Chapter Five

The sun was shining brightly over the city as I walked out of the jail. I hadn't seen Edward anymore after he went back to his cell. I thought it was weird that my heart was kind of sad that I didn't. My brain was quick to tell my heart to shut the hell up and remember that he was a criminal.

Jasper was waiting outside of the jail with a large cup of coffee in his hands. From the dark circles under his eyes and the stumble on his chin, I knew he had a late night doing whatever. I felt badly that he had to get up so early on my behalf.

"You could've stayed asleep. You didn't have to pick me up." I told him.

He opened the door for me. "I would've if it weren't for Edward's orders. Plus, I can't leave a young woman stranded. That's not the gentlemanly thing to do."

I chuckled. "Well, I hope you don't fall asleep while driving. You look exhausted, what were you doing last night?"

"Riding a bucking bronco," He chuckled darkly.

I gave him a look, unsure of what he meant. It took me a minute to understand, and I blushed when I got it.

"You're disgusting." I said, shaking my head.

He laughed again. "Sorry, inside joke between my fiancé and me."

"Mm. So what's your fiancé's name?"

"Alice Cullen. She's Edward's sister."

"Oh, so that's why you do everything Edward says." I chuckled. "You're sleeping with his sister."

Jasper made a face. "I'd really appreciate it if you didn't tell Edward that."

"Why would I ever mention that to Edward?" I said. "And why should he even care. His sister is a grown woman, is she not?"

"She is, but in the Cullen family the girls aren't supposed to have sex before marriage."

"Ew," I said. "That's a gross expectation. She's a grown woman. That's not anyone else's business but hers."

"That's the world we live in. It's not so much the Cullen's expectation. It's the worlds. They just don't want the world to view Alice badly. You know how the world is towards women."

"Oh I certainly do."

We spent the rest of the time filling the empty air with small talk. I mostly just talked to keep myself awake. I was so exhausted.

By the time we made it to my apartment, I was struggling to keep my eyes open.

"Thanks for picking me up," I told him as I got out of the car.

"No problem. Your next shift is in two days right?"

I sighed. "Yes, but you do not have to pick me up. I won't tell Edward if you don't."

He grinned at me. "I truly don't mind. Plus, I don't like for a woman to walk home alone in New York. It's not safe. Not at all. A lot of scum lurk in the shadows, waiting to attack a girl like you."

"Wow, thanks, but I'm pretty good at taking care of myself." I said with an eye roll. "I've been in New York for almost two months now and I haven't had any trouble."

Jasper shrugged. "You've been lucky up until this point. But don't always count on luck. It always runs out."

"Bye Jasper," I said as I turned and walked into my apartment.

Later That Night

When I got home, I tried to stay up as much as I could because my schedule went back to normal in two days and I didn't want to get used to sleeping all day. I made it to about noon before I blacked out on the couch.

It was around ten when I woke up and the only reason I woke up was because of the painful cramps I was experiencing. I sighed, knowing it was my time of the month and I didn't have anything.

Still, I got up and went into my bathroom, hoping I'd find at least one tampon. Of course I didn't. And I had neglected to run to the store before now because I was so preoccupied with work and school.

It was only ten. I knew the corner store would still be open now. This wasn't the first time I had to run there in the middle of the night for something random. I grabbed my coat, my phone, and my wallet before heading out the door.

The street was busy like normal around this time. Some people were waiting on the bus bench or hanging out on their porches. No one ever really bothered me before, so I put my headphones in and played one of my favorite songs to distract me from my cramps.

All was normal until I got to the part of the street where the streetlight was busted. Again, nothing unusual, this streetlight had never worked since I'd been living here. I didn't think anything of it until I was grabbed and jerked into the dark alley.

I put my fists up to defend myself from my unseen attacker, but before I could, my ponytail was grabbed, and I was forced onto my knees. The hard concrete cut through my sweatpants, scraping my skin. I could feel the blood seeping out from my knees.

"Gimme your wallet, now." My attacker said in a rough voice.

For a moment, I felt this moment was somewhat cliché, as Jasper and I had spoken about this very thing occurring. I wondered if I was just dreaming, but when the back of something cold and steely hit me in the cheek, I knew this wasn't a dream. I fell against the side of the metal dumpster, hitting the side of my head painfully.

"Are you deaf? Give me your fucking wallet!" My attacker said again, jerking me up by my ponytail, as if it were a leash.

"Ouch!" I cried, holding my cheek. "Alright, hold the fuck on."

"Watch your mouth. I have a gun to the back of your head and nothing to lose. Give me your fucking wallet now."

I reached into my pocket, biting the inside of my cheek to keep me from saying something stupid. Once I gave him my wallet, he threw me to the side, causing me to hit my head against the dumpster again.

I blacked out for a moment, but when I came to, I could see my attacker pausing as he stared into my wallet.

"Yeah, you're robbing a girl with only five bucks on her," I hissed, rubbing the tender spot on my head.

The man pulled out the folded card and stared at it, I could see his eyes widened in the darkness. He quickly stuffed everything back into my wallet with care. Even taking the cash he took and tenderly putting it back where it had previously been.

He then closed my wallet and reached his hand out towards me. I stared at it for a moment before grabbing it. He helped me to my feet and brushed the dirt off me.

"I am so very sorry for this," He said as he handed me the wallet. "Please, I didn't know… I didn't know who you were. C-can I walk you somewhere? Or… or get you something?"

"No that's—,"

"Look, here's three hundred dollars," He said as he took three one hundred dollar bills out of his pocket. "That's all I have on me. I'm so sorry for this."

"I don't need—," He shoved the money into my hand before I could finish.

"I am truly and sincerely sorry for this," The man said in a panic as he slowly backed away. "You won't have any more trouble from me. You don't have to tell h-him."

The man ran off before I could process what had happened. I blinked several times in confusion, wondering who he didn't want me to tell.

I felt something warm dribbling down my cheek. I lifted my hand and felt the tender spot on my head again, wincing in pain. My other cheek was also burning painfully, more blood spewing from the large cut I assumed was on it. Shit, I was going to need stitches.

The Next Day

When I walked out of my apartment, I wasn't at all surprised to see Jasper standing in front of his SUV, holding a large cup of coffee as usual.

He looked up at me and smiled, but that smile quickly fell when he saw what state I was in. Damn it, I knew I should've just grabbed the concealer. I had hoped the swelling and bruises would've gone away by now, but I wasn't that lucky.

"Damn, what the hell happened to you?" Jasper asked as he opened the car door for me.

I sighed, "Eh, you know the number one rule about fight club, don't talk about fight club."

"Fight club? Jesus Christ, what the hell are you fighting with? The back end of a pistol?" He asked.

"I'm fine." I said as I got into the car.

He got in and looked at me through the mirror. "Are you sure you should be going in? You look like you're stuffing cotton in your cheek. It's so fucking swollen."

"I am fine," I said. "I have pain medication. I'm good."

Jasper drove in silence for a few moments. "So, did you get mugged?"

I glared at him. "I did not get mugged."

"You look like you got mugged." He said. "I know a sewn-up pistol whip when I see it. And you have one. How much money did he take from you?"

"Not a dime," I said too quickly to catch it. I cursed my quick mouth, had I kept it shut I could've just convinced him I hadn't been mugged.

"So you were mugged." He nodded. "Damn that fucking sucks. Where were you mugged at?"

"I wasn't exactly mugged," I said.

"Were you raped?" He asked very seriously, looking at me with wide eyes through the rearview mirror.

"No I was not raped," I said very firmly. No point in denying that I was mugged any longer because it was clear that Jasper knew. "It was the craziest thing. The dude grabbed me, flung me around like a ragdoll, took my wallet, then freaked out."

"How much money did he get from you?" Jasper asked.

"Like I said, not a dime. In fact, he gave me three hundred dollars and told me not to tell him. I don't even know who the hell he was talking about."

"He asked you not to tell him and gave you money? Damn, sounds like you mugged him."

My eyes widened; oh shit, I hadn't considered that.

Jasper laughed. "I'm teasing you. He gave you hush money. Three hundred dollars is pretty good."

"Yeah, I guess. I didn't use it though," I said. "It's still sitting in my wallet. I haven't even opened my wallet to look inside of it. I'm still kind of freaked out."

"So you don't know why he freaked out like that?"

"No. I gave him my wallet, he looked through it, and then apologized. Then put everything back and gave me the three hundred."

"What would be in your wallet to make him freak out?"

I thought about it for several minutes. "I don't know. My license, my credit care, my bank card, and some cash. A couple cents. My social security card was in there too."

"That's all you had in there?"

I thought about it again. "Oh yeah. I had your card in there. Is that why he freaked out?"

Jasper chuckled. "It just had my phone number on it. I have a big reputation, but not that big."

"I wonder why he freaked out then." I said as I crossed my arms, contemplating this.

The rest of the ride was very quiet. Jasper didn't say too much, and I didn't feel like talking. I was trying to figure out what I had in my wallet to make that guy freak out. All I could think of was Jasper's card, but he himself said that wouldn't have done it and I believed him.

I walked into the jail with all of my bags and tried to avoid eye contact. For the most part, it worked. None of the guards paid me any mind and let me go on my way. If they did notice, they didn't say anything.

When I walked into the medical ward, however, Gerry was the first one to see my face.

"Whoa, Bella, what happened there?" He asked as he adjusted his glasses to get a better look.

"Nothing. I just fell," I said, forcing a smile on my face. "I am very clumsy."

"What the heck did you fall on?" He asked.

"How are your grandkids?" I asked, changing the subject. He sighed but didn't pester me anymore which I was thankful for.

My least favorite part of the day arrived. I had tried to prolong the first step as much as I could, but once I finished sorting the pills, I had no choice but to go.

"Do you want me to take them?" Gerry asked.

"No, no, you keep working," I told him; he was currently treating a patient with what he now believes is a broken penis. How he broke his penis, I will never know, nor do I want to know. Between dropping off pills and having to fondle a broken penis, I'd rather pass out the pills.

I walked the cart to the pod, where inmates were already lined up. I fought the urge to scan the inmates, looking for one inmate in particular, but my eyes did it anyways.

As usual, Edward was in the back of the line. This permitted him a few extra moments of talking time because the guards always seemed to be too distracted to open the door when I was finished.

I passed out the pills with no issue. The inmates had stopped making vulgar suggestions and gestures towards me a while back, which made this task much easier.

When it was Edward's turn, I did my best to cover my face with my hair, but Edward was far too observant for that.

"What happened to you, Bella?" He asked looking at my face rather than taking his pills.

"I'm fine Mr. Cullen, please take your pills."

"You got stitches? What happened?" His eyes widened. "Were you attacked?"

"I am fine, please take your pills." I repeated slowly.

Edward reached for his cup and just held it in his hand. "It looks like you got hit with a pistol." His nostrils flared now. "Were you mugged?"

I licked my lip and stared at him for a moment. "No. I was not mugged. I'm fine. I don't even feel it."

His quickly tossed back the pill without drinking any water. I was surprised he could even open his mouth with how tightly his jaw was clenched.

"Did this happen near your apartment?" He asked.

I sighed and placed my hands on my hips. "Just a few blocks over. I am fine Edward, I swear."

He nodded once. "I think I know who did this. How much did he take from you?"

I narrowed my eyes. "Edward, this isn't even any of your business. You are not my boyfriend. I do not need you to defend me. I'm fine."

"You look like you were in a car accident. You are not fucking fine." He said.

I watched as he stormed off to the wall where the phones were and shove aside an inmate who was currently talking. It seemed as thought he inmates was about to swing, but he quickly stopped once he saw it was Edward. He dropped his head and walked away, letting Edward take his phone.

I had jumped slightly at his tone and his cursing. I hadn't hurt this tone before, nor had I heard him curse before. It was kind of terrifying.

And in a very sick, weird way, that I didn't understand, it was kind of exciting too.