EPOV
When the door opens, all hell breaks loose. My mind dissolves into a panic and a rage.
Before I can completely understand what I am doing, I have lept onto the bed and I crouch over Bella, snarling at the intruder. I know it must be him I know it must be fucking him I know
BPOV
When the door opens, all hell breaks loose. My hands fly to my belly, and I wet myself. Shame burning my cheeks, I stare at the open door. Before, the mirror smooth and unbroken, now it lies ajar…
Men are swarming us instantly. They carry guns that seem comical in their predatory sleekness. Like some sort of science fiction movie gone wrong. My ears are ringing and I hear them shouting to one another but nothing registers.
I touch my face and my hand comes away wet, I am sobbing. Edward is screaming and fighting them. In slow motion, my head swimming, I turn towards him, I smile, everything will be alright…
He is writhing and screaming and cursing the men. Spit flies from his mouth; he looks like a rabid animal. His wild hair I found so charming hangs darkly over his eyes and he looks for all the world an unruly stallion. He is… dangerous.
My mouth open, I turn my head with that infinite slowness again. The men all around me… Edward is afraid for me. It must be because they know why I am here. I am here because I have been bad for so long, and now they are here to… to hurt me I suppose… but this is my salvation… I cannot think straight with all of this screaming
it's Edward screaming and I
I think it's me too.
I can't stop shaking, I can't stop crying. The men are taking the room in, most have flowed back out now that a few have Edward pinned. One speaks harshly into his radio. He strides forward, deeper into what has been my home for this time. He takes one look at me and shouts, "Medic!" into that black box.
I am terrified now. I look down, try to see what he sees.
I see a skeleton, that someone has grotesquely sewed a heavily pregnant and swollen belly onto. I see years of scar tissue, some newcomers, enough bruising to make me a fruit quite worth passing over in a grocery store. In my mind's eye I see my lank hair; in the mirror I see my ghoulish eyes set so far back in my head they are black.
I look to Edward, his face smashed into the floor of our home. We are quite feral. I see that now, I know that this team of men sees how bad I am written plain as day across my body. My transgressions are legible, my whoreish and wanton behavior plain for them to see.
More men into the room, these I know will help me. I have seen an EMT before. They lift me slowly and gently onto the stretcher they brought, strap me in tight. I smile into their eyes, I will hold still, I know how to be good. I know it doesn't look that way, but…
Now I can have some help for my baby. She can grow as she ought to.
The greater the distance grows as I am carried away from Edward, the more panic fills my mind. I try to soothe myself, I rub my belly and relax into the restraints that cradle me. I turn my head just so, the neckbrace was deemed unnecessary apparently. And what I see destroys whatever I thought I knew about my time here.
Another set of doors, one of which is open. Another room, walls mirrored thrice. Another two beds, one with sheets and one without. Another small cage. Another… man and woman. Blank white wall resumes as I pass this sight by. The nightmare is almost gone from my mind when I see
Another room. Three more mirrored walls. A man sobbing as he gestures to an officer, a girl in a crimson pool at his feet. Her belly swells like mine.
Blank wall resumes.
I turn my head back to gaze upward. Sterile ceiling comforts me, it reminds me of my little home. My little space with Edward where I knew how to be a good girl. My hands go to my neck absently, and the lack of collar there brings the taste of bile to my mouth and my hands tremble. They close over nothing. They must have cut it off me at some point…
A female EMT has been speaking to me for some time, but the world of sound has only just returned to me.
"Honey? What's your name, sweetheart? You need to tell me your name." Her voice is soft and slips over me. I roll my eyes to her, whites showing and I smile weakly.
"Bella."
Her eyes widen, she grabs my hand and squeezes it. Lifting her shoulder to her mouth, she speaks into the little radio there. "It's Bella, we've got Bella."
I sigh. Something about being so contained in this stretcher is soothing me in the midst of this chaos. I try not to think of Edward, I need to only think of my baby girl now. I will be very good to these people, I will do what they ask and I know they will care for her.
We are outside now. I forget exactly how we emerged but we did. The building that first looms above me and then grows smaller is so ordinary it takes my breath away. It looks like some sort of warehouse, but not abandoned or horrific looking, or even sad looking. It is all clean lines and neat appearances. This takes my breath away- our rooms were just so.
The sky is overcast, but I have to close my eyes anyway. The warmth of the sun on my skin… did I ever imagine I would feel that again? I lose its delicious touch when I am lifted into the waiting ambulance. The doors are shut and I alone with the EMT who… I know her somehow, something just passed between us but it has slipped my mind. I smile and close my eyes again.
"Bella, Bella please stay awake a little longer. My name is Angela, I need your help."
I open my eyes, feeling wary again. I must help her if I can, I need to do what they ask of me. They could take me back to the voice. But I want to go to the hospital, I want them to see my baby. I feel so weak already, I feel like every ounce of life is draining from my body the further I am drawn from what has been my home.
I nod, because I read patience and also concern in her eyes.
"Do you know where you are?" I shake my head.
"Do you know who has kept you here?" No.
"Do you know… do you know how far along you are?" No. I smile sweetly, and reach for her hand. She gives it to me and I place it reverently on my stomach. Someone has covered me in a blanket and the absence of nakedness and exposure is alarming and strange. But my baby girl kicks against her hand.
"Do you feel that?" I ask her, in a whisper, my voice scratching and hoarse from disuse. She nods to me, grins with teary eyes. "Can we please go to the hospital?"
She springs in action, and I close my eyes. To sleep would be just so lovely. I let my arm fall, wrist up and exposed to the air. I have never felt less safe, nor more. I put everything out of my mind, all my terror and panic and the uncertainty of what will happen to me now.
This world that has so often failed to keep me safe will care for my daughter, I am sure of it.
AN: Hello beautiful people. I left this note til the end because some of you reviewers seemed rather anxious to hear what happens next. That makes me so happy! And one of you, Emma/Guest, caught a major fuck up on my end! Chapter Five was in third person! Whoops. Not exactly sure how that happened, but it's fixed now. Thank you for your theories, they influence the story more than you know. Thank you all for continuing to indulge me. For those of you who have asked about length, I consider much of these first 12 chapters as more of a prologue to a much longer story. So no end anytime soon. Sending good vibes your way, goodnight!