Hey guys. I wanted to thank you all for all of the alerts and favorites, and especially those of you who took the time to review! Thank you!

Some news: Fix You now has a beta! Feenrai is now my beta, so...all my lovely tense issues and all that will be gone and corrected! [I know, you're probably all sighing in relief, lol]. She's also starting to go back through the older chapters, too, so as they're done I'll be replacing the them with the beta'd chapters.

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of the characters.

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Chapter 11

EPOV

After a few long moments, I could hear the shower running and knew that Bella was safely inside.

I let out a large breath in an attempt to release the anger I could feel coursing throughout my every limb. I fought the urge to punch the wall, as I descended the stairs, knowing that Esme would not be pleased to know I had caused damage to our home.

Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, I saw Emmett sitting on the couch watching a football game. I quietly made my way over to the couch and took the empty seat beside my brother, staring blanking at the screen in front of me.

"How did you do it?" I suddenly questioned.

He rubbed the back of his neck and gave me a quizzical look before asking, "Do what?"

"With Rosalie," I prompted, hoping to receive advice.

"Bro, I don't really think that now is the time for a sex ed. lesson," Emmett furrowed his brow.

As I listened to his thoughts, I saw that he really did believe that I wanted advice on such an inappropriate thing at this time--due to how I had phrased the question. That was the absolute furthest thing from my mind at the moment. My thoughts were on my Bella, and how I could help her.

"Emmett," I growled. "I meant how did you do it: how did you help Rosalie deal with what she went through?"

"Oh!" he exclaimed, looking apologetic. His thoughts proved that he felt bad about his previous comment. His face became very serious, his posture more at attention, as he turned to look directly at me. "It wasn't easy at first," he told me solemnly.

"It's harrowing," I interrupted gently. "I don't know how you did it, Emmett. Every moment is so heartbreaking, knowing that the love of your life went through that and is in so much pain. It makes you feel so--," I stopped, trying to summarize all that I was feeling into a single word. Nothing seemed adequate.

"Helpless?" Emmett offered. I nodded in agreement.

I could not help but feel helpless. My Bella is in such pain, and is terrified, but I cannot seem to do a thing about it. I would love nothing more than to be able to take her into my arms and hold her against me—until she falls asleep—murmuring soothing words to her and letting her know that she will be okay and that she is safe now.

But I could not do that. I feared even touching her in the slightest way, knowing that it may terrify her. I have never felt so helpless or unsure of myself. I always thought of myself as a knowledgeable being, but in this situation I felt as though I was a mere fool.

"I felt that way, too," Emmett's unusually quiet voice broke me out of my thoughts. "It gets easier over time. You just need to keep that in mind," he encouraged.

I stayed silent, but gave a slight nod to acknowledge his words. I just hoped with all my being that things would get easier for Bella.

"Things were really hard with Rose at first, you know," he confided. I snapped my head up to look at him, never having heard he or Rosalie speak of their situation in detail before. "Things are obviously a lot better, but even now she still has times where she gets caught up in memories, and then she ends up a little more closed off and distant.'

"At first," he continued, "it was a slow process. It took her a long time to trust me the way she does now. At first, I was lucky to even get to hold her hand, or touch her hair," he said softly, a far away look in his eyes as his mind conjured up the memories he was explaining to me. "I once made the mistake of coming up behind her and wrapping my arm around her waist," he lamented. "She freaked: started hitting me and screaming. Let me tell you, the girl can throw a punch," he mused, a smile threatening to creep onto his face, seeming proud of her strength. But once she saw it was me, she apologized and went upstairs and locked herself in our room. She barely spoke to me, unless it was necessary, for a few days after that," he told me, his face serious and his thoughts nothing but reminiscent.

"There wasn't anything I could do but just be there for her. Listen, if she wanted to talk. Hold her, if she wanted to be held. Just be there with her if she just wants to sit there with you, just to know you're there," he brought his eyes up to meet mine. "Right now, it's all the small things that count, Edward. That's all you can really do, even if it makes you crazy to know you can't do more. Be there for her, talk to her, listen to her. But don't push her. She'll just close up, bro. Just give her time to trust you again," he advised. "And whatever you do, either let her initiate physical contact, or don't touch her without giving her a choice in the matter, or without waiting for permission," he added, his eyes fierce with his warning.

"Bella and Rose are dealing with the same thing and not just because they were both raped." I shot him a quizzical look, so he quickly continued. "Both were raped by men they knew and trusted. That makes it harder, bro. Just think about the fact that they both knew their rapist—they were close to them and cared about them. They trusted them. What these guys did…it betrayed the girls in so many ways. Mind, body and soul. It makes them question who they are and it shatters their trust. It makes it harder for them to trust anyone: it destroys their self-image and self-worth," he patiently explained to me, his thoughts still filled with moments between himself and Rosalie in past.

"You know that Rose has always been known for her beauty," he went on. I nodded in agreement, knowing this about my sister, and how she used to be treated while still human because of her appearance. "Sure, she may have seemed confident all along concerning her looks, but there are countless times where she is so unsure of herself or thinks so very little of herself. Sometimes even now she still needs reassurance," he informed me.

I sat back in my seat, shocked by what he had just told me concerning my confident sister. Rosalie, despite what she had been through, had always appeared completely confident. Even her thoughts seemed confident. The only times I have heard any question within her about her own beauty was when she realized my feelings for Bella. She thought Bella was plain and could not understand how I could be attracted to Bella but not her when Carlisle changed her in hopes of us being together.

But, I suppose she would know to block her thoughts from me when those thoughts did come to mind. Knowing Rosalie's personality, it was obvious that the more insecure, vulnerable side of Rosalie was reserved for only Emmett to see.

"You have to be careful with Bella," he broke me out of my thoughts. "She's very fragile right now. She's scared. Be there for her. That's all I can really tell you, man. It's hard as hell, and it will take a while, but things will get back to normal over time—or as normal as things can be. She'll start to be a bit more at ease…not so scared. Hopefully she will be able to deal with being touched again, too," he added, his face now appearing sad as his thoughts focused slowly on Bella and her fear towards his outburst earlier.

"She knows you didn't mean to scare her, Emmett," I explained in response to his thoughts.

"I'm sorry about that. I didn't think. I didn't mean to scare her," Emmett added in a remorseful tone, casting his gaze downward.

I realized, while looking at Emmett's serious, tense expression, that this is the most serious I had ever seen my brother. He was generally so care-free and laid back, always taking things lightly. But now, he was anything but. Even his thoughts were troubled with no hint of humor or ease. I was glad for the fact that I was able to see this side of him—this serious and loving side of him.

We fell into silence for a moment, before Emmett's deep voice spoke.

"What are we going to do about what that dog did to her?"

I could see the mental images he was creating in his mind of all the things he wished to do to Jacob. All the ways he could kill him or inflict pain upon him.

"We can't break the treaty. Bella made me give her my word that I won't harm Jacob, for the sake of the treaty. As always, she is looking out for us instead of herself…If killing him meant that she was safe, that he could no longer hurt her, then I would gladly face the repercussions of my actions from the rest of the wolves. Even if it meant that the treaty was broken," I almost snarled. "But, I've promised Bella, so we cannot kill that mongrel," I reaffirmed.

I could still see Emmett's thoughts focused on ways he could physically harm Jacob, varying from beating him senseless, to torturing him.

"Emmett," I warned.

His eyes met mine, and his thoughts redirected themselves.

"He shouldn't be able to get away with this, Edward," he told me in exasperation.

"He won't be getting away with it. If you wish to protect Bella, do so by making sure that neither Jacob, nor any of the other wolves get near her."

I stopped, listening to a sound I was attuned to. Bella's heartbeat. It was no longer calm and steady: it seemed to be erratic—panicked.

"Just please be good, Em. Don't do anything stupid," I cautioned as I stood, quickly making my way upstairs towards the bathroom, to check on Bella.

BPOV

I sat at the bottom of the tub, the ice cold water spraying down over me from the showerhead, as I still scrubbed my raw skin.

My fingers were now prunes, and my teeth were chattering, but I couldn't bring myself to move. One thought kept paralyzing me in fear: would Charlie believe me?

I was snapped back to reality when I heard a frantic knock on the door.

"Bella, love? Are you all right?" I heard Edward call to me through the door, his voice anxious.

"Yes," I choked out.

"Please come out, Bella," he pleaded.

"I—um…kay," I stuttered, unsure if I could finally bring myself to come out.

With as much determination as I had—especially with the knowledge that Edward was waiting for me on the other side of the door—I quickly shut off the water and climbed out of the tub.

After drying myself and dressing while being careful to avoid looking at myself in the mirror, I finally opened the door and came face to face with a worried Edward.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his eyes visibly giving me a once over, making sure I was indeed okay.

I nodded in reassurance, though I could see his eyes linger on the exposed, reddened skin at my neck and hands, from my having scrubbed the skin raw.

"Can we just go tell Charlie and get this over with, before I lose the nerve?" I asked, knowing I didn't have the nerve to do it in the first place. But, the sooner Edward's scrutiny was off of my skin, the better.

"Of course," he told me, attempting to give me a small smile; but it was all wrong. It was tight and forced. His eyes betrayed him, as they were still full of pain.

Without another word, he led me outside to his Volvo and, as usual, after making sure I was securely belted in, he sped towards Charlie's.

I wasn't sure if I was thankful for his speed for once, or if I was even more terrified of it than usual. Part of me was thankful for it, knowing that then it would bring me to Charlie faster, and I could get this over and done with, before I chickened out. But, another part of me was terrified of it because I did not want to tell Charlie. I feared Charlie's reaction.

Apparently, I couldn't get away from it. Within what seemed like minutes, we pulled up into the driveway, right beside Charlie's cruiser.

"Are you ready, love?" I heard Edward ask me.

But I didn't answer, my gaze transfixed on the front door—knowing that I have to walk through it and tell Charlie that I was raped. That Jacob raped me. He could either go on an insane rampage, or he could laugh in my face. I'm not sure which reaction I'm more terrified of.

I could feel myself start to hyperventilate, my nerves now becoming too much.

I shook my head, telling Edward I wasn't ready. I couldn't do this. There was no way. What if Charlie didn't believe me? What would I do?

I gasped for air, before hearing Edward's voice speak softly to me.

"Bella, look at me," he instructed. I shook my head, not wanting to meet his eyes. Not wanting to see the anxiety and pain I had already caused him and now, may possibly cause Charlie. "Look at me," he demanded in a more firm tone.

Unwillingly, I turned to meet his gaze.

"I'll be in there right beside you, Bella. If it becomes too much, we can stop. We can take a break," he reassured me. I still shook my head, not being able to do this as I continued to gasp for air. "Bella, you can do this. I won't let anything happen to you. I will hold your hand the entire time, if you'd like. But you need to tell him, Bella. He can help you. Since you refuse to allow me to 'take care' of Jacob, Charlie can help ensure that Jacob will never be able to come near you." Edward patiently explained this to me, his eyes boring into mine with such warmth and care that it was hard not to feel calmer afterwards.

"Okay," I muttered. I was still taking in uneven bursts of air, but not quite as harshly, anymore.

With that one word, Edward got out of the car and quickly came around to the passenger's side to open the door for me. His eyes met mine again, and he offered his hand to me.

I stared at it, blinking multiple times before finally placing my hand hesitantly in his, hoping his nerves of steel would transfer to me as well. However, I knew that was nothing but wishful thinking.

Edward took my hand in his, leading me towards the house. When we got to the front door, I could feel the constriction in my chest again, my breathing becoming a bit more erratic.

"Breathe, Bella," Edward whispered in my ear, causing me to jump as he opened the door and led me inside.

"Is that you, Bells?" Charlie called out, seeming slightly distracted by the game he was watching on TV.

"Yeah," I managed to blurt out when I caught enough air in my lungs.

"Hello, Chief Swan," Edward added, his tone polite.

"Edward," Charlie grumbled, not seeming very thrilled by his presence.

"If Bella and I could have a word with you in the kitchen, please," Edward asked, probably knowing I wouldn't take the step on my own.

After some incoherent muttering under his breath, I heard the TV click off and Charlie's foot steps approaching.

I kept my eyes cast downward as Edward led us all into the kitchen—Charlie taking a seat on the side opposite of Edward and myself.

"Now, what's this all about?" Charlie asked after a minute of silence.

After still getting no response from neither Edward, nor I, Charlie's voice became slightly agitated. "Bells, what's going on? Did Edward hurt you?" He began to ramble, but cut himself off with a new thought: "You're not pregnan--"

"No!" I practically shrieked. "Edward didn't hurt me! And I'm not—I'm not pregnant," I added in a whisper, my voice now lacking its strength. I knew that it could have been a possibility, had it not been for Carlisle treating me earlier.

Charlie eyed Edward, sending him a slight glare before refocusing his gaze back on me, waiting for answers.

"Edward didn't hurt me," I told him again, trying to suck in a large amount of air. I could already feel my chest and lungs constricting painfully in fear. "Jacob did..."

"What?" he asked in disbelief. "Jake's a good kid. I'm sure whatever it was, he didn't mean any harm," he said in an off-hand tone, not yet understanding the severity of the situation.

At his words, I saw Edward visibly stiffen beside me. I could feel myself beginning to gasp for air—my throat and chest were now completely constricted, blocking my airway. The familiar, traitorous tears were dewing up on my lower lashes, as I watched my fears about this situation come true, right in front of my very eyes.

Charlie didn't believe me.

I felt Edward bring our intertwined hands into his lap, taking my hand into both of his and rubbing it softly to try and calm me.

Edward's soothing touches, however, had little effect on me, and my fear was replaced with panic. Charlie is my father—he should believe me. But, instead, he's believing that Jacob is innocent. If he doesn't believe me, then I won't be safe. He would still let Jacob and Billy come to the house, and I would have to see Jacob. I would have to be near him. And the worst part of all, was that Charlie would trust him. He would trust him to be around me, and then who knows what will happen. But I wasn't going to wait around to find out. He had to know, otherwise he wouldn't understand, and I wouldn't be safe.

I stood up, still gripping Edward's hand. I felt the words rise up in my throat before I could think to stop them. "No, Dad!"

"Now, Bella, calm down," he told me sternly, rising to his feet. "That's enough. I'm sure whatever happened was a misunderstanding," he told me, his confused and serious eyes now locked with my tear filled ones.

"Jacob raped me!" I clamped my hand over my mouth, my eyes wide with fear and shock at my own outburst.

Everyone remained in total silence. No one dared to speak. The only thing I could hear was the heavy pants of breath and my occasional sniffle, as my tears gushed, miserably down my cheeks.

Charlie, who had remained standing, suddenly plopped down into his seat, the color slightly draining from his face.

I felt Edward gently tug on my hand, in hopes of getting me to sit back down. With no resistance, I slumped down into my chair, still gasping for air and rapidly blinking my eyes, in a futile attempt to stop my tears.

I felt an icy cold hand softly pry my hand away from my mouth, probably in the hopes of helping me breathe more easily.

I was focusing on looking at anything but Charlie through my blurry tear filled eyes, when I heard him speak, his voice uneven:

"Wha--" he cleared his throat. "What did you just say?"

After a moments hesitation on my part, being too scared to speak the words again, Edward decided to speak up on my behalf.

"He raped her," he confirmed for Charlie, his voice grim, and his posture yet again taking on that rigid pose.

Charlie sent a glance in Edward's direction, ignoring Edward's confirmation, perhaps in fear of it's truth, before turning his intense and confused stare to me. "Bella?"

I could feel the sobs rising in my throat, and I fought to keep them at bay. I quickly swiped the fallen tears off of my cheeks, as I felt Edward give my hand a reassuring squeeze.

"He—he...raped me," I whispered, the sobs finally erupting from within my chest.

Charlie's overly pale face started to become the color of a tomato when he finally managed to find words. All the while I sat there sobbing, with Edward rubbing soothing circles on the top of my hand.

"I—he—he what?!" he both shouted and questioned at the same time. His hand came down hard on the table, causing me to jump, flinch back into my chair, and begin to shake. "I'm going to kill him! That little..." his voice trailed off, then he suddenly turned to me. He seemed to regain his composure, and took on a professional edge. "When?"

"Two days ago," I gasped out, my eyes still shedding tears, as I shook.

"Two days ago? And you're only telling me this now? Why didn't you come to me sooner, Bella?!" he demanded, his harsh tone causing me to recoil back even further.

"I—I couldn't..." I whimpered, hanging my head down and avoiding Charlie's gaze. "I didn't want anyone to know."

"Yet you have no problem telling him," he huffed, pointing his head in Edward's direction.

"I found out purely by accident. Bella did not willingly tell me. I just found out last night," he told Charlie before I even had a chance to respond.

Everything went silent, causing me to look up, as Charlie seemed to think about this for a minute. He shut his eyes and inhaled deeply before sighing. When he opened his eyes, he looked me right in the eye, before I quickly looked away.

"Bells, you should have come to me right away. I would have taken care of you: protected you. You should have been taken to the hospital to do a rape kit and to make sure you're okay," he rambled before inhaling sharply and asking me the one question I didn't know the answer to: "Are you okay?"

I didn't know how to answer that question. I couldn't answer that question. I may be okay physically, for the most part, but I didn't feel okay. Every part of me ached, both with physical and emotional pain. I was hurt that Jacob did this to me. I was also angry that he did this to me. I was angry that he took my virginity from me—a thing that I was supposed to give to Edward. I was angry at myself for letting this affect me so much that I was afraid to let Edward touch me. Edward, who I knew, more than anyone, would respect my wishes and would only touch me when and where I was comfortable. Yet, I couldn't stop myself from being scared. I hated that the one person I wanted comfort from...I couldn't, because I was too scared to let him get close enough to me to comfort me the way he usually would, if I were upset.

I felt so many things—so many conflicting emotions that it was impossible to decide if I was okay or not. So I gave Charlie the only answer that I could—the only comforting information I could give him.

"I—umm—I don't know…Carlisle examined me," I whispered, my eyes clenching shut at the memory, as another few tears slipped down my cheeks.

"And?" Charlie prompted, seeming anxious to find out the results of my exam.

"Physically, she's okay, aside from some bruising," Edward cut in for me, taking over the conversation to explain to Charlie the extent of my injuries. Thankfully he omitted the vaginal tearing--I didn't want Charlie to know about that. I was already embarrassed and ashamed of what happened and Charlie knowing that would only make it worse. "My father diagnosed her with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, along with haphephobia: a fear of being touched," he explained calmly. Out of my corner of my eye, however, I could see that his eyes were tight and anxious, his posture to rigid, and his cold hand never let go of mine.

"Is this true, Bella?" Charlie asked, once again wanting a confirmation from me. I merely nodded my head in response. My throat was thick with my tears, and my body was still slightly trembling, despite the fact that Charlie believed me. I could at least take in bigger gulps of air now that my mind began to acknowledge the fact that, despite Charlie's anger at me for not coming to him right away, he believes me. He actually believes me.

"What about a rape kit?" Charlie turned his attention back to Edward now, his tone back to being professional as he broke me from my thoughts.

"She had already showered by the time I found out what had happened. Any evidence was gone. He did thoroughly examine her, and although there might not be evidence to help prove that Jacob is guilty, there is additional physical and emotional evidence of the rape. The bruising and PTSD, for example, among other things," Edward explained, his tone almost seeming professional as well, in the slightly more detached way he was speaking.

I just sat there, gripping Edward's hand tightly in mine, with my watery eyes squeezed shut, my body rocking itself back and forth slightly. I just wanted this conversation to be over…for this whole nightmare to be over. I didn't want to talk about this and I didn't want to deal with this.

"Can I please go upstairs?" I asked in a whisper, just wanting to be in the comfort of my room, away from this conversation, and away from this issue.

Both brown and gold eyes turned towards me, making me gasp at their sudden intense gaze. I quickly diverted my eyes, unable to look at them. Too ashamed to look at them.

"Of course, Bells," Charlie told me, his face soft, unlike earlier.

I tried to send a weak smile in his direction, flashing my eyes up to meet his for the briefest of seconds before I stood up, whilst still not letting go of Edward. But Charlie's voice stopped me in my tracks and made my heart stop and then begin to pound painfully in my chest. My whole body began to shake in fear, again.

"But, tomorrow you're going to have to come down to the station, so we can file a report."

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So there you have it, guys. Bella finally told Charlie. Did it live up to your expectations? And just a note: I know the majority of you wanted Charlie to find out in Edward's POV, but I also realized it was important to see/feel Bella's emotions and response to telling him as well. For the sake of making sure this chapter wasn't ridiculously long, I decided to split it up. So this chapter is Bella's POV on it. The next chapter will be Edward's POV on telling Charlie, plus continuing on from where this chapter left off. So you will be getting BOTH character's POVs. Edward's will be next.

Coming up next chapter is Edward's POV on the conversation with Charlie, plus that night with Bella needing to stay at home instead of at the Cullens', and of course, going down to the station. How will Bella react to that? Will she be able to get through it? And...is someone having a bigger reaction to what happened to Bella than they've let on?

Anyways, please let me know what you thought, and if you felt this chapter lived up to your expectations. Was it worth the wait, at least? So, please review and let me know what you thought, and to let me know you're still interested!