Baking With Boys |✔

40. Honey Pancakes

"Giulia--she-she's missing. I think my papa took her." Bella's words hung in the air, and an impermeable silence engulfed us. They carried a pressure with them, suffocating us, trapping us in a box. It was as if my mind was switched off by an incomprehensible force, and only the shell of its former self remained. I couldn't understand her words. The lines repeated itself over and over again in my head, yet I couldn't make sense of it.

Bella's confession was like the opening of the Pandora box. The wall of composure she had crumpled with her words and a sob broke out from her mouth. The estranged sound snapped me out of my reverie, and I went back to patting her back. My finger caught in the flimsy material of her cloth, and I realized that she was still in her nightclothes. Brandon noticed it too, because the next moment he came back with our blanket, handing it to me. Without a word, I took it, wrapping it snugly around her. Warmth seemed to calm her down as her sobs turned shallow and her breathing evened.

Again, as if Brandon and I were tuned together, he passed me a bottle of water before my lips formed the words. As she drank the water, I dreaded the moment I would have to ask her to explain what happened. Without knowing the details, there was nothing I could do to help her.

The instant she was calm, her body stiffened, and I dropped my arm from around her shoulder. Brandon was leaning against the side table, and our eyes met. I got his message and gathered my courage to talk to Bella. I asked, "Can you speak now?"

It was a simple question, she just had to answer in yes or no. But it was a reminder of her current weakness, and I knew she had too much pride to admit either. I changed the topic before it got uncomfortable for her.

"Bella, where's Giulia?" That felt the right way to start the conversation, and with utmost patience, I waited for her to answer it.

"It happened last night." She covered her face with her hands, and the blanket slipped down from her shoulders at the movement. I secured it once more, and she acknowledged the help. "She went to the clinic room for her scheduled check-up."

"And...?"

"I told her I'll make her dinner, and to take her time coming back." Bella shimmied out of the blanket and took out her phone. With a few clicks, she opened the call log. "I was in the kitchen, and I didn't hear the phone ring."

My eyebrows went up when I saw the missed calls from Giulia. One after the another. "Did you call her back?"

Bella nodded.

"Did she pick up the phone?" I asked, already expecting a no.

Bella nodded once again. Brandon- who had been silent this whole time- straightened up and addressed her. "What did she say?"

"Meeting with friends." Bella shrugged.

"What friends?" he asked, pacing in front of us.

"That's the problem. I don't know what friends," her voice was small, and it looked like she regretted not prying further. "I wasn't thinking and hung up soon after."

"Then she didn't come back?" I asked.

"She didn't, and her phone is switched off too."

There were three consecutive knocks on the door, and the three of us jumped at the unexpected noise. Bella cowered and grabbed Brandon's hand when he moved towards the door.

"What?" he whispered, understanding the urgency and the way her eyes frantically moved from the door and back. The look sent a shot of fear in the pit of my stomach, and I at once feared whatever was behind the closed doors.

"Do you remember how I said my dad took her?" she whispered, dropping her hand when she confirmed that Brandon is not running to open the door anymore.