GIRLS BREATHE FIRE - Paul Lahote

Chapter 10

Song: Stupid Cupid (Connie Francis)

BELLA'S POV

Silence.

Right now Rory's presence demanded silence.

It was the funniest thing really. She could come up with the meanest things to say, and when she said it, the words could physically hurt you. But the times when she was the most terrifying were times like this.

Times when she wouldn't speak.

It often made me feel like I was in a horror movie. One of those scenes where I would be hiding from a murderer in the same room as them. Where I'm just out of sight but I know that If I so much as breath too loud it's over for me. because the smallest noise would alert them like how the smallest amount of pressure could set off a landmine, or how the smallest drop of blood could set off a vampire's bloodlust.

An experience I understood all too well.

We drove for what had felt like an eternity before the car stopped in front of my house and Rory got out. Finally, I could breathe again. Maxi ran into the house with Rory close behind and almost instantly the two had gone up to their room. Despite being her day off, Rory came back 5 minutes later and left which was when Maxi came down and sat beside me.

"Where's Rory going?" I interrogated as the little girl put her colouring book and pencil case on the table.

"She doesn't want to take out any anger on you so she's going to the gym to let it out," Maxi explained as I made I noise of understanding. To be honest I was glad she wasn't here anymore because I had a feeling that she and I would not agree about whatever it was she was mad about. My dad was working an all-nighter tonight so he wasn't home when Rory came back wish really didn't work in my favour, because although she was no longer terrifyingly quiet, she did seem more than ready to speak her mind which was never fun for the receiving end.

"So! Just to get my facts straight, you got hurt because Ghost Edward popped up again right?" She Questioned from her spot standing in the middle of the room.

"I didn't get hurt because of him. I just lost control of the bike." I corrected.

"And why did you lose control?" to that I was silent with my head down slightly. I knew giving her the answer would be contradicting myself so I simply decided not to speak but she wasn't really having it as she scoffed.

"You need to stop." She finalized.

"Stop what?"I urged.

"Stop thinking that Edward is coming back. Because I don't think he is, and everyone around you is trying to dig you out of this depression you've buried yourself in But no one deserves to be buried with you!"

"You don't understand." I raged as she took a step forward.

"You're right. I don't understand nor do I want to. For whatever reason it was, He. Left. And it has been MONTHS since then. Do you think he's still wallowing around hoping you're going to come find him? most likely not. So you need to get that stick out of your ass and start looking around because everyone is suffering right now. Everyone has their own shit to deal with and Now for some unknown reason they have this unspoken obligation to help you? that's absolute bullshit."

"Excuse me?!" I snapped looking at Rory in shock.

"Ya, you heard me, Isabella. You Just literally smashed your head against a fucking rock trying to see an Illusion of the dude that left you! That is actually Psychotic behaviour. Like enough proof to land you in a psych ward!" she barked back at me.

"You were the one that suggested I take out those bikes." 

"No, I told you to try learning how to ride one. You hopped on without any protective gear and just went. That Isabella is called blind decision-making. It's like you can't see the consequences of your actions!"

"Oh, you're really one to talk!" I shouted back. "You're the one that got kicked out by your own mother for doing stupid things. So, don't even start."

"Oh but you see that's the difference, Bella. I wasn't 18 like you and I wasn't running around trying to get back some guy who didn't want me. Like for fuck sake, I thought you were getting over him!"

"I never said I wanted to!" I Yelled. Finally, the room fell silent as Rory looked at me with an indecipherable look crossing her face, she thought long and hard before finally responding.

"Does Jacob know that?"

"What?"

Does Jacob know that you don't ever plan on giving a chance?"

"Why does that matter?" I interrogated. Rory only laughed Bitterly.

"The boy is in love with you Isabella. And for the past month, you've been flirting back."

"What? N-no I haven't."

"He follows you around like a lost puppy, giving you his undivided attention and you suck it all up like a damn vacuum. Isabella, You are dragging him down into a very dark hole of codependency right now."

"No... no, I'm not. I would never leave him there. He's my best friend."

"That's exactly the issue. He doesn't want to be your best friend Isabella. He wants to be the one you love. but right now you are doing exactly what Edward did to you. You're letting Jacob chase you with these dreams of one day getting to you. But the minute something changes you'll leave him there in the friend zone. Or here's an idea. Maybe He'll be the one to leave you. Maybe he'll get tired of being your only fucking friend and move on with his life like you should've been doing. So what will you do then, once Your only friend is gone? Go back to having Night terrors and sulking about everything wrong with your life?." She roared disapprovingly as I sat there

"Oh, So I'm not allowed to cope now?!"

"Sure you can cope! but it's been months and you haven't gotten better. I thought you did but I was wrong. So by all means, if you want to stay in this depression be my guest. If you want to stay in that hole you've dug yourself, be my guest. If you want to go around driving yourself mad over one boy, be my fucking guest. But don't you dare bring the people around you down with you. Because, newsflash sweetheart. People have their own problems to deal with and absolutely no obligations to help you through yours."

That's when I snapped.

"It's Real funny hearing this from someone who took up beating people up as a coping mechanism to get over her dear old daddy's death."

It was that statement that got Rory to get really mad. The type of mad that washed over the room in a wave of frozen air. her eyes stabbed through every vital organ and her voice didn't just send a shiver down my spine but rattled my very bones as she took three big steps toward me.

"If thats why you think I fight then think again. And if you ever mention my father again the way you just did, relationship be damned, I'll paralyze you in the most painful way imaginable. And I promise, your boy toy won't be able to save you from that."

She was gone in seconds, her footsteps rattled the stairs but I knew she had left, up to her room where Maxi was. Yet still, I felt her breath on my face, the anger in her words, the honesty in her tone. She didn't imply that she would kill me. She threatened me sure, but she never directly told me she would take my life.

And still, never in my life had I ever been so aware of the woman's ability to kill me.