The Black Widow

1

I look down at the small, grey cardboard box that was sitting neatly on my lap, a thin strip of blue ribbon crossed around it, followed by a small blue bow laying on top.

"I know it's not much Bella, but it feels like you deserve it after what you did..." said the tall, blonde haired man dressed in a brown cotton suit and a smart red bow tie.

He stood in front of me, watching as I ran my small shaky fingers along the material of the bow. I smile at its soft and silky touch before I move the tips of my fingers to each corner, slowly starting to undo the ribbon holding the box together.

The ribbon falls gently onto the floor as I reach into the box and pull out a silver chain with a oval locket at the bottom. The oval was engraved with the word "Brave" in the middle so it was clearly seen, on the inside it was empty.

I slowly lift it up, letting the light from the golden sun touch it making it sparkle and shine. "Josh..." I gasp, looking up into his blue eyes. "This must have cost you a fortune!" I exclaim as I move my shoulder length, dark brown hair out of the way, un-clipping the connector before putting on the necklace.

I hear Josh chuckle while I stand up and walk over to a mirror. "Happy 20th birthday Bella Parker!" He says, walking over to me before putting one hand on my shoulder and whispering in my ear: "Just don't tell the others about this okay?" I hear him say making me laugh.

"Why? You don't want to get mocked by the others for giving me jewellery when I'm a worthless girl?" I joke, watching as he rolled his eyes.

"Look Bella..." He starts to speak but I hold up my hand.
"Don't go there Josh, I know what you are going to say, so don't say it..." I say sternly to him making sure he looked into my brown eyes and understood what I was telling him.

After a few seconds of silence he nods and I fold my arms, sighing as he looks down at the floor. "I better get back" he states before turning around to walk out the room."The boss wants to talk to me about some employees not pulling their weight." I nod at his reason and smile at him weakly.

"Thank you again for the gift Josh, you are the only one who has given me something yet, and I don't expect anyone else to even remember its my birthday!" I laugh slightly hoping to clear the air and make him laugh back.

Thankfully he does laugh back at my joke before doing a small wave and shutting the door quickly. My smile fades after I hear his footsteps walk down the corridor and down the stairs away from my apartment. I turn to the mirror once again and run my hand down one side of my neck, fingers tracing the slowly fading scars reminding me of the terrible night where I learned my new life motto:

"Love is weak and useless"

It has been almost a month since I got promoted from just the coffee girl to assistance detective at the Daily. Despite that, I am still the same Bella:

No friends
No respect
Never taken seriously

I lean against the one small, square window in my apartment as I watch the sun begin to set creating a beautiful, orange sky.
Orange...
That was his favourite colour...

I quickly snap out of it as I hear a bubbling and boiling coming from a pan on my stove. That bubbling sound was to tell me that my chicken soup was ready. I carefully pick up the pot handle and pour my soup into a white China bowl with a small blue ribbon pattern around the outside. I still can't eat hard foods very well as it just makes my throat sore and I have some medication that I have to take every morning to help with my asthma.

I believe everything will get better soon, I know I am not at my best but I will soon be up on my feet and I will stay up no matter how many men try to knock me back down onto the floor.
I sit down taking a small sip of soup sighing in relief at the warm liquid running down my throat and relaxing my whole body. I slump back in my chair as my eyes close while I contemplate all of my thoughts and sort them into the right order: