"And are these the men you seduced and slept with?" The lawyer's harsh voice punctuated the cold airy courtroom.
"No, I didn't seduce them!" Bella cried out. Bella looked over at the faces of the four men who raped her, dressed in nice suits, with innocent looking expressions as the lawyer turned to gesture to them, but who glared menacingly at Bella when the lawyer turned his back on them.
"Did you not have sex with them?" the lawyer asked her accusingly.
"Well, I mean," Bella stumbled over her words. "Yes, but-"
"And yet you want us to punish these men for your sins? They have their whole lives ahead of them, and because you regret a night of passion, they must pay for it?"
"What?! No! I-"
"Look into the courtroom and tell everyone that you are a big slut who had sex with four men in one night and are now crying about it to the world, wanting our pity."
Bella looked around into the faces of the courtroom. She saw a sea of faces from school. Angela's face was conflicted, Mike looked disgusted, Jessica smiled at Mikes disgusted face, Lauren looked gleeful. On and on, faces she knew filled with a mixture of judgmental expressions.
"That isn't what happened!" Bella pleaded.
"Bella Swan," came the gravely voice of the faceless judge. "I hereby sentence you to life in prison for trying to ruin the lives of these four upstanding men. Court is adjourned." The gavel sounded as Bella cried.
Bella startled awake with a gasp. Bella looked around wildly for a moment, getting her bearings. She was at home, in her bedroom.
"Hey," a soft voice spoke from her side. Bella jerked again, startled. "Bad dream?" Edward prompted gently.
Bella nodded as she turned her face into his chest, letting herself find comfort in cold embrace. She sniffled before she even realized she was crying.
"Do you want to tell me about it?" Edward asked gently into her hair.
"Court room," Bella explained succinctly. "Everyone from school was there and judging me, and the lawyer called me a slut and I ended up getting life in prison for accusing my attackers of rape."
Edward's cold hand gently stroked her back. "It's just a dream. That's never going to happen."
Bella sighed. "I know, but I don't want people at school to find out. And they probably will if I go to trial. I guess that feels kind of like a life sentence. I'll never be able to take back my reputation once the news gets out. I'll always be that girl who was gang raped when she went up to Port Angeles. A cautionary tale. Damaged goods. And all for what? For these men to get locked up for a few years or a couple decades? Only to be released to do it again?"
Inside, Edward raged, feeling indignant at the ineffective human pathway for justice. He knew better than to continue offering to kill Bella's rapists. If he thought he could get away with it without consequences, he'd do it in a heartbeat. But Alice and Bella were right, he was too vulnerable to restarting his blood rage, and he couldn't be around Bella when he was in that state, it would be too dangerous for her. He continued to stroke her back soothingly, feeling helpless, something he was not used to as a vampire. But he could do this, he could comfort Bella. When given the choice of allowing him to avenge her or being a constant emotional support, Bella had asked for his emotional support. So, even though it went against every instinct he had, Edward was committed to honoring her wishes. But the minute she gave him the go-ahead, those men would be dead, no matter how many years he had to wait.
"You're not damaged goods," Edward reassured her. "I'm here for you, no matter what happens," he promised into her hair. "And if people find out about your rape and you can't take it, we'll go somewhere else, start over."
Bella pulled away to look at him in surprise. "But what about your family?"
Edward brushed her tear-streaked face and told her, "You're my family, Bella."
Bella's eyes furrowed in confusion. "We haven't been together for that long, are you sure you want to commit to running away together?"
"It's different for vampires. It's not like human love, which can be uncertain and fleeting. When a vampire falls in love, it means they've found their…" Edward hesitated before whispering with reverence, "mate."
Bella gasped. "Mate?" she breathes.
"I understand it might be different for you. I don't expect you to know how you feel about the future and I'll never pressure you to stay with me if you ever want to end this, but you should know that for me, you're it. There will never be another lover for me for the rest of my life. I will be with you for the rest of your life, or for as long as you will have me." Edward continued to study her face, wishing more than ever that he could read her thoughts. "Are you freaked out?"
Bella shook her head. "No, not freaked out. I'm just… processing. I love you so much, and I honestly can't imagine being with anyone else. I don't want a future where we aren't together. But how does this work, with me being a human?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, I'm going to get old? And you're going to stay like-" Bella gestured to his general appearance as way of finishing her sentence.
"That doesn't bother me," Edward assured her.
"I think it might bother me," Bella said, contemplating. "Unless… how does one become a vampire?"
Edward shook his head firmly. "No. I don't want that for you."
Bella's eyebrows furrowed. "What if it's what I want? To be with you? Forever?"
Edward sighed. "I don't think you know what you're asking. You're talking about giving up your soul."
Bella blinked. "My soul?" Edward didn't elaborate. "Do you not have a soul?"
Edward shrugged. "There are different viewpoints on this among vampires. But given the belief system I was raised with, I do not believe I have one. I believe it left my body when my human life ended. When I die - and vampires can be killed, it's just not easy - I believe that I will be going to hell for what I am. I can't let you do that to yourself."
Bella blinked again, uncertain how to navigate the depth of these waters. "What if I disagree? What if I believe you have a soul? What if I don't think I'd lose mine if I were to become a vampire?"
Edward sighed and rubbed his face aggressively with his hand. "How is it that we ended up talking about this? Isn't it enough to spend the rest of your human life with me?"
Bella shook her head with a stubborn flair. "I want as much as I can get with you. And… I don't want to be a weak human for the rest of my life. I want to feel strong, like I can protect myself."
"I'll protect you, Bella," Edward promised. "I'll never let anything bad happen to you."
Bella sighed. "But something bad did happen to me." Edward's head hung with shame. "I don't blame you," Bella rushed to add. "But you can't be with me 24/7. And I'm vulnerable as a human. It's because I'm a human that I can't just let you go ahead and kill these men because then you'd be a threat to me. But…" Bella's eyes widened with the brilliance of her idea. "But if you turned me, if I was a vampire, then you wouldn't have to worry about being around me with your blood rage. I mean, shoot, if I was a vampire, I could kill them myself!"
Edward looked wary. "Bella, I don't think you're thinking this through clearly. If I were to turn you, and I'm not saying I would, but if I did, you couldn't stay here. You wouldn't be able to be around your human friends or family. You'd have your own blood cravings to deal with. And you even if you got through that, you wouldn't be able to return, they'd notice you hadn't aged. You'd have to fake your death and leave town."
Bella blinked, feeling the initial excitement of her idea deflate in her chest. "Oh."
Edward sagged in relief, believing he successfully talked her out of this insane idea.
Bella's mind continued to spin. "I could take the plea bargain," she said suddenly. Edward eyed her in wary confusion. "I could take the plea bargain and avoid having to deal with the trial, and they would get two years in prison. I'll graduate high school, say we're going to college in Alaska. We can have a really good goodbye party, I'd get to say my goodbyes. Then you can turn me. My parents can think I died in a car accident or something. They'll be sad, but they'll move on. And we can come back when my attackers are released and kill them together. And then it can be over, and we can be together, forever." Bella was shocked at how rationally she was thinking through becoming a vampire, faking her own death, killing four men, and riding off into the sunset with Edward.
Edward stared at her, stunned. As much as he hated the idea of her becoming like him, he had to admit that he admired her strategic wish for vengeance. He admired how strong she was.
Bella looked earnestly into Edward's eyes. "You offered to be their death sentence. This is how we do that without having to be apart."
"Bella…" Edward dragged, clearly not happy with this idea.
Bella huffed. "Let's ask Alice, when we go to see your family tomorrow..." Bella trailed off, noting the dawn lightening her room and the morning birds singing chirping outside. "I mean, today," she corrected.
Edward sighed. "We can ask Alice," somewhat surprised she hasn't called to weigh in on this decision. Maybe she calculated that an in-person discussion was best. "But you also have to talk to Rosalie," he added in as his terms.
Bella was taken aback by this request. "Rosalie? Why?"
"You should hear her story, if she's willing to share it. You should understand what you'd be getting into."
"Fine," Bella agreed in a mock groan. "I will talk to your sisters before I decide on becoming a vampire to kill my rapists." Bella smiled at the ridiculousness of the sentence, even though she was becoming increasingly serious about this solution.
Edward groaned but couldn't help a slight turn up at the corner of his mouth, fighting off his own incredulous smile.