Mute girl

Chapter eighteen - blood.

A/N As you very well know, I own nothing of the twilight saga, I just like writing this odd little fanfiction, as an excuse to be antisocial, at least. Since I couldn't get a chapter of Volturi slave up last week, I thought I'd write an especially long chapter for you this week - my longest yet, nearly three times as long as usual!

Also, there's some mature stuff in this chapter, so don't read inside the dashes if you might find this upsetting.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
My eyes shot up to look at the window, the slight noise it made startling me. "Bella?" He whispered into the darkness, and I shuddered. He wasn't meant to be there. "Hello, Bella," he sat down next to me on the bed, the crooked smile I loved spread across his face.

Edward, What are you doing here? I typed furiously into a text. He picked up his phone when it pinged and saw the text, a slightly exasperated look coming onto his face. "I wanted to see you, obviously," he told me, waiting with his phone for my reply.

Is it alright if you don't stay? I wrote. It's just I want some space, you know? He looked confused, like he hadn't quite realised that when I told him this in school I wasn't joking. "Oh," he sounded heartbroken, and I felt truly bad for having to do this to him — for making him sound so despondent, so crestfallen. But it had to be done. "Right, well, I'll see you tomorrow then," he said, getting up fast so that I wouldn't be able to see the look on his face.

But I wasn't finished. I had to make sure that he never saw anything else that he shouldn't. Maybe... I typed. ... maybe you shouldn't come round again for a while. I need some time to think, and I want to spend some time with Charlie. He nodded, the movement stiff and clear cut. "Of course," he said as way of goodbye, his body already half the window. "Of course."

The window clicked shut behind me, leaving no trace whatsoever of the ghost-boy who'd been to see me. I sighed and stood up, switching off my phone and walking over to the door. I hated having to hurt Edward, but it was entirely necessary — like getting braces, it had been painful at the time, but hopefully it would be better in the long run. If not for me, then for Edward.

"Isabella," my father's gruff voice came from behind the door. I shuddered, closing my eyes in preparation for the terrible night to come. "What did you tell your muvver...?" his words were slurred with beer, I realised, meaning that this would be so much worse. "Nuffin' to say, huh?" drawled Charlie as he crashed into the room, his feet thudding hard against the floor.

"Stupid girl..." he muttered, "You worthless bitch!" His hand came up faster than I could see and whacked me hard, pushing me onto the floor with a loud thump. "I hate you! It's all your fault, you bitch!" I shut my eyes tight, blocking out his snarling face. He lifted me off of the floor by my hair, throwing me back onto the bed. He ignored my screams of pain, slapping my face again with the back of his hand before he stepped back again.

I kept my eyes shut as firm as I could, focusing on brushing the tears off my cheek instead. "You deserve this..." his voice was quieter now, more distant — the same voice he used when he was trying to convince himself that whatever he was about to do was okay. My heartbeat suddenly spiked as I realised what he was about to do, why he'd withdrawn...

And then his trousers hit the floor.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

I lurched out of bed screaming, my heart racing like a horse. Where am I? I thought, trying to cover my shrieking mouth. Oh, that's right, the Cullen's house. Then next thing to remember was why I actually woke up, usually I was a lot further in the nightmare than that...