30

Bella could hear Edward and Jasper, Rose and Esme, but the second Alice's arms wrapped around her, all she could again was cry. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't shake the feel of their hands on her, the feel of his body on top of hers. She shuddered and yanked herself out of Alice's arms, shifting her eyes from the love of her life to Esme and Rose, who were nestled in Carlisle and Emmett's arms, to Edward and Jasper, before she simply shook her head, put her hands up, and ran into the house, upstairs, and locked herself in the bathroom.

Bella fell her knees and crawled over to the bathtub, turning on the water, not even caring if it were too hot, or too cold. She just needed to wash his hands off her. She ripped open Emmett's shirt, tearing it off before she climbed over the side of the tub, and pulled her knees to her chest, crying even harder.

How could her father do that to her? He'd touched her? He'd placed his penis against her, ready to fuck . . . no, not fuck her. He was prepared to rape her, and why? Because she was a lesbian? She wasn't so sure. Hell, she wasn't sure about anything at this point. All she knew was she needed to get the feel of their hands off her skin.

"Bella, beautiful, are you okay?" Alice called out.

She opened her mouth to reassure her, but how could she when she was one hundred percent not okay?

Her father had kidnapped her.

He'd touched her.

He'd attempted to rape her.

So, no, she was not okay, but still, she heard herself saying, "I'll be right out."

"Okay," Alice paused. "I love you."

She wanted to scream, "I love you, Alice," but she simply sat in the hot water, and waited until she heard Alice walk away before she took another breath. She reached for a wash rag, pouring as much body wash as she could on it before scrubbing her skin until every part of her that she could reach was red. Still, she felt him. She shuddered, bile creeping up her throat, though she managed to keep from puking. She wasn't sure how, though.

Once the water had turned icy cold, Bella climbed out of the tub, wrapping a towel around her and moving to the sink. She shifted her eyes to her reflection, expecting to see something, someone different. The girl looking back at her was the same Bella, yet not the same at all. Her eyes were red, her skin blotchy, and her soul tired.

"Bella," Alice called again, knocking on the door.

"I'm coming," she whimpered, looking away from her reflection. She grabbed Emmett's shirt off the floor and put it on over the towel, before yanking open the bathroom door and crossing the hallway into hers and Alice's bedroom, where she found the love of her life sitting on the side of the bed, her knees pulled up to her chest. "Sorry."

"Don't be sorry," she said, shrugging. "I remember what it felt like, you know, after. . ."

Bella nodded and walked over to the dresser, pulling out a new pair of panties, some pajama pants, and a T-shirt. "They didn't, you know, actually . . ."

Alice hummed, but didn't say anything as Bella slipped on the clothes, keeping the towel and Emmett's shirt on until she had everything on. Once she was dressed, she tossed the towel and shirt into the laundry basket, and turned toward Alice, who was still watching her.

"Come here," Alice whispered, stretching her hand toward Bella.

Biting the inside of her lip, she walked across the room, climbing onto the bed next to her, letting Alice hold her tight, like she had done too many in the last few weeks.

"I'm sorry," Alice whispered.

"Why are you sorry?"

She frowned. "I should have been more careful with you."

Bella sighed. "You shouldn't have had to be," she murmured, shifting so that she was facing her. "He was watching us. On the Ferris wheel, I mean. He saw you . . . saw touch me."

Alice grimaced. "Slimy bastard."

"He said . . . he said he raped my mom, Alice."

Her eyes widened. "What?"

"He said I'd learn to love dick, that she had. What does that mean?"

"That he's a fucking psychopath," Alice scoffed, shifting so that she was laying on the bed. "He didn't . . . you know with you, right?"

Bella bit the inside of her lip as she shifted and laid in front of her, feeling Alice's arms wrap around her. "My grandfather told him to cut my clothes off. The way they looked at me, Alice," she whimpered. "They were standing next to the bed, just leering at me, and I knew . . . they didn't want to rape me because I'm a lesbian, Alice. Or not just because I'm a lesbian. They wanted to fuck me because they wanted to own me, like own her."

"Nobody owns you, beautiful," Alice whispered, sliding one of her hands up to her face, using her fingers to wipe away her tears. "Nobody."

"Alice," Bella sobbed, nestling herself against Alice's chest. "Don't ever let me go."

"Never, beautiful. Never."

Thank you for all of the AMAZING reviews!