Chapter 14 - EPOV

I was worried about Bella. She had been so distant this past week. She seemed to be fine the entire time at my house, but her demeanor changed on the drive back to school. She went from completely relaxed and at ease to wound so tight the littlest thing would make her snap.

Did she regret making love to me? I didn't know what I would do if she did. Did she think I pressured her into it? I would've waited ten years if that was what she wanted. I was completely in love with Bella. I would die to keep her safe. I couldn't live with myself if I ever hurt her.

We found a note from James on the bed when we entered the dorm room. I was furious. I’d had enough of his games. I needed to speak with Detective Aro. It was imperative they find James sooner rather than later. I was surprised the letter from James didn’t cause Bella to break down. She actually seemed calm. I was so confused. I read the letter and felt so defeated.

“I knew it couldn’t last forever,” I sighed. “James is never going to stop, is he?”

“No, I don’t think so. Hopefully the police will be able to find him and put an end to this.” Bella seemed at peace. What happened? Normally she was shaking with fear after any contact from James. I hoped she wasn’t thinking of doing something stupid.

I pulled Bella into a tight embrace. “Love, he’s not perfect. He’ll get impatient and get sloppy. When he does, the police will be there to catch him.” I placed a kiss on the top of her head. I felt so helpless. I wanted to remove James from her life permanently. I needed to find a way to lure him out of hiding. Maybe Detective Aro could help me formulate and execute a reasonable plan. I couldn’t handle losing the angel in my arms.

Alice helped keep an eye on Bella on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday while I worked out a few problems with my classes. I had fallen behind on a few assignments because I was leaving class early to pick up Bella from her classes. I would never let her know that. She already felt immense guilt for the people James has killed. She would throw a fit and insist that I not pick her up. There was no way in hell that was happening.

I promised Bella I would only be gone twenty minutes. I hated leaving her for that long. I talked my professor into an extension on my last assignment and made my way back to the dorm. I was proud that I was only gone for fifteen minutes. Hopefully my next two professors would be as easy to persuade.

I panicked when I walked in the room and only saw Alice sitting on her bed studying. “Hey, Alice. Where’s Bella?”

“She’s in her room. She said she had a headache and wanted to lie down.”

“Has she seemed different to you since we got back from Thanksgiving?” I sat next to Alice on her bed.

“Yes. I can’t come up with the right words to describe it. It’s like she’s just going through the motions of living. She’s here, but not really. It’s starting to scare me,” Alice shuddered.

“I know. She didn’t say anything about us? I’m worried that maybe she wasn’t ready to have sex and felt that she had to because I wanted to. I’d never do that. I would’ve waited forever if that was what she wanted. I can’t lose her, Alice. I don’t think I could face a day without her.” I couldn’t hold back the tears that slowly leaked from my eyes.

“Edward, remember when Rose and I dragged her out of the music room the next day?” I nodded. “Well, we were having our mandatory girl talk. She couldn’t stop gushing about how much she loved you and how perfect the night was. Trust me, she was more than ready and felt no pressure from you at all.”

“Thanks, Alice. I really needed that talk.”

I gave Alice a big hug and quietly went into Bella’s room. She was curled up under the covers. I sat next to her on the bed and scooped her up into my lap and started stroking her hair.

“Bella, Alice told me you have a headache. Is it any better?”

“A little. Can you just hold me a little longer?” She reached up and placed a light kiss on my lips. We sat like that for about thirty minutes before we finally decided to go to sleep.

The next two days were the same. I left her with Alice and would come back to find her curled up under her covers. On Wednesday I decided to find out what was wrong with Bella. I crawled under the covers with her and lay on my side facing her.

“Why are you so tense, love?”

“A combination of finals and James. One or the other is enough to keep me on edge, but the two together have me completely frazzled.”

I pulled Bella into my arms and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. I had been so worried about pressuring her that I had only held her and given her chaste kisses. I was surprised when Bella took control of the kiss and licked my bottom lip. I relented and allowed her to deepen our kiss. It felt so good to finally be this intimate again.

I rolled Bella onto her back and hovered over her. I kissed her deeply, trailing my hands down to her stomach. I slipped my hand under her shirt and slowly ascended to her breasts. A moan slipped from Bella’s lips, encouraging me to continue my ministrations. I only took my lips away from her skin long enough to remove her shirt.

Not even one minute after I removed Bella’s shirt, her phone started beeping, alerting her to a new text. We both had forgotten about James’s constant presence in our room. I reluctantly stopped kissing and caressing her body. She reached for her phone.

isabella marie swan. put your damn clothes back on now. edward better keep his fucking hands off of you.

“DAMNIT!” I yelled, frustrated. Her damn phone beeped again.

did i ruin your fun eddie? haha. she is MINE!

I handed Bella her shirt, and she quickly put it on. She climbed into my lap and hugged me tightly.

“Edward, please don’t let him get to you. I’m frustrated too. I want you more than anything, but I don’t want to give James a show. Please be patient. This will end soon, and we won’t have interruptions after that.” My heart soared at her words. She wanted me as much as I wanted her. She placed a few quick kisses on my lips and crawled back under the covers. I spooned her and placed a few kisses on the back of her neck.

“Sleep well, love.”

“Night, Edward. I love you,” she said, squeezing my hands.

“I love you too.”

On Thursday I needed to return the keys to the audition room I used to compose our song. I wanted Bella to join me, but she was exhausted and just wanted to stay in the room and rest while I was gone. Jasper and Alice agreed to stay with her until I returned.

“Hey, Mark. Thanks so much for letting me use the piano.”

“No problem, man. How’d the composition turn out?” he asked, smirking.

“Better than I expected. She loved it. I can’t thank you enough for helping me out.” I smiled thinking of Bella’s reaction to the composition.

“Just remember, you owe me one. I may need you to pull out your musical genius to pull me out of a bind one day.” We shook hands, and I headed back to the dorm.

I had a bad feeling that wouldn’t go away. I was sure it had something to do with James. Every time he killed someone I got that feeling. I just wished I could know what he was planning. I grabbed my phone and left Detective Aro a message. I asked him to call me back to arrange a meeting. I wanted to work on the plan to draw James out. I wanted my and Bella’s lives to go back to normal. I would love to kiss my girlfriend and not worry if James can see us.

“Hey, guys. How’s Bella?”

“She went into her room right after you left. She hasn’t made a sound. I’m really worried about her, Edward.” Alice gripped Jasper’s hand tightly.

“I know. I am too. I have a bad feeling that something is going to happen. I won’t let her out of my sight other than her classes tomorrow. I’m waiting for a call back from Detective Aro. I want to work with him on a plan to finally get James. I’m tired of living like this.” Alice wrapped her arms around my waist.

“I hope you two can come up with something. I don’t know how long Bella can live with this stress.” Alice gave me one last squeeze before she sat next to Jasper.

I quietly opened the door to our room and was surprised to see her snap her phone closed.

“What were you doing, Bella?” I asked.

“I was about to call you. I missed you.” I kissed her chastely and tucked us into bed for the night.

Bella seemed a lot less stressed. She fell asleep quickly that night. I held Bella and thought of how much I loved her. I refused to live without her. My entire world revolved around her. James needed to be eliminated from our lives permanently.

I was still awake when Bella started talking in her sleep. She said my name a few times. I was surprised when she whispered, “I do.” My heart soared when she said, “I like the sound of Bella Cullen.” Was she dreaming about our wedding? I could definitely make that dream come true. A few tears escaped when she said, “a perfect brown-haired boy and bronze-haired girl.” The thought of having children with Bella was beyond amazing. I kissed Bella’s forehead once more before I drifted off into my own dreams of wedded bliss and my future with Bella.

I was anxious all day Friday. Every kiss from Bella felt like a goodbye. Why would I think that? I knew I would see her as soon as her classes were finished. We only had one more week of class after today and then finals the week after that. I couldn’t wait to leave this place for almost an entire month. I wanted Bella to have a relaxing break at my house. It was our only safe haven.

We stopped just outside the door of Bella’s last class of the day. She attacked my lips with a passionate kiss. Her kiss was full of love and want. That kiss left no doubt how much she loved me. I finally pulled away with a confused look on my face.

“Bella, is something wrong?”

“No. I just miss kissing you like that. James seems to always interrupt, and I feel like we are truly alone right now. I just wanted to remind you how much I love you.” She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and looked up at me shyly. It drove me crazy when she’d do that.

“I know, love. I love you too. You are my life, and I would do anything for you. Don’t ever forget that.” I gave her another chaste kiss and slowly headed to my class.

During the walk to my class, the bad feeling got worse. I tried to ignore it. I really needed to focus on this class. We would be reviewing for the final, and I couldn’t afford to blow it. I ignored the nagging feeling of doom and barely survived the never ending class. I sprinted across the entire campus and breathed a sigh of relief when I saw Bella’s class. I would have her in my arms again in a matter of minutes.

The door opened, and students started filing out of the class. Bella must’ve stayed behind to talk with her professor. Normally, she was one of the first people out of the room. My heart stopped when I saw the professor step out of the room, turn out the light, and lock the door.

“Excuse me, sir.” Bella’s professor looked at me with recognition.

“You’re the young man who always meets Ms. Swan after class.” I nodded. “I hope she feels well enough to study for her final.”

I couldn’t help the confused look I gave him. “She’s not feeling well?”

“That is what I assumed. She looked horribly pale. She ran out of here about five minutes after she arrived.” I felt nauseous. Why didn’t Bella text me and let me know she was not feeling well?

“Thank you, sir. I’ll be sure she is better in time to take her final.”

I quickly turned and ran as fast as I could back to the dorm. Rose was in Alice’s room when I threw the door open.

“Where’s the fire?” she asked, rolling her eyes.

“Is Bella here?”

“No. She’s supposed to be with you.”

“I dropped her off at her last class but she wasn’t there when I showed up to get her.” I ran into our room, hoping to find a clue about what was going on. My entire body tensed when I saw a note on her pillow. I had a sick feeling it was from James and he had her. I took a deep breath and slowly opened the note.

Edward,

Tommy needs me. I’m sorry I didn’t wait for you. I will return Sunday evening. I will see you then. I love you.

Forever yours,

Bella

I breathed a sigh of relief. James didn’t have her. I took a minute to pull myself together. I grabbed my phone and dialed her number. I froze when I heard her phone ringing. I don’t know how I didn’t see it sitting on the bed. I didn’t like the idea of her driving in her ancient truck all the way to Forks without her phone. I knew I wouldn’t relax until I heard her voice and knew she was safe at her father’s house. I decided to call Tommy and let him know she forgot her phone and to have her call me when she arrived.

“What’s up Belly Button?”

“Hey, Tommy. It’s Edward.”

“Oh, hey man. What’s up?” he asked, cheerfully. Bella’s note made it sound like there was an emergency. Tommy seemed too upbeat for there to be a problem.

“Bella forgot her phone. Do you think you could have her call me when she gets there? I will worry about her until I know she made it safely.”

“Sure, but I didn’t know she was coming home this weekend. Is there a problem?” He sounded totally confused.

“Bella wasn’t at her last class when I showed up to pick her up. I came back to the room and found a note from her saying she was on her way home because you needed her. It sounded like there was a problem.” My panic grew with every passing second.

“Edward, there’s nothing wrong here. I called her a few hours ago to let her know we would be at your house for Christmas. She sounded a little off. She said she was just stressed because of finals. I should’ve known better. Do you think James got to her?” I could hear the stress in Tommy’s voice.

“I’m afraid that’s exactly what has happened. I’m gonna start looking everywhere for her. I refuse to let him take her away from me.” I was so upset that I was shouting in the phone. Rose ran into the room annoyed.

“What the hell, Edward?” I held my finger up to let her know I needed a minute.

“I’ll call Charlie. We will be there in a few hours.” Tommy didn’t even wait for me to acknowledge his last statement before he hung up the phone.

“Rose, Bella is missing.” I showed her the note.

“I don’t get it,” Rose said. “She’s going home, how does that make her missing?”

“I just talked to Tommy. She isn’t on her way home. I’ve gotta get out there and find her. I know he’s got her. I can’t let him hurt her. It would kill me if he hurt her.” I dropped to my knees and sobbed.

Rose knelt down and rubbed my back. “Edward, you need to stay calm. Step back and take a minute to look at the situation. Gain a little perspective before you run all over campus looking for Bella.”

Rose was right. I needed to take a minute and look around. Surely Bella left me some kind of hint. Knowing Bella, she arranged to meet James. She would sacrifice herself to stop James. I had a feeling not even her self-sacrifice would stop him. No one would ever be safe from James until he was dead.

I sat on the edge of the bed and took a look around the room. Everything seemed to be in its proper place. Her laptop was sitting on the desk and it was on. I moved to her desk to see if she had left me a message on her computer. Time was slipping away, and I was losing my patience.

I couldn’t find anything unusual on her computer. I was frustrated and slammed my fist on her desk. I swiped my hand across the desk and knocked off Bella’s pencil holder and scattered the loose papers as well. I sighed and started cleaning up the mess I just made.

I looked over the scattered papers as I picked them up. They didn’t make sense. There were a few words written in large letters on each page. I couldn’t believe it when I came to a page with James’s name on it. I examined each page closely and tried to put the pages in order. I was surprised when I finally got the order right and read the complete message.

James, I think we need to meet. I want to speak to you without anyone around to interrupt us. I will be in the lobby of the Sitka House residence hall on Friday at six. I will be alone. Text me to let me know you understand and will meet me.

I wasn’t sure if Bella left those papers on her desk for me to find them, or if she was interrupted before she had a chance to dispose of them. Either way, I was just thankful to have them here. She was supposed to meet him at six, and it was now eight thirty. I ran out of the dorm before I could lose any more time.

I pulled out my phone and dialed Detective Aro. I prayed he would answer.

“Aro.”

“It’s Edward Cullen. You have to get to Sitka House on the Reed campus. James and Bella are there,” I said breathlessly. I was pushing my legs to go faster than they ever had.

“Isn’t that one of dorms they are still building?”

“Yes, sir. I’m running there now. Please hurry. I don’t know how long I will be able to hold him off once I get there.” I prayed I wasn’t too late.

“On my way. I’ll make sure to bring plenty of back up.”

I was relieved that the police were on their way. I made it to Sitka House in less than five minutes.

I carefully tiptoed to the first window I could see. It was on the right side of the main door. I peeked in the window and couldn’t believe what I heard and saw.

“You will pay for that, bitch,” James said, and then ripped Bella’s shirt open and started running his hands all over her exposed upper body. It seemed like Bella was fighting consciousness.

James was about to rip her bra off when I completely lost control. I burst through the main doors and headed straight for James.

“BELLA!” I yelled and shoved James off of her.

“Edward.” Bella breathed. It was barely a whisper.

I started punching James repeatedly in the face and ribs. He threw me off of him, but I quickly sprang to my feet and lunged at James again. I caught James by the throat and threw him against the wall. I held him in place with my left hand and continued to throw punches in his side with my right hand. I noticed that James had a wound on his right side, so I kept punching it. My left hand tightened with every punch I made.

I couldn’t speak. I wasn’t able to say a coherent word. I was only able to utter animalistic grunts and groans. James only wailed in pain with every punch. I was so pissed at James that I couldn’t stop myself from beating the shit out of him. I refused to give him a chance to catch his breath.

“Edward, he’s not worth it,” Bella pleaded.

I heard Bella, but was too angry to process what she said. I continued my assault on James without hesitation. “Please, Edward. Don’t stoop to his level.”

I stopped beating and James and glanced at my angel. “Edward, please stop. I can’t stand to see you like this.” It broke my heart to hear her so scared and defeated. The worst part was that I caused her the most fear. I had lost my temper and beat James senseless.

James had a red scarf I hanging out of his pocket. I quickly grabbed it. I found a piano wire wrapped in the scarf. I quickly wrapped the scarf around James’s wrists, and then wrapped the piano wire over the scarf.

I rushed to Bella’s side when I’d finished tying up James. I couldn’t resist touching her, so I gently stroked his cheek.

“Bella, I’m so sorry I didn’t get here sooner. I should’ve never let him get this close to you.” Tears had started falling down my cheeks.

“It’s not your fault, Edward. I’m the one who arranged this meeting with James. I just underestimated him.” Bella shrugged, wincing at the pain it caused. I kissed her cheek, which was the only spot on her face not caked in blood.

I was so relieved when I heard sirens outside the building. Detective Aro came rushing into the lobby. “Mr. Cullen, is she alive?”

“Yes, sir. She’s in pretty bad shape. She’s gonna need an ambulance. I tied James up in the north corner.” I was so thankful to have Bella in my arms. I refused to take my eyes off of her.

Detective Aro and two uniformed officers walked to James. “Nice job tying him up, Mr. Cullen. He’s out cold. What did you do to him?” The officers had removed the piano wire and scarf and cuffed James’s hands in front of his body.

“I hit him a few times,” I said, shrugging my shoulders.

“Looks like you pack quite a punch.” Detective Aro chuckled.

“Edward, I’m tired. Can I go to sleep now?” Bella asked, yawning.

“Not yet, love. The ambulance should be here in a minute. The EMTs will let you know when you can sleep.” I couldn’t resist, so I kissed her forehead.

The officers were standing guard over James, waiting for the all clear to take him back to the police station. I was still staring at Bella’s face when I noticed she froze. She looked more terrified than I had ever seen. James had sat up and grabbed one of the officer’s guns from the holster. He had it pointed at the officer’s head.

“NO!” Bella yelled.

Detective Aro swung around with his gun drawn. There was no hesitation when he saw James with the gun. He pulled the trigger and shot James once in the chest and once in the head. Bella screamed and closed her eyes tightly.

The EMTs finally arrived and one went to check on James while the other started assessing Bella’s injuries.

The EMTs worked frantically to save James’s life. They finally decided there was no hope of saving James and recorded his time of death at 9:30.

I grabbed my phone and called Carlisle and filled him in on everything that had happened tonight. He insisted on meeting us in the ER to ensure Bella was taken care of properly. I didn’t hear what the EMTs had said about Bella’s injuries. I looked her over, and it seemed that she had a broken wrist, broken leg, and a shitload of cuts on her head.

The EMTs quickly secured Bella’s wrist and leg in a splint and then loaded her into the ambulance. I was thankful that I was able to ride in the ambulance with Bella.

I was so happy to see Carlisle waiting in the ambulance bay when the doors were opened. Bella looked pleasantly surprised to see my dad waiting for her to arrive for treatment.

“I called Dad before we left. I wanted to be sure you were taken care of properly. I know he’s a heart surgeon, but he has a lot of pull in this hospital. He practically ran out the door when I told him what happened. He insisted on supervising your treatment.”

The EMTs gave Carlisle and the attending a comprehensive rundown of Bella’s injuries. I was holding Bella’s hand, refusing to let go for any reason.

“Ms. Swan, it seems like you are lucky to be alive,” the attending said. “Most of the cuts from the broken window are not too deep. Stitches will not be required. I will seal them up with dermal adhesive where necessary.” The attending worked quickly and had her cuts sealed within five minutes.

I accompanied Bella to radiology for her x-rays. We were waiting for the attending to finish with her broken bones when Detective Aro showed up and took Bella’s full statement and was shocked at what Bella had endured. He reassured her that James was dead and would not bother her again.

“Detective, James mentioned a woman named Victoria. He said she had been keeping an eye on my father and brother in Forks. Can you please look into that? I won’t rest easy until I’m positive my entire family is safe.” She was trembling as she spoke.

“No problem, Ms. Swan. I think we are finally done here. Please feel free to call me if you have any questions or concerns.” Detective Aro shook Bella’s good hand and left her with his card.

Once they started setting her broken bones and putting on the casts, time flew by. I was thankful for their speed. They wanted to hold Bella overnight for observation, so we were escorted to her room. The ER waiting room was filled with our families. The receptionist informed them that Bella was being moved to a room for the night.

Tommy, Charlie, Alice, and Esme each took their turn telling Bella how much they loved her and how upset they were that she ran off to meet a lunatic alone. She promised to never do anything that stupid again. We visited for about an hour before the nurses kicked everyone out but me.

I crawled into the bed next to Bella and wrapped my arms around her. I kissed the top of her head and tightened my arms around her. I wanted to ensure that she never ran off to meet a lunatic again.

“Bella, please don’t ever scare me like that again. I panicked when you weren’t in your class. I completely lost it when I found you and James was on top of you with his hands and mouth all over your body. I wanted to kill him. Hell, I almost did.”

“Shh, Edward, please don’t think about it. I’m so glad you showed up when you did. Your voice was the most wonderful sound I could’ve ever heard.” She sighed and tried to hide her yawn.

“You need to sleep, love.”

“I love you, Edward. More than life itself.” She raised her head and placed a kiss on my jaw.

“You are my life. I love you and would die to keep you safe. Please get some sleep.” I laid my head on Bella’s and hummed our song.

She fell into a deep sleep within ten minutes. Bella sleeping in my arms felt so right. I was so relieved that James was gone and we would never have to worry about him interfering in our lives again. I wanted to spend Christmas break helping Bella move on from the living hell James had created for her. She has lived the last three years in fear of him returning to kill her. I had a feeling it would take a while for her to adjust to a normal life.

I loved Bella with my entire being, and would do whatever was necessary to make her happy. If her dream from Thursday night was the key to her happiness, then I would happily make that dream come true. I wanted to marry Bella and have a family with her. For the first time, I was planning for the future and actually looking forward to a wonderful life with the love of my life.