AN: Renee comes to town.
Chapter forty nine: Hello Renee
Jasper, July 4th, 2011…
She was laughing at something my sister whispered to her. She looked over at me and winked. I winked back. She looked radiant. Her long summer dress was flowing around her ankles and she had opted to go barefoot. She loved it. She hated shoes now and only wore them when necessary. Momma walked up to her and they hugged. They parted and Momma placed a hand on Bella's growing stomach. Six months. She was six months along. Our child would be here in three months if all went well.
I couldn't believe I was here. I was in a relationship with someone who loved me unconditionally, someone who would do anything to protect me, including sacrificing herself, even if I would never agree with her for it. Nevertheless, Bella would do it if she thought it was the right thing to do. She was headstrong. It was a trait I adored, even though it annoyed me sometimes.
Tanya joined them now and they were all huddled together, looking over at me while whispering, pointing and smiling. I didn't care. I could tell what was being said. 'Jasper's watching you, Bella.' 'Jasper isn't going to let you go anywhere without him, Bella.' 'He's overprotective.' 'He really loves you.'
All of the above were right. I wouldn't try to deny it. I thought, felt and would do any of that shit. It meant having a happy and safe Bella in my life. I didn't want her to need anything. I didn't want her to be afraid of me. I didn't want her to think about James showing up and ruining the life she was living. We would find a way to get rid of him. Bella had already signed the divorce papers. And we'd be rid of him when he signed his portion of it. After he'd consented to the proceedings, Peter and Edward jumped at the opportunity to have the papers drawn up and then have Bella sign them. She cried so hard that day I had to call Esme. She trembled and cried in my arms until she passed out. It was frightening. My heart stuttered in beats that day. I was so worried. But Esme said she needed it. Bella needed to express herself that way because signing the divorce papers signified her freedom.
Until the letter came.
Since James knew where Bella was, he took the advantage of sending her an apology letter through their lawyers. I blew up at Edward and Peter for delivering it. And Bella blew up at me in their defense. She was a force to be reckoned with sometimes.
The thing was three pages long and held his detailed apology for all he had done to Bella. He stated how much he loved her. How he would be willing to get help if she came back. How he would love and treasure her if she returned to him. How he would never hurt her again. He stated how he realized his mistakes in her absence and he had been lost without her. He told her he had been worried about her, frightful for her safety out there, by herself while she ran from him. He thought someone would've hurt her and he would've blamed himself, because it would've happened because of his stupidity and that forced him to wake up and see his mistakes. It burnt him to the core.
Bella read the whole thing to me, Momma, Peter, Edward, Esme, Sue, Rose and Emmett. She laughed, cried, got angry at his false words and then she told us she needed a moment alone. I found her in the stables an hour later, because not only was worried about her and how his words had affected her, but I also couldn't stay away from her. That hour killed me.
I found her in the stables, sitting on a pile of hay, staring out the doors at the setting sun. She turned and gave me a watery smile when she heard me approaching.
"He doesn't mean any of it and it hurts so much, Jasper," she said with tears running down her face. I went to her. I sat down beside her and pulled her quivering body into mine. "I want those words to be true. I want him to actually be sorry for what he did to me. But he's not. I know him. I spent six years with the bastard, Jasper." She was getting angry. Her moods were all over the places these days. "He doesn't mean any of it. He's hoping I'm the same. I'm still afraid of him. I'll believe his lying ass and run away from you. He wants to hurt me. He'd kill our baby, Jasper. He'd rip her from my womb. I know him. He's a monster."
She said everything I believed to be true. James Carter was a monster and we needed to get rid of him. No one beside the people who justified this son of a bitch's attitude as okay would miss him. People like his father, Caius. He raised James to be the way he was. Bella and I had a joint session with Esme where she had explained.
Esme had asked about the family and Bella told us Caius knew what his son was up to. He believed women should know their place and that their only job was to please their husbands no matter the cost. Their dignity, their freedom, none of that crap mattered. They lived to please their husbands. It was the most backward, cruelest shit I had ever heard.
She went on to shock us.
"Caius has hurt me." My heart plummeted and Bella looked ashamed. "He…he…he touched me. It was about two years into my marriage to James. I told James like the fool I was and he hurt me while screaming at me. He said I was a liar. When he saw his father again, he had invited him over for dinner, he asked him if what I had said was true. I shook so hard at the table. I wanted to run. Caius admitted it with a smile. He said he had found me attractive and if I wasn't already warming his son's bed, he would have had me for himself. You don't exactly want to hear something like that coming from a person whose wife committed suicide to escape him."
The entire family was sick. James killed Garrett because he wanted Bella. Garrett's mom, the only sane one in my opinion, ended her life because of what happened to her son. James' mother killed herself to escape the turmoil and abuse. James' father was as sick as he was and he justified his son's actions. Edward and Peter told me how livid he was at Bella. He came to every proceeding with James. The judge could hardly get a word in sometimes. Caius dragged Bella's name through the mud. He called her every name in the book.
Bella learned all of this through them, and I was pissed off at them for telling her, but she had insisted. She said she needed to hear. I argued about our child and how listening to the bullshit wasn't good for the baby. So Tanya came to stay with us for awhile. She was Bella's relief. She kept her smiling. Even me sometimes. I was so stressed out by the proceedings I wanted to go up to California and stick my fist down James' lying throat most days. I had nightmares. I was restless. Rose learned of it and talked me out of making a big mistake.
I had been in Dad's old office. I had just gotten off the phone with the pilot. I wanted the family jet fueled and ready to go.
"You can't." Rose said, from her spot by the door. She walked into the office and closed the door behind her. "It would kill Bella if you went up there and got yourself in any more trouble because of James."
I scoffed at her. I felt brazen enough to think I could get away with it. I was actually glad to be wealthy at the moment. My wealth could allow me such a privilege. I wanted to destroy him, but Rose wouldn't let me. "Quit being stubborn and think about Bella. Why do you think she's made so much progress? Why do you think she's doing any of this? Why do you think she listens to Zafrina and Momma and Esme about her health and the health of the baby? Why do you think she loves us?"
"There's a point in there somewhere, right?"
Rose shook her head at me. "She does it for you." She walked away without another word to my stupid ass and I was left dumbfounded with a sudden need to kick myself. Bella did all of what she did, even leaving me, because she thought it was right for me. She didn't want a repeat of Garrett. I understood. She didn't want James to hurt me because of her.
I cancelled my plans and decided to stay by Bella's side. It could work out another way. Some way that equaled me winning. I would let James come to me. I was ready for him. Since he saw Bella as a possession, I have to unfortunately stoop to his level and let him realize that she belonged to me now. It was a good plan and once I had formulated it, things got easier for me. I was less pissed off. I became happier about sitting back and letting Edward and Peter handle things. I was happy with letting Sam protect Bella. And with Mr. Jenks keeping tabs on James, his nutball ex-sister/lover Vicky, and his sadistic father. All that shit was taking me away from what matters most; Bella and our baby.
With extra time on my hands, I made a calendar to monitor our child's growth. Bella thought it was cute at first and then she started teasing me about it. She came into my office and saw me marking the calendar on the day she turned six months pregnant. I had a wide grin on my face as she stood at the door, eyeing me and the calendar.
"How long are you going to do that for?" Bella asked, biting into an apple. She loved fruits but hated vegetables.
"Until the baby gets here, darlin'." I smiled at her.
She laughed. "You're such a dork."
"You still love me though, right?"
"Forever." She kissed my cheek and left the room.
I knew I could be annoying sometimes with the constant monitoring and making sure she's eating healthy. But it was better than thinking about James. Bella thought I was a nerd for keeping tabs on everything but I didn't care. I loved it. It was a healthy distraction. One night over dinner, Bella said she understood why I did the things I did.
"Why?" I put my fork down, interested into what answer she'd come up with.
She continued eating, letting me stew. When I was about to ask again, she said, "All of this is healthy. Thinking about our baby, thinking about me, it keeps you from going after James. I know you have a darkness. I know it's worst than James'. I also know you'd never intentionally unleash unless push to. But I would be happy if you didn't need to. If you never had to go down a road like that again."
"I don't want to," I whispered to her. I meant it. I didn't want to revert to being the evil I knew I could be, just because of a pathetic son of a bitch like James. "But if I'm provoked…" I let the rest of the sentence hang. I was sure she understood what I meant.
"I know and I would be here. I won't run from you. I would support you. You'd need me to find your way back, right?" Bella gave me timid smile as she was unsure if her statement was true.
I smiled at her. "Of course I would. You're possibly the only one who could. I love you, baby."
"I love you too."
Bella was right. I don't want to, but if provoked, I would go down that road again. Down that road, I was nothing but a monster and I wanted to keep it away from Bella for awhile.
I wanted to live in the moment with the new Bella. The outspoken, loved to have music, rap or hip hop or country, anything that suited her mood, blasting while she did the laundry or cooked Bella. I wanted her to leave those activities to someone else, but I got shouted at the day I suggested it and then I was cut off and kicked out of our bedroom. I was pouted at, scoffed at when I asked a question, and a pair of sexy dark brown eyes was rolled at me on a constant basis until I apologized and said I was sorry for even thinking of suggesting something so stupid. I was then hugged, kissed and welcomed back into our bedroom where I was fucked within an inch of my life. I swore my heart nearly stopped.
Bella could be insatiable when it came to sex. When she was in a good mood, I had to hide at times. I thought I could handle it, but she had this unnatural energy and it was directed at me and my cock.
"Where are you?" She was smiling down at me with a plate of food in her hands.
"Everywhere and nowhere," I smiled up at her.
"Here." She gave the plate to me and sat down beside to me, bumping me with her shoulder. "Everyone's saying you're just sitting over here, watching me."
"I like watching you," I said to her, kissing her cheek and loving how her blush heated it when I moved away. "You're beautiful. I can hardly take my eyes off of you."
"Charmer," Bella said, shaking her head. "How did I ever end up with a guy like you?"
"You fainted for me."
She laughed and slapped my shoulder.
"Oww!" I rubbed the spot, pretending it hurt.
"Oh shut up," she scoffed. "You're strong. You're hardly felt that."
"Admiring my body again, Bella?" I waggled my eyebrows at her.
She raised an eyebrow at me. "You wouldn't like it. You think I'm uber attracted to you right now. I've got ranging hormones, Jasper. You sure you want to fuck around and say things like that to me? I might jump your bones in front of the family."
"Tanya's been talking again?" I was going to kill my cousin. She overheard me and Bella talking the other day and she ran and gossiped to Momma, Rose and Edward. He told Peter who hasn't stop teasing me about being afraid of Bella.
Bella nodded. "She loves it. She finds it funny that you've got to ask for a day away from sex since you were such a sexual deviant."
I took a bite of the food. The Barbeque ribs were good. Then again, Bella had a hand in the preparation of this meal. Of course it would taste delicious. She and Sue worked their butts off on the entire Fourth of July meal for our family. The rest of family had flown in for the day's activities. It was games, food and fun. Fireworks were coming up later. Momma and I had offered to have caterers come in and do the whole thing, but my girlfriend didn't like that suggestion at all. In fact, her death glare shut me up and left Momma take the heat. When she realized I wasn't contributing to discussion and Bella was glaring at me like a wild animal about to attack, she backed off and laughed at me. She said I was getting the hang of things and things might be different by the third baby since she wanted more grandkids. I wanted more kids too, but was Momma right? Would things really be different? Or would Bella become psychotic by then?
"What's up?" She placed a hand on my shoulder, rubbing it gently. "Where did you go now?"
"Do you think that?"
"Think what?"
"Aren't you…are you okay with being with a sexual deviant?"
Bella scoffed and shook her head. "Are you okay with being with an abused, traumatized woman?"
I smiled. She always countered with things like this. "Yes. But I wasn't…"
"The nicest guy when it came to girls," she countered. "You were searching for something you thought you'd find between their legs; a release from your demons. And not to blame them, but they didn't tell you no either. They wanted you as much you wanted to use them. You weren't in the best frame of mind. You weren't crazy. You just shouldn't have been doing what you were doing." I just stared at her. It puzzled me how well she understood. "Am I scaring you?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
"No," I told her. "I just don't get why it's so easy for you to understand me."
She smiled and looked thoughtful for a second. "That's easy."
"Fine, since it's so easy, what is it then?" I chuckled, taking a bite of my biscuit.
Bella plucked a French fry off my plate and ate it. "I'm the woman for you. I'm supposed to know those things."
I laughed out loud. "You're so corny."
"And you love me for it."
"I do." I smiled and she kissed my lips.
The fireworks were good. I watched Bella watch them. I smiled when her face lit up and she clapped. She looked so happy. I prayed nothing would change her mood for the rest of the week if possible. We have gotten to six months and I don't want anything more than the thought of James interfering with her pregnancy. I want a smooth enough journey. She was almost there.
Charlie would agree with me. He and Bella spoke almost daily. While they were both anticipating James' next move, they talked about the things they have missed out on, like time that could have been spent being father and daughter, and a relationship they hoped to build for the future, starting now. Bella was always happy to share what they had discussed with me. She has even spoken to Jake, Charlie's bodyguard. That talk was more of a threat. She swore to him she would go to Forks and literally beat him into the ground if he let anything happen to her father. Sam was proud of her for the phone call, and I was interested in seeing her take him on. Maybe a little turned on too by the prospect of watching her fight someone. A strong Bella was very sexy.
"You've left me again," she said, kissing my bare chest. We'd just made love, but I knew what Bella's gentle caresses suggested now. She wanted to…
"I've got a lot on my mind."
"Like what? Maybe I can help you stop thinking about all those…" she reached down between my legs, wrapping her hand around my cock, stroking it. I gasped and moaned. "…distractions."
I reached between her inviting thighs, loving how wet she was for me. I pushed a finger inside of her and she moaned and grinded her little hips into me. "I'm sure you can."
I took her again because I wanted her. I didn't want to think about anything but her. I hated how scared I felt. The closer we got to the end of her pregnancy, the more fearful I became. I didn't know how to explain it; even to myself. I don't know what has come over me. There was just this thing hanging over my head. And I couldn't get rid of it.
July 5th, 2011
"Emmett! You asshole! You fucking cheated! You're a dick!"
"Wow, that's Bella?" Tanya giggled, walking into the kitchen.
I rolled my eyes. "Who else?"
She smacked me on the back of my head. "Don't be a dick. I know who's talking. I meant the cussin', silly rabbit."
I chuckled. "You should've heard her the other day when one of Alice's friends approached us in town."
"What happened?" Tanya jumped up on the counter and grabbed a carrot stick off of Bella's plate, nibbling on it.
"That's for Bella and the baby."
"It's vegetables, Jasper," Tanya said. "She hates them. She's probably going to throw them at Emmett's head."
"Fucking dick!" Bella shouted from the living room and Emmett laughed out.
They have been playing that damn video game since this morning. Damn Emmett for coming over with it.
It was lunchtime and I wanted Bella to have something healthy to eat so I was preparing a nice salad for her. Though Tanya was probably right. She was going to pelt Emmett with them if he won one more time. I should add some pieces of the fried chicken Sue had brought over a while ago.
"You better add a few pieces of the fried chicken to that salad, Chef, or Bella's going to throw the plate at you," Tanya warned. "And while you're doing that, tell me what happened in town with your ex's minions. Bella had neglected to tell moi."
I could still vividly remember how shocked Melanie, Alice's friend's, looked. "Bella picked me up at the practice. She wanted to have lunch. We went out and it was a good lunch. She showed me some things she bought for the baby." Tanya raised a finger. "What?"
"How's ring shopping going or are you going to use Grandma's engagement ring?"
I threw a carrot stick at her and hissed, "I thought I told you never in the house! I don't want Bella to know!"
Tanya rolled her eyes. "She's focused on kicking Emmett's ass at the game they're playing. She isn't hearing shit. How's it going or is it going to be Nana's ring?"
"I want something new for Bella. Nana's ring is beautiful, but it isn't Bella. I have designed the perfect ring for my girl."
Tanya squealed and I threw another carrot at her. "Stop that, you punk! Anyways, I can't wait to see it. Is it ready?"
I nodded. "It's all down to the timing now. I want it to be perfect."
"Life isn't perfect."
I nodded.
"Now! On with the story," Tanya said, clapping her hands together and rubbing them together like a menace at work.
"Anyways, we were leaving the restaurant. I had to pack the bags back into Bella's car since she had insisted on taking them into the restaurant with us. I'd just finished and when I rounded the car, heading to the driver's side, I saw Melanie standing on the sidewalk giving Bella and her swollen stomach dirty looks." I sighed and shook my head, remembering the nasty look on that idiot's face. "Bella followed my eyes and saw Melanie. I thought Bella was just going to ignore her, but she didn't. She stared right at Melanie and asked her what the fuck she was looking at?" Tanya laughed out. "Melanie tried to be rude and I moved to step in but Bella's harsh tongue beat me to it. Before you know it, she and Melanie were in each other's face and Bella was ready to deck her when she said Bella stole me from Alice. I had to lift up my pregnant girlfriend and place her growling, cursing ass in the car while she threatened to knock Melanie's teeth out or make her swallow them since she was probably used to swallowing."
"Holy shit!"
"Exactly. When we drove off, I asked Bella what was that about and she got mad at me, then apologized, and then she started to cry."
"Hormones." Tanya shook her head.
"Yeah." Bella's lunch was ready. I told Tanya to grab a drink for Bella just as the intercom buzzed. I gave Tanya Bella's lunch to take to her and moved to the intercom to answer it, "Yeah?"
Sue's voice came on and it was edgy. "Umm…Jasper, you need to come over here before your mother goes to jail."
"What?"
"We've got a visitor insisting on seeing Bella."
Now I was on edge. "Who is it?"
Before Sue replied, I heard a woman in the background screaming, "Where is my daughter?!"
It couldn't be. She wouldn't be so daring. She wouldn't be so foolish as to come down here to do his bidding. Nevertheless, Renee Higginbotham was here in Henderson.
"I'll be there in a second," I told Sue and cut the connection. I could hear them still playing the game and Tanya hadn't returned so she must be watching them and cheering Bella on. I thought quickly if I should tell her that her mother was here or be selfish and protective and get rid of Renee.
I chose the latter. Bella was going to be pissed at me for it, but this was for the best. I slipped out of the kitchen and headed for the main house. I could hear her mouth as she blasted my mother, Sue and Sam for keeping her in the main house.
"Where is she?" Renee hissed in my mother's face when I walked into the room they were in.
"She's here," Momma said. She had this deadly air of calm about her. I knew that look. She wanted to hurt Bella's mother. Momma has never been afraid to express herself verbally or physically or both.
"Where?!" Renee shouted.
"What do you want?" I asked, making all eyes turn to me. Renee's was filled with scorn and my mother's were telling me to do something quick because she didn't know how long before she attacked the insipid, confused woman in front of her. In fact, she hissed it in Spanish at me and I answered in kind. "I'll handle this, Mother," I said, reverting back to English.
"What do you want, Renee?"
She looked stunned that I knew her name but quickly recovered. "I suppose you're him."
"I'm who?" I disliked this woman. She lied and helped a psychopath hold her child hostage because of her want of money and prestige. "Who am I, Renee?"
Momma gasped and Renee's eyes widened as she stared at someone behind me. She looked at them up and down with a horrified look on her face. When I glanced behind me, I saw Bella glaring at her mother. She glared at me. "You should've told me."
"I didn't want to stress you," I answered immediately. "I didn't want it to be a bad day," I said honestly. "How did you find out she was here?"
"We just walked in," she said, pointing to Emmett behind her. She chuckled and looked at her mother and then back at me. "It's a good thing Tanya had to go somewhere with Rose. They just left."
I nodded toward Momma. "Momma's still here."
Bella smiled at me. It was warm and bright with a blush. Her moods were like a light switch. She bit her bottom lip a little and I wanted to bite it for her. She was so sexy I almost forgot why we were standing here. Even in a simple pair of jeans and a white t-shirt and brown strappy sandals on her feet, Bella was gorgeous.
"You're pregnant?" Renee said in astonishment. "You're really pregnant for him?!"
Bella closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"You don't have to do this," I warned her.
"She can speak for herself!" Renee snapped at me and Momma cursed in Spanish.
"Don't tell me what Bella can and can't do!" I shouted back. Renee's eyes widened and visibly shook at the thunder of my voice. "You don't get that right! Not after everything!"
"You know nothing!" she hissed at me. "My daughter filled your head with crap and you bought it! She was just unhappy in her marriage and took a drastic step. And now you're forcing her to divorce her husband for you!" My God, the woman was insane. "You got pregnant out of spite, didn't you?" She looked at Bella, who has now stepped closer, coming to stand beside me. "Did he rape you, Marie?" This was insane.
Bella closed her eyes and sighed. A tear ran down on her cheek and I begged her again. "Don't do this."
She didn't answer. When she opened her eyes, there was a fire in them. It was unlike anything I had ever seen. It was the side of her that had lain dormant for years. I knew how it felt. I had felt a fire, similar to hers, burning through me the day I killed my abuser/kidnapper.
She was unnaturally calm when she spoke to Renee. "How did you get here?"
"Doesn't matter," Renee slammed her.
"Fine," Bella said. "Why are you here?"
Renee scoffed. "To take you home!"
"I am home," Bella replied in the deadly calm tone. "I've been home since I ran away from hell. I'm not pregnant because I'm spiting anyone. I'm pregnant because I want to be. Despite whatever madness you're thinking. I'm pregnant because Jasper and I had sex and we conceived!" Her voice was rising and so was her blood pressure I could imagine.
"Bella, don't."
She ignored me. She continued to stare her mother down while explaining herself harshly. "And this child, Renee…I'm going to have. No one's making me throw my baby away. How dare you stand there and lie to my face. These people know everything. They know what happened to me."
"Marie, you…" Renee started.
"Bella."
"What?" Renee sneered.
"My name is Bella Swan."
"Your papers…" Renee said confused as to why Bella was referring to herself by her birth name apparently.
"Were changed."
"By who?"
"None of your business."
"Fine…Bella, you need to come with me."
"Shut up, Mother."
Renee gasped. "How dare you! You can't talk to…"
"Shut up!" Bella shouted. Renee looked taken aback. "You're going to listen to me and then you are going to turn around and leave and never come back." We were silent while Renee stared at Bella in disbelief. "Six years, Mother. Six years, I endured James' punishments because it was fun to him. He thought I need restructuring. I needed discipline. I needed a hard hand and a cold touch to keep me in my place. Do you think I told you everything, Mother?" Bella started to walk over to Renee. The closer she got, the more she said. We all listened keenly and I slowly trailed her steps. I was prepared for anything especially a breakdown. This would possibly hit her hard. Maybe Esme would have to have an emergency session with her. I wanted to call her, but I didn't want to leave Bella.
Renee smiled gently at her daughter. "Bella, I'm sure Jasper is helping you stick to all the bad that happened to you so he can keep you here. Since you're pregnant with maybe the heir to their business he has to play nice."
"What?!" my mother shouted. "What the hell?"
Bella held her hand up. "I'll handle it, Maria. It'll be okay." She looked at her mother. "You were saying?"
Renee actually went on. "Bella, you're not that special. You're not that beautiful. You're ordinary. Look at Jasper! He's gorgeous." She shook her head at Bella as if she saw something Bella couldn't see. While I wondered what the fuck she met about my girlfriend not being beautiful. The type of beauty Bella had couldn't be bought from a Cosmetics store or made on a plastic surgeon's operating table. Bella was a natural beauty. "These people are just using you to have that baby and then they'll kick you to the curb and Jasper will move on with the child and some woman who's more his type."
Bella looked at her for a second. She took her in and then smiled. She actually smiled while my head felt like it was about to explode. This was what she lived with? My God. Renee was sick. She should be referred to someone.
Bella waited a little and then she began speaking. "Wow. You're so blind. You wouldn't know love if it bit you in the ass. You're so fucked up."
"How dare you!"
"How dare you, you twisted bitch!" Bella shouted back in a fiery tone. "I took the torture because some part of me, some sick, twisted part of me, thought that you'd be there. It thought that you'd save me. That for once, in your miserable self-absorbed life, you'd be there for me. Your daughter! Your only child!"
"Bella, how dare you?!" They moved so fast toward each other, we missed it. Renee slapped Bella hard across the face. Momma, Sue and I gasped. Sam looked ready to kill. Before we react, Bella beat us all to it. She slapped her mother back. It was so hard Renee staggered back and almost fell on her ass. It was so loud, it echoed off the walls of the foyer.
Bella exploded. I shouted at her to calm down, but she would have none of it. She was too far gone. Fuck the calm. Tears rolled down her cheeks and her body was tense when I touched her. She flashed me off and headed for her mother. She got in her face and started to scream everything as the front door opened and my sister and Tanya and Uncle Liam, who has been working on the construction of our baby's room, walked in.
My uncle had gotten to know Bella over the weeks he'd been here and he liked her very much. He thought she was right for me.
"How dare you! How dare you! You selfish woman! You want me to go back to a man that's going to kill me?! He's going to kill me, Mother. He's going to rip me apart!" Sam went over to Tanya, Rose and Liam, explaining the situation. I was trying to give Bella her moment and decide when to pull her away. She needed to get these things off her chest. "You think that he sent you here, feeding your head with bullshit because he loves me? No, Mother. He wants to punish me. He wants to kill me for leaving him. For embarrassing him. For making his father think he's weak."
"Bella, you're not thinking clearly," Renee's confused ass said.
"You're the one not thinking clearly," Bella told her. "You didn't have to endure it. You never got any of the abuse. The rape. The humiliation. The beatings. You've never been felt up by your father-in-law and then laughed at. You've never made to do things with a woman; this you didn't want to do. Your friend wasn't killed because you didn't like James. You weren't told to wear the shortest dresses and then beaten because other men stared at you." Bella sobbed.
"Please stop," I begged her. Momma wiped tears from her eyes. Uncle Liam was listening intently.
Bella didn't stop. "No, Renee, you weren't raped by your own husband and his friend for a whole afternoon and then when you got pregnant, your husband didn't take you to get an abortion."
"Bella, he was on drugs and he's no…" Renee tried.
"No longer on them so he's alright now and he's ready to love me the way he should have six years ago when he was torturing me for shits and giggles," Bella replied sarcastically. "I don't think so. Please leave, Renee. I don't want to see you. I don't want to hear you. You and James and everyone on his side can go straight to hell. I'm alive because I walked away. No, fuck that…because I ran away!"
Bella turned and left and I was out the door after her. She walked ahead of me, crying. Her body shook with her sobs. I ran up to her and grabbed, spinning her around to me. Letting her collapse in my arms, in tears. I led us to the ground and sat there, letting her cry. I coaxed her. I told her how much I loved her. How happy I am to have her. That she found me. How happy I was for our baby. How I wanted to marry her. I confessed I had ring designed. I told her I had it and was just waiting on the right time to present it to her. I told her the ring was a diamond, encrusted with other little diamonds around it because she was the queen of my world. I tried to be as corny as possible so she would laugh a little and she did. I told her how many carats and she laughed again, telling me I was crazy for it being so expensive. I told her just how expensive and she laughed yet again and said I was insane.
"I'm crazy about you," I said, kissing her tear stained cheeks. "I love you so much."
"I love you," she sniffled amidst her tears.
"Come on." I got up and pulled her to feet. I walked us home. Once inside, I lifted her up and took her upstairs. I placed her on the edge of the bed to sit and went and ran a bath for us. I came back for her. I took her to the bathroom where we undressed while I told her how beautiful she was to me. She made sarcastic jokes about me being the only one who thought so.
"I don't give a shit about what anybody else thinks," I said with vigor. "You're what matters to me."
I kissed her softly, using my tongue to part her lips, invading her mouth to deepen the kiss. She returned my kiss and I eventually pulled away with a smile.
"I love kissing you," I confessed to her.
"Why?"
"You say everything in them," I told her. "I feel cherished when you do it."
She smiled and a tear ran down her cheek. "I should have listened to you. You were begging me to back off and I wouldn't."
"You needed to do it. She should hear those things," I said. "She sat back and let it happen when she should've stepped in."
"You will step in if anyone ever tries anything with our child, won't you?"
"In a heartbeat."
She kissed my cheek. "Thank you."
I nodded and helped her into the warm water after testing it. She scooted up and I got in behind her. I grabbed the washcloth, shut off the water and pulled her back to me. I caressed her body with the cloth, massaging her tight muscles. I wanted her calm. I didn't want anything to happen to her or the baby because of Renee.
I would speak to Jenks later about her. Edward and Peter were going to get a piece of mind for this. How could they allow her to show up unannounced?
"I know what you're thinking," Bella said after a while. We had been lying here…relaxing.
"What am I thinking?"
"You're going to shout at everyone, but please, don't bother," she cried softly.
"Why?"
"Because it's not their fault. It's James'. He knows we're expecting him so he sends my mother. He knew she'd say enough to hurt me and make me question why I'm here. He fed her that crap she was spewing."
"Bella…"
"But I know why I'm here. I know I'm happy. I know I won't leave you," she sobbed.
"Bella…" I placed a hand on her stomach. "I love you."
"I love you too." She curled her body into mine and closed her eyes. We stayed in the water until it turned cold, and then got out. We dried each other off and went to the bedroom. I helped Bella into bed and drew the drapes. I wanted to block out all the light. I walked over to her quivering form under the duvet and climbed into bed with her. I pulled her into my arms and held her until she stopped crying and fell asleep.