Family Means Everything (Book 3)

Chapter 8

Katherine's POV

I write whenever I want to get out my emotions. Earlier I wrote for over 2 hours which I'm pretty amazed at. Dani was in the room for a while but she seemed deep in thought as well.

"Everyone come down for dinner!" I hear Bella shout and I get up and head down. There's several boxes of pizza on the counter and I grin.

"PIZZAAAA!" Lisa shouts and runs past all of us. I laugh for the first time in days. Dani follows her and they fight over the pizza. It's amusing.

I eat two slices of pizza and talk with Lauren who's sitting next to me.

"This pizza is good," she says in between bites. I nod.

I notice that Bella's being real quiet. I wonder why.

After dinner, I grab my laptop and sit on the couch with it. Lauren grabs a book and sits down next to me. Bella comes in with her phone and lays across the other couch.

I study her facial reactions while she's on her phone. She looks sad. I want to ask her why but Laurie is here and I know Bella wouldn't say anything.

I start to get tired and Lauren falls asleep on my shoulder. Bella's still on her phone. I tap Lauren awake.

"Laur, you fell asleep, you should go to bed," I say and she nods sleepily. I walk with her to her room just to make sure she doesn't fall or anything. I tuck her in like she's a kid again and then head back downstairs. Bella apparently got up because she's now eating a granola bar.

"How long can one stay on their phone?" I ask. She shrugs and doesn't look up. I walk over to the couch, she doesn't even move her legs for me to sit.

I grab her ankles and lift them up so I can sit then put her feet on my lap. Bella says and does nothing.

"What's going on? You aren't acting like yourself," I ask.

"Nothing, I'm fine. Just tired," she responds in a bored tone.

"Please Belle, just tell me. It'll help you."

"Go away Kath. I just want to be alone," she tells me. Her words sting a little.

"If that's what you want," I say pretending she didn't just hurt me. She nods and I get up and walk upstairs to my room. Christina's sitting on her bed with her phone and I sit next to her.

"Christina, I'm concerned about Bella," I tell her. I know that Bella and her have a special bond and that if anyone can get past Bella's walls, it's Christina.

She looks at me, "Why?"

"She's been really quiet. All night she's been on her phone on the couch and now I tried to talk to her but she told me to go away," I say and try not to let the tears fall. My older sister notices and gives me a hug.

"She might just want to have some alone time," Christina says.

I shake my head. "It seems like more than that."

"I'll go talk to her," she says.

"Thanks," I tell her and give a small smile. She squeezes my shoulder and then leaves the room.

Bella's POV

I have a secret. One that I'm far from proud of. One that would hurt my siblings if I told them. So I'm locking myself up, not talking to them as much. That way it can't come out.

Christina appears in the living room now. I bet Kath went and talked to her. She looks at me waiting for me to move so she can sit. I curl my legs up.

As she sits down I know that she's watching me but I don't look at her.

"Belle," she says, hoping to get my attention. Silence.

"Please talk to me, something's wrong..." her voice becomes strained. She's so worried, I can tell.

"No, can you just leave me alone?" I snap.

"I could but I'm not going to," Christina responds. Damn it! I can't break down. I can't let myself fall to pieces because that's when I'll admit to her I'm cutting again.

I sit on the couch staring blankly at my phone. Christina sighs.

"All I want to do is help you," she tells me in a soft voice.

"I don't want help," I meanly say, "I'm gonna go take a shower." I quickly walk upstairs and into the bathroom. I get in the shower where I cut myself a few times. I instantly feel better.

After cleaning them and putting away the blade, I walk out of the bathroom and into my room. Kath and Christina look at me and instantly I start to panic. I grab my pillow and go to walk out the bedroom. Christina grabs my arm and I spin around.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" I scream. Suddenly Lauren and Lisa are at our door. Christina steps back, shocked. Tears fall down her face and Amy, looking confused, pulls her into a hug.

"Can I sleep in your room?" I ask Lisa and Lauren. They nod and we walk quietly out of the room and into theirs. Dani looks up and I can tell she's wondering why I'm here with my pillow. 

"What happened?" she asks. 

"That's exactly what I'm wondering," Lisa says.

"Me too," Lauren says, looking at me. 

"Nothing," I tell them and they shrug. Dani goes back to her phone and Lisa crawls into her bed. Lauren looks at me like she can see through me but I'm sure she can't. 

"You can stay in my bed if you want," she says. 

"Okay, thanks Laur." 

I lay down in the bed and she gets in after me. I turn over to face the wall and quickly fall asleep. The less time I spend awake, the less time I spend being unhappy, scared, and pretending.