Chapter 2: Breathe

Chapter 2:Breathe



'Cause I can feel you breathe
It's washing over me
Suddenly I'm melting into you
There's nothing left to prove
Baby all we need is just to be’
Breathe by Faith Hill


BPOV

“Hey, Isabella. I’m Elizabeth Masen, and I’m in charge of Teen Hope Home.” Elizabeth stuck out her hand and I nervously shook it. She couldn’t hurt me, right?

“It’s Bella, actually.” She smiled in understanding.

“Welcome to Teen Hope. We’re part of the organisation that has a site just above Seattle. Our house here however, is more of a permanent home to teenagers who run away, or whose parents are no longer able to take care of them, as in your case.”

They couldn’t take care of me? You have got to be kidding me. They didn’t fucking want me! They were dumping me, after ripping me apart so I would never be whole again.


“I hear that your parents are moving across to Europe. Maybe we can pay for you to go stay with them for a while during the summer.”

Europe? They were moving to Europe? They hadn’t mentioned a word. Was that what they were just telling the care home? So they seemed less evil? I wanted to sit down and cry.

“My husband, Edward Mason, is our ‘chef’ in a very loose sense of the word.” A tall man with dark hair waved from the corner of the room where he stood. I lifted my hand up in a quick gesture but looked down at the ground quickly, sweeping my hair forward to hide me from everyone.

“This is Carlisle Cullen, he helps me with the running of this place. He’s also our first aider.” Carlisle was blonde and pale. He smiled at me kindly from where he stood.

“And this is Renee Dwyer. She will be your social worker.” The woman moved forward and shook hands with me and then Victoria and James.

“Oh! I almost forgot. Esme Cullen is getting the young people ready to meet you, making them look vaguely presentable, you know?” I smiled slightly again, though I kept my eyes to the floor. “Now, Bella, would you be okay with Carlisle showing you your room while I have a talk with your parents?”

Yes I had a problem. I couldn’t be alone with him. What if he was like James? I looked up at him and he was smiling. Someone who looked so nice couldn’t be like him, could he? I nodded blindly and let fate take its course. I went over to my suitcases and started to pick them up, but Carlisle stopped me.

“Don’t do that Bella, I’ll get them.”I nodded then quickly glanced at my parents; Victoria narrowed her eyes slightly, but I knew I was the only person who would notice. Carlisle picked them up and left the room. I followed behind, making sure to keep some distance between us. He led me up a flight of stairs and along a corridor. I counted three doors on either side before he stopped. He pushed the door on the left and motioned for me to go in. I walked in, making sure not to get anywhere near him. There was a bed against the opposite wall, a wardrobe, a chest of drawers and a mirror. The carpet and the walls were white. It looked much cleaner than where I stayed before. But sterile. It looked like a hospital. That scared me.

“Esme, and no doubt Alice, will take you shopping tomorrow to choose paint and stuff.” He put the suitcases down and turned back to me.

“Who’s Alice?”

“She’s one of our young people. She’s a shopping addict.” For the third time that day I smiled nervously and looked back at the floor.

“Bella, are you okay?” I looked up to see Carlisle walking towards me. I started panicking, and my breath hitched. I backed away and felt my back hit the wall. Carlisle kept walking till he was right in front of me. He’s going to hit me. No! I thought I would get away! Please! I couldn’t believe this was happening. I thought that by moving here I would leave this behind.

“Bella, I won’t hurt you,” he whispered. He sounded sincere but I couldn’t be sure. I could never be sure anymore.

“You don’t know that.” I looked him straight in the eye and he seemed to back off.

“Come on. Let’s go back down.” He went ahead of me, seeming to realise that I didn’t like him near me. It wasn’t that I couldn’t be near him, I was just too scared of him being another James. I couldn’t trust him.

When we were back outside Elizabeth’s office, Carlisle knocked on the door.

“Come on in you two,” Elizabeth called. I walked in behind Carlisle and flinched when I saw Victoria. She mouthed the word ‘slut’ at me and I quickly looked back at the ground. They couldn’t do anything to me here, could they? I tried to wipe my face of all emotion, knowing my terror would attract attention. And it did.

“You okay, Bella?” Carlisle looked at me sideways and I nodded quickly, making my face even blanker.

“I’m fine!” I said slightly too fast and high pitched.

“Bella! Apologise to Mr. Cullen now. That was a disgraceful tone. We may let you off with that at home but not somewhere else,” Victoria scolded me, her voice hissing into my ears. My chin dropped to my chest as I felt my cheeks heat up. She had to have a go at me, and now everyone here would hate me.

“Sorry, Carlisle,” I whispered so quietly they would have had to strain their ears to hear me. I moved my hair to cover my embarrassment and to hide the tears that filled my eyes.

“Bella! It’s Mr. Cullen to you.” My cheeks grew redder, and Carlisle looked sideways at me and then at Victoria. Then he folded his arms and glared at Victoria.

“And it’s Dr. Cullen to you!” Carlisle said to her. I almost laughed when I saw her face. She was completely horrified.

“S...s...sorry D...Dr Cullen,” Victoria managed to stammer out. Carlisle looked at me again and winked slyly. I gave him a small smile but quickly went back to my hiding place behind my hair. Elizabeth coughed and stood up.

“Anyway, you can say your goodbyes and then Bella can meet everyone who lives here and get a tour of the house. Would you like a minute alone?” She seemed to ask this cautiously, as if already aware of a discord within her family but without knowing enough to intervene.

Victoria jumped in immediately.

“Yes please! That would be lovely.” Elizabeth stood up, as did the others still in the room. Carlisle looked back at me and hesitated in the doorway before a sharp tug from someone pulled him outside.

Victoria and James stood up and beckoned me to them. Victoria put her hand on my shoulder and dug her nails in. I tried to get away from her grip, but she was holding too tight.

“Good riddance, Bella. One day I will get you again, do you understand? You’re not free.” She narrowed her eyes at me and went to the door to wait for James.

“Bella, I swear to God if you tell anyone what happened I will kill you, and anyone who gets in the way,” he said in a low voice. He brought his hand up and caressed my cheek. I flinched away and let out a whimper, trembling. He glared at me and brought his hand up to hit me properly, but Victoria grabbed his fist.

“You can’t, you idiot! Not here!” He released his grip on my cheek, growling loudly. I was still trembling when they gave me one last look before stalking to the door. I followed after them, trying to stop shaking, but I couldn’t. I wasn’t safe. They would come back and I couldn’t even tell anyone. If I did they would kill me. I went out the door and Carlisle was looking at me strangely. He knew what had just happened. He must have heard me whimper. I went pale and dropped my eyes to the floor again, begging him silently not to say anything. Elizabeth led them to the door and then they were gone. Renee left as well.

“I’ll be back soon, Bella!” she said before following James and Victoria out the house.

Carlisle and Elizabeth led me along the corridor while Edward went along to what I assumed was the kitchen. They took me to a large living room. I looked around in interest, seeing portraits on the walls, obviously drawn by someone here. The room was a warm yellow and was very bright. I quickly dropped my eyes to the floor in case someone noticed me gawking. I raised my eyes slightly more to see some people my age standing across the room. There were 8 of them. A beautiful woman was coming across the room towards me and held out her arms to hug me. She had a brilliant smile and light brown wavy hair; this must be Esme.

“Hey, Isabella! I’m Esme.” She smiled warmly at me, and I couldn’t help but smile back. For the first time in months I felt lighter, like the weight from my shoulders had lifted slightly, all because one person had smiled properly at me. I moved my eyes back to the people across from me. They seemed to be in two separate groups.

“It’s Bella.”

“Sorry.” She smiled at me, and I smiled back nervously.

A tiny girl with short spiky hair stepped forward first and ran to hug me. I giggled slightly at her over-the-top manner.

“I’m Alice, and you and I are going shopping tomorrow! Please tell me you like shopping?” She said all of this so quick that I could barely understand her.

“Um, I’ve never really been.” I looked back at the ground, my smile sliding quickly from my face. Victoria had never allowed me to go shopping. I wasn’t allowed anything that I wanted, she would buy me all my clothes. Luckily she bought long sleeved, unrevealing tops. I chanced a look back up at Alice. She looked...surprised?

“You’ve never been shopping?” she said slowly, pronouncing each syllable. I shook my head and let my hair fall back over my face.

“Why not?” There is was, the question I didn’t want to answer.

“Um, I...I just haven’t.” I looked up again, and she was smiling.

“I can show you everything then!” she squealed. Okay, Alice seemed extremely hyper and it seemed to be having a slight affect on me. I smiled at her, and she smiled back. She reached back and pulled a blonde curly haired guy forward.

“This is Jasper.” He smiled at me and lifted his hand up. I flinched backwards slightly, terrified he was going to slap me but he just wanted to shake my hand. My cheeks went red as I took his hand.

“Sorry,” I muttered quietly, looking back at the ground. His grip was too tight around my hand and I shook a little before tearing my hand away and gripping both of mine together. I tried to tell myself that he wasn’t going to do anything to me. His face was friendly and he seemed to have an aura of calm about him. I relaxed minutely when I looked at his apologetic face. Only minutely though. I still wasn’t safe.

“You don’t know what you’ve gotten yourself into, Bella. After tomorrow, believe me, you will never want to shop again,” he drawled in a Texan accent, trying to put me at ease. I smiled slightly, but my muscles were tense and I probably ended up grimacing more than anything else. The other three people who were in Alice and Jasper’s group of sorts came over to us.

“Rosalie.” A stunning blonde girl raised her hand before glaring in the opposite direction. Great. I’d made an enemy already. The boy, or maybe man, standing next to her however was what had my attention. He was so tall and looked freakily scary. My fingers twisted together as my mind fought to give me some confidence.

Don’t run away, Bella. Don’t. Just act calmly.

“Hey! I’m Emmett,” the guy said. He smiled cheekily at me, and my fears dissipated quickly. I couldn’t be scared of someone who smiled like that. He had a similar smile to Alice-you just had to smile back! Someone to the side of Emmett cleared their throat and my gaze moved to the person there. My breath caught in my throat as I looked at him. He had golden brown hair, except it wasn’t brown, it had hints of red in it. It fell sexily into his eyes. His dark green piercing eyes. Looking at them I felt like he already knew everything about me, he was looking into my soul. My eyes blatantly trailed down his body. He was wearing a black shirt with the sleeves rolled up showing his strong forearms. My fingers twitched as they tried to reach out to touch this god, just to check he was real. But my mind shied away from him. Someone so good could only do something horrible. He would hurt me, wouldn’t he? I met his gaze again and he smiled crookedly at me. My knees almost gave way beneath me with the unknown emotions that ran through my body. He reached out and took my hand, shaking it gently, trying not to scare me. My heart started beating faster and I fought to stay in control of my terror. Somehow, I knew then from gazing into his eyes, that this person could not hurt me.

His skin against my own was slightly rough, but silky smooth as well. His grip was warm and my body didn’t want me to let go. He smiled at me.

“I’m Edward, Edward Cullen.” Did that mean that Carlisle and Esme who worked here were his parents? I didn’t dwell on that fact too long, his eyes were all consuming and demanded all my attention. He took my breath away. He still held onto my hand and something weird was flowing between us. I wondered vaguely if he felt it too, but someone coughed and my shield was back up. I dropped his hand and moved backwards. We had gotten closer to each other during the few seconds, though it felt like hours. My eyes fell to the floor again and my hair fell over my face. Suddenly I felt someone’s hand on my cheek and I took a sharp intake of breath. Please don’t hurt me, I thought. I looked up and Edward had his hand out. He tucked my hair behind my ear and brushed his fingers along my cheek. But the feeling didn’t make me want to run away. Now I knew it was him, I felt...safe. There was something I didn’t understand that ran from me into him. I wanted more of it.

“Don’t hide, Bella,” he whispered. His voice. It was like god damned velvet. When he spoke my name, it was like honey falling from his lips.

“Well sorry to break up this lovely gathering!” A cold voice broke me out of my reverie. I looked to Edward’s right. The other ‘group’ was standing there. A blonde at the front had her arms crossed and was glaring at me. Okay make that total of enemy’s up to two.

“I’m Lauren.” She came forward to give me a hug. A fake hug. She dug her fingers into my shoulders and whispered in my ear.

“Edward Cullen is mine.” I could feel my shield growing stronger; my shield that I hid behind, not letting anybody close enough to see the true me; the shield that closed off my life to my eyes. My shield protected me from all the hurt out there. Behind my shield, I didn’t live. I was just there. My eyes were becoming dark and hollow again, and I couldn’t smile; I couldn’t try and put on a face for everybody else. This girl didn’t know what she had just done to me. I was well acquainted with nails, mainly Victoria’s. I found myself wishing that this Lauren had to go through what I had. She would never hurt anyone then.

“Jessica.” A bored looking girl waved her hand from where she was. The last person was a guy. He had spiked up blonde hair and was leering at me. My eyes grew wide as he came towards me.

“I’m Mike.” He put his arm round my shoulder and slapped me on the back. I jumped away from him, my eyes filling with tears. I moved backwards until there was a least two metres between us. He had hit me. I stood shaking while the Mike looked at me like I was crazy. I looked around, and everyone else was looking at me with the same expression. Except Edward. He looked at me with concern, which then turned to anger as he turned to Mike. Mike started walking towards me with his hand outstretched. I backed up more until I hit the wall. My breath caught in my throat as I realised I had nowhere to run to. But then Edward stepped in front of me, blocking Mike from getting to me.

“Leave her alone you asshole, can’t you see she’s fucking scared of you?” he growled in a low voice. I let out a breath when I realised I was safe from him.

“I just wanted to apologise,” he retorted. Edward gave him a shove on the shoulder.

“Well don’t, okay?” His eyes were like daggers, stabbing at Mike when he looked at him. Mike held up his hands in defeat and walked over to his entourage. Everyone looked back at me and my cheeks grew hot. I realised my hands were still clenched in fists. I released them, taking a deep breath and looking at the ground.

“Bella, are you okay?” I looked up and Edward was standing right in front of me. I looked into his eyes and nodded slowly.

“Sorry.” My voice came out quieter, and I reddened again. How much attention did I need to bring to myself? He brushed my hair out of my face and neither of us spoke. I was speechless as I looked at him.

And then it all ended. My head was on fire all of a sudden. Nothing caused it; it was just there. I couldn’t breathe. It was so sore. I could hear myself screaming in pain but I couldn’t stop the inhumane noise I was making. My hands were on my head, my eyes scrunched up. The pain was going to kill me. My body twisted and my knees gave way. The room went black before I hit the floor.

EPOV

“Edward, you have to get up! A new girl is arriving today, and the place needs to be looking good! Get up!” I groaned and flung the covers off me.

“I’m up Mom!” My mum was Esme Cullen. Both her and my Dad worked and lived here at Teen Hope Care Home. That meant I had to stay here too. Me and my sister Alice. Alice liked it more than I did. This place was a fucking hole. Most of the people who came here were strange. Lauren for one. She had a fucking obsession with me, and it was getting over the top. No doubt the girl arriving would be just as weird. Every once in a while someone decent would come along. Jasper, Alice’s boyfriend for one, as well as Emmett and Rosalie, a couple my mum had found on the street. We were the permanent group that had lived here for years and weren’t planning on leaving anytime soon. I knew though that Carlisle and Esme had other plans. They were planning on buying us a house. A big one, so that when Alice turned 18 she could come and join us too.

The others kids came and went. There were three of them at the moment: Lauren, Jessica and Mike. Soon to be four. The five of us had grown up together. Esme and Carlisle were the only parents they had ever known. They didn’t want to leave. I think my parents were even thinking of adopting them, but I know nothing so that could be rubbish. I threw some jeans and a t-shirt on and was just two steps out my room when my sister came and marched me straight back.

“Fuck off Alice, I don’t need your help. I’m dressed fine.” She glared at me and carried on looking through my wardrobe.

“Here,” she said curtly, throwing me a shirt.

“Alice,” I groaned, “You know I hate fucking shirts!”

“Yes, but Mom wants you to wear one.” I shook my head at her.

“Tut tut, Alice. It’s Esme and Carlisle here, you should know that by now!” I snorted. Apparently if we called them mum and dad it would make the other fuckers feel like shit. Like I cared. She glared at me and walked out the room. I sighed and put the shirt on, knowing it wasn’t worth a fight. I dragged my ass downstairs and sat at the table across from Jasper. He nodded at me.

“You been Aliced I see?”

I grunted in reply.

“Have you?” He nodded. I shook my head as our topic of conversation came into the room wearing a dress. Fuck, it was like bloody Angelina Jolie was coming. I still didn’t understand why we had to dress up. I mean I don’t think the girl will care much. It will be some fake chick who will no doubt try and do a Lauren with me. Speaking of which, Lauren came through the door. Her eyes lit up as she eyes the seat beside me.

“Shit,” I muttered. Jasper laughed under his breath.

“Morning, Edward,” she said in a low ‘I think I am so sexy but really I sound like a whore with a dick in my fucking throat’ voice. I hate that shit. I grunted in reply. As I was reaching across to get some toast she put her hand on my thigh, extremely close to my goods. I jumped up.

“Will you keep your fucking hands off me?”

“Edward,” Esme warned. I almost groaned. Blah blah blah, watch your language. Easy for her to say, she wasn’t the one getting felt up by a blonde slut. Oh no, you have Doctor Carlisle to do that. I sat back down and glared at Lauren. She got the message and turned round to face Jessica. I sighed and once again reached for some toast. Emmett patted me on the back in understanding. I glared at him and he laughed.

“Calm down, Eddie boy.”

“Do not call me Eddie,” I said through gritted teeth. He raised his hands, the picture of innocence. I grabbed my mug of coffee and swigged it down. Fuck, that felt better.

“Right everyone listen up. Isabella Swan will be arriving at about two. The house has to be clean by then. Alice, she’ll be staying on your floor so can you, you know, ‘befriend’ her of sorts.” Alice nodded, looking excited. She loved it when new people came. I couldn’t care less about this Isabella.

“Lauren, Jessica, and Mike, I want you three to tidy the living room. And I mean tidy. Nothing is to be on the floor. Alice and Rosalie, do you two want to do in here and the kitchen? Emmett, you can do the toilets, and Jasper and Edward I want you two to vacuum. Edward, do downstairs, Jasper, do the stairs and your corridor, including the room Isabella will sleep in. Once you’ve finished eating get started immediately. And I want you in here for lunch at one.”

Emmett groaned.

“How come I have the worst job? It’s not fair.” Nobody replied. I couldn’t be bothered to do anything for one stupid girl. What was so special about her? She was just another kid who was being forced to come here. Having been here so many years, I had lost my sympathy for the people who come. Almost all of the time, they could have fixed their lives by themselves. That’s why they leave almost immediately.

When everyone else started getting up, Jasper and I stayed put while Alice and Rose stood up to start the dishes.

“So, what do you think Swan will be like?” I grunted again. I didn’t care what she’s like.

“You know, Edward, you better not be mean to her. She’s going to be my friend. I’m going to take her shopping,” Alice warned me.

“You know, if you want her to be your friend babe, maybe taking her shopping isn’t the greatest idea.” I laughed at Jasper and nodded in agreement. She hit him with a tea towel. Jasper grabbed her and pulled her onto his lap, kissing her.

“Get a fucking room.”

I stood up when they didn’t stop. “I guess I’ll leave then.”

***

My hands and legs were fucking killing me. Hovering is harder than it looks. It fucking hurts! I slumped onto the sofa when I finished. Lauren came and sat next to me. I groaned and stood up, desperate to get away from her. I quickly left the room and went to the dining room. I sat between Emmett and Jasper so that when Lauren came she couldn’t sit next to me. Smart thinking, Cullen. By half past one, Esme was panicking.

“Edward, hurry up! We need to get it tidied up in here!” I smirked and deliberately started eating slower. She glowered at me, so I sighed and stuffed the rest of the sandwich into my mouth.

“Now, everyone get into the living room. I will do these dishes and then come to make sure you all look okay.” Alice grabbed me from the chair and pushed me to the living room.

“You better be nice, Edward Cullen.” I nodded in agreement. But if she was a bitch, then I wasn’t promising anything. Alice glared at me some more before turning to Jasper. Rosalie was complaining to Emmett about having to get everything ready for this new person. She agreed with me, which was fucking amazing! We didn’t agree on anything. Esme rushed in then.

“Everyone Isabella had arrived! She’s slightly early.” She looked around the room and her gaze fell on me.

“Edward, be nice.”

“Why is everyone picking on me?” I asked her indignantly. Okay, I knew why they were picking on me. I was the ‘bad guy’ of the house. What that really meant was that I didn’t put up with any shit.

“We’re not picking.”

I nodded sarcastically. She sighed and gave up.

“Just behave. That means everyone.”

And then they walked in. And so the show begins, I thought. But then I saw her. She was an angel. I stopped breathing when I saw her. She was beautiful. Her brown hair fell across her face as a cover as she looked at the ground. She looked up when Esme hugged her and I saw her eyes. Holy fuck. Her eyes were deep brown. But they were so sad. They called to me and I felt myself drowning, and she hadn’t even looked at me. She looked so hollow, but there was something in her eyes. Fear.

“Hey, Isabella! I’m Esme,” Esme said when she hugged her, and I saw her smile. She lit up the room. Her eyes seemed to sparkle, yet something still lurked beneath the surface.

“It’s Bella.” I smiled. Bella suited her better.

“Sorry.” Esme apologised to her. Then Alice practically attacked her. I heard her giggle slightly and I swear my heart almost stopped at such a beautiful sound.

“I’m Alice, and you and I are going shopping tomorrow! Please tell me you like shopping? We can have some girl bonding time.” Bella looked overwhelmed and I struggled not to laugh. But her face fell slightly, and I frowned. Why was she so upset?

“Um, I’ve never really been.” There was something more to it though. What the hell had happened to her? Why the fuck was she so scared? Why? Why? Why?

“Why not?” Alice jumped in.

“Um, I...I just haven’t.” I saw something flash in her eyes, but I couldn’t work it out. All I knew was that she was scared, and I would do anything to protect her. And I hadn’t even fucking met her.

“I can show you everything then!” Alice practically burst my eardrums when she squealed. Poor Bella didn’t know what she had gotten in to. Alice reached back and pulled Jasper to her.

“This is Jasper.” You know he does have a mouth Alice! Jasper reached out with his hand, and I saw terror flash over Bella’s face as she flinched backwards slightly. I narrowed my eyes. Who the hell had fucked her up so badly?

“Sorry.” Bella’s cheeks went red and she used her hair as a shield again. She shook Jasper’s hand, but I noticed she was shaking slightly. And then she pulled her hand back and clasped them both together, as if scared that someone would touch them again.

“You don’t know what you’ve gotten yourself into, Bella. After tomorrow, believe me you will never want to shop again.” Bella smiled slightly but, her eyes didn’t light up like before. Her smile was tense. It wasn’t real. When Rosalie and Emmett walked over, I did too. I had to get closer to her.

“Rosalie.” I saw Bella’s face flush and her hands twist. Rosalie was being her usual bitchy self. I fought the urge to growl at her.

“Hey! I’m Emmett.” He smiled at her. At first she seemed terrified when she looked at him but after he smiled she relaxed again and smiled back. A proper smile this time. Emmett made people smile like that. And then she looked at me. Finally. Her eyes blatantly undressed me as she looked me up and down. She finally looked back at my face and I was able to see her gorgeous face. Her eyes were beautiful. She had full red lips, which were just begging for me to kiss them. Her skin was pale and looked smooth. I wanted so much to touch her. I smiled at her and she swayed slightly. Forgetting that she hated it when Jasper shook her hand I reached out to grasp hers, but she met me in the middle. Yes, Edward fucking Cullen was being a gentleman. I was actually fucking shaking her hand. I heard her breath hitch when our skin touched. Unconsciously we had been moving closer together. I could smell her sweet scent. I just wanted to bury my nose in her hair. She was a goddess. I tried not to snort when I realised I hadn’t even told her my name yet.

“I’m Edward, Edward Cullen.” I could see the wheels turning in her head as she made the connection between my parents and I. Then dear old mother had to ruin it. She coughed and Bella went red again. She dropped my hand and moved backward. She looked at the ground again and her hair fell forwards, hiding her beautiful face. I couldn’t stop myself. I reached forwards and my fingers swept her hair out of her face and put it behind her ear. I brushed against her soft skin. I wanted to keep my fingers against her forever. I was in heaven.

“Don’t hide, Bella.” She looked back up at me, her brown eyes staring at me, boring into me and eating at my soul. I vowed then, I would figure Bella out and I would save her from her ever-consuming fear.

“Well sorry to break up this lovely gathering!” I broke Bella’s gaze to turn and glare at Lauren.

“I’m Lauren.” She walked up to Bella and put her hands tightly on Bella’s shoulders and whispered something to her. I could see Bella trembling. What the fuck had she said to her? When Lauren backed off Bella’s eyes were hollow again. Hollow and empty. My heart broke a million times as I looked at her. She looked so broken. I would fucking kill Lauren.

“Jessica.” I heard Jessica speak but I was too absorbed in Bella to take any notice. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. And then fucking Mike came up to her.

“Hi. I’m Mike.” He put an arm round her and slapped her on the back. All of a sudden Bella jumped back from him, petrified, the fear in her eyes obvious. Why the fuck had he hit her? Was she okay? She looked around the room and her gaze fell on me. She was shaking, and I could see tears in her eyes. Then Mike started walking towards her. Bella backed off but she reached the wall and the look in her eyes tore me apart. She was fucking helpless and broken and Mike was fucking terrifying her. Well he wouldn’t fucking touch her. I stepped in front of her, facing Mike.


“Leave her alone you asshole, can’t you see she’s fucking scared of you?” I spat at him.

“I just wanted to apologise,” he retorted. I shoved him back.

“Well don’t, okay?” I growled. He would not hurt her. He held up his hands and back off. I turned round to face Bella. She was staring at the floor again, her hair hiding her again. I moved till I was right in front of her.

“Bella are you okay?” She looked up at me and nodded.

“Sorry.” Why the fuck was she apologising? I didn’t say anything though. I just tucked her hair behind her ear again so I could see her. When she looked at me, time stood still. All I could see was her and her beautiful eyes. Fuck those eyes. They were going to kill me.

And then she started screaming. Her hands reached for her head.

“Fuck.” I didn’t know what to do. Her body twisted and her knees gave way. I caught her and abruptly she stopped screaming. I looked down at her. Her eyes were closed but she was still breathing.

“Edward put her on the sofa,” Carlisle told me. I placed her down as Esme herded everyone else out. He placed his hand on her forehead.

“Edward she’s scorching. Go get me a cool wet cloth.” I ran out of the room shaking and was back within 10 seconds. I dropped down beside her and stroked her cheek. We waited, the other adults behind us. Come on Bella, wake up. I repeated this in my head, waiting for her eyes to open. 5 minutes later they did. I breathed a sigh of relief as she looked up at us in confusion.

“You fucking scared me, Bella,” I whispered. I continued to stroke her cheek and she smiled slightly at me.

“How do you feel, Bella? What happened?” Carlisle asked her. I helped her sit up properly and watched as her eyes danced back to her previous fear.

BPOV

I looked around the adults waiting for an answer. My gaze wandered back to Edward’s and he smiled slightly. He took my hand and began stroking that with his thumb, instead of my cheek.

“I...I...don’t know. I just felt this pain in my head. It’s gone now.” Carlisle looked at me in confusion.

“Has this happened before?” I nodded.

“Has anything happened to you that could have caused recurring pain? An injury at school? A fall?” I looked into Edward’s eyes and then looked away.

“No.” That was a lie. I knew what had caused this, but I couldn’t tell them. Not now, not ever.

A few months ago, James had come in drunk. He’s come up to my room and thumped my head against the wall 17 times. One for each year, he said. One for each year since I’d ruined his life.

I looked back at Edward. His eyes were narrowed and I looked away quickly. He knew I was lying. He could tell.

“Look, I’m fine! It’s over.” Edward squeezed my hand, and I looked back at him. He smiled at me again, that crooked smile that had nearly brought me to my knees. Suddenly, I felt like I wanted to kiss him. I wanted to so bad. I coughed and looked away quickly but the electricity was still there and I couldn’t get away from it. I looked up. Carlisle was staring weirdly at Edward and Edward was staring back. Okay so they definitely were father and son.

“Edward,” Esme said slowly.

“Why don’t you give Bella a tour while I talk to the others about what just happened?” I reddened, embarrassed that I had to be discussed. I was a head case. Edward smiled widely.

“Sure!” he jumped up and pulled me up. He held me round my waist and for a second we were pressing against each other completely. It seemed he realised it too as he took a breath in quickly. I looked up at him and his eyes were burning. Once again though somebody coughed and we broke apart immediately.

“Come on,” he murmured to me. “Let’s get away before the Spanish Inquisition starts.”