Bella is now in middle school and sassier than ever! She's determined to become a different and more mature person (much to Olivia's dismay). Read to see Bella navigate this stage of her life as she tackles boys, drama and the personal changes that...
Hello, this is Bella Benson! There's a 99 percent chance that I'll get back to this so leave a message at the tone! Toodles.
"Bella where are you, young lady?! You said you'd meet us at Carina's. I don't know what's going on but you need to answer me. Now." "Maybe she's still with Julie!" I called to ask the Bianchi's if Bella was there. "She isn't here Olivia, Julie told me that the girls all went their separate ways hours ago." "Does she know where Bella went?" "No, is something the matter? Is Bella okay?" "I'm not sure. She isn't answering her phone. I gotta go, I'll keep you updated." I hung up and walked to the cashier to pay for the cookies. "She's not at the Romano's either." I whispered. I checked the tracker on Bella's phone and the last location was Central Park...45 minutes ago. "Leia, we're going to go home. Something's not right." ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ (Home) (7:35 PM) "I can't calm down! It's half past 7 and she's not home." I said to Noah. I saw Elliot burst through the doors. "Liv, Liv. It's okay, we're going to find Bella." "You can't promise that." "She couldn't have wandered far. Knowing Bella she's probably in the bookstore reading and lost track of time." "If that was the case then Central Park wouldn't have been her last known location. She would've gone straight to the bookstore. Bella's in some sort of danger, I can feel it." "Okay, then let's start small. Where would she go if she wanted to be alone?" "Barnes and Noble or Starbucks. But she's isn't at any of those places." "Did you call Amanda?" "Yes, she isn't there, nor is she at Sonny or Fin's place." "Anna?" "Anna's in New Jersey looking at apartments." "Right... Is this why Bella's acting out?" "Elliot, I don't think so. She's not happy about it but she wouldn't run off over something like this. We need to stop wasting time it's going to get dark soon." "Noah, do you know of any other places?" Kat asked "Well...there's this one place." "What place? What is it?" "When she was hanging out with her Aunt the other day, she said that they went to this bubble tea shop in Dumbo or something. She said it was the best she's ever had." "In DUMBO? What is it called, do you know?" "Buddy's or something like that." Noah went through his phone. "Did you find the address?" "No, but Bella posted something on her story."
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"Amanda, can you get a location off of that?" "Well, she's definitely in Brooklyn, I can tell you that." Kat inspected the photo further. "That looks like Brooklyn Bridge Park. My girlfriend and I had a date over there once." "It's near Buddy's." Noah pointed out. I closed my eyes and prayed. "Liv, where are you going?!" Amanda asked. "To the park. Don't follow me, if you guys come Bella's going to think she's in big trouble." ****************** Buddy's Boba Shop (DUMBO, Brooklyn) (9:15 PM) (Bella's Perspective) This is so embarrassing. I'm here crying in a boba shop like a loser. A dirty loser that no one cares about. "Hey, are you alright?" The manager came with a honey tea boba in hand. "This one's on me. Are you okay bud?" "I'm fine, thank you." "You don't seem like it. You've been crying here for the past hour and a half. How old are you?" "13." "Did something happen, do you need me to call your parents?" "No. Not at all! I'm fine, thank you, ma'am! I-I'll leave, I don't want to be a bother to you." "It's getting dark outside, I'm not letting you go out alone." Why do people always want to help me when I don't need it? "What are you doing??!" I asked as I watched her pick up her phone. "I'm calling the local precinct, you need help and I can't give you it if you're not talking to me." "Please don't do that." I heard the jingle of the front door and Mom was standing there. "Bella honey, what's the matter?" "Are you her mother?" "Yes, I'm sorry to storm in like this. Did she cause any trouble?" "No, she didn't. She's been in here for the past hour crying." Mom tried to get near to me, but I backed up. "No! I didn't want you to find me! I don't deserve your love! I don't deserve to be here." "Bella, that simply isn't true! Not in the slightest." "Yes, it is! I was only born because my father raped my mother and you know it! My mother was raped and I'm just collateral damage!" "Who told you that?!" I tried to run away again but Mom hugged me tightly so that I couldn't. "Let go of me!" "Don't ever say that." She said. We left the store and Mom sat with me in the backseat of her car. "You deserve to be here. The way that you came into this world does not define who you are as a person. You are nothing like Dashon. You are kind, thoughtful, creative, and so witty. You are not violent or destructive." "Yes, I am. I knocked over your coffee table, and I've hurt you, Mom." 4 years ago "Bella, did something happen at school sweet pea?" I ran upstairs to my bedroom and hid in my closet. I'm not telling Mom anything. If she knows that I saw Valorie, if she learns about her, they might try to take me again. "Go away, Mommy!" "I'm not going away, you're hyperventilating and your uniform is stained with tears. What happened?" She sat next to me. "Mommy, leave me alone! You can't fix anything!" She attempted to hug me but I got upset and I scratched her hand. "NO!" I saw blood oozing out of it and she held it to her chest with the most shocked look on her face. She looked...scared and confused. I could never forget the way she left my room in silence. I still feel so bad for it to this day.
"Bella, you were struggling, we all have lapses of judgment. It happens to the best of us." "Mommy, why didn't you tell me?" "I was going to tell you, baby, I was. I just didn't want to hurt you. Bella, how did you find this out? Be honest." I kept a tight lip. "Bella, there are only a handful of people that know this information." "Mom stop! Just leave it alone!" "I'm not going to leave it alone, Bella. This is not how I wanted you to learn this information." "Hearing it from you would've been so much better. But it wouldn't change the fact that I'm a product of violence and I'm probably destined for life in jail." I muttered. "Violence isn't genetic. I believed that too at one point." I stopped staring at my feet and looked up. What is she saying? "What are you talking about?" "Bella, my father raped my Mother too." "How come I never knew this?" "I thought it'd be insensitive to tell you about that, plus I didn't think you were ready to know everything." Mom's eyes began to water. I hugged her. "I thought that I'd be violent too. When I was 16, I had gotten engaged to one of my Mother's students. She was a college professor. She was drunk and we got into this heated dispute that ended with me kicking her in the stomach." "You did that?" "I know...I felt like there was this darkness inside of me and I regret that to this day. What I'm trying to say is, slip-ups don't make you a bad person." "But Mom, you said that she was nice to you." "Not all of the time, honey." "She hurt you?" Mom nodded. She then explained the type of things her Mom would say about her and it made me upset. "You didn't have to lie." "I just wanted to protect you. I should've told you the truth though as you got older." "I wish you'd tell me the truth more and stop lying so much. I know it's because you don't want me to get hurt, but it hurts even more when I know you lied." "I'm sorry, Bella." "It's okay, Mom. I'm happy that we're talking." "Me too." "I didn't realize that we had stuff in common." "We have quite a lot in common. There's so much more to talk about, but I think that should be done after you have a shower and something to eat, no?" I sighed. "I have to go to therapy, don't I?" "Yes, I have to let Dr. Johansson know about this. Bella, you can't run away like that! We were worried sick! I had Kat, Amanda, and Fin searching for you." "I just didn't know what to do. I was so upset after I found out from..." My voice faded as I realized that I set myself up. "Found out from who?"
