Chapter 11

We spent the rest of the week in Forks. Bayleigh was relieved to finally have the truth out in the open. She was as determined as the rest of us to bring Victoria down. She and James had made Bayleigh’s life a living hell. She was more than ready for payback.

Bayleigh told us more about Victoria and James. They were childhood friends, and apparently Victoria had been in love with him from the day she met him. She was with James when he left home. She would sit patiently in the shadows while James would seduce unsuspecting girls to get what he wanted. She was with him in Texas when Bayleigh was dragged into his sick game and also in Arizona while he tormented Bella. He always claimed to love Victoria but couldn’t stop tormenting innocent people and destroying their lives.

Victoria had no problems going along with all of his sick plots until he saw Bella. He was truly obsessed with her, and Victoria couldn’t stand it. Bayleigh had said normally it was just a power trip for him when he would manipulate someone’s life like he did hers. Victoria was fine with that. She got a strange high from it as well. Bella was different, though. The sick bastard actually thought he loved her. That infuriated Victoria, and she was so happy when Bella got away. Victoria thought James would finally be hers again.

Victoria was furious when they ended up relocating an hour away from Bella. James had to keep her at his side. If he had let her out of her sight, she would’ve gone straight for Bella and killed her. Victoria’s hatred for Bella was the reason for Bayleigh’s initial disdain for her. Her reactions to Bella during that first dinner made more sense.

The closer Bayleigh got to Tommy, the more she despised Victoria and James. She was overjoyed when James was finally dead. She had thought her life might go back to normal but Victoria had other plans. Victoria was now more pissed than ever at Bella. Bella was the reason James was taken away from her, and she wanted to make her pay.

Victoria was going to be in for a rude awakening before everything was done. We were turning the game on her. Bayleigh had called Victoria and told her that Bella and I were totally freaking out over all the little things she had been doing. Victoria had been pleased by this information. Victoria’s latest mission for Bayleigh was to find out exactly where all of us would be staying on campus this semester and where my family lived in Portland. I was pissed that she intended to drag my family into her demented game.

Bayleigh told us that she didn’t want to know where my family lived. She was afraid Victoria would find a way to coax the information out of her. We told her to tell Victoria the location of our apartments on campus. A security company was scheduled to install a high tech security system into all three apartments when they were available for move in. There was no chance Victoria could get around the system unless we wanted her to.

Charlie told us to let her play her game for a few weeks as long as she wasn’t doing anything violent. This would give her a false sense of security and allow us time to come up with a fool proof plan to catch her. He was working with the police in Texas to work out a deal to give Bayleigh immunity in the murder of the drug dealer in exchange for her testimony against Victoria. Bayleigh said Victoria helped James kidnap Bella, Tommy, and Renee from the zoo that day in Phoenix and that she helped James torture and murder the Sinclairs. Without the bodies of Drew’s family they couldn’t press murder charges, but they could go forward with assault charges on Drew. Our new mission was to get Victoria to tell us where to find the Sinclairs’ bodies.

Victoria was ecstatic to get the information about our apartments for the next semester. She told Bayleigh to lay low and keep Tommy occupied in Forks. Bayleigh played her part perfectly. Victoria never suspected that we knew anything new. She was playing right into our plans.

I followed Dr. Young's instructions and wrote all of my dreams in a journal. The news of Bayleigh's true identity lifted a huge weight from my shoulders. I had actually been getting four to five hours of sleep each night. I was in heaven. My dreams were rather pleasant as well. I dreamed happy dreams of Bella and me. I also dreamed about us finally catching Victoria. Those dreams always left me completely relaxed the next morning.

We headed back to my house on Saturday. Esme wanted to spend more time with her family before we started back to school. She also wanted to go shopping with Bella for the finishing touches for our new apartment.

The drive home had me completely wiped. I couldn't wait to get Bella up to our room, crawl into bed, and fall into a deep sleep holding her tight. Mom met us at the door and saw how exhausted we were. She gave us quick hugs and sent us upstairs.

Bella and I had just changed into our pajamas and were headed to the bed when there was a knock at the door. I let out an irritated sigh and went to the door while Bella took a seat on the couch.

My irritation grew when I saw Emmett grinning like an idiot holding a gift bag. “What the hell? Can we not get a little bit of privacy?”

Emmett pushed me back and made his way into our room. He set the bag on the floor in front of Bella and plopped down in the chair at the desk. “Hey, there Jelly Belly,” he said, waggling his eyebrows.

“Em, whatcha got there?” Bella asked timidly, pointing at the bag Emmett had set down.

“It’s just a little gift I put together for my little Jelly Belly.” I sat next to Bella as Emmett handed her the bag.

Bella hesitantly reached a hand into the bag. Her face turned bright red as she started pulling items out of the bag. I didn’t understand her embarrassment. The bag contained some carrots, cucumbers, and a bottle of tequila.

“Emmett, why would you get Bella all of this?” I asked him. Bella was still bright red.

“I know how much Bella likes carrots and cucumbers. I wanted to make sure she had some to munch on if the urge hit.” Emmett winked at Bella.

“Emmett, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Bella pick up a carrot or a cucumber if she got the munchies.”

“Eddie, my man, I’ve seen Bella stuff her mouth full of carrots and cucumbers. She shovels them in like a pro.” Emmett placed his hands behind his head and gave Bella a smug look. What the hell did he know that I didn’t?

“Thank you so much, Emmett,” Bella sneered. She definitely wasn’t happy with him.

“Would someone please tell me what is going on here?” I asked, frustrated.

Bella glared at Emmett. “Em, are you best friends with your hand yet?”

“After New Year’s, I’m already in the dog house with Rosie, so I’m going down in a blaze of glory.” What the hell was my brother talking about? I was beyond frustrated at this point.

Emmett dug a little deeper in the bag and pulled out three shot glasses. “Jelly Belly, let’s show Edward how awesome you are at tequila shots,” Emmett said menacingly.

It shocked me to hear that come out of my brother’s mouth. When did he do shots with Bella? I didn’t even know Bella drank. I looked toward Bella for some answers.

“You are so dead, Emmett. How much do you know?” Bella looked scary. If only Victoria could see this side of Bella, I think she would stop everything and never bother her again.

“All of it,” he said smugly.

“How?”

“Alice’s closet is quite comfortable.” Bella gasped.

“Emmett, what the hell were you doing in Alice’s closet?” I asked, completely frustrated.

“Remember the day you and mom went Christmas shopping?” I nodded my head. “Well, I passed by Alice’s room and heard just a little bit of girl talk.” Emmett turned to Bella and smirked.

Bella rolled her eyes. “Emmett, you are definitely going to be in the dog house when Rose hears this.”

“She already knows, and it was worth every minute of her wrath.” Emmett was grinning like the cat that ate the canary.

“Emmett, could you please tell me what the hell is going on? I'm really tired and can't keep up with you right now.”

Emmett told the story of Alice and Rose teaching Bella how to give perfect head. I couldn't believe my Bella went to such measures to make sure I enjoyed what she did to me. I only wished there was a video of that lesson. I could just picture everything Emmett said. I cringed when he got to the part where Bella started munching on the carrots. Emmett just chuckled at my reaction. Bella had her face buried in my chest through the entire story.

“I can't believe you were in Alice's closet the entire time,” Bella said, mortified.

“Oh yeah. It was hard not to make a sound. There's no need to feel embarrassed because it was very entertaining.”

“I think I will be checking my closets in the future. I don't want you listening in on anymore embarrassing conversations, or worse, getting a little show.” Bella crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Emmett.

“I promise not to lurk in anymore closets.” Emmett sighed and headed toward the door. “I guess it's time to tell Rosie and Ali all about my pervy closet activities.”

“Yeah, good luck with that,” I snickered.

We could hear Alice and Rose yelling at Emmett. He was definitely in deep trouble with the two of them. Bella and I cuddled together in bed and talked and laughed about Emmett's revelation. We both fell into a peaceful sleep within thirty minutes.

The nightmares returned with a vengeance that night. My dream started out wonderfully. Bella and I were in my room, and she was demonstrating what Rose and Alice had taught her. Everything was perfect, and I was enjoying myself a little too much when Victoria jumped out of my closet. She had a gun and shot Bella in the head. I was screaming and begging Bella to open her eyes.

Victoria just laughed. “Have fun with James in hell, bitch.”

I let out an angry roar and leaped for Victoria. The sound of the gun going off again jolted me out of my dream. I was drenched in sweat, and tears were streaming down my face. I was relieved to feel Bella next to me breathing normally. I went to the bathroom and splashed cold water on my face. I quickly wrote my dream in the journal and held Bella close to me the rest of the night.

I didn't get much sleep the rest of the weekend. Victoria kept popping up in my dreams. I even dreamed of my mother, and Victoria ended up killing my mother. I was a complete wreck by the time I made it to my appointment with Dr. Young on Monday.

“Morning, Edward. I hate to say this but you look like hell.”

“Good morning, Dr. Young. I guess I look how I feel. I haven't slept well this weekend. Too many nightmares.”

“Did you write them in your journal?" I nodded my head. "Good. Tell me about the nightmares and refer to your journal if need be.”

I opened my journal and used it to tell her every detail of my nightmares. She nodded and took notes as I spoke. I shook with fear as I told her about Victoria shooting Bella. That disturbed me more than Victoria killing my mother.

“Edward, what is it about Victoria that frightens you the most?”

“We learned the truth about Drew this week.” I proceeded to tell her all about Bayleigh and how James manipulated her and how Victoria was still controlling her. “I guess the fact that she was responsible for the deaths of three people and continues to torture Bayleigh and Bella terrifies me. I'm not quite sure what she is capable of. I don't think I will truly relax until she is behind bars.”

“That makes perfect sense. I want you to try and remember one thing. You said that Victoria has no idea that Bayleigh has been discovered.” I nodded my head. “Okay. Right now, you have the upper hand. You are in control more than she is. Have you contacted the detective here in Portland and told him the new information Bayleigh gave you?”

“Yes. Detective Aro was pleased to finally have a complete name and photo. They are looking for her but are having no luck. Victoria has no clue where my parents’ house is, so we are safe from her for now. Detective Aro is arranging a surveillance detail to start once we move into the apartment on campus. They hope to catch her breaking into our apartment shortly after we get settled.”

“I'm glad you will have some peace of mind once you move back on campus. I would like to discuss the fact that your mother appeared in your dreams this weekend. Does Esme, Alice, or Rose ever appear?”

“No. It's always been Bella or my mother that James or Victoria has attacked.”

Dr. Young scribbled a few notes. “I find that very interesting. It seems that you dream about the women you feel you have failed in protecting. Yes, you did save Bella from James, but you haven't been able to protect her from Victoria. You have some repressed feelings about your mother's death. You feel guilty that she died in the accident and you survived. Once this mess with Victoria is resolved you might stop dreaming about Bella dying but I'm not so sure you’ll stop dreaming about your mother. We need to examine this further.”

I just stared at her in shock. I didn't understand why my mother kept appearing in my dreams.

“I want you to get a second journal. This will be your journal about your mother. I want you to write down all your feelings and thoughts about her. If you dream about her, write it here as well. This should help you honestly write out what you are feeling. Looking at this we should be able to see what is bothering you about your mother.”

“Edward, you are making great progress. I can see that you want to get past this. I think Bella has a lot to do with the decisions you are making. She is a wonderful influence on your life.”

“Every decision I make is based on her happiness. If she’s happy, then I’m happy too. She means everything to me.”

“Edward, please don’t lose yourself in Bella. Yes, it is wonderful that you want her to be happy but don’t forget that you are your own person. You have your own wants, needs, and opinions. Don’t make everything about her. She will resent you for it in the end.”

“I know. It’s just hard. I want to give her the world. I’ll do my best to tone it down,” I said sheepishly.

“Good. All I ask is that you try. Don’t forget to start your journal about your mother. I will see you next week and we can discuss her further.” I shook Dr. Young’s hand and left her office.

Mom had a nice lunch set up in the kitchen when we got home. Alice and Emmett were out shopping for their apartments with Rose and Jasper. Mom was excited to spend time with Bella and me.

“You look so tired, Edward. Have you been sleeping well?” Mom patted my hand after handing me a plate with a sandwich on it.

“No, I haven’t. Lots of nightmares,” I said, shrugging. “I’m working through it with Dr. Young’s help.”

“That’s wonderful, dear. She is such a good therapist.” Mom sat across the table from us and looked at Bella with sparkling eyes. “Bella, dear, have you and Edward decided on a date for the wedding yet?”

“We haven’t had time to discuss anything about the wedding,” Bella admitted. “The only thing I know for certain is that I want a small wedding. I don’t want it in a church either. I want to find a place that’s special to both Edward and me.”

“Why don’t we have a small ceremony in the meadow?” I asked, hopefully.

“Edward, that sounds perfect. Would you mind if we did that, Mom?”

Mom grabbed Bella’s hand. “Of course I don’t mind. I would love it.”

“Edward, you are a genius. Alice can’t go overboard planning a wedding in the meadow.” Bella kissed my cheek.

“I didn’t even consider that. I’ve just wanted to marry you there since our first kiss.” I gave Bella a quick kiss and took my plate to the sink. “I think I’ll leave you ladies to wedding details while I go take a nap. I’m exhausted.”

“Thank you, Edward. Bella and I will make sure no one disturbs you when they get home.”

“Thanks, Mom. Love ya.” I gave both of them a quick hug and headed upstairs.

I was just starting to drift into sleep when my phone beeped with a new text message.

Enjoy your time alone with the slut.
You and the little whore will be
seeing James in hell soon.

I guessed Victoria was feeling rather smug since Bayleigh gave her the address for the new semester. I refused to let her little games get to me. We still had the upper hand in the situation. All we needed to do was bide our time until Bayleigh could find out where the Sinclairs were buried. After that, we would just have to draw her out of hiding. I just hoped Bayleigh could get that information soon.

I drifted off to sleep and wonderful dreams of Bella in a white dress in our meadow.