Chapter Four

A/N: You all are amazing! I am overwhelmed with the response to this story. 110 reviews for only 3 chapters :-O shocked face.

Tissue alert with this one. And an italicized flash back, so if you need to skip it…feel free.

Edward's Eternal helped big time with this one…I love the things she adds to this Edward. I heart him big time in this chapter…he brought me to tears.

Edward stepped out of the shower stall and grabbed one of the oversized bath towels from the cabinet. After making sure Bella was wrapped tight, he pulled his wet shirt over his head and tied another towel around his hips, shimmying out of his boxers under the privacy of the fabric. Bella watched wide eyed as his broad chest and shoulders flexed with his movements. He looked like a stone sculpture and her fingers itched to trace the lines and dips of his body. It was amazing to her that someone so strong could be so gentle. Ever since she had been taken captive, her emotions had been locked safely away, but she could feel them rattling at their chains. She wanted to be able to feel again, but knew it was too soon.

Edward hoisted himself up on the counter and pulled her to stand between his feet. The towel covered her from chest to shin, but there was plenty of skin still on display. He held her gently by the shoulders as he looked down at her arms. To keep physical contact with her, he picked up a brush and slowly started brushing the tangles out of her long hair.

"Can you tell me how you got these marks?" He whispered and he felt her body go rigid under his hands. He tilted his head so he could see her through her water-logged hair. Her soulful brown eyes latched onto his and she wanted to trust him…so badly she ached. She wanted to tell him everything. When his gaze never waivered, she opened her mouth and let the nightmares out.

**()*()**

Nearly two hours later, Edward laid Bella down in his childhood bed after pulling one of the long sleeved t-shirts he kept there over her head. She pulled the shirt up to her nose and inhaled deeply, giggling. Edward cocked his head to the side and smirked, wondering what could be so amusing about a shirt. Bella sobered when she saw Edward's expression, embarrassed, but answered none the less.

"It's clean…and it smells like you." She whispered as he tucked the blankets around her with a smile and sat on the edge of the bed to wait for her to fall asleep. Ten minutes later she was snoring softly and he eased the door shut and walked down the stairs. He passed his father and brother as they spoke quietly in the living room and as much as he needed to tell Emmett all of the details Bella had relayed to him, he needed to get to the kitchen. His mother stood staring out the window above the sink, her hands wrapping around the white porcelain as she gazed into the darkness. He could see that she had known what he would need and kissed her on the back of her head before grabbing the measuring cups and flour she had laid out. Minutes later when the dough was ready he turned it out onto the marble countertop and kneaded it roughly. Over and over he punched the elastic dough down and turned it, only to repeat the same motion. His vision blurred and all he could hear was a faint buzzing sound as his hands moved through the flour-coated mass again and again. It was not until he felt hands wrapping around his shoulders did he stop, realizing that he had been sobbing as he punished the bread dough. His mother guided him down to the cold tile floor, holding him against her chest as he cried.

**()*()**

"You want to go home? You are home my sweet little thing. I swear to God, if Mike was not so intent on keeping you pure…oh the things I would do to you." Benjamin hissed as he yanked her hair back and stroked his hand down her throat, gripping it tightly. She swallowed convulsively, praying that she could find a way out of the room. She had been tied to a chair for the last three days, unable to move. The men came into the room every few hours, sometimes bringing other girls in and making her watch as they brutalized them. Bella could literally see the life fading from their eyes as the men took them again and again. 

"This is what you have to look forward to baby cakes." Mike grunted as he finished inside of the girl and dragged her from the room by her arm. Bella would close her eyes and think of her dad, praying that he would somehow be able to find her. By the fifth day, she was sore and broken, having been made to sit in her own filth without food or water as they tried to force her new identity on her. Benjamin came into the room, dragging a green garden hose behind him. He smiled at her before turning the nozzle on and spraying her with freezing cold water. She screamed as the water went up her nose and in her eyes. Over the sound of the spray, Bella could hear him laughing. Finally, the water stopped and she gasped, trying to catch her breath the cold had stolen.

"Now that you're clean, let's see how far we can go without breaking you." 

"NO!" Bella screamed as she scrambled from the bed. Emmett and Carlisle were still sitting in the living room and when they heard the terrified cry, they both sprinted up the stairs. Emmett was the first in the door and searched the room for signs of danger. Carlisle pushed past his son and ran to where Bella was hiding, pressed into a corner with her hands over her head. He approached her gently, explaining what he was going to do before he touched her. As his hands made contact with her skin she let out a pitiful moan and pulled her arms closer to her body. Carlisle could see blood trickling from her arms as her nails punctured her skin.

"Please Bella, just let me look at you." Carlisle implored but when he tried to pull her into his arms to lift her to the bed she screamed again, startling him so badly he fell backwards on his behind. 

On the first floor, Edward pushed away from his mother's embrace when he heard Bella's first scream. He was moving slowly, exhausted from his crying jag. He had just made it to the open doorway as he heard her second scream. He pushed into the room taking in his brother's pained expression and his father sprawled out on the floor. But his eyes were soon on the one person that had somehow become the center of his universe. Stepping over his father, Edward pulled Bella into his arms, little puffs of flour flying off of his shirt. She gripped his neck tightly as he sat down on the floor with her on his lap and ran his hand up and down her spine. She sobbed quietly, pausing to hiccup or wipe her nose on the sleeve of her borrowed shirt. Emmett sat down in the oversized chair in the corner, while Carlisle joined Esme in the open doorway. A door opened and closed on the ground floor, but no one noticed as they watched Edward try and sooth Bella. Several minutes later, Bella pulled her face from Edward's shoulder and glance around the room apologetically.

"I am so sorry to have acted that way. I had a nightmare…it was so real." She whimpered. Esme crossed to the pair and held her arms out to Bella, who accepted the embrace gladly. Edward stood and brushed the residual flour from his shirt, laughing quietly as he reached forward and swiped a smear of the powder off of Bella's nose. Movement in the doorway caught Edward's eye and he raised his head in acknowledgement as Emmett's partner Jasper entered the room. Still dressed in his work uniform, Jasper walked towards Emmett, who had called him earlier. Bella looked towards the newcomer and her heart stilled in her chest as she pointed a shaking finger towards the blond-haired officer.

"You."

A/N: Oh no…not Jasper. Wait and see my friends…wait and see.

Update coming next Saturday unless my kids cooperate and let me get some more chapters finished.

Want to read something short and sweet in the meantime?

Barks, Wags, Hugs, and Love by mostly a lurker

A o/s told by a dog. Brought a tear to my eye.