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Chapter 30 - The Pits

EDWARD

Bella had been especially cranky lately. I wasn't sure if she was having another menstrual cycle or if it was something else. The weather had been hotter and more humid lately. That might have contributed to her crankiness. I knew I wasn't as pleasant as usual. I was feeling a bit short with everyone.

That stupid monkey was lucky he was a fast little bastard, or I would've given him a whooping for messing with me. There was a whole fucking island outside the cave, so why in hell did he have to stay next to me, poking me and throwing shit? At least Polly was backing me up, though I wished she wouldn't call me a chicken.

She was always screeching, "Stop throwing shit!" and "Don't poke the chickens!" when Oliver would mess with me. Since Polly had my back, I was hooking her up with treats. My girl liked fruits and veggies, and I was sick of eating mine, so I didn't mind sharing.

Oliver swung down and poked me in the ear. I flinched away, causing Polly, who was on my shoulder, to grip tight and squawk, "Don't poke the chickens!" She sounded pissed.

Oliver just chattered at her as if he was laughing, and then he threw something at us. God help me, if it was more shit, I was going to lose mine, and we would be one monkey short in the cave.

"Stop throwing shit!" Polly said angrily. She hopped down and started walking after Oliver.

Oliver decided to try and tease Polly, but my bird was awesome and caught the little bastard's hand, biting him good and hard. The little monkey demon started screaming out in pain, and I started laughing. "You get him, Polly. Teach that little bastard a lesson."

Bella came out of our room, looking disheveled and pissed. "What the hell is going on in here?" She looked over at the screaming Oliver. Polly let go of his hand and squawked, "Little bastard!"

Bella's eyes shot over to me, glaring hotly. "You're teaching Polly swear words again?"

"No, it just slipped out! It isn't my fault she only picks up the swearing!"

"You need to stop swearing altogether! Jake is starting to talk. The last thing I want him picking up is swear words!" She looked tired and frustrated.

I wanted to blame the monkey, but I was afraid she might hit me if I did.

"I just got Jake down for his nap. You need to get out of the cave while he's sleeping," she growled.

"But it's hot," I complained, and I think if she could have, she would've shot daggers out of her eyes at me.

"Go to the waterfall!" she snapped.

I noticed she winced when she moved her arms and when she turned away. When she had her back to me, she whimpered a little, as if she was in pain.

"Are you okay? Do you need me to look at something?"

"No, I don't want you looking at anything on me!"

That was another big change that had taken place this past week. She didn't want me anywhere near her. It was discouraging. I wasn't sure what I'd done, but I remained hopeful, because she was still eating her daily regimen of wild yams.

I took the chickens and goats to the open field, and of course, mischievous Oliver followed us. The little brat was looking for trouble. I did notice he was avoiding Polly now. "Good Polly," I said to her smiling, and she just looked up at me. I would have sworn she was smiling back at me, as if we were in cahoots. In a sense, we were. We were both anti-Oliver. It was nice to have someone on my team for a change.

I got them all settled in the field, and the goats were jumping around playfully. The chickens were scratching for bugs, and I settled down with Polly to look at her wing. She didn't flinch when I poked at it, so I started to unwrap it. "How you feeling, pretty Polly? Is your wing doing better?"

I stretched it out, and she didn't flinch. I let her flap, watching for any changes to see if she was in any pain, but she didn't seem to be. Just then, Oliver came over and poked at her, thinking he would get away up in a tree, but she flew up after him, causing me to laugh and egg her on. "You get that little bastard, Polly."

Oliver realized he couldn't get away and started freaking out. He didn't realize Polly could fly, until it was too late. I could tell this was all going to end badly, when Oliver looked in the direction of the cave and took off. He was going to go hide behind Bella. She was the only one that would save his little hairy monkey ass.

I took off running on foot, trying to catch the squawking, screaming bunch, but they were much faster than I was. I reached the cave and found Bella topless, her shirt wrapped around Polly. "Let her go, Bella. He was asking for it. He just didn't realize she could get him back so easily." I took Polly from her and checked her wings, making sure nothing was hurt and unruffled some of her feathers.

"She could have really hurt Ollie!"

"Oh, and catching a bird in a shirt with a weak wing is safe! You could've re-broken it! That little bastard needs to leave her alone!"

"Little Bastard!" Polly squawked. "Don't poke the chickens!"

Ollie screeched at her in return, loading a handful and slinging it.

"Enough!" Bella yelled at the pair. She grabbed Oliver and set him on our bed and then pointed right at Polly, "Out."

When she raised her arm, I noticed that it looked red, raw and puffy underneath. I grabbed her arm that was pointing at Polly, and she tried to jerk away, but I held fast. I lifted her arm and started examining what looked to be a horrible heat rash. "Do you want me to see if I can find something to put on this?" I asked, and she burst into tears, crying loudly. I didn't blame her. I had a minor heat rash under my chin from my damn beard, but it was not nearly as bad as this.

"Maybe you should let the hair grow out, I'm sure shaving is irritating it." Her legs and pits were always bare, so I just assumed Alice had sent something for her to use to shave with. I was just days away from hijacking her trunk and stealing it for myself.

"I can't," she cried.

"Why not?"

"I don't shave. I had laser hair removal done on my legs and underarms last year. It was a present to myself for Christmas and my birthday. I'm not shaving anything, and it hurts to put my arms down." She started crying again.

Well, that explained why she never offered to share her razors. She'd come away with some pretty bad rashes from our make-out sessions, so I would've thought she would want me to get rid of the beard.

"Let me get the first-aid kit and see if I can't find something to help you," I said digging into my trunk. We both had first-aid kits, but they contained different things. Mine had more surgical things and prescription medicines. I had no idea how Alice had gotten them, but I was glad she had, and Bella's first-aid kit was more mom-based, with lots of Band-Aids, disinfectants, a couple of cold packs, and pain relievers. I dug around in mine and didn't find anything. What she really needed was some talcum powder and cool dry air. I had neither.

I pulled out my Alice letter in hopes that she would tell me how to help Bella. What she said surprised me. Apparently, there was talcum on the island. I just had to find the big white rocks and smash them up. That would be easier said than done. Alice had informed me that the talcum rocks were on the far side of the island. We were to put the goats away in the cave with the chickens and only take Jake and Sam with us. For some reason, the other animals would draw too much attention to us, and we would need to stay quiet and hidden on this trip. Of course, she didn't say what we were hiding from, but just to do our best to be inconspicuous. I decided to help Bella by giving her some topical painkiller. She whimpered as I applied it, and then she asked me to rub some under her breasts as well. She had sore red welts where her bra had rubbed, and I suggested she leave her bra off for this trip.

She grabbed a cotton t-shirt and tied it up under her breasts, trying to keep her skin from rubbing. I grabbed the duffle bag and Jake, while Bella hoisted the backpack-like gathering basket she had woven onto her back. I told her Oliver needed to stay, along with Polly, the goats and the chickens. She was nervous about leaving them behind, but I didn't know what would happen if we brought them. I assumed it was something bad, so I told her it was Alice who wanted them to stay, and she conceded easily.

The talcum rocks were on the far side of the island, in a part we had not explored yet. Bella wanted to take the cart, too, but I told her no, that we would come back once we knew it was safe. It was after that she realized something was up, but neither of us knew what it was.

We headed for the opposite side of the island, Bella gathering berries and wild herbs as we went. We had been hiking for a while, when I heard their thoughts. I looked at Bella worried. "Pirates," I whispered.

"What?" she whisper-yelled.

"They're not on the island yet, but they'll be stopping here for a break. They've spotted the island and are changing course. They should arrive in about an hour. We need to hurry."

We started moving faster. We made it to the rock formation about twenty minutes later. At least I hoped it was the right stuff. It was a huge white boulder. I took a big neighboring rock and smashed a chunk off of it. I quickly put it in my duffle bag, and we started back just as the pirates landed. A few of them had been to this island before. They were interested in checking if some of the fruit trees were still here. They weren't sure if they had survived the storm that had come through. They also wanted to catch a goat or a couple of chickens for dinner. They were sick of the shit the cook had been serving.

I was nervous they'd come across our corn field, but I didn't know for sure. We were going to harvest it in a couple more days. I hoped it wasn't all for naught.

I knew we'd be getting rather close to the fruit hunters. The cave wasn't too far from some of the fruit trees. Luckily, they were aware of the mountain lions and planned on avoiding the cave they assumed still housed them. Of course, it only housed us now.

We were almost there, when we heard voices bantering back and forth. I pulled Bella down behind some bushes, and we sat quietly as they walked past.

Jake, however, decided since we were being so quiet, it was his turn to talk. He just squealed, and Bella quickly covered his mouth.

"What was that?" one guy said.

"No' know. Weird sound, come from ober dare," the other guy said. I had no idea what his accent was, but it was definitely not American like the first guy. "You fink itza cats?" he asked.

"You mean the mountain lions?" the other asked.

"Yeah."

"I don't know, I guess it could be a cub, but if there's a cub nearby, the mother isn't far. We better keep moving," he said, and they hurried away from the bush, thank God. Once I could tell their minds were occupied enough with picking fruit, I rushed Bella back to the cave and made sure the fire was out. I didn't want to risk someone coming to see what was going on. There was some old brush from the fallen trees next to the cave entrance, so once Bella, Jake and Sam where inside, I pulled them to cover the entrance and hid inside the cave with them. I hoped to god that they wouldn't find us. There was no way I could fight off a ship full of men, and I didn't even want to consider what they'd do to Bella if they got their hands on her.

ROSE

I had been a victim's advocate for the past couple of years as part of my internship. I was only a year away from getting my doctorate in psychology. When Emmett told me he'd been accused of rape, I'd admit, I had to fight off a panic attack. When he spoke of how his brother had stepped in to try and save him, the sincerity and love this man had for his brother shined through.

The truth was always something I sought after. The liars who made it harder to convict the guilty pissed me off. If this girl was lying, she would be sorry once I was done with her. I had a way of just knowing whether a woman had been assaulted or not, and I would find out who was telling the truth. It was bitches who lied, crying wolf against innocent men, that caused real criminals to get away.

I stood outside my office door, taking a deep breath. My stomach had been in knots all day, anxious to meet with this girl. I'd know in a moment whether Emmett and his brother were rapists, and I really hoped to God that they weren't.

A/N: Thanks for reading and please review!