Hide (Mommy's House 3)

4

Bella tried to ignore what she felt. Of course her messed up mind was going to tell her that man was a creep - he was probably an innocent man who was just saying hi to her. She kept telling herself that as James knocked on a red door, with gold-plated numbers: 1 3 2.

After a minute or two, the door swung open.

Bella couldn't believe her eyes. Cole was standing at the doorway - his hair was wet from a shower, slicked back, and he was wearing a plain grey tee-shirt and sweatpants.

Was Bella hallucinating? She thought that Cole had returned to Italy after being jumped. She didn't know if she would ever see him again, and here he was, in some strange apartment.

"Is that Cole?" Bella whispered to James.

"It is," James said with a small smile. "Is that okay?"

Bella continued to stare at Cole. His bruises from being jumped just about two weeks before were yellowing, almost completely healed. His light eyes widened a little bit, most likely in shock at her appearance.

Her face was sunken in, her eyes swollen, her clothes practically falling off of her body. She was clearly not well. Now, the embarrassment was starting to set in.

"Cole," Bella said quietly, her voice wavering. Tears continued to fall from her eyes.

"Here, come in," Cole said, before holding the door open and moving to the side.

James, Liv and Bella all walked into the small apartment. It was nice inside - neat, clean, with not much furniture. There was a simple kitchen with wooden cabinets, a small table with four chairs, and a living room that had one couch and a bookshelf. To the left was a door, which she assumed was a bedroom.

When Cole closed the door, Bella looked at him.

She slowly walked towards him, her heart racing in her chest, slamming against her ribs at a rapid pace. He stared down at her, with a comforting look in his gentle eyes. An overwhelming wave of relief washed over her - he wasn't judging her.

"Is this real?" Bella asked him, and he immediately stepped back as soon as she asked him that.

"Yes?" he questioned, clearly confused, before her expression turned sour.

"I don't want this to be real," she told him.

Cole glanced at James, before he swallowed hard. "Bella, I-"

"I know how this is going to go," Bella smirked through her tears. "'Oh, Bella's depressed. Let's have Cole here to make her feel better,'", she imitated, before looking between James and Liv. "'And then, he'll just leave and go back to Italy as soon as she feels better, leaving her all alone again'," she finished her imitation. Her voice was shaking, and tears were now rushing down her face at a rapid pace.

"Bella, I'm-" Cole started, but Bella cut him off again.

"When will everyone understand how much harder that makes this?" Bella nearly screamed at him, and Liv immediately pulled her back away from him. "It hurts so bad to see you and then have you leave. I don't get to leave, Cole. I'm stuck here."

"Bella, for fuck's sake," Cole spoke through gritted teeth. "Would you just let me talk?"

"No, I won't," she spat at him. "You make everything worse," she lied. She turned away from him, to look at Liv and James. "I want to go back home. Please bring me back home."

"I'm staying here," Cole told her quickly, before she could say another word.

Bella paused, before she slowly turned to him. "What?"