"I'm a Bitch, I'm a Tease
I'm a Goddess on my knees
When you hurt, when you suffer
I'm your Angel undercover
I've been numb, I'm revived
Can't say I'm not alive
You know I wouldn't want it any other way"

- Bitch, by: Meredith Brooks

Hourglass:
Chapter 16

-Bella POV-

Fuck this day!

I grip my hair painfully, almost tearing it out by the roots in my exasperation, thoroughly messing up my braid. I can't bother myself to give a shit, my life just went from bad to worse. Rosalie isn't going to speak up about Royce, which means he's going to be released. The only thing I can think to do is get her moved out of that fucking place before he is let out.

Even though she refuses to protect herself, I still feel responsible for her. The girl obviously has no sense of self-preservation, which at times could be deemed admirable. Right now, she just looks like an idiot.

Throughout the entire duration of our friendship, I've never wanted to smack the fuck out of her and hold her tight, simultaneously. I'm guessing this is what having a sibling must feel like. You love them to pieces but at times you could just ring their God damned neck, but Heaven forbid somebody else touch them. No. Absolutely-fucking-not. If anyone is going to smack my "sister" around, it should be me. Lord knows I put up with enough of her shit on a daily basis.

I wish it were legal for me to just shoot Royce and be done with this mess. I could take care of the body easily, there has to be a pig farm around here somewhere. I once heard that pigs will eat anything if they're hungry enough. And honestly, who would think to look for him there? I certainly wouldn't.

I scrub my hands over my face and bite my lip as I try to calm myself down. Needless to say, it takes me a few minutes.

When I finally feel calm enough, I wipe my hands on my jeans and walk back down the hallway in that general direction. I give the door a soft knock to announce my entrance, and I slip inside. Edward is sitting in a chair off to the side of the bed, his elbows braced on his knees and his hands are twisted in his hair. He almost looks as irritated as I feel.

They've removed the bandages from Rosalie's head. She has one patch bandage over a spot on her forehead where they had to stitch her up, and her face is still swollen and mottled with bruises. But she looks more awake, more alive, than she had when she awoke earlier.

She waits patiently for me to speak. When I don't, she asks hesitantly, "Everything okay?"

"Not really," I snap, and I immediately feel guilty.

Her eyes become glassy with tears, and I have to look down at the floor because it becomes too painful to look at her.

"Don't cry," I murmur.

"I'm sorry…I know you're mad at me, but…you don't understand. He will come after me, Bella. He'll find me and next time, he'll kill me." She uses her less injured arm to wipe at her face, and I feel even guiltier for making her cry.

My feet fidget as I grind the toe of my right shoe into the floor, trying to figure out what to say next. I wrap my arms around myself to try and stay strong. Rosalie needs me to be honest with her right now. As much as ultimatums can suck, sometimes they're necessary.

"Listen, Rosalie, I'm not mad at you, okay? I'm mad at the situation. I fucking hate Royce for what he's done to you—what he's done to all of us. But that's just the thing, you can't just think of yourself right now, because you and Royce are no longer the only ones involved. A lot of people have put themselves on the line for you, and if you won't fight for yourself…think of them, fight for them.

I understand that you don't want to testify, and ultimately, that's your choice, but I won't sit around and let you go back to him. Because next time, he will kill you. Do you understand that? You will not survive being in a relationship with him. And if he kills you, I will kill him—or I'll die trying. So, this is the ultimatum I'm giving you; if you absolutely won't testify, you have to move out of there. I will go there right now, before he gets out of jail, and pack up all of your things and move you out. I'll bring as much as I can to my place, and I'll store the rest at your parent's place, but please, Rosalie. Please leave him for good."

As soon as I finish my tirade, she's nodding her head as hard as she possibly can and tears are falling freely down her face. I'm about to tell her to calm down when she opens her mouth to speak.

"Absolutely, Bella, you're right. I have to get out, and I didn't plan on going back anyway. I couldn't…go back there now. To that apartment…to him. I have nothing binding me there; my name isn't on the lease because he lived there before I did. Just grab what you can, don't worry about the rest. And leave my bed there…I don't want anything that he's tainted. I want nothing from him. But please don't do anything to his stuff, I don't want to give him a reason to come after me. I know how you are sometimes when you're angry, and I just…I really just want him to stay away from me. I can't…I can't thank you enough, Bella. Thank you so much for being here for me. I love you so much, you're not just my best friend, you're my sister…and I don't know what I would do without you." Her voice cracks from emotion, and by the time she's done speaking, we're both sobbing. I rush over to her and wrap my arms around her. I don't embrace her tightly, because I have no idea where all of her injuries are, so I just wrap her in a gentle embrace and stroke her hair softly.

"Everything will be okay, Rose. I'll protect you. All of us will protect you," I assure her.

A/N: Short...but sweet? Like me! lol - Let me know what you think, lovies.

xxoo,

Missy