AN- Hey, hopefully this makes up for the long gap in between the last two updates. Midterms. They take some time, you know.

Anyway, I think this chapter answers lots of questions. Hope you like it!

EMPOV

Friday, November 26th

In 5th grade, there was this guy I sat next to at school. His name was Alec. I remember really liking Alec. I didn't think about him in any way that wasn't innocent- I was in 5th grade- but looking back, it seemed like an overly strong attachment for 11 year old to have.

Alec's dad was in the military and they moved around a lot. He came into my class late in the school year. I immediately was drawn to him because he was in the same boat that I had been in. I knew what it was like to come into a class late in the year. I knew it would be hard for him to make friends and I saw an easy friendship for me.

But it wasn't really like that after a while. That wasn't why I wanted to hang out with him. I couldn't explain it then, I just knew that I liked to watch him and he was much more interesting to me than anybody else, including the girls everyone else seemed to be so fascinated by.

Alec moved away again the next summer and I became friends with Rose. I thought about him long after he had moved, and even though it didn't worry me much, I realized everyone else had forgotten about him and I, well…hadn't.

It had been a while since I had thought about him. My face reddened as I thought about what my obsession with him could have really meant.

It was the day after Thanksgiving, Alice and I were still on break, and Rosalie was still out of town at a family gathering. That left me sitting on my ass all day, doing absolutely nothing productive.

I slept late, not that anyone cared at this point. I'm sure my teenage boy ability to sleep all day had stopped shocking my parents long ago. Sometime after lunch I finally made myself to go downstairs. I didn't shower or put on presentable clothes. I wasn't planning on going anywhere, plus, I was hungry.

When I hit the living room floor from the stairs, I saw something interesting. Edward was sitting on the couch, looking uncharacteristically relaxed. Not only had he ventured out of his room seemingly voluntarily, but he was slouched down like he was actually comfortable. I could only see the back of his head, but he was looking down. Was he reading? His hair was wet, like he had just gotten out of a shower. I felt my face go a little red again, and I was embarrassed about my embarrassment.

Ignoring it, I approached him anyway. When I got close enough, I saw that he wasn't reading, but looking at an old picture. It looked like a miniature Edward with the parents. He was a cute little kid. They all looked like a normal, happy family.

"Awe, is that little Eddie?" I asked him. I probably shouldn't have snuck up on him like that though because he jumped and immediately sat bolt upright, clutching the picture tight to his chest.

I laughed a weak little uncomfortable laugh, trying to make light of the situation.

"Chill man, I'm not gonna take it. Sorry," I muttered at the end. I went around in front of him and sat on the couch diagonal from him, putting my feet up on the coffee table. Edward relaxed a little, putting the picture back down on his lap but still clutching it tightly. He leaned back against the couch, looking more like he had before.

When I was confident that he didn't think I was a threat, I started talking to break up the awkward silence.

"So you know that guy, Jasper, me and Alice were talking about at breakfast yesterday?"

"Yeah?" he asked, sounding confused like, what does this have to do with me type confusion.

"Well I might have lied. Jasper's actually a pretty good friend of mine and he's been ignoring me and shit for like days now. So I think he is going to ask her." I looked at Edward for a reaction. He just stared at me, as if waiting for me to continue. I made an impatient hand motion, prompting him to say something on the topic.

He shrugged. I rolled my eyes, chuckling a little at the same time.

"I guess I gotta go over there and talk to him," I continued.

"Okay…"

"You don't give a shit, do you?" I grinned a little, trying to show him that it didn't upset me.

"I mean…." He looked a little flustered, like he didn't want to offend me.

I sighed and leaned my head against the back of the couch, staring at the ceiling.

He surprised me by asking, "Is that Rosalie your girlfriend?" He said it hesitantly, and I knew not to say something stupid. That was the first time he ever asked a question of me and I didn't want to discourage the habit.

"Yeah, sorta...I mean, yeah, she is. Of course she is." I shook my head. If she heard me say that I'd be in a shitton of trouble.

"Oh."

"Why?"

He shrugged. "I don't know, just wondering I guess."

I nodded but still thought he had an ulterior motive for asking that.

"Hey, you wanna go get some food or something? Maybe I can go talk to Jasper on the way home." I hadn't planned on going out, but Edward looked like he could use something to do other than staring at his dead parent's picture.

"Oh, uh…no I can't really." His face went a little red.

"You can't? You have plans?" I didn't mean it to sound so disbelieving, but come on, the guy had spent the last three days locked in his room basically twenty four seven. What plans could he all of a sudden have?

"Yeah. I've got my session…thing….at three." Now it was really red and he was looking anywhere but at me.

Good job, dumbass.

"Oh. Right. Okay, well maybe another time, yeah?" I tried to play it off so it wasn't so awkward for him, but the damage had already been done. Edward half nodded half shrugged in a very non-committal way.

"There's probably a ton of leftovers anyway. Want me to warm some up for you?" I said as I stood up, heading for the kitchen.

"No. Thanks." Of course not. The kid never ate.

Mom's laptop was on the kitchen table, so after I warmed my food up in the microwave, I started messing around online. I was in the kitchen longer than I expected to be, and eventually I heard the front door open and close. I wondered who was coming in, but when I didn't hear anybody, I realized someone had gone out. Did Edward leave? He said he had his thing….

I went back into the living room. No Edward. I went to the window and saw him. He was standing up against the wall of the house, staring down the driveway. He was only in jeans and a hoodie, so I knew he had to be cold out there. I doubt he even put shoes on. Before he could see me creeping on him, I left the window and went back upstairs. But I couldn't help but wonder what he was waiting for. The dude was weird sometimes, but that didn't make him any less interesting to me. Slowly but surely I was realizing that maybe I liked to watch Edward a little too much too.

EPOV

I counted the minutes until 3p.m. on Friday. Dr. Garrison promised she would bring my pictures. I wanted to trust that she would, but I had that tiny voice in my head telling me she was lying and there were no more pictures.

I had moved closer and closer to the door all day and finally, I found myself waiting outside, on the porch, waiting for her car to appear. I still had about twenty minutes, but I couldn't wait inside any longer.

I hadn't been out here yet. Not alone anyway. I felt nervous out here, all exposed. I eyed the woods every once in a while, but tried to stay focused on the driveway.

By some incredible stroke of luck, she was early. I had only been outside maybe five minutes when I saw a nice little blue car coming around the curve. For a second I had a fleeting thought that maybe it wasn't her, maybe it was someone else and I just left myself out here defenseless like an idiot, but I soon could see that it was indeed, my therapist.

My eyes were on her face the whole time she parked and organized her things. When she got out and walked towards me, I knew the exact moment that she saw me. She grinned and shook her head as if amused.

"Hello, Edward. How was your thanksgiving?" she said as she walked up the steps, stopping in front of my and holding her bag tightly. I eyed it greedily.

I shrugged. She raised an eyebrow. She apparently wanted me to talk before I could have it.

"It was fine. Esme made dinner…" I scrambled for something less obvious to say about the day. When I came up with nothing I asked, "How was yours?" She smiled and I was hopeful that would earn me enough brownie points for my pictures.

"Mine was wonderful, thank you for asking." I nodded, wanting her to get to the point already.

She snickered a little before continuing. "I came a little early so that I could give you your pictures first. You can look at them until the session starts, but I expect you to be ready by three. Agreed?"

"Yeah." Hurry up, you're wasting time here.

Finally, she reached into her bag and pulled out a yellow folder, handing it to me. I took it immediately and muttered a 'thank you' before basically running upstairs to hide in my room with them.

I glanced at the time on the TV before plopping down on the floor. I had thirteen minutes.

Holding my breath, I opened the folder. The pictures were in the little pocket in the side, and there seemed to be quite a few of them.

There were seven, in total. Well, eight with the one I already had. Some were just with my mom and me, and others were with both of them and without me. Their wedding picture for one. My favorite was one taken in our living room. All three of us were on the couch, lounging comfortably. My dad's arm was around my mom and I was sitting against the arm of the couch, my little feet on both of their laps. It was a very natural position, not as posed as the others. I didn't remember who had taken it. What I would give to have this back…

Sadly, the thirteen minutes were up way too fast and I had to put them down for the next hour or so.

During the session, Dr. Garrison wanted to make sure I wasn't going to obsess over the pictures. She said they would mean more to me if I only looked at them every so often. Good luck with that.

She convinced me to promise her that I wouldn't spend all my time in my room. I would try my best to come downstairs for mealtimes at the very least and interact with the Cullens more. She encouraged me to show some of my pictures to somebody else. She wanted me to share things with them, let them know where my head was at on any given day. Apparently it would help me to feel included in the family.

I didn't know about all of that, but she did do something amazing for me, so I promised her I would try. I had to admit that I trusted her a bit more now. She promised me something and came through on it. She didn't make me give her anything back and was happy that I would enjoy them so much.

We parted on much friendlier terms than usual. I was glad I wouldn't have to see her until Monday, but I didn't dread our meeting as much as usual.

Sunday, November 28th

On Sunday, Carlisle came up to find me in my room. He had been at work when I came down for lunch, so I was a little surprised when he knocked on my door. When he opened it, I was still sitting on my bed and he stayed by the door. He seemed very wary of startling me.

He spoke in a soft tone while telling me, "I just got off the phone with our attorney." Uh oh. "He's actually an old family friend as well. His name is Aro and he's got a firm in Seattle. He'll be working with you while your case is still open, as long as you're okay with this."

I was confused. "But…why do I need an attorney?"

He nodded but looked around for a moment. "May I?" He asked, pointing to the couch. I nodded, sat up a little straighter and pulled my sleeves down over my hands.

Carlisle sat, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and his fingertips touching. "You probably don't need one. We're just being extra careful. Not that we expect them to, but we don't want anybody taking advantage of you at this point. Aro will make sure everything is played by the books. Having him around can't harm anything."

"Oh," I said quietly, not sure what else to respond with.

"He has agreed to come down tomorrow afternoon and discus what will happen from here on out with you. He'll go over what you will need to tell them, just so you aren't surprised when the police ask. Dr. Garrison has agreed to meet at the same time and help with the process. If everything goes as planned, Aro would like to meet for the police interview on Tuesday." He paused. I was looking down now, trying to absorb all of this information. "Edward? You still want to do this, right?"

I know I promised that I would tell them anything they wanted to know, as long as I didn't have to see James, but now that it was happening, it was a whole different story.

I nodded, just wanting to get it over with. After Tuesday, I could be done with this.

So the next day, in place of a session, I was in Carlisle's office with a lawyer, my shrink, and Carlisle and Esme. Apparently, since I was a minor, they were supposed to sit in on any legal proceedings. I didn't really want them there, but they assured me everything would be fine.

I was on the couch, Dr. Garrison on one side and Esme on the other. Carlisle was sitting with Aro by the desk.

"Alright, to get started, Edward, you need to understand that you have every right to decline to answer questions. You have done nothing wrong, the police can only be helped by any information you give them. That said, the more information you give them the easier it could be for them to put Owens away for good. Any details you feel able to share could be useful."

He went on to talk about how the police would probably try to convince me to testify, but it was within my rights to refuse and I shouldn't feel pressured.

"Now, basically what these detectives are going to do is ask you for a chronological account of what you experienced. This will, of course, start with the time you first encountered Owens, what you witnessed in regards to your parents' death, and the events that lead to you being in his house. They'll ask you to go through the basics of what happened once you were in his house, however I'll do my best to make sure only relevant, important facts are asked of you. I don't believe specifics of your treatment will make or break their case. Without your testimony at trial, those details will not provide them with much assistance. There's no need to put you through that if it's not crucial. What will be important though are the events leading up to your escape. They'll ask you about that day and whether you were released by him or left the house by your own means."

"They're job is to guide you through the questions, but you must supply your own answers."

"How many people will be questioning him?" Esme asked, sounding a little overwhelmed.

"They'll probably send two down but one will be doing to main questioning. If Edward is uncomfortable with either, the other should be able to do it."

"And what if they get here and Edward doesn't want to do it at all?"

"Legally, he doesn't have to. He has already supplied a brief statement at the hospital. However, as expected, his state of mind at that time probably lead to some information being left out. It's often the case that they re-interview victims and witnesses after some time has passed." He paused for a moment, turning back to me. "Edward?" I nodded. "You do want to do this, right?"

"No…but yes. I will. I want him…" I searched for the right words, "away from me."

He nodded. "Okay then. Do you have any questions?"

I shook my head. I wondered how long it would take, but he probably didn't know that.

Shortly after, our little group split up. Dr. Garrison wanted to have a short session with the time we had left, and Carlisle had some legal questions that would 'bore' me. The three of them moved downstairs, leaving me and Dr. Garrison alone in the study.

"How are you feeling about all of this happening tomorrow?"

"Fine, I guess." She looked doubtfully at me, clearly not believing me. "I just want to get it over with." She nodded, happier with that answer.

"It'll be over soon." I nodded, trusting in that to be true.

"Are you ready for the questions?" No. "Would you like to practice?" I shrugged, not sure what she meant.

"It might be easier tomorrow if you are prepared and have your answers planned out. Don't you think?"

"I guess so…"

"Remember Edward, these people are just interested in the facts. You don't have to tell them how you felt about it or if it upsets you. Just the facts. All you have to do right now is say what physically happened." I guess that did make it easier. I didn't need to think about what these things meant, just what they were.

Before she started asking me questions, I thought they were exaggerating about how difficult this would be on me. It wasn't like I had forgotten and all of a sudden they were reminding me. I lived with these memories twenty-four seven already.

But then she started in asking me about what happened the night he took me, where were my parents, where was he, where did he take me? I had tried to block out those details for a long time, so some of them were harsh to uncover. But she was right, I was glad this was happening with her instead of some strange man I had never met.

"What happened when you left your house?" So many things, I didn't know where to begin. I didn't want to voice them either. I wanted to pretend I never did leave my house. "Just tell me where you were, Edward. In a car?"

I nodded, "Yeah, my parent's car. From the garage. He put me in the back seat. Then we drove for a long time. I was sleepy."

"And you went to his house?"

"Yeah. He put me in my room, upstairs."

"Can you talk to me about the room?"

"It just had a bed then. Later he brought more stuff. But just the bed then. And a lock on the door, but it was on the outside."

"Edward, they're going to ask you about what kind of abuse you endured. That will be one of the charges they try to make against him, so it's important that you can confirm any mistreatment. Was there verbal abuse?"

I frowned. I had never thought of him yelling at me being termed abuse before. "I guess. He yelled and stuff. Said…bad stuff." That sounded stupid, but I didn't want to tell her details. She said I didn't have to. For now.

"Physical abuse?" I nodded this time, the almost gone bruise on my face testimony enough for that. "Edward, I know this is hard, but will you tell me if there was sexual abuse?"

I felt my face go red at the mention of that. Memories flooded my mind. Not any specific time, just…feeling him. All the nights blended together eventually, like it was one long moment in time where he did it over and over again. One of the worst parts about it was that he never let me shower after. I never knew if he did it on purpose or if it just wasn't convenient for him, but whenever he was done with me, all I ever wanted to do was rinse myself with scalding hot water. He would always just get up and leave, locking me in again. I often spent hours wishing and fantasizing the he would come back and let me into the bathroom.

"Edward?" Shit, she was waiting for me.

"Yeah, he…um, just yeah." I didn't have a verb for what he did, but I thought yes should suffice.

"What did he do?" she sounded a little confused, but I couldn't help but think she was faking it. I shrugged.

"Did he rape you?" I looked away from her, at the bottom corner of the desk. They asked me that at the hospital too. I didn't like that word, it didn't seem to fit. I didn't have a better one, but that one wasn't right.

"I guess…" I mumbled, embarrassed.

"Edward, you did nothing to deserve that. It wasn't your fault, or choice. That man chose for you, taking advantage of a child's weakness. There's no reason to be embarrassed about that. You couldn't have stopped it, you understand that, don't you?"

I shrugged, because I didn't completely agree. While I didn't think it was my fault, exactly, I still felt like I could have stopped some of it. I didn't even fight him after a while. I just let him do it. And when I got older…he wanted me to do things to him. I did them. I didn't want to, but I knew I had to.

"Can I go now?" I asked because I really wanted a shower all of a sudden.

"We're not quite done yet, just a few more minutes. I want you to understand this. What happened was not your fault. You were not given a choice."

"I know."

"Rape is any unwanted, and forced sexual intercourse. Are you struggling with that definition?"

I shook my head. I understood what that meant.

"Okay," she said more softly than before. "So do you feel confident that you can answer that question tomorrow?"

Confident, no. But that wasn't going to happen any time soon with any of these topics. So again, I went with, "I guess."

She nodded, not dwelling on that topic before she moved on. I was glad. She really was sticking to facts, which I appreciated.

We talked a little bit more about what happened when I was with him before she moved on to the day I left the house.

"He hit me, and this time it scared me. I…panicked, I guess. I don't really know what happened. I didn't decide to do anything. The next thing I knew, he was one the ground…and my hand hurt." For a second, I had even thought about running back upstairs and hiding in my room. But then I was out the door. "I guess it was just instincts, I ran. I found that lady's door and went in."

Looking back at that moment, I realized I hadn't thought much about that lady. I had probably scared the shit out of her. I hoped she was okay now.

"Okay. I think you're going to do fine tomorrow. You're doing a great job with all of this. Just remember, if you need a break, don't be afraid to ask for one. Nobody will be in a rush." I will be in a rush, I think.

"You should also decide who you want in the room with you. The police will probably encourage you to keep it to a minimum, but you have a right to have any or all four of us present during questioning."

Honestly, I wanted to keep it at a minimum too. I didn't want any of them there. I'm sure they all thought I would feel better with them there because they would comfort me, but the truth was, nobody could save me from my secrets. I had a feeling none of the above wasn't the answer she was looking for however. I knew I didn't want Esme to hear anything I had to say on the topic, so she was definitely out. It would only upset her. She just didn't need to know. Carlisle would probably insist the lawyer was there, and Dr. Garrison had already heard most of it anyway. She was a bit of a lost cause as far as keeping secrets went.

Tuesday, November 30th

The officers would be here around four. I didn't sleep much and I was restless. In an odd way, I was looking forward to it, just because it would all be over soon. I already showered and was dressed in comfortable clothes- pants that had already become my favorite jeans and a too-big hoodie.

I had about an hour to kill and all I could do was think of what I had to say, so I pulled out the folder of pictures that I now kept hidden under the mattress with the first one. I leaned against the bed, my feet still planted on the ground, and pulled out my favorite one. The one on the couch in our living room. It was also my new favorite pastime.

I jumped when Esme knocked on the door, not realizing how much time had passed. The door was already slightly ajar so she pushed it open a little more and peeked in.

She smiled kindly at me and said, "Hey, are you doing alright?" I nodded. "Are those your pictures?" They obviously were. I often brought one downstairs with me. I knew they had seen them before. But Esme made no move to get closer; she wasn't going to take it. She was just curious and making conversation maybe. She only wanted to help, I reminded myself. Dr. Garrison had promised to tell her that I didn't want her to be present for the questioning. Esme hadn't mentioned it last night and I worried that she had taken it the wrong way. I really was only trying to keep her from knowing things she didn't want to know.

So, in an effort to make peace and show her that I truly was grateful, I nodded. Then I held out the picture as an invite to come over and look. A wide smile instantly spread across her face and she rushed over in an exited, Alice-like manner.

She leaned up against the bed next to where I was sitting on the edge. Without making a grab for the picture, she tilted her head towards it so she could see better.

"Oh, Edward, you are just so cute. What a beautiful family. You look very happy," she said with a genuine smile.

Yes, we were a beautiful family. Suddenly, I felt my breathing pick up and my eyes got wet. My jaw trembled and I clenched it shut. I didn't want to cry in front of her. She saw anyway.

Before I was ready for it, she wrapped an arm around my shoulder, squeezing gently in a sort of sideways hug. I remembered vividly how the last hug had turned out, and I suspected she did too.

"Sweetheart, you're going to be okay, you know that?" She rubbed her hand up and down and I sucked in a deep breathe, trying to pull myself together. I wanted to believe her. "This is really hard, I know. You're doing such a good job. I'm very proud of the way you're handling everything. It's truly amazing how strong you are. But it's okay to be sad too. You don't have to hold it all in."

I'm not really sure how it happened, but Esme pulled me towards her a little bit more and that was all it took. I laid my head on her shoulder and cried. She wrapped both arms around me then, just holding me. She didn't say anything else. I let myself be comforted by her. Huge amounts of tension I didn't realize I was holding left my shoulders.

I was getting her shirt wet. I tried to stifle the tears, but it took a few minutes. It felt good that she was letting me have my time. She didn't rush me and just kept rubbing my back gently. I didn't know when I consciously decided to trust this woman, but I did. She wouldn't hurt me. She was only trying to help me.

When I finally did pull myself together, I was embarrassed and had a headache. I sat up straight and tried to hide my face. Esme brushed my hands away. I dried them on my jeans.

Somehow, Esme had gotten ahold of my picture. I didn't remember letting go of it, but apparently I had. She handed it back to me, telling me, "It's a beautiful picture. I'm glad you have it now." I nodded, very much agreeing.

"You know, we can postpone this meeting, if you think you'd feel more up to it a different day."

"No, I want it to be over. I'm fine."

She nodded. "Okay. Do you want to head downstairs with me?"

"I'm gonna wash my face first. Then I'll be down." I didn't look at her, still a little embarrassed that I broke down like that in front of her. I don't know what happened, but I had to hold it in better than that for the next few hours.

Too soon and not soon enough, I found myself in the living room with Dr. Garrison sitting on the couch with me again, Carlisle in a chair off to the side, and a Detective Prewitt on the couch next to Aro, both of whom had folders and notepads out on their laps, pens ready. The Detective had also brought a tape recorder and had set it down on the coffee table.

Esme had gone upstairs, promising that Emmett would stay on the third floor too and that Alice, who was at a friend's house, would call before she came home. Nobody could hear me that wasn't in this room and I wouldn't be interrupted.

I felt like a bug under a microscope. I took a deep breath. I looked up at the man I had just met. He was short and had had big glasses. Very opposite of what I expected an intimidating police officer to look like.

I just wanted to get this done and over with as fast as possible. I felt like I was begging him with my eyes, saying just do it, pull it off like a band aid.

It'll all be over soon.

"Ready?"

Nod.

He pressed record.

"Can you state your name?" he asked, somewhat robotically.

"Edward Masen."

"And how old are you, Edward?"

"Sixteen."

"Can you please tell me about your first encounter with James Owens?" Fuck if that wasn't the most open ended question ever. I thought he was going to lead me.

"He came to my house. Me and my parents had just finished eating dinner. I was in my room, putting my pajamas on when I first heard him." Those pajamas were the only thing I had with me from my old life when I was with James.

"How old were you?"

"Eight."

"What happened next?"

"I heard him yelling at my parents to get down. I don't know how he got in the house, my dad must have forgotten to lock the door or something. But he was yelling, and I went out into the living room to see what was going on." I didn't recognize his voice and I was confused and scared because he sounded mad. Before I got to them, I heard a really loud bang.

"I didn't see him shoot my dad, but I heard the gun and when I got to the living room, Dad was laying on the floor, facing down. James hadn't seen me yet." But Mom did. She was kneeling on the floor behind the coffee table, her eyes wide in horror. She looked at me and shook her head a little, wanting me to go. She looked away before he saw, but it didn't matter.

"He asked her where I was but she was just crying by then."

"He knew your name?" the officer interrupted me.

"Yeah. He asked where Edward was."

"And you had never met this man before?"

"No, I didn't recognize him."

"Okay. What happened next?"

I swallowed hard. I looked at the lines on the corner of the coffee table. Stared at them.

"She asked him to leave me alone, just….to just deal with her and leave. He looked around then and saw me behind him in the door. Then he shot her too. After that he put me in Mom's car." I refused to let the visual of my last seconds with my mom into my mind.

"How did you get to the car?" What? Did he think I willingly walked over there and jumped in?

"He forced me to swallow sleeping pills." Now Carlisle would get my aversion to his medicine I guess. "He waited for me to pass out, then he carried me."

"To the car?"

"Yes," I said, a little more forceful than I meant to be.

"Okay. So you were asleep the whole time in the car?"

"No, I was sort of awake when he switched cars. He picked me up and put me on the floor of a bigger car, like a van I think, then we started driving again and I fell asleep."

"How far did you drive?"

"I don't know, I was eight." This man was starting to piss me off. Was I supposed to tell time drugged, passed out, and in the dark, when I was eight years old?

"What happened the next time you were conscious?"

I swallowed again. There was way too much saliva in my mouth all of a sudden. "The next thing I remember, I was in his house. He was holding me on his lap, we were on his couch." I had a really bad headache and held really still, hoping he wouldn't notice I was awake.

"He was mad that I woke up there, he didn't want me to see the house. Just my room. He carried me upstairs and put me down on a bed in my room. He told me to stay there. He left and locked the door. There was like a padlock on the outside."

"Can you tell me about the room? What it was like?"

I could tell him every inch of that room. I knew it like the back of my hand. The scratches in the white paint on the walls, the weird, bumpy ceiling, the five boards that covered the window crookedly, the dirty, dark blue carpet.

"It just had a bed in it at first. There was a window facing the side yard but he had boards on it. Later he gave me stuff to put in it. A table and a little dresser. But first it was just the bed. It was in the corner." I hid in that corner.

I could almost feel Carlisle's gaze in the side of my face, but I refused to look at him. I preferred to pretend he wasn't there at all, actually. He shouldn't hear this.

"And did he always keep you in this room?"

"Yeah, for a while he did. Later he let me out sometimes when he was home and he wanted to watch me. I went downstairs for meals sometimes. It just depended on his mood."

"How long was it before he let you leave the room?"

When I turned twelve, he said I was a man now. That he could trust me more because he knew I would behave. That was my birthday present that year. He smiled and laughed when I went downstairs for the first time, thought it was funny that I was so surprised.

"I don't know, a few years." Carlisle didn't need to know that I spent four years in that room.

"What about the bathroom and bathing? How did that work?" I didn't want to answer that. I looked at Dr. Garrison. She promised that I didn't have to answer anything that I didn't want to. I didn't want to talk about that. She just gave me an encouraging smile though, not understanding. I rolled my eyes, looking back at the table.

"He let me in the bathroom in the hall." That was all he would know.

"What happened next?"

I was irritated now.

"What, you want me to go through every day of the last eight years? He kept me in that room, that's what happened next." I crossed my arms and squished my back against the sofa cousins, annoyed with his directionless questioning. He wasn't put off though.

"What about meals? When did you eat?"

"When he brought me food." Duh. I was rolling my eyes an awful lot today. Dr. Garrison gave me a meaningful look, which annoyed me further. What's it to her?

"He brought me breakfast before he left and dinner after he got home from work."

"What kind of foods?"

"I don't know, a lot of the same. Oatmeal, bread, noodles. Stuff that was easy to make I guess."

"Was he physically violent towards you?"

It'll be over soon.

"Only when he was drunk. Sometimes he came home drunk, or sometimes he would drink like, I don't know, seven or eight beers before he passed out. He hit me sometimes if I did something that made him mad. It didn't happen very often." I wanted that topic to end there, please.

"Is that how you got the bruise on your face?" I didn't think you could see it anymore. Maybe it was in the file.

"Yeah." Carlisle shifted in his chair. I stared at the other side of the room to keep myself from looking at him.

It'll be over soon.

"And was he sexually abusive towards you?"

I was suddenly very aware of time. One second, then two, then three went by and I started to panic about what they would read into my pause. Had I paused this much on other questions? I knew he would ask this. I had prepared myself for the answer. But the seconds went by. Eight seconds until I said, "yes."

My stomach seemed to flip over. It was out there now. It was on that little machine, and in these people's minds.

I felt my chest moving up and down against the cushion. I didn't blink. Hyper aware of everything, I waited for the next question.

"When did it start?"

When he pulled me out from under the bed. "The night after he took me."

"How often did it occur after that?" I shook my head, leaning forward, my elbows supporting me against my knees. I didn't look at him and I didn't answer.

"Is that crucial information?" Dr. Garrison broke in.

"Any information could be critical at this point."

"Only answer what you feel comfortable with, Edward," she reminded me. Yes, because the rest of this conversation had been so comfortable and lovely.

"I don't know, I didn't exactly count. Sometimes every day, sometimes once a week or so. Once it was like a month in between. Just depended."

"I need to know what kind of sexual contact there was. Can you tell me-"

"No." That was where my cooperation ended. I wasn't going to sit here and tell everyone about the first time he touched me, the first time he had sex with me. I wasn't going to give up all my secrets to satisfy their curiosity.

"Was it only touching or was it actual penetration-"

"It was both. Happy? Can I leave now?" My foot started tapping of its own accord. It was really hot in here.

"Yes, I think that's quite enough for one day, perhaps we can stop for now and finish up next week sometime?" Dr. Garrison asked.

The officer started rearranging his stuff, like he was packing up.

"No, I want to finish today," I said, realizing I seemed crazy for changing my mind so quickly.

"Edward I think it's best if you take a break today," she told me. I shook my head.

"I want to get it over with now. I don't want to do it again later, so ask me whatever while you're here." My foot kept tapping. They had better hurry up.

"Can you tell me about the day you left the house?"

"Yeah," I said in a snippy tone, ready to be done with this. I talked fast, skipping details that were probably unnecessary anyway. "He came home drunk. He let me out of my room and wanted me to get him something for dinner. He had already opened another beer and I knew he was going to be trouble that night. I noticed he had forgotten to lock the front door from the inside like he usually did. He saw me looking at the door and got mad, that's when he hit my face. It was with a plate." I laughed a little, humorless laugh. I'm sure it cemented the crazy hypothesis. "It made me dizzy, like I was going to pass out and I panicked. I thought he was going to go too far so I hit him back. I don't know why, it was just instinct, but he fell and I ran. I didn't know where to go but I saw that lady's light on and went there. Her door was unlocked and I ran in, she started screaming and I told her to call someone. That's the last thing I remember." I looked at him, expecting him to look satisfied or something. He didn't.

"Anything else?" I took the liberty to ask.

"No, I think that'll do us for now."

I was out of my seat and on the stairs before he started thanking me for my patience. Whatever. I was done with that obnoxious little man.

Up in my room, I went into my closet, changing from my relatively nicer clothes into. Although I was happy to be done with it, I was disappointed that I didn't feel better. I thought I would get the whole, weight off the shoulders, relief thing going, and sadly that wasn't the case. I felt just about the same, except for my fresh embarrassment that Carlisle and Dr. Garrison now knew my secrets. Or at least the basics.

I suddenly wanted to be out of this room. Out of this house where these people were that knew things about me. I had an idea, and it shocked me. Before I thought about it, I was at Emmett's door. I knocked three times.

As the door opened I heard a "Mom, I told you-" and then he was staring at me, clearly shocked as well. I knew my eyes were wide as I stared at him like an idiot. I had no idea what I was doing here. I couldn't just say nothing though.

"Dude, what-"

"Do you want to go get that food?" I asked, hoping he would remember the fake plans we had made a few days ago.

He looked at me, clearly confused, but he pulled his features together quickly and grinned, looking pleasantly surprised. "Fuck yeah man, let's go."

AN- So Emmett's coming along a little bit, yeah? Next chapter will be lots more of their progress, not so much of this official type stuff which I hope wasn't too boring. It was necessary.

Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you still like it! Thanks for those of you who have left really nice reviews, I get all giddy inside whenever I read them :))