Mommy's House

14

BELLA opened the door and noticed that Cole was laying against the wall sleeping, and Elliot was curled up beside him, his head on Cole's lap. She tried not to make too much noise as she closed the door and took a deep breath, running her fingers through her hair.

"They caught you?" she heard Cole whisper.

Bella jumped and looked over to find his grey eyes looking up at her. She noticed dark stubble beginning to grow around his jawline, and his hair was messy, several strands falling into his eyes.

She furrowed her eyebrows and lowered herself slowly to sit beside him, eyeing him in confusion.

"How do you know that I tried to escape?" she asked him, and he tried to shift his posture as best as he could without waking Elliot.

"I knew you would figure it out," Cole said, leaning his back against the wall and flinching immediately.

Bella stared at him, "I'm confused..."

Cole took a deep breath. "When they first took me out of this room, her boyfriend left the door to the basement open."

Bella pulled her lips into a straight line and listened, still not understanding.

"The bitch started yelling at him," Cole continued, "telling him he left it open every single time he would go downstairs, but, I couldn't try anything because I was tied up and they were holding on to me," he explained. "I knew he most likely left it open again, and I knew she would throw you out of the room because she hates you so much, so that's why I tried my best to buy you some time."

Bella's eyes widened as she played with her fingers. "That's... really smart, I thought you were just being dumb," she praised.

Cole exhaled. "I wish it would have worked out, though."

Burning frustration suddenly sprouted from the depths of Bella's chest, as she realized the danger he put himself in. "Actually, no, that was stupid, Cole! You could have died, and- what... what did they even do to you?" Bella asked, scouring her eyes over him and noticing there were no fresh marks on his bare chest.

Cole seemed alarmed by her instant change in attitude. "Nothing," he dismissed, looking down at Elliot.

"You don't realize how dangerous it is to talk back to that woman. She could very easily kill you," Bella explained, pulling the sandwich out and unwrapping it.

Cole stared at her. "How'd you get that?"

"She let me go and gave me this," she whispered, breaking off a piece and feeding it to Cole since his hands were still tied. "She was about to kill me, she had a long knife and... it was so scary!" She trembled at the recollection.

They were both extremely hungry and ate their pieces of the sandwich in seconds.

Bella touched Elliot's shoulder to wake him. When Elliot stirred and lifted his head from Cole's lap, Bella noticed a purple and black contusion darkening the flesh of his left eyelid and cheekbone, and his eye was almost swollen shut. Her heart dropped and her mouth fell open as she stared at him.

"Oh, God! What did they do to you?" Bella asked, her heart in her stomach.

Elliot's eyes welled up with tears.

"She punched me," Elliot said, his small voice filled with sorrow.

Bella's eyes widened. "She... she punched you?" she repeated, reaching her fingers out to gently stroke the bruised portion of Elliot's cheek bone. "Why did she do that, Sweetie?"

Elliot shrugged his shoulders. "I was scared, they were hurting Cole and he was bleeding! I tried to ask them to please stop, but they didn't! She really doesn't like me," Elliot whined. Bella pouted and kissed his forehead, before she turned to Cole with her eyes narrowed.