Love, Cinderella

Twenty-seven:

It had been a while since Cari had entered the room. She just entered and told me to not get my hopes up because they had left my phone at the warehouse. We were not there anymore. I wrapped my arms around my knees as I rocked myself back and forth. I was going to die, and it was all my fault. Khanya was going to die, which was also my fault.

Khanya moaned from his spot on the ground. I looked at him. It took a while for his eyes to open, but they did.

"Bella," he breathed.

"Hey." I said as I took my hand and put it in his. He tried to sit up. I wanted to stop him, but then remembered that the ground was no better. I let him.

"You look terrible." He said cracking a smile. If I was not emotionally drained, I would have smiled.

"You look even worse." He shrugged.

"I will heal." He coughed a lot after that. I was pretty sure that he was about to die. He looked at his hand and when he saw something wiped his hand on his pants. Blood. "Sorry about that."

"I'm sorry that this has happened to you." I said as my voice started to break again. "I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault your step sister is psychotic." He simply said. "And I'll heal. Did they hurt you?" I shook my head. He looked like he was dying yet he still managed to speak. "Bella don't cry. You're fine now. Charles will come and get us." I looked up at him.

"You're Prince." I stated. He nodded. "But you don't have green eyes."

"I wanted you to think that I was Cole, I did not realise that I was also describing Charles."

"Why...?"

"I thought that you hated me." He sadly smiled. "I didn't think that you'd like knowing that I was the one who had been reading your letters. I thought that it was the best thing at the time." Khanya cringed as he held onto his stomach.

"Are you okay?" He put his hand up, restraining me from getting any closer.

"I'm fine." He said. He took in a few long breathes before he looked up at me again. "Talk to me, Bella. It helps me..." He inhaled deeply. "Forget about the pain."

"You should..." Rest. He shook his head before I finished talking.

"No." He wanted me to speak to him. So I did.

"Did you stalk me?" He chuckled.

"I missed you. I missed our friendship. I was there when you were carried away at your fathers funeral. I cried when I heard that your father passed away. I went to a different school the following year. It was my decision. I couldn't be in the same school as you and not be your friend as well. But I always looked out for you. Cole and I are friends. I used to watch you go to the park everyday on the same time. So one day I followed you. Cole was with me. We saw you dig up the box. We also dug it up and opened it and inside were a bunch of letters. We read through them. I felt bad, but I was also worried. That was when I realised about how your life was at home."

"So Cole was never my friend?"

"Cole is your friend Bella. He's always told me about you. How great you were. How kind you are, and how happy you always looked. He wanted me to come out to you. And I was going to. We were planning it, until now. The one time that I leave my phone at home I am kidnapped. It's funny how life works."

"What about Charles? Do you know him?"

"I only know that he is Cole's half brother. He hates Cole. That's all that I know about him."

"Then how do you know that he will come rescue us?"

"Because he loves you. I read your last letters Bella. Do you want to know what Charles said to Cole when he punched him? Don't take another person that I love from me. He's loved you since the beginning."