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Chapter 14
Bellamy left the apartment, hope soaring in his chest. He had been trapped in this life for so long that he'd given up on ever finding a way out. Thank goodness for Clarke Griffin.
Her idea was a plausible one. He would speak to Miller and Lincoln, telling them to give him a list of any men they thought would be useful during the fallout. His shop was an exception to every other garage in Grounder territory because they ran a squeaky clean joint. Clarke assured him that this would definitely help.
Bellamy felt his phone buzz, Miller's face popping up on his screen.
"Blake", he said.
"Boss, I've got some interesting news. Collins is part of the Sky Crew. I did some digging and he's one of Cage's seconds."
Bellamy felt dread swirl in his middle, "Why Clarke?"
"From what I understand, Cage is going after you. He figured out your connection to Clarke and thinks she's the best way to bring you down", Miller answered.
"He's going after her to get to me, trying to get me to show my hand", Bellamy growled.
"What are we going to do, boss?"
"Call a meeting, Miller. Tomorrow night at the shop, keep Murphy and those loyal to Lynx out of the loop."
"Sure thing. I have a feeling there's more to this than Spacewalker", Miller said.
"I'll explain everything tonight. Set a guy up outside of O and Clarke's apartment. I don't trust Collins."
"Who'd you have in mind?"
"Lincoln had the day off, call him. Tell him if Collins shows up he's to call me", Bellamy said coolly.
"Done. I'll get the word out about tomorrow night", Miller said before hanging up.
Bellamy thanked him, and then started back on his way. He'd just made it to his truck when someone hit him from behind. He had no time to react as darkness crowded in and he fell to the cold asphalt.
Clarke could not fall asleep. For some reason she was worried about Bellamy. She knew it was crazy, and the rational part of her brain was quick to chime in, but she just couldn't shake the feeling that something had happened.
After tossing and turning for a good fifteen minutes, Clarke finally decided to call him. She let it ring three times, listening to his terrible voicemail "This is Blake, you know what to do".
She left a quick message telling him to call her, but she still found herself pacing in her room. Finally, she could take no more. She knew a few of the guys from the shop and she knew Bell would be furious with her for what she was about to do but she would deal with that later.
Clarke punched Nathan Miller's phone number into her phone, hoping the man was working that night.
"Hello."
"Miller, this is Clarke. Is Bell working tonight", she asked hesitantly.
"No, I just talked to him. He was headed home", Miller said, worry tainting his tone.
"He's not picking up his phone. He always answers his phone, even when he's working. I'm afraid something happened", Clarke said, her voice shaking.
"I'll tell Lincoln to check and see if his truck is still there and call you back."
Clarke resumed her pacing, not even stopping to wonder why Lincoln would be checking the parking lot for Bell's truck. She went back and forth wringing her hands in frustration.
She hated this! She was just about to try his cellphone again when she heard a thump at the front door. She took off at a mad dash, throwing it open and gasping at what she saw.
There stood Lincoln with a semi conscious Bellamy. Blood seemed through his dark curls, and his pupils were unresponsive.
"Crap, Bell, what have you done to yourself", she muttered as she turned to Lincoln, "Take him to my room. I'll get everything ready."
Clarke spread the thick cloth over her bedspread, and waited for Lincoln bring Bellamy in. After he was settled she went to the bathroom and put mixed some warm water and iodine in a plastic container before making her way back, med-kit in hand.
She found Bellamy stripped to the waist, his bloody shirt held in Lincoln's hands. She'd just knelt beside the bed, her hand moving to the dark curls when Octavia walked into the room.
"Clarke, what's going on? I heard…", the she stopped, her eyes widening, "What happened? Lincoln why are you hear?"
"O, keep your voice down", Clarke snapped.
"She's scared, Clarke", Lincoln growled.
"I don't care! Be quiet the both of you", the blonde said through gritted teeth, her hand lying on Bellamy's back and her thumb rubbing back and forth slowly.
Octavia stared at her friend. She'd never seen Clarke look so angry or scared at the same time. She looked to Lincoln, seeing that there was something to two were keeping from her.
"You two know something", she said softly so as not to elicit the blonde's wrath, "Tell me what happened."
"After I finish here, I'll tell you everything", Clarke said softly, "Why don't you and Lincoln go wait in the living room and I'll be out in a bit."
Octavia nodded, taking Lincoln's hand and leading him to the other room.
Clarke watched them go, sighing when they were finally gone. Her eyes filled unbidden tears as she stared down at the man she loved, so quiet and unmoving.
"Well, you're going to hate me when you wake up but I can't think about that right now", she murmured as she got to work.
She gently cleaned away the blood, rivulets of pink tinted water running down his neck. When the area was clean and disinfected, she began to stitch the deep gash her fingers shaking slightly.
Clarke checked Bellamy for any more injuries before washing her hands in the bathroom and making her way to the living room.
"Lincoln will you go sit with Bell while I speak to O", she asked politely.
She watched the man nod thankfully, striding purposefully from the room. She went to sit next to Octavia, taking her friend's hand in her own.
"Do you remember the night you came to my house begging me to help Bellamy", Clarke asked, waiting for O to nod before she continued, "That was a gang initiation. He joined the Grounder crew, and has been chopping cars at the Silver Fox for the last seven years. Before you say anything, he did it for you. He needed the money after your mother passed away and your father left. He didn't want you to be put in foster care and taken away from him, so he did the only thing he knew to. He's never killed anyone, and he doesn't participate in the turf wars. He collects debts when he has to, and runs the Silver Fox. He's got a lot of influence, and he's the top pick to take over after Lynx is no longer of use. You can't be angry with him for this, O. He kept it from you to keep you safe. I figured things out after patching him up."
"How long have you known", Octavia asked quietly.
"Since that first night seven years ago", Clarke answered honestly.
"He was so young."
"Yes he was. He's always had your best interest at heart, even though he went about things the wrong way."
"Lincoln's a Grounder too, isn't he", O said quietly.
"You'll have to talk to him about that. I'm not justifying your brother's actions, all I'm saying is look at it from a sixteen- year- old's perspective. He was scared and he didn't know where else to turn. Lynx promised to help, and Bell trusted him. Before long he was it too deep to get out", Clarke said, desperately trying to make Octavia understand.
"Thank you for telling me, Clarke."
"Your welcome."
"Is he going to be angry when he finds out I know", Octavia asked.
"With me, yes. You- of course not. He'll get over it though", Clarke finished with a smile.
Octavia smiled at this, knowing that Bell could never stay angry with either one of them for long. She hugged her friend, thankful now more than ever that Clarke had been there for her brother.
"You love him don't you", O said finally.
"Yes, I do", Clarke replied with a sigh.
As Bellamy floated in and out of consciousness, memories assailed him. One in particular played across his mind like an old film on a moving projector.
Bellamy had been twenty when he'd met Chloe. She was beautiful, blonde hair and blue eyes. He ignored the resemblance to a certain girl now occupying the bedroom across the hall from his.
They'd been dating for a few months when he finally brought her home to meet the girls. They had come through the front door, the sound of clanking pans coming through the kitchen.
"Why don't you go make yourself at home in the living room, and I'll go get the girls. They're both so excited to meet you", Bellamy lied.
Clarke and O never liked his girlfriends, but he hoped they would at least be civil this time. He made his way into the kitchen to find that Clarke had outdone herself.
She'd made rosemary chicken, garlic mashed potatoes, yeast rolls, and candied carrots. The smile on her face when he looked up nearly took his breath away.
"You made a feast, Princess", he said with a grin.
"Of course I did. This is the first girlfriend you've brought home in nearly a year. O and I decided the night should be special", the little blonde answered, her blue eyes dancing.
Bellamy chose to ignore the butterflies set free by those blue eyes, and chalked it up to nerves.
"Alright, you two promise to be nice", he asked sternly.
Both girls drew and X over their hearts, mischievous grins curving their lips.
"Ok, let's go meet her then."
Bellamy led the way into the living room, a feeling of dread settling on his shoulders.
"Chloe, this is my sister Octavia and her best friend Clarke. O, Princess- this is Chloe", Bellamy said, letting Clarke's nickname slip.
"Princess", Chloe said, her brow quirked in question.
"Yeah, we both call her that. Don't we, Princess", Octavia said, throwing a nervous glance in Clarke's direction.
"Yep, they both call me that. It's kind of an inside joke from when we were little", Clarke said with a smile.
"Inside joke, huh", Chloe said coolly.
"Yep, why don't we eat", Bellamy said shifting on from foot to foot nervously.
They sat down at the table, quiet as everyone filled their plates. Conversation was light and entertaining, putting Bellamy at ease. Then suddenly the chitchat turned.
"So, Clarke, where do you live", Chloe asked, as if she didn't already know.
"Uh, I live here. My mom and I are estranged", Clarke said softly.
"Ah, well isn't it sweet of Bell to let you live with he and his sister."
"Yeah, I'm very grateful to them both for taking me in."
"It's a shame you and your mom don't have a good relationship. I don't know what I would do without my own mother", Chloe said snidely.
"Bell, where did you two meet", Octavia asked, trying to change the subject.
Bellamy had launched into a story about how he'd met Chloe. He noticed Clarke's somber expression, but chose to ignore it.
After dessert was served and eaten, Clarke rose to collect the dishes.
"Why don't all of you go into the living room and I'll clean up in here", she said sweetly.
Bellamy rose, followed by Octavia, but Chloe remained seated.
"I'll help Clarke. Why don't you two go and enjoy some sibling time", Chloe said with a smile.
Bellamy smiled, "That would be nice. Come on, O."
Octavia looked at Clarke, an uncertain expression painting her features. Her friend simply nodded to the living room with a shrug.
The Blake siblings had only been in the other room for about ten minutes when a loud screech came from the kitchen. Bellamy was up and running, Octavia close on his heels. They came to a stop when the two blondes came into view.
Chloe stood before Clarke, her eyes sparking with anger and her chest heaving. Clarke stood with her chin in the air, a bright red handprint standing out on her pale cheek.
"What's going on in here", Bellamy growled.
"You should have heard what she said", Chloe said, her voice shrill.
"Well what exactly did she say", he questioned, his eyes never leaving Clarke's face.
"She said that I'm nothing but a passing fancy, and you'll soon tire of me", Chloe said with a sneer in Clarke's direction.
Clarke's eyes were glued to the ceiling, her hands fisted at her sides.
"Is that true, Clarke", Bellamy asked.
"Yes", she said in a barely audible whisper.
"O will you call our guest a cab", Bellamy ground out.
"But…"
"No one comes into my home and harms someone I care about. We're through! Don't call me because I won't answer. I don't need someone like you in my life, and you should listen to the Princess here, she knows me better than anyone", Bellamy growled.
He watched as Chloe stomped out of the room and out the front door. He made his way to Clarke's side, taking one of her fisted hands in his and gently massaging her fingers.
He grabbed a bag of peas from the freezer, placing it tenderly against her cheek. Her eyes found his, and the uncertainty in the blue depths tore at his heart.
"I'm sorry, Princess."
Clarke smiled, "It's ok, Bell. You had no way to know that she was a psycho."
"No more. I'm just gonna let you and O pick the next one", he said with a grimace.
"I think that can be arranged", the blonde said with a wink.
Bellamy hadn't really dated anyone after that. He went out from time to time, but no more girls came home with him.
Bellamy came to slowly, needed to see those crystalline blue eyes.
"Clarke."
Left you with a little cliff hanger :) Please review and tell me your thoughts! I love hearing from all of you!