Here is a picture of Bella^^^
Happy Reading :)
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I took the large bowl of pasta salad out of the refrigerator and set it out on the counter. I looked around the kitchen to make sure that everything was where it needed to be. Everyone would be here soon and I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous.
Today was the day; my welcome home party.
Presley, the family dog barked happily and ran through the room. He could sense the excitement in the air. He jumped around for attention whenever someone passed by.
My grandmother, Carol, Samantha, and my mother were in the backyard setting up tables and decorations of some sort.
Angela entered then and smiled brightly. "Hey, Bella. Do you know where my mom is?"
"She's in the backyard." I answered.
She nodded and went out to the back with a parting smile.
Miranda and Victor had told me that only relatives and close family friends were going to be here today. Only those who had known me before everything were going coming.
That little fact alone was what sent my nerves into a frenzy. I was afraid that I wouldn't meet the expectations that they had for the six year-old version of me. They would look at me differently. Think of me differently.
I didn't know when it had become so important to me, but I wanted them to accept me.
Miranda and Samantha entered the house just then with Angela trailing behind them.
"Just hear me out, mom, it's the last party of the summer!" Angela was saying.
"I don't care, Angela." Samantha said. "It's your cousin's welcome home party and you will not miss it."
"I'm not going to miss anything, though. The welcome home party will probably end at like seven. That gives me plenty of time to make it to the other party." Angela went on.
They all stood on the other side of the counter, Miranda stepped away slightly.
"I'm not having this discussion. Today is about Bella. End of story." Samantha said with finality.
Angela deflated. She glanced over at me and her face lit up before she turned back to her mother. "What if Bella comes with me?"
Samantha looked at her, unamused. "Angela."
"Think about it!" Angela said immediately. "Bella can meet everyone she's going to be at school with. It'll be easier for her if she knows people before her first day."
Everyone was silent for a moment. I couldn't help but contemplate her words as well. It did seem like a decent plan; meeting my future classmates.
"Well, Bella has never been to a party like that, Ange." Miranda said. "It might overwhelm her."
I took this moment to speak up. "I don't mind going."
Angela grinned. "See?"
Samantha held her hand up to silence her daughter. "Bella, the type of party that she wants to go to isn't anything you've done before. It's not going to be like this family gathering."
"I'll look after her, mom, I promise." Angela said pleadingly.
"It could be beneficial for me to meet these people. I am going to be in school with them." I added.
Miranda and Samantha looked at each other. They looked back to me and Miranda sighed. "Fine. You can go."
Angela cheered.
"But," Samantha cut in. "Bella will not leave your side and you are going to stay completely sober."
She nodded. "You have my word."
"You guys know the story, right? If anyone asks about Bella-"
"She went to boarding school, we know." Angela said, cutting off her mom. Samantha raised an eyebrow in warning and Angela muttered a small apology.
My parents thought that it would be best to keep my past a secret to those outside of our family. My classmates would be told that I was simply away at boarding school for the past few years.
Everyone coming to the house today would know the truth, but everyone else would get our story.
Miranda rounded the counter and stood in front of me. "If you decide you don't want to stay, just call me and I'll pick you up, okay?"
"Okay." I agreed.
"Alright, everyone." Carol burst into the room suddenly and we all looked over to her. "The backyard is finished and I just heard a car door closing out front."
My heartbeat picked up slightly and I tried to suppress the panic that began to fill me. What was I thinking? I wasn't ready for this.
The doorbell rang and my anxiety only increased. I felt a hand press itself against the small of my back.
"It'll be alright, Bella." Miranda said reassuringly.
Carol had gone off to answer the door and Victor entered the kitchen. He stopped in front of me. "Are you ready, Bella?"
I pushed down my doubt and forced a nod. "Yes."
Carol appeared in the kitchen doorway followed by a woman and a man around the age of my parents. The woman resembled Victor and I guessed that this was the Aunt Pauline Uncle Elliot I'd been told about.
Carol smiled. "Bella, this is Pauline, Victor's sister and her husband, Elliot."
I smiled and looked at each of them. "It's nice to meet you both."
They had looks of shock on their faces and Pauline had tears in her eyes. "Bella." She let out a breath. "You're so beautiful."
She came forward and wrapped her arms around me. I'd gotten better about accepting these spontaneous hugs. I didn't feel the need to immediately break the contact anymore.
Pauline was very nice and Elliot was very attentive to her. I knew the reason for that must have been the subtle outward curve of her stomach. She was pregnant; just under five months from the looks of it.
As the day went on, more and more people showed up to the house. Most of them were relatives, but some were family friends.
Liam and his fiancé arrived about twenty minutes after the start of the party. Bonnie seemed like a nice girl with a gentle nature. She was soft-spoken and fairly shy compared to my confident brother.
A couple of hours into the party, I found myself sitting at the kitchen table, taking a break from everything. Everyone was buzzing with excitement and curiosity; their questions seemed never-ending. They were all nice and I wasn't feeling nervous anymore, but this much attention for so long was overwhelming.
The doorbell rang and Carol rushed in from the backyard to go answer it. I heard her greet someone new and their footsteps echoed through the hallway.
"Bella, there you are." I turned to find Angela walking up to me. "You disappeared. I just wanted to make sure you're okay."
I turned in my chair to face her. "I'm fine, thank you."
She nodded and leaned against the table with her arms crossed over her chest. "You know, if you don't want to go to the party, we can stay here. I don't mind."
I smiled. It was nice that she was willing to give up the party for me. I knew how badly she wanted to go. She'd told me how much fun this was supposed to be; the last night of summer fun before school started again. She said that all of her friends would be there and many others, and that I'd be able to meet them all.
I knew this was a good opportunity for me. I'd never been to school before. Having others there to help me would surely be an advantage.
"Don't worry about it, Angela. I'm looking forward to going." I told her.
She lit up. "Really?" I nodded. "Awesome."
"Bella," Carol called to me. She was standing in the kitchen with a woman and a boy around the age of Angela and I. "This is a good friend of Miranda's, Donna and her son, Eric."
Donna grinned brightly. "Wow, it really is you."
I didn't know how to reply, so I only returned her smile. I held out my hand for her to shake.
"It's nice to meet you." I said, shaking her hand first and then Eric's.
"It's nice to meet you too." Eric smiled at me and glanced over at Angela. "Hey, Ange."
"Hey," she responded before looking at me. "Eric will be going to school with us."
Eric's eyebrows rose. "You're going to Lincoln?"
"Yes," I confirmed. "I'll be a senior."
Apparently, I would be one year above Angela.
"Miranda didn't tell me that you'd be going to Lincoln Academy." Donna commented. "I hope it won't be too much for you. It is a very demanding school, but you'll have Angela and Eric there for support. Right, Eric?"
He straightened up in surprise and nodded. "Yeah."
Miranda and Victor came in just then and greeted the new arrivals.
"It's so good to see you, Donna." Miranda said.
"You too, Mandy, and Bella too. She's a great girl, really. So polite." Donna replied.
"Yeah, she's special." Miranda smiled warmly at me.
"But, Mandy, I actually did want to talk to you about something." Donna brought the attention back to herself. She stepped a few feet away, taking my mother with her. She obviously assumed that I wouldn't be able to hear her hushed words, but she was wrong. "Bella tells me she'll be be going to Lincoln Academy with Angela and Eric."
Miranda nodded in confirmation. "That's right."
Donna gave her a look of doubt. "Are you sure she's ready for that? Lincoln is very academically advanced. How much schooling has Bella even had?"
Miranda was silent for a moment and her stand became rigid. "I appreciate your concern, Donna, but my daughter is more than capable of succeeding at Lincoln."
Donna retreated slightly. "I don't want to upset you, I'm just thinking of Bella."
"Well, that's nice Donna, but it really isn't your responsibility, or your concern." Miranda said. She turned away, not waiting for a response and came over to me and Angela. "Everyone is getting ready to leave. Why don't you girls go say goodbye then get ready for your party?"
We agreed and went out into the backyard. The sun was beginning to set and everyone was gathering their things.
Angela and I went around the group and said our goodbyes. They all embraced us and promised to be back again soon. When we were finished, Angela pulled me upstairs and went over to my closet.
"Let's see what you have." She said, looking through my clothes. "It's a pool party, but you don't have to swim if you don't want to." She pulled out a white dress and looked at me. "You'll look so cute in this. Are you going to swim?"
I did know how to swim, but it had never been an activity that I enjoyed very much. At the agency, I was taught to avoid putting myself in direct danger. Large bodies of water led to drowning. I didn't like going into water unless it was necessary.
I shook my head. "No, I don't think I will."
"Okay." She said. "Well, I think you should wear this."
I grabbed the dress from her. I'd never worn it before, or any dress for that matter. It didn't seem very practical, but I had to remind myself that I didn't need to be dressed to defend myself anymore. No one here would be trying to kill me.
"Is it alright if I borrow something of yours?" Angela asked me.
"Of course. Wear anything you'd like." I told her.
I stood up and stripped down to my underwear before slipping the dress over my head. It fell to just above my knees. It had a solid white slip with a flowery lace fabric over the top.
Angela pulled another dress from my closet, this one was a light pink color. It had an open back and two straps that tied around the back of the neck. She pulled a white bathing suit from my drawer and left the room momentarily before coming back dressed for the party.
She met my gaze and smiled. I couldn't help but return the gesture.
"Here," she came up to me. "Your hair looks amazing when you wear it down."
She pulled the rubber band from my hair and let it fall naturally. I'd never cut it, other than the trim Miranda had given me a few days ago. It was long, I knew, reaching all the way to my lower back.
Angela left her hair down as well, hers coming just past shoulder length.
She spent the next ten minutes applying eyeliner and mascara around her golden brown eyes. I pulled on a pair of white sandals and waited for her to finish. She offered to do my makeup, but I refused. I'd tried wearing it before when I'd gone out with Miranda, but it was so uncomfortable. I didn't see the point in putting that much effort into my physical appearance.
Finally, Angela was ready and we made our way downstairs where our mothers were waiting. They made quite a big deal over how we looked and insisted on taking photos.
We were preparing to leave when Donna and Eric came in with my father.
"Is it cool if I tag along?" Eric asked.
Angela shrugged. "Yeah, that's fine."
After giving one last hug to each of my parents and promising to be careful, we were on our way.
The party was nothing like I'd imagined. I knew that it was going to be different than the family gathering, but it was so much more than I could have anticipated.
There were people everywhere, more than I could hope to count. The music was so loud, it almost vibrated the walls. A majority of the mass was intoxicated. It was an experience like none I'd ever had before.
Angela pulled me along behind her as she walked through the crowd. They got close to me, much too close, and my heart began to pound. I was holding back the urge to push my way back out the front door where I had room to breathe. We entered the living room of the house which was full of people who apparently knew both my cousin and Eric.
They all greeted the two loudly. One of them went to the stereo and turned the volume down a little bit so that they could better hear each other.
"Ange, Eric, it's about time you guys got here." A boy about our age said.
"Sorry, today was my cousin's welcome home party." Angela said, gesturing to me.
Their gazes all landed on me and I tried to keep my face free of emotion. I couldn't let them know how uncomfortable I was.
"I didn't know you had a cousin. Well, besides Liam." One of the girls said.
"Yeah, she went to boarding school." Angela replied, easily lying.
"That's so cool, I always wanted to go to boarding school!" Another girl exclaimed. "Where was it?"
She stared at me with wide, questioning eyes from her seat on the couch. I cleared my dry throat.
"It was in Italy." I answered. This was untrue, obviously. The agency itself was in the United States, but my lengthy absence would make more sense if they thought I'd been in a different country.
"Oh, I'd love to go to Italy." The first girl spoke again.
"So, what's your name?" Another guy spoke.
"Bella." I told him.
After hearing my informal introduction, they all began calling their own names out. I caught most of them- Marie, Braden, Derrick, Harley- but I'd missed a few.
They didn't seem to care about whether or not I'd gotten their names, though because the topic of conversation was quickly changed. They made room on the couch and Angela pulled me to sit down beside her.
They went off in a conversation about topics that I couldn't follow. It was as if they were speaking a completely different language. I didn't know if they were talking about people, clothes, or some other random subject.
I remained silent, trying to decipher their words, when Harley suddenly called out above the conversation.
"It's almost ten o'clock, let's go swimming!" She said excitedly.
They all agreed and stood up. I hesitated and remained seated. Angela looked back at me.
"Are you coming, Bella? You don't have to actually get in." She said to me.
I felt like I needed a minute to myself. This experience was a lot to take in and I didn't want it to become to much for me to handle. I shook my head and forced a smile.
"Actually, I need a refreshment. Where do you think I could find some water?" I asked.
She gestured over her shoulder to a doorway. "The kitchen is through there. I'll show you."
I nodded gratefully and followed her into the brightly lit room. There were bowls of various chips and cans filling the surface of the counter. A few girls were standing around a blender, mixing together some sort of red drink. I brought my attention back to Angela who had pulled a bottle of water out of an ice-filled bucket and handed it to me.
"Thank you." I said to her.
"No problem." She shrugged. "Come on, everyone's out back."
She began walking towards a sliding glass door where I could see her friends standing around large pool. They laughed loudly as they jumped into the water one-by-one. They appeared to be having great fun as I watched them. My mind wandered and I began thinking about what it would have been like if I had never been taken as a child. I imagined that I'd be a lot like these teenagers; carefree and reckless.
For a moment I envied them. Their minds weren't constantly occupied with calculating thoughts like mine was. They didn't always plan every possible outcome of every situation they encountered. They acted without thinking and did spontaneous, terrifying things. They lived.
I wished I could be like them. I didn't want to feel this way; always on guard. I wanted to be free of the never ending feeling that I was in danger. I just wanted to be normal.
I shook myself from my thoughts and reluctantly followed Angela outside. I ignored the warnings going off in my head, telling me of every danger that everyone was facing out here. I pretended not to notice the slick concrete that had been soaked with pool water. I also overlooked the roughhousing occurring inside of the pool, which could easily lead to drowning if the teens were not careful.
This was how nights like these were spent here. For some reason, dangerous activities were the most fun to these young adults. I wouldn't interfere. No normal teenager would try to stop them.
I twisted the cap off of the water bottle in my hands and raised it to my lips. I sighed in relief as the cold liquid ran down my dry throat. I tried to make myself relax and sat down on a vacant chair near the house. I watched my cousin and her friends as they splashed about.
Bare feet smacked the ground as they approached me. I kept my gaze forward, but noted the person in my peripheral vision.
"Hey," A voice said from beside me.
I looked over to find Angela's friend, Braden. He was dripping wet with pool water. He had golden-blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He was on the tall side, probably around 5'10 from what I could see. He had a slim build; his toned body was covered only by a red pair of swimming trunks.
"Hello." I responded quietly.
"Mind if I join you?" He asked.
As badly as I wanted to say yes, I did mind, I shook my head. "No, that's fine." I decided that declining his self-invitation wouldn't help me any in making friends.
He sat down on the plastic chair next to me and smiled.
"How are you liking the party?" He asked me.
I looked at him. "It's nice."
He laughed and I blinked, wondering what I said that was funny. "It's nice?" He asked. "That's something people say when they're having a horrible time."
I shook my head immediately. "No, I'm not having a bad time." I insisted.
He shrugged. "It's alright if you are. Parties aren't for everyone. Especially when they involve pools and people who don't like to swim."
I couldn't deny his words, so I remained silent. Braden was observant, I realized. I didn't expect any of these people to catch subtle things like this. I was surprised to find that I actually enjoyed speaking with him.
"So, you really lived in Italy?" He asked.
I paused for a moment before nodding.
"That's insane. Do you speak Italian?" His eyes lit up with an excited wonder.
"Yes." I replied easily, happy that I didn't have to lie about this.
His grin widened. "Teach me something."
My eyebrows drew together in thought. "What would you like to learn?"
"Hey guys," A voice interrupted and we both looked over to find Eric approaching. "What's going on?"
Braden leaned back in his seat. "Bella was just about to teach me something in Italian."
Eric gave a curious glance to me before returning his attention back to Braden. "You barely understand English, how do you plan on learning Italian?"
Braden turned back to me, ignoring Eric's comment. "Bella, how do you say 'let's get crazy' in Italian?"
I smiled at his eagerness and translated the phrase for him. "Andiamo matti."
He slapped a hand down on his knee and laughed. "That's awesome." He stood up suddenly and turned to the crowd before yelling out the words. "Andiamo matti!"
They all cheered, though I was sure that they had no idea what he had said. He gave a parting grin over his shoulder before running over and leaping into the pool with a shout.
Eric sat down where Braden was previously seated and looked at me. I met his confused gaze.
"You really speak Italian?" He asked me.
I nodded. "Yes."
"I thought that was just part of the story." He explained. Donna and Eric, being close friends of my parents, knew the truth of my past; that I'd been abducted. What they didn't know, however, is that I was trained by an elite agency to become a deadly assassin with a genius IQ. I hadn't even known for most of my life; how was he to know?
"No, it is true." I glanced around to make sure that no one was listening before continuing. "I didn't really live in Italy, but I do speak the language."
"Who taught you?" He watched me and waited patiently for an answer that I wasn't willing to give.
"I picked it up." I said vaguely.
He nodded in understanding, realizing that I didn't wish to speak of it.
A series of shouts suddenly interrupted our conversation and everyone looked over to the doorway to the kitchen. There was a guy, whom I hadn't previously met, standing in the doorway with a smirk on his face. He was very tall, at least 6', with dark brown hair on top of his head. He was dressed in black and grey swimming trunks and a black t-shirt with sandals on his feet. His muscular build was apparent even through his shirt and he had an air of confidence about him.
Eric stood up and glared over at him. "What the hell is he doing here?"
Angela and Braden came over to us just then. "Eric, don't start a fight, okay? Just ignore him."
Eric's gaze snapped over to Angela. "I'm not going to start a fight, Ange, but I'm not afraid of finishing one."
Angela only rolled her eyes and remained quiet as the guy joined the group. He nodded to Braden before turning and winking at Angela.
"That's a lovely swimsuit, Ange." The guys said.
Angela huffed. "Real mature, Sebastian." She muttered and turned away, retrieving her dress. She quickly slipped it on.
The guy, Sebastian's, smug expression didn't waver. I surveyed the seen from about two feet away, keeping my focus on Eric. His hands were clenched tightly into fists and his eyes were filled with anger. I didn't know what Sebastian had done to deserve such hostility from Eric, but it must have been quite bad.
Braden went over and stood behind Eric, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Hey man, calm down alright?"
Sebastian raised an eyebrow in amusement at Eric.
Angela stepped back from them and tugged on my arm. She gestured for me to follow her back into the kitchen and I obliged. As we left, Eric's stare never changed, but Sebastian's eyes moved over to us, watching until we disappeared into the house.
Back in the kitchen Angela let out a breath. "Maybe we should leave."
I hid my relief at her suggestion and kept my face emotionless. "Are you sure?"
She hesitated before nodding. "Yeah. Sebastian will only cause problems."
I couldn't stop my curiosity from rising. "Who is he?"
Angela glanced through the sliding doors and into the backyard where her friends still were. "He goes to our school. He's not someone you'd want to be friends with, Bella."
"Why is Eric angry with him?" I asked. I didn't know Eric very well, but he didn't seem like the type to jump willingly into a fight. That is, until Sebastian showed up.
Angela sighed at my question. "That's a bit more complicated."
"Hello, ladies." My gaze snapped over to the newest party arrival.
He walked to the kitchen counter and pulled one of the bowls closer, eating the chips from it.
"So," He began, looking over at me. "I already know Angela. What's your name?"
I didn't answer as I remembered Angela's words; I wouldn't want to be friends with him. I didn't know the reason for that, but I trusted my cousin.
Angela saw my refusal to reply and spoke up. "Actually, we can't socialize right now, Sebastian. We were just about to leave."
He pouted, but there was no trace of honesty in his eyes. "Already? I was hoping we could have some fun."
"Don't fucking talk to them." Eric entered suddenly and sent another glare to Sebastian, who only rolled his eyes.
"So hostile." Sebastian commented. "Don't tell me you're still mad about-"
"Okay, that's enough." Angela cut in.
I watched the exchange with my defense rising. The tension in the air was thick.
"No, Angela. Let him finish." Eric said, giving a daring look to Sebastian.
Sebastian's eyes lost their humor, then, and he straightened up, showing his height advantage over Eric.
"Really, man? You want to do this now?" Sebastian asked but Eric stayed silent. "You know, this would never have happened if you had just given her what she wanted. Maybe then she wouldn't have gone looking for it somewhere else."
Eric's eyes flared up in anger and I watched his movements from the other side of the counter. Eric's hand curled into a fist and he pulled it back, ready to swing at Sebastian. Sebastian, however, saw it coming and easily blocked it before hitting his elbow into Eric's face, hitting him right under his left eye.
Angela gasped and lunged forward, reaching out to stop Eric from continuing. My eyes widened as she ran in between them. The boys didn't listen, however, and they only stepped around her. Sebastian gripped Eric's shoulders and swung him around into the refrigerator. Eric winced and blocked his face from the punches that Sebastian was attempting to land on his face. Eric pushed Sebastian back into the counter, causing him to knock on of the glass chip bowls to the floor, breaking it into thousands of pieces.
Angela jumped away from the broken glass with a surprised yell. She looked back to Sebastian and Eric with fear in her eyes. Something spiked inside of me and I brought my attention to the two fighting. Their actions were not only damaging someone else's property, but they were scaring Angela. I decided that I'd had enough.
I swiftly stepped around the counter to where they were still swinging back and forth at each other. Some of the other party-goers had run into the kitchen when they heard the bowl shattering. They had various devices out which I assumed they were using to record what was happening. I felt annoyance at all of them. I didn't understand how they could find entertainment in something like this. I didn't know if I'd ever understand.
The boys were right in front of me now. Eric had just blocked a punch from Sebastian and was preparing to throw his own when I stepped in. I ducked under his punch and grabbed his arm, twisting it around. His body bent in an attempt to alleviate the pain and I released him, allowing him to fall to the ground. In the next second, I turned and pressed my palms to Sebastian's chest as he moved forward to where Eric had been standing. I gave a swift push and watched him stumble back in surprise before catching himself.
They were both breathing hard as they looked at me in shock. I looked around the room to find everyone else, Angela included, looking at me with similar expressions. I stepped away from the scene and returned to my cousin's side.
"Can we leave now?" I asked quietly.
She blinked from her shock before nodding. She ran over to help Eric up from the ground and together we all made our way out of the house. I didn't miss the stares that I was receiving as we left. I began to question whether I'd done the right thing or not. Would it have been better to let them continue in their pointless fight? Did I just jeopardize my only chance to make friends.
I could only hope that I hadn't.
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Hey, so this took a little bit longer to post than I anticipated, but it is a lot longer than I planned it to be. I hope you liked this chapter. This is the first moment in Bella's social life.
I'm sorry if it seems kind of slow right now, but I promise the storyline will start to pick up within the next few chapters.
Please Comment and Vote, I would love to hear what you think.
Thanks For Reading :)
~Lori~