She Walks Where Angels Fly
Chapter Four
Tuesday after school, Bella decides she's going to take Hope shopping for some clothes. None of Bella's entirely fit her, and it's not right to make her have to wear them. She should have her own clothing. She jingles her keys in announcement of this idea after dinner.
Charlie slaps a fifty into her palm. "Get her some nice things."
Poor Charlie has no idea how much it actually costs to outfit a girl, but she doesn't mention this. They'll be going to the thrift shop anyways because it's more affordable and it's got some nice stuff. Hope makes to protest this fact but Bella sternly shakes her head. "You need new clothes, it's not up for argument. What if you want to leave the house? You can't do that in my old sweats."
Hope gives a one shoulder shrug like she wouldn't mind but Bella is already pushing Hope out the front door and towards her truck. The ride over is quiet, other than the country music playing from the station. They get to the mall, Bella leading the way to the store she has in mind, Hope trailing behind her. It's not too packed, then again, it never is. Forks is small and more often than not the residents here choose to go to a different mall out of town to get their shopping needs done.
Despite the near emptiness, Bella still runs into a couple of kids from her school. Namely, Lauren, Jessica and Angela. Bella's not really a fan of the first two. She knows for sure that Jessica doesn't like her because Jessica has a crush on Mike that she's been trying to get him to notice but Mike never does. He barely even knows Jessica exists. Jessica had tried to rope Bella into her schemes but Bella wants no part of this at all.
She thinks it's extremely petty to do such a thing.
Even pettier to hurt the person who does not want to be involved at all.
Also, they're huge gossips.
Bella stifles an internal groan of displeasure when she sees them coming directly towards her. She wants to snag Hope by her elbow and duck into the nearby electronic store. But it's too late. They've been spotted.
"Hi Bella!" they chorus in that oddly synchronized manner.
"Whose this?" Lauren asks as they stop in front of Hope. Hope seems to wilt a bit under her cutting look, taking in Hope's too small outfit, her clearly second hand clothes. Bella steps in front of Hope, protective. She's not going to let someone like Lauren belittle Hope who has been through too much to deserve this as she recuperates. Hope raises a brow at Bella in question but doesn't comment, namely because she can't.
"This is someone I'm helping," Bella says, smiling falsely.
"New student?" Angela asks to which Bella shook her head.
"A friend of Charlie's. From work," she quickly fills in. She reaches around blindly and grabs Hope's hand in hers. "Now, if you'll excuse us we have to get her some new clothes." She doesn't wait to listen to their response, tugging Hope with her as Bella's converse slap on the floor, taking her away from them. Hope lags behind Bella, not quite understanding her mood. They get to the thrift shop and Bella realizes she's still holding Hope's wrist. She lets go. "Look through some stuff here. I know it's not designer, but we don't have much cash. Get like a couple outfits and if anything we can come back next week and get you more clothes."
Hope nods her head, mouths a 'thank you' and then walks off, browsing the racks. Bella does so too, but it's more out of boredom than actual interest in getting anything. Ten minutes go by and Hope returns with an armful of clothing. She shows this to Bella who jerks her head at the singular curtained changing room. "Try those on. I'll wait for you outside."
Hope goes and disappears behind the curtain, taking her time to get changed. Bella sits on the solitary cushion leaking foam from the side outside the changing room as she waits.
An outfit montage is what happens next, and Bella crosses her legs in front of her, hands in her jacket pockets as she watches Hope display the new combinations for Bella to decide which one was good enough to buy.
Hope looked amazing. No matter what outfit she put on, despite the fact they were at a thrift store, it all fit her like a model. Bella felt her stomach twist. Was it jealousy? She was going to decide it was.
Hope pulls the curtain back, waving her hand for Bella to come in. She must need some help with zipping up a dress. Bella goes in and the curtains fall on the outside world. In the changing room it's only the two of them. The two of them, and when Hope turns her back to Bella, Hope's scars.
There are horrible marks on Hope's shoulder blades. Marks that Bella had never seen before on anyone. They were two vertical marks parallel to each other, going down her back. They looked angry, just barely healed. What had done this? Who, had done this?
Bella felt the inexorable need to touch them. As gently as she could, she ran a finger at the top of one of the marks, the one on Hope's left shoulder blade, wondering at how deep it went. Hope shuddered at the touch and Bella flinched.
"Oh, sorry, did that hurt?" Bella backed away, stopping in her motions. Hope turned around, shaking her head no. She grasped at Bella's hands, telling her it was okay. Reassuring her. She offered a slightly lopsided smile, a bit wistful, as if she knew she had those scars and was apologizing for them.
"How could anyone do something like that to you?" Bella asked and Hope didn't have an answer to that. Maybe she never would.
It's almost scary how easily they get used to having Hope around. It's like she was always here. It certainly helps that she's so helpful to have on their side. Each time Bella comes home from school, she finds that Hope has fixed yet another thing in their house. How she does so easily and swiftly Bella has no clue. It's almost like she has a healing touch. She fixes the washer not only so it works but also so that it is more energy efficient. She does this with everything: not only fixes it but also improves it.
The sink works, the warped wood is taken out and replaced, the holes in the roof are plugged, and soon the house is being refurbished. They have no idea how she does this, because Charlie's out at work and Bella's in school but each time they come back Hope has fixed it all up, and fixed them dinner.
"Not that I don't appreciate it," Charlie says when he looks over the new couch and armchair combination, "but how the hell are you getting all this?"
She takes out paper and a pen and writes in elegant looping script her answer. "I help out other people around town and they give me stuff for free that they no longer need or use."
Charlie nods his head approvingly. "Well, that's nice. I hope they don't give you any trouble."
She shakes her head like 'none sir' and they don't ask her anymore on how she gets this done. They just trust her.
Once the weather gets warmer at the end of the month Hope takes to fixing up the garden. Fascinated, Bella can't help but go outside and offer to join. Bella enjoys nature to a certain point- like when it's not trying to kill her- and she's curious to see if Hope's talents at fixing up apply even to the garden. So, donning some clothes she cares not for and some old ratty sneakers, Bella goes outside to where Hope is already weeding out the dismal vegetable patch.
"Need a hand?" Bella asks and Hope shrugs, before pointing at a gardening tool set that Bella didn't even know they had. She brings it over and Hope takes out the small shovel and starts digging up some of the weed's roots. Bella crotches next to her and takes the roots she's dug up and adds it to the pile of trash by the plants.
This continues for quite some time. It's oddly peaceful and Bella can't explain why. Maybe it's because Hope has such a calming presence. And she works with a small smile on her face that makes her lovely features look even lovelier. Bella has to remember herself and look away several times, least Hope catch her staring. Her throat goes dry and she knows it's not because of the work. It's not hot enough to work up a thirst, nor has Bella really done any of the hard work. Hope's the one digging through the dirt, her sleeves rolled up to reveal her muscles flexing under her golden skin. Bella has to excuse herself, telling Hope she's going to bring them something to drink.
She doesn't wait to get a nod from Hope, instead going inside and shedding her gardening gloves, washing her hands, and preparing two glasses of cool lemonade. Charlie's inside the house and he comes up to Bella, optimizing a commercial break. He's watching a game as usual. "How's the gardening going?"
"Good," Bella says, looking out the window to see the top of Hope's blonde head.
"She's really good with her hands, ain't she," Charlie continues onwards. "Makes me wonder what kind of work she did. Must have been blue collar."
"Have you found anything yet on her?"
Charlie shook his head no. "She's the biggest clue we got to this, and she doesn't remember anything." He looked disappointed but also sympathetic to her plight.
"What if we got her to try hypnosis? Get the memories out that way?" Bella suggests, picking the glasses up. The ice clinks with the motion.
"We could try," Charlie rubs his chin. "But she would have to agree to it, and we would have to find one. And then pay for it. I don't think they're cheap."
Bella thinned her lips. She waffled a bit between telling this to her father or not, but she figured he should know. "When I went shopping with her last Tuesday for clothes, I noticed she had scars. Two long scars down her shoulder blades."
Charlie didn't react to this the way Bella thought he would. "I already know, Bella. The doctors in the hospital noticed them too. They stitched them up for her."
"Do we know what caused them?" she asked.
"Some weapon," he said, "but I don't know what kind or why the wounds were given there."
"It looked like...it looked like something had been carved out," Bella said, her voice dropping into a whisper because she didn't want Charlie to hear it wavering. The thought of something like that happening was horrifying.
His hand dropped onto her shoulder, squeezing. "The important part is, she's alive and well. The rest will get figured out. And we won't let harm come to her. I'll protect her, so will the rest of the department if need be."
Bella nodded her head before leaving the house, snatching up her gloves on the way by. Charlie goes back to his game.
Hope was wiping some sweat off of her forehead. She had pulled her hair back into a ponytail and this left her swan-like neck exposed. Bella averted her eyes once more, not sure why she was looking so much today. Was it because Hope was beautiful? There was no denying she was. Her beauty seemed almost ethereal. She smiled and looked up gratefully when Bella gave her the glass of lemonade. She gulped it down heartily and Bella pointedly looked at the flower beds behind her as she sipped on hers.
Already, Hope had done some good work. The vegetable patch was cleared and looking healthy, and the flower bed had been reformed and refilled with nice rocks to outline the edge of it, and fresh dirt to make the flowers grow.
They had been out here for three hours and were almost done.
Hope gave Bella back the finished glass before kneeling down in front of the flowers once more. Bella wet her lips, wanting to ask some questions. "Hope, how do you know how to do all this?" Perhaps that could jog her memory a bit.
Hope didn't react at first, so Bella wasn't sure if the blonde heard her but then Hope's hands stilled on the plants and she looked up at Bella with a furrow between her brows. She opened and closed her mouth before quirking up her lip corner in an apologetic look. She gave a one shoulder shrug and turned back to her work.
Bella had known it wouldn't have been this simple but she had hoped. She just wanted to help Hope. To get her back to her family. "Do you know if you have family, Hope?"
Again Hope gave that one shoulder shrug, working more slowly on the flowers in front of her. Bella wondered if she had hurt her feelings. "Sorry, I shouldn't ask," Bella shook her head and turned to go back home when she feels a gentle hand turning her, before gloved hands grip her elbows and keep Bella still. Hope's holding her, looking down at Bella with a mixed expression that Bella cannot make out. She opens her mouth, closes it and swallows down her frustrated words.
She looks like she needs a hug, but Bella's hands are occupied by the glasses and Hope's holding her arms in place. This close up Bella can feel the heat radiating from Hope's body and her own heats up at the close proximity.
"Are you okay?" Bella asks and Hope's lips twist up before she's diving into Bella for a hug. Bella lets out a startled gasp, not expecting this, or the contours of Hope's body pressed against her own. But Hope hugs her tightly and Bella holds her as best she can with those glasses making the hug a bit more awkward.
They stay there for a long time and Bella even ends up closing her eyes. She can feel the tension leaving her body, can feel the tension leaving Hope's, as their bodies relax into the hug, into one another. The birds are chirping in the air and a small breeze ruffles past them. When they finally part Bella feels new. As odd as that sounds, the hug rejuvenated her. And Hope looks better for it too. Now, she has a contemplative look on her face, almost like she's realized something but not quite what.
"Everything okay out here?" Charlie's voice startles Bella and drops the glasses in her hand, while Hope barely notices him at all.
"Ah shit," Bella swears under her breath, pulling away from Hope and going to get a broom. Charlie's got his hands on his hips, standing on the back step, watching them. There's a furrow between his brows as if he doesn't understand why they'd been hugging. But he doesn't bother to ask about it, not now. And for that Bella is grateful because she doesn't think she could have formed coherent sentences about it.