Hide (Mommy's House 3)

18

"Are you guys ready?"

James' eyes were drilling into Bella's, before they then moved over to Cole, and then settled on Elliot, who now sported brown hair thanks to Liv. She'd expressed concern about dying a child's hair, but Elliot insisted - he was terrified of being caught.

Elliot had fear hidden deep within his large, honey eyes. He refused to make eye contact with anyone and kept his gaze trained on the ground. Bella noticed that he was skilled at maintaining a solid exterior despite the anxiety he struggled with. He had his elbow leaning against the kitchen counter, his stare fixed on the floor, and his posture straight while James spoke to them.

Cole was looking at James. Another troubled and traumatized person skilled at hiding just how terrified he was. His jaw was clenched as his eyes met Bella's.

Bella quickly looked away from him, afraid that she'd burst into tears if she thought about this any longer. They needed to just get it over with. In a month or two, they might be free, and this fear and anxiety would all be worth it.

Liv was beside James, and Bella noticed that her eyes were glistening with tears.

"Please promise us you guys will call us at least twice a day," Liv said, her voice gentle. "We need to know that you're okay, and we need to hear it from you."

"We will, we promise," Bella assured her, before she took a deep breath in an attempt to calm her nerves. Her heart was pounding in her chest.

"Cole, can I talk to you for a minute?" James asked Cole suddenly, gesturing over to the other side of the living room.

"Yeah," Cole agreed as he moved past Bella to follow James.

Bella looked over at the two of them, who had walked entirely out of earshot, before she looked over at Liv. "Why is he talking to Cole?" she asked, though she already knew the answer.

Liv shrugged her shoulders, before she gave Bella a gentle smile. "He's just nervous."

"He thinks I'm gonna act up, doesn't he?" Bella asked, feeling a burning pit of an unintelligible emotion in her chest. Fear, guilt, anger? It had to be one of those, or perhaps all. "He's probably telling Cole that he needs to babysit me. You know, Cole isn't as responsible as you all think. He just good at pretending like he is."

"Bella, now is not the time for rivalry," Liv said, her stern voice shocking Bella. She'd never heard Liv speak with such a serious tone before. "You and Cole need to work together right now. You have no choice. You can't look at the past anymore, you need to look ahead. You know he's hurting just like you are. You're in the same boat - you're a team. You're both responsible for Elliot as well, he's twelve years old and his mom just barely agreed to this. She's so desperate and she's putting her trust in both of you, and so are we. I need to be able to trust that you guys will work with each other instead of against each other, for our sake and Elliot's sake as well."

Her mind flashed back to Rose's basement. Elliot begged Bella and Cole to stop fighting because it made his head hurt. She could hear his small voice, she could see his desperate eyes, the innocence that threaded through them.

Bella looked over at Elliot. He had his hood up over his hair and his eyes were on Liv as she spoke. The innocence in his eyes had disappeared. His hands were shoved in his pockets, and his back was leaning against the wall, his head tilted up against it as well. He seemed exhausted.

"Please, honey," Liv begged Bella, breaking the silence again as her eyes flicked between Bella and Elliot. Her voice was softer this time. "This is terrifying for all of us, I can't even begin to imagine how this feels for the three of you. But I know you guys can do this. Just work with each other."