Rescue Me || Bellarke AU

31. Start Again.

How long had she been stood there? Was it thirty seconds? Was it ten minutes? Was it an hour? Clarke couldn't tell. All she did know was that she couldn't take her eyes off the screen. She heard the bell above the door signal a new customer, but Clarke didn't move. She heard voices but couldn't work out what they were saying. She was waiting for someone to pop up on the screen and shout, 'Just kidding!'.

Cage had been arrested. The police had caught him. He'd been taken into custody to wait for a judge to serve his sentence. According to the news anchor, Lexa was right, Cage didn't even get a trial. But Clarke knew better than to get her hopes up. She knew better than to let her guard down too soon.

Clarke felt someone stand beside her. Only when she felt an arm wrap around her shoulders did she finally pull her eyes away from the TV. Clarke wasn't surprised to see Bellamy standing beside her.

"One step closer to freedom, Princess." Bellamy said softly, looking down at her.

But Clarke shook her head. Instead, she turned to face Lexa only to find Monty stood beside her. Clarke figured he was the one that caused the bell to ring just moments ago.

"Is this final?" Clarke asked Lexa.

"What do you mean?" Lexa furrowed her brows in confusion.

"I mean, Cage has gotten away with everything before!" Clarke exclaimed, pointing harshly at the TV. "Is this arrest final? If there's no trial, that means there's no way for him to be released. Right?!"

Two hands on her shoulders had her suddenly spinning around again.

"Hey, breathe." Bellamy said, ducking his head so they were almost eye level. "Just calm down, okay?"

Clarke took a deep breath and buried her face in her hands. Her breaths suddenly became short and sharp. Clarke removed her hands from her face and hunched over, leaning her hands on her thighs. She dropped to her knees while she tried to regain control of her breathing.

"Hey, hey, Clarke, look at me." Bellamy said firmly, dropping to his knees in front of her. "Princess, look at me."

Clarke looked up, and Bellamy held her face in his hands. His thumb wiped away a tear that Clarke hadn't even realised had fallen.

"Listen to me." Bellamy said, holding her face. "I promise you, no matter what happens, he will not get anywhere near you. You're safe, Clarke, I promise."

"I just want to be free from him." Clarke whispered. "I just want it to all end."

"You will be, Princess. You're so close now." Bellamy smiled.

Clarke nodded her head and allowed Bellamy to pull her into his embrace. She buried her face in his neck, breathing in his scent. Almost instantly, she calmed. Her breathing returned to normal, and her tears stopped. For the second time since they'd met, Bellamy had stopped Clarke's panic attack over Cage.

"I'm sorry." Clarke whispered.

"Don't be sorry. This is a big thing, Clarke." Bellamy assured her, running a hand up and down her back.

A few minutes later, Bellamy pulled her to her feet. He brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear before Monty approached them both.

"Come and sit down, Clarke. I'll get us all a coffee." Monty said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"But I'm supposed to be working." Clarke said.

"I'll deal with any customers. Right now, you need to take a breather." Monty said.

Clarke then let Bellamy lead her to one of the booths. The two of them slid into the seat while Lexa sat opposite them. Soon after, Monty carried a tray of coffees over to them before sitting beside Lexa.