Mike out of the kitchen and towards the front door.

"She's mine," Mike yelled as he was pushed away causing Bella to shiver in my arms.

"He's gone, my love. He's not coming back." I softly kissed her forehead pulling her into me. it was literally taking all my self-control to stop myself from going after Mike. He deserved to die a slow and painful death.

"She needs time to regroup. A warm bath may help," Renee said going into full mother mode.

"Can you and Alice take her upstairs? I'll stay outside until the party is over," I gently brushed the hair out of Bella's face. I didn't want to leave her side, but I didn't think her mother would appreciate it if I took up for a bath.

"Come on, darling," Renee urged as she knelt down to help Bella up.

"No," Bella cried, clinging to me harder.

"You need a bath, sweetie," Alice said soothingly. I could clearly see the concern in her eyes. She wanted to do anything and everything to help.

"Don't leave me, Edward," she pleaded as Renee met my eyes.

"You take her upstairs, Edward," Renee said before kissing Bella's cheek. "Alice and I will stay until the party is over."

"Thank you," I effortlessly picked up Bella before taking her up to the bedroom. I couldn't be more thankful at that moment that Renee understood that Bella needed me. I was not going anywhere.

"Love, I need you to stay here on the bed while I fill the tub." I gently placed her on the bed. I didn't want to leave her side, but I had no choice. I couldn't prepare the tub while carrying her.

"Hurry," she said softly as I rushed into the bathroom, turning on the faucet to fill the bathtub with warm water. I kept my thoughts away from Mike, focusing instead on Bella. She needed me and I was going to do anything I can to make her better. I wanted to erase it all from her memory.

I carefully removed her clothes, stopping myself from gasping as I noticed the angry red marks that littered her breasts, hips, and behind. Mike Newton was lucky he was at the police station, because I was seriously contemplating the different ways I could get away with murdering him. He didn't deserve to live.

"Can you get in the tub?" I held my hand out to her helping her get into the tub.

Her eyes were glassy with unshed tears and her silence was really starting to worry me. She hadn't said more than a few words since I had gone to her side. What had this monster done?

"Bella, talk to me." I kneeled on the outside of the tub as I picked up a small puffy sponge and lathered it with her body wash.

"I tried to stop him," she answered after a few minutes of silence. "I was so scared, Edward."

"It's over, Bella," I assured her as she began to tremble. I had no idea what else to do.

"He wouldn't stop," she trembled in the warm water and I knew I was going to have to do something.

"It's over," I repeated, taking off my shirt before unbuttoning my pants, and taking all my clothes off. I carefully got in behind her, wrapping my arms around her middle.

"I'm here, love," I reminded her, kissing her shoulder. "Just tell me what you need."

I allowed her to cry into my chest, taking her out of the bath when the water had turned cold. I carefully dressed her into one of my oversized shirts before holding her in bed until she fell asleep.

Charlie returned a few hours after Bella had fallen asleep and after the party was over. He made his way into the room, opening the door slowly. "She's asleep," I informed him as I slowly stroked Bella's hair. She was curled up into me, hold me tightly. It was almost as if she was afraid I was going to leave or disappear.

"They're keeping Mike overnight. He needs to sober up and he will probably be set free on bail in the morning," he explained. "But Bella would need to decide what she wants to do. If she takes it to court, she can get full custody."

"I really wish he wouldn't be set free." I hated the fact that I couldn't somehow make him stay in jail.

"We have no control over that," Charlie sighed as he watched us carefully. "You did good today. Thank you for standing up for her, Edward."

"You don't have to thank me, Chief Swan." Bella was my life and I would defend her in any way I could.

"Just Charlie," he corrected, giving me a nod. "Renee told Matt that Bella was sick and you were taking care of her. There's no need to explain this mess to him."

"Of course not," I agreed before he stepped out of the bedroom closing the door behind him. He seemed to have found some respect for me and had somehow accepted me into his family.

A/N: Well, girls, you can officially have Mike. I don't want him anymore. He's yours to do as you wish. I told you he was a lot worse than you all predicted.

Only two more chapters left plus the epilogue. I can't believe this is really coming to an end. I'll save the sentimental stuff for later.

I'm happy to say that this story is up for a Twilight Choice Award for Best "M" story. Voting begins tomorrow, July 2. I have posted a link on my author page for you guys to go vote.

Remember to go check out the Twilighted thread for previews and discussions. The girls on there are great. I love read their posts and predictions. I can also be found on Twitter under, Muggleinlove.

Next Chapter: Edward Steps up to the Plate

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