57
She sat in the middle of the too soft bed, her legs folded under her and her phone in her hand. She found herself flipping through the dozens of pictures Angela had sent to her through a text message the evening before. Before they left the courthouse the day before, Angela had asked for her phone number, said that way she could stay in touch with her in regards to Hope. She and Ben wanted her to be a part of Hope's life, they said. She was worth it, they said. She wasn't convinced they were right, but she would take any part of Hope's life she could get.
"Hey."
Tensing, she looked at the door, finding Emmett leaning against the doorframe. "Hey."
"Can I come in?"
She nodded, thankful he left the door open when he stepped into the room. Not that she afraid of him, because she wasn't. She just didn't want to be closed off from the world anymore. That's why she stopped hiding in the closet. Marcus said it was okay to need her privacy, but she couldn't hide from the world anymore when she got scared. And she was really, really trying not to be scared anymore.
Emmett walked over and sat on the side of the bed, shifting so that he was facing her with one leg on the bed. He was tense and rigid, and she was tempted to reach over and push him, convinced that he would topple over and hit the ground.
"Are you okay?" he asked. "You were really quiet when we got home yesterday."
She nodded.
He smiled, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Good, good, that's good. We were worried, you know? Yesterday was hard on you."
Once more, she nodded, because yesterday had been hard, but at the same time, she had almost felt . . . relieved."
"Honey, if . . . if you don't want to testify today, if . . . if it's too hard, you know you can tell us, don't you? None of us would think less of you if you don't want to go back. We can fight him for you."
"I know you can, but . . ." she whispered, shaking her head. "But I have to finish what I started, Em."
Emmett smiled, this time it reached his eyes. "You . . . you called me Em."
"Oh." She bit the inside of her lip. "I'm sorry. I just . . . They call you Em, so I thought . . . I thought I could to."
"I like it," he said, smiling. "I like it a lot, Bella."
"Oh. Okay, then I'll remember that," she whispered, nodding. "Can I ask you something?"
"Anything."
"Do you love Rosie?"
Emmett's eyes widened, but he smiled when he said, "I do."
"Do you love her like Carlisle loves Esme, and Jasper loves Alice?"
Emmett laughed, and nodded. "I do."
"Are you going to marry her?"
Once more, Emmett's eyes widened, and he nodded. "I want to. Would you be okay with that?"
She nodded. "That would make you my brother, right?"
"It would," he admitted. "But, Bella, honey, even if I wasn't madly, passionately in love with Rosalie, and you weren't in love with Edward," he said, almost daring her to deny it. "I would still be your family. We love you, and we always will."
She smiled and nodded. "Thank you. I . . . I do love him, you know?"
"I know, honey." Emmett reached for her hand, which she slowly placed on his. "Thank you, though. For loving him, for letting him love you."
And before she could say anything, he stood up and walked out of the bedroom.
—SfH—
At exactly nine a.m., Edward was seated between Bella, who was shaking silently, and Jasper, who was so tense, he worried the man was going to have a heart attack. They all knew today would be the hardest for her. Telling everyone what Sam Uley had done to her was excruciating, but today, she would have to defend herself. Fight Eleazar Santiago, who hadn't done much to keep his eyes off her. It had taken every ounce of Edward's control the day before not to beat the life out of him and Sam Uley.
He'd known what the animal had done to Bella. She'd confided to him more and more about her time in Sam Uley's grasp, things he never thought one person could do to another. It was inhuman, to be kept locked in a box, tortured, raped, beaten, and degraded to the point of not even knowing your own name. His hatred for the man grew with every new detail, especially when he let the Tribal Council rape her, telling her she owed them payment for forcing her into marriage.
Edward closed his eyes, blowing out a heavy breath as he tried once more to stop himself from hitting someone. Of course, Sam Uley hadn't been brought into the courtroom yet. The room was silent, too silent if he were honest. There was an edge in the air, a sense of hardness that Edward knew had everything to do with what Bella had revealed to the court the day before. Most of those who had been seated in the gallery the day before had returned, including Heidi and Demetri Romans, who Jasper had shared with them were the parents of the little girl Sam Uley had beaten to death in front of Bella. Gianna had been her name. They hadn't told Bella, yet, of course. She was already dealing with too much without them adding to her pain.
Once again, Angela and Ben Cheney had been at the courthouse when they arrived. Edward was surprised by their support, their wiliness to share Hope with Bella. Most people wouldn't be so understanding, he figured. He wasn't sure he would have been, had he been in their shoes.
Bella reached over and placed her hand on top of his as the door to the back of the courtroom opened and two guards shuffled a bound Sam Uley into the courtroom. Unlike the day before, today he had a busted lip, swollen nose, black eye, and what looked like bruising around his neck, too.
"Huh," Jasper muttered, and when Edward looked at him, he smiled and added, "They say child rapists and abusers get special treatment in lock up. Guess they're right, aren't they?"
Edward laughed under his breath and shifted his eyes to Bella, who almost looked worried. "You okay, sweetheart?"
Bella tore her eyes away from Sam Uley, who seemed to know better than to look back at her as the guards dragged him to his table. "Does it make me like him if I wished I could have been the one to hurt him?"
"No, sweetheart. I think we all wish we could have gotten a hit or two in."
Bella leaned over, pressing her forehead against his shoulder. "I love you."
"I love you, too," he whispered, kissing the top of her head.
Two things happened at the same time: the men and women of the jury walked into the room at the same time and Judge Dwyer waltzed into court. While they settled into the jury box, Judge Dwyer shifted his eyes between each and everyone one of them, lingering for a moment on Sam Uley before taking his seat behind his bench.
"Mr. Santiago, your client appears a little battered this morning," he said, before picking up his gavel.
"Yes, your honor," Eleazar stood, looking down at Sam before turning back to the judge. "Apparently, he fell down last night. Several times, actually."
"I see," Judge Dwyer said, nodding and picking up the manila folder in front of him, opening it. "Well, he's been cleared medically to continue, so let's get started shall we?" He didn't wait for Eleazar to respond, however, before he turned his attention to Bella, his expression softening. "Miss. Swan, you need to take your place back on the witness stand, please."
Closing her eyes for a moment, she turned and looked at Edward before standing and making the walk once more to the center of the aisle. Unlike the day before, where Kate had acted like a buffer between Bella and Sam Uley, this morning the bailiff maneuvered himself between them, motioning for her walk past him, staying there until Bella was seated in the same chair as the day before.
"Miss Swan, I would like to remind you that you are still under oath," Judge Dwyer said.
"Yes, your honor," she whispered just loud enough for Edward to hear. She closed her eyes, and took a deep breath, and he worried about her. She had shown great strength, but how much was too much for her to handle?
"Mr. Santiago, you may proceed with caution."
"Thank you, your honor."
Eleazar inhaled a sharp breath before he stood up and moved so that he was standing in front of his table. He clasped his hands in front of him, the arrogance was strong and once again, Edward had to fight the urge not to beat the life out of him. How he could defend someone like Sam Uley was beyond Edward's understanding.
"Miss Swan," he said. "Or do you prefer Mrs. Uley?"
"Objection, your honor," Kate said, standing up. "The court has already ruled that the supposed marriage between the defendant and the witness was illegal on multiple grounds."
"Sustained," Judge Dwyer said, giving Eleazar a look. "Get to it, Mr. Santiago."
Eleazar nodded and turned his attention back to Bella. "May I call you, Bella?"
"I guess," she replied.
"Bella," he said, and the way he spoke her name had Edward clenching his fists, "How old are you?"
Bella shifted her eyes to Edward before saying, "Sixteen."
"And how old were you when you claim my client allegedly crept into your bedroom?"
And again, Bella shifted her eyes to Edward before answering, "Eight."
"Eight years old," he murmured. "Had you ever met my client before that night, Bella?"
She nodded and said, "Yes."
"When?"
"I don't . . . I don't know exactly when," she stammered, shifting her eyes to Edward, who tried to give her an encouraging nod. "My . . . my dad use to take me and my sister to the reservation. I think I met him there."
"You think?"
"I . . . I mean, I don't really remember."
"You're honor," Kate said, standing up. "Bella was only a child. She cannot be expected to remember where she met him."
"Agreed," Judge Dwyer replied. "Move on, Mr. Santiago."
"Before the night my client allegedly snuck into your bedroom had he ever been to your house?"
"Yes."
"Was he mean?"
"No."
"Did he touch you inappropriately?"
Bella frowned. "No."
"In fact, my client was your friend, wasn't he? He played with you, didn't he?"
"Yes."
"He gave you candy, didn't he? He brought his dog over and he'd let you play with him, didn't he?"
"Yes," she muttered.
"But he never made you uncomfortable, did he? He was your friend. Isn't that true?"
"Yes, but Daddy said. . ."
"Your father isn't here, Bella," Eleazar interrupted. "Sam Uley was your friend. He played with you, protected you, didn't he?"
Bella shook her head, and Edward could see the stress in her shoulders. He was about to hurry over to her, but stopped when Jasper put his hand on his shoulder, drawing his attention to him. "She's okay."
"Answer the question, Bella," Eleazar insisted, taking a step toward her, but she scrambled out of the box, hitting the wall behind her.
"Mr. Santiago," Judge Dwyer almost snarled, drawing his attention away from Bella. "Take a step back, sir."
"Yes, your honor. My apologies," he said, taking several steps backward with his hands up in front of him.
Judge Dwyer glared at him before he shifted his attention back to Bella. "Miss Swan, are you okay to continue?"
Bella shifted her eyes to Edward, who wanted nothing more than to tell her it was okay to say no, to come back to him, to let someone else fight, but as she had done since she stepped out of the closet, she took his breath away and said, "Yes, your honor."
"Then please, take your seat, dear."
Bella took a deep breath before she slowly walked over and sat back down.
"I apologize, Bella," Eleazar said, and when she simply nodded, he asked, "The night my client allegedly came into your bedroom, Bella, had you gotten in trouble?"
"I . . . I don't remember," she said, frowning.
"You don't remember throwing a temper tantrum because your sister Rosalie was getting to go spend the night with a friend and you weren't allowed to go? You don't remember screaming that it wasn't fair?"
Bella shook her head and said, "No."
Eleazar nodded. "You don't remember calling my client and telling him to come get you? That you wanted to run away because your father had spanked you?"
"No, no, I didn't . . . He never spanked me!" Bella insisted, and once again, Edward had to swallow against the bile in his throat.
"Didn't he?" Eleazar asked.
"No!" Bella cried, lifting her hand and pointing at Sam Uley. "He killed them. He locked me in the closet and then went downstairs and killed them. They screamed for him to stop, for him to leave me alone. Daddy said he wasn't allowed at our house anymore. He said he was dangerous and I couldn't play with him anymore."
"But you still did, didn't you, Bella?" Eleazar asked. "After your father allegedly told you that you couldn't play with my client, you still did, didn't you?"
"Yes," she gritted out.
Eleazar folded his arms in front of him. "Isn't it true, Bella, that you left that night with my client after you attacked your parents with a knife? After you threw a temper tantrum, and killed them because you didn't get to go with your sister to a sleepover?"
"Objection, your honor!" Kate almost yelled as she stood up so quickly her chair flew backward. "The witness was only eight years old. The Medical Examiner stated more than once that the wounds Charlie and Renee Swan suffered came from an angle of at least five inches above them. Seeing as Bella was only about four feet tall at the time of her disappearance, there is no way she could have killed them. Not to mention she wouldn't have had the physical strength to inflict the kind of damage that was done to her parents."
"Sustained," Judge Dwyer ruled. "Move along, Mr. Santiago."
Eleazar pressed his lips together before turning his eyes back to Bella, who Edward could tell was on the verge of a meltdown. "You claim my client held you against your will for over eight years, isn't that true, Bella?"
"Yes."
"How many times did my client leave you alone?"
"I don't know."
"Did he always lock you away, as you claimed?"
"Not after he took me to the ceremony," she admitted. "He said since I was his wife now that I was bound to him, and . . . any only him."
"You claim that he said that, but there's nobody who can back up that claim, is there, Bella? You've testified that my client kidnapped you, but the only people who could corroborate that claim are dead. You say he raped you, yet there's nobody to corroborate that claim, either, is there?"
Bella just sat there.
"You wanted a relationship with my client, didn't you, Bella? You loved him and you wanted to be with him. That's why you ran away with him, didn't you?"
"No," she denied. "I never wanted him . . . him like that. I . . . I begged him to let me go, but he said —"
"It doesn't matter what you claim he said, Bella!" Eleazar snarled once again. "He left you alone over and over and over, didn't you say? And never once, did you try to leave. Not until you the man you propositioned for sex, turned you into the police. Isn't that true?"
"No!" Bella snarled, standing up and clenching her hands into tight fists. "Sam Uley kidnapped me, raped me, beat me for eight years! I was a child, a little girl who didn't understand why he touched me, how he could rape me and call me horrible names. He stole my baby and told me that I was nothing, a nobody for eight years! But he's a liar, because I am someone, and he doesn't get to hurt me ever again!"
Eleazar opened his mouth, but then clamped his lips together before tilting his head to the side and saying, "I have no more questions for this witness, your honor."
"Miss Swan," Judge Dwyer said, drawing her attention away from Sam Uley. "You may step down."
As Bella stepped out of the box, the bailiff started toward her, to act like a buffer, but stopped when she shook her head. Though Edward could see the stress and tense in her shoulders, the fear in her eyes, she bravely walked past Eleazar and Sam through the gate and settling back in her seat next to Edward. She was amazing and strong and braver than anyone Edward had ever met, and he fell even more in love with her in that moment. The moment Bella Swan accepted that she was someone again.
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