A/N so here we go guys, finally got my laptop back/slash my files off my laptop since it's still not really working. GAH I HATE COMPUTERS. Anyway so now at least I can write, hope you still enjoy the story…and so sorry it's taken this long to get this to you. Don't worry next update will be around this time next week and then after that I will be able to update 2-3 times a week since I'll be finished with school and stuff.

Don't forget to Review and let me know what you think, I love you guys!!! I also love my beta Angelnlove52 she's so awesome go check out her story When Yesterday Hurts…I know you will all love it, also her one shot (WOW) and her other stories…they all rock my universe.

Also check my Faves for stories there are some goodies on there. And if you're reading anything awesome at the mo, tell me what! I love to find new stories…PM me or leave it in a review. :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TIFF!!!! – Yea I love you and shit.


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Recap: Bella stayed over at Edwards the night, in the morning Edward accidently caught sight of Bella's bruises and confronted her. Bella explained to Edward what happened and then left. Edward in a state of anger confronted his father and then attacked Jasper in Alice's room.

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29. The Secrets Out.

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EPOV

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"Edward, let him go." I heard my father's calm voice from behind. I hadn't even been aware that he was in the room with us.

Growling, I pulled Jasper's body two inches from the wall before I slammed him into it. I let him go and he slid to the floor rubbing his neck, his face red.

Breathing heavily I turned to glare at my sister. "Lift up your top Alice," I demanded.

"Edward!" Carlisle exclaimed surprised.

Alice backed away from me, her eyes wide with fear and confusion. "What the hell, Edward!?"

"Did he hurt you?"

"What?" Jasper exclaimed, confused. I turned to glare at him, my expression unfathomable.

"You don't get to talk," I spat, pointing at him. I turned back to Alice, her expression equally confused.

"Well?" I asked.

"D-did J-Jasper? N-no," she stuttered.

"So help him if he did Alice." I was still shaking, my chest heaving.

"He hasn't hurt me, what are you…?"

"LIFT UP YOUR GOD DAMN TOP ALICE!"

"No! Not until you tell me what is going on," she squeaked.

"Edward, please," Carlisle tried to intervene. Why he hadn't done something earlier when I was strangling Jasper, I had no idea. Maybe it was the fact that there was a boy in his daughter's room and he felt like doing the same thing. But then Carlisle usually didn't mind when people of the other sex stayed over, he trusted us. It was usually Esme who worried.

Argh, I didn't need to be thinking about this kind of crap.

"DAMN IT!" I yelled, smashing my fist into the wall, I winced my bruised knuckles from earlier didn't like that.

"You need to calm down," Carlisle tried again, taking a step toward me, putting himself between Alice and me. This made me madder; did he think I would hurt my own sister? I would never touch a female regardless of how upset I was. I wasn't like that piece of filth, James.

"Not until she proves to me he hasn't hurt her," I seethed, glaring at Alice from over Carlisle's shoulder.

Carlisle sighed and turned to Alice; he gave her an apologetic look and said. "I think you should do what he asked dear."

"Dad, no." She shook her head. "It's perverted."

"He's not asking you to show him anything Alice, he just wants to make sure you're not hurt in any way, that you don't have any bruises," Carlisle explained. "I'll look away if you want."

"This doesn't make any sense," she moaned before giving in. She quickly lifted up her top and did a mini pirouette before dropping it again. She glared at me and folded her arms across her chest. "Happy?"

I looked at her in disbelief and relief at the same time.

Thank god.

In a daze I sat down on Alice's bed and put my head in my hands. I was still shaking, but now I felt sick. I bunched my fists around my hair and groaned.

"I think you should go," Carlisle said quietly to Jasper. I looked up at the two of them and winced.

I fucked up. Bad.

"No," Jasper said adamantly crossing his arms across his chest. "Not until he calms down," he said giving me a filthy look.

I turned toward him raising an eyebrow. I may have felt bad-like an idiot-and Alice may not have been hurt, but it still didn't mean I trusted him. And I was still mad and his lippy attitude was firing me up again.

"Jasper, it's probably for the best, I'm not going to let anything happen to Alice," Carlisle pleaded.

"No," Jasper shook his head. "Not happening."

"Why? You afraid she might say something while you're not here?" I spat in his direction.

Jasper groaned and rolled his eyes. "What the fuck is your problem Edward? I haven't done anything to warrant being treated like this."

I could feel the anger begin to bubble as a growl escaped my throat, I was about to hit him when Carlisle put a hand on my shoulder instantly calming me. I tried to shrug out of his grasp but his hand clamped down on me.

"Edward, I think now is the best time to explain," Carlisle sighed giving me an apologetic look. "You owe them both that much."

"No," I said shaking my head. "I don't owe him anything."

"Edward," Carlisle scolded me.

"No," I started again. "So, Alice doesn't have any bruises. So what? It doesn't prove a thing."

"Son, I know you're upset," he said, kneeling next to me. I gave him a death glare. "Okay, more than a little upset. But Jasper didn't do those things to Bella and neither did I. You can't go around blaming everyone because you're not allowed to go after the real culprit, that's just not how it works."

He was right, when I came in here I was looking for someone to blame. Hell ten minutes earlier I'd been trying to have a go at my own father. I looked from my father to Jasper and back to my sister, she looked panic stricken and I could see tears threatening to spill.

I sighed and put my head back in my hands. I was an idiot.

"Bella?" Alice whispered in a panicked voice. "Has something happened to Bella?"

I stared at my hands, unable to answer.

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APOV

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I turned and gave my father a confused expression.

What is going on? I mouthed. Adding to my fears Carlisle just gave me a grave look at nodded slowly toward Edward. He wasn't going to give me anything; Carlisle smiled at me and indicated he would be back before he left the room, stopping once to asses Edward and to give Jasper a warning look.

"Edward?" I whispered taking a small step towards him. "Has something happened?" I asked again.

He nodded slowly and grimaced.

"Yeah," he answered in a broken voice. His response startled me and set my mind spinning. Butterflies started flapping uncontrollably in my stomach, I was terrified.

What had possibly happened? Where was Bella now? I knew that she had spent the night with my brother and everything had seemed fine with them when we had left them and when we had spoken on the phone last. Jasper had even seemed fine with them now, after our little talk Jazz decided to ease up on Edward, I mean since they both wanted one another, why get in the way?

So what had happened? What went wrong? I couldn't for the life of me understand what and when something could have happened. The fact that it appeared that Edward's violent reaction earlier had something to do with it made my apprehension worse. Did Jasper have something to do with this?

I looked up at Jasper who was staring at Edward blankly, but when his eyes met mine, I saw he shared my concern and confusion. He seemed as lost as I was.

No, I didn't believe that Jasper would ever do anything to Bella, nothing bad anyway.

I sat down next to Edward on my bed and put my hand in his, giving it a gentle squeeze. I loved my brother and seeing him in this much pain was scaring me. His earlier actions weren't yet entirely forgiven, but I knew it would have taken something massive for Edward to react the way he did and attack Jasper. It wasn't in his nature to act that way. I wanted to understand why he had done what he did, and it appeared Bella, my new, adorable and sweet loving friend had something to do with it.

"Want to talk about it?" I asked, trying to remain calm for my brother in the hopes that it would make it easier for him, but my stomach was churning. And I was close to losing control; I wasn't used to drama, to being the calm one in a situation that was as scary as this.

What had happened to my friend?

Edward sighed deeply and took his hand from mine rubbing it roughly over his face. I searched his expression for something, anything that would tell me what was wrong. But all I could tell was that he needed a shave. Slowly Edward turned to face my searching gaze; he tried to smile weakly but failed so he settled for looking back at his hands, I was getting more and more worried at this point. I nudged him softly trying to encourage him which caused him to swallow loudly before he spoke.

"Bella wasn't attacked but a stranger the other week." He pulled on his hair hard before giving me a desperate and broken look. "She knew who hurt her Alice," he whispered. "She lied to us - to everyone."

What?!

I gasped and took a step backward from my brother who staring at me, gauging my reaction. I wasn't watching where I was going as I stepped back and I ended up tripping over my discarded blankets in my haste to get away from his words and fell backwards. I was caught before I hit the floor as a pair of strong and familiar arms wrapped around my waist pulling me upright. I leaned into Jasper's warm and comforting embrace for a moment, using him to hide from the reality that Edward just exposed us to. But then something caused Jaspers hold on me to make me uneasy.

Bella had been hurt by someone she knew.

Edward had attacked Jasper and then asked if he had hurt me.

I turned to face Jasper and his expression only held what seemed to be shock and concern when he looked back at me.

He couldn't have hurt Bella? Could he?

My expression became horrified as I pressed my hands into his chest to free myself from his hold.

"Jasper?" I whispered. I was confused and sickened with my realization but I couldn't quite understand what was happening, nor did I want to believe.

The look on his face changed to one of bewilderment as I pulled myself from his grasp.

"Alice?" he asked back, confused and concerned. I turned to look at Edward who had his head back in his hands he seemed oblivious to us, trapped in his own pain. I then turned back to face Jasper and took a deep wavering breath.

"Leave," I spoke firmly, staring him dead in the eye.

"Why?"He looked at me confused before panic flashed across his face. He took a step toward me and reached out for my hand, in response I took a step backward, causing his mouth to drop open.

"A-Alice n-no, you can't believe that I-I hurt her," he stuttered. "You know me."

My heart bounced in my chest as he spoke, the pain and my accusation was evident in his voice and in his expression. I felt a lump grow in my throat constricting my breathing.

"No that's just it Jasper…I don't," I mumbled, not daring to look at him, my firm resolve wavering. I didn't want to cry. I wasn't able to stare at this man that I thought I loved and now believed had attacked my friend and not break down.

I hadn't known Jasper long but I loved him just as my fool of a brother loved Bella, but truthfully I didn't know him that well. And although I didn't want to think so, he could be capable of anything.

"Edward." He turned to my brother who was now just staring blankly at us both. "Tell her it's not true. I didn't do that to Bella. I wouldn't," he begged.

I turned back to my brother who had lifted his head to look between Jasper and me before focusing on my face. I was begging him silently with my eyes, to say it wasn't true.

"Edward?" I whispered.

He blinked slowly as if trying to focus on the situation on hand before he shook his head slowly as if to clear it. He looked at Jasper as he answered. "No, it wasn't Jasper…"

I couldn't help as I blew out an air of relief at his words only to draw it back in suddenly when he continued speaking.

"...it was James," he finished, looking from Jasper to me. "James left those marks on her neck; James was the reason she didn't come to school then and why she didn't come to school the other day."

"J-James?" I stuttered. He nodded, grimacing, and I saw the glint in his eyes that suggested he was having trouble talking about it. I looked at Jasper who was staring at Edward, his expression unreadable.

"Jesus," I let out in a moan, this was too much. I felt tears swimming behind my eyes. James had hurt her? Physically hurt her and left awful bruises on her body and was the reason why she wasn't at school on Friday. I wiped my eyes haphazardly on my shirt and sniffled as I stared at my brother.

Edward gave me a wry smile and patted spot next to him which I took immediately folding my body into his arms. I had always felt safe with my brother. When we were smaller he would often wrap himself around me when I was upset. He was like a cocoon protecting me from the outside world. I pressed my cheek against Edward's chest as the tears fell down my face.

"How did you find out?" I croaked, not sure if I wanted to actually know.

"Accidently," he mumbled. "I saw the bruises on her stomach that he gave her on Thursday…." He was silent for a moment before he whispered almost in-audibly, his body shaking. "He kicked her Ali…he fucking kicked her."

I wrapped my arms around him tightly and squeezed him, trying to reassure him that I was there for him. I wanted to make it better, not just for him but for Bella. But I wasn't sure how. This was craziness. Bella was my friend and her boyfriend was violent towards her and she kept it from us all. She didn't feel she could tell us and that hurt. She needed to know we cared for her, that we would be there for her. All of us.

Jasper hadn't said a word since he begged Edward to tell me it wasn't him so I took a quick look over at him. He was slumped against the wall with his head in his hands. I shifted in Edwards arm so I could get a better look at him and he looked up at my movement.

Jaspers body became rigid as he stared at Edward, realization crossing the features of his face. "Thursday night?" he asked.

"Yeah," Edward responded lightly wrapping his arms tighter around me. In response I gave his a quick squeeze.

"It's going to be okay," I whispered softly into his shirt, but the words were mostly just to comfort myself.

"Fuck," Jasper groaned suddenly, causing us to both whip our heads in his direction. His face was crumpling into mask of horror.

"What?" Edward asked confused, his grip tightened on me and I couldn't tell if it was because he was afraid of what Jasper would say or he was just trying to protect me.

"I left her. He told us he could take care of her, and we left her with him," Jasper spoke quietly, almost as if in shock. I stared at my boyfriend not sure what he was trying to say…he left her?

"We?" Edward reiterated, not fully grasping what Jasper was saying either.

"The party, the other night, she tripped and knocked herself out, we-me and Emmett-carried her to the bathroom and then…James told us he would take her to the hospital. Get her checked out…we just left her."

The sickness that overcame me at Jaspers words was almost unbearable but the look on his face was even more heart wrenching. He was blaming himself for what had happened to Bella.

"You couldn't have known," I piped up, trying to make him feel better. He gave me a grave look before he turned to Edward looking sick with guilt.

"I didn't, I swear Edward. I had no idea. I never would have been against you pursuing her if I had known." Jasper looked at my brother panic stricken. "That's why you went after me isn't it? You thought I knew. You thought that I let it happen."

"You were always defending him; I didn't know what to think. Hell, I wasn't thinking Jasper, I was so blinded by rage that I-"

"Don't apologize Edward, I would have done the same." Jasper breathed deeply before continuing. "I would never hurt your sister, I love her and you have to know that."

"I know," Edward said groaning, putting his head in his hands. "I'm so sorry for attacking you Jasper. Please forgive me." Jasper shook his head in response.

"There's nothing to forgive. I can see how you would have jumped to conclusions. I was an ass about you and Bella. I knew James was hot headed and I didn't want you to start trouble. I'm so stupid," he countered.

Edward shook his head slowly. "It's not your fault. If anything it's mine."

"Edward," I gasped. "Don't say that. Don't you dare blame yourself!"

"No, Ali. It's true. I knew she was lying about what happened to her and stupidly, I let it go." He hung his head in shame but I wasn't having any of that. Edward had a nasty habit of taking the blame for things he had no control over, it was sometimes an endearing part of his selfless personality but sometimes it could really get him down.

"You should be proud that you thought something was up Edward. No one else had any idea. We all let her down," I spoke solemnly and he nodded at my words.

"I'm so sorry," Jasper mumbled incoherently. "I had no idea," he continued, shaking his head. Edward looked up as Jasper's words and stared blankly at him before responding.

"No one did. That's the problem; she didn't want anyone to know. She was ashamed."

I could feel the heat rise in my face at his words. An unfamiliar feeling of anger washed over me. "Ashamed? Why!?" I exploded.

"She blames herself," Edward moaned, pressing his face back into my hair. I tried in vain to swallow my disgust. How could she ever think that? There is no reason for someone to violently attack another person. Nothing could justify what he had done.

"What are we going to do?" Jasper spoke firmly, interrupting my thoughts as he climbed to his feet. The guilt and panic that had been embedded in his features was gone, overridden by anger and a sense of urgency.

"Nothing," Edward spoke softly, avoiding eye contact with Jasper. "Except be there for her."

"What? We have to do something; we can't just let him get away with what he has done. Once Emmett finds out –" Jasper started speaking quickly, almost shouting before he was interrupted by Edward.

"Whoa," Edward said, raising his hands as he stood up abruptly, all but knocking me to the floor. "You can't say anything to anyone. This has to stay between us."

"But-" Jasper tried to interrupt.

"No, I shouldn't have told either of you about this. She would never forgive me." Edward began to look worried and stared at me helplessly.

"But we can't just let…" Jasper tried to continue before Edward cut him off.

"It's what she wants," he added abruptly, almost glaring defiantly at Jasper. I scrambled to get between them incase another fight broke out.

"I won't tell anyone Edward," I spoke softly, putting my hand on his in an effort to calm him down. I gave Jasper a look before I added, "We both won't."

"No," Jasper spoke firmly, shaking his head as he looked at me and then back at Edward before he continued. "You must want to make him pay…surely you want that much?"

"There is nothing I want more, but she made me promise. I can't," Edward added helplessly almost moaning. I felt my brother's pain, he loved her and he couldn't protect her.

"I didn't promise anything," Jasper growled. "You might not have the balls Edward but –"

"Jasper!" I shrieked, glaring at him. I wouldn't allow him to make my brother feel any worse about this than he already did.

"I'm sorry Ali, but I won't let that pig think it's alright to do what he has done. What if he hurts someone else?" He shook his head as if to clear and unhealthy thought. "No, I'm not going to let that happen. Either you're with me or you're not. It won't make a difference," he added, turning towards Edward. Edward stared back but didn't say anything.

"Jazz," I pleaded. I wanted more than anything for James to pay, just like the both of them, but I couldn't bear the thought of either of them getting hurt in the process of doing so. And what if it made matters worse? Everything was becoming overwhelming and I felt the tears building up to breaking point behind my eyes.

"No Alice," he said adamantly. "It has to be done."

Edward groaned and sat back down on my bed. I looked at him with concern before I turned back to Jasper; he was already packing his things.

"Jazz?" I said apprehensively, putting my hand on his shoulder. "She doesn't want this. Please don't," I begged.

He turned and sighed, taking me in his arms. All the apprehension and fear was softened as he held me and place a chaste kiss on my forehead. "I love you Ali, but you know I have to do this. It's not only her problem anymore," he said quietly.

I nodded silently at his admission; this affected him personally which was something Edward wasn't aware of. I pressed myself closer to his body, unwilling to let go. "I love you too," I whispered into his shirt, letting him know that I understood.

"You know she's going to think it's me if you do something," Edward said from his place on my bed. He was watching Jasper and I and he had a thoughtful expression. "She won't forgive me."

Jasper groaned and gave Edward an annoyed look. "Dude I'm sorry, but…." He sighed heavily and Edward took the break in his speech to plead with him some more.

"Jazz please, just give me a chance to talk with her. Please don't do anything yet. I don't want to lose her before I even get the chance to be with her." The panic in Edward's voice made me think that he was talking to Jasper as if he was the executioner and Edward was begging for his life.

"I -," Jazz began but I cut him off.

"Please baby. Edward's right. Let him talk to her first," I begged. Jasper sighed again as he looked between Edward and I, his brow furrowing. "You could tell him," I whispered quietly, only loud enough for Jasper to hear. He met my gaze for a brief moment and gave a little shake of his head.

He wasn't ready yet.

"I just couldn't take it if he hurt anyone else. If he hurt Bells again, or you, or Rose," Jasper groaned, rubbing his jaw as he gave his attention back to Edward.

"That's not going to happen," I interjected.

"I won't let him get near any of them Jazz, none of us would let that happen," Edward added, still looking pleadingly at Jasper.

"We wouldn't be able to forgive ourselves Edward…It would be our fault," Jasper warned, giving Edward a piercing look.

"I know, I just…argh," he groaned, tugging at fistfuls of his hair. "I want to smash his face in, I really do. But she begged me not to, I can't break her trust. I won't be another male to do that to her."

Hearing my brother talking about committing a violent act against another person was unnerving. It wasn't really like him at all. But I knew he loved Bella, as crazy as it sounded, just as I loved her as a friend too. And you would do anything to protect the ones you loved.

"Okay," Jasper conceded. "On one condition though," he continued, raising an eyebrow in my brothers direction.

"What?" Edward asked, looking at Jazz suspiciously.

"We tell Rosalie and Emmett, and we all get to talk to Bella."

"No," Edward outright refused, shaking his. "Not happening."

"Edward, would that be so bad?" I asked, turning to give him a warm encouraging smile, even though I felt like a can of worms on the inside. "She needs support, and we are her friends."

"You've known her two weeks Alice," Edward said in a patronizing tone.

"So have you," I pointed out, glaring at him. I didn't know what his problem was. So he told us something he really shouldn't of? He didn't have a choice, Bella would understand that. She needed us, Jess had left, so she only really had Rose and I left as girls she could talk to. She needed her friends. I knew she had that Jacob boy but I didn't really like the look of him. No. She needed her girlfriends and we were going to be there for her.

"But-"

"No buts Edward," I growled. "Jasper is right. We need to talk to her, and Rose and Emmett need to know, they're her friends too. We need to make sure she is okay. She can't keep this to herself Edward, it's not healthy. She needs to know she has us to turn to incase it hap-"

"It won't happen again," Edward growled at me, his expression was dark and almost frightening. If it hadn't belonged to my brother who I knew would never hurt me, I would have been terrified. "I won't allow it."

I sighed. "That's not what I meant. But you can't be there for her all the time Edward, you can't protect her from everything," I argued. "But if we all knew, we could collectively look out for her and make sure she was okay, you can't deny that that makes more sense."

Edward hung his head at my words and Jasper wrapped his arms around my waist and rested his chin on my shoulder.

"She's right Edward," Jasper said.

"I know," Edward mumbled into his hands. "But, can you let me talk to her first? Let me explain why I told you?"

"Yes," I chimed. "We could go talk to Rose and Em, while you do that."

"I don't know if telling Emmett is a good idea just yet guys, you don't know how he will react," Edward said worriedly.

"Oh I have some idea," Jazz started. I did too. If Edward was worried about Jasper doing something to James, he would have a whole lot more of a headache worrying about Emmett. There would be no stopping him; I had no doubt about that, especially after what Jasper had explained to me last night. Emmett would not stand for a man ever causing harm to another women, not that Jazz and Edward were any different, but Emmett had every reason in the book to lose control over this information.

"This is exactly why we can't tell Emmett just yet. Let me talk to Bella, I think it should be her decision," Edward continued to argue, breaking my line of thought.

Eventually, Jasper agreed to let Edward talk to Bella first, and I was happy with that. I didn't want any of my boys going out to 'take care' of James. I didn't want them to be put in any kind of harm's way. What I really wanted to do was talk to Bella, to see if she was okay and to make sure she knew we were there for her. That we cared, and we loved her-that she could talk to us.

Edward was going to try and talk to Bella after school tomorrow, he wanted to give her some space after this morning, but I wasn't keen on the idea. I wanted to make sure that she was okay now. I was worried for her. What if James tried to go around to her house? Charlie didn't know, so who would protect her? I didn't voice these concerns out loud because I didn't want to panic Edward, which I was sure would happen. I made a plan to ring her tonight to see what she was up to, just what any normal friend would do. Surely Edward wouldn't get mad at me if I did that.

It was funny thinking about the short time we had been in Forks and how we had made such strong connections with the people around us. I was in love with Jasper beyond any kind of love I had felt before and I knew that Edward felt something crazy for Bella. I also loved Bella, Rosalie and Emmett and everyone felt like family. I couldn't wait for things between Edward and Bella to develop, and I could only hope that she could get past what had happened to allow him in. I just hoped it would be easy for them because god knows it had been more than difficult enough for them already.

After a few moments of silence, Dad came up with hot drinks for each of us, but I wasn't really in the mood for hot chocolate, I felt sick and decided that I wanted to lie down. Edward said he felt the same and left the room with my father, Jasper came to lay down next to me, rubbing soothing circles on my back, while telling me everything would be alright and he would fix things.

I cried silently while he tried to comfort me but it was useless. I couldn't help thinking that we all should have known something was up with James and Bella, ever since the day he came to Rosalie's house and demanded she leave with him. You just don't talk to people that way. One thing was for sure, if these boys had it their way, James wouldn't ever treat someone the way he had treated Bella again. As much as I like to shy away from any sort of violence, all I could think about was that James deserved what Emmett and Jasper if not Edward, would undoubtedly unleash on him.

I just hoped they got to him in time to teach him that lesson before he did something else that would make us all regret not going after him sooner.

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