invasion ↠ jackson avery ✓

38

[BELLA LEDFORD]
London, England

˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚

Burning rage kept Bella plenty warm that night. Jackson didn't bother coming into the room and sleeping in the bed beside her after they finished up dinner and got back to Ethan's house. It was the last thing she wanted after everything that happened but it seemed like he understood that much on his own. Either that, or Ethan told him to lay low and let her cool off. Bella couldn't have cared less and she didn't bother leaving her room after her shower. Frankly, she was still exhausted so she fell right asleep.

The morning came and she stayed in bed. Nine. Ten. Eleven. Twelve. Twelve thirty rolled around and her stomach cried out for something substantial. The hollow of her belly was enough to push her from the warmth of her duvet into the bathroom then downstairs to find some food. Save for the living room, silence coated the entire house. She tiptoed to avoid drawing anyone out of the living room and it worked until she reached the stairs on her way back and her knife fell, clanking against the wood. Bella scrunched up her face and cursed, picking it up while carefully putting her plate on the step before her and balancing a large mug of extremely hot tea.

She barely turned her face to know it was neither Jackson or Ethan but rather Chloe fucking Abbot who closed in on her. Even the thought of her made Bella grunt and hurry in picking up the cutlery.

"Hey," the ash blonde spoke, sounding soft and warm, as opposed to vicious and bitchy like yesterday morning. Leaving her without answer, Bella put the knife on her plate again and straightened up, going for her mug of tea next. "Listen, I know we got off on the wrong foot yesterday but I thought we could talk."

There were so many ways in which she could respond. So many ways that would've stirred yet another fight but Bella wasn't about to ruin her own mood before breakfast. Instead, she stopped on the third step, stared at the wall before her, back still facing Chloe Abbot, and said, "Sure, whatever," then continued her way upstairs.

Thankfully, she wasn't followed. Otherwise, she would've felt inclined to tell the woman to fuck off, whether she was about to bring Bella's nephew or niece into the world or not. Last night's wonderful dinner with the family revealed that Chloe wanted to keep the baby's gender a surprise until birth so no one actually knew if it would be a boy or a girl.

Praising herself for thinking ahead, Bella pulled her laptop from her suitcase to set up something to watch. Once she put her food to the side, she made her bed and got cosy. Stuffing her face with the food she prepared then forgetting all about her mug of tea, left her groaning as it had gone all cold. She waited until she finished the last bite, then got out, poured the cold liquid down the toilet then headed back to the kitchen for a new beverage.

This time, she wasn't stopped by Chloe Abbot and she was more than grateful. Something worse awaited her. Something that never crossed her mind. That something was the alliance she saw formed between her brother and best friend. He certainly wasn't her boyfriend, she voiced that much last night.