Trigger warning for this chapter*
Charlie had been watching the game when Edward dropped her home.
He didn't seem to be angry about what time she had gotten home though, and he dismissed her to bed without a word.
The next morning, Edward picked her up with Alice and drove them to school. Charlie had already left for work.
"Esme will be picking you up around 10am." He told her as they pulled into the parking lot. "You'll probably be back for lunch."
"Okay, good." Bella nodded. Alice smiled at her as they climbed out.
Edward wrapped his arm around her, supporting her because of her foot, although she reassured him she was fine.
She still tried to hide the slight limp to not draw attention to herself. That was a hard task when you had Edward Cullen's arm around you, though. She spotted Jessica frowning in the doorway of the school and had to look away.
First period passed slowly but soon it was time to go to her appointment at the hospital.
Bella was feeling worried as she headed out to the parking lot to meet Esme. Alice was by her side. She hadn't told Charlie that she was going to the hospital, but Forks was too small of a place not for him to find out soon enough. Someone was definitely going to mention that she was getting into a car with Esme Cullen during school hours. She would have to just deal with the consequences, whatever they may be.
Alice hugged her before helping her get into the black Mercedes. "We will see you soon, Bella."
Bella waved and gave Alice a small smile before they left the parking lot.
"This is a nice car." Bella found herself saying to break the silence.
"It's Carlisle's." Esme smiled. "I much prefer staying home and working on interior design projects, so I just borrow his car if I really need to go somewhere."
"Oh," Bella started to feel bad. "I hope I didn't take you away from your projects. I could have gotten to the hospital somehow."
"Nonsense." Esme silenced. "I don't mind taking you to the hospital, Bella."
Bella felt a bit chilly on the car ride and was grateful she had a few layers of clothes on. Esme had the windows down although it was cloudy in Forks today. She wondered if she just always felt colder than others because of her low weight. Still, she wrapped her arms around herself to warm her up and focused on the houses flying past as they made their way towards the hospital.
Esme was quiet during the rest of the drive and didn't speak until they had settled in the waiting room of the radiology department. "Are you feeling okay, dear?"
Bella was anxious. She could feel her heart pounding and her hands were shaking lightly, but she still nodded.
Esme squeezed her hand in support and tried to distract Bella by talking about the plans she had for the Cullen house. Bella was grateful for that.
The x-ray was over quickly, and Bella knew there wasn't a logical reason for her to be anxious. It was just an x-ray after all, but she felt more nervous about Charlie finding out she was at the hospital than about the condition of her foot.
"I hope you don't mind," Esme started as they drove back to the school. "I've packed some more cookies for you. I don't get to bake for the children much; they prefer to do their own thing."
Bella smiled. She was very grateful for more cookies. Esme was such a good cook. She couldn't understand why Edward and his siblings would turn down anything she baked.
"Thank you for taking me today." Bella thanked her as they pulled into the school.
Edward was waiting at the front entrance and she wondered if Esme had told him they were on their way back.
"You're welcome, sweetheart. I'll see you soon?" Esme asked as she handed Bella the parcel of cookies.
Bella nodded. "I hope so." She whispered as she climbed out and took Edward's waiting hand.
"Just in time for lunch." Edward smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. He seemed worried. "How was it, love?"
"Absolutely fine." Bella reassured him as they walked to the cafeteria. "It was just an x-ray."
"What do you want for lunch?" Edward asked her as they got in the line. "My treat."
"Anything is fine." Bella was in a lot of pain and didn't feel up to eating, but she knew she needed to. "You pick, I don't mind."
Edward seemed to get a bit of everything that was on offer before heading over to the usual Cullen table.
Bella followed behind slowly as Edward had both hands on the full tray. She was only limping a small amount now but it did take a bit of effort to conceal the pain.
She sat down next to Rosalie, who offered her a small, concerned smile.
"All good, Bella?" Alice asked her. She could see Alice trying to reign her energy in, but the little pixie always had way too much energy for Bella to comprehend. She wished she had the energy Alice had at times.
"All good." Bella confirmed, pulling a fry off the tray she was sharing with Edward.
Towards the end of lunch, the principal called for Bella at his office.
She thought she was going to collapse from the anxiety as she stood outside the door, and even more so when she went inside and saw Meg and Lucy sitting there.
"Hi, Bella." Lucy said to her, gesturing for her to sit. "We just wanted to call in and check up on you at school; see how you're doing."
"I'm okay…" Bella didn't know what to say. Had Carlisle phoned them over her foot?
There was no other reason why they were here. They were happy after their visit to the house, and the team at Seattle Children's had said she didn't have an eating disorder. There was no reason for another visit.
"We're just a bit concerned over the number of injuries you're getting." Meg added when Bella didn't expand on her answer.
"Oh." Bella sat on her hands to hide the fact they were shaking. "I've always been so clumsy. My mum always joked that she was going to wrap me up in bubble wrap. I'm even worse when I get sick. The recovery period seems to make me more disorientated and I fall a lot. I've been trying to work on it."
"Alright." Lucy said, her eyes moving to Bella's foot. "You've recently injured your foot, correct?"
Bella nodded. "I dropped some cans on it whilst sorting the groceries."
"That sounds painful. Are you sure everything's okay? Do you want to talk to us about anything?" Meg took over.
"I'm sure." Bella made her voice sound more confident. "I'll try to be more careful. I'm all good."
Lucy looked over to the principal as she stood. Meg shortly joined her. "We will just head and speak to your dad at work. See if there's anything we can help with as it isn't good getting injured all the time. It might be worth exploring if there's a medical reason for the clumsiness. We can check up again soon to make sure that's getting looked at."
"Of course." Bella smiled as they headed out. "Am I able to head to class now?" She asked Principal Greene who nodded slowly.
Bella almost ran to the last period that she shared with Alice. She took deep breaths outside in the corridor and stilled her shaking hands before heading into the class.
Bella tried to concentrate but she was frustrated that Carlisle had called CPS again. It was just a bruise on her foot, why was he suspicious? She was certain now that she had to stay away from the Cullen house. CPS would likely be more suspicious if they were called a third time. Bella was lucky that they weren't fully doing their job properly, because they clearly couldn't see through the lies at this point.
The pain meds were barely touching the pain that seethed throughout her whole body and she was so tired. She just wanted the school day to be over with. Charlie wouldn't be impressed that CPS were going to his work to talk to him and his colleagues.
She kept herself together though and listened to Alice talk about how she was looking forward to a shopping trip in Seattle, instead of reading the textbook in front of her.
She was still tired on the ride home from school in Edward's car, and she kept herself awake although it was hard work. She was quiet, refusing to speak and only nodding or shaking her head at Edward's questions. She was beyond frustrated with the situation and didn't know what to say.
"See you tomorrow, Bella." Edward told her gently before driving off, leaving her standing in the drizzly rain on her driveway for a few seconds before she headed for the house.
Charlie was awfully quiet too when he arrived home. A quiet that terrified Bella rather than reassured her.
"Up to bed." He told her once his dinner had been served. "I'll come and see you in a bit."
Bella nodded, knowing not to mess with Charlie when he was so painfully quiet.
She did a bit of homework and sent an email to her mum, asking her how Phil's games had been going. She reassured her she was having fun in Forks and that she had met some new friends. She left out the part where she thought she was starting to get feelings for a boy. She didn't want her mother freaking out as that would encourage a phone call, which Bella was trying to avoid.
The evening passed quietly and Bella waited for Charlie to come upstairs like he said he would.
Charlie did eventually come up to Bella's room and he stood in her doorway for a few moments, just watching Bella on her bed.
Bella sensed something was wrong, and something different did happen that night.
Charlie smiled at her, and slowly came to sit with her on her bed.
Then it happened.
Charlie raped Bella.
Bella was raped.
Of all people, Bella was raped by her own father. Her dad.
