This Monday is going very slowly... Hope you are having a good day, wherever you are in the world

The air around them was warm, there was no cold chill as it was still summer but even despite the fact that Bella was only clothed in Edward's coat she was still shivering. Edward's hand on her back was the only comfort she had as he walked her across the road. She was grateful that she still had her shoes on; glass from broken beer bottles littered the ground around them.

She clutched the coat around her, keeping it tight so that her body wasn't exposed to the nighttime air. It was a large coat, dark and warm and it reached her mid-thigh, the sleeves ran past her hands.

Edward opened the door and ushered her in. She was grateful that he hadn't gone barging into the office. Grateful that she hadn't gotten him caught up in this mess.

Edward turned the heat on for her when he got into the car, something she only mildly noticed. He didn't need to though. She wasn't shivering from cold. She tried hard not to sob too loudly, but the tears ran down her cheeks none the less.

He continued to glance sideways at Bella as they drove. Now that she was safely in the car with him, Edward wasn't planning on letting her out of his sight again. He asked her the occasional question: was she cold? Too warm? Did she want chocolate? Water? But nothing too overwhelming, not knowing what had happened to her or what kind of state of mind she was in. He could only assume the worse and the worse, unfortunately, wasn't very good.

Edward's hands gripped the steering as he sternly told himself to focus on getting them home in one piece.

It wasn't much longer after when the two of them reached their apartment block. Edward maneuvered the car into his usual parking spot and turned off the engine. He hesitated as he turned to Bella, watching her with careful eyes. He wanted nothing more than to touch her but was afraid it would do more harm than good.

"Bella, you have to tell me what happened." He said finally. His tone left no room for arguing.

Bella opened her mouth to tell him no. That she couldn't tell him. But the serious look on his face told her more than any words could. There was no getting out of this. There was no way Edward would let her walk away without her telling him what had happened. Or what was happening with everything. She bit her lip; she tasted blood and realized she'd gnawed through the skin.

Edward's hand twitched in his lap as though he wanted to reach out to touch her, but it remained where it lay.

She needed to buy time. "Not here… Can we go upstairs?"

"Sure." Edward agreed automatically although he was a little bit surprised. For one, Bella hardly ever gave in so easily. And two, he would have figured she would want to go back to her place rather than his. But perhaps she didn't want to risk Rosalie and Alice waking up and seeing her like this.

The two of them made their way upstairs. Edward fished his key out of his pocket and unlocked the door.

"Why don't you sit down?" he invited. He flicked on the light in the living room and went to the kitchen to put the kettle on. Drinking something hot would do Bella some good, he decided.

From there, Edward remembered that Bella was completely naked beneath his jacket and disappeared into his bedroom to find something more suitable for her to wear. He came back with a clean football shirt from his college days that he hoped would be good enough to get her decently covered. He handed this to Bella and showed her where the bathroom was.

Edward's apartment was pretty much the same layout as Bella's except that there was only one main bedroom and a much smaller room that acted as an office. Still, she was appreciative of Edward who showed her where the bathroom was and handed her some of his clothes to wear. "Thank you," she murmured.

She shut the door behind her, it shut with a quiet click and then Bella was alone. She moved slowly toward the counter, placed the clothes Edward had brought her on the counter and stopped to stare into the mirror. The woman that stared back at her was a stranger. She was still wearing the wig, the blonde hair that framed her face was so different to what she was used to but it wasn't what made Bella feel as though she were looking at someone she didn't know.

She was pale, wide eyed and scared. But she was safe. For now at least.

Despair filled her as she tried to work out what she was going to do. She couldn't continue this. She couldn't keep working at the strip club, paying back her debt night by night. She'd thought it would be possible in the beginning. She knew now she was wrong.

And what would Edward say about it all? What would he do? What would she tell him? She knew she had to tell him something but her mind was too muddled for her to think through her options.

A quiet tap on the door startled her out of her thoughts. "Just a minute…" she called out.

Hurrying, she slipped the jacket that Edward had given off and pulled his large football jersey over her. It was massive on her and it smelt like Edward just a little bit. She pulled it to her nose and inhaled, the smell was comforting.

Swallowing, Bella glanced at herself in the mirror once more before turning and opening the bathroom to face the music.

While waiting for Bella to finish changing, Edward made a hot mug chamomile tea for her. He tried to smile when she finally emerged, sitting up from where he was on the sofa and handing it to her.

"Be careful. It's a little hot." He warned as she obediently raised the mug to her lips. He fell silent, watching her. To his relief, she had taken off the wig while she'd been in the bathroom. Seeing Bella with blonde hair only reminded him of the difference between her and her alter ego. And it wasn't Isa he wanted with him tonight. It was Bella.

"I'm sorry I don't have anything for your bottoms." Edward murmured after a pause. He smiled wryly. "I don't exactly keep clothes for girls at my house."

He was trying to diffuse the tension, waiting for her to tell him what had happened. He didn't want to force it out of her unless he absolutely had to. He would rather Bella come to him.

But Bella didn't even hear Edward. White noise was rushing through her ears as her mind flashed back to what had happened in Riley's office only thirty minutes ago.

Glancing out the window she could see that it was still dark, it was just a little bit after five o'clock in the morning, but she knew that the sun would begin to rise soon.

Tears welled up in her eyes again as she realized that she would still have to go back. She would still have to dance, strip her clothes and pretend that she liked what it was she did. She hated it though! She hated using her body as a way of making money, the hungry eyes of strangers taking her in, feasting on her most intimate body parts.

She remembered how horrible it had felt to have Riley's friend touch her, the same way that Edward had only a few hours before but this time eliciting a response from her that was so incredibly different.

She shuddered, a sickening ache in the pit of her stomach making her nauseated.

Edward was sitting by her now, waiting patiently for some kind of explanation of what had transpired but she couldn't think of how to explain it to him. Where did she even start?

She swallowed and eventually brought the mug to her lips, sipping at it, stalling for time.

Her hands were shaking and she could barely keep her mug from spilling and so after taking another sip, she leant over and placed it on the coffee table, and then did the only thing she knew that she wanted. What she needed. She turned to Edward and leaned her face against him; her shoulders shook with silent sobs as she buried her face against his chest.

"I can't… I can't do this anymore…" She admitted through her tears.

So we might just learn exactly why Bella is in this situation. Finally!