Oh, Christmas... I love the holidays. I truly do. Now if only I could have the holidays without the drama! Who's with me?
Well, the kids are back in school, my house no longer looks like a pigsty strung with colored lights, and I think I've recovered from the emotional roller coaster. Sort of. Let's get back to it, shall we?
One other thing, On The Line was featured on The Lemonade Stand last week. Thanks, ladies! And welcome to any new readers. The more the merrier!
They remained poolside for almost two hours. As the persistently cheerful Jessica taught Marie how to do more than 'not sink', the other Volturi captives entertained their owner's guests. Victoria, easy to spot with her brilliant mane of fiery curls and shimmering silver bikini, held court in the hot tub, her brazen laughter ringing out every few minutes.
Bella didn't see Mary Alice or her sadistic owner James the entire time. However, the tiny blonde girl did appear as the buffet was being cleared away. With tiny, prancing steps, she made her way straight to the Aro, curling up like a puppy against his side as he lounged on a padded bench a few paces away from where Michael and Edward Cullen sat talking. He was sipping a pink, blended drink through a yellow straw that matched the hibiscus flowers on his shirt.
The party broke up gradually, and Bella watched in confusion as her partner, Michael and Aro wandered into the the building without looking back or telling them what to do. Jessica looped her arm through the new girl's, tugging her along behind the men.
"We have some free time to shower and relax before we have to dress for the evening. Do you like television?"
"Uhhh," Bella responded in confusion.
"I love television. It's like there's a whole world behind that little screen. It's better than a window, because when you look through it, you see something different every day."
Bella's steps faltered as she felt a wave of sadness flood her chest. Jessica couldn't be more than twenty years old, but she sounded as if her expectations for a future were non-existent. Her outlook was so simple, as if her life view had narrowed to fit within the constraints of her captivity, and she was okay with that.
They showered side-by-side, Jessica chattering away about how much she loved the gardenia-scented shampoo Michael had bought for her. Bella hadn't brought fresh clothes with her, but she rinsed out her bikini and put it back on, covering up with a short, black robe that Jessica found for her.
In the day room, Jessica pulled a few cushions off a sofa and tossed them on the floor in front of the television, beckoning Bella to join her. There was a nature documentary playing, showing tiny rodents preparing for winter in the northeastern states. Jessica talked on, sometimes exclaiming over the show, sometimes asking the new girl inane questions while she combed out her damp hair. Once she finished her own, she began on Bella's, efficiently working out the tangles from their swimming session.
Bella let her talk, hoping Jessica would give her an opening to ask about the Volturi, Michael in particular. Masen had taken a special interest in the man and was actively cultivating the relationship. As she had from the beginning, Bella was following his lead.
The petite blonde girl entered the dayroom soon after they sat down and collapsed on the floor in a corner, drawing her knees up to her chest and resting her forehead against them.
"Who is she?" Bella asked quietly, interrupting Jessica's complaint about split ends.
"Oh, that's Jane."
"She's so tiny. How old is she?"
"Fifteen, sixteen, something like that. She and her brother were here before me."
"She has a brother?" Bella asked, looking around. She didn't recall seeing any young men out by the pool or at the dinner party. Unless he was one of the waiters.
"Had. They found Alec's body in the pool a few days after I got here. The guards said he must have been drunk and slipped on the tiles. Jane hasn't said a word since. She's creepy. Nobody really pays attention to her except Aro."
"What do you mean by creepy?"
"Her eyes," Jessica whispered dramatically. "She looks at you as if she can see your insides."
Jane's bony shoulder stayed hunched, but Bella thought she saw a glimpse of pale blue eyes peering over the knobbly knees. Shivering, she turned her attention back to the television.
There was another girl sitting nearby. She had sandy-blonde hair cut in an asymmetric bob, and she was singing in a slightly breathy voice. He voice was so quiet and slightly off key. Between Jessica's chirping voice and the narrator from the television, it took Bella several minutes to recognize the song.
"Hush li'l ba-beee… Hush li'l ba-b-b-bee... Don't say no words…"
Bella looked over at the girl who sat near the window, wrapped in a blanket, despite the heat. She rocked a little as she sang, her fingers clenched around a small object, stroking and rubbing it fitfully.
Jessica noticed Bella's distraction and nudged her with the back of the hairbrush. "Ignore her. Meg's gonna be going on like that for a few days."
"What's wrong with her?" Bella wondered out loud.
"Doc had to get rid of another baby. Fourth time, I think. For some reason the shot doesn't work on her like it does for the rest of the girls. She tried to hide it this time, but one of the clients complained that the boss gave him a fatty and he didn't wanna pay. They figured it out pretty fast then. She'll be moaning and whining for days. But as least she doesn't have to work for a week. Lucky."
Bella felt her lips turn numb with horror. It made sense, of course. The Volturi didn't hesitate to kill anyone who stood in the way of their profits. Why would they balk at performing an illegal abortion? A pregnant whore wasn't going to fit their upscale image. But looking at the shattered girl by the window, her heart shivered and fractured a little further. As Meg's hands twisted, Bella finally made out what she clutched in her hands. It was a stained dinner napkin, tied and twisted into the rough shape of a doll.
Her eyes were watering as she asked for more details. "Don't they have to wear condoms?"
"Of course they 'have to', but that doesn't mean everyone does. Who would know, right? It's not like any of us would dare tell on them. And some pay extra to go without."
"But she gets a week off to recover?" she confirmed. Just a week? Bella felt a horrible ache deep in her belly. A week wasn't enough time to heal the physical wounds. A lifetime wouldn't be long enough to her the psychological ones.
"Yep. Doc says it's to avoid infection, so the boss agrees. Last year a girl got real sick. She'd just got her boobs done and something went wrong. She was moaning and screaming all day and night. Her face got all red and puffy, and she wouldn't shut up no matter what the guard said or did. Doc had just left on a trip, so she went on and on for five days. It was so annoying. None of us could relax. It was such a relief when Doc got back to take care of her."
"Wow. I guess it would have been pretty awful. Did she get better? What happened to her?" Bella asked, driven by genuine curiosity.
Jessica looked at her with one eyebrow raised in disbelief. "I don't know. They got rid of her."
Bella felt sick and excused herself to the bathroom. With the ocean outside the windows and more than five acres of land behind the high walls, disposing of a body was child's play. There were no doors to the stalls, but she sought privacy in the furthest one and crouched over the toilet, expecting her stomach to empty itself any second. She gagged and heaved, but nothing came up except tears. Finally, wiping her eyes viciously with a wad of toilet paper, Bella flushed and went to wash her hands at the sink.
Victoria was leaning against the doorframe, watching her with one hand on her curvy hip.
"Hey, new girl. Marie, right? All the boys are quite taken with you, wondering when Mr. Cullen is going to name your price. What's your secret?" There was an edge of jealousy and something more in the tall redhead's voice.
"Secret?" Bella asked, her voice quavering slightly.
"You know. How does a nobody like you catch the eye of someone like Edward Cullen. He seems like he's the kind of man who would want someone more. . . well, more."
"Oh. Well, I don't think he actually likes me. I irritate him. I try not to, but I. . . I don't know. . ." she trailed off, her voice raspy with tears.
"You obviously don't try very hard. You looked pathetic today, paddling and gasping like a little bitch. I almost expected you to start hanging your tongue out the way you were panting. If you didn't have that body, you wouldn't last a day here."
Bella wasn't sure how to take Victoria's version of a compliment. She shrugged uncomfortably, blotting her face with a damp towel. "I don't know. How long have you been stuck here?"
"Whoever said I was stuck?" Victoria asked with a scornful laugh.
"Well, I mean. . . I just assumed. . . you aren't here by choice."
"Darling, everybody is here by choice," the taller woman said with a sly smile, striding closer to check her reflection in the gilt mirror.
"Not me!" Bella protested, her voice shrill and anxious.
"Then leave."
"But, I can't! There are guards. . . the gate. . . Mr. Cullen. . . He'd beat me!"
"Silly child. You're not trapped. You can leave any time you like." With a taunting smirk, she opened one of Zafrina's hair-cutting shears and mimed slicing her arm open from her wrist to the inside of her elbow. Then she set it down in front of Bella. "If you have the guts, that is. But I don't believe you do. You're a sniveling coward. A weakling. I'm surprised Mr. Cullen wasted a penny on you."
Bella looked down with horror on the sharp-edge steel. How many boys and girls had committed suicide rather than face another day in this hell? And, considering the value the Volturi placed on their captives, why did they allow it? To keep the other prisoners cowed? Was there really such a surplus of fresh victims to pull from?
Bella considered how Victoria acted. She embraced her role, acting like a queen. She was the obvious favorite of several Volturi customers, but did she actually have any power? Any influence? How long could she continue as a willing Volturi concubine before her star sank into retrograde, before her looks faded and men began to pass over her for someone younger, fresher, more pliable. Her prima donna act had gotten her this far, but now the only place to go was down.
"So you. . . you actually like being here?" Bella asked doubtfully.
"Of course I do. I received my invitation about a year ago. I haven't regretted accepting it. Not once. It's a hard life out there on the streets. Learn how to play the game, Marie. Grow a backbone. You might live long enough to realize how lucky you are." She smacked her lips, ran a finger along her eyeliner and left Bella to her jumbled thoughts.
As always, thanks for reading!