Author's Note: Trigger warning, this chapter reveals very severe domestic violence, reader discretion is advised.
(Bella)
"Do you know what that would mean for us Bella?!" He snarled at me across the glade, the violet flowers between us swayed in the wind. Sunlight bounced off of him in a thousand tiny rainbows, his eyes were black with anger. I scooted backwards from where I'd been thrown, trying to get more distance from him.
He stalked closer.
"Hawaii-?! Look at me, Bella! I can't go to fucking Hawaii!"
I didn't know how to de-escalate the situation, I had hoped this would be an easy way out of the relationship. Months before I had moved to Forks, I had entered a painting into a nation wide art contest, and I had won second place. Ever since, I had been offered a multitude of scholarships into several art schools, one of them being located in Hawaii. I had hoped that it would be a clean break, that he wouldn't be able to follow me there. That he would let me go.
I could see now that I was wrong.
"You're not going, love, you're not going to ruin our future, Bella."
He was in front of me now, he reached down, gripped my neck, raising me up. I wrapped my hands around his wrist, trying to ease his hold on me.
"You're not trying to leave me, are you, love?" He shook me then threw me, I landed hard, a distance away. He slowly stalked toward me as I tried to push myself back up.
"I'm the world's greatest predator, Bella. I was made to hunt-"
He backhanded me, hard, and I could feel my jaw bone crack.
"As if you could outrun me-" He took his foot and brought it down on my leg, breaking it. I cried out in agony.
"As if you could fight me off-" He took his foot and kicked me in my ribs, breaking them.
Blood filled my mouth as I felt another blow come down. And another. My vision blurred, 'I'm dying' was the one reverberating thought in my head.
"You're nothing without me, Bella" His voice echoed in my skull, before he hit me hard enough again to crack it.
Finally he knelt down as I struggled to breath. I didn't know how much time had passed, only that every single second was filled with pure agony.
"You're weak, you're fragile, you need me to protect you, Bella."
All I was aware of was his voice and the pain that engulfed my being, fire in my blood. Every drop burned, as if I had been directly injected with the flames of hell.
"Bella-! I-! When did I-?"
I felt his ice cold fingers grab my wrist, where the fire had originated.
"No-! I-! I didn't mean to-!"
I was vaguely aware of my broken body being lifted and then felt like I was flying through the air, I kept my eyes closed, too weak to crack them back open.
Eventually I heard a multitude of voices, they had a similar cadence to his.
"Carlisle-! I-!..."
"It's okay, son. Bring her to my office…."
"But-! How are we going to explain this-! She was on a date with me-! She can't just disappear, we have to have more time- we need a story-..."
Another voice, a woman's.
"It's okay, we'll figure something out-, we have time, Edward…."
I laid on some sort of leather furniture, literal fire coursed through my veins for what seemed like an eternity. My body felt broken beyond repair. All I could do was lay in agony and listen to the voices around me as I suffered. It was the only inclination I had for how much time had passed. I lay powerless, weak and broken as I was forced to listen to my captors conspire about me. I listened as one of the women faked a phone call with my father, pretending to be me, how she had managed to mimic my voice so perfectly I didn't know, but she told him I had decided to leave Forks, for good. That I didn't want to be trapped, like his ex wife. I later learned that had been the night of my abduction.
Then on the second day I heard the doctor's voice.
"I don't understand… you… her, why hasn't she…? This is abnormal…."
"How so, Carlisle?" One of the women asked.
"Her wounds are healing, but her heart is still beating, her lungs are still working, I don't think she's turning…. I'm going to run a blood test…."
I was barely aware of a needle prick, nothing compared to the pain I felt radiating through my broken body.
As more time passed, I felt a cool hand gently touch my wrist.
"Bella…."
Don't hurt me. Don't hurt me anymore.
I'll behave. I promise.
I'll obey.
I promise.
I didn't have the strength to talk yet, but I begged at the top of my mental lungs. His voice droned on, about how things will be different for us, for me, that he'd make it better, all I had to do was behave.
Later I heard the doctor re-enter the room.
"I don't understand it, but I've got the results back… she's not turning."
"How is that possible? She was…."
"I don't understand it fully either, but her white blood cells aren't normal. They're different from a normal human's, I don't think she's fully-..."
"But that's impossible, she's healing-...!"
"For now, but the venom's about to finish running its course, her anti-bodies will have finished fighting it off…. Son, I think it's time to get her to an actual hospital."
"But-! We…-!"
Someone else now.
"We told the Sheriff his daughter had left to return home, we'll just…."
"Can we even get her there in time…?"
I listened to the voices drone on as they panicked, then made plans. Eventually I was carried somewhere else, and as the fire raged I finally lost consciousness. I woke up here and there, but still never opened my eyes. I was afraid.
Finally I felt my blood cool and the fire was extinguished. I lost consciousness one final time.
The next time I woke up I was in a hospital bed, my mother curled up in a chair asleep beside me. The room was dimly lit, and across from us was him. He sauntered over and hovered over my bed for a while, gently caressing my face.
Later I learned that I had a cracked skull, a few cracked ribs, a cracked leg, bruising, but I knew I had been much more injured than that. I had felt every injury as it happened. I didn't know how long I had been unconscious.
A few days later, Edward sat beside my hospital bed, he gently grabbed my hand, and told me the story that had been established. That I had fallen out of a hotel window, when I had done so, how I had been brought to the hospital, I was told everything I needed to know to not contradict his alibi.
And then he leaned forward, placed his lips next to my ear and whispered,
"Behave, and obey. My love."
He placed a freezing cold kiss on my temple.
"Bella…. Bella… it's okay, now… you're safe…."
"You were very behaved, Bella. You obeyed…. You're safe, now…."
My eyes refocused and I found myself laying on a strange couch, in a strange place… no, not strange, I was here today. Slowly, I felt myself fall back into the present. My body, it's not broken anymore. I took deep breath after breath. The fire, it's gone. Slowly, one by one my senses left the past. A soft, warm hand holding mine… the voice I was hearing, I recognized it as… Emily's. That's right, I met her today.
"I- why am I here…?"
"It's okay, just take a moment to regulate yourself, take all the time you need…."
My eyes had refocused to the familiar living room, I was laying on the couch, and Emily had been kneeling beside me, holding my hand, stroking my hair….
"I- I'm okay, now- I…." More tears filled my eyes, I was at a complete loss for words.
"It's okay, take your time." She continued to stroke my hair.
"Do you remember how you got here?"
I thought, hard, but all I could remember was a pale wolf… I couldn't remember anything else.
"No… did I… drive here…?"
"No, you didn't." she said calmly.
"I'm- I'm sorry- I-..."
"Don't be, it's okay now, you're okay now."
She reached over for a box of tissues on the side table, I tried to sit up but she quickly turned and gently pushed me back down.
"I don't think you're ready for that yet."
"I-..."
"Try not to rush it, I've tried that and regretted it, just take a moment and breathe."
I quietly nodded, she grabbed the box and pulled a few out, handing them to me. Finally, she allowed me to sit up so I could wipe my face. I looked down and for the first time realized I was utterly indecent. I was dressed in my pajamas, and I was covered in dirt and blades of grass.
What the hell did I do?
"I'm- I'm so sorry, I… don't know why I came here, but… I'm a damn mess-"
"There's nothing to be sorry for, I'm glad you came here."
I looked around, why the hell had I come here? I wanted to slap myself, I couldn't believe I barged into a stranger's house like this.
Once the shock of my idiocy began to wear off, I became aware of a horribly strong headache. I groaned and held my forehead.
"Yeah, that'll happen. Just wait here for a moment, I'm going to bring you some ibuprofen, I just need to have a word with- I'll be back, just- stay here, okay?"
I weakly nodded as she left and made her way to the front door and slipped out of it. After about a couple minutes she returned and went to the kitchen, I awkwardly waited where she had bid me, trying to find a less humiliating way to leave. I've made enough of a fool of myself.
She returned with two pills and a glass of water, handing them both to me. I took them gratefully, swallowing the pills and then chasing them with water. I set the glass back down and stood to leave, apologizing profusely.
She stopped me right there, "You don't need to be sorry, but I must insist that you stay here, tonight."
"I can't, I've caused you enough trouble…" I was confused as to why she wouldn't allow me to leave, haven't I done enough?
"It's late, and you don't even have your truck, or clean clothes." Her eyes fell down to my ensemble.
I had the good grace to be humiliated, somehow even more than I already was.
"Stay, get a shower and a clean set of clothes in the morning…"
Sam Uley appeared behind her, carrying a knitted blanket and pillow.
"She's right, you're not in any condition to leave right now."
I swallowed my pride. Damn it, they were right. I was exhausted, ravaged with raw emotion, my aching head swam and my eyes felt saturated from all the tears.
I felt bone deep exhaustion take over, God I'm such a weakling. I hated to admit it, but it didn't seem I had a choice but to stay, I had no way to drive back to Forks, and it seemed neither one was willing to let me go.
Reluctantly I agreed and took the blanket and pillow from Sam Uley, thanking them both and apologizing profusely.
I don't know how, but I need to make this right.
