[Disclaimer] All things Twilight belong to Mrs. Stephenie Meyer.

[A/N] Welcome back to another episode of your very favorite Twilight soap aka fan-fiction.

This chapter here is dedicated to SOFisticated1 and SiempreCrystalClear. Hope you'll enjoy

**Chapter 93**

"Please, say something." I whispered, wrapping my arm around her quivering shoulder. My fingertips stroked up and down over the bare skin on her forearm in small circles, while I waited for her to respond. It didn't happen and when I cupped her face between my hands to make her look up to me again, I realized that her cheeks were dry.

She couldn't even cry and seemed to be completely shocked from the horrifying news we had heard just minutes ago.

I pulled her closer to me and rubbed her back, wondering why I could manage to stay so incredibly calm.

Maybe it was because I was trying to stay strong for her, for I knew that she would crumble into millions of tiny pieces if I would break down now.

"Bella, stop biting your lip like that or it's going to start bleeding." Zafrina told me while Jasmine kneeled down next to Ali and started shaking her gently.

"Breathe, sweetie, everything is going to be okay."

"Nothing will be okay!" she stumbled out, before she burst into tears.

"My brother killed Bella's father. How can you say that things will be okay? God, this is so messed up."

I sighed deeply and took several deep breaths through my mouth, while several dry sobs escaped my throat.

"I'm so…so very sorry, honey." she whispered against the soaked fabric of my shirt.

"Ali, you don't have to apologize to me. It's not your fault what happened."

"Oh sure it is."

"What?" my voice raised two octaves and I almost spilled the content of my tea cup all over the table in front of me.

"Why in heaven's name do you think that you're responsible for anything your…well, for anything that Edward has done?"

Ali sniffed and pulled a tissue out of her pocket to clean her nose loudly.

"I know that it's not my fault that he killed the poor man, but it's my fault that he managed to blackmail our mother."

"I don't think I understand." I mumbled, taking her dainty hand in mine to squeeze it gently.

She sighed deeply and cleared her throat nervously before she spoke up again.

"Look, when I was a little girl I was constantly sick and Esme spent so much time with me in the hospital."

"Stop thinking like that. Your brother isn't like he is because your mother neglected him as a kid. That's bullshit and I don't want you to worry about it." Jasmine stated, standing up from the ground again.

"She's right." I assured her, planting a soft kiss on the spikey curls of her hair.

Jasmine's mouth twitched for a moment before she turned to me.

"You're surprising me, Bella. I didn't expect you to be the strong one in this…situation. Or maybe you're the one who is too shocked to be upset right now?"

"I don't know how I am supposed to feel right now. Does that sound stupid?"

"No, it doesn't. No one is really prepared for what happened to the two of you. But I assume it's a good thing that you have each other."

"Hmm,"

The doorbell rang and Ali wiped another trail of fresh tears from her cheeks before she stood up from the couch to open the door.

When she returned a few moments later, followed by a tall man, Zafrina snarled angrily.

"They sent you? I didn't know the department of public prosecution had such trouble sending someone who's a little bit more competent."

"Hello, to you too, sister," he greeted her through gritted teeth.

Then he cleared his throat and turned to me. His voice was smooth and polite and in a very unpleasant way it reminded me of Edward. A shiver of fear went down my spine and I instantly pulled Ali towards me again until she was sitting on my lap.

"Mrs. Swan, my name is Derek Haley and I'm here to talk to you about the recent…changes concerning the case of your father."

I sighed deeply and closed my eyes for a moment. When I opened them again I had to blink away a few tears that were glistening in their corners.

"Is this really necessary? I've already talked to the police…several times."

"But now the situation has changed." He stated calmly, pulling a thick folder out of his leather bag.

"Are you feeling well enough to speak to me? I assure you that it won't take too long."

I nodded my head, hoping to be able to endure this without having a nervous breakdown in front of him.

"Would you like something to drink?" Ali asked in an attempt to give me a few more moments to prepare for the things to come.

"Coffee would be nice."

"Fine, I'll get you some. Do you want Milk and Sugar with it?"

"Two sugars and no milk," His eyes met Zafrina's whose eyes narrowed for a split second.

"There is no use putting milk in coffee. It just ruins the purpose of it because it's going to make you sleepy."

"Some people really like milk in their coffee…just for the taste of it."

"Some people are stupid and don't know what things are not supposed to mix with each other."

Ali returned with the coffee cup and placed it directly in front of him on the table.

"Thanks," he mumbled before taking a small sip.

"Did you speak to that shithead…ahm, I mean to the defendant?" Zafrina asked him, trying to keep her voice casual. For a reason I couldn't really tell she seemed pretty pissed at him and I highly doubted that it had anything to do with Edward's trial.

"Zafrina, you actually know that I'm not supposed to tell you anything about preliminary proceedings."

"Oh don't be like that, Derek. You know that all I have to do is fill an application for access records. Why don't you save us both a boring afternoon with paperwork?"

"I hate it when you use that smartass voice on me. But to answer your question yes I have spoken to both of them."

"Both of them? Does that mean my mother is still in jail?" Ali whispered, resting her head against my shoulder.

"Yes, but they will set her free on bail money tomorrow."

"That's good to hear."

"Don't get your hopes up too high. It's very much likely that she'll get a jail sentence too."

"What for?" I asked him, fisting my hand so tightly that my fingernails cut painfully into my palm.

"Complicity in murder, obstruction of justice, cover-up of a criminal offense…the list goes on. Do you want to hear the rest too?"

"No," mumbled.

"I don't think that's necessary."

"And what about Edward? Did he confess that he killed the poor man?"

"No, he didn't."

"So, he's denying it?"

"Not exactly." he mumbled so low that it was barely audible.

"Not exactly? What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Zafrina questioned while she started playing with one of Jasmine's curls before she put it behind her ear. Her fingertips moved up and down on Jasmine's exposed neck until a low giggle left the blonde woman's throat.

"Would you consider stopping fumbling on your snowflake girlfriend for five minutes, Zafrina? That's so irritating."

Jasmine's mouth twitched and for a moment it looked as if she would hit him straight in the face now for his comment, but when she spoke up her voice was sweet and smooth like honey.

"Do you have moral problems seeing your sister with another woman? Because there are some wonderful self-help-group for homophobic…,"

"I'm not against gays, or whatever kind of orientation Zafrina claims to have. It's just that…well, forget it…it doesn't even matter. Why are you here for anyway? You're not a lawyer, are you?"

"She's a psychologist and I've already told you that before." Zafrina stated, rubbing her hand over the denim fabric of Jasmine's skirt.

"And they need to have one here…exactly why?"

"Stop being an ass, Derek and just tell us what Edward told you when you confronted him with the murder."

"Well at first he said that he didn't do it, and then he confessed that he was there that night with his mother but he said he doesn't remember shooting. Everything is pretty complicated because we don't have any proof but one single hair and the testimony of his mother."

"You should have him checked by a psychiatrist. In case you haven't noticed it yet, Edward Cullen is not quite right in the head." Jasmine mumbled, drawing circles over the skin on Zafrina's wrist.

"In case you haven't noticed it yet, no one is asking for your opinion, Missy." he snarled at her.

"Oh yes, we are. She knows more about that kind of stuff than me or you ever could. If you won't force him to talk to someone professional, I can apply directly to make sure he does. That man is a danger to his environment and we should be glad that he didn't harm his poor daughter or his wife lethally during one of his outbursts."

Derek nodded his head and sighed deeply.

"I didn't say that I won't let him see someone just that I don't care about your snowflake girlfriend's opinion on the subject."

"Derek…," she warned him, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Just for the record; it doesn't change one tiny bit whether he's crazy or not. He killed a police officer out of base motives. One way or another, he'll stay locked up for the rest of his life."

A loud sobbing noise reached my ears and it took me a moment to realize that it was coming out of my own throat.

"I think that's enough for now. You can speak to my client again, when…well I'll call you about the when. There is no need to cause her any more torture and pain. Maybe you can just send the papers to my office and I'll sort them through."

"Hmm, yes of course."

He stood up and cleared his throat nervously.

"Mrs. Swan, I know that my words aren't able to make any difference about your loss but let me tell you that I am…we are extremely sorry about what happened to your father. No one deserves to die like that…no one. You can be sure that his murderer is going to pay for what he did to your family."

When he walked out of the house, I sniffed and Ali handed me a tissue to clean my running nose.

"I don't care." I stumbled out, desperately trying to suppress the trembling in my voice.

"I don't care, I don't care. What difference is it going to make? Charlie is dead and not coming back to me…ever."

Ali wrapped her arms around me and I buried my face against her shoulder, taking several deep breaths though my nose to absorb as much of her scent as possible, knowing that it somehow would be able to help me to calm down again.

"Bella, I'm pretty sure that you do care. You're just exhausted. Are you sure that you don't want to see a doctor? He could prescribe you something for your nerves." Jasmine stated, putting one hand on my shoulder.

"I can't take anything because of the baby…it's too risky."

"Maybe she should lay down a bit now. She looks as if she's going to faint any moment." Zafrina suggested, taking a sip from the glass of water in front of her.

"Can I ask you something?" Ali whispered, nervously nibbling on her fingernails.

"How are they going to force him to talk to a psychiatrist? I mean until now he refused to have his mental status checked."

"Until now he wasn't accused of having committed first-degree murder. But my arrogant prick of a brother was actually right. One way or another Edward Cullen is going to pay for his actions. The only question is will it behind bars or inside a padded cell.

XOXXOXXOXXOXOX

[A/N] I was wondering if one of you would be so nice to explain the US justice system a bit to me. It would really help me a lot for writing the court scene. (That's going to be chapter 100 in case you wanted to know).

I suffered a little bit from insomnia last night and so I looked up some visuals for the story. If you aren't interested in that kind of stuff – just ignore it. Just because I imagine the characters looking a certain way, doesn't mean you have.

Remove the () to see the linked pictures.

Lilly

http(:/)i2(.)pinger(.)pl/pgr23/e174b50c001fe1e64ca5d715/Mackenzie+Foy+%282%29(.)png

Zafrina

https(:/)picasaweb(.)google(.)com/lh/photo/UKy2YPs9YpIBOjlIwVLZug

Jasmine

http(:/)www3(.)images(.)/photos/264330/kate-hudson-gallery(.)jpg