I just about had a fit when Bella answered the phone and it was Jake. She's probably catatonic about now. How dare that bastard say anything to her!Well, at least Edward had a chance to get a little to eat and blow off some of that fury.

Author's Response:

Yes, Edward definitely needed to release some fury! 

I knew that this would make quite a difference in the relationship between Rosalie and Bella. It's good that Rose and Edward are pressing Bella to unburden herself a bit, as much as she can. Best thing in the world for her,kind of like sucking out the poison after a snake bite. Next big hurdle, seeing how Charlie is dealing with all this. He probably has a load of guilt, seeing as how he kept pushing Jake over Edward, thinking he was such a nice kid. Now, he knows the truth, and has to be killing him.

Author's Response:

Yes, at least something good can come out of something terrible. That is a major theme I'd like to put across. Great way to describe it--talking about it definitely helps. Yes, poor Charlie is going through a hard time as well. And guilt is always a major thing with the victim AND those that care for them. You always wonder what you could've done that would change what happened. 

Thanks to the rather insensitive questions from the policewoman, it's easy to see why these depositions are best handled by a trained rape counselor. Props to Bella for holding herself together, mostly, and making it through the first step. Now, for the real hard part.

Author's Response:

Yes, the policewoman did not handle it very well, mostly because she didn't have enough experience in dealing with this. Unfortunately, Bella refused the help of a rape councilor when it was offered to her.  

Baby steps, thats' what it will take , and a lot of them,but at least there's hope. You have hope and love, you can do anything.

Author's Response:

I love that! So true!

Yes, I think we are seeing just the tip of the iceberg. The experience Bella has been through will color her life forever, and while she is strong enough to deal with it , it will never completely go away. She is a lucky woman to have the love and support, not only of Edward, but all his family ,plus Charlie. And just you wait until her mother finds out what has happened to her baby!

Author's Response:

That is so very true. Something like this will never go away completely. But I'm a strong believer in the saying: even though the scar will always be there, that doesn't mean it can't heal. Rosalie tells Bella this in chapter 15. 

Bella is VERY lucky to have so many people to support her. Unfortunately, most victims aren't that lucky.

How can you be so cruel as to make Bella go back to Jacob? It just breaks my heart. Now I'd like Charlie to find out what happened to his little girl, so he could put Jake in jail and throw away the key.

This sure would be a great time for Alice to have a vision that could help Bella deal with her trauma. It will only get better if she can get it out and share her pain. Makes the nightmares go away.

I knew it! This is going to be bad, bad, bad! Poor, trusting Bella. Makes me want to read and hide my eyes, at the same time.

Always said Bella was too trusting where Jacob was concerned.I'm getting a bad feeling, here, and not just because you warned us what was coming.

Author's Response:

Oh, my gosh! You are SO AMAZING! Thanks a million for reviewing chapters as you read! I'm so sorry I didn't get to replying sooner. RL has been a bit hectic. 

I agree--Bella does tend to be a bit too trusting! Ha ha, I'm glad I got the atmosphere across right!

More please!!!! I like reading this story!!!!

Author's Response:

I'm glad you're enjoying! I'll do my best to update soon! Thanks for your review. 

Yaay, new chapter!  Have to know what happens to these characters...

 

So cool that Renee agreed to change her plans without knowing all the details.  She really came through as the mom Bella needed.

 

‘Jacob was trying to scare me into leaving the protection of Edward and his family’

     Well, it worked for James, which Jacob probably knew.  And it had almost worked for Jacob in the days following the rape.  Good that Bella was clear on this.

 

Creepy, creepy dream blending elements of James and the ballet studio and Jacob.  

 

‘I knew that if I sacrificed myself to Jacob, Edward would be devastated. I couldn’t do that to him.’

     Thank goodness she figured that out.

 

See, Bella?  I just knew Edward would know exactly what to do about the still-visible bruises.  So glad she’s gained a little ground re not hiding herself so much, as if she is somehow wrong.

 

“Did you get that from Charlie? He said the same thing.”

     She should know she’s in deep trouble when those two agree.  Just let them have their way when that happens!

 

Nice that Edward understands Renee is going to figure out for herself that something serious has happened.

 

“I wanted so badly to believe I was reading all the signs wrong, but…”     

     Aww, sad.  Her mom intuition is on full alert - put her out of her misery!  Brave and thoughtful of her to say the words, so Bella didn’t have to.

 

“Please tell me that Edward or your father murdered that bastard.”     

     That’s exactly what we ALL want to hear!

 

And nice that she picks up that there’s some kind of mystery or secret about Edward.  Without getting pushy or hysterical about it.

 

‘I slowly started to awaken to the feeling of something poking into my back.’  

     OK, I’ve clearly been reading too many NC-17 fics, because I had a totally different theory about what was poking into her back, giggle.

 

'“Oh you won’t be seeing him again,” came a horribly familiar voice.'    

     Ugh, I can just hear how Jacob would say that line.  After seeing the engagement ring in the ashes in her dream, she had better start wearing it NOW.

 

I’m sure we all had flashes of the battle with Victoria, where Edward and Bella were separated from the rest of the Cullens.  Not a good idea…

 

Wicked cliffhanger. 

Author's Response:

Oh, my gosh! I absolutely love your reviews! I'm glad you liked how Renee was portrayed. It took me some time to figure out how things were going to go with Renee because her personality (as portrayed in the books) is difficult to apply to something like this. I wanted her to be able to help Bella (be a mother figure to Bella), but at the same time I wanted her to be in character. I actually went back to the books and re-read all the parts in each books where Renee was featured. And you will be seeing more of Renee. Now that she knows she couldn't possibly just leave Bella now.

Ha ha, yeah I wanted to blend in what happened with James and how Bella handles things differently this time around. I'm very happy you noticed how this time Bella wasn't going to sacrifice herself to try and save others. She realized how much it would hurt Edward and she couldn't do it. 

I was laughing so hard when I read your what you said about the 'poking into her back' part. LOL. I was at University when I read it and my two office mates were giving me funny looks, but I wasn't about to tell them what I was laughing about. LOL. 

Ah, yes, you will see that that dream still has an effect on Bella (she's not going to be forgetting something like that). And the thing with the ring will come into play as well. 

Yes, there are definitely similarities between this battle and the one with Victoria. 

I know! Sorry about the cliffhanger, but the next chapter should come quite a bit faster than this one did (fingers crossed). I working on it!

And once again, a HUGE thank you to you for leaving me another amazing review! I just LOVE reading them!

love it!

can't wait for the next chapter.

Author's Response:

Thanks so much! it means a lot to me :-)

WHOA it was amazing as usual, of course! I'm going to kill Jacob. Officially. Amazing chapter and I can't wait to see what happens! I'll he anxiously waiting for the next chapter!! xx

Author's Response:

Thanks so much! LOL. Well, I'm glad you're looking forward to the next chapter. There will be lots of action! Many thanks once again for your lovely review!