Chapter 77

BPOV

I wasn’t really paying attention to the TV, who could blame me when a shirtless Edward was sitting there ripe for teasing. His comment about me giving him a urinary infection was so funny that my laughter had drowned out the commentator. I heard the woman say something about Chicago and the word arrested. That was nothing new, it was a big city and I assumed that many people got arrested. The word Alderman was slightly more important because as an elected official, he should have known better than to do something illegal. Thinking that the man’s crime had been something along the lines of misapplication of funds, or embezzlement I listened closer.


Chicago Police have arrested twenty-nine year old
Alderman Marshall Baldwin. He was taken into custody last
night on allegations of sexual harassment, battery,
deviant sexual assault, and rape of a 20 year old female intern.


‘Baldwin’- The name was familiar yet I was sure the only Baldwin I knew of was the actor - not that I knew him personally…Alderman, Sexual Assault, Rape…Those words rang in my mind along with the memory of Alice and I siting on the bed at the cabin, watching as Rose’s face contorted with loathing when she said the name ‘Marshall Baldwin’

Holy Shit!

My eyes were transfixed to the TV while I listened to what he had been apprehended for

The victim states that on June 8, 2010 the Alderman from the cities twenty-second district requested that she
remain after hours to assist him. After several attempts and lewd comments the victim became alarmed and attempted to leave. The victim who is hospitalized from the injuries she received stated that Alderman Marshall then became agitated threatening her with termination.
He then proceeded to physically batter her around the face and genital area before the rape occurred.


He detained her, like he did with Rose accept now he had moved on to personally terrorizing young women, with Rose he had his friends hold her down. Baldwin beat the young intern around the face, just the day before Rose told us how her jaw was wired shut. If this was the same man, he had advanced his techniques to become a sexual predator.

What a sick bastard!



Alderman Baldwin is the son of Councilman Wilson Baldwin. Alderman is being held in police custody pending arraignment and due process.


The son of a Councilman…Rose told us at the cabin that Marshall came from a wealthy family who used their money to keep him out of trouble and make her look bad.

Dread came over me at what this news – if it was what I thought it was – would mean to …“Rose.”

At the mention of her name I could see Edward’s head turn in my direction, “What is it?”

“I don’t…I’m not…,” the words stuck in my throat as all I could think of was… “Rose.”

Not thinking about what I was doing, my feet propelled me through the room. Setting the coffee cup down on the table as I walked past, I was out the door running down the hall to get to her. Edward must have followed as he was calling after me from the doorway of our room.

“Rose…Rose open up!” I called loudly at the closed door while my fist ponded on the wood.

“Bella!” Edward’s concern was clear in his voice as he came towards me while I kept banging.

“Hold on,” Emmett called from the other side of the door. Opening it, he took one look at me standing there wearing only a T-shirt, with what I’m sure were wild eyes then past my shoulder to see Edward. He was dressed in pajama bottoms, walking at a quick pace towards me with narrowed confused eyes. Emmett’s expression turned to anger as he eyed me once more, “Are you alright?”

“No…” pushing past him I didn’t wait for an invitation to go inside. At my answer Emmett became even more alarmed as his anxiety was directed at Edward. Throwing his arm in front of the door he blocked Edward’s entrance, “What the fuck did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything,” Edward defended himself but my worry was placed somewhere else “Where’s Rose?”

“She’s still in bed.”

Relief that she hadn’t seen the news cast flooded through me as I took in what Emmett was wearing, or rather not wearing while he stood there in a pair of tight grey boxer briefs that left nothing at all to the imagination.

Holy Hell was he muscular…everywhere.

Pushing past his brother Edward became incensed. “Bella what the hell…?”

Knowing what he wanted I cut him off, “I think…I’m not…” he stared at me in disbelief.

We had just had a long discussion on my being forthright with him. I wasn’t deliberately trying to evade his question I just didn’t know if my suspicions were correct and I didn’t want to be a drama queen either. Holding up my hand I asked, “Five minutes…give me five minutes…please?”

Edward nodded once and I didn’t wait to see if Emmett approved or not. Heading into the bedroom Rose was laying in the middle of the bed curled up around a pillow with the blankets covering half of her naked body. I couldn’t figure out how she had slept through all the banging and our conversation in the outer room, but she had. Lightly shaking her shoulder as I sat on the bed she still hadn’t moved so I shook a little harder, “Rose…Rose wake up.”

“Bellllaaaa” she groaned in annoyance. “Come on, Em had me up half the night…”

“Rose …something happened. “

Leaning on her elbow she lifted her head and grasped the sheet above her breast giving me a look that was somewhere between panic and anger, “Did someone die?”

Staring at her I couldn’t help but feel a stir of self-consciousness, even just waking up she was beautiful. Her blue eyes sparkling, no makeup on her face yet she has a glow to her skin, and not a hair on her blonde head out of place.

Shaking my head I reassured her, “No…no one died…” and not knowing exactly how to bring up the subject I asked, “…the guy in Chicago…what’s his name?”

“You fucking woke me up for that!” she was angry but I persisted. “It was Marshall Baldwin…wasn’t it?”

“That’s not fucking funny Bella!”

I don’t know what caused her to think I saw any humor in the conversation, because I was sure that my face held no smile. She was uncomfortable and her eyes darted past me to the doorway where I’m sure the men were standing, yet I had to know and my tone became insistent. “Wasn’t it!?”

“Yes…It was fucking Marshall Baldwin! Are you fucking happy now?!”

I knew I was right.

“Rose…he was arrested…”

“What?” the anger left her face as she stared at me in disbelief.

Nodding I gave her all the information I had, “It was on the CNN this morning…last night they arrested him for beating and raping his intern…”

Several emotions flittered through her eyes, fear, anger, sadness and …. disbelief? Shaking her head tears welled in Rose’s eyes, “Nooo…his daddy would…”

“It’s true Rose…” my own eyes becoming blurry as I stared at my friend who had endured so much pain and humility.

The sound from the TV switching on made my head turn and as I moved to get a better view Rose reached out to grab my hand. Edward came to stand next to me and Emmett handed his wife a t-shirt to put on before moving to sit on her other side. Rose let my hand go for a second, pulling the shirt down over her head before taking ahold of my hand again and then leaned into Emmett’s side. Edward sat down on the bed behind me wrapping his arm across my stomach to hold me close to his chest and the four of us watched the story unfold.

The newscaster was different, a man this time who gave basically the same story. As he announced that Marshall was being held the broadcaster tapped his finger to his ear, listening to something. When he looked back into the camera he continued on…

New information on this story has surfaced. The victim is believed to be twenty year old Alisha Williams, who is the granddaughter of Illinois Senator Alfred Williams. The victim is a Political Science major at UIC, she was awarded an internship with the Alderman’s office
for the summer break.

I cringed at the personal information that was being leaked about the victim. Rose squeezed my hand tighter making me look in her direction. “They shouldn’t do that.”

Shaking my head was about all I could do as the report continued.

Upon further investigation allegations involving Alderman have surfaced. Several other women have reported crimes of similar nature against Alderman. Police reports that have just surfaced stemming back to November 2001. The District Attorney is holding his own investigation into the misconduct of his office and has suspended Assistant District Attorney Walter King pending the investigation.

Rose gasped but I didn’t know what it was for, “Do you know that King person?”

“Royce’s last name was King,” Rose said not taking her eyes off the TV.

Royce?

Royce was her boyfriend, the one who held her down, the one who died after being beaten with a baseball bat at a bar.

Holy Shit! It was a fucking conspiracy.

“I never understood why the DA’s office wouldn’t press charges,” the tone of her voice was detached as the pieces started to come together. “They were related and he was being protected.”

Squeezing Rose’s hand she turned to look at me, “Not anymore.”

“A senator’s granddaughter…looks like he fucked with the wrong person,” Emmett sounded angry.

There was subtle change in Rose’s demeanor and she started to laugh, loud boisterous bellows of laughter. “I hope some big motherfucker named Raoul makes him his bitch!”

Staring at her it became too much and I laughed along with her for a moment stunned by her behavior. Rose’s breath caught, it was like a switch went off in her head and the reaction that I had been expecting happened. Tears welled in her eyes as she sobbed, “OH, Bell…”

My arms wrapped around Rose pulling her away from Emmett and clutching her to me. “Rose, he’s going to get what he deserves.”

She squeezed me tightly, sobbing against my shoulder, “What about …what I deserve…or the others…how many have there been? And the only reason…now is because she was …a Senator’s granddaughter.”

“Well thank God for that.” In my mind it seemed that finally someone with enough clout was able to sidestep the red-tape and prosecute him.

“Why…Why is she so special?” She wailed and then her words turned to shouts. “Why not me or the others…didn’t we deserve the same protection, the same justice? What? because we weren’t related to someone…we’re just Shit!”

I tried to calm her anxiety, “Justice isn’t fair Rose.”

She sucked in a deep breath through a stuffy nose, “You’re telling me, I did what I was supposed to do! Not like some pathetic loser who pretends it never happened!”

Her words were sharp and cutting making me stiffen. Rose abruptly straightened up to look in my eyes and I felt the tears run down my cheeks.

“I didn’t mean that Bella,” shaking her head the tears ran down her devastated face as she started pleading with me to understand. “I didn’t mean it…you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do…to survive…please don’t be mad at me…I didn’t mean it.”

Swallowing the lump in my throat I nodded, “I know…”

She hugged me tightly resting her head on my shoulder while I did the same to her as we wept tears of pain. We cried for ourselves, for each other and for every other woman who has lived through the hell and lived to tell about it.

When the tears were all gone Rose took a deep stuttering breath, “Men are such pigs.”

“Not all of them,” I said shaking my head against her shoulder.

“Yeah…you’re right…” she agreed, “…not all of them.”

Taking a deep breath I lifted my head and was surprised to see that the only person there was Alice. She was standing on the side of the bed wearing a pair of beige silk pajamas with tears streaming down her face. I didn’t know how long she had been there, or when the men had left us. Once our eyes met she nodded once, giving me a sad smile which I returned.

Kneeling on the bed Alice reached out to touch Rose’s shoulder, “Are you alright?”

Rose held my gaze while patting her hand, “Yes.”

“As soon as I figured out who it was I got here as fast as I could.” Alice wrapped her arms around Rose’s shoulders hugging her tightly. “I’m so sorry Rose.”

Rose closed her eyes drawing in another deep breath, “It’s going to be alright. I have to keep in mind that piece of scum is finally going to pay for his crimes.”

“Do you think the authorities will want to talk to you?” at Alice’s question pain flashed through Rose’s eyes as she looked to me for the answer. I didn’t want to lie to her, yet I didn’t want to upset her anymore either; but I simply had no clue.

Shrugging I told her what any psychologist would say, “One day at a time, face what comes, one day at a time. You can’t dwell on what might happen.”

“Rosie.” Emmett stood in the doorway giving his wife a compassionate look. She bolted off the bed and into his arms clinging to him as if her life depended on it. Emmett’s large frame encircled her as he buried his face into her neck mumbling something I couldn’t hear, but she held him tightly nodding her head at whatever he was saying.

It was a touching intimate moment that left me feeling like I was intruding on something private. As I started to get up Emmett’s shiny blue eyes shot to mine and I could see muscles in his arms tighten around his wife as he mouthed ‘thank you.’

Nodding once I got to my feet getting ready to leave so that they could be alone, Alice followed my lead and when we got to the doorway Emmett stepped aside setting Rose down on the floor. “Ok ladies, you have fifteen minutes to get down into the workout room.”

“What?” Alice groaned, “We’re still doing that?”

“Yes…we are. I need to be assured that you all know how to keep yourself safe. We should have done it when mom was here, but that don’t matter because we’re doing it anyway.” There was going to be no discussion as Emmett made it very clear he would not be deterred. We were doing self-defense lessons, whether we wanted to or not.

Edward was standing in the living room with Jasper who was dressed in pajama bottoms and a t-shirt. Taking a drink from his coffee cup Edward eyed me wearily and in an attempt to keep him from worrying I smiled saying good morning to Jasper.

“Mornin darlin.”

I smiled at his slight southern drawl as Edward put his arm around my shoulder and kissing my head, “Everything kosher?”

I had not ever heard Edward use that expression; looking up into his face I smiled giving him a nod. His eyes softened as he brought his other hand up to graze his knuckles lightly along my cheek, “I hate when you cry.”

His words alone making my eyes swell with moisture, “Sometimes tears have a cleansing effect.”

He nodded once bending down to kiss me gently, nuzzling his nose against mine. Our interaction must have been a bit too intimate as Alice said, “Get a room,” while standing next to her husband.

Edward winked at me as he straightened up and I looked over at the time on the TV becoming alarmed that it was already eight-twenty and I only had ten minutes. “Ummm…can we go back to our room?”

Edward cocked his head, wagging his eyebrows making me giggle, “I need to get dressed or I’ll be late and have to suffer the wrath of Coach Cullen.”

“Damn right girl!” Emmett said emerging from the bedroom dressed in workout clothes.

“We’ll leave as soon as the key gets here.” Not understanding what Edward meant I gave him a curious look. He shrugged, “We left so quickly I accidentally locked us out.”

Alice and Jasper started to leave and as they walked out the door, she pleaded with Emmett to give her more time. He sighed and finally conceded to an extra fifteen minutes, but we had better be no later than that. Rose came out dressed in yoga pants and a loose t-shirt saying good-bye to them and Edward gave her a hug, “Are you ok?”

She patted his back taking a step away from Edward to glance at me, “I’m good, one thing at a time…right?”

Giving her a nod I agreed, “Right.”

The key arrived but since the room was registered in my name the guy wouldn’t give to us until I showed him ID – which was in my purse, locked in our room. He scrutinized my attire, which I suddenly felt rather uncomfortable with. All I had on was one of Edward’s T-shirts that hung rather long over my thighs and it was loose enough to conceal my bare boobs, yet he stared at me rather lecherously.

Edward cleared his throat but it was Emmett who became vocal, “Yo Buddy! You want to quit eye-fucking my sister?”

Sister?

While the guy stammered out an apology Emmett gave me a smirk, shrugging at my surprised expression like it was no big deal.

“See you in a few minutes Rose,” I called over my shoulder. Stopping as I walked past Emmett who was holding the door open, to look up into his face while patting his chest. “By the way big brother, about earlier…” his face contorted into confusion and I smirked. “I just wanted to let you know…you’d look better in red underwear.”




EPOV

The look on Emmett’s face was priceless as Bella walked out the door laughing. Her amusement at the comment making me chuckle. Emmett cracked a smile, “Get her the hell out of here.”

“See you in a few,” I said in a way of good-bye, shutting the door behind him as he mumbled, “fucking red underwear…”

My attention went back to the Bella who was still giggling, placing my hand on her back to follow the guy down the hallway to our room. He had already irritated me with his roaming eye and I was going to say something to him about it when Emmett beat me to the punch. I saw the way Bella reacted to my brother calling her his sister, like she couldn’t believe he thought of her that way. Well, she had better fucking get used to it because if I had my way, that’s exactly what she would be.

Besides, I knew Emmett was glad that Bella had dropped everything, running out of our room practically naked to make sure that Rose was alright. It was one of the things that I loved about her, the compassion and empathy she has towards those in distress.

I was unsure of what the problem was when she sprinted from our room, practically banging their door down. Emmett must have still been sleeping since he answered the door in his boxers; and after Bella telling him she was not ok, the murderous rage in eyes was directed at me. There was no doubt in my mind that if I ever hurt that woman, my brother would not hesitate to kick my ass.

The problem being, I didn’t know what the problem was and Bella wasn’t giving me any information. That irritated the fuck out of me considering we had spent the previous evening in some kind of messed up purgatory. Finally coming to the conclusion that Bella was going to be direct with me, actually I believe the word was ‘surrender’. So at the evasion I was once again receiving…Yeah it fucking pissed me off. She asked me for five minutes; my patience was wearing thin but that I could give her.

Rose was completely blindsided at the news of that man – no fuck that – that piece of shit, being arrested. The laugher that came out of her reminded me of a cackling witch taking great pleasure in inflicting pain on someone. Her joy at the situation only lasted a few seconds and before I knew what was happening Bella and Rose were clinging to each other, crying. My heart broke for both of them and I was as torn about leaving them alone as much as Emmett was. We both sat there watching the women we love fall apart and with a resounding sigh he motioned with his head towards the door.

I didn’t want to leave Bella, my natural inclination was to pull her to me and chase all the demons away. She had cried enough the night before, yet I somehow concluded that my interfering would only serve to make the situation worse. The two women sitting there on the bed clutching each other shared a bond that only they could fully understand and it seemed best to allow them to do it the way they needed.

Emmett grabbed a T-shirt, pulling it over his head as we quietly walked into the outer room. He started a pot of coffee and then stood there resting his clenched fists on the counter, looking like he wanted to hit something or someone.

“Hey, you ok man?” I asked clapping him on the shoulder. It was a stupid question as it was more than obvious that he wasn’t.

“No, I’m not fucking ok Edward!”

There was venom in his words but I couldn’t fault him for that. “Eight god-damn years later and the nightmare continues. It’s bad enough that I have to listen to her cry in her sleep, waking up drenched in sweat and screaming to the point where the only way she’ll calm down is by being restrained. She’s my wife, I love her and right now I feel so fucking useless. The woman who means everything to me is in that room falling apart and I should be in there. But all I can think about is hunting down that motherfucker and ripping his fucking balls off.”

It was a natural response and one that I knew well. “Don’t feel guilty, it might be better for Bella to be with Rose at the moment. Firsthand experience gives her a better insight…”

Turning his head to glare at me, “What the fuck does that mean? Rosie was raped.”

All I could do was stare back wondering why the fuck I said anything. After a long moment I figured I might as well tell him, “So was Bella.”

“When?”

“A few years ago, her ex-husband…” I huffed in annoyance, “…actually they were still married, separated for years, but still married. He came to her house, tied her to the table, beat her…”

“Why the fuck is he still walking around?”

I knew that whatever I said to Emmett would never be repeated, yet I didn’t want to go into more specifics then I had to. The only reason I had said anything at all was so that he would know that Rose was in good hands. Emmett continued to glare at me waiting for my answer so I gave him the watered down version. “She basically made a deal with the devil, she got the divorce, and he kept his freedom.”

“That’s fucked up.”

“Yeah it is.” I said with a nod, “Believe me; I understand that feeling of rage, the rock in the pit of your stomach that happens whenever you think of someone hurting her. The helplessness you feel from the nightmares, along with the guilt and shame that overcomes her. And I’m telling you that right now those two women in there are comforting each other more than we ever could. So let’s give them a few minutes while you calm down so that when they are done, you have your senses and can give Rose the support she needs from you.”

I had just given Emmett almost the same speech that he had given me at the cabin, it was good advice then and it worked well in this situation also. He blinked a few times nodding his head, whether in agreement or acceptance I couldn’t be sure.

Emmett reached up to open the cabinet getting out two cups, filled up one of them and was interrupted by the knock on the door. Sighing, he went over to let our sister in with Jasper following. They were both still in their pajamas with grave expressions. Alice didn’t say good morning, instead glancing between Emmett and me she asked, “Where are they?”

Inclining my head in the direction of the bedroom she moved quickly across the room, leaving the door slightly ajar as she went in. Jasper inquired as to Rose’s condition and after handing Jasper a cup of coffee we stood there filling him in, which in all honesty was not very much information. Emmett kept looking over at the door to the bedroom. In an attempt to take his mind off what was happening in the other room I brought up his plan for the self-defense lessons. Maybe it might have been better to cancel, but Emmett wouldn’t hear of it.

“No. After everything that happened this morning,” giving me a pointed look, “I need to know that those three women,” thumbing over his shoulder in the direction of the bedroom, “in there can protect themselves. Besides, it will give us all a chance to work off some aggression.”

That was something I couldn’t argue with, especially after being informed that he intended on using Jasper and me in the demonstration. I hadn’t sparred with Emmett in a long time, he may be bigger than me, but I was quicker so our workouts were always on an even keel. Jasper? He was a wiry son of a bitch who could always hold his own.

Jasper reached into the pocket of his flannel pants pulling out his phone to see the time. When he did I noticed the key card for his room and groaned, “Shit!”

At their bewildered expression I confessed, “I left the damn key in the room.”

Standing outside of the open door to our room with the hotel employee – because he wouldn’t allow me entrance until Bella showed him proper ID- I wondered if he was the same asshole who answered the phone. He had given me a really hard time when I said the name was Cullen, insisting that the only room registered under that name was the one I was calling from. It took me a second to remember that we had checked in under Swan. When I asked him why he just didn’t freaking tell me that when I said the room number? all I got was that standard answer, ‘security purposes.’

I was all for keeping my girl safe, but I also wanted to spend a few private moments alone with her before we had to meet everyone down in the workout room. Bella came over to the open door showing the guy her license. He examined it quickly, confirming her identity, eyed her once more before giving it back and told us to have a good day. Shutting the door I couldn’t wait anymore, wrapping my arms around my girl and hugging her to me. Bella’s arms encircled my back as she laid her face against my chest, letting out a deep sigh. Resting my cheek on the top of her head, I gently stoked along her back, and just held her to me.

“Oh Edward,” Bella spoke softly with a shaky voice.

She didn’t need to say anything more; I knew. “It will all work out baby, just the way it’s supposed to.”

Tipping her head up to look at me she got a sly smile on her face while her eyes penetrated into my soul, “I thought you didn’t believe in fate.”

Smiling, I cupped her chin. “How could I stand here holding you, staring into your beautiful brown eyes and deny something so obvious?”

Moving onto her toes reaching to kiss me, “I love you.”

“Ah, my Bella, I love you more.”

She smiled shaking her head, “That’s not possible.”

“I guess we’re back to our see-saw,” I told her with a grin before placing a kiss on her forehead making her smile brightly. “But right now my darling, we better get moving.”

“Yeeeaaah,” rolling her eyes, making me chuckle at the unenthused tone.

“Let’s go nâhtötse,” I said swatting her bottom making her yelp and me chuckle as she rubbed her butt while going into the bedroom.

We were a few minutes late getting downstairs, however Alice was even later and upon entering the room she pointed her finger at Emmett, “I am not running laps.”

“I’m in charge here and you’ll do what you’re told missy,” Alice rolled her eyes obviously not liking the tone Emmett used but blew him off with, “whatever…”

Alice plopped herself down on the mat next to Bella, reaching over quickly to squeeze Rose’s hand and Emmett started.

“Ok, we don’t have much time so pay attention.”

Jasper and I stood off to the side while Emmett started talking about keeping calm in a situation. He was going on about how self-defense was like drowning, and how you only had about thirty seconds to react before you start to sink. “In that short amount of time you have to keep yourself in control and put your attacker off his intended purpose.”

He called Jasper over instructing him to be the aggressor and try to come at him. Jasper stepped in closer and attempted to take ahold of him. Emmett threw his arms up between them yelling loudly, “BACK OFF!” making everyone jump. He turned to the girls pointing his finger at them, “The first thing you do is let him know that you are not going to be an easy target and yell as loud as you can to alert anyone in hearing range that something is wrong.”

Emmett once again turned to Jaz, “Ok plastic man, come and get me.”

Jasper reached out trying to get ahold of Emmett’s arm and every time he was close Emmett moved his hand and explained, “a moving target is harder to get, so keep moving. Shift your weight, wiggle and twist your arms. It’s going to frustrate him and give you a chance to react.”

He stopped Jasper, calling me over for the next part, instructing me to grasp his wrist. “If he gets ahold of you, ball your hands into a fist, twist your arms and push outwards,” demonstrating as he went.

“Once your hands are free, bring both hands up between the two of you and…push…against his chest with your palms,” shoving against me he sent me stumbling backwards a few steps. “That is your chance to run…screaming …FIRE! Everyone listens when they hear the word FIRE! You run to the nearest house or business that has a light on or appears to be occupied.”

“What happens if you can’t get away?” Emmett answered Alice, “That’s when you bring your claws out.”

“Come at me again Edward.” This time when he brought his hands up between us his palms cupped my face, making his fingers into claws. “This is where you hurt him…Remember, “ING”…Eyes, Neck, Groin…the three most vulnerable spots on the body.”

Alice interrupted him “Eyes start with an E, not an I”

“I know that…” the irritation was clear “…ING is just to job your memory, because you will be bitt-ING kick-ING, scream-ING and a lot of other ‘ings’ so think ING. Eye, Neck, Groin” Emmett stressed the point with hand motions to the three area’s on my body. Had me come at him again and remonstrated what he had said before Alice interrupted him. When he got to the point where he was cupping my chin with his palms he spoke with more vigor as he explained.

“With your hands on his face rake your fingers over his eyes, in a scratch-ING, goug-ING motion. He’s going to let go of your hands,” I dropped his wrist, “you make a fist and you punch him as hard as you can in the neck and bring your knee straight to his groin,” Emmett demonstrated on me without actually making contact. “and that motherfucker is going down. Again run like hell…scream-ING.“ He looked over at the women who all seemed to be listening intently “What are we screaming?”

“FIRE!” the three of them called out.

“Good! Ok team up and practice.”

I smirked at Bella reaching out my hand to help her up, “Come on baby, I’ll attack you.”

Before Bella could take my hand Emmett slapped it away. “No kissy shit in defense training. You take Allie, Jaz you get Rosie and I’ll do little Bella.”

“I want to do Bella.”

“You do Bella enough,” Emmett’s implication making her giggle and blush.

We paired up letting the girls practice everything that Emmett had explained. While we worked out Emmett would every now and then stop working with Bella to have her watch. He gave more instructions going over in detail how to react when attacked from behind. After a half hour we were all done, but Emmett wanted to make sure that Bella had enough practice so the girls sat back down watching.

Emmett held her wrist and I watched as she twisted them, bringing her palms up to push him away. He got a glare in his eye, “Harder Bella…cock your elbows back and push with all your might.”

“I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You won’t hurt me. Do it again, this time with force!”

Bella sighed that fucking irritating way she has and when Emmett held her wrist he wasn’t as easily deterred. No matter how much she wriggled or twisted she couldn’t get away. Emmett inclined his head staring down at her, “What are you going to do?”

Once again she tried getting away but Emmett just seemed to glare harsher, “Thirty Seconds…What… Are...You...Going...To...Do?”

I could see the anxiety cross her features, staring back at him with wide eyes that seemed to be getting bigger as she started to slightly shake - this needed to stop.

“Emmett,” I warned.

His face contorted with harshness as he spoke to me while holding Bella’s gaze, “No! She needs to know Edward!”

I started to move forward to forcibly remove him if necessary when he narrowed his eyes at Bella leaned in closer to her and snarled menacingly, “What are you going to do!”

The sound of his ruthlessness stopped me in my tracks and I watched as Bella’s trembling fear turned to rage. I could see the fervor in her eyes as her nostrils flared and her arms twisted effectively breaking his hold and brought them quickly up between them yelling, “FIRE!”

As she screamed her palms made contact with Emmett’s chin causing his head to jerk backwards and she twirled her body bringing her fist around to hit him in the face while her knee came up jabbing him hard in his lower stomach, he grunted once and then he went down.

It happened so fast and yet it was like in slow motion with every move burned into my memory. Before I could completely comprehend what had happened, Emmett lay on the floor groaning while he clutched his stomach and Bella was shaking in my arms. I was so shocked that it must have been instincts that hugged her to me while I spoke calmly, “It’s ok baby…it’s ok…shhhh…”

I held Bella tighter while Jasper and Rose moved to check on Emmett and Alice sat there giggling with her phone in her hand. Rose was trying really hard to keep her laughter contained, but Jasper just gave it up chuckling while he asked if Emmett was alright. The poor guy was still moaning and as I looked at his face the red mark from Bella’s fist was causing his left eye to swell. Seeing the damage to his face made me worry about Bella. Moving her just enough to bring her hand up I noticed that her knuckles were red.

“Does your hand hurt baby?” I asked placing a kiss on the sore knuckles causing her to wince, yet Bella shook her head ‘no’ and Emmett moaned, “Her hand…my fucking intestines…are in my lungs.”

Alice pointed her phone at him, “Serves you right scaring Bella like that.”

Jasper laughed holding his hand out for Emmett to take so he could sit up, “You’re lucky that you weren’t standing closer to her…or your balls would be in your lungs.”

“Yeah, you fucking laugh plastic man, my fucking face hurts.”

Jasper touched the red spot on Emmett’s eye making him hiss while he checked out the damage before announcing with a grin, “It’s just bruised…but you better get some ice,” the last part was directed at Rose.

Bella seemed to come out of her stupor bringing her hands to mouth in a gasp, “I’m so sorry Emmett!”

I wasn’t sure what Emmett was going to say, after all it was all his fault. He just smirked up at her getting to his feet, “What the hell was all that twisty shit, I didn’t teach you that?”

Her face scrunched up as she shrugged, “Kick boxing?”

I snickered and Emmett muttered, “Kick boxing.”

Rose came back with two bags of ice, giving one to Emmett who put it on his face and one to Bella who stood there holding it while Jasper checked her hand. At her wincing I took the ice from her, placing the bag over her red knuckles and Alice wondered, “Can we leave now or should we get Bella to kick your ass again?”

Bella’s face turned bright red as she looked apologetic, “I really am sorry Emmett.”

“That’s ok, I’ve should have known better after the last time you clocked me,” He said putting the ice pack on his stomach as we started to leave.

“Last time?”

Rose pushed the call button for the elevator while he answered her, “Yeah, when you punched me at the cabin, I had a bruise for days. For a little thing you’re fucking strong.”

Bella looked remorseful but remained quiet as we rode up the elevator discussing the plan for the rest of the morning. I wanted to take Bella to the pancake house and the other’s all agreed. We decided to get packed up and leave by eleven, stop for an early lunch and then head home. Getting off on our floor we told Alice and Jasper we’d see them in the lobby and headed down the hall. Emmett was still shifting the ice pack from his eye to his stomach when they stopped at their room and we kept walking. After a few feet Emmett called out, “Oh Bella…” she turned to look him. “…next time, aim for the throat.”

“I’ll try to remember that.”

In our room I checked Bella’s hand one more time, having her bend her fingers to make sure there was no damage. Jasper had already checked it saying that she just bruised her knuckles hitting –as he called it –‘Emmett’s thick skull,’ but I still needed to make sure. Once I was satisfied it was indeed only bruised I gave her some Advil for the pain and swelling. We showered together getting one last use of the space, being in such a luxurious shower made me excited for the contractors to start ours. I also decided that I was getting one of those waterfall nozzles – because that is fucking awesome.

Bella had worked on the packing earlier, even turning down joining me in bed and she had more than half of it done. Most of what was left to pack consisted of my clothing so while I did that Bella put our dirty clothes into the laundry bag and walked around collecting what she called ‘personals’ and I called grooming products – same shit, different name.

She insisted on making the bed and cleaning out the refrigerator of the few Styrofoam cartons that contained leftover food. It didn’t make any sense to me as the maid would be in to clean up, but that was my Bella. As I started bringing everything out of the bedroom I realized that we were leaving with twice as much stuff as we came with. Knowing that we could never carry it all, I went out into hallway to get a cart while Bella took one more look around. Loading everything, I watched her opening all the drawers and checking under the furniture to make sure nothing was left behind.

“Are we ready?” I asked once she seemed satisfied that we had everything.

She shrugged giving me a sad smile, “Are you sure you don’t want to go to Mexico?”

I laughed pulling her to me for a hug, “Maybe next month nâhtötse.”

Snaking her arms around my neck she tugged me closer for a kiss, which I deepened, letting our tongues mix together in an erotic dance. My dick was springing to life and Mexico was sounding better by the second as I produced images of us lounging on beach chairs in the hot sun. Bella dressed only in the skimpiest bikini or better yet topless. I could almost taste the fruity cocktail drinks with little umbrella’s sticking out of the top along with the salty air from the Gulf waters. The longer we kissed the more detailed the images became. Reluctantly, I pulled back from her soft lips, taking a deep breath and bringing my lips to hers one more time.

She smiled, “I had a really nice time.”

“So did I baby.” I said tucking a strand of hair behind her ear with a sigh, “But, life awaits us at home and I’m sure Seth misses you.”

“Okay,” the word was there yet it was clear Bella’s heart truly wasn’t into going back to reality.

She picked up the roses that were in full bloom, I left the housekeeper a nice tip, took one last look around and we left. The room was in Bella’s name so she tried to send me for the car while she checked out. I wasn’t having that as there were charges on the account that I was paying for, she huffed at me when I gave the woman my card but frankly I didn’t care. I placed the orders for room service and her roses, so I was paying – end of story.

By the time I had brought the car to the entrance my family was all checking out, each with their own cart loaded with stuff. Everything was put in the car, the cart returned to the lobby and we were ready to leave.

Just as I had predicted, Bella was rather excited about the Fruity Pebble Pancakes; however, my girl being who she is decided on the half dozen silver dollar variety. I smirked, sitting back watching the joy that came over her from eating all the varieties she had picked. I was grimacing every now and then when she winced from the pain in her hand. The swelling had gone down a bit, but it must have still been tender. Emmett was a little worse for wear; he was going to have a black and blue mark.

Half way through the meal Bella’s discomfort bothered me so much that I asked our waitress if she could please get me a small bag of ice and forced Bella to put it over her hand. Emmett rolled his eyes, making me laugh at him while he shook his head in disbelief. “How long have you been kickboxing?”

Bella shrugged, “A few years. I started it as a form of physical therapy after,” she stopped herself-taking a drink of juice - while Emmett’s eyes went to mine.

I had told him more than I had planned to, even knowing that he would be discreet, I still had to inform Bella. Figuring that we had four and a half hour car ride ahead of us, it would be a good time to discuss that. Besides, I was driving and that meant no matter how mad she got, I would be safe from being hit. Not that Bella was prone to violence, it was just a precaution as there was no way I wanted a black eye like Emmett

Bella picked back up in her explanation, “anyway, I thought it was a good way to get a workout plus learn some defense.”

“I took a few Karate classes,” Rose added, then shook her head. “I didn’t like it.”

“Well, Osborn is going into Jujitsu as soon as he can walk,” Emmett was sure about that fact. “The kid will be a black belt by the time he’s five.”

“Yeah I think that would be good for Roscoe” Rose added with a smirk and a conspiratorial wink at Bella.

What was that for?

Alice picked up her coffee cup, “I did Ballet and let me tell you, that’s a workout,” she took a sip and smiled at Bella. “Did you think about those classes, I think it would be fun.”

What classes?

“Umm..I don’t know Alice,” not showing much interest. “I have to see when Leah’s childbirth classes are, and I’m not sure about pole dancing…”

Pole dancing?

“…when the heck are you ever going to use that?” Bella wondered.

My all-knowing sister had an answer, “You can get a portable pole to use in the privacy of your own house, we’re going to get one,” turning to Jasper she added, “right daddy?”
Oh. Fuck. Me.

My appetite was suddenly gone, pushing my plate away I sat back in the chair laying my arm along the back of Bella’s letting my thumb rub circles over her shoulder. All those images that I had removed the night before came back in full force and I hoped like hell someone would change the subject.

Thank god for Bella, “I don’t think I have time right now, besides Edward and I have a certificate for Ballroom Dance Lessons.”

Emmett laughed, “Didn’t you have enough of that dancing shit when you were little, Eddie?”

Bella gasped, shifted her eyes to me and started laughing, hysterically. I knew damn well what she was laughing at but no one else did as they looked at her like she was crazy. Especially when she started talking under her breath in between the fits of laughter, “Little…Eddie…dancing…does he do ‘the swing’?” “Wait...wait…,” composing herself enough to wipe the tears away she looked to me and started laughing so hard I barely understood her, “the Cha-Cha!”

I couldn’t keep the smirk off my face at the enjoyment Bella was having at the expense of my dancing dick. The rest of the family had no clue what she was laughing about and Jasper questioned me on what kind of pain killers I had given her. Bella leaned against my side collecting herself but still giggling, “I’m sorry…Emmett what were you saying…about dancing?”

Rolling his eyes my brother smirked, “Didn’t Edward tell you he took dance lessons?”

“We,” I clarified.

Mom thought that it was a good idea for us to learn different dances. The year I turned thirteen she sent us for classes. It was mandatory because as mom put it, ‘all gentlemen should know how to lead a lady on the dance floor.’ It wasn’t really that bad and after the last class my partner Whitney Greenawalt let me touch her boobs. I often wondered if my mother would have thought that was gentlemanly – since I did ask for permission first.

While I was strolling down memory lane Emmett told about our dancing tutorage and Alice’s Ballet, which she took all the way through high school. Jasper leaned down to kiss his wife, “My little ballerina…she looked so cute in her tutu.”

“Yeah, if I would have known at the time that you were seeing her tutu…” Emmett shook his fist. “I would have given you a four-four.”

“You were away at college,” Alice wasn’t helping. It had always been a point of contention with Emmett that Jasper jumped on our sister as soon as we left. Ten years later it still pissed Emmett off.
“I would have flown home.”

Alice sighed turning back to Bella, “Didn’t you do any dance lessons as a kid?”

“No,” Bella laughed. “I wasn’t that graceful; I probably would have broken my neck and taken someone out with me.”

“Klutzy?” Rose wondered.

“Extremely, like fall over my own feet standing still klutzy,” she giggled. “It was so bad, in high school the kids would see me coming down the hall and separate like the red sea,” using her hands to demonstrate.

Jasper chuckled wondering, “Was that something you grew out of? I mean you’re pretty steady now,” his laughter intensified. “After all you brought down Emmett!”

Everyone at the table laughed including Emmett while Bella stiffened against my side. When she didn’t answer his question Jasper took in her posture and a look of concern came over his face. My hand squeezed Bella’s shoulder as I inclined my head towards her, “You alright nâhtötse?”

She nodded, “Fine.”

Jasper didn’t push, but I could see the curiosity in his eyes.

The waitress came around asking if we needed anything else, at our ‘no’ she left the check. We finished up, used the bathroom, paid and then stood out in the parking lot for ten minutes. The three of us men standing there watching while the woman hugged, reiterated plans, hugged again and finally said good-bye.

Holding open the door for Bella she stopped before getting into car to look up at me. The look in her eye was warm and loving causing an automatic smile on my face. “I really did have a good time, thank you for bringing me.”

“It was my pleasure, besides it wouldn’t have been any fun without you here.”

Wrapping my arms around her we stood there hugging while the others drove away. Jasper blew the horn waving. Emmett rolled down his window yelling, “get a room!” and then smirked saying, “I’ll race you home,” before pulling out of the parking lot.

Shaking my head I looked at Bella, she was laughing making me chuckle when I asked what was becoming our patent question, “You ready to blow this joint?”

“Yeah…let’s go home.”