A/N - This chapter contains references to physical, sexual, and emotional abuse. It also contains brief mentions of eating disorders and blood. Please consider this when deciding to read.

No Beta this time around, people are busy.

Bella

The curtain was pulled aside and a familiar blonde man stood at the foot of her bed. "Isabella? Hi, I'm Dr. Cullen, I don't know if you remember me…" He trailed off, making Bella fill in the gap.

"It's just Bella, please. And Edward's dad, yeah I remember you." Her body relaxed, but only barely. Men can turn bad, she knew that more than anyone. Carlisle was starting to develop laugh lines and crow's feet, and Bella could understand why he was such a successful doctor. He looked friendly and trustworthy, and Bella had heard enough of his stern voice as a child to know that he could easily take control of a situation.

"Well, it's good to see you back, though I'm sorry about the circumstances. I have some accounts of what happened, but can I hear it from you first?" He put his clipboard down and looked at Bella expectantly. She shrunk under his stare, though his eyes were kind. She didn't quite trust it. Bella had learned that a kind exterior wasn't a guarantee.

"I uh, was in the parking lot." He gestured for her to continue. Bella wasn't used to telling the truth in a hospital, but this time she could, right? She really hadn't done anything, and it's not like her truth would hurt anyone.

"I was at my car, I guess someone hit the ice wrong and their van skidded towards me. Ed-" Her instinct to stay unassociated with a boy kicked in, but she'd already started. "Um, Edward was coming to ask me about a class thing, and I guess he saw, so he pushed me out of the way and the light pole would take the hit. When he pushed me, well, he kind of tackled me. We fell back, and my head hit the ground. That's it."

He looked thoughtfully at Bella. "Did he land on top of you?" Bella kept her eyes down. She hated thinking about his weight on her, how she felt trapped and she couldn't even push him off. It was a reminder of her weakness and helplessness. Even in this situation where Edward was trying to help her, she could never forget her vulnerability.

"Are you feeling any pain when you breathe?" Dr. Cullen turned and closed the curtains around them, setting down his clipboard.

"Uh, no?" Bella was worried about the look in his eyes.

"Bella, would you lie back please?" She pushed down on her panic, readying herself, and maybe he saw it too, because he quickly said "I'd just like to check your ribs please, if that's alright with you?"

She nodded, knowing it wasn't really a request. Bella laid down carefully, and as he stepped closer to her, she felt her skin grow clammy.

"I'm going to press on your ribs and check for any pain, which could mean a fracture. It seems unlikely since you don't have pain while breathing, but better safe than sorry." Dr. Cullen stood above her and she squeezed her eyes shut. She didn't want to see his face when it happened. Fingers gently prodded her ribs, and Dr. Cullen's soft voice said "Let me know if anything is tender."

She stayed frozen, waiting for the hands to move, waiting for the innocuous touches to turn hurtful. The curtains were closed, and Bella knew better than to shout. Bella held her breath and squeezed her eyes shut… waiting. They kept pressing her ribs, which did hurt a bit, but nothing that would warrant the risk of retaliation.

Suddenly the hands disappeared. Bella peaked and saw that Carlisle had turned away from her, making notes on his clipboard.

"It appears there's no fracture, though you're very likely to have bruising." Bella carefully moved to sit up,

A commotion came from down the hall, causing Carlisle to peek his head out of the curtains. "In here Chief."

Charlie stormed into the small space, his eyes going over Bella again and again, checking her.

"Bells, are you ok? What happened?" Charlie reached for her, but pulled back before her body could even flinch, instead just leaning in to plant a kiss on the top of her head.

"Yes, I'm fine, Dad. I was pushed out of the way, the car didn't even hit me." Bella grumbled, but realized she sounded like a typical teenager. It startled her, that she would even let herself sound so sullen.

Charlie turned around to face Carlisle, "Is that true, Doc, can I take her home?" he asked as though Bella was somehow hiding an emergency surgery, or full body cast from him, and he needed a doctor to tell him she was alive.

"Actually I was just about to discharge her. Overall Bella seems fine, looks like she has a mild concussion and will have some bruising. I recommend no school for a few days until the headache and brain fog are gone." Carlisle turned to Bella this time "Get plenty of rest, and avoid any strenuous activity for about a week. Come back if there's any sharp or lasting pain."

Charlie shook the man's hand and said "Thanks Carlisle"

Carlisle nodded, first to Charlie, then to Bella before slipping out from the curtains.

Carlisle

Once Bella was discharged and the Chief took her home, Carlisle let out a huge breath. After being visited by Edward, he had thought about all that Esme had told him when she first ran into the girl at the store. He was gathering information in his head and he hadn't liked the picture.

The Cullen family had a special place for Bella in their hearts, so there had been a chance that Esme and Edward were perhaps being a bit too cautious. It wasn't unheard of for teenage girls to lose weight, either due to disordered eating or normal diets, and it also wasn't uncommon for them to bruise easily, perhaps due to anemia, and the two combined certainly made sense. However, when Carlisle had finally seen Bella for himself, he started to understand a bit more.

There was a lack of life in her eyes, nothing medical, certainly nothing he could fix, but it was noticeable. There was nothing about Bella that couldn't be easily explained away, but as a doctor, he was trained to see the combination of these things, and he didn't like the picture it was making.

When Bella mentioned how Edward had tackled her, Carlisle decided to be overly cautious, especially since he could see her unwillingness to be open with him, either as her doctor, or as Edward's father, he wasn't sure. Her adrenaline was likely faded, so any initial pain was likely more noticeable, and as he was about to begin checking for any fractured ribs, Bella squeezed his eyes shut.

It wasn't dissimilar to when children were anticipating a shot, but with the look of dread that had crossed her face as he closed the curtain, his picture was becoming more clear. Nothing he could act on, but just enough to worry him.

He was as gentle as he could be, and he finished quickly, noticing only that she flinched when he touched her at all, but no real pain response to the prodding.

Carlisle left her side and opened the curtain, when he turned back around he noticed a look of relief on the girl's face.

When Chief Swan approached, Carlisle watched Bella for any negative reaction, but to his surprise, there was none, only perhaps a look of guilt.

As Charlie leaned in and kissed Bella's head gently, the girl didn't look worried, or afraid once he mentioned taking her home. Charlie acted like any other worried parent after their child had been in an accident.

There was a definite chance that Bella had been hurt by someone, but Carlisle was certain Charlie Swan was not that person.

Bella

The moment Bella got into the police cruiser, Charlie told Bella that she would need to fill in Renee. She could feel her anxiety spike, but she just didn't have the energy to devote to it. Of course, there was no way she could keep that from Phil, and of course, he would have to talk about it.

Charlie dropped her off, apologizing that he had to get back to work, promising he would pick up food tonight so she wouldn't have to cook or suffer through his cooking attempts, and telling her that all she needed to do was call and he'd be back. Bella climbed the stairs, exhaustion creeping in on her. She stopped in the bathroom and took two more pain pills, hoping she could keep the pain at bay. She had enough experience with pain to know that this was the kind that grew the next day.

She collapsed into bed, but couldn't sleep well. Every time she started to relax, her mind found a new way to torment her. Thoughts of how Phil would punish her, or Renee, for being involved, not keeping her head down enough. Bella tossed and turned until she gave up and tried to work on a paper, but she just couldn't focus. Her eyes kept sliding off of the lines when she was able to keep them open.

So she returned to the bed, trying to curl up and let the day pass her by, but again, sleep did not find her. She groaned loudly, the tired but not feeling very familiar, and her inability to focus on anything else meant she was unfortunately very aware of the pain in her body.

Bella rolled out of bed and returned to her laptop, but instead of attempting her paper, she queued up some music. She knew it was likely in vain, but she may as well try. Besides, at least she wouldn't be suffering in silence.

That's how she spent the rest of her day; going back and forth between her bed and desk. She was unable to sleep for longer than five minutes, unable to do schoolwork, unable to focus on a distraction even. Time passed in a blur, at times it even felt like it was moving backward. Eventually, the clock on her desk read four p.m. The sound of the doorbell chimed through the house, breaking her from her fatigued trance.

Bella stood up, the weight of her body the only thing getting her down the stairs. She idly wondered if she would ever make it back up the stairs again, as she pulled the door open. On the front step, was a wet Edward Cullen. The slight fog that had settled in her mind cleared in her surprise.

The day had warmed up and rain had come in, melting the snow and ice that had been so treacherous. It felt like the rain was trying to wash away the morning, but the damage had already been done, to Bella at least.

Edward was wearing the same clothes he had worn earlier in the day, and he seemed unaffected. Bella couldn't help but wonder if the accident itself was karma from the world, to punish her for her wickedness, for trying to be happy, for having the gall to think she could try to live normally. It hadn't hurt anyone else. Even Tyler, the driver of the van, had been mostly unaffected.

They stood there, looking at each other, the only sound being the rain beating down on the world outside.

"Uh, hi. I'm sorry if I woke you" He said, his voice low, rumbling along with the distant thunder, caressing her aching brain. His expression was innocent enough, but she couldn't get her eyes off the raindrops that had collected in his hair and cheeks. She finally processed his words and realized she must look rumpled, as though she had been sleeping instead of struggling to function at all.

I wish I could sleep.

"No, don't worry about it. What, uh, what are you doing here?" She didn't want to be so blunt about it, but there was really no other way to say it. She knew Charlie wasn't due home anytime soon, but she was still scared a nosy neighbor would see a boy standing outside the Swan house and tell on her.

"Oh, I have assignments for you." He lifted what she only now noticed, a slightly wet, green folder, and handed it to her. "I asked Ms. Cope for your schedule and I went to your classes."

I took it from him gingerly, "Thank you, but you didn't have to-"

He cut her off "I wanted to, I figure you got hurt because of me, I kind of owe it to you." He passed her the folder and gave her a shy smile, one that she had once been familiar with. "Uh, can I get your number? I have the pictures of the notes that I took, I can send them to you?" He asked, almost… shy? A part of her wanted to melt. This moment felt so normal, she almost couldn't believe she was the one living it. No way Bella was with a boy, who was asking for her number. But of course, that part of Phil that she couldn't scrub out of her loomed. It whispered how she would be caught. How Edward was just trying to get her guard down. How Phil would have to punish her until she learned her lesson.

"Uh, email? It would just be easier to copy the notes with a bigger screen, ya know?" Bella asked carefully. To her surprise, Edward seemed apprehensive at her suggestion, but almost in a blink, Edward was back to his normal self.

"Sure." Edward pulled his phone out, navigated to his email app, and handed it to Bella, the cursor blinking. She quickly typed in the email she had newly made, and checked it over, making sure she got every letter correct.

She couldn't believe she was already putting her new email to use. It was thrilling, yet terrifying to give it to him. To open up the possibility, the chance, to get a piece of Edward back again. The warm feeling at the memory of her childhood friendship nearly erased the thoughts she had only moments ago, that her accident was karma, a warning to not strive for more. After all, it wouldn't be the same, but maybe some negatives would be worth it?

As she passed his phone back to him, the sound of the rain suddenly built to a roar behind him. They both looked behind him to his car, which he had parked on the curb across the street from her house. It was obvious that he would get absolutely soaked trying to make it to the car.

"Oh, uh, well I guess I'll head out."

"Edward-" He started to turn, but Bella instinctively reached out to stop him. Her hand landed on his upper arm, through the raincoat, she could feel it was much harder and more solid than she would have expected. She was surprised, both at what her hand found and at the fact that she voluntarily touched him.

"Sorry, I- just," She pulled her hand back and stammered for a moment before she collected herself. "Come inside, please. It won't last long and I don't want you to get all soaked just because you did me a favor." His mouth pulled into a grateful smile, and Bella moved aside so he could step past her. She quickly closed the door behind him, stopping for a moment to check if she could see a meddlesome neighbor watching her bring a boy into the house while Charlie was gone.

Bella regretted her decision almost instantly. It was awkward, them standing silently in the entryway. The sound of the rain beating down on the house was nearly deafening, but the silence felt louder. She needed to say something. I'm getting more and more like Renee every day. Bella couldn't handle the apprehension anymore.

"Uh, do you want any coffee or tea or anything?"

"Tea would be nice, thanks." he said it like he had been thinking of a way to break the silence as well, a little rushed and relieved.

Bella carefully snuck past him, leading him into the kitchen, very aware she was alone with Edward. Phil had warned her about that. How Edward had always preferred getting her alone, and how there were always strings attached to favors. Like the folder of homework he had given her. And the fact that he had saved her life…

Bella turned back to face him as soon as she could, dropping the folder onto the counter. She put some water on to boil, trying to keep Edward in her view the whole time. "Uh, peppermint ok?"

"Peppermint is great, thanks." Edward leaned back on the counter across from her, next to where the tea was, but thankfully not in the way.

She busied herself, grabbing the tea bags and the mugs. To her relief, Edward moved a bit further from her to get out of her way. As she continued to ready the tea, Bella stayed vigilant, noting Edward's every movement. He went to sit down at the kitchen table, taking what was usually Charlie's spot. The significance was not lost on her.

Bella asked him how he liked his tea, and added the sugar to the mugs.

She sat across from him, waiting for the water to boil. In near silence. Again.

"Uh, how's your head?" Edward asked politely, his hands wrapped around his nearly empty mug, thumb rubbing over the smooth surface of the handle.

"It's fine." Bella said automatically, though it was obviously a lie.

Edward reacted to that, "Well that's a lie." She was shocked, and a little worried. Normally only Phil called her on her lies, or what he felt was a lie. It always came with a punishment of some kind.

"You're right, sorry. It hurts. I can't sleep or focus, but I'm sure I will be fine."

Edward furrowed his brows. "Is it a concussion?" She found herself nodding, though she didn't really want to tell him.

"Uh yeah, your dad said I could sleep though. Well, I wish I could anyway, I'm so tired." Bella wanted to smack herself. Why was she admitting all this to him? Bella was literally serving up her weaknesses on a silver platter. He could do anything he wanted to her right now.

I shouldn't have done this, why did I let him in?

Just then, the kettle started whistling, piercing through her head. Bella jumped up, either to stop the noise or prepare the tea, she couldn't exactly tell, but to her dismay, she found either option impossible. As soon as she was up, Bella found the room spinning. She shut her eyes tight, and heard a scuffling.

A hand appeared on the arm she had used to brace herself against the table. Bella wanted to panic, but there was just too much happening, she couldn't think. She was gently lowered into her seat again, and as soon as she could she clapped her hands over her ears, barely dampening the noise that was splitting her head.

The hands left, and the sound stopped. Bella peaked out, seeing Edward removing the kettle from the stove, quickly turning it off and coming over to the table, pouring the boiling liquid into the mugs.

Bella removed her hands from her ears, finding the rain still pounding on the house, but the sound was dulled, seeming to soothe the pain left by the commotion.

Edward returned the kettle to the now cooling stove top and sat back down at the table.

"Sorry," They both said in unison, their voices lowered. The two looked at each other questioningly, and Edward started.

"I should have been dealing with the tea anyway, since you're the hurt one. And I should have seen the whistle coming, I knew that it would be too loud considering your concussion, but I didn't do anything."

Bella scoffed, something that would've gotten her a swift beating under normal circumstances, but she quickly explained herself. "What would you have done? Seen the future and stopped the water from boiling? It's not your fault." She used more sarcasm than she usually got to, and it was oddly comforting, especially when she saw the easy smile on Edward's face in response to her words.

"Ok fair, I just feel like I should be doing more." Edward sounded almost… nervous. Maybe even guilty. Bella shouldn't have believed him. She didn't want to believe him. But at this moment she did. Bella really believed that he wanted to prevent her from hurting. In this instance anyway.

The two sat in silence again, but this time it was more comfortable. It felt like when they were younger. They used to sit in comfortable silences as kids, not all the time, but when they had gotten tired of the excitement of his siblings.

They drank their tea slowly, at first due to the temperature, but Bella found herself savoring her time with Edward, who did not want to hurt her right now.

Bella had an excuse to be looking at Edward, and look she did. Her previous examinations were rushed, hidden, but now she could really take him in. His green eyes were brighter than she could remember seeing in anyone but him, though, she was biased. His skin had a smattering of freckles that she could have sworn he didn't have as a child. Maybe it was the paleness that now afflicted them both, allowing the freckles to stand out. She guessed he had similarly not gotten to enjoy the outdoors like they used to. Bella felt her hand itching to touch him, to feel how soft his cheek was, and feel how it transitioned into the slight scruff he seemed to always have

She felt a fluttering in her chest and worked hard to clear her mind, not allowing herself to blush in front of him from simply looking at him. To her horror, she realized she found him… handsome.

As though he could sense her discomfort, Edward started speaking. He told her about the discussion in English class, which quickly devolved into them analyzing the book together. Bella found that without the audience of a class, she had a lot more to say with Edward one-on-one.

They started debating the worst character, which led them to complain about other characters from classical literature. When Bella went on a particularly passionate spiel, Edward started laughing.

It felt so good, just to exist like this with Edward. Bella could imagine this is exactly what she and Edward would have done together if she hadn't moved away. If Phil hadn't come into her life. But then Bella remembered.

She remembered what Phil told her Edward had always wanted from her. Maybe he was giving her a reprieve now, but there was no way he would have gone all these years without snapping on her.

Simultaneously, Edward and Bella realized they had both emptied their mugs long ago.

"I better get going, I'm sure my family will wonder where I've been." Edward stood up and together they walked to the door. Bella thanked him again, and he left.

As she watched his car start up and drive away, the fog settled again, weighing her down. The high of her time with Edward really made her feel low, now that she was alone, left with thoughts she couldn't control, or even focus on.

She climbed the stairs back to her room and sat at her desk, the music still playing.

Bella was only made aware of the time passing by the sound of Charlie's police cruiser pulling into the driveway. She had noticed the window getting gradually darker, but she still found herself surprised at just how dark.

Before she could make a move, she heard Charlie entering the house and trudging up the stairs, followed by a gentle knock at her door.

"Yeah dad?" Bella turned as Charlie cracked the door open, apparently surprised to see her at the desk instead of her bed.

"Hey Bells, how has it been?"

"I took more meds when I got home. I can't sleep, but I can't seem to do anything else. I'm achy, and I'm tired." The words rolled off Bella's tongue as though complete honesty of her physical state was a regular thing for her. Apparently the truth with Edward had loosened her tongue.

"I'm sorry Bells, is there anything I can get for you?"

"I think I'm alright. I know you said you'd bring dinner home, but I'm not hungry, sorry."

"Don't worry about it. By the way, I saw you had two mugs of tea?"

Bella's eyes went wide. She hadn't planned on keeping Edward's visit a secret, but to have the evidence so obvious made her stomach roil.

"Um, yeah. Honestly, Dad, Edward came over. He brought my assignments, and it started to pour so he stuck around for a while. I made us tea." Bella prepared herself. She was certain he wouldn't go too hard on her. Charlie had nowhere near the level of cruelty that Phil had, and since she was already hurt and needed another checkup soon, he couldn't risk Bella getting any more visibly injured than she already was today.

But the beating never came. Neither did the yelling, the manipulating, the threatening. Charlie thought for a moment, looking more surprised than anything, and not at all angry. "That was nice of him."

"That's it?"

"I mean, you stayed in the kitchen right?" Bella nodded, too surprised to say anything else "And there was no, uh, funny business?" He looked uncomfortable, but it disappeared when he saw how hard she shook her head, causing pain to flare up, but Bella wanted to leave no doubt. She fought the urge to squeeze her eyes shut again, from the pain.

"Then that's fine Bella, I appreciate knowing who's at the house, but he was bringing you homework. And you can have friends over, you know that right? My only rule is no boys in the bedroom with the door closed." He waited and Bella nodded, not quite believing what she had heard. Charlie seemed to take that as the end of the conversation, so he turned and went back downstairs.

Bella was well and truly stunned now. Charlie wasn't mad? He didn't warn her, or threaten her?

He even said he would be fine with Bella having a boy in her room, as long as "no funny business" happened, and it hadn't, much to her surprise.

She was truly in a daze, not sure what to think of anything. Her thoughts were interrupted by a chime from her phone.

A text from Phil, telling Bella to video call him. She checked, and Charlie had securely planted himself in front of the TV so she did as Phil said. Bella retreated into the fog of her mind. Thankfully, Phil was happy enough to see the developing bruises on Bella's skin. He didn't bother tormenting her mentally, as though he knew she wasn't really there. She was thankful for the concussion, which made it easier to pull away from her body. She could almost pretend it wasn't happening. The only thing that reminded her was the sounds of his pleasure coming through her headphones. She had always thought it was his work that he liked to see, but apparently more bruises adding to his masterpiece of suffering was good enough for him right now.

By the time he was done, Bella could feel sleep calling to her. He let her hang up, reminding her that she was wicked, and her getting hurt in an accident was just proof of it, the the universe was punishing her more thoroughly since he couldn't.

Bella redressed and laid back down on her bed, slowly coming back to her body. There was a remaining numbness, as though the fog gathered around the memory of Phil, allowing her to float around it.

Once she heard Charlie retreating to his room, she knew to get ready for bed. When she went to the bathroom she noticed something that she hadn't dealt with in years.

Bella's underwear was bloody. There wasn't much, but it was there. When she thought back about it, she could remember some cramping during the day, but with all of the pain after the accident, it didn't stand out as different.

Her period hadn't come in a long time, it was something she stopped thinking about. Maybe since there was less stress here it came back, or because she had put on weight. She wasn't sure about the science of it all.

Bella searched deep in the bathroom cabinet and found the small pack of pads Renee had forced upon Bella when she left Arizona for her last summer in Forks. At the time, Bella hadn't gotten her period yet, but Renee told her that she would be too embarrassed to talk to Charlie, so she sent young Bella with some "products" just in case. They had stayed in the cabinet for all these years, just waiting for now.

Bella ripped the package open and took care of business. Before she left the bathroom she made sure to hide it deep in the cabinet once again. Even if Charlie had noticed them in the past few years, Bella didn't need him knowing they were now being used.

When Bella lay in bed, she worked hard to sort through the day as well as she could. It was hard, but she had to learn from everything and figure out why it was happening. It was all she could do to protect herself.

She had done everything wrong. Every last thing. And Charlie hadn't gotten upset. Edward had even helped her by bringing Bella's schoolwork and helping with the tea and he hadn't hurt her even when it was obvious that she was at her weakest.

What did it all mean? Charlie probably got his anger out elsewhere, maybe by being a cop? Not that there was much crime in Forks. Maybe Edward got his anger out elsewhere too. Neither deemed Bella the appropriate target of their rage. Yet, anyway.

But it had been long enough. She had made enough mistakes. It should have happened by now. Phil knew way less about her behavior, and he had given her plenty of lessons and punishments. But nothing from anyone here in Forks.

Maybe they won't snap, maybe they're good.

That could possibly make sense. Had Bella managed to find herself in the company of two truly good men? She of course would still find cruelty and rage from other people, but if she wasn't getting any from them, maybe it meant they didn't have any?

Or, they could be good at hiding it. Maybe they had more patience than Phil. Maybe they had more control, and Bella just hadn't managed to be bad enough to push them past the point yet. But maybe that meant she might never get them to that point. Maybe Bella was… safe?

She immediately tried to rid herself of the thought. It was as unlucky as it was unlikely. Whatever it was, she was happy to have it, even if it didn't last that much longer.

...

Pain. It was the only thing Bella could comprehend in the brief moment before she awoke. With a groan, Bella came to her body, a brief inventory found her curled up in pain. It was like all the times she'd woken up after a night when Phil had kicked or punched her in the stomach. Like her insides were protesting the mere task of keeping her alive.

There was warmth surrounding her body in a way that felt like more than just the cocoon of warm air trapped under sheets. Bella carefully tried to sit up but found the ache in her abdomen made it too hard. When she finally propped herself up, her hands encountered something… wet.

The fog she had been fighting only hours away was gone, her adrenaline forcing it out. When she pulled the covers back and moved, she saw a dark spot where she had been. Bella was horrified and let out a shriek before she slapped her hand over her mouth. She reached for the lamp, praying that it was just a shadow, just a trick of the moonlight. But when she turned it on, the blood was still there.

No no no no no no no!

Bella jumped out of bed as quickly as she could and was barely able to hold herself up. Were cramps supposed to be this bad? What about the bleeding? She couldn't remember, she didn't think her period was that intense, but it didn't matter right now. She ripped her sheets off the bed and saw that her blood had gone all the way to the mattress. The spot wasn't large, but it was obvious enough, and she just knew it would stain.

Bella ran- or rather quickly walked doubled over in pain- to the bathroom, grabbing a washcloth and wetting it. When she returned to her room she crouched next to the bed, frantically scrubbing at the stain on the mattress, trying to get rid of the evidence. Bella found herself sobbing as it seemed more and more likely that the stain wasn't going anywhere.

Phil had always hated when Bella or Renee had their periods. He told them that they were dirty and stained everything. The first time Bella had bled through her pants, he threatened to make her sleep outside since she wasn't "house trained". When her period had disappeared well over a year ago, Bella had gone to a clinic where it was determined she wasn't pregnant but had just lost too much weight, she had nearly wept tears of joy. The unpredictable threat had gone.

The tears she wept now were not so nice. Bella held a hand over her mouth, trying to stifle the panicked sounds emerging from it. She couldn't let Charlie see. She couldn't let him know she had ruined the mattress. But she couldn't fix it. As she scrubbed and scrubbed, it seemed the blood was only spreading, both on the mattress and slowly running down her leg.

Hunched over, sobbing with panic and pain, and frantically scrubbing at the mattress is how Charlie found Bella.