I was waiting for Bella in her room while staring unseeingly out her window at the night’s sky as the moon slid behind the clouds and the grounds below became suddenly dark. The pang of guilt that was constantly emitting from my body had twisted my stomach into so many knots I was afraid I would never be able to fix it. I continued to stare out the window as I resisted the temptation to leave her room and never come back because surely this evening with her will cause me more pain when I finally leave.

I heard Bella’s attempts to go to bed being thwarted by Charlie. I had not been paying attention to most of their conversation because my mind was elsewhere. I knew this evening I was just pulling myself into a false sense of security. I was still severely shaken from the evenings events.

“What happened to your arm?” Charlie asked Bella tentatively.

I threw her into a bunch of glass plates trying to protect her from my brother sucking the life from her body, I answered internally. Searing pain rippled through my body once more. It was a desperate attempt – a foolish one.

“I tripped. It’s nothing,” Bella replied.

“It’s nothing,” I repeated sourly under my breath. I remembered the scene vividly in my head as she flew across the glass plates cutting her arm. The blood was shimmering because the crystal pieces were reflecting onto her. I could feel my stomach twist a little tighter.

“Goodnight, Dad.” Bella said.

I heard her light footsteps in the bathroom as she brushed her teeth and washed up. I turned away from the window realizing I wasn’t going to leave tonight. I saw her presents on her bed. I went over and sat on her bed while turning one of her unopened gifts over and over in my palm. It was too bad that these gifts would mean nothing when I left. The one I held in my palm was tickets for us to go see her mother in Florida. I couldn’t imagine her having these tickets and not being able to take me. I knew that they would just be another reminder of the monster in her past. I would have to come back to steal them away.