Disclaimer and AN: So I'm finally updating! I'm sorry it took so long! Life has been a bit crazy since my husband joined the Army. He's in the field for three weeks and I've been reading a whole lot and the urge to write has come to me. I'm so happy that I still have followers and that you all enjoy my story. The Messages and reviews are all appreciated and always bring a smile! I'll do my best to finish this story! Hope you enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 8 BPOV

After such a long day I just wanted to get home after gym was over. As quickly as I could, without injuring myself, I changed and rushed out of the locker room; all too glad I didn't have to encounter Leah. As I made my way around the corner to the parking lot I stopped dead in my tracks.

Paul was up against the wall of the building looking as handsome as ever. I missed Paul, no not Paul…my Paulie. I miss my Paulie. How he was before Sam and his gang sunk their teeth into him. But this handsome guy against the wall was not my Paulie. I guess the whore he brought to the cabin wasn't his girlfriend because currently he has a different female attached to the length of his body. The girl's breasts were pressed against his chest and her hand was currently fondling his crotch. Nasty.

His eyes met mine and I hope he saw all the disgust I held for him in that moment. I didn't bother sticking around to find out. I hastily made my way to my baby and brought her to life before tearing out of the parking lot.

Although I was in a hurry to leave school, I was in no way, shape or form, looking forward to the Spanish Inquisition I was sure to receive when I arrived home. Here goes nothing.

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I felt like I was walking to my own death as I entered the house. Where are the gallows because they're looking more appealing than what is actually about to happen.

I entered our large living room to see my family was already waiting for me. Well mostly everyone.

"WAIT FOR MEEE!" Emmett stormed into the living room. "You didn't start without me right!?" He was panting.

"Breathe you big lug." Rosalie told him.

"Hey…How did you get here!?"

"Well first of all thanks for now thinking of the fact that I wasn't with you." She rolled her eyes. "And I came home with Edward because I knew you would take forever to get out of gym and I wanted to get home."

"Sorry Rosie." He pouted as he took a seat next to her.

Everyone was here, including Carlisle and Esme.

"Will you two drama queens stuff it so Bella can tell us what the hell today was about." Alice huffed.

"MARY ALICE! Behave!" Esme chastised her while Emmett and Rosalie glared openly at her.

"Bella, you don't have to tell us anything you don't wish to. You know this right?" Carlisle questioned; his tone ever so sweet. That's one thing I love about Carlisle and Esme, they never, ever push us to do something we don't wish to do.

"No, I think I'm ready to tell you…" I sighed, "I'm ready to tell you everything. But please refrain from cutting me off. I really just need to get through it." They all nodded and I began.

I told them about my mom, when she started hitting me. About the kids who became the bane of my very existence. How I met Paul, how we were best friends and when he started to ignore me. I told them of the first birthday, the one when Phil took my innocence. How I went to school the next day and how Paul joined Sam and them. I told them about the move and everything that led up to them adopting me.

Not one eye was dry by the end, but what really caught me off guard was the fierceness in all their gazes, no disgust visible anywhere. The silence in the room was deafening. I wanted to beg for someone to talk, scream, something, anything, but I was too scared to form words. The first to break was Emmett. He was out of his seat in an instant. His monstrous arms wrapped around me and I found myself sitting in his lap. Our heads somehow buried in each other's necks.

"I'm so sorry, Belly. So sorry." He hiccupped. "I wasn't there, I wish I was there." He cried.

I wrapped my tiny arms around his large frame, clinging to him. My hands turned into fists as I gripped his shirt. I felt his tears wet my shirt as mine did his. A sob broke free.

"Not your fault." I barely got out.

The others finally moved into action as they surrounded us in a group hug.

"Not yours either." Rosalie whispered in the fray.

I can't tell you how long we sat there, but I can tell you I felt safe…and loved.

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After I told them what happened, I let them ask questions and I answered them as best I could. I swear the vein in Emmett's neck was going to explode at one point. Jasper was more of the thinker; I shudder to think what he could think of to exact revenge on my bullies. Edward, well, he's the silent, brooding type; his fists clenched every once in a while. Carlisle on the other hand always looked indifferent. I could never tell what exactly he was thinking, but if the whiteness of his knuckles was any indicator than I'd say he definitely was angry.

The girls however, were open books. Rosalie looked like steam was about to come out of her ears. If she were every ounce of the goddess she looked like, the world would in for a shit storm of trouble. Alice was her usual ball of energy. I swear she was going to jump up and run out of the house, if the evil glint in her eye meant anything than it would mean someone was not going to be happy. Esme was angry; it's as simple as that. Anger just rolled off her in waves, as if her expression wasn't evidence enough of her anger. Esme and Carlisle were informed that I had a rough past when they adopted me, they knew bits and pieces, but I knew that hearing my story coming from me not some social worker definitely makes it more emotional.

"I think I'm gonna go lay down." My words are soft but they cut through the silence like a knife.

Esme's eyes flicker towards me, her expression softening immediately. "Okay sweetie, if you need anything just call for me." I nodded my response and hurried quickly to my room.

As soon as I was in the safety of my room, I shut my door, crawled into bed and fell asleep, praying that the nightmares would stay away.

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I slept through dinner, waking up in the middle of the night, my stomach growled angrily at me. Getting out of bed, I slipped out of my room and made my way to the kitchen. I shouldn't have been surprised when I saw the light on; I knew who'd be there.

"Your food is in the microwave," he told me as he sat down with two mugs of hot tea.

"You know me so well, Eddie." I gave him a small smile as he grimaced.

"Eddie? Really?"

"You know you secretly love the name." I laughed as he scowled at me, "So what are you doing up?" I questioned him.

He shrugged and took a sip of his tea before answering. "Too much on my mind, couldn't sleep."

"My fault, sorry." I apologized as I took my food out of the microwave. I didn't want to turn and face him, but I did.

"Bellybutton," he smirked as I sent him a glare, "this," he gestured around us, his face serious, "is not your fault. You have nothing to apologize for."

"I…I don't know what to do." I revealed to him.

"What do you mean?" He looked confused, brows furrowed and his lips turned down into a frown.

"I mean, I've never told anyone my story before. I mean sure, my therapist knew to some extent, and the people that found me they know part of what happened, but no one knows my story to the extent I told you all today. I don't know how to feel now, where I go from here, ya know?" I looked up at him from my meal.

"Just be you, Bells. Your experiences have changed you; the people at that school don't know you anymore. Don't change that girl that we've come to know." The sincerity in his voice caught me off guard.

"I don't know if I'm strong enough, Edward." I looked down at my plate suddenly not feeling so hungry.

Sighing, he got up and began walking out of the kitchen. "Bella, you have us, we'll always be here for you; you should know that. But, Bells, you don't need us. You are the strongest person I know. You survived what many probably couldn't. You just need to see yourself more clearly."

I watched him walk out of the kitchen, not knowing what to think. I finished up in the kitchen before returning to my room.

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"Hi!" A chipper voice rang from behind me as I stood at my locker.

I was far from chipper this morning. My eyes felt heavy from my lack of sleep I had after my encounter with Edward in the kitchen. Turning around I saw the two girls that were sitting with Quil and Jared. One, the one who must have said hi, stood slightly more forward than the other. Her whole self radiated an air of confidence, like she was on a mission. She stood tall, a bright smile on her face as if she wanted me to know she was friendly. The other girl, she stood slightly behind the other, more shy. Her gaze flitted around as if she was afraid to catch my eye, and as she let out a timid squeak of a 'hello' I knew she was harmless.

"Hello," a fake smile plastered on my face, hoping my mood wasn't leaking through. These girls had done nothing to warrant the wrath of my piss poor mood.

"Um," The front girl began, almost unsure of how to continue, "My name is Kim and this is Claire." The girl behind her gave off a timid wave as if I needed clarification on whom Kim was referring to.

"I'm Bella, but I'm sure you already know that." I bit my lip, trying to keep my snarky mood at bay.

"Yeah, listen. I'm sure you don't want to hear this, or talk about it, but we were told about how are friends treated you before we came here." A look of surprise crossed my face, so they told their girlfriends, huh.

"You mean how they made my life a living hell," I shot at her, "What about it?"

"Well, they're not like that anymore, really. They said someone changed them for the better one day. I know that's something you don't really want to hear and I don't blame you for that either. They were stupid kids and they were wrong. No one deserves to be treated in any way the way they treated you." She rushed out, my bad mood peaked.

"You're right, I didn't deserve that. I didn't deserve to be treated like dirt on the bottom of their shoes. I didn't deserve to feel scared to breathe. I didn't deserve to be tortured. To feel like nothing, to be shoved, pushed, smacked, spat on. Tell me girls, exactly how much did your boyfriends tell you, your friends? Did you know that I feared coming to school? Huh? That sometimes when I fell asleep at night I'd pray I'd never wake up!? Did they tell you how they'd trip me and blame me for it? Or how they would pour things on me and dirty my clothes, when I got home that I was the one who got blamed, I was the one who did wrong? Or maybe how they turned my only friend, the one person I thought actually gave a damn that I existed, against me!? They turned him into one of them! A monster! Did they tell you any of that!?" My voice rose and then I noticed it. Complete silence.

My heart hammered in my chest and my breathing was ragged. I felt Edward move in toward me and slip me my inhaler; just in case a panic attack would overcome me. The two girls in front of me both had horrified looks on their faces. Claire, looked even smaller than before as she hunched down. And, Kim, her look almost broke me. As tears stained both of their pretty faces I looked around. I noticed Jared and Quil, among the other devils they called friends, looking ready to come scoop their girls up. Yet the group as a whole looked mortified. Their secret was out and now people know what they were.

Steadying my breathing I began to speak again, "I'm sorry to have upset you, and I'm sorry I rose my voice, but you must understand that although you know the them now, I only know the them from my past. You can't ask me to forgive them. You can't. I can't. You both are nice people, I can tell; otherwise why would you bother approaching me. I appreciate that, and maybe we can be friends in a way, but you can't fix this. They can't say sorry and erase the hurt they've done. Maybe I will see it, maybe one day I will notice their change but at this moment, when I look at them, I'm right back on the ground bleeding as they laugh at me, degrade me. I can't see anything else. So while my anger is valid again I am sorry I pointed it at you. Okay?" Kim nodded her head, a small smile gracing her lips, understanding shining in her brown orbs. However, it was Claire speaking the shocked me slightly.

"I'd like that," Her soft voice floated to my ears, "To be friends. And we understand what you said, but you really don't have to apologize. You are an amazing person, I can see that. Thank you for sharing what you did, come on Kim." She finished and tugged on Kim's arm.

They walked towards their boyfriends, and it was then that I smiled. Claire looked like a little angry kitten. She pointed her finger at Quil and I watched as his shoulders hunched down. He looked like a dog with its tail tucked between his legs, and I fought off the urge to laugh. Before I turned to my family and begged them to take me away, my eyes caught the gaze of a pair of forest green eyes. Anguish, is the best word I can think of to describe the look on Paul's face. And his eyes held everything – regret, sorrow, guilt, pain, but mostly they said I'm sorry.