I held Bella closely to my chest as she drifted asleep. Her ex-fiancé,
James, had beaten her so badly that he murdered her unborn baby and caused
serious permanent damage to her. I was livid. I wanted to fly to Seattle to
kill the fucker. No one should ever have to deal with that. And to only get
seven years? What a crock of shit.
I looked down at her and caressed her soft skin. Her face was
beautiful but I could still the pain of her confession on her expression.
Between her eyebrows, there was a deep furrowed ‘v.’ Her lips were pulled in a
frown. In the dim light of her apartment, I can see the deep purple shadows
under her eyes. I gently lifted my hand to her cheek and traced my fingers down
the curve of face. She sighed and buried her face into the crook of my neck,
just like Emma does when she’s sick. I pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. I
picked her up and went searching for her bedroom. Thankfully, she weighed absolutely
nothing and I was lucky to find her room on the first try. I placed her on top
of her duvet cover. Her hands tightened on my shirt. “No! Don’t leave me,” she
cried in her sleep. “So afraid. I don’t want to be afraid anymore.” Her voice
broke and tears fell down her cheeks even though she was asleep.
“I’m not going anywhere, Bella,” I murmured. I lay down on the bed
after I removed my tie and untucked my shirt. I got onto the bed and pulled
Bella to my body. She snuggled against me, whimpering quietly. I gently
scratched her back and watched her sleep. It wasn’t restful. Her body twitched
and she actually opened her eyes a few times, searching something frantically
before cuddling up to me again.
I
heard the rain start around two in the morning. It pelted against her windows.
Bella’s sleeping became more restless. I held her tighter against my chest. “Shhh,
sweetie. It’s okay,” I cooed. “I’ve got you. No one can hurt you. I won’t let
them.” I kissed her forehead again and closed my eyes. 
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