Mommy's House

19

BELLA froze, standing at the door and making sure she was blocking Cole from Mommy's vision. She licked her lips and tried to relax her shoulders, but it was difficult as she watched the eye continue to blink and stare. Before she knew it, Mommy's eye had disappeared from the small crack in the door once Mommy realized Bella was pressed against it.

Bella swallowed and leaned her forehead against the door in relief, whispering prayers to herself as she begged for Mommy not to barge in angrily.

"Bella," she heard Cole say, and Bella closed her eyes tightly.

"Yes, Cole?" she whispered, turning around to find Cole standing there with sopping wet hair and only clad in the pants Mommy gave him.

She noticed that he had gotten noticeably thinner, as his arms were skinnier and she could see his ribs beginning to protrude through his skin. She felt relieved to find that the slices across his chest were healing well, and the previous infection had clearly subsided.

"She was watching, wasn't she?" he asked, running his hand through thick, saturated black hair as he reached to get the clothes from the sink.

Bella looked away from him again. "How did you know?" she spoke quietly, though Cole didn't seem to care if Mommy heard him or not.

He lifted his shoulders and pulled the white tee-shirt he was given over his head. Bella moved behind him, still holding the blood-stained rope in her hands, and he sighed heavily when she wrapped her fingers around his sore wrists and brought them behind his back.

"Please don't tie me again," he pleaded quietly, but Bella just shook her head.

"I have to," she said, shakily bringing the rope around his wrists and pulling tightly. He sucked air through his teeth in pain, and she loosened it a little bit. "She probably saw that I took it off, and I'm sure I'll get in a lot of trouble."

Cole almost laughed. "You've barely gotten punished the entire time we've been here. She likes you."

Bella recoiled, looking at him with furrowed eyebrows. "She likes me? She calls me a slut every time she sees me, she hit me so hard I almost got a concussion, and she almost let her boyfriend have his way with me! " she whispered angrily.

"Then she gave you food and a new dress," he responded coolly, and Bella's small fist clenched in anger at his words.

"Can we please stop fighting for one second?" Bella asked, rolling her eyes and leading him over towards the sink. "You start every single argument we have, and it's annoying."

Cole's light eyes watched her every move as she reached for the razor and poured a large amount of shaving cream into her palm. Bella had to stand on the tips of her toes to gently rub the cream against the stubbly area of his lower jaw, and she felt him flinch the second her fingertips touched his face.

"Sorry," he mumbled quietly.

Bella noticed the long scar that ran from the top of his cheekbone to the bottom of his jaw, a feature she noticed the first moment she saw him. She squinted her eyes before she rubbed the fluffy cream over the scar, completely covering it.

"How did you get that?" she asked gently, turning the rusty knob of the sink on to wash her hands off.

"Get what?" he asked, and she picked the razor up from the side of the sink.

"Your scar," she whispered, moving to press the razor to his face.

He was about to answer before the sound of the door opening made Bella jump. She accidentally sliced a small portion of Cole's face instantly with the razor as she looked to find Mommy standing at the doorway.