thanks for the awesome reviews. i hope you all enjoy this chapter.

disclaimer- twilight, new moon, eclipse and breaking dawn belong to stephenie meyer and so do the characters

Bella walked quickly through the suddenly quiet street with her eyes glancing warily at everything around her, making sure she wasn't being followed. She held her throbbing hand close to her chest, the pain of it incomparable to her own. Gritting her teeth was no use when the tears started to fall from her face. It was irrational and unexpected but it had everything to do with her.

Everything she had run away from, all her nightmares, all the pain was chasing after her and she couldn't bear the thought of fleeing again. It wasn't worth it.

She wanted Renee there again with her as she walked over to the hospital. The fear that enclosed her when she thought about blood and needles wouldn't be washed away this time because Renee was dead as was Charlie. For the first time in six years, she longed to have her parents back in her life to be there for her and comfort her and tell her that everything would be all right.

Nothing would be okay though. This was reality and not life filled with sunshine and daisies and she would have to face it all alone, something she knew she wouldn't be able to handle.

The wind blew again, stinging her hand coated with dry blood. She shivered in her wet clothes. If she wasn't sick before then she was definitely sick now.

She quickly pushed open the door to the hospital that had appeared in front of her out of nowhere. Bella was so lost in her thoughts that she wouldn't have noticed if a car had crashed into her. She could have gone home and tried to clean her wound up while she tried to unsuccessfully to hold the nausea back but she knew that there would be no point. She'd have to go to the hospital regardless.

When she approached the front desk, Mrs. Weber, whom she knew all too well, smiled at her before seeing Bella's wet clothes and her red hand. Sheer concern laced Mrs. Weber's tone when she spoke. "What happened?"

There would be no point in telling the truth. The police wouldn't be able to find Edward and his posse. Somehow, she was aware of the fact that he was the type of person to run from the scene of a crime and he was most certainly a criminal.

"The usual," she said casually. Lying had become a natural instinct for her. "I was watching a movie at home and I got so scared that I didn't even realize I had bitten my knuckles. And then when I was walking here, it started raining and I didn't have an umbrella."

Mrs. Weber nodded, unconvinced. Bella's story lacked the part about the pain and horror in her expression that had nothing to do with watching a scary movie.

"You can do the paperwork after your hand has been wrapped up," Mrs. Weber stated as she walked Bella to the room where she would be treated. "Be safe, Bella. You don't want your recklessness to become a worse hazard than it already is."

"Thanks," she replied, her tone filled with sincerity. She ignored the last part of the statement since it was too late for that.

Bella sat at the examination table, observing all the posters and pamphlets. She could envision Renee standing next to her, wiping her tears away as she whimpered in fear. She was broken away from her memories a few minutes later when she caught sight of the door opening and a tall figure walking gracefully inside.

"Good evening, Bella," greeted a warm voice. Instantly, Bella's mood shifted.

"Hey, Carlisle." She smiled at him.

If there was one thing she liked about the hospital, it had to be her doctor. She'd never met a man as caring and amiable as Dr. Carlisle Cullen. He was one of the few people who didn't suffocate her with his presence. When she'd first met him a few years back, he had insisted on calling him by his first name.

"I haven't seen you here in a while and became worried that your knack for getting into dangerous situations somehow disappeared," he joked, eyeing Bella's wet clothes.

"It was gone for a few weeks but it's back in full force now so you don't have to worry anymore." It was hard to keep the bitterness out of her voice but she managed it.

Carlisle scrutinized her for a few seconds, his face pained. "What's wrong, Bella? I know you didn't tell Mrs. Weber the truth."

Bella held up her injured hand and risked looking at Carlisle's probing and concerned eyes. She knew that if she even chanced a glance at him, every truth would rush out of her mouth. So instead, she went for: "I actually fell and grazed my fingers on concrete. Could you please take a look at them?"

With a sigh, he complied. "I know you would prefer not discussing your personal life with me but you should realize that I consider you to be my daughter. You can tell me anything you want. Falling can happen to anyone but it didn't happen to you this time."

Guilt coursed through Bella's veins. "Carlisle, I'm not comfortable with talking about some things and this just happens to be one of them. I'm sorry if you think I'm evading you. I didn't mean to do that. It's just… things aren't so great." She said the words truthfully, wishing he wouldn't probe her for anymore information.

He beamed widely at her words. "That's quite all right and I hope things get better for you. Now, shall we take a look at your hand?"

"You can if you want but I definitely don't want to." She watched as Carlisle gingerly washed the blood away from her fingers, grinning, and flinched when he put a bit of pressure on her index finger; that hadn't gone unnoticed. When he had dried her hand, her knuckles were a bright red, contrasting with her ivory skin. She felt her nose running and sniffed. Carlisle's head snapped up to look at her face.

"You know," he said conversationally, keeping his tone slow and careful, "it's flu season again and perhaps it would be best to get a shot for that just in case your cold happens to get infinitely worse."

Bella winced at the thought of a needle piercing her skin. "No thanks. I can handle it."

It was silent after that except for Carlisle's steady breathing. A few minutes later, the ringing of his phone broke the stillness. Instead of walking out of the room, Carlisle stood, gave Bella an apologetic smile and flipped open his phone.

Bella tried not to eavesdrop but his voice was loud enough for her to hear everything.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

A man's voice on the other side answered and Carlisle looked mournful. He sighed and shook his head. "I was aware that would happen sooner or later. We all go through it and he's no different."

The man rushed his words. His voice sounded familiar to Bella but she couldn't think of where she'd heard it.

"I will speak to him when I get home. Give him some time to be alone and rest." He shut his phone and placed it back into his pocket. "Sorry about that, Bella. Sometimes, personal life gets in the way."

She waved her unhurt hand in forgiveness as he resumed his task. He was being tender with her while he fit a brace around her index finger like she were a porcelain doll. He told her that she had a fissure there in a collected tone. Something was wrong in his life and yet he looked utterly calm and at peace. If only she could be more like him.

"How can you be like that?" She asked without consulting her brain first. "I know something's wrong but you just act as if everything is fine."

He looked up from her hand and into her bewildered face. A chuckle escaped. "It's nothing I haven't dealt with before. My son has reached a stage in his life where he's become reclusive to everyone around him. He isolates himself from us because he believes he was meant to live a very different life than the one he leads right now."

Bella looked down at her hand, shocked that Carlisle was discussing his son with her. "He'll come around, though. All of my sons have."

She couldn't understand the context of his words. Carlisle was so young. How could he speak like he had ten full grown boys?

Reading her face, he laughed. "I adopt children who have led a tumultuous life and my youngest son has had the worst. I want to give him the experiences of a good and healthy family but he shuns us away. It hurts me when he does that and sometimes, I think he would rather not be in my home but I know that he will never leave. He loves me, my wife, and his brothers and sister too much for that." He chuckled again. "There are times you remind me of him."

Bella asked skeptically, "He's clumsy as well?"

At that, Carlisle's chuckle morphed into contagious laughter. She couldn't help but grin.

"How many kids do you have?" Bella asked and then realized her words sounded rude. "If you don't mind me asking."

"I have four but I think my eldest is looking for a bride as of now so maybe I might have five… or six."

Her mouth seemed to have a mind of its own tonight, so she asked, "Why are you telling me all this?"

Carlisle's smile was wide when he answered. "Because, as I have said before, I consider you to be my daughter and I think my wife would feel the same way if she were to have met you."

Bella mulled that over as he wrapped gauze around her fingers. She realized that he had become somewhat of her dad though no one could ever replace Charlie in her life.

"All finished," he said, patting her hand. "If the brace gets loose, come back and I will put a sturdier one on you. Also, try not to put too much pressure on your fingers. I know that you don't write with your left hand so working won't be much of a problem. If it starts to burn, take some Tylenol and take care of that cold."

Bella nodded and stood. Carlisle gave her a slight wave and strode out of the room.

When she walked home, the sky was dark as pitch. She felt lonely but everywhere her glance rested, Bella could see the city lights and the night teeming with life. She'd never felt the need to have someone accompany her life but right now, she wanted a person there to comfort her, to tell her that all her fears were ridiculous.

In her house, everything was silent. After throwing her clothes into the washer, she took a needed shower and dressed in a long-sleeved tee-shirt along with flannel pants. She was eating her dinner when her phone's ring trilled through the air. She looked at the number glowing on her screen and rolled her eyes.

"What's going on, Jessica?" she asked into the small cell phone.

"Bella? Bella! Finally! I called you five hundred times and you didn't pick up even once. I've been calling you since four and it's eleven now. Is everything all right?" The high pitched voice was panicked. "Why didn't you call me back?"

"Sorry. I didn't even check my phone today," Bella admitted back. "I didn't mean to give you a heart attack."

"Well, you did. Angela called me up to tell me what happened and I literally freaked. You almost ruined my night with Mike. It was supposed to be the best date of my life and then you come along."

Of course, Bella thought indignantly, blame it all on her. "That wasn't my intention. I'm sorry if you feel that way." She wondered if Jessica could hear the steel in her voice.

"Yeah, I know. You're filled with bad luck all the time so I knew it wasn't a big deal. I realized later that I was only overreacting. I didn't give you much thought after that and then had a great time with Mike. He's so amazing!"

Bella allowed herself to feel some malice for her friend, thinking of why she even had a friend like Jessica Stanley. Could Jessica hear the unadulterated cruelty of her words that Bella could definitely hear? "I'm really happy for you."

And then, Jessica launched into the story of her perfect date and her perfect life and her perfect boyfriend. Bella felt sick to her core and was only too eager when Jessica told her she needed to get a good night's rest.

When her house was quiet again, Bella occupied her time and her wandering mind by reading the terrible essays written by her students. After grading several papers that seemed to have been written on the bus right before her class started, her thoughts meandered.

She was sitting on wet concrete with Edward's fearful and apologizing gaze roaming over her face. Then, he was standing and punching a man with anger mixed with every move of his, his face contorting in sadistic ecstasy with every scream tumbling out of the man's mouth.

And her words to him from before came crashing down. Surely, he was mad, maybe even furious at her for her hateful words. Although, she didn't dwell on that for long, when her tired eyes closed and Bella fell into a restless night of sleep.

--

Edward clenched and unclenched his fists. Of all the things Carlisle had proposed for him to do, why did it have to be this? It was shameful and utterly embarrassing.

For several minutes, he stood outside of the building, wondering if it would be a good idea to bring his gun or whether Carlisle would be angry with him if he just ignored the command. His eyes rested on the electric fence and the metal detector. No, there would be no use for the gun. He'd have to use his bare hands today.

With the sun no longer shining, he walked into the building where so many years ago he had been taught by the best of teachers, teachers that would absolutely loathe him today. Nothing had changed and yet everything was different.

The halls were quiet and not one person was in sight. After walking into the front office and feeling slightly uncomfortable, he noticed a young secretary sitting behind a laptop. He caught her staring and a bright blush colored her tan cheeks. Edward resisted the urge to roll his eyes to the ceiling.

"How may I help you?" she asked in a coy tone, her smile wide.

Edward grimaced. He could hear the double entendre of her words. "I was wondering if Principal Greene was in his office."

The secretary's smile faltered. "Oh, yes. He's in his office. Just go straight down this hall and it's the first door to your right."

With a solemn nod towards the agitating woman, Edward walked the familiar path to the principal's office.

His hand hesitated on the silver doorknob but then he decided there would be no point to knock. So instead, he pushed open the door with force, ignored the bemused expression lining Mr. Greene's face, locked the door and sat in the leather chair across from his desk.

The tense silence lasted only for a few seconds before the principal's face glowed with recognition. "Edward, m'boy! What brings you back to your old high school, Mr. Masen?"

Edward disregarded his words to take the time to reach over and shut off the cameras. At once, the principal was nervous.

"It's Cullen now, sir. Edward Cullen."

"What?" He looked terrified. "You're… you're Carlisle's new adopted son? The one he's been boasting about all this time?"

"Does that surprise you? Edward Masen, valedictorian, now lives the life of a thug with New York's most notorious gangster as Edward Cullen. Because it sure as hell was what I had planned all along for my imminent future."

Mr. Greene's eyes were nervous but his words were serious and biting. "What do you want? I'll give it to you and then you can get your hideous self out of my school."

The principal made no attempt at being cordial and that aggravated Edward to no end. No matter what role he played in society now, he still deserved to be spoken with at least some respect.

"I want you to return the money you borrowed from Carlisle. It's been exactly a year and you promised him nine months."

"Look, Cullen. I don't care what I promised your daddy because right now I could care less. I've got more important things to be doing. I've got a life."

Edward grinned, laughing quietly. "You really shouldn't have said that." Then his mood shifted again. "No one, not even the governor, has the right to disrespect Carlisle Cullen like that."

Before Mr. Greene could register what was happening, Edward had lifted him into the air with one hand while the other one clamped his mouth shut. The principal's eyes widened with panic and he kicked his feet at Edward but his motions were useless. In an effortless movement, he had the horrified man pinned against the wall, with his agile fingers gripping the man's throat.

"Even if my life is miserable, at least I learned to become a man because of him," Edward said. "I could kill you right about now but I can't destroy the source that can get me two hundred grand."

Mr. Greene tried to speak but his words caught in his throat. With a hard shove against the principal's framed certificates, Edward threw him mercilessly to the floor. For the first time in his life, he felt an unexpected pang of guilt course through him and he thought about Bella.

Not here, he thought. Not now. Not ever. Carlisle was most important now not some woman who had forced him to rethink everything he had ever learned.

"Just give me one more month, Edward. I promise that I'll have it in by then," Mr. Greene whispered hoarsely.

"I want the money soon, Greene, no matter what kind of recession we're in and it would be best to keep your promise this time. You wouldn't want Carlisle himself visiting you during school hours."

The man nodded meekly, his forehead tinged with sweat. "I never expected such things from you. To disrespect your elders this way… I am in disbelief."

The words were a blow but Edward was careful and an expert at hiding his pain. "I want the money soon," he repeated. "And you won't benefit from calling the cops. They have no proof against me, hence the reason why discontinued the use of your cameras. I suggest you get rid of the tape with me walking into the building."

The principal just stood there with his bulging blue eyes and his red neck as Edward walked out.

As he passed the secretary's desk, she jumped out of her seat and handed him a card. "I'm Tanya and if you ever wanna hang out, call me."

Edward smiled at her crookedly and her eyes glazed over. He decided right there that he wouldn't dispose the card. After all, she could provide him with some entertainment from his repetitive life with a few dates. So he winked at her when he walked out of the front office.

"I won't forget," he called over his shoulder and then there was a distinct shrill of joy piercing the air of the office.

He allowed his feet to carry him out of the building, a smile dancing across his face. It was raining outside now, though that wasn't enough to falter his sudden happiness that no doubt arose from Mr. Greene's alarm and his secretary's flirtatious nature.

Although that had been fun, he wanted to do something that was even more enjoyable. Without a second thought, he pulled out his phone out of his pocket and dialed a number he had never called before.

An all too familiar voice answered. "Principal Greene's office."

"There's a bomb planted on school grounds so I suggest you evacuate the building."

--

Bella heard the screams from the teenagers before she heard the principal's announcement. She was shocked that it was even possible for someone to place a bomb on such a highly protected campus. But, as they always say, there's a first time for everything.

She grabbed her purse and her jacket and towed the hurricane of students around her to the nearest exit closest to her classroom. For some reason, she didn't feel the need to be panicked because the thought that this was all a hoax tugged at the edge of her mind.

Something knocked against her injured hand and as a result, she felt a blinding pain as tears pricked her eyes. Instinctively, she held the hand to her chest.

The principal looked green and guilty as if he had something to do with this. "Miss Swan, I said to evacuate the building in an orderly fashion. If an outsider were to see the chaos of such a prestigious school, think of what they would have to say."

Bella's face reddened with anger. "All that matters right now is to get the students safely away from the building."

Everywhere she looked, there were kids running in all directions, all with tears streaking down their cheeks. Bella could hear the cell phones opening, the screams of fright and even a few prayers. They were all perfectly normal reactions in a situation such as this but what was bothersome was the fact that there were no police officers investigating the case.

When she turned to ask the principal, he was no longer there. In his place was Angela, trying to pull a group of embracing girls away from one another.

"Angela, you get them out and I'll check if there are anymore students lurking around somewhere," Bella instructed.

With a nod of her head, a whispered "be careful" to Bella and a horde of girls following her, Angela was gone and Bella was alone in the abruptly hushed building.

She stood there for what seemed like hours, her face wet. When she heard nothing, the front door burst open and an assembly of uniform clad men sauntered inside. They told her they were from the bomb squad and immediately helped her out of the building.

The rain was merely a sprinkle now and it helped wash the perspiration off her face. For once, she welcomed the cold and the wet. They both aided with clearing her mind. She watched as a group of teachers hugged her tightly and cried on her shoulders. Bella just stood there, knowing no way to comfort them.

She wanted to yell and shake some sense into them. She wanted to tell them that they were all overreacting, that this was all some sick, sadistic prank because no one could've set off a bomb around the building without being caught on camera.

But she couldn't do any of that, for she was looking straight into Edward's smiling face. Not the smirk she'd seen the night before. Instead, his grin was genuine, his eyes shining with happiness, as if he was actually glad to see her there. And the fear and hatred she felt was back in full force for the handsome man standing only a few inches away from her. He was looking at her in a peculiar way, like he had been burning and suddenly the fire had stopped.

Bella felt horribly sick but to her disappointment, she didn't lose consciousness. The words he mouthed, however, made her freeze and listening to them changed her life forever.

"You're next."

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