BELLA
I had been sitting in the car for almost an hour and with each passing second, I couldn't help but feel like I was going crazy. Megan tried to comfort me and convince me to be patient but I didn't know how to do that either.
We watched the cabin for about half an hour before Wade's men arrived in black clothing that covered them from their heads to their toes. They moved in small lines towards the back of the cabin. I wondered where Wade was but when I asked Megan, she only smiled at me and said he was on his way.
It felt like forever before I noticed movement coming from the cabin again. This time, a figure climbed out of a window at the back. It was my mom and behind her was one of Wade's men. He pulled his mask off and stood by her side as they jogged towards the car.
I got out of the car quickly to receive her, "mom"
She noticed me and ran towards me, hugging me tight. Her hair was a complete mess and her clothes were slightly dirty.
I released her and scanned her body for any signs of torture. I had been so scared Noah would hurt her. She didn't seem to have any besides small bruises on her wrists which I guessed were from the ropes.
"Are you okay?", I looked up at her face. She looked tired and stressed but her eyes softened as she smiled at me.
"I'm fine", she pulled me in for another hug.
"How did it go?", I heard Megan ask Ace.
"Smooth actually", he said, "gas took them out quick", he added.
"Contact the rest of the men and get them out quietly", she said, "I don't want anyone in there when Wade arrives"
Why would Wade need to come to the cabin anymore? We already had my mom.
"We have to go", Ace said to me, "before they notice she's gone"
I nodded and helped my mom into the car first before moving in after her. I watched the cabin and there was more movement coming from it. The rest of the men were getting out through the large window at the back of the cabin. From where he stood next to the driver's side, Ace snickered.
"This is the cleanest operation we've ever done", he said.
"I can see why", Megan was staring at the woods.
"Is that a car?", he asked.
"Wade and the police are here", she said, "are they all out?"
Wade was with the police?
Ace placed a finger on his ear and nodded at her before walking around the car and getting into the passenger seat next to Megan.
"We're done", he said as a loud gunshot filled the air. Next to me, my mom's body was tense and I took her hand in mine and smiled at her.
"Megan, what's going on?", I asked.
She ignored me and took a deep breath, "alright", she said, "let's blow this place up"
"What do you mean blow it up?", I asked and she looked back to me, her eyes softening.
"Bella...", she tried to say.
"What is going on? you just said Wade is in there!", I said loudly.
"Wade was willing to risk it", she said.
"Risk what?"
She didn't reply. Her eyes told me everything I needed to know.
"No..."
I rushed out of the car quickly and made an attempt to run towards the cabin but I felt arms grab me from behind.
"Bella, stop!", I heard Ace yell, "you'll hurt yourself"
"Bella stop! you'll hurt yourself", I heard Ace say.
"Let me go!", I yelled struggling to get free from his grip.
I was tired of being the oblivious one, the one who didn't always know what was going on. I had sensed that something was wrong. I saw it in his eyes. I heard it in the tone of his voice and I felt it on his lips when he kissed me. He was promising to see me again but at the same time, he was saying goodbye.
It couldn't end like this. It was too soon. I just got him back. I finally realized what love looked like to me and now it was about to be taken away from me so I could never gaze upon it again. I had to get closer. If I did, they wouldn't blow it up and he wouldn't die. I was scared but at the same time, I was angry. Angry at the fact that he even considered doing something like this to me. Angry that he didn't think twice before making the decision to leave again. Did I not mean as much as I thought I did to him? Because that was the only explanation, I had for this crazy choice he made. He promised he would come home and I was home. He promised he would come home to me.
A loud boom! filled my ears followed by instant screams, yelling and increased gunshots. I closed my eyes as I fell to the ground with Ace behind me. The impact had clouded my hearing but not my thoughts. I thought I heard my mother scream my name so I opened my eyes, the cabin was in flames and the fire was eating up every single piece of wood like a hungry beast, reducing it to nothing.
"Wade!", I yelled.
"We have to go Bella!", Ace yelled, pulling me up by the hand and pushing me into back into the car. He shut the door but my eyes were fixated on the burning cabin. He was gone. He left me. Again.
"Do you know who the rivals are Bella?", Detective Mathers asked,
I shook my head.
"Well, we have reason to believe Noah worked with a group of drug dealers from California", she said, "known as the Rivals"
It had been days after the bombing. The same detective who questioned me after Danny's death was staring at me in the eyes, daring me to lie to her. I didn't have anything to say. I could barely speak. I wondered if she could tell.
"Noah and I broke up over a week ago", I said softly.
"Oh", she said, "why if I may ask?"
I shrugged, "too many misunderstandings"
She simply nodded, "Did Noah ever talk about his job?"
"He wasn't fond of it so he hardly said anything about it", I said, "but he was always very busy"
"We had a witness who led us to a cabin where the rivals were operating", she said, "it ended up going up in flames but we did find Noah's car close to the scene", she added, "and he moved out of his apartment a couple of days ago"
I took a deep breath. I was only glad there was nothing linking Wade to me.
"Were there any survivors?", I asked.
"No Bella", she said, "Noah's dead"
If only she knew I didn't care about Noah.
"O-okay", I managed to say.
My chest hurt when I thought about it. I hated the fact that I couldn't stop him. I hated the fact that he did it for me- so ii could get my mom back. I tried not to cry although I was sure Detective Mathers would think I was like that because of Noah.
She stood from the couch and stared at me, "I'm so sorry Bella", her tone was laced with pity. I could tell what she was thinking. I was almost raped weeks ago and now, my ex-boyfriend who was a drug dealer was dead.
I stood and followed her to the door.
"Thanks for your co-operation", she said.
"Yeah sure", I muttered dryly as she walked out and I shut the door.
I strolled lazily towards the couch and collapsed on it, staring at the ceiling. Tears I didn't mean to let out, fell out of my eyes. I couldn't even control how much I cried anymore and when I did. It just happened whenever I thought about him. I hated that I couldn't stop it from happening. I hated that I couldn't have at least convinced him not to do it.
I heard the door open but I couldn't be bothered to look up. I knew it was Stacy and my mom- who had been staying with us at the apartment since the day she was rescued. I was glad she was around; it gave me the chance to watch her just incase she had been hurt by Noah and his men. She didn't seem to have been and she didn't talk much about it. I could tell she was being careful with me. I couldn't imagine how weak and powerless I must have seemed to both she and Stacy.
When Stacy got back from her aunt's house, I told her everything that happened. She was unhappy about the fact that I kept secrets from her. I felt bad too but it wasn't something I could open up about so easily. She quickly sobered up when she heard about his death.
"We're back!", I heard Stacy say in a cherry tone. They had gone out to get groceries and I declined the offer to go with them because I wasn't feeling exactly strong. My mother was determined to teach one of us a variety of dishes to cook and Stacy was eager to learn.
Stacy stood in front of me on the couch, "Bella?", she said softly as she crouched in front of me, "are you okay? What's wrong?"
I heard the door shut.
"A detective came by", I mumbled shakenly, "the same one from the office when Danny died"
"What did she say?"
"Nothing, she just asked a couple of questions about Noah", I sat up on the couch and crossed my legs. She motioned to sit next to me and I watched as my mom placed the bags filled with things, they bought on the coffee table.
"They found his car close to the scene", I said to the both of them, "she wanted to know if I knew anything"
"Well, that a good thing- kind of", Stacy said, glancing briefly at my mom who nodded, "she didn't say anything about Wade?"
Hearing his name made my chest hurt. I wiped my teary eyes with my palms.
"She said there were no survivors", repeating the words made me break into tears again.
Stacy embraced me from the side, whispering comforting words to me but I didn't feel like anything would be enough to comfort me. I only needed to get over him somehow or distract myself from the thought of me.