Bella rolls over to face Hale. He raises an eyebrow, cradling Abbey in his arms. She shuffles closer, so her body lies next to his sitting form. She holds her phone out so he can see around Abbey. On the screen is a unicorn cake. They already planned to have a bouncy house, cookie decorating, a pinata, some other games and a camp out. It was all happening at Dom's family's house with many of Colton and Mia's friends. And of course families.
"She'll love it." Hale assures her.
Bella chews her lip, causing heat to flood Hale's body. "I hope she likes me."
Hale rolls his eyes, in the short time Bella has been at his house, after their celebratory lunch, she's said that at least five times. Not including just now. She was too concerned about the approval of a six year old. He was almost positive Mia would fall in love with Bella. She likes everyone and would love Bella. Especially if she brings out her karaoke machine that she's currently obsessed with and has Bella sing. That's a voice that is hard to resist. He may sound good, but Bella sounds better.
"She's six, Bella. It's not like your meeting the president." He assures, amused as he rocks Abbey.
"Ew." Bella scrunches up her nose. Hale chuckles lightly.
Oddly enough it wasn't weird being in Hale's room. Normally that would mean something, but she knew it wasn't like that with Hale. They had decided to hang out with Abbey and watch some movies after their lunch because she would just have to be back again if she went home. After dinner tonight they planned on going to Dom's where they would have their own little party to celebrate the record deal and spend the night so everyone was already there for the birthday party.
Before much more conversation is made, they pause at the sound of the front locks jiggling. Bella stiffens, looking at Hale with panic in her eyes. He gives her a reassuring smile before he stands up, placing Abbey in her carseat. Then he offers his hand to Bella who has shifted to sit on the edge of his bed. She hooks hers in his and let's him pull her up reluctantly.
He leads her into the front room where two women stand facing them while a smaller girl with pin straight light brown hair stood facing away from them, struggling to get the handle of her suitcase down. Bella watches the womens' eyes take her in. She had worn a simple yellow orche sweater, tucked into dark wash jeans. Her hair was down, falling around her face gracefully. She figured it was a safe outfit to meet Hale's family in.
The older woman, who didn't look a day over fifty was the first to smile, her familiar gray eyes lighting up. Hale's hand squeezes Bella's. He looks over at her and smiles, confidently. He had a brighter glow now that he didn't have to worry about his band. It made him ten times more attractive.
Before anything can be said, the little girl turns around. Her hazel eyes light up, her face breaking in a smile as she takes in Hale and Bella's linked hands. "You finally got a girlfriend!" She exclaims excitedly.
Then she sprints towards them. Hale pulls his hand from Bella's crouching with his arms open to catch Mia in a hug. But instead of jumping into his arms, she runs into Bella's legs, latching on. Bella stumbles back in surprise and Hale's jaw drops as he slowly turns to see Mia hugging Bella.
"Now I have someone that will know how to braid my hair!" Mia beams up at Bella who is just as shocked as Hale is.
Then the snapping of a camera sounds, and their attention is brought back to the door as another woman steps in. Hale stiffens, his whole body visibly recoiling as his eyes brew up a storm, deepening by several shades. The whole room seems to sense the tension between him and the woman, who looks like a copy of Mia. It doesn't take long for Bella to piece together that the new woman is Hale's sister. The whole family seems to be a bunch of printers, making carbon copies.
Mia doesn't sense this tension and begins tugging Bella's hand. "Let's go, I braid your hair, if you braid mine."
Bella looks over at Hale, concern plaguing her face. He glances at her, giving a weak smile. He tried to look assuring, like he was going to be okay, but it wasn't convincing. But Bella felt that whatever was going on in his family right now needed to be handled by him, alone. So she let Mia lead her back down the hallway in which she came and did her best to distract Mia for the time being. She had a feeling that whatever was going to happen between Hale and his sister wasn't going to be pretty. There's no need for Mia to see that.
👶
It felt like a slap in the face seeing her after all these years. His sister, Emily, looked the same as she always did. Like she did the day she left for college and never looked back. He was proud of her for getting out, he was happy for her even if it meant shouldering her abuse. What he didn't understand was how she could just leave him behind and not reach out to help. She knew exactly what happened behind closed doors at homes and she left him. She left him until she needed him.
As if she put him on a shelf until it was convenient to her. Or until she hit rock bottom. Which is what happened. But when he needed her, where was she? She was snorting lines off bathroom sinks and selling her body for money to get her next fix. He didn't care that she picked her life back up and was a much better person now. All he sees when he looks at her is the bag of bones that showed up on their doorstep years ago with a baby in a wet cardboard box.
"Let's not make this a big deal in front of your girlfriend and Mia." Emily pleads, brushing her long dark hair out of her face.
Hale ignores her, turning to his Gran. "Why didn't you tell me?"
Gran looks guilty for a split second before it disappears from her face and she just shrugs, moving past him. "Because I wanted you to focus on Mia."
Hale bites his tongue, taking a long, slow breath in order to hold back what he wanted to say. Everything he wanted to say would lead to a screaming match, and possibly a mental breakdown for him. His focus was always on Mia, tragically his sister's wasn't. He sends a glare at his sister and mom before waving his hand at them, dismissing them and giving his grandma one last look of betrayal before he turns on his heels and stalks back to his room.
He just felt so hurt, mostly by his mother and sister. He could get over Gran withholding information from him. But forgiving his mother for all the years she stayed with his step dad, knowing about the abuse and his sister for leaving him then nearly killing Mia; that was a much harder task.
Why did it seem like they just got over it and he still has nightmares? Is it because he's the only one that was left with scars? Was it the unknown number that messages him every other day reminding him of his terrible past? He wanted to move past this. He wanted to take the fear, the anxiety and all the bad shit he inherited from that time in his life and get over it. Just the way that the rest of his family had. He just couldn't, and he couldn't tell what hurt more, still being haunted by the ghost of his past or the fact that he was the only one who couldn't escape the memories.
Hale holds Abbey, though she doesn't cry, focusing on rocking her as if to put her to sleep. He does this until he calms down, finding comfort in caring for someone else. He didn't have to think about his own problems.
👶
They decided to go out to eat, since it took Hale a while to emerge from his room and when he did he went straight back to Mia's room and played with her and Bella, just to avoid seeing his other family. By that time it was late and no one felt like cooking. So they went out to Mia's favorite restaurant.
As soon as they arrived, they were surrounded by paparazzi and other people who had caught word of Lasting Revival. Hale had almost forgot that he was now signed to one of the biggest record companies in the US. Not to mention the video was viewed more than 14 million times around the world. Something a little more lowkey happened to Hale and Bella at lunch where they were approached by some girls who just wanted a picture with that 'it' couple.
It hadn't occurred to Hale at all what this might mean for his family. It all happened so fast. One minute they were stepping out of their car, the next there were flashing cameras and an uproar of questions. The press seemed to know everything about Hale. And his family. They knew which airline his mom worked for, what phone company Gran worked at for 40 years, the facility Emily was in, down to the camp Mia was at and how his father died.
Bella watched the whirlwind of cameras in front of her as she stumbled along behind Hale, grasping Mia's hand firmly. Her chest tightens and her breathing becomes labored. She tightens her grip on Mia, her eyes glancing around to see that she's been separated from the rest of the family.
"Are you and Hale Nathan dating?"
"Is it true that his sister was in a drug rehab?"
"Does the whole family do drugs?"
"Is Mia actually your daughter being passed off as his niece?"
Bella inhales sharply as her throat closes. The swarm of press swallow her and Mia, who clings tightly to her leg. She focuses on Mia and protecting her, throwing her arms out to keep space between them and the press. She had been advised by Hale to not answer any questions that she will be asked. And to keep her head down. But it seems like they are just hell bound on getting a statement from her about Hale's rising success.
Just as Bella is about to lose her grip, the press is parted, some falling, some jumping out of the way. Hale barrels into the tiny circle of personal space Bella has maintained. His chest is heaving, his eyes the same dangerous storm from earlier. He picks Mia up, holding her tight to his chests as he wraps an arm around Bella's waist, pulling her forward.
"Who is Mia's mother?"
"How do you feel about your uncle being famous?"
"Can we get a kiss?"
Hale's jaw ticks as they get closer to the front entrance that has been closed by the restaurant staff.
"What would your father think about your success?"
Hale pauses, for a split second before Bella hooks her arm around his waist and pulls him forward the little bit of distance they had to the door. Once inside, everything changed from being a storm of anxiety to one of tense relief. Bella sucked in air, filling her lungs as if she was breathing for the first time. She stumbles away from Hale's side.
Hale clutches Mia to his chest, his brows furrowed. She mumbles questions into his shoulder, panicked, scared questions. The ground spins beneath Bella as she struggles to catch a grip on her panic. She's no longer out there. She is fine. There's no harm done. But that's not true as she looks around at the on looking restaurant and staff. Hale's family stand a little away from her, Emily holding Mia, Gran clutching Hale's hands while his mother sends concerned glances outside.
Bella begins to wonder what she's gotten herself into. Should she expect this every time she's seen with Hale? Could she really handle that? She doesn't hear of celebrities getting harassed like that often. Right now Hale is just generating a lot of media attention because of the deal. And that video.
He was easy to recognize. She wasn't, the person who filmed it didn't have a good enough angle to get her full face. But after being spotted with him today she doubted she could get away from it now. She was already somewhat used to the cameras in her face because of her parents and their art. But it had been years since she had to experience a storm of them all at once. The last time was some big charity ball organized by her parents to raise funding for the fine arts in public schools.
But that was before Austin. Before she feared being the center of attention. But if she felt this bad, how were the Nathans feeling? They've never had this type of attention. They have never had to deal with the persistence of the press and the prying eyes of the world. Her heart beat slows in her chest as Hale walks over to her, pulling her into a crushing hug. He rests his chin on top of her head.
"I'm sorry." He mumbles.
"For what?" She questions, hugging him back. She forces herself to calm down further, masking her concern with fake indifference.
"This." He gestures angrily at the paps pressed against the glass of the restaurant to get a shot of them.
She pushes him away, frowning, causing a little crease to form between her brows. "Don't ever be sorry for your success. Own that shit," She points outside, staring at him in disbelief. "You earned it."
Blood rushes south for Hale as his fierce girl returns, once again surprising him. He gulps, smiling at her to distract himself.
"There is no one like you, Bella."