HOURS passed, and there was still no sign of Cole or Mommy. Bella, now clad in her tiny attire of lace-lined clothing, had occupied herself by pacing around the room. Every few seconds she would stare at the doorknob, tempted to feel the cold metal beneath her fingers as she twisted it open, but fear would take over every time. The last thing she needed was Mommy to be standing right behind the door.
Elliot was laying on his side across the room, his eyes closed and his hands resting beneath his cheek. He looked so peaceful, and Bella couldn't help but stare at him and wish that she was at peace, too, just for a few minutes.
If Cole did die, Bella could get her and Elliot out on her own - she knew that. That was her plan all along anyway, since all Cole knew how to do was get himself into trouble. But the idea of something bad happening to him made her tremble with fear - maybe it was the fact that if Mommy let him die, Mommy's capabilities would be more clear for Bella. Her and Elliot could possibly die as well.
She stared at the doorknob.
She couldn't... it was dangerous, it was wrong - it was something Cole would do.
But she couldn't physically handle waiting anymore. Her mind was swimming with all different possibilities and, she just needed to know.
"That's it," Bella whispered, shaking her head. She had to see what was happening, her thoughts were eating her alive.
Her fingers gripped around the doorknob, and for a quick second, she braced herself. When she swung the door open, her shoulders relaxed to find that nobody was standing in the doorway.
What was wrong with her? She knew this was dangerous, but she couldn't help but dismiss the voice in her head telling her to go back to the room and wait. She needed to know what was wrong.
Exhaling, she took a step out of the door, and instantly felt a temperature difference. The new, frigid air nipped at her bare arms and legs and forced her to cross her arms over her chest as she stared at the staircase in front of her.
Trying the door at the top seemed tempting, but it was too bold of a move. She turned to the right and noticed that the bathroom door was cracked open ever so slightly, but only so a single strip of light poured into the basement corridor, not enough for her to see anything inside though. Bella held her breath in her lungs and tapped the door quietly with the pad of her index finger, opening it to see fully inside.
She spotted Cole who was still slumped against the wall, his eyes closed and his head back. For a minute, Bella's heart dropped and accelerated, as she was almost sure he was dead. But seconds later, his eyes opened, his cool, icy irises exposed to the fluorescent light of the bathroom, and he squinted beneath the pressure of it.
Bella slowly pushed the door open a little wider, and found that Mommy wasn't in the room with him. She daringly padded over to him, and he didn't see her until she was sitting right in front of him, making him jump in surprise.
"Fuck," he swore, his shoulders tensing. "Really, Bella?"
Bella almost cried in elation and pure relief - his peachy skin pigment had returned, his cheeks were still clammy and sweaty but that was expected. He seemed alert and aware of what was going on around him, and that was an excellent sign - at least the fever had subsided.
When she reached over to touch the back of her hand to his forehead, he flinched away from her, and her heart ached.
"Sorry," he apologized, his cheeks heating with embarrassment.
"I'm just happy that you're alive," she whispered, shaking her head and allowing her knotted curls to fall in her face. "I was so worried, it was such a long time, I was losing my mind... I... I thought for sure you were dead."
Cole, even in his pain-filled state, grinned through a wince at her words. "You were worried about me?" he teased, his voice rough as he shifted his position on the ground.
That's when Bella noticed the ropes were restricting his wrists again. "Yes," she sighed, not proud to admit it.
"It's pretty brave of you to be in here right now," Cole said, his tone impressed. "What happened to gaining Mommy's trust?"
Bella scoffed and rolled her eyes, ignoring him.
"Seriously, though, Bella," Cole said. "Get out of here. She's going to flip the fuck out if she sees you in here."
"I don't care anymore," Bella told him. "You tried to defend me. I... I really appreciate that, Cole," her voice was a whisper as she stared at him.
"I wasn't very successful," he said, with a forced, pain-filled chuckle at his expense.
"It doesn't matter. Just... thank you," she said softly.
She stared at him for a few more seconds before she looked at his bare chest. The wounds appeared to be cleaned out, as they were no longer oozing, and he didn't appear to have a fever anymore. Mommy actually seemed to have helped Cole.
"Did she give you medicine?" she asked him.
Cole nodded, his head resting on the wall as he observed Bella's tiny outfit, confusion swirling in his slate eyes. "Why are you wearing that?" he asked, when suddenly, they both heard footsteps bumping heavily down the steps outside the door.
Bella jumped to her feet and in the heat of the moment, considered the ridiculous idea of running out the door. Instead, she found her legs dragging her body towards the bathtub and over the side. She crouched behind the side of the tub, sitting in small puddles of un-drained water from their previous baths, the stench of mold now more than noticeable to her but she was out of options.
Bella watched, peering over the porcelain rim of the bathtub as Mommy walked in, a black dress hanging off of her skeletal figure like a potato sack. Her palms pressed against her skirt as she arrived in the doorway and smiled down at Cole who just gazed back at her.
Bella then watched Mommy kneel beside him, her long fingertips sliding against the side of his sweaty cheek. He stared at her, his ill expression holding barely any emotion.
"Feeling any better, baby?" she whispered, her fingertips moving through his matted hair.
Cole nodded his head as he watched her touch him with cautious eyes. Bella could tell he was trying not to flinch away from her, but he couldn't help it, as whenever she would pull her hand back and move her fingers towards his hair again, he would wince for a quick second.
Mommy pressed a gentle kiss to the side of his cheek. Then, Bella watched in horror as Mommy sat right in front of Cole.
"Do you know what else will make you feel better?" Mommy asked, a devilish vibe laced through her tone as her head turned in Bella's direction for a quick second.
Bella recoiled, instantly dropping her head behind the tub and begging anybody listening to prevent Mommy from spotting her. She heard her breath echoing off the sides of the bathtub, and brought her hand up to cover her mouth and muffle her heavy breathing. When Bella started to hear talking again, her eyes rolled back into her skull in reassurance, and she peered over the tub again to see Mommy pressing a liqueur bottle to Cole's parted lips.
Cole shook his head, his thick eyebrows furrowed and his eyes studying the psychotic woman in front of him.
"Drink it," Mommy responded sternly, her teeth gritted together.
He still refused, keeping his lips shut tight as she then tilted the bottle down a bit. A small amount of liqueur slid down his chin and onto his wounded chest, and Cole's eyes squinted shut in momentary pain. That's when he decided to open his mouth and allow only a small amount of alcohol down his throat. The rest spilled down the side of his chin, as he seemed to be in intense pain at the sensation of swallowing the liquid with such a dry throat.
Bella wanted to scream at Mommy. What was wrong with this woman? Her breath was hot in her throat as she tried desperately not to climb over the side of the tub and give Mommy a piece of her mind.
When Mommy finally pulled the bottle away from Cole's bloody lip, she stared at his bare chest, her hands pressing against his flesh and tracing the wounds that covered his torso.
Bella watched, disturbed, as Mommy's lust-filled eyes raked over him.
Mommy pressed herself against him, making Bella furrow her eyebrows in confusion and disgust. Cole moved his head back against the wall, trying his best to make distance between him and Mommy.
What was she doing?
Mommy's face moved close to his, and Cole was struggling to move away from her.
"Steven," Mommy whispered. "I love you, Steven, so much."
Who was Steven?
Cole stared up at Mommy.
Bella had never seen him so vulnerable towards the woman, but she was thankful that he was beginning to comply.
"I'm glad you are being a good boy to me now," Mommy said. "Your sister is a whore. She will open her legs to anyone."
Bella furrowed her eyebrows from inside the tub. Where was this woman getting this from? Bella had never been close to a boy before.
Bella hoped that Cole wouldn't say anything stupid to the woman. She was glad that so far, he was remaining silent.
"That's the thing about little girls. They're all whores," Mommy continued, disdain filling her tone. "I wish I never had a daughter."
Cole swallowed hard, and he flinched when Mommy rested her head against his neck, her gaze facing the other way.
Cole used this time to lock eyes with Bella, and Bella shook her head, before Mommy pulled her head back up. He immediately snapped his gaze back towards Mommy.
"I like it when you're like this," Mommy whispered. "Nice and quiet."
Bella watched as Cole's eyes just watched the wall in front of him.
"Please not right now," he said quietly. "Please."
Mommy stared at him. Bella watched as Cole tried not to falter beneath her stare, but he did.
"You look just like your father," Mommy slurred, looking up at Cole's face. "It is so bittersweet. It must be why I enjoy looking at you so much..."
He seemed just as terrified and unsure of what to do. He swallowed, his chest lifting with a deep inhale as he anticipated her next, unpredictable movement.
"And why I enjoy hurting you," Mommy said suddenly, a sick grin on her lips as she began twisting the cap off of the bottle of alcohol again.
Bella clenched her teeth together and ducked her head behind the side of the bathtub again, her hands over her ears as she attempted to muffle the familiar sounds of Cole's struggled groans and whimpers.