Oh, Baby! #Wattys2020

Chapter Nine

Bella collapses onto her bed after a long night with Jason and the guys. The baby remained fairly quiet the whole time, which was good. But Bella couldn't get Hale off her mind. The way he holds her makes her feel so safe, she didn't want to leave him. But she was being ridiculous. This is the guy who told her she doesn't have an ass. And insulted her intelligence.

She shouldn't like him. There's no logical reason for her to. He's mean and rude. He has no filter and is always so moody. But he's good with babies and has a beautiful smile that takes her breath away. He's also gentle and carries this intensity around him that seems to make her gravitate towards him. And that's what scares her so much.

The last time she felt something like this, though this time it feels stronger and more intense, was her freshman year. For a senior named Austin. He made her feel incredible about herself in a time when she had no self confidence. He gave her every thing she wanted, all she had to do was look at it and it was hers. But that was her reward for not telling anyone about them.

He only gave her attention outside of school behind closed doors. She was so stupid back then, letting herself be talked into giving up her body in ways he didn't deserve. He took everything from her and tossed it aside on a daily basis, flaunting other girls in front of her at school.

When she finally had enough of it, he told her she was nothing without him. He turned her friends against her, took every thing he bought her back, spread photoshopped intimate pictures of her around the school and even got her rejected for the music school she had applied to. It got to the point where she couldn't handle it anymore and told her parents what had happened. They got the police involved and they pulled her from the private school she went to. She got to start over at Lasting.

And when she did she vowed to never become dependent on someone again. Now, Hale was threatening to undo all that she's worked hard to establish.

👶

"I have a gig at the bar tonight," Jason informs her hours later, after she's woken up and showered. She looks up from her food, eyeing him.

"Speaking of which, Jason. You have some explaining to do." Bella quirks a brow, looking at her brother expectantly.

"Oh, come on." He groans.

"No, you're not getting out of this." She shakes her head, wiggling a finger at him. Jason takes a seat at the breakfast bar, sighing at his younger sister. "When?"

He runs a hand through his platinum blonde hair. "Last year. I hung around there all of high school, then finally got the nerve up to play something."

"Are you ever gonna tell mom and dad?" She questions, knowing this part of her brother is hidden from her parents. If he didn't tell her willingly, he wasn't going to tell them.

She wonders who her brother is, after years of him ignoring her. She didn't even know he wrote music. As far as she knew he didn't even play an instrument. It makes her sad to think that she knows nothing about him. He really did used to be her rolemodel. She wants to ask him why he pushed her away for so long, but it's not the time. It might make him withdraw from her again.

"What they don't know won't hurt them." He shrugs, looking away from her.

Bella bites her lip, wanting to reach out to him, to be there for her brother. But she feels too far from him to do so. "I'm sure they'd be proud of you."