Thank you again for the reviews! It makes me excited to read! Special thanks to Indunga again for your fabulous reviews that make me say "yay!". okidoki! Here comes Chapter 8!

Stephanie Meyer owns all. The end. sorry to break hearts... like mine.

Chapter 8

EPOV

I stared at Bella waiting for a response. She was scaring me. First I wake up, thinking she is just taking a shower, then an hour later, she is still in there. I go in to check on her, and I nearly have a heart attack. Her skin was bleeding, and she was rubbing it hard. She was still fully clothed, and the water was running ice cold over her. I was terrified she was going to get sick on top of everything else.

She hasn't spoken a single word since after I got off the phone with her. I took both of her cold hands into mine, and stared into the depths of her brown orbs. There was no light. There was nothing there, but pain, and emptiness. It was terrifying to look at. "Bella, did Charlie hurt you?" I repeated, hoping she would respond. She looked like she was trying to, opening and closing her mouth a few times.

Finally, she seemed to give up on trying to say anything, and she just looked down, and shook her head, fear in her eyes.

"Bella. Please, are you telling me the truth?" she shook her head again, meaning that she was lying before. He did hurt her. I squeezed her hands slowly, and sat down beside her, and brought her on to my lap. "Everything will be okay. We will do everything we can so that you don't have to go back there. In order for us to do that, You need to tell us what happened." I said. She just looked down again, and then put her finger to my mouth, like she was telling me no more talking. It took me a moment to figure out what she meant, but I got it. She couldnt talk about it right now. I nodded a little, and rubbed her back gently.

"Bella.. I'm so sorry this happened. I was hoping I could protect you, and keep you from any more harm.. but then.. all this happenned. I am truely sorry I wasn't there to protect you." I said, lowering my head in shame. Suddenly, for the first time since she got here, she looked like she understood everything I was saying. She lifted my chin up with her index finger, and shook her head, smiling a very forced smile, never reaching her eyes. Here she was, in so much pain that she couldn't speak.. and she was trying to comfort me! Trying to make ME feel better! It was absurd, it was so... Bella.

Esme came in a few hours later with a tray of food for the both of us, and placed it on the bed beside us. "How is she doing?" She asked, her eyes alight with worry.

"I don't know. She still hasnt spoken a word. I got her to fall asleep a little while ago" I motioned with my free hand to her, asleep on my lap with her head resting on my shoulder. "I feel so helpless, I don't have any clue what to do. But I know that Charlie is the one hurting her. Thats all I could get out of her."

Esme patted my other shoulder, then stroked Bella's hair for a moment. "Just give it a little time. Its so fresh in her mind. Let her heal a little first. Once she wakes up, try and just act like everything is normal. Maybe that will help." I nodded a little bit. My mother was always amazing. She always knew what to say, and what to do to make everything better.

"Alright. Thanks mom." She leaned down, and kissed the top of my head before walking out of the room, leaving me with one last encouraging smile.

I gently lifted Bella's head from my shoulder, and whispered in her ear. "Bella, My mom brought us some food. You should eat something." She stirred a little in my arms, and woke up slowly. She shifted around a little bit so she was sitting up, and then stared at the food. "Hey sleeping beauty." I smiled at her a little, and she blinked, her cheeks flushing, and looked down, hiding in that curtain of hair. I couldn't help the chuckle that rose in my throat.

She looked at me questionningly when I chuckled, and I just shook my head. "Sometimes, like when you blush.. your.." I swallowed a little, not wanting to scare her, "you're cute when you blush." At that, her face turned even more scarlet, and I chuckled a little more, and then I kissed the top of her head. I didn't realize I was doing it until after, and I was a little shocked myself. She blinked a little, and looked at me, then down at my chest, and leaned her head against it. She was telling me it was okay that I did it. I was starting to understand her very well, even with her silence. It sent a small thrill through me.

"Okay Bella. Time to eat, alright? You need to. alright?" She looked at me with this look that obviously stated that she wanted nothing to do with the food, but I shook my head. If she was staying here, I would make sure she ate. I cared enough to make sure she did.

She sighed slowly, and reached for one of the bowls of soup. it was moms famous homemade chicken and dumpling soup. It always cheered me up when I was down. I was hoping it would do the same for Bella.

She seemed to look at it questioningly, before she finally picked up a spoon, and started eating it slowly. Relief went through me when I saw her eat. If I could get her to do this a few times a day, then she would start gaining weight.

After awhile, She had eaten all the soup. It took a couple hours of a bite here and there, but I was so proud of her for finishing the full bowl. It was progress. After awhile, I had her go back to sleep for awhile. I had to get up to talk to my father, so I gently picked her up off my lap, and tucked her into my bed, and kissed her forhead before I made my way out of my room, and to Carlisle's Office. I knocked on the door, and walked in slowly.

Carlisle looked worn out from everything going on. "Is everything alright? How is she, Edward?" He asked, taking off his glasses, and leaning back in his chair.

"She's doing a little better. she ate, and she's sleeping right now. Though she still hasn't spoken. I do know for a fact now that Charlie is the one whos been hurting her. Did the Rape test come back?"

Carlisle nodded, and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his desk. "Charlie didn't do it. Charlie is a government official, so his prints are automatically on record. According to the results, whoever the culprit is, He doesn't exist. Which will make finding him much harder."

"Damnit..." I said quietly under my breathe. So someone else had hurt my Bella. My Bella, when did that happen. When did I start thinking of her that way? My Bella.

"So what do we do then?" I asked, leaving my reverie.

"I'm afraid, for now, theres nothing else we can do." He said quietly. I clenched my fists. This was mother all over again. My real mother,not Esme.

"It's so damned frustrating." I said, pinching the bridge of my nose.

"You care for her, don't you son?" Carlisle asked, looking at me. I was shocked by this question. but I thought about it for a moment. Did I care for Bella as more than a friend? She was just... My Bella. Maybe I did. It was too soon to tell.

"I...I honestly don't know. I know I care for her as more than a friend. Thats all I know right now-" I heard the screaming errupt from upstairs, and I bolted from my seat, Carlisle following closely behind me.

By the time I made it upstairs and into my room, what I saw had me stunned. I had seen her screaming in her sleep before, but not like this. she was letting out blood curdling screams so loud and violent that it seemed it was tearing her whole being apart. She was thrashing wildly. If she didnt stop, she was going to seriously hurt herself. Carlisle and I both rushed over, but i motioned for him to stand back. I secured her arms, and lifted her up into a sitting position. She was crying, and screaming, so fast I couldnt understand what she was saying. this wasn't the same dream she usually had. It was worse, I could tell. I held her close to me, stroking her hair, and trying to tell her it would be alright, but through the screaming, I don't think she heard me, so I held her tighter, starting to panic. Carlisle came and checked her pulse, and quickly ran to get his supplies. Not a good sign. "Bella, you have to wake up. come on, come back to us. Its just a dream." I said loudly, but she still didnt respond, so I did the only thing I could think of. When I used to have nightmares when I was younger, Esme used to sing to me, So I tried. I started humming the melody of the song I had been writing for the piano. after a few moments, she started calming down a little bit, so I kept at it, rocking her back and forth. Finally, after about ten minutes of doing this, she fell back into a peaceful sleep, her hand gripping my shirt.

Carlisle looked at me, and sighed. "If she had kept up with that, with the shape her body is in right now, she could have given herself a heart attack. You may very well have saved her life, again." he said quietly, and sighed. "Its obvious the mental and emotional damage is worse than I ever thought imaginable. Are you sure you can handle this son?"

I didn't even have to think twice. "yes. For Bella, I would do anything." I said with conviction. Nothing had ever been truer than those words I just spoke. It was then that I realized how much I truely did care for Bella Swan.

BPOV

I was cooking dinner for my moms birthday. Her favorite, Roast chicken with mashed potatoes and corn. I had never cooked this before, because I was only ten years old. I wasn't usually allowed to use the kitchen without supervision. Daddy was still at work, and mom was out, bringing Leah to her first doctors appointment since she was born. The cake was all frosted, and on the counter, and the chicken was in the oven, and I was stirring the potatoes. I put the frying pan on the burner, and I put some oil in it, so I could saute the corn. I hadn't realized I had left the back burner on behind it from when I was boiliing the potatoes. The timer went off for the chicken, and I grabbed a couple pot holders, and pulled the chicken out. it was heavy, so I lifted it quickly, and tried to get it onto the counter, but the counter was too high. the whole pan fell down onto my foot, and I howled in pain, and threw the pot holders aside, trying to wipe burning grease off my legs from the chicken, tears in my eyes from the pain. Suddenly I heard "Jelly Belly! I'm home!" as my mom came in. I tried to clean up the mess real fast, not smelling the smoke before I ran over to mom, trying to put on a smile so she wouldn't know i hurt myself. It would ruin the suprise.

"Hey mom! why don't you go upstairs for a little while and relax! I got you a gift, and its on your bed!" I smiled, and moms eyes lit up. "Oh bella! you didn't have to do that!" she said, and smiled, and headed upstairs. I decided to go to the bathroom to finish cleaning off my legs, wimpering a little from my legs and foot. It was going to be okay though, it wasnt so bad. I suddenly noticed how hot it was getting, and then I smelled the smoke. I ran out of the bathroom, and then I could really smell the smoke, and I could hear flames. I ran into the kitchen, and the entire stove was on fire. How come the smoke alarms weren't going off? I had taken out the batteries last week when I was making cookies. I panicked, not knowing what to do. I tried to get the fire extinguisher ready, but I didnt know how to work it. I tried to remember what the teachers had told me to do, but the fire just kept spreading, now fueled by the chicken, with all the oil and fat that wasall over the floor. I realized that I wasnt going to control it. I called to mom, but she didn't hear me. I suddenly realized that even the ceiling was on fire above it. the whole kitchen around me was in flames. The flames had spread to the second story, and mom started screaming from up stairs. The smoke was getting damn near impossible to see through, and before I knew it, the whole house was engulfed in flames. I ran through the house, trying to get to mom, when a beam crashed down infront of me, full of flames. "Mom!, Mom!" I screamed, and I tried to follow the screaming. I made my way up the stairs, and by then, I couldn't hear the the screaming any more, or Leah's crying. Moms room was right above the kitchen. My foot broke through the top stair, and i hissed in pain, but I had to get to mom and Leah. I made it to them, but I was too late. They lay there, they're entire room engulfed in flames, and they were burning. they were on fire. It looked like they had fainted from smoke inhalation, which i was close to doing myself. But the shock of seeing them brought my awareness up. I tried to get to them, but the fire just burned away at their skin, leaving no hair, and no skin in its wake, just red, shiny bloody flesh. I noticed her eyes were turned up towards the ceiling. Thats when I passed out.

Suddenly, the dream shifted. I was still in the burning house, but I heard footsteps behind me. "shh.. Shh... It's okay, Your Daddy wont mind. You might even enjoy it." It was james, walking towards me, and despite the flames, my blood turned cold. Behind me, my mother and sisters lifeless bodies laid in the flames, and infront of me, James was there. Suddenly my father stepped into the room, holding bloody glass, grinning at me. the two of them advanced on me. My father started hitting me, as James ripped off my clothes.

Suddenly, some beautiful music started playing somewhere in the background. it sounded like someone singing. It sounded like velvet. the more I focused on it, the further away James, Charlie, and the burning house seemed to go, leaving me alone, with just the beautiful voice. Edwards voice.

I felt the warmth of his embrace again, and started to wake up. I opened my eyes. I felt drained. a look of relief washed across his face when he saw me wake up. He was rocking me back and forth, and singing that song softly, the one that saved me from my nightmares.

I opened my mouth slowly, and took a deep breathe. "Its beautiful Edward." I said, my voice raspy from screaming.

Edward then smiled widely. "You spoke!" I suddenly felt myself pulled into a tight embrace. "I thought I would never hear you speak again!" He looked estatic. I couldn't understand why this was such a big deal, but my face flushed that he seemed to care so much.

"I'm sorry if I worried you..." I said quietly, my throat hurt from screaming. "I'm okay. Really." I forced a smile, hoping it was convincing.

"Bella..." Edward said, and then he shook his head slowly. "I wish that were true... But you didn't just see yourself twenty minutes ago. You could have given yourself a heart attack."

I looked down, and sighed. "I'm sorry."

"Hey, it's not your fault, but I'm here, when your ready to talk. alright? You cant just hold all this in forever. Trust me.. I know..." He said to me, his own eyes downcast. I hugged him quietly.

"Same goes for you, alright?" I said, and tried to smile again.

"Alright. Why don't we go downstairs and grab some dinner?" He asked me, and I nodded. We both stood up, and he put my arm over his shoulder, so I wouldn't have to put any weight on my broken ankle, and we headed downstairs.