December 28th, 2021
"Isabella, you're late." Victoria's shrill voice could be heard from the balcony as she glided down the staircase like she was walking a runway, one hand grazing the wrought iron bars while her heels clacked on the gaudy marble floors. Victoria was young and beautiful before meeting Bill. But now, after too much Botox and fillers, she looked more like a Bratz doll. Her fiery-red curly hair was the only thing
about her still real.
Bella cringed; she hated being called Isabella. She had only told Victoria this a million times throughout the four years she'd been doing the babysitting gig. But, it was a step up from "other Swan girl," which is what Victoria called her, during the first few months.
Deep down, Victoria knew the proper name to call Bella. She did it to get a reaction out of Bella, which she did every time the opportunity presented itself. Victoria couldn't stand all the attention Bella constantly received. Her son loved being babysat by fun-loving "Bee", as he called her. Her stepson was still obsessed with her and her pussy; even her wheelchair-bound husband rushed over to say hello whenever he was around. The only person who seemingly couldn't stand Bella as much as Victoria was Leah.
Bella looked around for any signs of Jake or Leah, and she sighed in relief when she noticed their car keys missing from the hooks. She waited silently, knowing Victoria loved to bitch about tardiness. The money was great and all, but if it weren't for Bella's love for Seth, she would have quit a long time ago.
Victoria looked down at her Bulgari diamond studded watch, and rolled her eyes, "Seth is in the game room downstairs. I sent the chef home early, but Seth didn't want what she prepared, so please make him something." She grabbed her clutch and applied bright red lipstick in the oval mirror hanging in the hallway.
Bella nodded understandingly, "Will do. See you later."
"I will be back from my dinner late, so don't let Seth stay up. Bill should be home before me. You may leave once he arrives." Victoria elaborated. "Thank you Isabella."
Bella took off her coat and hung it in the hall closet, and she waited for the Ferrari's roar to make her way down the stairs.
Seth Black was your typical seven-year old if your typical seven-year old was an heir to a billionaire with his own Dave & Buster's in his basement.
"Bee", Seth bellowed, she heard him before she saw him. He tackled her in a bear hug.
Bella ruffled his hair. She secretly loved that he fought Victoria on keeping it longer; he was a charming little boy.
"Come, I want to show you my new lightsabers!" He grabbed Bella's hand and they began their night of fun.
After several rounds of Pacman and lightsaber fights, Seth grew hungry. He led her upstairs to the chef's kitchen and plopped down on the bar stool by the counter. This was typically his favorite part of Bella babysitting. Bella looked through her bag and found what she was looking for. She held up the goods as though she found buried treasure. After four years, Bella probably knew her way around the kitchen better than the wicked witch.
After she finished preparing the treat, she slid the plate across the island towards Seth's ravenous eyes.
"Peanut butter and jelly sandwich, none of that all natural crap." Bella said announced, grinning at Seth and how happy a simple sandwich makes him. "And I brought chocolate chip cookies!" Seth broke out in a happy dance and then ran over to Bella to hug her.
"Thanks, Bee," he snickered and started scarfing down the meal.
"Chew, mister, I don't want your mom to kill me." Bella chuckled, thinking of how funny it would be for Victoria to break a nail.
Seth sobered his happiness at the mention of his mother. For a few minutes there was silence and Seth looked flummoxed. "What?" Bella decided to approach Seth first.
Seth finished chewing his sandwich, then took a piece of crust, and tossed it in his mouth. He looked down at his empty plate and played with the crumbs in the Hermes plate before blurting, "Do you think my mom loves me? I feel so alone here sometimes, like nobody wants to be with me." He bit his lip, looking up at his beloved babysitter.
Bella's heart broke into a million pieces. She couldn't help looking around at the huge, empty house that was lonely, cold, and dark. This poor little boy wouldn't know warmth if it hit over the head. His mother was too busy getting plastic surgery or having dinners with the whos who, and his father was a workaholic, trapped in a wheelchair. His sister was chasing boys and popularity, his brother was out doing God knows what with God knows who, pinning over a girl who will never love him again.
On the outside, it looked like Seth's life was perfect, but inside at the root was a loneliness not many could relate to. Sure, he went to his private prep school, but he didn't find any friends who liked the same things as him and any friends he made never amounted to a playdate because of his mother's outlandish behavior and over the top lifestyle. Bill pores an abundance of money into the public school system, but Victoria forbid it. Public school was too "low brow" for her little boy. She knew how to play Bill like a fiddle. Seth being normal wasn't possible even if he tried, that's why Bella has to sneak in real peanut butter, because if Seth ate something non-organic, or macrobiotic, Victoria would self-combust. Even as much as he loved Bella, the truth was that she got paid to be there and the same went for Alice before her.
Bella contemplated her next words carefully, what do you say to that question? Certainly not any semblance of the truth…She admittingly didn't want to tell the truth either, it was too painful.
"Seth, I think your mother loved you very much. She's often pulled in many different directions and sometimes making the proper choices becomes too challenging. Even adults get jumpy and anxious. Although she always tries the best she knows how…and please know that has nothing to do with you, it's all on them" Bella murmured, willing Seth to understand, but treading lightly because what seven year old can comprehend this shit?
Bella looked at Seth apologetically, there was so much to be sorry for–where to start?
Seth let her off the hook by quipping, "Yeah–I guess you're right. I mean how could you not love me?!" He flashed her his cheeky smile and went to put his dish in the sink. "Can we bake chocolate chip cookies and use bad chocolate?"
Bella loses track of time when she sees headlights pulling into the driveway. She watches the security camera in the kitchen and sees it's Leah. Now if this were four years ago, she would have been elated to see her best friend. At this point, it's an intense and tortuous exchange each time they see one another.
Leah and Bella loved each other much like sisters. They did everything together and had extremely similar interests. This never posed an issue until Edward was involved. Leah fell hard for Edward somewhere after he grew four inches over one summer and before Jake and Bella officially called it quits. Bella was fully aware of Leah's gigantic crush, that borderline obsession with Edward, but the heart wants what the heart wants. Edward and Bella bonded during a lockdown when they were stuck in the broom closet together and the rest was history. Bella begged and pleaded for her best friend to understand. "I didn't mean for this to happen. It certainly wasn't planned." She repeatedly and profusely apologized. Leah, who was always a bit envious of Bella refused to budge and the feud remains.
Bella pranced over the doorway, still attempting to make amends with her longtime friend. She waited until Leah threw her coat over the entry table to speak. Leah was more than happy to give Lucy, the housekeeper, items to clean. "Hello Leah." Bella gave a small smile.
Leah scoffed, always carrying her hatred for Bella around, like a security blanket. She walked up the stairs to her room, her butt swaying. The implants she had done last spring, looked anything but natural and they looked very uncomfortable to boot. Bella took a deep breath, missing her friend but knowing there wasn't much she could do. The ball was in Leah's court.
Sometime after Seth changed into his pajamas, Jake stumbled in, blasting rap music from his phone. The sound was blaring out the cartoons Seth and Bella were attempting to watch. "Yo hey Bells I didn't realize you were holding down the fort or else I would have made an appearance sooner." Jake looked around and stopped to listen for Victoria's booming voice. Nothing. "Bitch still gone?"Jake asked, completely unaware of the dime bag poking out of his jeans pocket and the stench of marajuana on his breath.
Bella stood up from the couch, grabbed Jake by the ear and shoved him into the pantry. " Baby if you wanted it rough all you had to do was ask. Remember that one time on the docks when I made you—ow" Bella punched him in the arm. "Shut up! Have you lost your everloving mind, walking in the house at this hour, high as a kite, sloppy Jake even for you!" She grabbed the dime bag and raced to the powder room off the entry way. Jake was hot on her heels, "How much did you pay Royce for this? Gosh you are so stupid I thought you put that silly habit to rest! And in front of Seth! That little boy is going through enough, it wouldn't kill you to hang out with him." She flushed the contents of the little baggie and while Jake tried to snatch it out of her hand.
"It's not mine baby." Bella punched him again, he flinched but said nothing. "Don't call me baby! And I'm not stupid "
Jake rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulders, noncomittingly, "You really shouldn't have done that. I'm dead like really dead. He's going to kill me. He's been testing me all week and this was my last job for the week."
"Job? You're selling for that psychopath? That's it, now I know you're insane. Why would you do that?" Bella's heart was racing. Royce King was not a good guy and Jake was too naive to be involved with him.
"Stop yelling! Seth will hear and then tell the witch bitch, who will tell my father, who in turn will cut me off!"
"Maybe you shouldn't be worried about him ratting you out." She gave him a pointed look.
"Bella please, cut the shit. I got into business with Royce for a thrill, nothing serious but lately he's riding me about using too much product. I was supposed to bring him back the dime bag as a show of good faith." He looked down the toilet dejectedly, this time it was his turn to give her the pointed look. "What am I supposed to tell him? Dog ate my weed? My crazy ex-girlfriend, who pretends not to care about me, cares about me enough to flush my dime bag? Come on Bells!"
Bella swayed from leg to leg, not really understanding why the bag was such a big deal.
"Maybe if I bring Seth to Royce, and blame him, it will make all right again. Plus it's a good excuse for brother time." Jake looked at Bella as if he had just cured cancer. "Ow–Fuck stop!"
"You listen and you listen good. You will not bring Seth anywhere near that asshole. I will go with you apologize to Mr. Dime Bag. Seth goes nowhere with you, riding in the car with you can't be safe." She took another whiff of him and hoped she wouldn't get a contact high. She pointed her finger right into his chest several times.
"Fine, fine." Jake snorted, nothing fazed him. "By the way, what was your sister doing in Royce's office, about an hour ago?"
LtD~
January 5th, 2022
Victoria was surprised to be called down to Forks Police Station, she really wasn't that involved. She had been up all night due to the commotion and so shocked, she arrived at the station sans makeup. It's a miracle she hadn't melted. Being cold and materialistic might have benefited her in this particular instance.
Detective Biers enters the interrogation room with his partner, Charlotte. Victoria couldn't help but notice how impeccably dressed he was for a Detective. The other people she was friendly with on the force certainly didn't wear this season's Ferragamos and a tailored Dior suit. She pouted her lips and narrowed her eyes, looking at Biers uncomfortably. He cleared his throat,
"Detective Biers." He outstretched his hand for her to shake, and she placed her perfectly manicured fingers into his. Her long oval-shaped nails scratched him.
"Victoria Black, pleasure."
Charlotte did the same, but this time Victoria didn't linger her hand. Instead, she gave Charlotte a bitchy once over and moved her attention back to Biers, who was proving to be an enigma. The people of this town loved to pretend to be complex. As it turns out, the second she landed from Vegas, she had them all pegged, even little miss Bella.
"So Mrs. Black, you probably have a pretty good idea as to why you're here…" Riley implored, never giving too much away.
"Actually, I was confused as to why I was called so quickly in this investigation. I mean there are definitely other statements more consequential than mine. I'm just a housewife." Victoria bated, she came from nothing and wasn't about to go back to her double-wide trailer in Vegas. If the Detective wanted to play, she could play.
Riley held back a laugh; tough broad, he thought.
"For the record, can you make a brief statement on how you ended up in Forks and married to Mr. Black?"
A tale as old as time, Victoria almost laughed. Everyone from here to Jersey knew her background and they loved relishing in her colorful past. She debated a moment, which version of events to go with and she decided to use her edited fairytale version.
"I was a dancer in Vegas, when Bill came into the club I worked at, and we shared a wonderful date. He returned home, and we planned to do the long-distance thing when I found out I was pregnant with Seth. Sure, it expedited the timeline of our relationship, but we were married a few months later and things were going great until a few years ago when Bill was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. It's progressed rapidly, confining him to a wheelchair."
"Would you say his illness took a toll on your relationship?"
" I would say it wasn't easy being as young as I am and seeing the person I love suffer. It also wasn't easy for someone like Bill to adapt to a different, much slower pace of life. Before the diagnosis, you would never have been able to tell he was middle-aged. He kept up with me just fine when I was twenty-one." She seductively smiled.
Charlotte, watching this trainwreck, wanted to throw something at the ice queen. She interjected the next question, "So if you loved Bill so damn much, why cheat on him?"
Victoria was backed into a corner. She looked at Charlotte with disgust and back to Riley gauging their reactions. "I have no clue what you are talking about."
The tension in the room was thick; you could cut it with a knife. Victoria and Charlotte glared at one another, neither withing to back down in the face of adversity.
Riley saved Victoria and proceeded with the following question, "How would you describe the Swan family?"
Victoria could have been blunt but decided to play her role properly, "As a whole, they are messy. They love to pretend they are perfect but that's just because they have the most to hide. Same goes for the Cullens. They act perfect and hide behind their money. But back to the Swans, let's cut the bullshit; Renee never wanted to marry Charlie but got pregnant and had no better offers. What's worse than being pregnant right out of high school; being single and pregnant. She did what she thought was best, which I hear is a recurring theme with them. Charlie is a lost soul after his fiasco here all those years ago and being forced to retire…Now Alice, I feel sorry for Alice. She got the shit end of the stick. Sure, she was troubled from what I've heard but think about what drove her there. She worked for us for a few years before she left. Nannied and cleaned for me, and we became close. She could have easily been me,and I could have been her, with one wrong move. I don't judge her for that. Now Isabella, I'm sure you've heard all about Isabella…"