31

Bella tried to sleep, but she couldn't. Every time she closed her eyes, she felt him touching her, his lips on the outside of the tape, his fingers brushing across the most intimate places. The places only Alice had touched her. So, no, she didn't sleep. She laid in Alice's arms and cried until her eyes were sore and red, and then she cried some more.

As the sun started spilling into the room, Bella slipped out of Alice's arms and grabbed fresh clothes, needing another shower. Needed to wash his hand off her, wash the word, "You'll learn to love it. Your mother did," out of her head. He'd raped her mother. Had she been one of the queers he hated so much? But if she had, why would she have sent Bella to live with him, knowing what he would do to her? Did she hate her so much that she didn't care what happened to her?

Bella knew the answers to all those questions, even if she wasn't quite ready to admit them to herself yet. So, instead, she let the hot water scald her skin. She wanted to forget Charlie Swan ever existed, yet she never would. His blood ran threw her veins. He was her father, and he'd wanted to fuck her. And something told her, it had nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with her being a lesbian. No, Charlie Swan would have found any reason to fuck her, and that alone made her sick.

"Beautiful," Alice called out. "Are you almost done? I need to pee."

"Yeah," Bella replied back, turning the water off and wrapping the towel around her body before she stepped out of the shower and walked over, opening the door. Alice was leaning against the frame with a smirk. "Sorry."

"Don't be sorry," she said, letting her eyes travel down to the crevice of her breasts. "Don't be sorry at all."

Bella felt her skin turn bright red as she grabbed her clothes off the counter and hurried past Alice and into their bedroom, clothing the door and leaving Alice to take care of her business. She'd just put her bra and panties on when the door opened again, and she looked back as Alice came back inside.

"I'm sorry," Alice said, holding her hands out, which Bella took. "I didn't mean to embarrass you."

"You didn't," she lied, and when Alice cocked an eyebrow, she said, "Okay, you did. I just . . . I don't want you to be sorry for looking at me like that. I like it."

"Then I'm not sorry," she teased, bringing Bella's hands to her lips. "Let's get dressed and go make breakfast. I'm starving."

Bella nodded, unsure if she were hungry or not, but knew she couldn't hide way forever. She pulled on a pair of jeans and a long sleeve T-shirt, waited for Alice to do the same, and then followed her downstairs, where they found Emmett, Carlisle, Esme, Rose, Edward, and Jasper seated on the couches, their focus on the television, where Bella felt her heart drop into her stomach.

There in the middle of the screen were pictures of Charlie and Alistair.

"Turn it up," she murmured, drawing their attention to her, though she could only stare at the television. "Please."

Emmett reached over and picked up the remote, turning the volume up.

"The body of Forks Police Chief Charlie Swan and his father, Alistair Swan, were found in a remote cabin ten miles outside of the city. It's been reported that the two men died from gunshot wounds, and that both men were found naked. Charlie Swan had only just been released on bail yesterday morning after being accused of sexual assault, human trafficking, and battery, all pursuant under the Hate Crime stature 18 U.S. Code 249. He was also being charged with child endangerment, neglect, and abuse if his sixteen year old daughter."

The room was filled with silence for a split second before someone knocked on the front door. Carlisle and Emmett shared a look before the two men stood up and walked over and pulled it open. Sam and Mike were standing there, their eyes hard as they shifted their attention from them to Bella, who was standing next to Alice still.

"Sam, Mike, kind of early for a house call, don't you think?" Carlisle asked, folding his arms in front of him.

"No," Sam replied, clearing his throat. "You've heard about Chief Swan, we assume."

"Just saw it on the news," Emmett said, sliding his arm around Carlisle.

Sam and Mike grimaced.

"Terrible shame," he added, the two words dripping with sarcasm. "What is this town going to do without a child raping bastard roaming around free?"

"Chief Swan hadn't been convicted of anything, Emmett," Mike quipped.

"Pleaded guilty, though, so . . ." Emmett shrugged his shoulders. "Kind of speaks for itself, you know?"

Sam rolled his eyes. "Where were you last night, Emmett?"

"Why do you need to know?" he asked.

"Seems a bit of a coincidence, don't you think, that you and Carlisle assault Chief Swan and now he's dead. Murdered, actually."

"Maybe he pissed the wrong people off," Carlisle argued. "Considering that he was a serial rapist probably means he's made some enemies."

"Is that right?" Mike asked, raising an eyebrow.

Carlisle nodded. "Besides, Emmett was here with us last night," he added, gesturing to everyone in the room. "We were all here. Enjoying family night. Played Monopoly. Got a little heated, you know."

"Is that so?" Sam asked, tilting his head toward the side as he looked back at Bella. "Then how can you explain the witness that saw those two together in Port Angeles? On the Ferris Wheel, to be exact."

"Whoever spread such likes must have been mistaken," Emmett said. "They were here, with us, all night."

"We found a dress, cut up. And a bra and panties, also cut into pieces," Mike added. "We're running DNA on them now."

"Good luck with that, because Bella and Alice were here, with us all night," Carlisle added.

"We also found tire tracks outside of the cabin," Sam, mentioned. "That match those on your SUV, Carlisle."

He shrugged his shoulders. "Pretty standard tires. I'm sure there are a dozen in the area alone."

"Let's cut the bullshit," Sam said, his tone sharper than needed. "We know you and Emmett are responsible for their murders, Carlisle."

"No, they aren't," Bella heard herself say, and when everyone looked back at her, she took a deep breath. "I . . . I killed them."

"Sweetheart," Carlisle said, shaking his head, but she stepped away from Alice, away from all of them.

"I killed them," she said. "In self-defense."

Sam and Mike shared a look before they pushed past Carlisle and Emmett, past Esme and Rose, Jasper and Edward, past Alice until they stood in front of her. They looked at her for a moment before Sam grabbed her arm, spinning her around. Her eyes met Alice's, a look of horror on her face, as Sam fitted a pair of handcuffs around her wrists.

"Isabella Swan, you're under arrest for the murders of Charlie Swan and Alistair Swan," he said, turning and dragging her toward the door. "You have the right to remain silent. . ."

"Don't say another word, Bella," Carlisle ordered. "Do you hear me? I'm calling Garrett. Do not say another word."

Tears flooded her eyes as she nodded, and Sam continued to read her rights, though all she could hear as the Sam and Mike manhandled her out of the house and into the back of their squad car, was the sound of Alice screaming, "Bella! Bella, come back! Bella!"

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