It's up earlier than the last few, at least! lol. Be happy! I'm just kidding. I do hope you guys are all still enjoying the fic, and willing to go along for the ride. Just to warn you...there is some action coming up soon in the storyline [not necessarily this chapter...but hmm, maybe next =b ]. Thank you to every single one of you who took the time to review -- you guys are amazing!

Of course, big thank you to the ever patient Feenrai for beta'ing for me to get rid of all of my little mistakes [and sometimes big ones, lol]!

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

Previously:

My emotions seemed to want to overtake me again, my eyes wanting to prick with tears as the nightmares came back to me in perfect detail. Tears also threatened to fall due to one other important factor: Edward wasn't there.

I began to panic, wondering if I'd finally scared him off. Wondering if he'd left me, because it was just too much -- I was too much.

I was about to give in and let the tears fall, but I became distracted by a noise. I tried to listen more closely.

Voices. Yelling.

And one of the voices belonged to Edward.

Chapter 15

I crept out of the bed trying to be as quiet as possible. I quickly brushed away a stray tear that had managed to fall, despite the fact that I now knew Edward hadn't left. But the voices -- the yelling -- only confused me further and made me want to panic, because I couldn't figure out who Edward would be fighting with right now. The only person I knew he wanted to fight was Jacob.

I shuddered at that thought, not wanting to even entertain that possibility. There was no way Jacob could be in the house -- right?

So being as stealthy as I possibly could, given my clumsiness, I made my way out into the hallway, and descended the multiple flights of stairs, all the while listening as the voices grew louder the closer I became.

I was beginning to be able to make out words.

"You told me you wouldn't! I asked you to do this one thing -- this one thing," I heard Edward's voice stress in frustration.

"I'm sorry!" the other voice growled, and despite the familiarity to it, I couldn't quite place it, though I'm sure the sleep induced haze I was still in wasn't helping my coherency any.

"You should have thought before you acted -- now who knows what will happen, how they will react," Edward's voice groaned, his aggravation evident in his tone.

I was reaching the bottom of the stairs now, leading towards the kitchen, where the voices were coming from.

"I didn't intend to hit him, Edward! I meant it before when I said I would leave the issue alone, but damn it," the voice growled, becoming louder and more menacing sounding, but still, the familiarity was there. "I couldn't help it. You know how I feel about her! You know she's like a sister to me, and I know how going through all that affected Rosalie when it happened to her…I wasn't around to help her when it first happened, but I am around to help Bella. And that....that animal deserved it! He deserved much more than that. He got off easy," the male voice scoffed. I could clearly make out his frustration, or even desperation in his voice.

"I don't see what was so wrong with what he did, Edward. I'm glad he did it, because if he hadn't, I would have," a rich female voice spoke, full of determination and irritation.

As I finally reached the corner of the wall, allowing myself to take a peek into the kitchen, all of the missing pieces finally fell into place.

Emmett was the other male voice. And the last one to speak, the rich female voice, was Rosalie.

I wasn't sure how I hadn't connected the dots sooner, as I vaguely remember Jacob saying something about one of Edward's brothers, and not being happy with one of them. It made sense now. The bruises on Jacob's face. Someone had hit him. Emmett had hit him.

And…Rosalie was sticking up for me? She was saying she would have done it if Emmett hadn't?

As the realization of what Emmett had done, and what Rosalie was implying hit me, I gasped. The sound caused three pairs of golden eyes to all shoot in my direction at once.

"Bella, love...everything's fine. Why don't you go back upstairs to sleep? I'll be there shortly," Edward tried to coax me, his voice gentle and sweet; the complete opposite of what it had been minutes prior in his conversation with Emmett.

"No," I shook my head, which caused Edward to shut his eyes and pinch the bridge of his nose. I quickly cast my gaze towards Emmett, and couldn't keep the words from tumbling from my lips. "You're the one who hit...who hit Jacob?" I asked, his name burning my throat as I spoke it.

Emmett gazed at me for a second, his eyes hesitant, and his body rigid, before he finally shrugged and a sheepish, boyish smile which was accented by his dimples, fell upon his lips. He finally nodded in confirmation.

"Yes, Emmett did," Edward cut in, his voice oddly sharp. "Because he apparently does not understand how to listen, or keep his word."

"Damn it, bro! He deserved it! How many times do I have to tell you that. I would do it a thousand times over if it meant helping Bella in some way," Emmett growled out again as he took a few steps closer to Edward, his voice having an angry edge that I never heard in it until today -- which I realized now, is why I hadn't recognized his voice sooner. He always sounded so happy and care free…but not today. Today he was frustrated and angry.

Edward opened his mouth, about to say something, his brow furrowed and tense as he gazed at Emmett fiercely.

"Enough!" ordered Carlisle as he walked into the room, effectively making Edward's words die on his lips, as Carlisle's voice portrayed that he wouldn't put up with any more of this. "I was attempting to get some paperwork done for the hospital, but couldn't even hear myself think over your arguing," he told them pointedly, obviously not very pleased with their behavior.

Rosalie huffed and rolled her eyes, before turning her focus back to Edward. "Besides, give it a rest, Edward. You know you want to kill him, so stop giving Emmett hell for doing part of what you wish you could," she snapped. "Besides, like I said...if he hadn't, I would have. That mutt deserves to pay, just like Royce and his friends did. He deserves to be dead."

Before anything else could be said, my panicked voice cut through, as I realized what they all seemed to agree on -- that Jacob should be dead. And if they killed Jacob, I knew what that would mean.

"You can't!" I pleaded. "You can't kill him! If you do you'll ruin the treaty, they'll come after you! The pack -- they'll hurt you, or even kill you. I can't have you all get hurt because of me, please! I've already hurt you all too much. Please," I cried, as both fear and anguish shot through me.

I could already see how badly I was hurting everyone by simply existing right now, by admitting that Jacob had raped me. It was hurting everyone, and causing problems for them all. I already hated myself for it. I wouldn't be able to stand if it any of them got hurt -- or even worse, killed -- because of me, because I was stupid enough to get raped.

"Bella, we'll all be fine, none of us are going to get hurt, because nobody is going to kill him, or harm him any more than he has been. The treaty will not be broken by us," Carlisle told me gently, his gaze fixed on me intensely, before his eyes shot to Emmett quickly, causing mine to snap towards him, too.

Emmett held up his hands in defense or surrender. "Okay, okay, I won't do anything to him....again," he added, a slow smirk spreading on his face after his last word. I could see Carlisle frown out of my periphery, and exactly like Edward had moments ago, he pinched the bridge of his nose while shaking his head slightly.

Rosalie nodded to Carlisle in agreement, as well, but I could see one side of Rosalie's mouth twitch, fighting off a slight smile. I knew what she had done to the men who raped her. I just couldn't believe she would be willing to do the same to the person who raped me. She didn't even like me, so why would she risk herself, or her family for me like that? It didn't make sense.

But I didn't have much time to think about it, as the phone rang, making me jump. It seemed no matter where I was or what I was doing, I couldn't help but be jumpy now. I wish I had nerves of steel, that I could just appear calm and collected, and be able to stop my nearly constant tears the last few days. I felt weak and pitiful due to my constantly shifting emotions. But more than that, I still felt dirty and disgusting, and completely unworthy of Edward's love. He had always deserved better, he deserved more, and now I only believed that even more strongly. The fact that I wasn't good enough was even more blatantly obvious now.

But I wasn't able to dwell on those thoughts completely, as Edward answered the phone, stopping its shrill ringing, as everyone went silent.

"Chief Swan?" Edward spoke into the phone. "Yes, she just woke up. She's fine," he explained. "Okay, I'll have her there shortly." His tone was polite, and had no hint of his previous anger or irritation in it. But as his words sunk in that I would need to go back home soon, I nearly wanted to cry. I hated the feeling of dread, and fear and anxiety that only increased tenfold whenever I was at home. It lacked some of the sense of security I felt after being in a house full of vampires who were easily more able to protect me from Jacob.

"We have to treat this situation properly," Carlisle spoke calmly after Edward had ended the call, and effectively drew my attention away from needing to go home, and back to the issue at hand, an issue that I also feared.

Carlisle glanced around at all of us before he continued speaking, just as Esme walked in the room and gave me a warm, motherly smile.

"We've had this treaty in place for many years. If at all possible, I'd like to avoid it being broken. Emmett, I understand your actions, although I don't condone them. Jacob does deserve to be punished for what he did to Bella, and we have every right to be upset due to what happened. But we must remain level-headed. We can't simply just blindly attack them. If we do, it will cause more harm than good. And right now, what we need to worry about is making sure that Bella over here is okay, and that she's safe," he spoke every word slowly, letting it all sink in. "She's our main priority right now," he concluded, as he motioned towards me at the end of his speech, and gave me a small, caring smile.

Esme came to stand beside me, but thankfully didn't try to touch me still.

"Try not to worry, dear. It will be okay. Carlisle is a smart man, he knows what he's doing," she whispered to me, a gentle smile on her lips.

Edward walked over towards me, his eyes hesitant and observing. I assume he was trying to gauge my reaction to him. I glanced at him for a moment before needing to look away, unable to keep the eye contact. He came to stand beside me, on the side opposite of Esme. I felt slightly better, just by his presence--his closeness.

"Now," Carlisle said, gaining everyone's attention again. "There is always one option we could try. It may be the most effective. It would allow us to keep the treaty in place, and also...allow us to change Bella when the appropriate time comes, as I'm sure you're all aware that Edward and Bella's plan is for her to be changed within the near future, at some point after the wedding," he explained, before finally elaborating on his actual idea. "We can inform the pack that we're willing to overlook the fact that Jacob broke the treaty a while back by informing Bella of what we were, along with offering to not act out in response to what Jacob's done to Bella," he held up his hand to silence both Emmett and Edward, who were beginning to protest at the idea of not doing anything. "We will do that...under the condition that they overlook Emmett's hostile actions towards Jacob last night, and more importantly, that they allow us to turn Bella when the time comes, without any consequences."

I noticed Edward tense up beside me at the mention of my change, as usual. But I could see the logic behind Carlisle's plan. It made sense to me, and I think everyone else must have felt the same way, because they were all quiet and lost in their own thoughts—I was too. I could see the thought and consideration he put into his plan. The reason behind it all. And if the pack were to actually agree to it...it could work out. It could actually make everything better -- easier. Except...that Jacob would still be free, and able to do as he pleases. Unless there is legal action taken against him, unless he's actually convicted of the rape...

"However," Carlisle added, "I think it best that we allow the pack to make the first move towards contacting us. We don't want to rush into this, since that would only aggravate them. So, I say we allow them to make contact first, since then we will be in a better position to put our offer forth. Is that understood? I wish to avoid anymore violence, if possible," he added.

"Bella," I jumped, Edward's voice startling me in the otherwise completely silent room. "I need to get you back home, love. Your father is expecting you," he murmured. I nodded hesitantly, not wanting to leave the safety of the Cullen home.

"Edward," Carlisle called out, waiting for his acknowledgement. "I'll leave it up to you to inform Alice and Jasper of our plan, all right, son?" Edward simply nodded in response, before leading me out of the house.

I left with Edward, and arrived back at home a few short minutes later. Charlie asked me the typical round of questions: how was I doing, was I okay, did I need anything, did I want to talk…I answered each one, simply just wanting to go upstairs and sit in silence. It wasn't anything personal, I just...needed to think. I needed to absorb everything that was going on, so after answering all of his questions, I told him I wanted to go to sleep.

Edward pretended to go home, and just drove his car a few miles away, never wanting to leave me for more than a few minutes at most. He would hide it within the woods, out of sight from anyone driving by, so as not attract attention from Charlie or anyone else. After that, he snuck back in through my window, as always, and stayed with me the whole night. He held my hand as much as I could handle it, and would hum me my lullaby, while using his other hand to stroke my hair like he had done the other night.

And that became our pattern over the next five days. We would spend the day at the Cullen's, as much as I could, given that Charlie was also trying to make an effort to be home more, trying to make sure I was okay and look after me in his own way. Then, whenever I had to go home, we would go back to my place, where I would force some food down, so as to not raise any extra suspicions, despite my lack of appetite. Then Edward and I would go up to my room to just...be together, until it got late and he had to "go home". After that night, and after a little help from Alice, he remembered to bring himself some clean clothes each evening.

Each day was the same, with me continuing to feel disgusting, dirty and unworthy, and Edward being as loving, and as anxious as ever. I was still as jumpy as ever, and continued to flinch back from any sort of unexpected contact, or extra close physical proximity. The only contact I was remotely okay with was still just Edward holding my hand, or stroking my hair. We also didn't hear anything from the pack, or anything concerning Jacob during those days. Things were just...calm. Or at least, as calm as things could be. I liked to think of it as the calm after the storm. I was thankful for the lack of activity within these last few days, because I didn't think I could handle much else, as my mental and emotional state were still debatable and generally all over the place.

It wasn't until Friday night that our carefully constructed pattern became messed up in a very big way, by a very little person.

Alice.

She came to us on Friday, having decided that she and Rosalie wanted to have a girls night with me, just so I could have some time with them, and some time away from Edward. But the problem was...ever since the rape, really, the only time I've been separated from him was the time when he went hunting, when he was still unaware of what had happened. Since then, we've been inseparable, aside from the few minutes it would take him to hide his Volvo at night, before climbing back into the house through my window, and to retrieve it again on the mornings that Charlie was still at home, for appearance's sake.

I was terrified to be without him. I knew, in theory, that the other Cullens would keep me safe, but...Edward was different. Edward, I knew without a doubt, that he would do anything and everything he had to in order to keep me safe. It wasn't that I doubted that the other Cullens wouldn't do the same thing, that they wouldn't do everything in their power to keep me safe. I guess with the others, it just lacked that extra aspect of comfort, because right now, the person I was most comfortable with was Edward.

He knew not to touch me, and knew when to offer his hand for me to hold. He knew when I was overwhelmed, and about to lose control of my emotions. He knew to hum to me and stroke my hair when I started crying, and simply couldn't stop. He knew when I needed him to just...lay beside me, just to be close to me, with no words needing to be spoken between us, just so that I would know he was still here. He was almost liked a balm to my overly frayed nerves and emotions. Just his presence alone helped calm me in some ways. And as much as I knew that Alice -- and maybe Rosalie -- would take care of me in their own way, or to the best of their abilities...it just wouldn't be the same. Their hand wouldn't hold the same kind of [still slightly uncomfortable] comfort, that I needed, none the less. The closeness wouldn't provide the same kind of feeling of safety that came with knowing that Edward was right there.

As much as I knew it wasn't fair to Edward, I realized I had become very dependent on him in a lot of ways. He was still my rock, the main thing keeping me sane in all of this. Even within the few minutes he's gone to hide his car at night, I can usually feel the panic rising at being without him, and at being alone, along with feeling unprotected. I still loved just...to see him, to know he was right there with me, because...despite his words, and his comfort, and his previous reassurance, I still feared he would get sick of me -- get sick of what I've become -- and end up leaving.

But apparently, Edward may have somewhat felt the same way about being away from me, because he was against the idea as well. He didn't want to leave my side, either. He tried to fight Alice on the issue, he tried to give her a later date to have girl time instead. But Alice was Alice, and she's nothing, if not determined. When she wants something, she gets it. And this time was no exception.

So that's how I found myself, saying goodbye to Edward, after Alice and Rosalie showed up at my house on Friday night.

"Don't cry, love," Edward murmured, a pained look expressed on his features. I couldn't seem to keep my tears at bay. I was terrified to be without him -- as irrational as that may be. "You'll be safe with my sisters, Bella. If you need me, simply call me. I'll come back as soon as they'll allow me," he vowed, right before shooting his sisters a pointed glare.

"Oh, relax, Edward," Alice chimed, entirely too excited by the plans for tonight, for my liking. "She'll be fine, I promise," she added in a more gentle tone. "Now go, before I have Emmett and Jasper come drag you back home," she raised an eyebrow at him, and judging by the look on Edward's face, he got her silent message loud and clear.

A faint growl rumbled from within his chest, before he tore his glare away from her, and looked back towards me, his eyes softening instantly. He made sure I was aware of his slow movements, as he brought his hand out to encase mine. I saw the hesitance in his eyes, as he gently lifted our interlocked hands, and I tensed up as he placed a small kiss on the back of my hand, making me grip his hand more tightly as I realized he was about to leave. "Be safe," he murmured, before gently extracting his hand from mine, and turning and walking out the door, closing it behind him.

I felt ridiculous as I felt a sob bubbling up, wanting to escape my lips, but I fought it back, not wanting to look completely pathetic in front of Alice and Rosalie. This was foreign to me now. I had lived almost seventeen years without him in my life, an since meeting him, have spent most of my time with him (minus when he left after my birthday disaster). But especially this past week, I have spent practically every single minute with him, including when I was asleep. So now, to be apart from him, especially knowing it was for a few hours, or even the whole night...the feeling was strange, and foreign, and even fearsome. He was what had been keeping me grounded.

But thankfully, Alice didn't give me too much time to dwell on that, as she came flitting to my side, her voice causing me to jump, as I had been lost in my thoughts.

"Come on, Bella. Lets go upstairs to your room," she said softly, as Rosalie made her way upstairs, Alice behind her, and me hesitantly following.

"Don't look so pleased for us to be here," Rose said sarcastically, with a roll of her eyes. I supposed she was referring to my quiet, glum attitude, which, couldn't be helped, even if Edward were here…but also the fact that I still had a few errant, silent tears running down my cheeks. I just couldn't seem to make myself feel calm.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled, wiping the tears from my face with my hands. "I am glad you guys are here, I'm just...I don't know," I sighed, unable to put it into logical words, or in a way they would fully understand it.

"You don't have to apologize, Bella. I know you feel safest with Edward. I can tell it's obviously hard to be away from him right now. But we wouldn't let anything happen to you, either...you know that, right?" Alice asked softly, her eyes wide and imploring.

"I know, Alice," I nodded. I felt bad that she was thinking my behavior meant I didn't trust them, or at least, didn't trust them to protect me should anything happen.

"Why don't we all talk? It doesn't have to be about what happened, it could just be about Edward, if you want," Alice suggested, making Rose huff at the suggestion of talking about Edward. Obviously that wasn't her first choice topic. "And while we talk, I'll do your nails," Alice told me with a bright smile.

I wasn't really in the mood to have my nails done -- not that I usually ever was. But now even more so; however, if it made Alice happy after she tried to do this--to do something nice for me—well, I wasn't going to deny her something as small as that. I shouldn't be dragging her down with my mood and my anxiety.

I almost felt cold, due to Edward's absence, which I knew was logically ridiculous, considering his cold temperature. But without him beside me I felt as though there was a piece of me missing -- there was a void. It just allowed the empty feeling to grow and become more severe. It made me feel alone and unsafe. And, unfortunately, all of my insecurities seemed to become more prominent in my mind, making me question if Edward would even come back.

I couldn't seem to stop all of my tears, so on occasion, some would still spill from my eyes. But thankfully, neither Rose nor Alice said anything about it as they painted nails, made small talk, and futilely attempted to engage me in their conversation as well.

I tried to give them my full attention as Alice tried to barely touch my slightly trembling hand as she painted my nails a pale pink, and as they talked about Jasper and Emmett, and some clothes they hoped to get that they had seen one of the last times they were shopping in Seattle.

I did listen to what they were saying...my mind just wasn't absorbing it. However, Rosalie's next words, as she closed up the vibrant red nail polish she had been using, caught my interest instantly, and just like that: she had my full, undivided attention.

"I think it's time you and I talk, Bella."

I think we all know that with Rosalie...that statement could either be a good thing or a very bad thing...or of course, something helpful, or just something very cruel...

Next chapter: find out what Rosalie has to say to Bella..is it going to be something good, or something bad? And you also get some Edward's POV next chapter, too...find out how he deals with being away from Bella for the first time since finding out about the rape. And...something happens to the Cullens' home.

Hopefully the chapter was worth the wait! But leave a review, let me know what you thought, give me your opinion, even if you just tell me if you had a favorite part from this chapter [and what it was]. Actually...you could even tell me what your guess is as for what happens to the Cullens' home. I want to hear your theories. So please review, and let me know!

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