The second time I woke up the bed was empty. My hand reached for the side Bellamy had been on and my heart sank when I realized he wasn't there. The sun was shining through my window. He bailed the moment I couldn't stop him. I sighed as my eyes opened lazily and I looked at my sheets.
I guess he was telling the truth. He really didn't want to see me go to jail.
My eyes traveled towards my bathroom attached to my room. The door was closed and I heard someone on the other side. Maybe he hadn't bailed after all. I couldn't help but let that hopefulness seep into my stomach along with the butterflies that were there when I remembered him falling asleep beside me. I closed my eyes as the door opened and then the bed groaned and sank back down. After a moment I felt the tips of his fingers run down my arm gently.
"I know you're awake," his deep voice was still laced with sleep and it gave me goosebumps.
I couldn't stop my smile as I opened my eyes and took in his bed head. He pulled his hand away from my arm, the cold rushed in to take its spot, "you didn't leave."
He shrugged as he leaned back against the head board, his legs crossed on my bed, "I figured since you're the only one trying to help me I should hear your plan. If I don't like I then I'll bail and keep you safe."
I rolled my eyes as I sat up and felt like something had changed between us last night. We weren't exactly friends, but we weren't strangers anymore either. We were keeping each other's secrets now, "did you hear my mom leave?"
He nodded, "she came to check on you. I hid in the bathroom. She didn't come into the room though. But she opened your door."
I nodded, "okay. Well let's get some breakfast and I'll tell you my plan."
My stomach grumbled at the same moment as his. I laughed as he pulled his shirt back on and I grabbed a sweatshirt. Bellamy didn't seem to find anything funny this morning, which disappointed me. Because I had found out last night that he had a beautiful laugh, one that sounded like the melody I had been searching for.
"It's more like lunch at this point," Bellamy muttered as we walked into the kitchen.
I waved my hand at him, "should we turn on the news? Get a handle on what they're saying about you? My plan involves leaving this house."
Bellamy sighed, "if we have to."
"Just a minute, then I'll turn it off."
Bellamy leaned against the counter and as he did his shirt road up. I hadn't noticed it last night but on his hip there was a black tattoo. From a distance it didn't look like more than a few symbols. But I had a feeling if I looked closer it would spell out Octavia's name.
"I got it when I turned eighteen. They threw me out and I just needed something permanent to remind me of my sister," my eyes traveled up and his brown eyes were staring at mine, "I know you said you don't check me out, but I can feel you staring princess."
I turned away and clicked on the tv before I thought of a smart comment to shut him up. The news anchor was reading off some lighter topics before she started to talk about the fugitive still on the loose.
"It looks like Bellamy Blake has left Lancaster. Law enforcement officers believe he's headed west. He had some family out in California and they've already spoke with them. The hunt in Lancaster has stopped due to this new information. Still if anyone has any information on where Blake is at please call this number," she read off a long number, "he is very dangerous. I'll tell you Alan if he can avoid the police this long he might stand a chance."
The other anchor, Alan I presume, shuddered, "I can't believe our wonderful police department can't pin down one murderer. He's practically a child, how can he outsmart them?"
I swallowed my questions as I turned off the television and faced Bellamy. He was chewing his thumb nail, his face the perfect mask it had been yesterday. I put the remote between us.
"Murder?" The word was barely a whisper.
"Are you scared of me yet?"
He pushed off the counter and walked around to where I was standing. He put his hands on either side of the counter pinning me to the spot. I was cornered, if he wanted to hurt me this was his chance. My hands were shaking, but I held them together tightly. I wouldn't let him see me doubt him. I was the only one who believed he wasn't as dangerous as they all claimed.
Slowly I shook my head, his face inches away from mine. His brown eyes were full of fear and anger. It was an interesting combination, "no. I'm not afraid of you Bellamy. Because you're not a monster. You're not a killer. You're a brother trying to keep his sister safe."
"Yeah that defensive won't give me any kind of fighting chance," he stayed where he was. I could feel his body heat radiating off of him. I felt the urge to lean forward and kiss him.
I fought against that urge. He was a criminal after all, "no. But it's the truth. Isn't our justice system built to help those telling the truth?"
He laughed, pulling away from me. The spell I had been under was broken. The laugh coming from him was real, it traveled up his stomach and shook his shoulders. When he calmed down he shook his head, "I was right. That girl with the heart of gold from third grade, she's still in there."
I bit my lip as I moved away from him and his confusing motions. I grabbed the fridge door and let the cold air calm the blush on my cheeks, "okay well I'm still going to help you. But first we eat."
Bellamy muttered something as I dug around and found what I was looking for. I noticed he didn't fight me, but he wasn't happy either. The news was a godsend. At least they thought he was going to California. My plan was south.
"You have family on the west coast?" I asked realized he didn't say anything about that.
"No," he sighed as he looked at the blank tv screen, "Miller probably fed them a line and had Jasper pretend to be that family. He's always helping me out. I hope they didn't get him in trouble."
"Oh," I couldn't think of anything else to say. Until I remembered his story from last night, "where's Octavia?"
Bellamy closed his eyes, "with the Murphy's. The took her back after... it all happened. I didn't even get to say goodbye. Or see if she was okay after the fall."
I set the food down and grabbed his hand, "she's going to be fine Bellamy. She's your sister she has to be strong."
When he opened his eyes they were filled with tears, "you came to school crying before Christmas break. You told me it was the last Christmas you'd have with a family. You held my hand and told me you never knew how lonely I must have been until now."
"I was a know it all in third grade it seems," I blushed as he squeezed my hand and smiled at me.
"What I'm trying to say is even though you have all of this," he raised his hand at my house, "you still didn't care where I came from. You were my friend, you offered to play with me and listen when I talked. You cared about me, not who I lived with. You were the only person who ever saw past the words foster child."
I reached up without thinking and brushed aside a curl, "and now I'm the one looking past the word murderer."
"I never said you were smart," he mumbled as he pulled his hand away, "let's get this food going. I should've been out of here a long time ago."
We cooked in silence. Bellamy was pretty good, which surprised me. He put the noodles on the stove while I chopped the celery. I didn't plan on having such a big meal, but once we started we couldn't stop. After half an hour we were sitting around the counter with the pasta on our plates.
"Didn't you have an aunt or uncle who would take you when your mom died? Or like god parents?"
He shook his head, "my mom was an only child. She had me young, so her parents threw her out. She didn't have anyone except me. Well she had Andrew. She really did love him."
I stabbed my fork into my food, "I'm sure you've heard this your whole life, but I'm sorry you lost her."
"Coming from you it doesn't hurt as badly," he whispered before chewing his food. Then he swallowed, "you actually understand how it feels to lose a parent too. Everyone just pretends to care."
I smiled before taking a drink of water. Then I sighed, "okay so my plan only works if I know the entire story. So can you finish where you left off last night? I promise I won't change how I feel about you."
Bellamy raised an eyebrow, "how do you feel about me princess? Because I remember having the biggest crush on you all through elementary school."
My cheeks were bright red as I looked at him in shock. I shook my head, "no you didn't."
He laughed, "half the school did, Griffin. You're too nice and sweet to realize the effect you have on everyone around you."
"Stop changing the subject," I waved my fork in the air, "tell me what happened. Then I tell you the plan."
He sighed and his hand balled into a fist beside his plate, "so I took her. I took her away from the Murphy's and hid her in the old treehouse Andrew and I built. It's out in the old field, three blocks away from our house. I kept her there just until Miller came with the car. I stayed with her waiting, I couldn't carry her fast and the cops were already looking for us. Just before Miller showed up, John did."
I nodded, my appetite gone, "do they know Miller was helping you?"
He shook his head, "no. John came stumbling and tried to take Octavia back. The treehouse is old and in bad shape. I only realized it after we were already up there. One of the boards was loose and fell, hitting Octavia in the back and pushing her down off the platform. It was John's fault, he threw the bottle at the beam. She wasn't moving, but I couldn't help her. John attacked me so I fought him off. Niko tried to pull me away, but I hit him a few times too."
"Bellamy no," my hands covered my mouth as he kept going.
"I could feel John's life leaving his body. I can tell you the exact moment he passed out. Miller must have called nine one one because an ambulance showed up. I ran before I heard them call for me. I left John for dead, my sister too. I'm such a coward. I don't even know what happened, if she's okay. I don't know if she hurt herself falling or if she even survived. They probably think I killed both of them."
He covered his face with his hands. I pulled on his arm but he was strong. I could only imagine how much he had to have hurt John. He thought he deserved it after all.
"Bellamy look at me," he didn't move, "please?"
He let his hands fall and his eyes fell on mine, "nothing you say will change what happened Clarke. I killed a man, with my bare hands. I hit him until he passed out. That's why they want to lock me up."
"So why'd you run? If you think you deserve jail time why not just take it like a man?"
"I don't know I was scared. I needed a moment to think, to calm down. I needed that file. Then I just kept running," he rubbed his eyes.
The silence settled between us. Both our food was cold and untouched after he finished his story. I let out a slow breath and watched him relax. I wasn't going to run, I wasn't afraid of him.
"So care to change your mind now princess?"
"No," my voice was firm, "but now I'll tell you my plan."
"I killed someone and you still want to help me?"
"You said I wasn't smart," I whispered as I slouched down in my chair. I took in a deep breath and bit the inside of my cheek, "so what are the cops actually going with for the charges you're facing?"
He cleared his throat, "officially they think I killed Niko. At least that's the report they're giving. Before I jumped into your car the news anchor didn't even mention John. Niko is fine, I saw him stand up myself. But I won't let someone hurt my baby sister. I have to get back to her," his voice was frantic, "you don't have to help me. I just saw the opportunity of jacking your car and I took it."
I bit my lip, feeling butterflies in my stomach. I could see his desperation in his eyes, I could feel the fear in his voice. If I ever had a sibling I would want them to care about me as much as Bellamy cared about his sister. He might had told me he murdered someone, but that didn't mean he deserved to go to jail. Not with everything that happened to him and his sister in this family's care.
"I'm going to help you. I told you there's no going back for me. Not now," I swallowed the fear that followed her ever since yesterday and took in a deep breath, "my dad is one of the best attorneys around. He can fix this. We just have to get to him. That's my plan."
Bellamy laughed, it was short and full of something I didn't have a word for. He looked at me, running his hand across the stubble on his chin, "and why would your dad want to help me? Also your plan is a lot shorter than I thought it would be."
I shrugged, "because he's my dad and I'll ask him."
"Where is he?" Bellamy kept looking around, searching for something that wasn't there. He seemed paranoid now that we were awake, "as you can see time is not on my side princess."
I laughed, grabbing my keys and giving him a wink, "he's in Houston. It's a twenty four hour drive. They don't know you're with me. Time might not be on your side but it is on mine."
I raised an eyebrow at my new slash old friend or now my partner in crime. It made him laugh as he followed me back out to the jeep and we both crawled inside. No one realized I was carrying the fugitive. I started down the highway, feeling the secrets stem between us. He might not have killed Niko, but he had killed someone else.
No matter what I said at the end of the day he still had blood on his hands.
