A/N: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. I apologize in advance for the feel of this chapter, but the writer in me could not contain it.
I woke up to darkness and a gentle throbbing behind my eyes. I could hear somebody else breathing, tired, labored breaths, but I had no idea who. I tried to open my eyes, but they felt swollen and I couldn't remember why. I then remembered what it was that had aroused me from my sleep, someone was knocking on a door, and then it all came back to me.
Edward had dropped me off at the house, and we had kissed, but the whole run in with Charlie, that had never happened. It had all been a dream, or something. This is what had really happened when:
After Edward jumped in his car I opened the door and walked into the house. It was eerily quiet but I didn't let that bother me because it was kind of late. As I walked towards the kitchen I saw that the light was on, so I thought I would turn it off then head up stairs to bed. As I entered the kitchen I saw that Charlie had nodded off in a chair by the kitchen table. But when I looked again I realized that he hadn't nodded off, but that he was tied to the chair and appeared to be unconscious. Just as I was about to advance towards him Psycho One stepped out of the shadows of the kitchen door.
"Hello Bella," he said in his sinister whisper. "You know, it's very rude to keep people waiting. I had to teach your father here a lesson because you weren't here to teach it to."
I knew that I couldn't help Charlie but if I made a break for it, I might be able to call for help. I turned and ran down the hall just as I reached the foyer when a figure stepped onto the front stoop. As the figures came into the light I saw it was a man with dreadlocks and a disturbing smile that could rival Psycho One's. I stopped for a second, but it seemed like that was all the time he needed to cross over into the house and pull me into his arms. I tried to fight my way away from him, but he just tightened his arms. He began to pull me towards the kitchen but then stopped. I heard the door slam and felt him bury his head into my scalp. The sensation of him smelling my hair was both terrifying and disgusting. I felt my stomach turn over as he continued to pull me towards the kitchen.
When we arrived in the kitchen I saw that Psycho One was no longer alone, but that Psycho Two had joined him. They stood there, limbs intertwined as they began to get intimate on our kitchen counter. I both heard and felt the dark man behind me clear his throat. Psycho Two looked over at him annoyed, but Psycho One seemed to remember that we were here and walked towards me.
I just stood there staring at him with a look that I hoped said "don't mess with me." But like a mother threatens to do to her child, Psycho One wiped that look right off my face with the back of his hand. I heard Psycho Two laugh from a corner of the kitchen, and felt the man behind me shake with silent laughter. What kind of crazy people find other people's torture humorous?
"Sweet, sweet, Bella." Psycho One whispered as he caressed the same cheek that he had only moments ago slapped. "I told you I was still here, yet you leave your house and your father all alone. I could have killed him if I wanted to."
As his says this a small whimper escapes from my lips and Psycho One laughs viscously.
"But I figured you'd rather watch."
I tried to scramble free of the man whose hold on me had slackened, but he just tightened his embrace and gave me a rough shake. When that didn't work I tried to scream really loud but this just made them angrier. The man holding me squeezed me until I couldn't breathe and then Psycho One beat me until I lost consciousness.
I look around me and try to make out shapes in the dark, even make out where I am. After a few moments of struggling I realize that my hands are tied behind my back and my wrists, and that my legs are tied together at the ankle. I pause to catch my breath, also to try to sooth the pain that seems to be coming from my side. As I'm quiet I hear voices coming from above me.
"James, what's your big plan now? You have her, so what are you going to do?" Says Psycho Two.
Psycho One fails to respond so she starts up again.
"James? What are we going to do? You have to have some plan. You didn't just bring us here and then fail to have a plan. What are we going to do? What's the plan? James?!?"
There's silence and then the sound of glass shattering.
"I don't know, okay?!?"
"Well, you better figure something out soon, because it's going to be morning in a few hours and someone is bound to come looking for them eventually." Said a cool voice that I could only assume belonged to the new member of the group.
As if to punctuate the obviousness of this statement, I heard a solid knock on the front door. Panic rises in me and I begin to pray that it is not Edward, or one of the other Cullens. Psycho One would certainly kill anyone who got in the way.
Everyone upstairs is silent, and it is now that I realize that I am in the basement, and the other breathing must be that of Charlie. I try to speak to him but then realize that my mouth is covered by two thick strips of duct tape.
My thoughts return to upstairs when the person knocks on the door again, this time a little softer. Someone crosses to the door and unlocks it then pulls it open. The voice starts and I recognize the sound as that of Phil's voice.
"I saw your light on thought that maybe we could…talk? Who, who are you? What are you doing here?"
I hear a scuffle upstairs and then someone lands hard on the floor. I don't know if it's Phil or one of the attackers, but panic has risen in me again and I feel tears prickle in my eyes.
The next sound is that of someone being dragged across the floor, I hear them move from the foyer, to the living room, and then to the laundry room that contains a door that leads down here. The door opens and I'm blinded by the sudden brightest of the laundry room light. Someone steps into the door frame and then pushes something towards the stairs. A great mass this falls down the stairs and I can hear bones break as the person's limp body comes into contact with each individual stair. By the time they reach the floor I know that they can't possibly still be alive. I start gasping for air now, and the gasping through my nose is leaving me light-headed and dizzy. I hear a sinister laugh before the whole world goes black again.
When I wake up there is light streaming in from the basement windows. I can now see that Charlie is on the floor just ten feet from me. I can hear him breathing, but it sounds labored. I look now, to see who was thrown down the stairs, but in my mind I already know that it was Phil. When I turn around his eyes are open and they're looking right at me. I scream, but the sound is muffled by the tape over my mouth. I then hear grumbling from behind me and see that my scream has woken Charlie. He can only open one eye, but that one eye is searching every inch of me to make sure nothing is broken. I start to cry again as I take in the scene, but I stop because I realize that it is quiet upstairs. There is no movement, no walking, no talking, nothing. I try to sit up, but a pain in my side causes me to wince and lie back down.
I lie there for a few more minutes before I slowly swim out of consciousness again.
The next time I wake I am on a soft surface surrounded by beeping sounds and whispers. I haven't opened my eyes yet because I'm afraid that Psycho One has moved me. But when I hear the soft whisper of Edward's voice I realize that I'm safe.
When I force my swollen eyes open I am blinded by all the white and light. I squint and see Edward reach behind me and flip a switch that makes the room darker and more manageable. When his eyes finally find mine I can see that he is tired, and that he looks so sad. I try to raise my arm to stroke his face, a gesture of reassurance, but a pain in my side stops me and brings tears to my eyes.
"You have several broken ribs." Comes a voice from the door.
A doctor walks in and tells me that aside from the broken ribs, I have no other broken bones, just a few cuts and bruises. He tells me that the swelling in my eyes will go down and then injects something into my I.V. The room swims for a second and when I look up again Edward is gone. In his spot sits Esme. She is staring at my hand and tears are running down her cheek. I look up and the movement startles her. She looks at me then begins to rise.
"I'll go fetch Edward." She starts to pull away, but I tug on her hand and give it a little squeeze.
"Please," I begin in a voice that sounds too scratchy to be mine, "don't go."
She smiles a sad sort of smile, and then sits back down. She rubs my hand for a few minutes and the tenderness of the act brings tears to my eyes. This time, instead of fighting them, I allow them to flow freely. Esme grabs a tissue from beside the bed and dabs ever so gently at the tears.
After a while the tears subside and then I start to remember how I got here.
"Charlie?" I ask, with the minimal voice that I have.
"He's fine, a little banged up like you, but he'll be just fine. He's at the station, but I can call him if you want."
I nod and she reaches over to the bedside table to grab the phone. She dials a number and I tune out the conversation because I have this nagging feeling that there is another question that I need to ask. As she hangs up the phone I remember what it is.
"Phil?"
Esme averts her eyes from my face and just sadly shakes her head. I know that the hate I harbor for this man in my heart is great, but still I weep for him. He was like a father figure to me, until he took my mother from me.
I hear a door open and then see Edward walk into the room. He looks at me and then turns to Esme.
"You told me you would come get me when she woke up."
"Edward, honey, you were sleeping."
"I don't care, you said you would."
"Edward…"
"It doesn't matter now." I croak, wishing he would stop fighting with Esme and just look at me.
When he does I'm suddenly overwhelmed with the emotion that is written across his face. His face looks tear-stained, but I don't think that's possible. There are bags and dark circles under his eyes, and it makes me wonder how long I've been out of it. But the worst of all is his mouth, that playful smirk which he always has on his face when he looks at me, is missing. In its place is a deep frown that is punctuated by the creases in his forehead.
Esme gracefully rises from her chair and leaves the room. Edward takes her place and immediately grabs my hand. I try to smile at him, but my face is too swollen to really cooperate. I see the hint of tears in his eyes, but then blink because I must be imagining things.
"We've really got to stop meeting like this." He says, with a smile in his voice, but not on his face.
I laugh a little but stop short and gasp because of the pain in my ribs. His eyes fill with concern and I want to give him something, anything to reassure him that everything will be okay but I have nothing.
"How did they find us?"
"Someone from your dad's office noticed that he hadn't come into work by ten and thought that was odd. Then, with everything that's been going on, they decided that maybe someone should come over and check things out. When they saw the police cruiser sitting in the driveway they knocked on the door. But when no one answered they tried to knob and it opened. They saw that the place had been trashed and that there was blood and searched the house. They found you guys in the basement and called for an ambulance."
"They told you all this?"
"No. They told Carlisle."
I just nod and then look up at him.
"What?"
He looks up, and I can see the sadness in his eyes.
"I'm sorry."
"Sorry? For what?"
"I should have waited till you were inside. I should have walked you in. Said goodnight to Charlie. I should have—"
"You should have done nothing different. It's not your fault Edward. Besides, I was happy you left, if you hadn't, it could have been you dead instead of Phil."
"Phil is dead?"
"Yeah, he came to visit late last night. He was barely in the door when they beat him."
"You saw that?"
"No, I heard it from the basement. I did, however, see them toss him down the stairs."
He grimaces and I remember the sound of Phil's body falling down the steps into the basement. I look at Edward as he looks down at me. He edges closer and closer and then finally lays the gentlest kiss upon my head.
"I'm glad you're okay." He whispers sweetly.
"I'm glad you're here." I reply back. He kisses my head again, but then draws back when the door opens.
Charlie is standing in the middle of the room and I wonder how he could be standing. His left hand is bandaged and his face looks like someone use a meat-tenderizer on it. It's bruised and swollen in so many places. Also his lips are cracked in several places, and there is one spot where it looks like his lip is actually split open. He seems to be appraising me in the same manner, but then steps up to the foot of my bed and places his right hand on my ankle.
"Bells? You okay?"
"Yeah."
We both pause for a second just staring at each other. The words passing silently between us could fill a novel.
"Dad? You okay?"
He cracks a small smile then replies, "yeah. Yeah, I'm okay now."
After Edward leaves my dad and I sit and talk. He tells me how Psychos One and Two and their new friend broke into the house and surprised him. He continues to fill me in on everything that happened before I got there and everything that has happened for the past five days since.
"Five days. I've been out of it for five days?" I ask.
"Not so much out of it, but in-and-out of it. You would come to, but then you would think you were still in the basement and they would have to sedate you to keep you from hurting yourself. At one point you woke up and started screaming at Edward and calling him James. Gave the kid quite a scare. But Carlisle just convinced him that you were still in shock and that your mind was trying to heal itself."
"So that's why Edward looks so tired, and scared, and concerned, and everything else."
"Yeah, it can be quite frightening when someone you love wakes up screaming that you're the person who attacked them."
I look at him wondering if he realizes he just used the L word, but he seems oblivious.
"A bit of goodness though. We caught one of them, not the James or his girlfriend, but their accomplice. His name is Laurent and we caught him just this morning. They had found him when one of the other police officers saw him walking down the street and recognized him as one of the guys that I had a sketch made up of. We hauled him in for questioning, that's actually what I was doing before I got the call that you were awake."
"Did he tell you anything?"
"Nothing that we didn't already know. He did however tell us that for James, it's all about the game. It's as if he is a cat and you're his mouse, he said he wanted to play with you before…" he trailed off here, but I could finish it for him.
"Before he killed me."
"We're not going to let that happen Bells. I have all the men on the force out there looking for these guys, we will find them. But until then, we're moving out of the house. I've found a really nice hotel up in Port Angeles that we can stay at for a few days."
"Dad, I don't want to go anywhere."
"It's just for a few days Bells, just until we find them."
"Dad, no."
"Bella, this is not up for discussion."
He looked surprised at his sudden parental voice, but then quickly recovered with a look of certainty.
"Fine. But what about school?" I asked, really meaning Edward and the Cullens when I said it.
"The school understands. They'll send you homework online until you get back."
"But what about…"
"Bells, everything will be fine."
I look at him and wish that I could ask him what I really wanted to ask him. 'But what about Edward?' But to ask that question would mean that I would have to admit to my dad that I had more feelings for Edward than I even thought I had. So I kept them hidden, but couldn't keep Edward off my mind.
I know, I know. I'm dark, and twisted. Whatever. Write reviews, tell me how dark and twisted--or how amazing I am.