Repentance - Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20:

I had to work the remainder of the week and Edward kept Masen when he wasn’t preparing for class. The Fall semester started the Monday following our mini vacation and Edward and I were dreading being thrown back into our hectic schedules.

The Monday that class started, I worked all day and then went straight class. Edward had to work at the library that night, so Alice was keeping Masen until Edward got home. I went to the library after class to print some things off for my upcoming assignments. I didn’t get home until late, and it was dark and quiet when I entered our apartment.

I quietly went back to Masen’s room first to check on him, and when I discovered he wasn’t in his bed, I began to panic. I quickly made my way across the hall and barged into my bedroom, only to find two sleeping boys in my bed.

I sighed, relieved. I had woken Edward up.

“Hey, where have you been?” Edward asked, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

“I went to the library.” I sat down on the edge of the bed, and rubbed Masen’s back, and kissed his cheek. “You scared me. I went to check on him and he wasn’t in his room.”

“I’m sorry. We were reading a story in here. I intended to put him to bed, but I must have fallen asleep.”

Masen stirred and grumbled. I picked him up and carried him to his room. Edward was up and out of bed when I returned.

“Have you eaten? Can I fix you something?”

“No, I haven’t felt very well today. I think I’ll wait until breakfast. How were your classes?” I asked, changing the subject.

“Good, finally getting into the good stuff. How was yours?”

Edward was excited about finally getting into some of his criminal law and psychology courses. “It was boring, regular first day stuff, but seems like it will be fairly in depth.”

Edward undressed and got ready for bed. I did the same. It was nice sharing our bed together again. We hadn’t been intimate since our weekend getaway, and although I wouldn’t have minded, we were both too exhausted to be concerned with intimacy.

We both crawled into bed next to each other. Edward wrapped his arm around my waist and kissed my cheek. “Goodnight, baby. I love you.”

I smiled. “Goodnight.”
***

The morning came entirely to quickly and it was simply a repeat of the day before. Except this time, when I arrived in class, I was quickly taken back to a time I didn’t want to remember. James was seated in the front row.

I immediately felt sick to my stomach. I reminded myself that I needed to continue contacting some of the girls that responded to the fliers we posted around campus. James was giving me an evil look and I quickly made my way to a seat several rows behind him.

Before class began, I pulled out my cell phone and sent Edward a text message.

James is in my class. :( What time do you get off work? - B

It doesn’t matter. I can leave early. I’ll pick you up. Don’t let him bother you. - Edward

Thank you. I love you - B

I slipped my phone back inside my purse just as class began.

As I suspected, class was dismissed a little earlier than usual because it was the first night. I was worried that Edward wouldn’t be here yet, so I took my time gathering my things, waiting for James to leave before me. He didn’t.

I eventually decided I would leave ahead of him and hide out in the ladies restroom until Edward arrived.

Just as I was going around the corner outside the classroom, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I was quickly pushed up against the wall and James was in my face.

He held up a crumpled piece of hot pink paper, and I didn’t have to read it to know what it was. “Did you have something to do with this?” he asked through gritted teeth.

It was one of the fliers Rose and I had placed around campus over the summer about rape awareness. I shook my head no. James had his hand around my neck, nearly choking me. A couple of girls passed us, noticed something was wrong, but none were brave enough to intervene.

James began spitting threats at me if I talked. I could hardly breathe, his hand was squeezing my neck so tightly, pinning me against the wall. I had my eyes closed, he was practically spitting in my face. I vaguely remember hearing foot steps coming at us quickly, and then, suddenly, I could breathe again.

I coughed momentarily, regulating myself to the sudden availability of oxygen. I opened my eyes and turned to see Edward and James throwing punches at each other. Two professors came out of nearby classrooms and tried to break them up. When neither would budge, one of the professors began to call for security.

“You will pay for this Cullen; I’m not finished with you, or your stupid bitch,” James said before he hurried away.

I didn’t want to wait around for security to come and explain what this was about. Edward and I quickly made our way out the back of the building, through a fire exit.

We stopped just outside the door to catch our breath. “Are you okay?” Edward asked.

I nodded my head. “Are you?”

Edward nodded his head in response and pulled me to him. I hugged his neck, grateful that he arrived when he did.

We decided to go to the library across town and continue working on contacting some of the other girls who responded to the fliers. We needed to get the police involved, and soon, but we wanted to have as much proof as possible.

We couldn’t find a parking space near the library and ended up parking on the street, a few spaces down from my old apartment building. Edward and I walked passed it, not speaking. It looked even more run down than before. There were two men in front of the building casually exchanging money, probably for drugs.

Edward released my hand, and put his arm around my shoulders, pulling me further into him. “Don’t stare, Bella.”

I pulled my gaze away from the two men on the street and shuddered. I was so grateful Masen and I weren’t living there anymore.

Edward and I continued to the library, finding a private study room in the back.

I had already spoken to some girls who claimed they were raped, but we needed to contact the others and set up times to meet with them to see how legitimate they were and if they were willing to go to the police with us.

Edward and I sifted through emails received from some of the girls over the summer. Some were very secretive, not wanting to share many details, and others were very descriptive, even naming their attacker. All of them were scared. All of them were warned not to tell.

***

Over the next two weeks I met with about a dozen girls who had been raped on campus. Only two of the girls didn’t know the identity of their rapist, the other girls knew their rapist and were raped at a frat party, or by a fraternity brother. Of the 12 girls we spoke with, only three had actually reported the rape. Of those three, two of the rapists were still unknown, and the third was cleared of all charges with an alibi and no physical evidence.

Only six of the girls were willing to work with us and go to the police. The other six had obviously been threatened and were too scared, but they found comfort in knowing they weren’t the only ones, and it wasn’t their fault.

Edward and I nearly had everything together that we thought we needed to go to the police. However, I was still extremely scared. Of the six girls who agreed to go to the police with us, only one identified her rapist as James. I guess I was afraid it wouldn’t be enough to get him behind bars. Once he knew what we were up to, he would come after us.

Edward and I decided that, for now, we weren’t going to tell the police that he raped me. For now, it was just a group of women who came together, and discovered a common thread amongst their rapists, that they were all likely part of the same fraternity. Edward didn’t want it this way. He thought it would be better if we just came out with the truth up front. I wouldn’t press charges against him, but I still worried that he would be arrested or taken away from me somehow. I couldn’t do this without him. As soon as James found out, he would be after me. I needed Edward.

I was tormented over the next week with our decision to move forward. I was a little surprised when one Tuesday evening before class, I received a new email from a girl claiming she had been raped by a fraternity brother. Her name was Tori, and we agreed to meet after class at the library on campus. She seemed very eager to make contact with me.

James hadn’t bothered me the past few weeks in, or after, class. Edward was always there waiting for me. Class let out a few minutes early and I explained to Edward that I had to go meet with the new girl that came forward at the library.

Edward walked me to the library. We stood talking momentarily in the lobby. A girl with curly blonde hair walked past us, and eyed us curiously. She made her way through the stacks and to a table near the back of the library.

“I think that was her. We are supposed to meet back there. I’ll be back in a few minutes, okay?”

Edward nodded his head, but had a strange look on his face.

“What?” I asked.

“She looks familiar, but I can’t place where I know her from.”

“Maybe you had a class with her,” I suggested.

“Maybe,” he said.

I reached up and kissed his cheek. “Wait for me...” I offered as I made my way out of the lobby.

I walked quickly to the back of the library. I approached the blonde curly haired girl sitting alone at a study table.

“Hey, are you Tori?” I asked.

She looked up at me. She seemed scared. “Yes,” she said quietly.

“I’m Bella.”

She smiled weakly. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you, too.” I started into my next question when she interrupted me.

“Why were talking to him?” she asked suddenly.

I was confused. “Who?” Was she referring to Edward?

“The tall guy in the lobby,” she whispered.

“That’s my boyfriend. Do you know him?”

Her eyes grew large, and her hand flew to her mouth to stifle her gasp. “He’s the one who raped me!” she suddenly cried.

I looked around to see if anyone else had heard her. Did I hear her correctly? The look on her face told me I did. She had to be wrong.

“Are you sure?” I asked. “Maybe he just looks like . . .” I trailed off.

“No, I’m certain. I’d know him anywhere.”

I couldn’t breathe. The room began to spin. I was hot. She was wrong. She had to be wrong. Edward said she looked familiar. I suddenly felt violently sick to my stomach and I got up and ran to the restroom.

I vomited multiple times. I was grateful the toilet I was hugging had recently been cleaned. I sat there on the floor in the bathroom questioning everything. Did I even really know Edward? By the time I eventually exited the bathroom, Tori was gone.

I was so angry I couldn’t see straight. I walked right past Edward in the lobby. He followed after me, grabbing me by the arm just outside the library.

“Bella, what’s wrong? Where are you going?”

“Don’t touch me!” I screamed at him. He released my arm. He looked hurt and confused. He looked the way I felt.

“Bella, please. I don’t understand.”

“She said you were the one who raped her,” I cried.

Edward’s eyes grew large. “What? She’s lying. That’s not true.”

“You said she looked familiar!”

“That doesn’t mean I did it! Jesus Christ, Bella! Even if I did, I’d sure as hell remember what she looked like, but I didn’t!”

“Why would she say that?”

Edward shook his head. “I don’t know. Where did she go? I want to talk to her.”

“I don’t know. She was gone when I came out of the bathroom.”

We walked in silence back to his car. I didn’t know what to think. I wanted to believe him, but Tori seemed certain. What if I wasn’t the only one Edward had raped? The thought made me sick. We didn’t speak on the way home.

We entered the apartment, and Alice could sense the tension between us.

“Bella, are you alright?” Alice asked.

I fell apart. I wasn’t alright. There was something neither of them knew. Something I had been denying myself. I felt like I couldn’t deal with what was going on in my life anymore. The recent revelation about Edward was the final straw. I felt like I was going to break into a million pieces at any moment.

Alice held me while I cried. “What did you do to her?” she asked of Edward.

“I didn’t do anything! She won’t listen to me!”

Alice eyed him suspiciously.

“You can sleep on the couch,” I called back to him as I began walking to our room.

I heard him sigh. “Damn it, Bella!” he yelled.

I quickly turned around to face him and he continued.

“After all we’ve been through, you still don’t trust me?”

“I don’t know what to think anymore, Edward!”

I said my goodbyes to Alice, grateful she wasn’t insistent upon knowing what happened between us. I went to our room and closed the door.

We didn’t see each other, except in passing, over the next few days.

I finally got a hold of Tori over the weekend. She apologized for leaving unexpectedly, but said she was afraid to be there alone with Edward nearby. She told me everything. She said she was raped almost three years ago, so it would’ve been around the same time that I was raped. She said it was at a frat party, and she was sure Edward was the one. She said she had never reported it to the police. She said she knew of Edward before the rape, she knew he had a girlfriend named Tanya, which is why she was so surprised that he did it.

When she mentioned Tanya I nearly got sick again. I was devastated. How would she know about Tanya if Edward didn’t know her?

Tori wanted to go with us to report the rapes, she wanted details about how many people we had involved and if I thought it was going to work, etc. I told her all I knew. I had been planning to go to the police the following week, but with the new developments with respect to Edward, I wasn’t certain.

I told Tori I’d keep in touch with her and let her know for sure.

When I got home that night, Masen was in bed and Edward was studying on the couch.

“Can I make you something to eat, Bella? You look pale, and sickly. Are you alright?”

I suddenly fell apart. I couldn’t hold myself together anymore. I fell to my knees and sobbed uncontrollably. Edward immediately came to my side and held me and I tried to push him away.

“She knew you and Tanya were together. How would she know that?” I cried. “She isn’t lying! You raped her!”

Edward looked so confused. He ran his hands through his hair. “Bella, I don’t know how she knows about Tanya. I must know her from somewhere. I swear on my life, on Masen’s life, I did not rape that girl. James has be to be behind this somehow. This is a set up.”

I sat in the floor and cried, so much so that I was nearly hyperventilating.

“Bella, please, look at me...”

I looked up at him through my watery eyes.

“Bella, I didn’t do this. I promise. Remember what we had, what we have, I love you. I promised I would never lie to you again and I’ve kept that promise. I did not do this, you have to believe me.”

I got up and went to our room without responding to him.

He was gone the following morning when I woke. He stayed gone the entire weekend. The more thought I gave it over the weekend, the more what Edward said made sense. Maybe James was behind this. Tori emailed me awfully late. There weren’t any fliers left around campus, James and his guys had removed them all. She was very inquisitive about when we would be going to the police. Maybe she was fishing for information. I was so confused. I shouldn’t have gone off on Edward without knowing all the facts. I tried to contact him Sunday night, but he never responded. When Monday morning came and he still hadn’t returned, I continued with my regular routine and went to work.

I called Rose on my lunch break and asked if she had heard from him. Apparently he had told her everything and he and Emmett had been on some manhunt for Tori.

He didn’t come home Monday night.

I went to work Tuesday and sent him a text message.

Will you please talk to me? I think you may be right... - B

I’m in class. I know I’m right. I’m sorry I haven’t been home, this is driving me crazy. I have to find her. I’ll pick you up tonight. I love you - Edward

I sighed. I forgot I had class with James that night. At least I would get to talk to Edward, and apologize. I felt awful, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Something was slightly off putting about Tori and Edward wouldn’t have been so eager to tell Rose and Emmett everything if he really did it. They obviously believed he was telling the truth about having nothing to do with Tori.

I left work a little early and arrived on campus earlier than usual. I did some studying in the library before class.

When I left the library to cross the common area to my building, I saw something that left me terrified.

James and Tori. They were sitting on a ledge outside the building our class was in. He had his arm draped over her shoulder and they were kissing. I couldn’t breathe. She knew all our plans. She had been telling him all a long. She was his informant. She was using me. She got all the details about me and Edward from James. The entire thing was a set up.

They caught me staring and quickly separated and I ran into class. I set my bag down, and then felt sick again, and went to the restroom. I knew the real reason I felt sick, but I just kept denying it. By the time I returned, class had started, and James was no where to be seen.

I had to wait an excruciating hour and a half before the professor gave us a break and I could retrieve my cell phone. I sent Edward a text message.

You were right. I saw them together. James knows everything. I’m sorry I didn’t believe you. I’m so sorry. - B

I waited, and waited. He never responded. Class resumed and I sat anxiously staring at the clock. When class ended, I looked at my phone, and Edward still hadn’t responded to me. I left class to look for him and he was no where to be found. I called and called his phone and he didn’t answer. He was supposed to be watching Masen tonight.

I called Rose.

“Rose, it’s Bella. Have you heard from Edward?” I could hear Masen laughing in the background and I was slightly relieved.

“Yea, he left here about an hour ago to pick you up. I told him I’d keep Masen until you guys got back.”

I felt sick again. “He’s not here. He won’t answer his phone. Something is wrong. This isn’t like him.”

“That’s strange. Maybe there is traffic. Maybe his phone is dead. Do you want me to send Emmett to come get you?”

“No, I’m almost to the bus. James wasn’t in class tonight.”

“Okay, I’m going to try to call Edward, too. Keep me posted.”

“Okay, let me know if you get him. Tell him he’s in deep shit.”

Rose laughed. “Will do!”

Maybe she was right. Maybe he got struck in traffic, or had an accident. Maybe his cell phone was dead. Those were all very logical and possible reasons for him not being here. I wished any of them at all were true; because the truth, I was not prepared to handle.

**CHAPTER 21 - CLICK HERE**