Soo…this is my first attempt at writing fanfiction. I write mostly for myself, so I won't be begging for reviews or anything. They are nice, though. ;)

WARNING: This story contains some canon, so there will be mention of abuse. It's nothing horribly graphic, but it's still disturbing. There will also be religious aspects.

A million thanks to my beta MelissaMargaret for making this pretty.

Chapter song: Never Alone by BarlowGirl

I cried out with no reply

And I can't feel You by my side

So I'll hold tight to what I know

You're here and I'm never alone

Esme POV

My worst nightmare was coming true. Two years of living in fear of discovery all came down to this. As he continued to kick my already black and blue ribs, I detached myself from the pain. I closed my eyes to dream and pray – the only two things I could think of doing.

Thankfully, I managed to roll myself onto my side which left only half of me exposed. As my arm cracked under his foot, I thought of my angel. My best friend. My other half. He was all of these things, and I deeply regretted not being able to see him again. Eight years was a long time to be away from someone who meant everything to you. A lot can happen in eight years.

As the pain from my arm finally reached my brain, a pair of eyes appeared in my mind.

Those sparkling gray eyes.

I dreamed of how they twinkled when he laughed as we sat on the bench at the park, observing the squirrels fighting over acorns. I dreamed of how they beamed with pride all the times I aced a test in school. I dreamed of how those eyes were rolled at me many a time for fussing over clothing and hair, all in good fun of course. I dreamed of how they held unshed tears when he received his acceptance letter for the University of Washington, so happy to be following in the footsteps of his deceased father. I dreamed of how the tears fell from those beautiful eyes when we had to be separated in order for him to follow those particular steps. We only said "see you later" since we didn't believe it was "good-bye."

Little did we know how final it would be.

The focus shifted from my arm back to my ribs, which were throbbing, but I didn't cry out in pain. His kicks were actually less intense than I remembered. I knew he was drunk from smelling the alcohol on him, which usually made him angrier and stronger. I decided he had had too much to drink, even for him, which was causing him to tire quickly.

That's when I decided to switch from dreaming to praying.

Dear God, I know this must fit into your plan for my life somehow. I accepted that a long time ago. Just please have mercy on my precious baby. He is a most wonderful gift from You, and I thank You for him everyday. Please just lay Your hands upon him, and protect him from Charles. I know You must have great plans for his life, and this situation goes with those plans in some way. Thank You for the happiness I have received from having him in my life these eighteen months. Please just keep him safe. In Your precious and holy name I pray, Amen.

With that final 'amen', the kicking stopped. I could hear nothing, see nothing, feel nothing. I knew God heard my prayer so my baby would be safe. Once I assured myself of that, I went back to my dreaming.

The last thought I had was of sparkling gray eyes, my sparkling gray eyes, my Carlisle, before everything went completely black.

The name for this story comes from 1 John 4:18: There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear.

Feel free to let me know what you think!