I OWN NOTHING TWILIGHT

Chapter 31

Through the weeks that soon turned to months, my Angel, my Bella had transformed into an entirely different being. It was not an easy road, not be far; yet worth every step of the trip to the here and now. The first few weeks of her exercise regiment had been a long and daunting task, with many, many tears and even longer bouts of silence. My Angel was a very stubborn woman and twice as independent as she was stubborn. Walls of protection had been spider-webbed with fissures miles and miles long before they slowly started to crumble to the floor; sifting through the rubble to try and find common ground with one another was a task in-and-of-it-self.

Bella slept deeply exhausted from the day's activities; which ranged from going for short walks up and down the halls of the mansion, to climbing a flight of stairs to using the machines that had been bought and placed in a room we as a family did not tend to use much and turned it into a little gym for Bella. Carlisle, Esme and I had conspired together over Bella's human diet when we were either alone or while Bella was asleep beside me. I stayed with her almost every night while she slept. The deep need to be by her side never wavered or disintegrated over time; no it only became more prominent with her gaining strength.

Bella's diet was another giant struggle, but with pleading coupled with begging and a few words of encouragement she had finally relented and agreed to try human food again. Good healthy fats, high iron, low carbohydrates and natural sugar intake were what the three of us had decided on, while Bella was none the wiser. Bella ate seven small but highly nutritious meals, two hours apart, claiming that the full cup of donated blood was her favourite part and labelled as dessert from now on; as Bella did not have a taste for sweet and decadent foods. Alice had pouted along side Emmett for days on end when they had found out Bella did not like dessert foods. They wanted to see what a hyper sugar induced Bella would be like; while I thanked every deity in silent prayer.

About a month ago Jasper had come up with idea of Bella talking with other family members over the phone to help her improve her speech and vocabulary. A little reluctant at first, Bella immediately dismissed the idea, causing the spirits and high hopes in the house to plummet to a new low; yet after a few days of hearing nothing but the quiet of her voice and mine, occasionally the television voices in the background, and of course music, she had finally agreed to give it a try.

Bella started out easy with Esme—since Bella trusted her most next to me—they talked about everything and everything they could come up with to talk about. Some conversations ended in tears and heartache, when an unpredicted topic would come up. Like when Esme mentioned children, Bella went eerily still and proceed to burst into tears for half they day. Esme felt horrible for days, but Carlisle and I both reminded her that Bella was an enigma to all of us and we do not know what my angel has or has not encountered in her short span of life. Amazingly enough Jasper was next and the two of them hit it off right away; Jasper had brought out something new for Bella and they talked over the phone for hours on end. Even though the pair was only two floors apart and four doors down from one another; it was impressive, and I was happy that my angel was starting to come around. Next was Alice and that pairing was a little more difficult seeming Bella disliked talking about herself or her past, and all Alice had to talk about was shopping and fashion. Next was Carlisle. Bella and Carlisle were a lot like Jasper and Bella. They talked about Carlisle's history and his love of being a doctor, his many, many travels and the many friends he had made over his long existence. We had agreed to keep the Volturi out of our conversations, saving that talk for a time much later in the future. Next was Emmett who always had my angel constantly laughing and giggling, telling her stories of the many pranks he has executed over they years. Bella laughed so hard some days she had tears running down her face, and Emmett made a promise to teach her all about video games and how to tell jokes and maybe a few innocent pranks. Rosalie was last and by far the hardest. Rosalie was still so unsure about how she felt about Bella and what possible hazards she brought upon our family. I didn't let on about that topic to anyone in the house—especially Emmett.

Another month went by and Bella had been able to talk a walk outside and get some much needed sun and fresh air. We walked down the three mile driveway hand in hand, in companionable silence when Bella suddenly spoke. "I never thought I would see the sun again," she murmured closing her eyes, tilting her face in the direction of the warm rays of the sun. "Then again...I never thought I would be doing any of the things I am doing now again...ever." She whispered, her eyes still closed and face directed to the sun filled sky. "I never did ask you how you managed to stumble upon me...that...day."

I felt my long dormant heart squeeze in my chest at her words. I had to swallow thickly before I could speak. "I was hunting with my brother's, when I picked up a small trace of your scent. It captivated me enough to be curious enough to seek out what the smell was." I admitted trying not to let my thoughts drift back to that amazing yet horrific day. Suddenly I felt very brave and acted on it. "It was when I saw the most captivating and depthless chocolate brown eyes in the world that my world started to fall into place. I knew I couldn't leave you there, so I took you home with me, hoping that one day that you would see the man and not the monster."

My angel's eyes flew open; her moth fell slack as she snapped her face towards mine with horror and disbelief stricken upon her beautiful features. Pulling her hand from mine Bella let out a low growl and stomped off in the direction of home; while I stood alone with a shit eating grin on my face. Yes, Bella was angry at me—for what reason I wasn't entirely sure—but she stood up for herself, without thinking of the consequences that would follow in the end! I was elated! All I wanted to do was find her and wrap my arms around her and crush her in a huge hug and kiss her until the room was spinning. But I had to make sure I made amends first and clear the air between us. Bella had the completely wrong idea of why I had told of that I brought her home...because I loved her, cared for her, needed her. Not because I saw her as a charity case or felt pity for such a beautiful and fragile creature...not at all.

Darting off to home at full speed, I made it home just in time to see Bella walking in the front door; the door nearly slammed in my face, but I was quick enough to narrowly escape making myself a permanent fixture of the door. "Angel...wait," I begged her cutting her access off to the stairs. "It's not what you think...I..." Bella hissed at me trying to push past me to get to the stairs, but I wasn't about to give up without a little resistance from her. "I didn't mean to make it sound like..."

"That's not why I am angry," Bella exploded; shocking not only me but I think her and the rest of the family as well. "I know how you feel for me...and I don't hold that against you! But you...!"

"But what love?" I whispered urging her gently to continue her rant. I would gladly bear any brand of punishment of words Bella had to throw my way if it meant getting her to open up. I knew—every part of me knew—that the words that left her mouth were directed at the 'Bad Man' and not me or any one else in the house.

"You compare yourself to a monster." It wasn't a question; it was a repeating of words for clarification.

"Angel," I whispered seeing why my words had upset her so badly. I wanted to gut myself when I looked into her eyes for the first time since walking in the door; my angel's beautiful brown eyes were filled with years of pain and abuse, mixing with bitter anger and drowning sorrows. I wanted to reach into her and rip them out of her mind, wiping away any and all bad traces of memories she had of her past and those who had made her suffer countless times.

"No!" Bella snarled at me in a rage I had not seen since she had told us who the 'Bad Man' really was. "Do not Angel me right now Edward...I am so...I can't believe you would even...why would you...not even a comparison...you have no idea...no way to possibly fathom...no possible grip on what..." Bella was pacing the floor in front of me like a fierce pissed off lioness, and she was magnificent! Even angry and bitter, my Angel was beautiful beyond words...beyond reason. Then without warning Bella was standing right in front of me, fuming as if waiting for an answer to her broken thoughts and heated words. "Why," She whispered, her voice small and broken sounding; it tore at my heart strings to see her in so much distress. "Why Edward," She whispered again. "Why."

"Why, what angel?" My whispered words sound just as broken as hers do. "Tell me what has you so upset my darling angel." I gently tug her closer to me, tenderly wrapping her semi-fragile frame in my arms, leaving my arms loose in case she feels threatened and needs to pull away. She buries her face in my chest and I can feel her silent but steady stream of tears soak into my shirt; her warm body heat scorches through me, lighting up my entire body with invisible flames.

"Not a monster," She breathes in between hiccups that wrench and tear at my dead heart. "Please...for me," She begs me fisting the back of my shirt; this is Bella's silent sign for our closeness is beginning to become too much for her to handle. It doesn't anger or frustrate me as it used to in the beginning, when Bella would allow me to gently touch her face or arms or lay my hand on her knee and then abruptly pull away. It took nearly two months to get to this point, and it amazed me that Bella has come so far in such a short amount of time.

"Alright, love," I promise her, kissing the top of her head before I know she will pull away from me. "No more monsters...only men." I concede with a cheeky smirk. Dropping my hands to my side, Bella pulls away giving me a tiny smirk in return, "Come on love, let's get you something to eat," I suggest taking her hand in mine, leading her towards the kitchen.

It was days like this that I treasured most with my Bella...my Angel. Breaking down walls only to come across another hurdle that she and I can and will conquer together; breaking off the pieces of this once fragile, scared, beaten and bruised tiny little hybrid girl. And over time discover together the loving carefree, confident and bright girl I know she will eventually become.

A/N: So I know it has taken me forever to post and I can't apologise enough for it. I am currently working on more exciting future chapters and promise to include 'THE TALK' soon enough. *Not the sex talk either...so get your heads out of the gutter!* ~Snickers~ Please let me know what you think and review below!