Interview without a vampire

Same Disclaimer.

BPOV

He held my hand as we walked up the steps to the police station; I took a deep breath as he opened the door. Growing up with a father as a policeman made me accustomed to entering a building like this, but coming to this particular police station everything was different. As soon as Edward opened the door some of the scents I was accustomed to hit me, but this was a city police station and had much more activity and offending odors. I wanted to gasp and hold my hand over my mouth and nose; instead I just scrunched my nose in distaste. Edward sensing my reaction leaned down to my ear and whispered relax.

Upon entering there was a large counter in the first third of the large room with benches lining the outer perimeter. Several people were sitting on the benches while others were leaning against the walls. Beyond the counter were several desks; a few unoccupied at the moment but most were manned with men and women either on the phones or working at computers. Edward led me smoothly to the counter, because of his height it was easier for him to speak to the policeman behind it. The counter came to my shoulders making the policeman seem much taller than he probably was, I knew this was a psychological advantage for the police and it was working.

"Good Evening, we'd like to speak with Detective Hammond please." Edward said in his hypnotic voice.

"Sure, are you here regarding a case?" the cop behind the counter inquired.

"Yes, Bella Swan's case." He replied looking down at me and smiled briefly. The smile didn't quite disguise the apprehension in his eyes. The look on his face unnerved me, I wanted to run out the door and never return. Taking a deep breath to calm my nerves I attempted to smile in acknowledgement but I was sure it came out more like a scowl.

The policeman looked at me for a moment, "I'll get him, it'll be just a moment. Why don't you wait over there?" He said gesturing across the room.

Nodding Edward put his hand on my lower back to guide me to the benches. I didn't want to sit; the urge to bolt kept running through my mind, just apologize to everyone go home spend the evening quietly tucked in Edward's arms. What was I thinking coming here; everyone was right I should have let the police come to the house to take my statement. Besides the thought of confronting Derrick didn't seem very bright just about now. My breaths were coming in short bursts and Edward left his hand on my back rubbing small soothing circles as I sat stiffly on the edge of the bench. I tried not to pay attention to the other people around me, some of them looked pretty out there – dazed, angry, frustrated, Jasper would probably have a very tough time here. Now I joined their ranks.

"Bella, you have no reason to be this upset. I know this will be hard on you but you haven't done anything wrong. Your purpose here is to tell the police what happened to you as you remember it, that's all. We can leave after that if you wish." He prompted softly.

Drawing in a deep breath again I shook my head. As usual my stubbornness was winning out, once the decision was made there was no turning back. Trying to relax I looked around at the signs and posters on the walls, Safety First…Click it or Ticket, Don't Give Burglars an Outside Chance, Keep A Friend Alive, and the one that sent chills up my back They're Not Always Strangers. This poster depicted a couple at a party laughing and having a good time but the statement was clear…date rape. Tearing my eyes away from the poster and focusing on the counter I gulped back the saliva building in my mouth.

Something from my peripheral vision caught my attention; I turned to see Ian walking with another man I'd never seen before from a corridor to the left of the counter. Puzzled at first I just stared and then realized with a sense of dread he was here to give his statement. He hadn't noticed us yet, but Edward stood just then and his eyes automatically turned in our direction.

My first instinct was to rush to him as I stood, but I was pretty sure his body stiffened as the realization struck him that both Edward and I were here. It stopped me from going any further; of course he'd have this reaction. Our last encounter was of him holding me, protecting me…not even aware there was an Edward. In one irrevocable moment his world had changed as much as mine.

Watching as the man next to him reclaimed his attention extending his hand to shake, I realized this was probably Detective Hammond. Ian grasped his hand and they continued walking towards the open area where we were standing. Lightly touching my elbow Edward guided me towards them; my feet were dragging with slow intensity. The hesitation conflicting – I wasn't sure if it was the discomfort of Ian's presence or the upcoming statement I was about to provide.

Detective Hammond glanced at Edward and then quickly turned his gaze to me, a woeful look on his face. He was a burly man about five foot eleven with a face like a Saint Bernard, eyes pulled down in a droopy sort of manner and jowls that gave the appearance of too much skin for his face. He was balding and pale, but his eyes held compassion, like he'd seen too much misery on the job. "Edward, I didn't know you were here. You must be Bella Swan," he said extending his hand for me to shake.

Timidly I held out my hand and felt his large beefy hand grasp my tiny sweating one, he didn't release it quickly instead he reached out his other hand and wrapped mine in both of his. "Thank you for coming in Bella, I would have come to Bader if you would have preferred." He said smiling gently and in that moment I felt comforted by his presence.

"It's fine, I really just want to get this over with." I replied looking down at the floor. I was relieved he was so kind, but the uneasiness I felt with both Edward and Ian standing within two feet of one another was making me a bit anxious. Awkward was a word that didn't nearly describe the feeling right now. Once he let go of my hand, I quickly put it into my pocket so Edward wouldn't take it.

"Well," Detective Hammond said turning to Ian, "thank you for coming in, you can go visit with your family now, we have your cell number and if the need arises we'll call. But it's pretty cut and dry and I'm sure if there are any questions we can wait until you return," he finished clapping Ian on the shoulder. "Bella, if you'll follow me…we'll take your statement." He half turned back towards the corridor they had just come from and gestured with his hand for me to lead the way.

Hesitating slightly, "Um, uh…just a moment." Looking at Ian I gulped, his face expressed so much hurt I didn't know if I'd be able to ask the question. "Ian, is it possible to wait before you head home…I'd like to talk with you?"

Watching, he tensed slightly and looked from Edward to me and then down at the floor. At first I didn't think he was going to answer so I rushed to say what I really needed him to hear. "I'd like the oppor…"

As I began uttering my words, he started speaking at the same time, "Bella, it's really not…" Realizing we were talking at the same time we stopped to let the other finish, then smiled at one another – this was awkward. He sighed, "Sure, no problem. I'll meet you back at the house," he grinned slightly but I could see the hurt was still there just waiting behind his beautiful green eyes. Looking at Edward swiftly he walked past us towards the door. Edward never moved, not one muscle or twitch could be detected while we spoke.

Detective Hammond broke the stifling silence, "Shall we?"

I began walking forward and realized Edward wasn't walking beside me, turning back to him, "Wait, aren't you coming?" and then to Detective Hammond I said, "Isn't he coming?"

Edward shook his head no slightly as Detective Hammond explained, "Sorry Bella, we'll need to question you alone. It's the process, it won't take too long." He placed his big hand on my shoulder to turn me back to the corridor but I didn't move. Stubbornly I held my ground, this wasn't how I pictured it…my mind had him sitting right next to me when I told my version of the events.

"No, I want him there. He needs to be there. I can't do this without him." My voice started rising in octaves as each sentence came out…my breathing started coming in quick bursts. Edward rushed to my side and held me to him, his chin on my head. The feel of his arms around me worked magic in calming the anxiety.

When my breathing returned to normal seconds later, he pulled back slightly and bent to look into my eyes, "You can do this Bella, you know you can." I began shaking my head no and he reached up to carefully hold my chin, "Remember you're the one who convinced me you were ready. I'm here to support you in your decision." His eyes were penetrating and I became lost in the depths of their beauty. His breath blew in my face and I forgot where I was at the moment.

A voice came from behind pulling me from the daze. "If you'd like, Edward can remain outside the room while we wrap this up."

Edward clasped his arm around my shoulder to guide me forward as Detective Hammond followed – leading me to unfamiliar territory. I felt better knowing Edward would be near but still felt wound tighter than a drum.

Distracting myself as we walked the hall, I gazed at the walls and saw more posters for citizen safety. It didn't seem right that the posters were hanging in this corridor, if citizens were walking this passageway, safety would be the least of their concerns. Upon further inspection it appeared they were hung for the sake of covering the grungy yellowing paint job – perhaps to lighten the tension when walking to their destination. The fluorescent lights and linoleum made me feel like the walls were closing in around me…I decided to stare straight ahead and take deep calming breaths. Edward's arm tightened on my shoulder offering as much reassurance as possible.

"The door on your left, right in there. Edward, let me get you a chair. Bella is there anything you need, water…coffee…tea perhaps?"

He was extending as much hospitality as possible given the circumstances, trying to alleviate some of the stress I was feeling. "No thanks." I said shyly peeking into the room from the doorway – hesitant to go any further. There was a metal table and four chairs with red vinyl seat cushions in the room. The walls were painted a gray color making it appear that much more industrial. In the corner a video camera was mounted from the ceiling pointing towards the chairs that faced the door. My hands began sweating as I thought about everything I would need to relive in this room.

"Go ahead…have a seat. I'll be right in once I get Edward settled." He said as he turned back down the hall from where we just came.

Glancing at Edward hesitantly when the detective left, he smiled unconvincingly at me. "It's okay, Bella I'll be right here." I still hadn't moved from the doorway, I was tempted to grab on the doorframe with both hands to keep from entering – making them pry each finger away before giving in willingly.

Sighing I walked into the room and looked around, I didn't want to touch anything for fear it would contaminate me somehow – making this forever a part of me that no amount of showering would ever wash away.

Hearing the detective coming back down the hall, I pulled out a chair reluctantly with my fingertips. It slid easily on the floor allowing me the least amount of resistance so I could squeeze between the table and chair. Sitting only on the edge of the chair I placed my hands on the table folded directly in front of me. The process was foreign to me; I had seen plenty of television shows depicting this very scene but never had the misfortune to be in this position. Hopefully this would be the first and the last time I'd have to do this.

Detective Hammond came into the room and smiled gently as he closed the door. "Okay Bella," he said as he pulled out the chair across from me, "let me explain the process to you and then we'll begin." Pulling a tape recorder out from his pocket placing it in the center of the table he explained, "The camera in the corner is recording this as well as this recorder on the table. You are here to provide us with your statement of the events that happened last evening. Just tell me in your own words whatever you can."

He pressed the record button on the tape recorder, stating the date, time and my name. Then he looked at me expectantly, "It's my understanding that you don't recall anything, is this correct?" I shook my head silently. "I'm sorry Bella, but you'll need to speak out loud in order for this to be recorded properly." It was so quiet in the room for a moment I could hear the tape as it continued winding – recording this moment for who knew how many people to hear.

Leaning back in his chair he sighed softly as I opened my mouth, "Um…no I remembered everything this afternoon." My voice was rough, gravelly even. I cleared my throat hoping it would help to bring my voice back to normal.

"Good, that will be helpful in your case. Why don't you tell me everything from the moment Mr. Sanders saw you yesterday." He sat forward clumsily and placed his forearms on the table.

"Well, I think it was about four-thirty Ian and I had just finished cleaning up the common room in the house. I was waiting for my friend Roxanne to come home; she was bringing my class assignment because I hadn't gone to school. My arm was bothering me so I decided to take the day off and rest." I stroked the cast lightly as I remembered that afternoon. "He came into the common room just as I was headed upstairs to get something to read." I stopped not knowing if I should continue or wait for him to question me.

Nodding his head and smiling he said, "Good go on, if I have any questions I'll ask…otherwise just tell me what happened."

"Derrick asked if I was coming back down and I told him yes. I went upstairs grabbed a book and went back down…we sat there reading across the room from one another for awhile until my train of thought became distracted." I blushed remembering what distracted me and looked down at my hands. "He noticed, I guess, and came over to sit by me. We'd never really had a conversation before and it was kind of nice."

"If you're house mates, why haven't you ever had a conversation with him? Isn't Bader a smaller housing complex?" he asked puzzled…but there was something in his eyes that made me wonder if he didn't know something – something I wasn't saying.

"Yes, it is…but I'm a little shy and meeting new people makes me nervous. I think it's that way with Derrick too…it seemed to be one of the things we had in common." I replied a little nervously.

"Oh, okay. Please continue."

"Well after talking for awhile, we decided to get something to eat." He stopped me at this point by raising a finger.

"Who decided? Did you invite him or did he invite you?" he asked as he took some notes in a notepad he pulled from his breast pocket.

"Umm…" I thought about it running through everything in my mind and remembered my stomach had growled. "He did. My stomach growled, I was going to get something from the kitchen but he suggested we go get pizza."

He was writing furiously in his pad and didn't look up but said, "Go ahead, I'm listening."

"Well, we went to the pizza place down the street and were having a nice time actually. Then I realized Roxanne was probably waiting for me, so we left. As we were passing the park…"

He interrupted again, "The park isn't really on the way home from Domino's. Why did you take that route Bella?"

Shrugging I said, "Derrick suggested it. I didn't give it much thought…it was a nice night and we weren't in much of a hurry."

As he entered more notes in his pad he waved his hand for me to continue.

My heart started racing slightly as I realized I would need to recount in full detail the moments of Derrick's attack. This was the part of the statement that made me nervous…I still didn't fully understand why it happened – it was very confusing to me. My mind started racing through everything that happened all the way up to the moment leading to his attack. Did I bring it on? Was there something I did that provoked him?

I was quiet for so long lost in my thoughts that Detective Hammond looked up from his notes and said, "Is there something wrong Bella?"

Shaking my head no, I remained quiet wondering how I was going to tell the rest of this story. I wasn't scared anymore just concerned…what would happen to Derrick? Would his whole life be ruined by this one incident? It seemed so harsh that he would be paying for this for a very long time and nothing of serious consequence actually happened to me.

"Bella, I know this is difficult but you'll need to speak. Would you like some water?" He said gently while sitting back in the chair waiting for me to continue.

"No, I'm fine, sorry." I sat up straighter in the chair and looked at his face closely trying to envision this being Charlie interrogating someone else – maybe some familiarity would help. Charlie's face came to mind, closing my eyes I remembered I still had to tell him what happened.

"Just when we reached the entrance to the park, he grabbed my arm asking me if I thought this was a date. He got agitated when I told him no. That's when things started getting really strange…he claimed I thought I was better than him. When I tried to explain I wasn't interested in dating anyone, that's when he got really upset. He accused me of lying to him. Because well…for a while Ian and I did kind of date; but I had broken that off a couple of nights earlier." Hanging my head now as I thought of everything I'd done the past couple of months, the tears started stinging and I took a deep breath trying to gain control again.

"He started shaking me then, screaming at me – when I told him he was hurting me he didn't care. He just kept yelling and holding on tighter…his rage was getting alarming. Maybe I shouldn't have gone for pizza with him it was probably confusing. He didn't know I'd only love one man – that Edward is my true love." Now the tears were falling freely. As I thought about it in this way, I knew it was my fault. "I'm so sorry, I never meant for any of this to happen."

"Bella, what do you mean you never meant for this to happen. This isn't your fault. Even if you feel you led him on in some way, he still had no right to attack you. Do you understand that?" He asked tenderly trying to reassure me.

"Then why…why did he feel so betrayed. What happened to make him change his whole demeanor – he was fun to be around when we were having pizza. He changed all of a sudden when I told him I didn't want to date, that's why it's my fault. He knew I had gone out with Ian so he was hurt when I rejected him. Don't you see that's why this is my fault. I didn't just hurt him, I hurt Ian too when Edward came back that night." The tears were streaming down my face, my nose was running, I was crying so hard I was hiccupping.

He pushed out his chair, stood and walked to my side placing his hand on my shoulder, "Bella, this isn't your fault, believe me." He knelt down beside my chair and turned it so I was facing him. "If that were the case…you said you hurt Ian too, then why didn't Ian attack you? Come on think about it for a minute while I get you some tissues, I'll be right back." He stood to leave as I wiped my face with my hand trying to collect myself.

When he was closing the door I heard him say to Edward, "We're almost done in here. She's a little upset; I'm going to get some tissues. Please don't go in, it's important that we continue."

Hearing this only made me more upset; knowing Edward was in the hall and couldn't come in. Everything the detective said made sense but I still couldn't help feeling guilty. Turning my chair to face the table, I put my head down on the cold metal. It helped somewhat; I closed my eyes and imagined the cold hard surface was Edward's chest as the tears started to slow down.

The door opened and Detective Hammond came in with a box of tissues. "Bella, we'll be done soon. Here…" he said as he handed me the tissues. Picking my head up, I took the box and placed it in front of me taking one and blowing my nose. "Are you ready to continue?"

Swallowing, I shook my head and remembered I needed to speak. "Yes."

Wiping my cheeks with the tissue I took a deep breath. "Derrick was really upset thinking I was making an excuse for not dating him, he got really strange. Pulling on my arm he led me further into the park saying this was a date and we would walk through the park like other couples. He wanted me to tell him how much I enjoyed the date and kiss him. That's when I started panicking; I didn't know what he was going to do, but knowing the further in the park he led me the worse the situation would be. I thought of using my cast as a weapon, but just when I went to swing he moved, I missed and almost fell. That's when he got even more furious, somehow I got away and started running but I'm not very coordinated and fell. He was on top of me before I could get up."

I grabbed a tissue and took another deep breath. "I've never seen anyone as angry as he was…he was screaming and had me pinned to the ground by my shoulders. I tried really hard to get away, but he was using all his strength to keep me pinned. I was crying and trying to convince him he didn't know what he was doing, but he wasn't listening. Then he wasn't on me anymore, I jumped up to run but saw someone beating him. At first I didn't know who it was and then recognized it was Ian. He was beating Derrick pretty bad, but I convinced him to stop. He got off Derrick and held me making sure I was okay. That's all I remember, the next thing I knew I was in my bed at Bader Hall."

The tears had become a slow steady stream now and I felt much better. Getting the whole story out actually felt cathartic it was like a weight was lifted from my shoulders. He was the first person I'd told it to. Sitting back in the chair my whole body relaxed, I felt drained.

"Good Bella, that was great. I'm sorry I just have a couple of questions and then you can join Edward and go home. Okay?" he asked sympathetically. His face was sincere, he knew this was difficult for me, I nodded letting him know to continue.

"Okay when you said you never had a conversation with Mr. Sanders previously, I'm a little confused." He was flipping through his notebook now; "You never spoke to him at all before last night?" he gently probed. He looked at me; his face was perplexed…waiting for me to answer.

"Well, not a conversation…we had spoken before but it wasn't really a conversation." I said picking at the tissue in my hand without looking at him.

"What did you speak about prior to last evening?"

"The first time I met him was when school first began. It was in the student center the day before classes started. He introduced himself; Roxanne and I were leaving so it was a very short encounter. Roxanne did tell me the night before at our orientation party he was asking about me, but we never spoke before the day at the center." I replied innocently. I was pretty sure I knew where this line of questioning was headed but didn't want to volunteer anything.

"I see, so you didn't talk to him again until last evening?" He looked straight into my eyes and I couldn't hold his gaze. Looking down again at the tissue in my hand I realized I had wadded it up into a tight ball.

Placing it on the table and grabbing another one, I began telling him about the day Rox and I had brunch. "There was one other time, Roxanne and I went to brunch in town one morning and ran into him."

Without looking up I played with the tissue in my hand, "He wanted to join us but we were just finishing, Roxanne needed to use the ladies room so it was just Derrick and I at the table. He asked if he could tag along and well I sort of teased him a little. I didn't mean anything by it; it was more of a joke on Roxanne then anything else. I was upset with her for leaving me alone at the table to deal with him, so I told him Roxanne had an interest in him. It was wrong I know, but it was a harmless joke…really!" I said looking at him nervously; this would be where he told me that the whole thing was my fault. If I hadn't pushed him that day, he probably would have just left me alone.

Detective Hammond never wavered in his scrutiny of my face. He didn't get angry or annoyed; he just waved me on to continue. "Well, he admitted he liked me…a lot." Stopping here, I felt this was enough detail after all; this entire interview was about last night, not about that day in town.

Again, he never said a word; he just studied my face for a couple of minutes waiting. The longer he looked at me the more nervous I got, clearing my throat I began stumbling over my words again, "He kind of grabbed me and well…he told me he could make me feel real good. Then he…well he attempted to kiss me." There was no way I was saying what happened it was too embarrassing, so I just pulled the tissue in my hand apart.

"When you say he attempted to kiss you, what do you mean exactly?" He was sitting back in his chair looking very relaxed but still studying my face.

I felt the blush coming up on my cheeks and heating my face; I couldn't believe he was going to make me say this. "Well, he held my head and, um…he stuck his tongue down my throat." I felt the bile building in my mouth as I thought about it. It was funny when Roxanne and I talked about it afterwards, now it just made me sick to my stomach. Then I heard a loud noise in the hallway…I blushed even deeper, I'd forgotten about Edward in the hallway.

"Excuse me," Detective Hammond said rising from his chair and opening the door. "Are you alright?" he queried Edward.

"Yes, sorry I was leaning back in the chair, it fell and somehow fell apart. I'm fine though, sorry about the chair."

I could tell by the tone of his voice he was withholding his fury. Picturing how he must look, the fury deep in his eyes, his hands balled in fists speaking through his clenched teeth. Great, another thing I would have to explain. This was the longest day of my life and it didn't appear it would be getting any better after this interview was over. Placing my forehead on the table and sighing I began worrying about Edward.

"We'll be done momentarily." Detective Hammond informed him and closed the door again.

Picking my head up I looked at him, "Are we done yet?"

"Almost, sorry I know this is difficult. Now after he kissed you, what did you do?"

"Well, I pushed away and told him I thought his actions were inappropriate. That's when Roxanne came out and we left." There was no need to tell him anything else; there really wasn't anything that could be considered important.

"How did he seem when you told him it was inappropriate, did he accept what you were telling him?" he was studying me again, I was starting to get annoyed and wished he would just ask me whatever it was he was digging for.

"Not really, he wanted to buy me an ice cream. He told me he would enjoy watching me eat an ice cream." There was another scuffle outside the door, Detective Hammond just looked over his shoulder briefly and turned back silently letting me know to continue.

"That's when Roxanne came out, she asked him to leave. He didn't want to listen to her, so I told him to leave and grabbed my bag walking away. That was it, afterwards we went back to the house and told Anne what happened. Up until yesterday he pretty much stayed away. Anne said she would tell the guys in the house to keep an eye out and they must have, because he was never alone with me after that…until yesterday that is." Sighing now, I looked at him waiting for him to ask another question.

Flipping through his notebook again, he looked up at me and said, "Okay Bella that's it." Standing he pushed his chair in and continued, "If we have any other questions, we'll reach you at Bader. Thank you for coming down and giving us your statement."

Standing up slowly I hesitated, I didn't know if I would be able to ask…but I had to. "Um, do you think I could see him?"

His features scrunched into confusion, "You mean Derrick?" he asked.

Nodding my head, "Yes, I'd like to see him. I was hoping to ask him why he did this?"

"No Bella, I don't advise that even if it were possible. Understand something about guys like Derrick, but particularly Derrick – he's obsessed with you. There isn't any sound reasoning or judgment when it comes to you where Derrick is concerned. He has actually convinced himself that he loves you and you belong with him. He's dangerous and sick." He shook his head at the end and touched my shoulder gently leading me towards the door.

"But maybe if I could talk to him, he'd understand. I think you're right – he is sick, but I don't think he's that dangerous. He didn't mean it; I know he didn't. If I hadn't gone for pizza with him this would never have happened." I pleaded with him, I knew if I could just talk some sense into Derrick he'd listen to reason.

"Bella listen to me. First of all…you are not responsible for Derrick's actions. You will not be able to convince him he's wrong, he's that sick. Secondly, even if I thought you were right and agreed that speaking with him was sound, you can't. He's not able to see anyone but his attorney until his arraignment on Monday. Until then, he's safe and you shouldn't worry about him. He's our responsibility now; we'll watch him."

He placed both hands on my shoulders and looked into my face, "Lastly, you need to understand this is not your fault. He would have eventually snapped whether you went out with him or not…it was just a matter of time. I'm concerned; you are taking too much accountability for this. You should consider going to see someone about what happened, there's counselors at school who could help. Take the time, go see one of them, you'll feel better afterwards. Now, I should return you to your boyfriend I think he's getting antsy out there by the sound of it." He smiled again gently putting his arm around my shoulder when he opened the door.

Edward rushed to the door immediately, holding back momentarily – waiting, I walked into his arms. He held me as I breathed in his scent and felt immediately better. His hold on me was a bit tighter than normal, I could barely breath…but I didn't care.

"Come on kids, let's get you two out of here." Detective Hammond said as he walked past us down the hall towards the exit.

Edward wrapped his arm around my shoulders and I leaned into him completely drained. There was just one more question though, "Detective Hammond, what will happen to him?" I asked timidly. Edward stiffened as I asked the question, but I ignored it, this was important to me.

"This is his first offense, so most likely he'll be put on probation and sent for mandatory psychological counseling. Don't worry though he's been expelled from the college and he'll be returning to New Jersey in the custody of his mother. You'll be safe, I advise you to get a restraining order though – just in case. Sorry but that's the best we can do, it's the system." He shrugged and looked apologetic.

"Thanks, I'll be fine. I'm glad he'll get help; maybe he can work through this and be okay. He's too young for this to ruin his life." I smiled softly at him. Hopefully it would work out and he'd adjust completely after going home.

We were in the main room now, shaking his head he looked at me, "You're too forgiving Bella. Thank you again for coming in." Reaching into his jacket he pulled out a card and handed it to me, "If you need anything, anything at all, call. My cell number is on there as well, day or night Bella, I'm here for you." He reached out and shook my hand, "Contact the health center at school and talk to one of the counselors…I'm sure you'll feel better if you do."

Turning to Edward he shook his hand as well, "Edward it was a pleasure meeting you. Be sure to thank your father for all his help with this case. Thanks for bringing her in and take care of her, okay?"

"Certainly, now that we are together again, she's my sole responsibility – the reason for my continued existence. I have no intention of letting anything happen to her." He smiled his winning smile and kissed me on the head. "Let's get you home, it's been a very long day. Thank you Detective Hammond." He escorted me to the door.

The minute we stepped outside I stopped and took a deep breath. Edward would grill me all night and I wasn't up to it, but knew that it was unavoidable. Then I remembered Ian…he was waiting for me at the house. Stiffening from the thought, this day was never going to end…I sighed, "Lets get home, I have one more thing to take care of." Edward took my hand and we walked to his car silently.