The world was quiet, the air was cool, and everything was at peace. She awoke from what she thought was a horrible nightmare. Bella's eyes opened to the light glow of a lamp, the brightness immediately causing the brunette pain in her eyes. She winced from the sight; the dull light seemed to be blinding her. Moving her neck away from the light, she felt a sharp pain in her shoulder which then shot through her neck and into her head, causing an almost unbearable pain. A figure moved out of the corner of her eye, approaching her softly.
"Ms. Swan, you've had quite the nasty fall. Your body has taken quite the beating." A voice echoed through the room. The noise made her head ache more. Every muscle in her body was now screaming in pain, it hurt to move anything.
Bella still had her eyes squeezed tight and managed to ask the person who was there, "Please, can you turn off the light or move it away from me?"
The brightness of the light faded after she heard a soft click and she was finally able to open her eyes. She took a look around the room and had no idea where she was. The room was unlike any she had seen before, the beds were nicer, the blankets were more comfortable, and there were a few other people here who were in their own beds, most of them were sleeping.
"How are you feeling?" The person who was speaking now came into her vision. It was an elderly nurse, one Bella had not seen before. She was small, about the height of Alice, and was as skinny as a pole. Her hands reached out and touched Bella on the arm, and noticed how worn and wrinkled her hands were.
"I feel terrible." Bella's blurry vision became clearer and clearer with each blink of her eye. She looked up at the woman, and suddenly remembered what happened that caused her to end up here. She had fallen down the stairs after her visit with Dr. Irving.
She felt a sharp stabbing pain on her forehead, and immediately reached for where the source of pain was coming from, and felt a bump on her head, just above her left eye, with the ends of stitches popping out from her skin. The elderly nurse reached for her arm, and gently removed her hand. "You need to let that heal properly."
Bella forced herself to look down at her body to see if she had any other injuries, and noticed that her shoulder had a rather large bruise on it. Other than that, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. She was lucky her injuries weren't worse. The nurse pushed her head down against the pillow again, carefully watching to see if she would move again.
"I need to ask you a couple of questions now, if you don't mind." She spoke softly to Bella. The rest of the patients were mostly sleeping, it was dark outside. She didn't know how long she had been passed out for.
Bella nodded her head, and let the nurse continue. She wondered where Alice was, and if she knew what had happened to her. She wondered if Alice was safe, or if somehow Peter had convinced her to leave Bella here to rot. She knew that Alice trusted Peter, but she had trouble trusting anyone who wasn't Alice.
"Do you remember what happened to the events leading up to your fall?" She asked quietly.
"Yes, I do."
"Did someone push you?"
"No, I guess I slipped. I wasn't feeling well; I think I may have passed out on my way down the stairs." Bella thought of Dr. Irving and how much she wished she could hurt him right now. She thought about their visit earlier that day and felt nothing but shame and embarrassment. He had no right to treat her that way, he tortured her.
The nurse was writing something down on her clipboard and nodding her head lightly, "And you were with Dr. Irving beforehand?"
"Yes, our visit wasn't a good one unfortunately. It never is." Bella commented, trying the best she could to choke back her tears. She was so tired of crying, she didn't want to be the sad, broken girl that he wanted her to be. She wanted to be better than that, to prove that Dr. Irving was nothing more than an ass, and that his theories about being gay were nothing more than bigotry at its finest.
The nurse looked at Bella with sadness in her eyes, she felt sorry for the young girl. To be so young, to have so much life ahead of her, and to be trapped by what society thought was best for her. It was cruel. "Darling, hush now. I know it's hard to be in here, and I know what goes on with Dr. Irving. I don't agree with his methods, I can only imagine the cruel things he did to you. But its okay, you are safe now. Just rest, you've been through a lot today."
The woman handed Bella a handkerchief to wipe her tears away. Bella was silent but the tears kept pouring out, there was too much pain inside of her for her not to cry. She thought crying was for the weak, but is it really weak to show that you have emotions? That you are a human being and have feelings? Her life was in shambles, she deserved to cry. She didn't know what to believe, or who to trust. What Alice and Peter were telling her sounded like something out of Grimm's Fairy Tales. Who was she supposed to believe? Logic told her that vampires couldn't possibly exist, but then what happened with Peter? How could she stab him and have nothing happen? That was impossible. Of all the places to be hiding from a vampire, she had to be here, where the monsters inside seemed much worse than the one that waited for them outside.
"I don't know what my life is anymore." Bella whispered more to herself than to the woman who was sitting by her side.
"What do you mean?" She pushed Bella's hair out of the way of her scar on her forehead.
Bella took a few deep breaths before she continued, "Everything I do is wrong. It seems like everything is against me, life is working against me."
The woman nodded her head, and pulled the sheets over Bella further to make sure that she was comfortable. She didn't know who this nurse was, but she was the only nurse she has seen since being in the asylum that actually seemed to care about the patients. "You know my mother used to tell me that the darkest hour of all, is the hour before dawn. The world isn't out to get you; you just have to find the right people to trust. Not everyone will reject you; there are people out there who will truly love who you are."
Bella stopped crying, it hurt too much to cry. The scar above her eye hurt from having her face crumpled up, and she had to try and relax for her own relief. The nurse did make a point, there were people out there who were different than the rest, Alice was one of them. She realized that if she had never been admitted, the two of them wouldn't have ever met, and Bella didn't want to think about a life without Alice in it. However, the odds were against them ever getting out together, and that weighed heavily on her mind. "I don't see how I'm going to get out of here, and even if I do, there is so much that is working against me."
"Don't let the darkness consume you. You never know when the light is coming, but I assure you, you will not be in the dark forever. You need rest; you'll be released back into the ward tomorrow." The nurse stood up, getting ready to leave Bella's side.
"What's your name?" Bella asked. She didn't want her to leave; the attention she was getting from her was almost motherly. Bella liked it, she missed the feeling. She had no idea who this woman was, or if she knew what Bella was admitted for, but she was genuinely kind to her. It didn't matter why she was here to the nurse; she treated her like a decent human being. The last time she felt like she was being taken care of in a nurturing way was when she was younger and her mother cared for her while she was sick. Her mother wasn't all bad, her views were her views and she was entitled to them, but she didn't know if she could ever forgive her for putting her in a place like this.
"My name is Claire. That's all you need to know, now get some rest." Bella laid there in the dark. She watched as the figure of the elderly woman slowly dissolved into the darkness. The only source of light she saw now was from the window to the outside world. The moon shone bright that night, the source of light Bella needed was outside, where she wanted to be.
Her words put her at ease enough to forget about Dr. Irving temporarily. Her eyes grew heavy, and she realized she was sleepier than she first thought. She didn't remember the nurse giving her any kind of medication. Her last thoughts were of Alice, and hoping that she knew everything was okay with her. She didn't want her to worry. She didn't want Dr. Irving to stop her from loving Alice, he wouldn't stop her. Bella was determined not to let this method stop her from being with the woman she felt herself falling in love with. Alice had her visions of the two of them being together in the future, if what she was saying about the vampires were true, then what she was saying about her visions of the future had to be true too, right?
Bella drifted off to sleep, where she dreamt of Alice and her together, in the outside world. The world was unfamiliar and filled with ghost like faces of people she never met, but the only thing that mattered is that the two women were still together, still happy. One day they would be far away from this hell, they would make it out together. Somehow they would figure out how to defeat the monster that wanted their blood, and they would live in their own world, where love was free, and they could be exactly who they were born to be.
…
The weather had become damp and chilly, colder than Bella had experienced before. It was only the beginning of December, how much colder could it get in Mississippi? Her head ached from the cold, but especially her new wound. It was as if they stitches acted as ice magnets, and the only comfort Bella found was to hold her hand over her scar. She was released that morning when she woke up, not by the nurse she saw the night before, but by one of the nurses from her own ward. She had no idea where the elderly nurse had gone; she wanted to thank her for just being there. She didn't know she would never see her again.
She put on the clothes that she had on the day before and was escorted back to her ward. Down the stairs they went, past the doctor's offices and into the patient's area. Alice must have been worried sick over Bella, because they didn't allow visitors and doubted anyone told her what had happened. Did she even know where Bella was? She hoped someone had the decency to at least tell her what they saw, but doubted such kindness existed for Alice…at least in the asylum where rumors ran rampant.
The nurse escorted her down the stairs to the scene where she had fallen; any remnants of the accident had been cleaned up by now. Everyone was going about their usual day as if nothing had happened. Maybe to them, this kind of thing was normal. Accidents could have happened on a daily basis.
Bella walked down the hall, and noticed a few of the patients were staring at her, they didn't bother looking away when she met their gaze. She felt embarrassed by the rather large gash on her forehead, and immediately began to blush. She didn't like all of the attention, and would prefer to fly under the radar instead of be the center of attention. Bella was their new source of gossip though, everyone must have seen her falling, and wondered why.
Unfortunately, one of the people who were watching her was Janet, and made the mistake of sharing eye contact, which meant that Janet thought it was okay to approach her. She stopped talking to her group of friends and came quickly to Bella's side, matching her pace as they walked toward Bella's room. Bella couldn't help but roll her eyes.
"She did it to you, didn't she? I told you she was bad news." Janet mumbled, trying not to say it loud enough for the nurse to hear her. The nurse just ignored her.
"What are you talking about?" Bella sighed, mentally exhausted already. She didn't want to deal with any more crap from anyone.
Janet leaned in real close to Bella, close enough to where she could feel and smell her stinking breath against her cheek. "The witch. She pushed you down the stairs, didn't she? What did you do to upset her? Did you see her chanting incantations?"
Bella stopped in her tracks and turned to face Janet fully, "She did no such thing. She wasn't even near me when it happened."
"That's because she did it with her mind. Don't you see that she's pure evil? I can only warn you for so long before it's too late. She's going to end up killing you. She's no good." Janet wasn't worried about the nurse hearing her this time. Her voice grew louder with each word she spoke.
"Janet, this is nonsense. There is nothing evil about Alice; she is just a normal human being like you or me. She isn't out to get anyone. So please, stop talking about her this way. I don't appreciate you telling lies and spreading rumors about her, it's rude and uncalled for." Bella kept calm and spoke in a steady tone. She was on the edge of snapping.
"But Barbara said…" Janet tried to speak but was cut off when Bella interrupted her.
"I don't give a damn what Barbara said. I'm her roommate now, and there isn't anything sinister about Alice. Now please, leave me alone." Bella turned and walked away, leaving Janet standing there, dumbfounded that Bella had the nerve to speak to her that way.
"Well, she didn't have to be rude to me." Janet whispered to herself, and stood there just staring as Bella and the nurse continued walking without her. She wrapped her arms around her chest, honestly upset that Bella didn't give her the time of day to listen. Alice was a witch, she would prove it.
The nurse continued to follow Bella until they reached the door of her room. Before she could reach for the handle, the door flew open and Alice was waiting on the other side, her eyes wide at the sight of Bella's forehead. She glanced at the nurse, cautious about how to proceed, and then looked back to Bella. She moved out of the way and allowed Bella to enter, leaving the nurse standing on the outside of the door.
"Now, I want you to get some more rest. Your wounds haven't healed and the more bed rest you get, the quicker your wounds will heal. Your scheduled appointments have been cleared for the remainder of the week. And Ms. Brandon, don't cause a ruckus for her. She's been through enough for now, and needs peace and quiet. Stitches should come out sometime next week depending on how well you heal." The nurse stared at the two girls. Bella sat down on her bed, and Alice only nodded her head, hanging on to the door handle. She looked like she was both relieved and upset at the same time.
Satisfied that everything was okay, the nurse looked at Bella once more before she decided it was okay to leave her alone, and walked away. Alice looked out the door after the nurse, and then quietly shut the door once she was far enough down the hallway. Alice placed her body against the door, and shut her eyes. She was truly relieved.
"What happened to you?" She spoke slowly and asked through closed eyes. When she opened them, her gaze immediately went back to the wound on her forehead.
"I fell down the stairs after my session with Dr. Irving yesterday. They didn't tell you what happened?" Bella asked.
Alice shook her head, "They didn't tell me a damn thing. Not one person." She whispered, holding back her tears. It was a horrible thing to be the outcast.
"Oh Alice, I'm so sorry. I thought they would have at least told you, anyone could have told you. None of the other nurses even bothered?" Bella suddenly felt guilty for passing out. She hated to see Alice in pain, it caused her heart to ache more than anything else.
Alice shook her head, and let out a sigh of relief. She took the few steps that lied between her and Bella, and sat down on the bed next to her, examining her wound more closely. "Why did you fall down the stairs? Tell me what happened during your session." She wasn't asking, she was demanding.
Bella didn't want to tell Alice the details of her time with Dr. Irving. She was scared of what she would think; would she pull back if she told her how she was punished? She didn't want Alice to have any extra fear or worry, but she didn't want to lie to her either. "Dr. Irving introduced a new treatment for me. It was horrible, to say the least." Bella sighed, and leaned against the wall. She looked at Alice, and the concern on her face killed her.
"What did he do to you? Please, tell me." Alice was quick to respond.
"He showed me pictures, one was a man and the other was a woman. They were undressing, and each time he got to the woman…he had this machine and a handle that he forced me to hold, and he…he shocked me. It wasn't much of a shock, more humiliating than anything else." Bella couldn't look at Alice as she told her this, so instead she focused her attention on a tiny crack in the wall. She tried to downplay what happened, and make it not seem so bad, but you can't really justify methods of torture.
Alice's face dropped, and the tears came rolling down her face fast and free. "He hurt you? He did this to you." She looked down at the ground, and then back up at Bella, who this time, caught her gaze. Her eyes were bright brown; they were always brighter when she cried. Her hair fell over her eyes, and she roughly pushed it out of the way from her vision from anger. She knew what it was like to be shocked, to be hurt, but this sounded downright humiliating.
"When he let me go…I don't know, I just felt so weak, so scared of everything that I just passed out. The last thing I remember was trying to hold on to the railing of the stairs, and then I woke up in the hospital wing. I'm sorry Alice, I didn't mean to cause you pain." Bella couldn't help but cry too, not because she was upset over what happened to her, but because Alice was hurting. She never wanted to see her hurt, and it destroyed her inside.
"Why are you apologizing? This isn't your fault." Alice chocked out through her tears.
"Please don't cry Alice. It's over with; the damage has been done already. There's no point in crying." As she said this more tears began to fall down her face.
Alice reached out and touched the side of Bella's forehead where she had been hurt, careful not to hurt her further. "Bella, we need to get you out of here before it gets worse. I can't have you going through this torture. It isn't right. They used to hurt me, and now I can't remember anything. They got what they wanted from me; they wiped everything I knew out of my mind. They wanted me to forget my past, and I did. I wish that I had my memories, so I could at least remember my family. Maybe it was my family that wanted my memory wiped…but the point is I don't remember. Once they finally shocked the memory out of me they forgot about me, and left me wondering in this place without knowing a damn thing about my past and who I was. They may not harm me anymore, but leaving me in here to rot forever is not something I want. We can't let them win. We can't let it progress, we have to get out now. I don't want you to be like me, I don't want them to erase the beautiful person that you are in here." Alice moved her hand on Bella's head, just above her ear. Bella moved her head against Alice's hand, loving the way it felt.
Bella nodded her head slowly, Alice was right. She did need to get out of here, she needed to escape. This environment, and what the staff was doing to her, wasn't healthy. Neither girl belonged here, and they were better off risking their life out there than being stuck in here. "How can we even do that? They have the placed locked down at all times. There is no escaping."
Alice wiped her tears away and moved closer to Bella, wrapping her arms around her and giving her comfort. "There is a way we can get out. An opportunity has presented itself, Peter told me about it yesterday. We can get out of here Bella; we have a chance to be free."
"And what about what is waiting out there for us? How are we going to stop him?" Bella asked, taking comfort in the warmth of Alice. She wanted more.
"Peter can stop him. He'll come with us; he can change the both of us. He said there are others like him out there, ones that live together in harmony. That can be us Bella. We can live in peace, forever. Just you, me and Peter." Alice was now excited, her eyes were bright from the tears but Bella could see the hope she held for the future.
"And do you have visions of the three of us together?" Bella asked. She didn't know if she liked the idea of Peter being with them, but if he was going to help them get out and take care of them, then maybe she should reconsider. He seemed like a genuinely nice person, and Alice trusted him.
Alice shook her head, "I can't see Peter in any of my visions. I don't know why."
"So…how are we planning on getting out of here?" Bella asked, curious as to why she didn't see Peter, but not enough to question it. Maybe he went his own way eventually, no one could be certain.
"There is an annual Christmas party hosted by the man in charge of this whole facility. The entire staff is invited to this event, which is on the very top floor of the building. I don't know any patients who have been up there who have come back to tell what exactly is up there… So while they're up there having a party, there are only one or two people who are down here watching the patients. They don't want to leave anyone left out, so it changes year to year on who is going to be the unlucky person that gets to stay and watch the women while everyone else is at the party."
"And who is going to be watching it this year?" Bella asked, suddenly feeling hopeful that it was who she thought it was.
"Peter. He is going to be the only one here to watch everyone. The party goes on late into the night, and most of the nurses give the patients extra dosages of medication to make us all sleep so there won't be any problems."
Bella smiled, hoping that Peter was going to be the solution to all of their problems, but frowned when Alice mentioned medicine. Peter was a vital part of the puzzle on how to get out of here, but how could he possibly help when the girls were doped up on sleeping meds? "How are we going to get out of that one?"
"Peter will be giving everyone their dosages. No one will be awake, except us and Peter. The only problem is we can't get out of the main door. But there is a door in the back, where the lake is, that we can get out from. We don't have the keys though, and only one person does."
"Nurse Wilson has the keys." Bella stated. She remembered the set of keys she had when they all went swimming. All hope of getting out of here faded as quickly as it grew, because she didn't know how anyone would get the keys off of her.
"That's right, so Peter said he was going to try to get them off of her when the party starts. Ms. Wilson is known as a bit of a drinker, and he said it's easier than it looks to get the set of keys from her. If she is drunk, and being sloppy, it will be easy to take the keys away from her." Alice tried to convince Bella that the plan would work.
"And do you see visions of this plan being successful? You can see the future; you can see the both of us together, so it has to work, right?" Bella asked.
Alice frowned, shifting slightly on the bed. "My visions aren't always true, but I am certain that it will work this time. We have to have faith that it will. Ms. Wilson just needs to get drunk enough to where Peter can go up to the party momentarily, pretend he is there for business, get close enough to her, swipe the keys, and then you and I will be ready, waiting for him. By the time anyone realizes what has happened, we'll be long gone."
"Heavily relying on Ms. Wilson getting drunk sounds kind of risky. What if she decides not to drink?"
"Don't worry, she will. We will get out of here Bella, I promise. We just need to hold on for a couple more weeks. The party is on Christmas Eve, we'll just have to be very careful until then." She took hold of Bella's hand and kissed her gently, pulling her closer.
"I hope you're right Alice, I trust your judgement." Bella wrapped her arms around Alice's small figure. She hoped that everything she said was true, that her visions were real, and that Ms. Wilson was a drunk. They were relying on a lot of what ifs, but what other options did they have?
"I love you." Alice whispered into Bella's ear.
Bella pulled back and looked into Alice's eyes, she was completely genuine. The innocent look in her eyes, the simplicity of the way it was stated, made Bella trust in her fully. She didn't doubt for one second that Alice meant what she said, and if she was being honest with herself, Bella was in love with Alice too.
"I love you too Alice." Bella could feel tears forming in her eyes once again, but they were tears of happiness. She had never remembered a moment in her life where she cried from joy, until this moment.
Alice placed her delicate hand beneath Bella's chin, tilted her head up, leaned in and kissed Bella with such a passion. She needed this woman in her life, and she knew from that moment on, she couldn't live without her. There was no life without her.
If they only knew that Janet stood on the opposite side of their door with her ear pressed against the door, listening to every word they said.
