32

When Bella and Edward arrived at Dr. Black's, Bree ushered them straight into an examination room. She had barely sat on the table when the door opened, and Billy Black hurried in. He sighed in relief, a small smile tugging onto his lips as his eyes shifted from her to him. It almost reminded her of how he looked when she, Carlisle, Jake, Rosalie, Emmett, and Edward were hanging out.

"Didn't we talk about you needing to be careful, Izzy?"

"Not like I asked him to barge into my house!" she insisted, running her hand over her belly. "In fact, I told him more than once to leave. But, you know, he's an asshole. Not sorry for my language."

Billy snorted. "Well, asshole isn't the word I would use, but to each their own." He washed his hands before grabbing a couple of paper towels and drying them. "Did he hurt you?"

"He grabbed my arm," she told him, pulling up her sleeve and showing him the dull bruising already forming.

"And he threw her onto the floor," Edward added, causing Billy's eyes to widen.

"My brother caught me before I hit the ground, though," she added. "I'm a little sore, but otherwise, I feel okay."

"Well, why don't you lie back, and I'll do a quick examination. Then, if you want, we could do an ultrasound. You know, just be safe."

"I mean, if you're going to insist," Bella snickered before placing her hands behind her and lowering herself back on the table. She looked at Edward. "You're going to get to see Little Bit."

Edward smiled. "I won't lie. I'm kind of excited."

Bella saw Billy grin, though he didn't say anything as he lifted her shirt and lowered the front of her pants below her tummy. After he had felt her stomach and taken some measurements, he left and came back a minute later with the ultrasound machine. Edward tentatively reached for her hand, smiling when she interlocked her fingers with his.

"This is going to be a little cold," Billy told her before squirting the gel on her mid-section. Then, turning on the machine, he used the wand to spread it around. The sound of Little Bit's heartbeat echoed throughout the room, causing tears to form in Bella's eyes. It didn't matter how many times she'd heard it, she always felt a sense of relief.

"Here's your son," Billy said before turning the screen toward them.

"Oh, my God, he's gotten so big," she cried, bringing her other hand to her lips.

Her baby, her son, was lying with his head toward the left side of her body. His legs were bent at the knee, and it looked like he had his fingers in his mouth with his other arm draped over his head. They watched as he squirmed and rolled onto his side, almost like he could tell they were watching him.

"He's. . . he's okay, right? Healthy? He . . . he didn't hurt him, did he?" Edward asked the wariness in his tone broke Bella's heart. He would never forgive himself if his father had not only harmed her but her baby, too.

"Yes, Edward, the baby is fine. If I had to guess, I would say he's about two pounds."

"Is that normal?" he asked.

"Perfectly." Billy printed them several pictures, laying them on Bella's thighs before he cleaned the gel off her stomach and helped her sit up. "I would like you to start coming in every two weeks. Just as a precaution," he added when Bella frowned. "I promise the baby is perfectly healthy, Izzy."

"Okay."

He looked from her to Edward. "Take care of her, son."

"I will."

Billy handed her the photos before he wheeled the machine out of the room and left them alone. Bella bit the inside of her lip as she looked down at her scans.

"I was so scared Little Bit had gotten hurt. I don't. . . I don't think I could handle losing him, too."

"Me, either." Edward placed his hand on her back. "I can't apologize enough for letting him get that close, Izzy."

"It's not your fault." Bella shook her head. "He . . . he's just unhinged, I guess. I don't know if it was Carlisle's death or Esme telling him she was done with him, but . . . I almost feel bad for him."

"You do?"

"I said almost. I mean, I still think he's insane and dangerous, but . . . maybe losing everyone pushed him over the line."

Edward frowned.

"Sorry."

"Don't apologize. He's never, ever hidden the fact that he despised me. When we were little, if Carlisle made a mess, it was my fault because I should have been watching him better. Mind you, I was barely a year older than him, but I should have known better."

This time, Bella frowned.

"We should probably get out of here."

She nodded and let him help her off the table. Once she'd slipped her pants back over and belly and adjusted her shirt, Edward wrapped his arm around her waist before leading her into the lobby. Bella set her next appointment with Bree before they walked out to her car.

She reached into her bag for her phone before sighing. "He still has my phone."

"Crap," Edward grumbled, dragging his hand through his hair. "We can stop by the police station. Tyler needed a statement, anyway."

Bella groaned but nodded. "Okay."

"And then, if you want, we could, I don't know, go on a date."

She smiled. "Where would we go?"

"I was thinking JT's. Maybe get some spicy curly fries."

She moaned. "You know the way to this pregnant girl's heart."

Edward tilted his head back and laughed. "Then it's a date?"

"Yep," she giggled.

—RtW—

The last place Bella wanted to go was the Police Department, but ten minutes later, Edward had parked in one of the visitor spaces and was helping her out of the front seat. He once again wrapped his arm around her as they walked into the building, drawing the attention of the woman staffing the front desk.

Leah Clearwater glanced at them before looking back at her computer, immediately snapping her head in their direction. Her lips curled into a creepy smirk, which only angered Bella. She hadn't seen her since her first appointment with Dr. Black, and if she were honest, she would have preferred it that way.

"Oh, my God," Leah exclaiming, spinning her chair toward them before placing her hands on the counter and standing. "Wow, Izzy. Just wow. One Cullen boy wasn't enough, you had to go after the other. Can't say I'm surprised. You always were a little slut."

Edward tensed, but Bella held her hand up to keep him from feeding into her hate. "Not today, Leah. I'm just here to see Tyler."

Leah smirked. "He's busy."

"I'm sure he'll make time for us," Edward growled.

Bella bit her lip, both to keep from laughing when Leah's eyes widened and to stop from moaning. Because, honestly, a growling Edward was extremely attractive.

Leah recovered quickly, though, and said, "He's busy. So, so busy."

"Is there a problem here?" All three turned as Tyler walked up behind Leah, her eyes bulging in surprise. "Oh, hey, Izzy, Edward, thanks for coming down so quickly," he said before opening the door to the back of the station.

"Thanks," they murmured together, glaring at Leah before following him down to a small office in the corner.

Tyler gestured for them to sit before he flopped down behind the desk. "Are you feeling okay, Izzy?"

She nodded. "Dr. Black checked me over. Said everything looked good with the baby, and other than a bruise on my arm, I'm fine."

Tyler sighed. "Thank God." He opened the top drawer and pulled her cell phone out, placing it on the desk in front of her. "I'm sure you'd like this back."

"I forgot he had it," she whispered, picking it up and finding more than two dozen missed calls from her father and almost twice as many texts. "Dad's freaking out."

"Yeah, I kind of took it with us for a reason," Tyler replied, causing her and Edward to look at him. "Now we can add theft to the list of charges."

"Oh."

"Sorry. I'll apologize to Mr. Swan if you want me to."

"It's fine." She sent Charlie a quick text that she and Little Bit were fine, and she would call him when she could. She dropped her phone into her bag. "You said you needed a statement."

"It's more of a formality, but I need to know exactly what happened, what he said, when he grabbed you, etc."

Bella nodded.

"Is he going to go to jail?" Edward asked.

"I'm sure as hell going to try. I've already called the district attorney's office. I'm waiting for a call back, but she isn't too keen on letting him off."

Bella's eyes widened. "She's not."

"No, she . . . You remember Lauren Mallory?"

She nodded.

"Well, she moved back to Woodbury about a year ago, and well, she's been in the D.A.'s office ever since."

"Oh."

Lauren had graduated with Edward. She was one of the few girls, other than Rosalie that Bella had been able to tolerate. She was from the poor side of town, if there was such a place. She graduated top of their class, took enough college credits to graduate high school while obtaining her associate's degree, and generally had been one of the most down-to-earth girls in their school.

"Anyway, she's trying to get him arranged sooner rather than later. She's charging him with theft," he said, gesturing toward her bag where her phone chimed with a new text message, "assault, forcible entry of a habitat, and false imprisonment."

"You can really charge him with all that?"

"We can certainly try." Tyler picked up his pen and moved a yellow notepad before him. "Now, tell me exactly what happened.

By the time Bella and Edward recited every detail of what took place between herself and Peter Cullen, she was feeling physically ill. Just the thought of his hands on her arm and the look in his eyes had her nauseated. She'd never been so scared as she was at that moment. It was the first time she had understood the fear Edward and Carlisle must have felt their entire life, and she'd only had a few terrifying minutes. How had they survived years of hatred and abuse from the man who was supposed to be their father? How could a man hate his children so much he'd rather beat them down than build them up? And how did they overcome so much horror?

Tyler whistled under his breath as he laid his pen down and leaned backward. "I don't know what to say. I honestly don't. Everyone in town knew Peter Cullen was a fucking psychopath, but I never would have expected him to go after you, Izzy." He paused. "Can I ask why you refused to tell him how Carlisle died?"

Bella shook her head. "Because he . . . he lost his right to know anything about Carlisle, about our life together, when he put his hands on me. And I've spent the last six months reliving that night repeatedly. I'm trying really hard to get myself together for my baby, for Edward, and he wasn't taking that from me. Maybe that makes me selfish, but I don't owe him anything."

"No, you don't," Edward muttered, clearing his throat. "Neither of us owe that son-of-a-bitch a damn thing, sweetheart."

Tyler smiled, though he tried to hide it. "I tend to agree." He picked up the pen and held it out to her. "Each of you read this over, and if you're happy with it, sign it. I'll take it to Lauren myself and let you know what the next step is."

Edward and Bella quickly read their statements before signing their names at the bottom. Thanking Tyler once again, they left, but not before glaring at Leah, who seemed to take great pleasure out of Bella's misery. But Bella just didn't have the energy to deal with her. Leah Clearwater just wasn't worth losing her peace for.

As soon as they were outside, her phone started ringing. Giving Edward a look before she dug it out of her bag, she saw her father calling — again. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she slid her finger across the green arrow.

"Hey, Dad."

"Jesus Christ, Izzy, do you have any idea how fucking scared I've been?"

"Pretty scared, seeing as you just cursed."

"Yeah, well . . ." He sighed. "Are you okay, honey? I talked to Jay. He said you were fine, but I . . . Are you okay?"

"I am now," she admitted, leaning against the side of her car and sliding her hand over her stomach. "I won't lie; I was pretty scared, but thankfully, Jay and Edward got there before he could hurt me."

"That motherfucker . . ." She heard him take a deep breath. "I am so sorry I wasn't there. I had a meeting in Minneapolis with the board of Education, and I . . . Well, I should have been there, but I promise I will be there as soon as I can."

"Dad, I'm fine. I went to see Dr. Black. Me and Little Bit are healthy."

"That's good to hear, honey, but why didn't you answer my calls? Or respond to my texts? Something to let me know you . . . If he'd hurt you, Iz . . ."

"But he didn't, and I couldn't answer your calls or text back because when they arrested him, he kind of had my phone."

"Oh, God, it just gets worse," he groaned, and she could picture him grabbing the back of his neck.

"Dad, I am fine."

"So you keep saying, Izzy, but I'm just not buying it."

"Well, I don't know what to tell you. Was I scared? Yes. Am I still scared? Yeah, I kind of am," she admitted. "But it's over, and I can't dwell on it, you know?"

"Yeah, I know."

"But thanks."

"Why are you thanking me?"

"I don't know. For . . . for worrying about me to the point that you said a bad word. That's one for the record book."

"Just because I don't drop F-bombs every other word like you and your brother doesn't mean I've never said them before. I just choose to rise above."

Bella laughed. "Whatever you say, Dad."

"I should be home in about an hour. You going to be at your house? I'd kind of like to see for myself that you are, in fact, all right."

"Oh, well, Edward and I have plans."

"Plans?"

She nodded, shifting her eyes to the man watching her intensely. "He promised me spicy curly fries."

"I wouldn't want to get between you and spicy fries," Charlie scoffed. "Let me know when you get home, and I'll run by. I'm not taking no for an answer, Izzy. I need to see for myself that my daughter is okay."

"Yes, sir. I promise." She paused before adding, "I love you, Dad."

"I love you, too, honey."

Ending her call, she dropped the phone back into her bag. "Bet he's going to try to talk me into moving back with him."

Edward laughed. "No doubt, sweetheart. Though, I can't blame him. I . . . I don't much like the idea of you being alone either."

"I can't go back to my father's house, Edward!"

"Not saying you should," he clarified. "But . . . Well, maybe . . . I should stay with you for a while."

"You want to move in?"

"No, no, I don't mean . . . I could sleep on the couch, you know? Just . . . just until we're sure my father isn't getting out of jail."

Bella tilted her head to the side. "So, you want to move in for my protection?"

"I just want you to be safe."

"I just . . ." Bell placed her hands on his chest. "I don't want to rush our relationship."

"Me either, but the idea of you being alone . . . If he gets out, he will come after you again, Izzy."

"Right now, he's not out, so . . . if Lauren can't keep him locked up, we'll talk about it, okay? I just . . . Edward, we just started seeing each other and rushing our relationship because we're scared is not a good idea. I care so much about you, but I've got to be able to stand on my own two feet. Does that make sense?"

He nodded. "But that doesn't mean I won't be overly protective, sweetheart. You may still be trying to decipher your feelings for me, but I love you."

She smiled. "I wouldn't expect anything less, love. Now, you promised me spicy curly fries, and Little Bit wants some, too."

Edward laughed before ushering into her car and taking her to JT's.

Thank you for the AMAZING reviews! Big shout out to Sunflower Fran for being an amazing beta! See you next Thursday!