Chapter 23

EPOV

I sat on the side of the bed rotating my neck to get the kinks out, and as I stood the movement must have disturbed Bella because she sighed and murmered my name. When I turned to look at her, she was sound asleep. She lay on her side with the thin layer of cotton sheet concealing her body from hip to breast with one taut nipple peeking out over the top. Her hands laid on the pillow next to her face while her long hair clung down her back, slightly damp and still matted from not being brushed after her shower.

If I had to pick one word for the way she looked it would have been ‘angelic;’ and I loved her. Even more surprising Bella loved me in return. Who the hell would have thought this was going to happen? Two weeks ago I was perfectly happy, (or so I thought) going about my life; and then she came along and I began to see that there were holes, which she just seemed to fill perfectly. Now I could not imagine my life without her in it.
Our declaration of love was not filled with hearts and roses; it was stated as just a simple truth.

“Mmm…Edward.” I chuckled silently because she was so fucking cute, from her nocturnal ramblings right down to quirky eating habits. Everything about Bella draws me closer to her and I found myself watching her to see what else I could discover about this marvelous woman.

I felt terrible that I had upset her so much again tonight. The past few days have been filled with one emotional escapade after another and I really wanted her to have a calm evening. When I found her sitting on the floor in the shower with her head between her knees and her arms wrapped protectively around her legs, I felt like someone had punch me in the gut. I just needed her to get out of there and have her calm down, so I wrapped a towel around her and held her to me as tightly as I could.

Whatever had happened to her left her feeling dirty and ashamed. I tried to get her to understand that she has nothing to be embarrassed about, that whatever it was made no difference to me, and anything she told me wouldn’t change the way I felt about her. But Bella just wouldn’t or couldn’t tell me - she can be downright stubborn at times - so I just held her while she sipped on the mug of warm milk and then finally fell asleep against my shoulder.

When I went to lay her down she clung to my shirt holding on so tightly I had to pry her hands off while she kept repeating, ‘don’t leave me,’ over and over. Finally only settling down when I wrapped myself around her pulling her body as tightly to mine as I could. Now here she is, my Bella, whispering my name in her sleep; yeah, I truly do love her.

I moved through the house turning off the lights and double checking the doors and making sure that Seth had some fresh water for the night. I was just going to head back into the bedroom when I heard the dog barking outside. I suppose that wouldn’t have registered at all except for the fact that I never really heard him bark, at least not like this.

Turning on the bright security light I pushed aside the curtain to look out through the window on the door, there was nothing out of the ordinary other then Seth in the back of the yard barking towards the alley. Opening the door I called to him but he ignored me, so I stepped out onto the patio and clapped my hands together. Finally he turned to look at me so when I called out his name this time he responded.

“What’s out there boy, hmm are you tracking a cat?” I asked him petting his head before taking one last glance into the yard. We went back inside once I was satisfied there was nothing out there to be concerned about, and I grabbed a bottle of water before heading back to bed.

When I laid back down in bed in just my boxers pulling the blankets up over our bodies Bella automatically snuggled in next to me.

“Where did you go?” She asked through a groggy whisper.

“Are you actually awake?” I wasn’t sure if she was talking in her sleep or not.

“Sort of.”

“I just turned off the lights and checked the locks, now how about you ‘sort of’ go back to sleep?” Bella didn’t answer me; she only yawned and settled herself back onto my shoulder.

I half expected her to have a night terrors, it seems to be problematic whenever she speaks of-or remembers the abuse she had gone through. But she didn’t, and when I woke in the morning Bella was still in the same position, and I think there was drool on my shoulder but I didn’t fucking care about that. It was the first good night’s sleep she had gotten since Saturday and for that I was thankful.

She groaned when I twisted my torso to see the time before she completely rolled off my chest settling her head on the pillow. I placed a kiss on her cheek before getting out of bed glancing at her one more time before heading into the kitchen to get my first cup of coffee.

Rummaging through her cabinets and refrigerator it became clear that she needed another shopping trip to the grocery store; but there was enough to throw together a decent breakfast. I didn’t know if she had a tray but she did have a cookie sheet so that’s what I used, covering it with a kitchen towel. Bella was still sleeping when I entered the room carrying the make-shift tray of cereal, muffins, juice, and coffee which I placed on the dresser, before I climbed in next her on the bed.

My fingers traced the outline of her jaw and an innocent smile played across her face making me grin and I wasn’t sure if she was awake or just responding to my touch. My answer came on the second pass down her jaw line when her eyes fluttered.

“Good morning my lovely, I hate to wake you but you need some breakfast.” Bella sighed and tried to roll over and ignore me but that wasn’t happening. “Come on sleepyhead, I brought you coffee.”

“You did?” I smiled as her eyes met mine.

“Yes I did, in fact I brought you a whole breakfast.”

I watched her close her eyes as her arms came up and she stretched her body, arching her back and forcing her breasts to plunge upwards letting out a small moan which made me groan as my dick twitched and rose to attention.

My predicament must have shown on my face because when she opened her eyes she had a look of concern.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong love.”

Bella startled me by sitting up abruptly, cupping my face letting the blankets fall down around her waist. “You looked like you were in pain.”

I smiled at her placing a kiss on the front of her shoulder and moving across her clavicle, smiling to myself as her breathing hitched. My mouth moved down circling her nipple with my tongue before suckling it in my mouth.

“Mmmm…” Bella hummed running her fingers through my hair. Her pleasure turned to disappointment as I pulled away.

“That’s the pain I was in; desire, pure desire. Baby, I want you so badly it hurts.”

“I’m sorry.” She sounded so dismal I couldn’t help the deep laugh that came forth.

“Baby, that’s nothing to be sorry about.” It took a few seconds to pull myself together and stop laughing. “Come on, the coffee’s getting cold.” I was still shaking my head grinning as I placed the make-shift tray of food on her lap.

“Are you laughing at me?” Bella asked handing me my coffee.

“I sure am,” her questioning glance made me continue, “Bella, you are the only person I know who would apologize for giving me a fucking hard on.”

She smirked rolling her eyes before taking a drink of her own coffee.

“This was nice of you,” she said nodding to the spread of food before us.

“Well, I figured this is one way to make sure you eat, I’ll just keep you in bed until I’m satisfied you had enough nourishment.”

“I eat Edward; you don’t have to worry about that.” She answered popping the top off a muffin. She did eat, just not enough and I was sure when I saw her journal tonight there would be some chastisement that would need to occur.

We settled there on the bed eating and talking about the upcoming day. Her day was busy; I was going to meet with Emmett for lunch and then head over to the college to clean out my office. We also talked about the weekend, she was still anxious about the whole modified issue and I was beginning to understand that it wasn’t so much that she was afraid of messing up, it was more of an attitude problem. She was going to need something to keep her in the right frame of mind, a small task or denial of some privilege that would remind her that even though we were not alone, she was still under my control. I assured her that all would be well and I think I knew what I was going to do.

Before too long it was close to eight o’clock so while Bella dressed I took care of clean up and feeding Seth. She came in the kitchen in her work out clothes with her hair in a pony tail carrying that hideous pink bag.

“Edward, am I staying at your house tonight?”

I shrugged, having not thought about it. “That would be easier, why?”

“I know you said that Seth could come on the weekends, but...”

I knew what she wanted and I answered her before she could ask. “Bring him Bella, or if you would like I could take him now and he could go on my run with me?”

“He likes to run, if you don’t mind?”

“If I did mind I wouldn’t have offered. I like Seth, he’s a good dog. Did you decide what you are going to do with him this weekend?” I asked tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

“Leah’s going to keep him Saturday.” I nodded leaning in for a quick kiss, Bella let her bag slide to the floor then wrapped her arms around my neck, and before I knew it my brief kiss turned into a heated fervor. Bella’s lips parted as my tongue ran across her bottom lip. Her breathing increased and she draped her leg around my thigh. My hands ran down her back to cup her bottom, lifting her while she wrapped both legs around my hips, grinding her sex into my crotch making me groan in her mouth.

When she pulled back there was a smirk on her face and she wiggled her sex over my dick. My hips thrust forward in an attempt to satisfy the need I was feeling.

“Are you in pain again?” It took me a second to realize she was asking me something and my answer came out in a hiss, “Yesss.”

Bella’s eyebrows raised and she got this devilish smile on her face as her legs released their grasp from around my hips.

“Good.”

What did she just say? “Good?”

“Uh-huh, now you’ve got something to remember me by,” and she giggled. She fucking giggled.

If she could have, I had no doubt in my mind Bella would have walked out the door leaving me there. However, she failed to remember that I still had her ass cradled in my hands and her feet were about three inches off the floor, and my girl wanted to be a tease? Well, two can play at that game.

“Something to remember you by?” I asked her, looking into her eyes. There must have been some kind of change on my face because Bella swallowed hard biting her bottom lip then looked at me through her eyelashes as she nodded once. Yeah. It was too late for that innocence act.

Within a heartbeat Bella was set on her feet, bent over the counter and her pants and panties down around her knees. Before I even registered what I was doing I had both her hands seized in my left one while my arm lay on her back to keep her securely against the counter.

The first swat hit dead center on her right cheek, and a moan came out her, “Ahhhh…” my dick throbbed at the sound and I thought I would let her know that her teasing was working.

“You’re making me harder Isabella,” I said by her ear as I placed another swat on her backside.

“Mmmmm…”

“Keep it up Isabella, I wouldn’t want you to be disappointed,” two quick swats landed on her and she sucked in a breath. I stood up taking in the sight before me and running my hand over the soft slightly pink skin before placing two more quick swats on each check.

“Ooohhhh…”

I ground my dick into her hip so she could feel how hard I was. “See what you do to me? Let me hear you Isabella.” My hand came down again and when I rubbed the spot I just struck, her ass wiggled against my hand and she sighed.

“You can do better than that. Come on; give me something to remember you by.” My hand came down rapidly two more times before slipping down between her slick folds and plunging deep inside her.

“Ungh Edward,” she gasped sucking in a breath.

“Well, my little pet does get wet, doesn’t she?” Bella didn’t answer she just stayed in the position I placed her in withering under my control. She was glorious and if I had the time I would have taken back to bed and fucked her.

Bella started moaning loudly and clinching her muscles around my fingers, so I removed them smirking at her disappointed groan then swatted her bottom once more. “Pleeeaassee….?”

“Please what Isabella?” I wasn’t sure what she was asking for.

“More,” the word came out in a hushed whispered plea.

“More what? I’ve told you to be specific.” My hand ran over her now heated bottom and I grinned when I heard Bella’s answer.

“Everything…please?”

Satisfied with myself at turning the tables on her little game, I bent over placing a kiss on her lower back before pulling her pants back up, and then turning her to look at me. The flush on her face and the gleam in her eyes was not hard to understand. My girl was worked up and feeling the heat of desire rushing through her.

“Sorry my pet, you are going to have to wait. I just wanted to give you something to remember me by.” I held her bottom firmly pulling her to me for another kiss, the muscles clinched under my hands and I squeezed a little firmer, eliciting another moan from her.

When our lips parted Bella held my gaze. “That wasn’t very nice of me was it?”

There was actual sorrow in her voice and I shook my head in agreement, “no it wasn’t. Although, I did enjoy the after-effects.”

I followed her out the back door placing Seth in my car, then moving to Bella just as she was getting behind the wheel. Squatting down I leaned over to kiss her. “Be careful driving there is someone I love in this car.”

Bella spun her body so she faced me, then she took ahold of my face with both her hands; she was gazing into my eyes, searching for something.

“You really love me.” It wasn’t a question it was a statement, like she had to repeat it to herself. I remained quiet as I watched her eyes slowly come to that realization and a huge smile spread across her face.

“You didn’t just say it last night to make me feel better, you really mean it.”

Of course I meant it. I had never felt about anyone the way I do about her, and for a second I wondered if she just said she loved me as a response until her next words left her mouth. “Edward, I love you, it seems so surreal, but I do.” I smiled at her and before I could say anything she spoke again, “you love me and yet you spanked me?”

I nodded in agreement, “I did, because you needed a spanking and who else was going to do it?”

A huge smile spread across her face, I was going to ask what it was for but she told me. “Our usual, just got better didn’t it?”

I chuckled, “Baby, our usual just got fantastic.”

She let out a girly giggle that made me grin.

I kissed her one more time then stood while she sat back into the car before I shut her door.

Running with Seth turned out to be a better experience than I thought it would. He never ran ahead of me or fell behind; he stayed right along side of me at a nice pace. Having him along was like company and I just might ask Bella if she wouldn’t mind me bringing him more often. I was never an animal person, the only ones we ever had growing up was an occasional fish. Emmett was always trying to talk mom and dad into letting him get a snake or an alligator; yeah, like that was ever going to happen. One summer I remember Alice begging to get a kitten, but me? No, animals always seemed to be more trouble than they were worth, but just as I had changed my perspective on the presence of a woman in my daily life I was also changing my perspective on a dog. I wasn’t sure if all dogs were like Seth or if he was just exceptional-like his owner.

When we got back to my house I got Seth some water and food before I took a shower. He was standing by the back door when I came into the kitchen to get a bottle of water; so while he was outside doing his business I sat on the patio and called Emmett to see what time he wanted to meet.

I had a few hours so I decided to head over to my office and get that done, that way I would have the afternoon free. There were a few last minute things I needed to do in the playroom and since it was so nice out I decided to grill seafood for dinner, which would mean a trip to the store.

Emmett was waiting for me at the diner, they had already seated him and when I sat down the waitress was right there to take my drink order.

“Did you get your office done?”

I nodded to his question, “yeah, there wasn’t much to do, just remove all the files and get them organized and boxed. How is Rose feeling?”

“Much better actually, that bracelet thing that little Bella suggested really worked.”

I smiled at the mention of Bella and a thought crossed my mind. “Why do you keep calling her little Bella? She’s not that tiny.”

Emmett shrugged putting down his menu. “It’s more of the way she carries herself, like she has the weight of the world on her and she doesn’t want anyone to see her because she is afraid of making a mistake. But her true self shines through like a little beacon, blinking out to those around her. Besides, she’s been through so much and has been so strong I think she needs to be reminded that she can relax sometimes and just be ‘little Bella’ and let the weight go, allow someone else take care of her for a change.”

I thought about what he said and he was more right then he could imagine.

“She’s a little spit-fire isn’t she?” He asked me, noticing that I was thinking about her.

I grinned at his question thinking about this morning and her little attempt to tease me. “She definitely has her moments.”

The waitress came to take our order and the conversation turned to this weekend. I explained to Emmett my plans to come Saturday morning. He said that Rose would be calling Bella to make plans for meals and stuff like that.

“I’m going to the club early Sunday night just for a few hours. Cameron is doing a demonstration and I want Bella to see it…,” the waitress came with our food and when she left I asked him, “did you see all the shit that is being said on Club Talk?”

Emmett shook his head while he put ketchup on his burger. “I don’t go on that thing, but I can only imagine what is being said. After you left on Saturday night a few women came up to talk to Rose about what was going on with you. She told them it was none of their business, but maybe that was the wrong thing to do; that might have just added fuel to the fire.”

I laughed taking a drink to wash down the bite of wrap. “Fire? It’s a fucking inferno. I don’t care what they say about me, but I’ll be damned if I let them belittle Isabella. She doesn’t fucking deserve that simply because she’s happens to be with me. I was livid when Jane told me about this on Monday, especially after all that shit went down with Caius and Irena….”

Emmett broke into my train of thought, “What happened?”

I proceeded to tell my bother what happened at my home.

“Are you serious, what the hell got into them, and why in the world would Caius think that you would let him train Bella? Doesn’t he have any fucking eyes?” I was taken aback by that comment because I didn’t understand what he meant. He must have seen the confusion on my face because he rolled his eyes at me.

“Oh, come on Edward! Anyone that looks at you two can tell you’re totally infatuated with her. You can deny it, but my God, it’s as plain as day.”

“My not infatuated with Isabella…” Emmett sighed shoving some fries in his mouth. “…I’m in love with her.” He smiled and just kept chewing. “You don’t seem surprised?”

He shook his head shrugging, “I knew that first day we were all at Alice’s that little Bella had gotten under your skin. It was just a matter of time until you realized it. I’m just surprised you were smart enough to do it so soon.” He added the last part with a cocky look on his face. His statement made me think of something that had been eating at me.

“You don’t think we’re rushing?”

He raised his eyebrows, “we?”

I grinned nodding my head while taking a drink.

“When did this happen?”

“Last night?” My answer came out as a question because I was perplexed by why he was asking.

“Last night? You couldn’t wait another week?”

“What? Why?...” then it dawned on me. “You guys were betting on our relationship?”

Emmett stared at me like it was no big deal. “Yes, and I totally lost. That’s why I really wanted you two to come up to the cabin, I was going to push you into it, but nooo, you got to go and jump the gun. Now we each owe dad fifty bucks.”

“Dad?” I suppose I should have been mad, but I just couldn’t get over the hilarity of my family betting on my love life.

Emmett sighed, “oh well, I guess I still have a chance with the wedding.”

“Wedding? Are you all betting on our first born too?” I sighed shaking my head in disbelief “I guess you don’t think we are rushing then.”

“Only by a week my man, but other than that, no. You are both adults, you both know what you had before and what you have now, and your both old enough to know the difference. You would be a fool to let little Bella slip away from you.”

“Thanks.”

We talked briefly about Aro going on vacation and decided that since there were a few weeks until that event occured, we had time to discuss that later. Emmett needed to get back to work as his lunch and free period was just about over. I paid for the meal telling him it was the least I could do for not waiting a week to declare my love to Bella so he could win the bet.

I had just left the fish market when my phone rang; it was the head gambler himself. “Hi dad.”

“Hello Edward, is Bella with you?” His voice had an edge to it.

“No, Bella is at the center.” My father sighed heavily. “Dad?”

“She was here, but something happened and she ran out. That was a several hours ago; I just thought maybe you might have talked to her.”

“What do you mean she ran out of there, where did she go? Did you try and call her?” I could hear the panic build in my voice.

“I’m not sure son, here talk to Carol, she knows more than I do about what happened.” It seemed to take forever for her to get on the phone.

“Hello Edward, I don’t really know very much. There was some sort of mix up over the weekend and one of the hotline volunteers gave out Bella’s personal number. She shouldn’t have done that; but Bella was only slightly upset when she went to her office. Then about twenty minutes later she ran by my door saying that she had to go that it was an emergency and she would explain when she came back. That was at eleven-fifteen.”

I looked at my watch, “it’s after two?”

“I know, that was why I had Carlisle call you. She’s not answering her phone and I thought maybe you might have heard from her?”

“No. I haven’t heard from her all day. Let me check her house, maybe she just wasn’t feeling well and went home.” I knew I was grasping at straws, but I just couldn’t imagine where she would have gone.

“Please let me know if you find her.” If I find her? I told her I would call her back as soon as I checked the house. I immediately pushed Bella’s number--it went right to voice mail. “Bella, Carol called; she said you left and she is worried about you. Baby, call me.”

I headed over to Bella’s; the garage was closed so I went inside to check, and I half expected to find her sprawled out in the bathtub. But the house was empty and I hadn’t heard from her so I tried again, getting the same response. “Bella, I need you to call me ASAP.” I also sent the same message in a text.

I drove by my house, although I knew it was locked and she didn’t have a key I thought maybe she might be waiting there for me. I tried her number again; it still went straight to voice mail. I spoke in a firmer tone. “Baby you are starting to worry me; I need to know where you are.”

There was one more place I could think of to check and as I pulled in front of Leah and Jakes, I debated, because I didn’t want to upset Leah but I needed to know if she had seen or heard from Bella. I knocked at the door but no one answered. I waited a minute knocking once more but no one was home. I was starting to get tense and feeling slightly panicky. I kept telling myself that she was fine, but until I knew that for sure my nerves just wouldn’t calm down.

One more time I called Bella’s number, getting her voice mail. I was stern and demanding, “Isabella, you had better call me very soon!”

It was close to three o’clock when I called my father back and he said that they still hadn’t heard from her. I told him I was coming over to the center, maybe she left something there that would tell me where she went. When I got there I called my dad and he met me at the front gate that ran along side of the building leading into the courtyard where I first kissed Bella.

The building itself seemed so normal on the outside, but it was protected like a fortress with two steel doors that you had to pass through before getting inside. Mt father led me down a long hallway past the infirmary and into a large open space with several offices that surrounded the perimeter. Carol came out of the large office along the east wall.

“Hello Edward. I really am sorry to have to bother you. This is just not like Bella to be gone without any word and she missed a one o’clock counseling session. I just can’t imagine where she would be, or why she hasn’t phoned.” The worry in her voice was plain and it was making me even more anxious.

“I don’t know what you’re going to find in here, but you’re more than welcome to look.” She led me to the office that was directly in front of the hallway. There was a large wooden desk in the middle of the north wall with a black leather office chair pushed to the side. In front of the desk sat two wooden chairs. Two overstuffed wing chairs sat in the far corner with a small round table in front of them with only a box of tissues on it. The west wall held four large file cabinets. With a single poster above them that read ‘When you need something to believe in – Start with yourself. ’

When I got to her desk I pulled the chair over to sit down. Staring at me from the corner were several small framed pictures of her family, the largest was a five by seven picture of a beach with the sun setting behind it. Bella had left half a cup of coffee sitting next to her closed journal. I opened it up to the last page she had written, it was dated from today and all it said was, ‘I don’t know how I got so lucky…’

I looked for a note pad that might have an address or a phone number, but there was absolutely nothing. Making my way back over to Carol’s office I asked her who gave out Bella’s number and did the woman remember who she had given it to. Carol was in the middle of explaining what had happened when her phone rang.

“Oh My God Bella! Where the hell are you?” Oh thank God, a feeling of relief washed over me as I listened to the one sided conversation.

“Yes, Carlisle is here…You’re not supposed to do that!” Carol was kind of adamant about something.

“Can she walk?...Alright, I’ll bring Gail and Carlisle and we’ll meet you in the garage…How much blood is there?” Alright, I was starting to calm down until I heard that - who the fuck is bleeding?

“Oh shit!…alright…five minutes.” When Carol hung up it was clear that she was also relieved. “She went to pick someone up; you heard she’ll be here in a few minutes. Excuse me; I need to get people to help.”

“Can I do anything?” I asked following her out into the hallway where she told my father what had happened.

Dad handed me a paper smock and plastic gloves, “Edward, you can carry her up the steps better than I can.”

Another woman had joined us and Carol introduced her as Gail, we didn’t get a chance to say anything because there was a beep and then Carol led the way through the door next to her office down the stairs and into a large underground parking area.

Bella’s car was just pulling to a stop towards the back. She didn’t look up; her attention was focused on the back seat and as we got closer I could see the woman who was in the passenger side. She seemed taller than Bella, she was very pale and thin with glasses. Bella had gotten out of the car and was holding open the rear door talking to whoever was in there. I didn’t see anyone at first, but then I heard the crying, it was a child.

Dad opened the passenger door squatting down. “Hi Sally, I’m Dr. Cullen, do you remember me?”

“Yes.” Her voice was weak and pitiful and I remembered what Bella had said; that people either pity the victim or blame them. I could see how the pity could be possible and I tried to fight back that urge, I didn’t want to add to this woman’s burden.

Dad went on with his questioning-asking what hurt, if she had lost consciousness, how long ago the injuries occurred. I still didn’t see any injuries as my attention was split between my father and the three women on the other side of the car.

The little girl was screaming in Gail’s arms, and Bella was leaning over the seat talking to another child, a boy, in a hushed calm tone and I couldn’t make out anything she was saying until finally I heard, “That’s my big man, come on, your mom will be fine.” Bella’s eyes never moved away from the boy as she talked.

“Dr. Cullen, Joey is worried about his mom. Is she going to be alright?”

“I believe so; I need to get your mom upstairs so I can look at her better. Joey you go with Bella and wait for your mom. Edward is going to carry her up the steps.”

“Edward?” Bella’s voice was surprised; she finally caught my eye and she smiled sadly before giving her attention back to the child. “Come on Joey, help me with Nicky and let Dr. Cullen and Edward take care of your mom.” He must have decided to comply because Bella backed out of the car and he followed shutting the door.

I watched as Bella held her hands out, “Gail give me Nicky, Joey hold Gail’s hand and we’re going to go upstairs and get something to eat.” Nicky had seemed to calm down a little as Bella stroked her back. “Ok, let’s go.”

As the four of them started to move, Carol now joined us. “How are you doing Sally?”

Sally shrugged but didn’t answer, only wincing when my dad squeezed her ankle and she sucked in a deep breath as dad swung her around so her feet were outside of the car. I put on the gloves and paper smock then bent to lift her up. For her height Sally weighed less then Bella, and I could now see her split lip and that her hair in the back of her head was matted with dried blood. Her eyes had dark circles underneath them like she was healing from a broken nose. We walked slowly; I didn’t want to jostle her too much as I had no clue what the extent of her injuries were. Once upstairs I placed her on the exam table in the infirmary then removed the paper smock and gloves and as I was leaving Sally thanked me.

Bella was in Carol’s office having a rather heated discussion from what I could tell. I can understand why Bella felt the need to go get Sally, and I could also understand Carol’s view of the dispute; and frankly I was leaning more toward Carol’s end.

While I sat at her desk I paged through Bella’s journal, looking over the assignment that I had given her on Sunday and the last few paragraphs caught my attention.
There are many other reasons why communication is important to our relationship. But to this girl the most important is to rid herself of the fear. She never realized how easy it was to close herself off, to disregard any and all happiness. Depending upon herself as a substitute for a real life with someone, pretending it didn’t matter. Telling herself that she didn’t need to embrace someone in order to have a fulfilling life.
Now she sees that’s not true, but she is still afraid of so many unknowns. The difference is that now, she is at least willing to admit that she needs someone else, even though that thought scares her so much. This girl realizes that the only way to rid herself of the fear she feels is through clear, candid communication with her Master.
She was opening herself up as I had hoped; and there were a few other points in the essay that we would be addressing later. I skimmed over the writing Bella had done on her own early yesterday morning my mind coming to focus on a particular passage.

I spent my whole life taking care of someone, I can’t say that I resent the fact that at the age of ten I was solely responsible for most of the household chores or by thirteen I was balancing my father’s check book. It made me independent and mature. I never had to explain why I wanted something or come up with reasons. So tonight when Edward asked me why I wanted to speak with Jane about my submission to him, I was surprised to find that there was a sense of security that surrounded me as I basically pleaded to be allowed to do something. I believe that comes from the fact that if the decision is not mine then any fault that might come to bare is not mine either and that fact alone relieves me of so much pressure that I am free to just unwind without agonizing over making the decision and that was something I was never before able to be, free.

As I thought about the last line I remembered what Emmett had said at lunch. I couldn’t remember word for word but it went along with what she had written. He said something along the lines of, ‘She carries the weight of the world but she is so afraid of making a mistake that she tries to hide. But she can’t because her true self shines through and that scares her.’

Emmett basically said the same thing she did with his comment that Bella needs to be reminded that she can relax, and let it go, and allow someone else to be in control. That would help her with her fear, and she admitted the same thing in her writing.

People can say whatever they want about my brother; he might be brash and downright incongruous at times, but his heart is always in the right place and he can read people better than anyone I know.

“Hey.” Bella’s soft voice made me look up.

“You alright baby?”

When her eyes met mine, they were weary. Her movements were slow and calculated as she came towards me.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m sorry I worried you.” I sighed shutting her journal pulling her into my lap, just needing to feel her in my arms. “We’ll talk about that later.

My dad came to her door and knocked, Bella stood as he came in the room. “I don’t believe her ankle is broken but without an x-ray I won’t be sure for a few days. Her ribs are bruised and she needed five stitches on the back of her head and three inside her lip.”

“Thanks Carlisle.”

“You’re welcome. Now, how are you?” He asked placing his hands on her arms, I couldn’t see her but she sniffled so I knew she was fighting back tears.

“I’m fine.” Bella said with a nod, my dad eyed her skeptically.

“You did good today Bella,” and before the praise could settle in he scolded, “don’t you ever do it again.”

“I know.”

“Do you?” he asked with a firm voice. Bella didn’t answer she just nodded and then his arms wrapped around her in a fatherly embrace while her face was buried in his chest. Dad looked at me then whispered something in her ear, while she silently nodded to whatever he was saying. Finally she giggled and snorted making my father chuckle. When he stood back up he eyed me again then winked. I don’t know if I fucking liked that.

Bella took a step back then gasped. “Oh no, Esme is going to kill you, going home with mascara on your shirt!”

But my father didn’t seem too concerned about it. I stood behind Bella, running my hands down her arms.

“You ready to go home baby?”

“Yeah,” she answered with a sigh.

Bella went in to tell Carol she was leaving, and I turned to my father, “by the way, Jasper and Emmett each owe you fifty bucks.” He looked at me in confusion and I raised my eyebrows waiting for him to understand; after a few seconds it must have dawned on him because he smiled widely.

“Well that’s good to know, your mother will be happy to hear that.” He then reached into his pocket for his wallet and handed me a hundred dollars. “You two go out for dinner on your brothers.” I smirked at him and when Bella came out we left. She left her car there in the garage; we would get it tomorrow morning before her doctors’ appointment. Once we were in my car and driving I glanced at her realizing she looked beat.

“We could skip our session tonight baby, you had a rough day.”

“I’d rather not Edward, I want to take a shower, and eat, and then I really need some of our...usual.”