Him.

Chapter Twenty One

Chapter Twenty One

Self harming. I had caught Bella self harming. I leapt at her, snatching the blade away from her tiny hands. I threw it to the floor and flung my arms around her fragile frame. She wept into my arms hysterically, not able to even speak to me. “Bella what the hell have you done?” I asked her, still cradling her in my arms. She sobbed, not able to utter a word to me. I held her close and pulled her head into my chest. She had no top on but her bra still rested around her chest. The blood was pouring from her cuts and covered my jacket that I was wearing.

I lifted her up and carried her over to her bed, where I softly lay her down. She hid her face with her blood covered hands as she continued to weep before me. I bent down and took my jacket off; wrapping it around her as I knew my scent gave her a sense of comfort. I prised her gentle hands away from her beautiful face and held them in my own. Her eyes were still closed, somehow not being able to meet my eye line. I leant forward and kissed her on the cheek, then the nose and then her forehead.

“Bella, talk to me” I whispered, trying to provoke a reaction from her. She slowly opened her eyes and looked straight into mine. I felt nervous. I didn’t know what had made her do this. Was it me? I fucking hoped not.

She sighed, her breath slightly hitching in her throat. “Nan” she whispered before closing her eyes again, the tears rolling down her cheeks. I was confused, Bella had never told me anything about her Nan. “What?” I asked, sounding as sympathetic as I possibly could. “She’s died” she whispered. I felt a lump form in my throat as the beautiful girl collapsed beneath me. She sobbed uncontrollably and I couldn’t bear to be away from her for any longer. I stood up and lay on the bed next to her, taking her in my arms and cuddling her close to my chest.

“Baby, I’m so sorry” I whispered into her ear before kissing her on the top of her head. I felt the tears beginning to wet my vest that I was wearing. I couldn’t cope with Bella being so upset and I never really had to comfort anyone before and it was proving to be quite difficult. Realising that Bella was still bleeding from her cuts I sat up, still holding her in my arms. Then, I picked her up bridal style and carried her across the landing and into her bathroom.

I gently placed her in the bath and took it upon myself to remove the leggings that she was wearing. I knew just how upset she really was when she didn’t even rebel against me undressing her. I left her underwear on as I know she would have felt uncomfortable without it and thought it was best to let her be for now. I put the plug in the bath and ran the warm water. Bella continued to sob whilst the bath filled up. The cuts on her body stinging as the water level raised to meet them.

She sobbed harder as the stinging became worse. I gently brushed the water over her skin, trying to get the pain over as quick as possible. “You know I’d take away the pain if I could” I uttered, trying to make her feel better. She nodded and sniffled away the tears that were threatening to spill. Once the bath was full, I sat on the floor next to the bath. The water had a red tint to it from all of the blood that had proceeded from the self inflicted cuts on her body. At this point, Bella’s sobbing had subsided and we sat in silence, looking at each other.

Her eyes were captivating, and I took her hand in mine before kissing it gently a couple of times. “Thank you” she croaked, looking deep into my eyes. I shook my head. “You have nothing to thank me for Bell, but I don’t want you to do this again. I know times are hard, but self harming isn’t the answer” I said, cupping her chin to make sure she maintained eye contact with me. She nodded, looking slightly disappointed in herself. She looked down at her body and shook her head. As I looked at her stomach, legs and arms, there were multiple scars on the surface of her skin.

I shook my head, trying to rid the tears that were threatening to spill over my lashes. She looked worriedly at me. “I’m sorry, it just helps” she said. “It may help, but I can’t bear the thought of you hurting yourself. You’re perfect Bella, trust me” I said. She leant forward and kissed me on the lips, sending butterflies to my stomach. I leant forward and locked in a passionate kiss with her. We pulled away, sweetly smiling at each other. “But Bella, you have me now” she looked confused. “If you ever feel upset or worried, I’m here to protect you and I’ll keep you safe. You don’t have to do this on your own anymore babe” I said, brushing my fingers over the prominent scars on her skin. “I know” she whispered, before kissing me again.

I don’t know what it was about Bella, but I was finding myself intrigued by her and I had never experienced these feelings with anyone else. Was I falling in love for the first time? Whatever it was, the feeling comforted me, and I really didn’t want it to go away.

Bella leant forwards and began to peel the vest I was wearing away from my skin. “Get in?” she whispered. I let her take the shirt away from my torso before standing up and ridding the shorts that I was wearing. Once I was standing in just my boxers, I knelt down again next to the bath. “And these” she said cheekily, tugging at the band on my boxers. I wasn’t nervous or even embarrassed, so I let Bella take the bottoms and throw them to the floor. There I was, stood in all of my naked glory, smiling at this beautiful girl in the bath in front of me. She blushed and sweetly smiled at me before budging up the bath to allow room for me to get in with her.

She turned around so she was facing me as I slid myself into the small tub. I took the opportunity to take Bella’s hand and spin her round so her back was to my front. I took my large hands and glided them across her fresh wounds, making her wince. “I’m sorry babe” I whispered into her ear before taking the soap in my hand. “This is going to hurt, and I’m sorry but I need to look after you” I said. I took the soap and massaged it into my hands before gently rubbing the cuts on the front of Bella’s tiny body. She cried with pain which made my heart sink, but thankfully she was letting me wash her.

She then took my hand in hers and pressed it to her bra cup that was upon her breast. “I have something to show you” she said, holding my hand still close to her chest.

*Bella’s POV*

Now that Harry had seen my body and all of the scars that marked my skin I felt that I had to show him one more mark. I turned around again so I was facing him. I reached around my back and undid the clasp of my bra. My heart rate increasing rapidly, I slipped the bra down to reveal my small boobs and a rather large and dark scar just below my left breast. Harry looking slightly worried and shocked didn’t say a word.

“I was born with a backwards heart” I whispered. His eyes widened. “I was born premature because of the complications and literally was on my death bed. I died twice but they got me back. It took months to recover from the surgery as I was days old when it happened and now I’m left with this” I began to tear up, knowing that I had not shared this information with anyone else other than my mother, father and Nan. Harry lifted his hand and placed it to my breast. He gently rubbed over the scar with his fingers before pressing gentle kisses to the skin.

“It makes you, you” he whispered. “But it’s ugly” I cried. “It’s not Bella, there isn’t an ugly thing on you. You’re perfect remember, and this just adds up to the little things that makes you perfect” he whispered. I couldn’t bear it anymore. I leapt forwards and wrapped my arms around Harry’s neck, firmly pressing my lips to his. I don’t care if I wasn’t ready to admit it to him yet; I was in love with Harry.