It was the Friday before the start of school. Bella woke up to see the dark grey clouds that were so much the norm in Forks. As she watched the storm clouds pass by so quietly, she shivered, today felt so…heavy already and it was only 9 am.
She walked over and picked out some clothes, comfortably stretched out jeans and a comfy tee. She didn't want to have to dress up for school before she had to and she knew her teacher/advisor for pals wouldn't mind yet.
While she went about her morning routine, shower, shaving, dressing and eating, her mind went frequently to her friend. She hardly ever heard from her the remaining part of summer. Bella worried tremendously about her, she hardly ever returned her calls and it was almost always by text.
Short, simple to the point texts, and almost always contained the words 'too tired talk later'. The few times they had talked over the phone, Janie seemed like she was concentrating on something else.
When they would see each other on pals meeting days, Janie would always be slumped over, looking more exhausted every time. She had shadowy circles beneath her eyes and if Bella looked at her long enough, she would swear that tiny little Janie had lost some weight.
She had been wondering if she should confront her friend and find out what was wrong, or wait and let her come to her. As Bella was rinsing out her bowl in the sink, she nodded positively to herself, if she found an opening, she'd ask her today. She just couldn't let Janie suffer alone, she was her best friend in the entire world.
Putting her rain coat on and grabbing her bag, she headed to the high school. As always she passed the field where the boys where playing. She parked her truck and gave her a pat on the dash as always, looking around noticing Janie wasn't there yet, so she sat in the parking lot, watching the boys play. They'd be done and gone before they got out of their meetings as usual.
Bella sat waiting for a little while, she'd been early hoping to catch her friend, but as she waited, she watched the boys practice. Her dad always said she was an observer of life instead of an activist. She just figured this was another reason for him to push the extra-curricular.
But, as she sat there in her truck waiting for Janie and the inevitable rain, she watched the boys, and laughed. It seemed as if they all had one last massive growth spurt, well except for Emmett, he was always massive.
His girlfriend Rosalie Hale was the head cheerleader and they had been together since about the middle of freshman year, she was a lucky girl, everyone loved Emmett McCarty and he treated her like she was a queen. Luckily, as well, it never seemed to go to Rosalie's head, she adored him just as much. Bella just knew he'd be crowned class clown, and they'd both be Prom/Homecoming King and Queen this year in the yearbook.
Other than Emmett she noticed that at least 5 of the starting line guys were really beginning to look filled out, including Rosalie's half-brother, Jasper, which was saying something because he had always been thin and lean.
Bella took a moment thinking about Jasper, him and Rose had different mothers, hers a rich but sweet and thoughtful lady that stayed home with Rose and later on Jasper as well. While Jasper's on the other hand, was a harsh and hateful woman from Texas, at least this is what she had heard. That his mother would leave him alone for days and bring men around that weren't exactly nice. Bella always thought Jasper was quiet but with an underlying a sweet disposition hidden by a rough and grouse exterior, he was shy, but football had seemed like something that allowed him to let go of his aggression, and his father was all for it once he got custody of him and moved Jasper up here.
Her eyes and thoughts were back to watching them all gather around the field and Bella thought to herself that the new coach must be really pushing them, she'd ask Janie later if she knew anything about his practice regime.
She looked over to the water stand, and there with his helmet off, and a provisioned water bottle in hand, looked one very well-toned Edward Cullen. Bella practically drooled down her chin.
She had always had a massive crush on him. He was a popular guy, a jock and seemingly incredibly smart and sweet. When Bella saw him around school or practicing she always thought he'd seem to always push himself so hard. She never knew why he pushed so hard, he seemed to have it all.
His parents, Mr. and Mrs. Carlisle and Esme Cullen were well enough off, with him being a well-known Doctor and her being from what they call old money, they could afford to send him to school, he had good looks and what appeared to be such a wonderful personality, but always pushing to do better. Shrugging, she guessed he was just a hard worker.
The few times they'd have a class together, she would never know how to act around him, and he'd never been rude to her, even though she would hide her face in her hair when he looked at her.
Her tongue unconsciously licked her lips as she noticed the definition that was growing around his neck and arms where she could see his skin. Bella sighed, he was the perfect guy and she'd never even had the courage to say hello.
Bella watched them, also creasing her brows, it appeared as if Coach was yelling at them again. They looked rough, some looked angry, not enough to be really noticed, but Bella being Bella, she would see the subtle changes. Some of the boys were off to the side, Laurent, Alec, Demetri and a couple others looked slightly jumpy. She was in the middle of trying to figure out what their problem was when her friend finally arrived.
Janie pulled up beside her, looking as sad as ever and Bella saw her look for just a second to the field, and wondered if one of the football boys was bothering her. She stepped out of the truck, grabbing her bag and headed straight for Janie, pulling her door open.
"Janie, we have to talk, and you know it." Bella crosses her arms and stares her friend down.
Janie nods to Bella sadly, turning her legs out of the door, just sitting there resting an arm on the steering wheel.
"I'm sorry Bellashcmella, I know we need to talk, I … I need someone to talk to, I don't know what is going on. Maybe I can come over this afternoon and we can go into details yes? But for now, we need to get to the class, we're gonna be late." Janie sighs stepping out of the car and locking it.
Bella moves in and gives her tired friend a big hug. "You know I'm here for you Janie, forever and always. You know like gum on your shoe, once it's there, you never get rid of it!" They both giggle walking towards the classroom inside.
Before getting to the right hallway, Janie stops and pulls Bella to the side leaning in and whispering to her in a hurried fashion.
"Bells, something's going on in my house. I don't know what, but …. I just keep getting the feeling like I'm being watched. It makes my skin crawl and I am having a hard time sleeping." Janie palms her forehead hard, in a frustrated fashion. When she looks up, she has tears welling in her sad, tired eyes.
"I… I think my new stepdad… no... its just my imagination. I don't know what's going on Bella, it's just… creepy at home."
Bella shakes her head at Janie and gives her a hug again. "Listen whatever it is, we'll figure it out together, please don't shut me out anymore ok? I'm here for you."
The two continue on, never noticing the shadowy figure on the other side of the hall by the offices.
The meeting went on, the girls got their assigned students and were informed the first meeting with their new pals wouldn't be until the second week of school to let the students have time to acclimate to their new surroundings and schedules.
As much as Janie and Bella wanted to rush out of there, they had to stay behind for a little while. Angela the youngest of the group, had a few questions, and a new arrival, Alice Brandon a tiny little thing who had been made to move in her senior year, arrived to the group and needed to be shown the directions and rules for the group.
As they closed the meeting down, Janie, Bella and Angie and Alice all decided that they'd try to get together sometime soon to get to better know each other as they all seemed to mesh so well with each other. Angela and Alice left the room to go home. Alice needed to get some shopping done for school, and was in a rush, she apparently did not like this.
"Only my father is stupid enough not to realize that girls need approximately two months' notice for any change that requires an entirely new wardrobe. Silly men, my mother would roll in her grave at his stunt!" None of them seemed to know how to react to this, but Alice seemed to just beam at them and once she started laughing, they all joined in.
Angela, had to rush home to babysit her brothers, their parents were holding the usual Friday evening come together at the church, and it was adults only, because as she said quoting her parents "Parents need a break from their children and remember what it is like to not have to talk in totally's, fine's and whatever's."
They all laughed and Alice and Angela left, leaving Bella and Janie to pick up the room and straighten all the chairs out. They smiled at each other "How did we get the honor of being the left behinds? Shouldn't this be a new to the group thing, you know like initiation, we'll know you're serious if you stay and clean?"
Bella giggles at her friends. "Come on Janie, do you really want those guys that just left, to be left alone in a room full of bright colored things hanging loosely on walls and dry erase markers with an empty whiteboard just calling to them 'draw on me, something really inappropriate! You know you want to!' That would totally work in our favor right?"
Janie laughs hard "omg, I can just imagine what nonsense would be had, you're probably right. Knowing the boys, they'd probably draw stick figures of boys and girls getting it on and then blame us, even if their faces would be beet red."
Giggling hard, they turn off the room light and lock the door behind them, walking down the hallway back to the parking lot.
"So Janie, we need to talk, do you wanna go eat first, I think the special today at the diner is like steak fingers and mashed taters and gravy or some nonsense"
Her friend laughs at her "Bella, you know that everyone knows what they are cooking today and everyday, it's always the same Mrs. Myers never ever breaks from her routine, I swear she's ocd. " Janie looks up at her friend giving her the doe eyed look "I'd rather have the La Bella especiale?...please?"
Bella giggles lightly punching her friend in her arm, "alright Ms Janie, at which place am I to fix this fantastical feast, your place or mine?"
Before Janie can answer a large shadow comes over them and a deep, sly voice hints out. "hmm How about my place girls."
Both girls look up starting to smile, but as their eyes dot to what's in front of them, they stand rock still. Their mouths only working to look like fish on a pier drowning in air. They both take an instinctive step back, these shadowy figures were dark, and sinister, they were unrecognizable and the girls instantly knew it meant trouble.
Bella could feel her friend shaking hard beside her. The air was tense and the feeling of dread she had this morning, was back again and screaming at her.
The shadow moves in and the deep dark voice sets in again "oh no you don't, come on girls, let's have some fun, and I won't take no for an answer"
The girls drop everything they are carrying and run, for their lives. They make it to the double doors, hair flying all around their heads. Heavy steps coming at them from behind. As the two bust through the double doors. They run into two massive bodies and fall to the ground, hitting their heads, elbows and legs on the coarse concrete beneath them.
They both look up, sweaty, heaving breaths and fear stained eyes. The two figures pick them up, twirl them around, putting large hands over their mouths to keep their screams from being heard.
The two friends' eyes dart scarily at those figures around them. They would swear that these monsters had no souls, their eyes held nothing but anger and lust.
The hands gripping at them were strong but shaking violently, causing bruises on the girls' skin. The girls, salt and pepper but together in agony felt themselves tied by their wrists and ankles to something metallic but smooth, but they both recognized that the room smelled like dirty socks. Their eyes blurry from tears, lights darting in and out of focus as they fought the figures off, but it was useless.
Faces, some they recognize, some they don't fly around their clouded, teary vision. Coolness of air flying over their bodies, coarse strong hands in places they should never be. Wet and warm moistness pushing down their throats, with salty musty stickiness tasting on their tongues and dripping down into their throats, teeth biting their flesh. Grunting, moaning and cheerful, congratulatory words said in happiness were being passes around above their heads. Pain, pinching, tugging, pushing and pulling, pressure along their bodies, the girls senses were so deep in painful overdrive they had a difficult time just staying aware.
The last figure to place themselves upon the girls' skin made Janie's skin crawl even worse, Bella was to the point of almost blackout, but his parting words in his deep, coarse, slurred-worded evil voice would ring in their ears for a long long time.
"You both are whores, sent here by God to tempt us. You will be used like the sluts you are. You both are property of my boys. When they want to scratch an itch, you'll not fight them. If you do or if you tell anyone about this, you'll find yourselves six feet under in a remote location where they will NEVER find you. Do you understand?"
The girls both whimper and cry nodding beneath him.
He stands up and the girls can hear his words to the boys behind their ringing ears.
"These girls are here to help you with your frustrations, men with other things on their minds can't keep a clear head and play with a clear mind as they should, especially young men. I want you to use them as you need to keep your head in the game, don't permanently or overly damage them, as something like a broken bone would be hard to explain. They are yours otherwise to do with as you please, take your anger and extra energy out on them as God intended their use." He turns back towards the girls smiling an evil smile, then back to the boys.
"Oh and boys, the same goes for you, this is a good team, a winning team of young men I'm proud to be a part of, but if any of you become blabber mouths about our recreational team building skills, well, I'd hate to lose one of you. Trust me, this is the best way to be the best team, you all want scouts right? Nice scholarship packages, well do as I say, and you'll have all the choices in college you want. "
They could hear the deep voices around them consent to him.
The girls crawled in on themselves as they were unceremoniously untied and pushed to drop on to the floor, heavy, multiple footsteps could be heard walking away from them, as well as mumbled voices disappearing into the background.
AN:
I'm no sports expert, and I'm not anti-God. Some people are just sick and insane and they only need a small piece of something to validate the way they think.
I am sorry it's so angsty, this will last maybe one more chapter, I just don't have the heart to keep this going for a long time. I expect, in two-three chapters we'll start on the road to recovery.
I also expect to have at least one Edward's thoughts chapter. It's very very important to the story to have one in there. I don't like jumping back and forth. But to move the story on, his voice has to be heard at least once.
Hugs and hope you have a wonderful and Happy New Year just in case I don't get another chapter up in time.
