“The day started beautifully, it was a Saturday in May. I had made plans for my best friend Lianne to come over and spend the night. We were going to do all those typical girl things, paint our nails, talk about boys.” I winked at Edward and he smiled.
“We’d probably watch DVDs, but I wasn’t going to try and talk her into watching the special extended edition of The Fellowship of The Ring. I didn’t want to push my luck with our friendship that far.” I was still smiling, remembering what a geek I truly was, oh Hell, I still am.
“Anyway, my mother got a sudden urge to go see her sister in Flagstaff. Even though she assured me that we’d come right back so I could still have my sleepover, I knew that wouldn’t happen. If we went to Aunt Lola’s, it was certain that we’d spend the night, and my plans with Lianne would be ruined.”
“I had a huge argument with my Mother.” I still cringed when I remembered the horrible things I’d said to her that day, calling her selfish and flighty. “After that, the trip was off, and Mom and I weren’t really speaking. Eventually, my guilt got the better of me. I apologized to Mom, and she decided we needed to go out for tacos and fried ice cream.”
I could feel the tears start to well-up in my eyes as I continued. “Little did I know that would be the last meal I’d share with my Mother. I’d have to say, those couple of hours were, hands down, the best time we’d ever spent together. I don’t know why, but we talked about things we never had before. She wanted to know all about what I wanted to be when I grew up. Where I wanted to go to college, where I wanted to live. Whether I wanted to marry and have a family some day. What fifteen year old girl really has the answers to all those questions? But at this particular moment in time, the answers came easily.”
I felt the first tear trickle down my cheek. “I told her that I really liked the thought of being a writer, and how fascinating it would be to see a story I wrote come to life on a movie screen. I also said that I’d like to go to college near Emmett and Charlie because I missed them. I admitted that my choice for my future home would have to be someplace warm. She laughed at that because the weather was one of the reasons she hated Forks.”
“She grew serious and contemplative when I said that yes, someday I’d like to have a husband and family, but I wouldn’t settle for anything less than my soul mate.” Edward squeezed my hand, and I gave him a small smile.
“She apologized to me for leaving Charlie, and admitted that it was the worst mistake of her life. Although, as she explained, she loved Phil and was sure they’d marry, she’d always regret what she did to our family. She cried while telling me this, and I found myself consoling her.”
“She then went on to tell me stories about her childhood, her parents, her sisters, some of which I’d already heard, some were brand new. Then, over our fried ice cream, she told me that her greatest accomplishments, those of which she would always be most proud, were Emmett and me.”
“That moment right there is how I always want to remember her. That moment frozen in time should be the way I remember her.” I drew in a shuddering breath. Edward put him arm around my shoulder.
“When we got home, I went to use the bathroom. When I came out, I started heading toward my room intending to straighten it up before Lianne arrived. I never made it to my room. Upon exiting the bathroom, I came face to face with Jeff. He was standing behind my mother holding a knife to her throat, both of them were facing me.”
“I won’t go into graphic detail Edward, but I will tell you the specifics of what happened.”
“I lost track of time, but the police said that the whole ordeal probably only lasted a little over an hour.” I sighed. “It was enough.”
“Jeff made us tie up each others wrists with metal wire. Every time one of us didn’t cooperate, or if we screamed, he’d hurt the other one. One of the first things he did was punch me in the side hard enough to crack my ribs. When Mom tried to get to the phone, he broke my leg. She finally quit fighting him after he cut both my wrists beneath the restraints, with the knife. She had no way to realize that the cuts were not life-threatening, although I made them worse as I struggled.
I am certain though that she knew as well as I did that, we weren’t leaving that room alive.”
I couldn’t look at Edward, my mind had retreated into a place of dark memory and horror. “Jeff explained how, back when we lived in Florida, he had realized he had strong feelings for me. He knew that my Mother couldn’t understand this. He had just been waiting for the right time to tell me, and he knew I would agree that we should be together. In his mind, my Mother had ruined that when we disappeared. He’d spent over a year trying to find us. He needed to find me before I’d done something stupid like given my virginity to some undeserving boy.”
“He then proceeded to rip my mother’s clothes from her body. He told me that I needed to pay attention, because everything he was going to do to her, he was then going to do to me.“
The tears were flowing full-force now, and I had my arms wrapped around myself, Edward’s arms forming a cocoon around the upper half of my body. “Before he raped her, he ripped my shirt and shorts off, leaving me in just my underwear, and urinated on me.“ I felt Edward’s arms grow tighter around me. “He raped her in front of me. The whole time, she never took her eyes from mine. She mouthed ’I love you Bella’ over and over. I said it back countless times through my tears.”
“He wasn’t finished with her yet, and I felt dead inside when I realized my time was coming. He told me that the next part was very important, because it was how I could show him how much I loved him. He… he shoved his… penis in my mother’s mouth.“ I said the words in a hoarse low whisper.
“I couldn’t watch, but my startled eyes were drawn back there a few seconds later when I heard Jeff’s horrible screams. I realized that my mother had bitten down hard, because there was blood everywhere. While Jeff screamed in pain, my mother turned to me one last time and said “Tell Emmett how much I love him, and that I’m so proud” that was as far as she got before Jeff screamed at her calling her a bitch and plunged the knife into her chest. I screamed and screamed. We both lay there in a pool of my mother’s blood, as I watched her take her last breaths. I couldn‘t save her, I couldn‘t save her….“
By now, I realized that the heels of both my hands were pushing into my eyes, as I rocked back and forth. Edward released me, and I already missed the warmth of his embrace. A few seconds later I was back in his arms. He pulled me from the car and half walked, half carried me over to the shore.
“Breathe Bella. Just breathe. Look around us, you’re safe here, there are miles and years between you and that day.”
I listened to him. I took deep breaths. After a few minutes I had calmed. We stood there holding on to each other for a long time before Edward spoke again.
“Don’t ever tell me his last name Bella.” I looked at him, puzzled by his statement. His face was grave and pale, as if he’d just lived through that ordeal with me.
“Don’t ever tell me what prison he’s in.” He continued.
“Why Edward?” Why was he telling me this?
In a low menacing voice he answered. “Because I want to kill him Bella. I want to end his miserable life. I want to torture him first though. I want to make him feel more pain than you can even imagine for what he did to you.”
Those words were probably as far from being romantic as you could get, but they meant the world to me. I honestly couldn’t imagine how I could love him any more than I did at that moment.
So I kissed him. I poured my heart into that kiss, all my pain, sorrow, agony, grief and despair, and he took it from me and made it his own. I felt loved. I felt cherished.
As we drove back to his parents house, I relayed the rest of that day‘s events. “Lianne had arrived just in time to hear the screaming. Thank God she didn’t enter that house, but instead dialed 911. The police and medical help arrived as my mother lay dying, but before Jeff could harm me any more than he had already.”
“I was lying in a hospital bed, heavily sedated when Charlie, Emmett and Rose got there. When I finally woke up, the memories came flooding back into my brain, shattering me a second time.”
“I thought Emmett and my Dad would go out of their minds that week. We took my Mom’s body back to Forks and buried her there. After that, things calmed somewhat. My family helped me through the endless weeks of grief, while still having to bear their own. I love them more than I can say.” I whispered.
“Because I was a minor, my identity, and the things that happened to me weren’t highly publicized. But Jeff’s murder trial was. I had to make a sworn statement, but wasn‘t forced to be present for the trial. That was a good thing, because I was trying to start a new life in Forks, trying to forget about the horror.”
We didn’t speak the rest of the way home, we didn’t have to. Edward just held my hand, and that was enough.
Upon entering the Cullen’s house, we were greeted by Alice who gave me a warm, comforting hug. “I sensed that you would need a cup of tea.”
I spent the rest of that evening with the Cullens. I was already starting to regard them as so much more that just Edward’s family, they were starting to feel like part of mine.
Edward never left my side during the entire visit. Every now and then I would notice how his mother’s eyes would shine, and her face would glow whenever he touched me.
I found out that Alice and Jasper had changed their flight home so that they would be traveling on Monday with Edward. I was glad he wouldn’t be all alone. I knew that it would be hard for me when he left, and I was pretty sure he would be hurting almost as much as me.
On the drive back to my apartment, I asked Edward something that had been on my mind. “Edward, the night of your, er, prom.”
“Yes”
“Did Alice sense that anything bad would happen?”
“Not until it was too late. She tried to calm me down after Meghan stormed out, she agreed that I should go back to my hotel suite. It wasn’t until the next morning that she knew something bad was going to happen. She and my parents raced to the hotel. It was too late, I was already at the police station, and the damage was done.”
By the time Edward took me back to my apartment it was late. We sat on my sofa and, even though I was emotionally and physically exhausted, I had a difficult time letting him leave. I knew that when I woke up tomorrow it would be our last day together for a while, and I didn’t want it to get here too soon.
When my head started to nod, I heard Edward chuckle. “I think it’s time I headed back to my hotel.”
“No, not yet.” I tried to will my eyes to stay open.
“Bella, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Are you going to the football game with us?” I asked, suddenly perking up thinking about Emmett’s last game of the season.
“I wouldn’t miss it.” He smiled and kissed me goodbye.
I took a quick shower and was just crawling into bed when my phone signaled an incoming text.
It was Rose.
B-
If you’re still up, I’m coming over.
-R
I texted back, letting her know that I was up.
As soon as I opened the door, Rose’s smile dropped. Grabbing my hand, she pulled me back inside my apartment.
“Honey, what happened?” She asked with genuine concern.
“Nothing happened Rose. I guess I’m showing the after-effects of letting Edward know everything.”
“Everything?” Rose was shocked.
I nodded.
“And how are you feeling?”
“Worn out, beat up, but at the same time, I feel relief. It’s like by telling Edward, I’ve given half my burden away. It’s weird.”
Rose looked at me with a knowing smile. “I think I finally believe you two are in love.” She said quietly.
“I’m really happy for you Bella. Of all the people I’ve ever known, you deserve a ’happily ever after’. And, well, Charlie deserves one too, of course.”
We both smiled at that.
“Okay, so tomorrow, we’re viewing the game from WIRI’s box. I know Edward’s coming, because he goes where you go.” She smirked. “But I also invited Jasper and Alice. That way we can hang with people we actually like, instead of those losers we work with.” She winked.
“Oh! I almost forgot. Look at what Emmett got me. He had this made up special for tomorrow’s game. She held up a pale pink t-shirt, emblazoned across the chest in bold letters were the words:
Emmett Swan’s Smoking Hot Fiancée
We both laughed. “He told me that if I’d said no, he was going to burn it. As if I could ever refuse him.” She said as she got misty eyed again.
“He made me promise though, that since I was now his fiancée, I would never flash my tits at anyone again. He believes those cameramen shouldn’t have to be coaxed to put me on the screen.”
“Wow, what a sweet-talker that boy is.” I said as I laughed.
“Well, I’d better go and let you get to sleep, night hon.”
“Night Rose.”
After the day I’d had, I fully expected the nightmares, but they never came. My dreams instead, were filled with Edward, his warm embrace, and his soft words of comfort in my ear.
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