Tame

Part 3

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"Hey, Bella, d'you want a lift to college?" Alex, one of her dad's youngest thugs asked as he pulled up to the house, Isabel looked at him. He'd never spoke to him before and he'd never met her dad. He'd been recruited a few months ago and something about him just rubbed Bella the wrong way.

"You do not address me as that." She told him, hitching her bag up on her shoulder, "we are not friends, you work for my dad. Thank you for the offer but no thanks, I'll walk." He cut the engine and stepped out of the black Land Rover completed with blacked out windows.

"Right, sorry, Isabel. Are you sure you don't want a lift? I've been told that there's rumours of an attack going around, I just want to make sure you get there safe." Bella looked him up and down, he had an uneven shave and looked far too young to be partaking in what her dad expected of his "employees". She shook her head,

"Once again, appreciated, but no thank you." Before he could say anything else, she put her earphones back in and started her long walk.

Gabby was already waiting by her locker when she arrived,

"Hey Gabs, what have we got first?" Isabel asked, opening the blue locker door and tossing half of her books inside, taking weight out of her bag,

"Sports, we have track. Do you have your kit?" Gabby replied, she always looked so nervous, clutching her books close to her chest as if someone would try to take them right out of her grasp. Although awkward and gawky, Isabel would do anything for Gabby, she was the only person she could trust. She was the only one that had stuck around, even through all of her family troubles and there were a lot.

"Of course." Bella smiled and pulled her kit out of her locker, black tracksuit bottoms, a sports bra and her white tank. Sports was one of her favourite subjects. One thing her brother had drummed into her head was that being healthy was important and at her age, agility and stamina were two of her best weapons, hence the reason he'd always taken a disliking to her smoking habit. She hadn't known what exactly he had meant by that until her dad was cuffed and pulled out of their house.

The girls changed and headed to the sports hall where the boys class was waiting for them. Bella managed to pick out some unwelcome familiar faces; Dylan, Luke and Aiden. She was aware that Dylan and Luke had taken sports but hadn't been informed that Aiden had been enrolled in the college.

"Great." Bella grumbled, tying the laces of her running shoes tighter.

"What?" Gabby asked, looking around the hall for something to jump out to her,

"Them." Isabel replied, nodding her head not so subtly to the boys who were messing around. Gabby sucked her cheeks in, she knew Isabel very well but that didn't mean she could read her mind and Bella could be quite unpredictable.

"We will be running five miles today so I hope you bought your water bottles and your track shoes, it's hot outside and you need to stay hydrated." Their gym teacher boomed above the giggles and deep chatter. Amy, a girl who had desperately tried to get close to Isabel since they first started college walked over to Bella and Gabby,

"Hey, Izzy, don't you have a water bottle? Is it okay if I call you Izzy?" Isabel looked up from where she was sat on the dirty gym floor, meeting the light blue eyes of the popular brunette, she was smiling brightly, a false friendliness that Bella had become accustomed to. Fakes equal snakes and she kept her distance.

"No, it isn't alright if you call me Izzy and yes, I have a water bottle," she picked up her black bottle from behind her and shook it around a little, "thanks." Amy smiled, shrugged and skipped off, back to the Barbie's.

"I really don't like her." Gabby grumbled, though Gabby didn't really have anything against Amy personally, she wasn't a fan of the way Amy was too bubbly towards Isabel, she was afraid that she'd actually get into Isabel's business. Gabby was like a silent protector, a very good judge of character and feisty when necessary. That's the thing that Isabel liked most about her, she was reliable and her quiet, fragile demeanor was very misleading.

"Join the club." Bella replied, pushing herself up off the floor and following the crown out to the field. The sun beat down on them hard, threatening to burn their skin and squeeze them dry of bodily fluids.

"Hey Princess, you reckon you can keep up?" Aiden chimed, jogging backwards as he passed her before turning around and joining Luke and Dylan. Bella frowned in disdain and stretched her legs beside Gabby before they set off. A little while later, they caught up to the boys,

"Don't challenge me darling." Bella called as they ran past, Aiden smirked, looking to his friends as they picked up pace.

Bella climbed into the shower, letting the hot water run down her back as she combed her fingers through her hair, it was refreshing as she washed away the sticky sweat that layered her body,

"Bella, d'you fancy hanging out tonight?" She heard Gabby call,

"Sure, you can come to mine, no one's in." Bella called back, grabbing her towel and dabbing her face dry. She got dressed and made her way to her next lesson.

College dragged out and by the time she finished, everyone was grumpy and too hot, complaining about the weather. Bella stood at the gates, cigarette in mouth as she waited for Gabby.

"You shouldn't smoke, you know." Bella looked up to see Alex stood, leaning on his Land Rover. She sighed, flicking ash to the floor.

"What are you doing here, Alex?" He shrugged,

"I've been told to look out for you." Bella narrowed her eyes at him,

"And by doing so, you're stalking me, pulling up outside college in a criminal looking vehicle. You're going to arouse suspicion Alex, leave me alone. I am more than capable of looking after myself.

"That may be so but Kip told me and orders are orders, Isabel." Kip was her dad's right hand man, when her dad left, Kip was the one left in charge so what he said was final. Unless Isabel had anything to do with it. She put up hell of an argument if it came down to something she wanted.

"Well I will be speaking to Kip. Either way, you aren't required, I'm not walking home alone, my friend is coming round." As if on cue, Gabby was by her side, smiling.

"Ready?" she asked, Isabel nodded and they began walking up the hill. "Who was he? He's cute." Gabby commented, referring to Alex.

"A pest. He's one of dad's henchmen. I don't like him." Isabel replied, Gabby shrugged and they switched to gossip about who was hooking up with who in class and what the latest juice was. Not that Bella cared much for anyone else's social life but it was Gabby's favourite past time so she entertained it anyhow.