A/N
the name of the chapter was missing, sorry. In my defence I'm blaming it on sleep deprivation.
"Let's recap quickly what happened these past few days" Yeah let's not.
"Isabella, why don't you tell me what you did wrong?" Ugh, I fucking hate this. Whyyy?
I look him dead in the eye, don't ask me why, don't ask me how I got the courage to do that. I would've already been slapped if it was my mom or strangled if it was Jack. We continue staring at each other, his cold eyes boring into mine. He has the same gray eye color as me that my Mom hated, the same emotionless, empty expression as me. He raises an eyebrow and gestures for me to start, not breaking eye contact. I bite my lip and sigh.
"Umm. What do you already know?" If I'm correct he wants me to tell him the truth so I can fill in the gaps.
"Almost everything... Now go on, I haven't got all day." I sigh and rack my brain trying to remember everything I did, I look at my thumb, still wrapped in its bandage. How did I forget about it?
"So, I kinda escaped from the hospital?" I try.
"Are you asking or are you telling me?" I shrug "Well I'm going to need a much more detailed story than that, and I want you to start from the last day you went to school" I groan internally, this is going to be loooong.
"Um, well I, uh I didn't wait for Elijah like he told me and got on the subway and walked home without telling anyone. W-when I got home I ran from Lorenzo and punched him in the face. I think I hid somewhere in an office or something and jumped out of the window. when you caught me I fought you guys, I think I kicked Alex, um sorry."
"Go on Isabella"
"When Ryan brought me to my room I was rude to you. Then I think I went to the party with Dominic, and I passed out." I end it shortly.
" What did you do during the party, Isabella?"
"I just hung out with my friends." I lie. Please don't make this a big deal, please.
"Well unless you automatically inhaled a shit ton of alcohol and drugs without noticing, you're lying." Alex sounds so disappointed in me. I look down at my hands trying to prevent tears from spilling. As the first tears start to pour down my face I bring my knees to my chest as I curl up into a ball. Soon my tears turn into sobs as I dig my nails into my knees. One of my brothers picks me up and sits down with me on his lap. With one hand he pushes my knees away from my chest while still hugging me to his chest with the other.
"Shhh, it's ok, everythings going to be ok, we love you shhh" he repeats again and again rocking me. I don't know how much I stayed there but when I stopped crying I sat a bit better and looked at my brother. I was surprised to see that it was Arthur who had picked me up and not Alex, I didn't think he would be capable. I rub my eyes trying to rid them of my tears, and tuck my hair behind my ears.
"I'm sorry" I mumble. Arthur lifts my chin up so that I'm looking at him.
"You've got nothing to be sorry about" he pauses. "Actually you've got so many things to be sorry about I can't even count them on my fingers anymore, but you did nothing wrong right now. When you feel like it could you please continue? We still have three days worth of shenanigans to go through."
"Ok so I um I don't remember much after I woke up, just that I had restraints on and you asked me some questions and took them off and handcuffed one hand to the bed. I didn't want to stay there and answer more questions so I did something I shouldn't have done."
"And what is that?" Is this man for real? He already knows what's the point in this?
"I um Ibrokemythumbtogetoutofthehandcuffs andputmyclothesandshoesonundermygown
andputhandsanitizerallovertherroomandlititonfire" I say quickly and under my breath.
"Can you repeat that for me, slower" he smiles encouragingly
"I broke my thumb to get out of the handcuffs and put my clothes and shoes on under my gown and put hand sanitizer all over the room and lit it on fire. When the door opened I mad a run for it and stole a soldiers gun–"
"YOU BROKE YOUR THUMB?!" he yells, making me cower away from him, hiding my injured hand behind my back. "Sorry, I didn't mean to yell" he rubs my back with one hand while using his other to get a hold of my hand, he puts it on the desk and looks at it. He starts unwrapping my thumb. He sighs, seeing it. I look up from my lap. Yup it's broken all right, it's kind of crooked and hanging limply in a weird way and it's a dark purplish color.
"Well um after that I just started walking, and I didn't even know where I was but it was starting to get late, I figured out I somehow got to Hollywood and there where many tourists around and I needed money so I decided to put my pickpocketing skills to use and stole some people's wallets, one of whose was property of Roger Thompson. I was in an alley when three boys cornered me, and I shot one of them and I tried to run but I slipped and they went on top of me, and they were trying to pull my pants down but I fought them off, and then the police came and arrested them. So I told the police my Dad was Roger, because he was from Chicago like me. He actually came and took me to a McDonalds and when he figured out who I was he called you?"
"Yes, Roger has been working for us for the past eleven years, thank god he found you. You have no idea how worried we were." Tears well up in my eyes again, no one has ever been worried for me. I look up at him Arthur's expression is taut, his jaw set as he begins, his voice low but brimming with quiet fury.
"Do you have any idea how reckless you were?" His words are clipped, measured, each one landing like a blow. "You started a fire in a hospital, Isabella. A hospital. You put doctors, nurses, and patients in harm's way. People who could barely walk!"
His gaze sharpens, his eyes dark with frustration. "And then there's you. You put yourself in danger, too. Do you understand how many things could have gone wrong? What I would have had to do if something happened to you?"
He exhales, trying to maintain his composure, though his voice remains tight. "You think you can act on impulse, but you're not just anyone. Everything you do has an impact, not just on you but on this family." His voice drops even lower, barely more than a whisper. "After everything we've been through, this is how you choose to act?"
Arthur doesn't let me look away. "There are consequences for this kind of behavior, Isabella. Understand that clearly. I have your phone, and you'll hand over any other devices when you leave this room. I'll be keeping them until I can trust you with even the simplest decisions again. Trust has to be earned back."
He leans back, his gaze unyielding. "You're grounded, and as for those friends of yours—they're a bad influence. You won't be seeing them. For now, you're on bedrest. When the doctor clears you, you'll go back to school, but you'll be with either Elijah or Dylan at all times. And when you're home, you'll be with one of us. You've lost the privilege of making these choices alone."
He lets the words settle, studying my reaction before delivering his final words. "You need to remember that your actions affect more than just you, Isabella. Until I see that you can do that, things are going to be different. Understood?"
"Yes," I murmur.
"Yes what?" he asks sternly.
"Yes sir" Arthur nods once, his expression still unreadable.
A/N
Double post today! How do we feel about Arthur, do we like him a bit more?
Next few chapters are going to be short butI hope I made it up for you guys since chapter 20 was almost 6000 words long. I'm currently writing Chapter 23 and in total this book is 56,601 words long, I mean what the fuck!
Last question: How old do you guys think I am?
YOU ARE READING
Saving Isabella
Teen FictionIsabella's life has been anything but easy. At 14, she's already endured more than most. Her mother and her mother's boyfriend, Jack, were both controlling and abusive, leaving Isa to navigate the scars of their manipulation. Her mother always told...
