Hi everyone, sorry this update is so late, but to be honest I can't promise constant updates. I'm back at university and I just have so much going on all the time. However, this story will be finished and I promise you a reasonably timely ending if you're willing to stick with my for a bit! I'm super excited about this story and have some interesting things planned for it (well I think they're interesting anyway). Hope you enjoy this chapter!
Belle tried to continue on like nothing was wrong.
It had been 4 months since Rumple passed away, but it felt like a lifetime, because already so much had changed. She had sold the library 3 months ago in order to pay her rent for the shop. She simply could not afford to keep both. She loved that library; she loved being around the books every day, and she loved that it was a gift from Rumple. It really hurt to let it go, just like everything else hurt. She knew selling the shop was just not an option, however, so as much as she wanted to keep the library she knew she couldn't. As much as selling the library hurt, selling the shop would probably destroy her.
So when her rent was due for the month and she realized she didn't have enough to cover it, she really started to panic.
She didn't do a lot of business at the shop. People really only stopped by to chat or when they needed something magical, but she knew very little about magic so she could never really help. She had been drawing from her savings to pay the rent for the past few months, but there was only so much of that she could do before she didn't have enough to live off of. She thought about the time before all this happened, when her life was simple and she was happy, but she couldn't live in the past now.
Maybe she could reason with Will, convince him to cut her rates or give her a break for a few months. She was having such a hard time getting back on her feet after Rumple died, he could understand that, couldn't he?
But Will seemed so cold. He was a businessman, and he didn't take many excuses. She wouldn't be able to reason with him, she knew, but she didn't know what else to do.
So when he came to collect the rent a few days later and she still didn't have it, she tried talking her way out of it.
"You don't have all the rent money?" He asked flatly.
"I- I don't," she stammered, regretting her decision to try and talk to him about this. "I've been having such a hard time getting back on my feet after my, um, partner died," boyfriend seemed like too casual of a term to describe her relationship with Rumple, "he always handled these things, and I think I just need a little bit more time to get myself together," she looked up at him, hoping to see some telling sign in his face. She didn't his eyes remained hard and focused on her.
"You were Mr. Gold's girl, weren't you?" He asked, although she wondered why he really cared. "This is his shop, isn't it?"
"Yes, I was and it is," she replied.
Will moved closer to her, and she stepped back a bit, but he had still almost closed the gap between them.
"Look, I don't do this for most of my clients, but I know this shop is special to a lot people," Belle smiled briefly, thinking that she had gotten through to him, and that he wasn't as bad a man as everyone was making him out to be, "but you're also a very beautiful woman, and I've had my eye on you since I first got to town," Belle's heart sunk. She hadn't gotten through to him at all.
"Excuse me?" She asked, not wanting to think about what he was getting at.
He ran the back of his hand down her arm. "Either way, rent is due today. However, since this place is very special to you, and you're a very beautiful woman, like I said, I think we can work an alternate payment plan. His hand had moved from her arm and was now sliding down her back. She felt him stop at her lower back, resting his hand there for a moment, before moving it down to her bottom. She flinched and moved away, feeling a chill run down her spine.
She was panicking now. "Who do you take me for?" The words came out faster than expected. She didn't want to sound weak or scared, she wanted to sound brave and secure.
"Suit yourself," he was crossing his arms and leaning against the counter. He was a very solidly built man, and slightly intimidating. "If you can't pay your rent, I will be repossessing the store in a few days." Belle was in shock. Somehow she never really thought she would end up losing the shop at the end of this. Will walked out of the building, but Belle didn't move. She couldn't process what had just happened. She knew a lot of people didn't like Will, but she didn't think he would end up being so sleezy.
But then the trepidation started to set in. If she couldn't pay him, she would lose all of it. She would lose everything that was Rumple's, and everything that was magic. Although she didn't know a lot about magic, she knew that if some of the items fell into the wrong hands, it could be disastrous. She had already lost all of Rumple's property, it was her responsibility not to lose anything else.
As much as she hated herself for doing it, she ran out into the street after Will.
"Hey" She shouted as soon as she spotted him down the street. He hadn't gotten far, because as dirty as she felt it hadn't taken her long to make the decision that she had.
"Did you change your mind about our arrangement?" He smirked. She just stood there, trying to hold back tears, and silently begging him not to make this harder than it already was. She had made hard sacrifices for her loved ones before, she would just have to make another one now.
She nodded and they walked back into the shop. Will didn't waste much time, he had his hands on her almost as soon as they stepped in the door. Belle tried hard to remove herself from the situation; trying to force herself to be anywhere but there. She felt Will's lips on hers, and then on her jaw, and on her neck. She stood there limp, trying not to cry.
He stopped and started to undo his belt buckle, so she got down on her knees.
Belle's face didn't look much better the next morning after her fight with Will. It was swollen and bruised, and she had some distinct finger tip sized bruises on on shoulder. Those would not be hard to cover up, she could just wear a shirt with sleeves. Her broken face was going to be much harder to conceal, however.
Will was gone, most likely not wanting to see her after their ordeal yesterday. He always felt bad afterwards, and Belle usually forgave him, but she wasn't feeling quite as generous today. For the first time in a long time, she was actually very angry with Will. She didn't deserve to be treated like this. She wasn't sure why she was suddenly feeling very liberated, but she figured it had something to do with Rumpelstiltskin being around again.
As angry as she was feeling, either way Will was gone and she had a bruised face. She didn't know what to do. She had to go out today. She had groceries to get, errands to run, little things that just couldn't wait, but she couldn't go out with her face like this.
After pondering the situation for a bit, she decided to call in a favor to Ruby. All Belle really needed today were a few basic things for the house and for Cheyenne, and she knew Ruby would pick them up for her if she claimed to be having a hard time with Cheyenne today. Being Belle's best friend, Ruby always had a soft spot for her whenever she thought that Belle was having an extra bad day.
As expected, after some coaxing, Ruby agreed and was at Belle's door a while later with a bag of groceries. Belle opened the door hesitantly, trying to keep the bad side of her face pointed away from Ruby. She knew this wouldn't work, and almost as soon as the door was open completely she heard Ruby gasp.
"What happened to your face!?" She almost screamed. Belle jumped and put a hand on Ruby, not wanting to make a scene or make the neighbors think anything was wrong. "Did Will do this to you? Belle, this has got to stop, this is getting really scary!"
"It's nothing Ruby, it was my fault anyway," Belle said sheepishly.
"Do you hear yourself?" Ruby almost yelled at her again. "I'm calling Archie, or Emma, or anyone that can talk some sense into you and put this creep behind bars," Ruby got out her phone and started to dial, and Belle started to panic, she didn't want anyone else seeing her swollen face, or knowing that she let this happen to herself. She lurched forward trying to snatch the phone out of Ruby's hand, and even though Ruby tried to maneuver away, Belle succeeded in grabbing the little object from her friend.
"Fine," Ruby said making cold eye contact with Belle, who stood in the doorway holding on to the phone, as if that would make this whole situation go away, "if you won't let me call anyone then I'm going to get Archie myself. Maybe you'll listen to an actual psychologist about how unhealthy this is."
Belle pleaded with Ruby not to get anyone else involved, to just give her the groceries and move on with life, but Ruby was not having it. She wasn't lying; Ruby walked away from the house and left Belle standing there still holding her phone. She wanted to cry, that went about as bad as it possibly could, but there was really no other way it could have happened. All Belle wanted to do was grab Cheyenne and run away and never look back. She went inside and closed the door, leaning against the wall while she tried not to let the anxiety get to her. Maybe she could put some powder on it so it wouldn't look quite as bad. That wouldn't really help the swelling, however.
She looked at Cheyenne playing with her toys in the living room. She called for her mother after she noticed Belle standing there in the doorway. The little girl had no idea anything was wrong, she just thought her mother didn't want to play with her. Belle gave in a helped Cheyenne dress her dolls to try and get her mind off of Ruby.
Ruby wasn't kidding. 20 minutes later she and Archie showed up at her door, and 10 minutes after that Belle was crying on the couch surrounded by her two closest friends. Cheyenne was in her lap, burying her head into her mother's chest, obviously feeding off her negative energy, but Belle really needed her daughter right now.
Ruby stroked Belle's hair, giving her soft words of encouragement. Archie wasn't quite as comforting as Ruby was. He was extremely sympathetic towards her situation, but being a psychologist he kept trying to say things to make Belle realize this situation was not okay.
"This is an extremely toxic environment for you, and your daughter," Archie went on, "It's bad enough he's hurting you, but what if he eventually starts turning on Cheyenne?"
The thought of that made Belle's stomach churn; she hugged her baby tighter. If it ever got to that point she would run. She would cross the town line and never look back. "I know," was all she could whisper into Cheyenne's hair. "I know he shouldn't be hurting me, but he really is a good guy, underneath it all."
"Wake up Belle!" Ruby snapped at her. "It's like he has you under some sort of spell or something. Can't you tell he's not a good man? He hits you! You deserve the world, not someone who couldn't care less about your well being."
This just made another tear roll down Belle's cheek. She really did believe there was a good man under Will's rough exterior. She had been right about Rumpelstiltskin, why couldn't she be right about Will? However, even though she did believe that Will had good in him, she was starting to doubt her own ability to reach it. She thought about those first few months after Cheyenne was born, and how he had been an amazing father and husband. How had it gotten so far from that? Now, especially after last night, Belle was more afraid of him than anything. Even though she didn't want to admit it, she knew if Will got angry enough he wouldn't care what happened to her.
"I know it's not a healthy relationship, but what can I do about it?" She was addressing both Archie and Ruby now. "I can't leave him, he has all my money and all of my things, and I am not willing to lose the shop. He could find me easily, he owns this whole town and knows where I would go. And once he did find me if I left, that would be it. I would rather just stay here with him and knowing that Cheyenne is safe and her environment is stable, and take the occasional swings from him." Belle looked at both of her friends. Archie looks very sympathetic now.
"We can help you, Belle, please don't settle for a life like this," he pleaded with her.
"You know who else could help you?" Ruby said quietly, "Rumpelstiltskin."
Belle's eyes got wide. "No! That's what started this all in the first place." The mention of Rumple made tears well up in her eyes again. It was hard enough trying not to think about him all the time anyway, she didn't need Ruby reminding her of how complicated this situation actually was.
"He has magic, Belle, the way I see it he is the only way out of this," Ruby was very frank with her, which she probably needed right now. Belle just shook her head. "At least promise me you'll think about it?" Ruby asked. This time Belle nodded in agreement. What Ruby didn't know is that Belle had already been thinking about it constantly.
That night Belle's stomach was in her chest. She knew Will would be out that night and she didn't have to worry about him coming home to an empty house, but she also made it clear to him that she was going to spend some time at Ruby's while Granny Lucas took Cheyenne at the diner. It didn't seem to phase Will, he left without much more conversation. Belle was feeling a rush of nervousness and adrenaline, like she was a teenager sneaking out after her curfew. The story she had told Will wasn't really true at all, she was actually going to meet Rumpelstiltskin.
All day after her conversations with Ruby and Archie all she could think about was him. She knew he just wanted to help her, but she had pushed him away. She didn't even deserve to have him help her, but she was also craving his presence. Ever since he had been back it was like she could feel him, like she was being drawn back towards him. She was painfully aware of this, that's why she had tried so hard to push him away. She was scared. But after talking to Ruby and Archie she realized things were not going to get better. She deserved to be happy, so she might as well give in and go see him.
Cheyenne was downstairs with Ruby, happily receiving all the attention she was getting from the diner's regulars. Cheyenne loved Leroy, and Leroy was a big softy around her. Belle took comfort in knowing that Cheyenne had a whole family of people standing behind her if anything ever happened to her.
Belle hadn't told Rumpelstiltskin that she was coming. She felt he might be more inclined to see her if she just showed up, but it was taking all the courage she had to simply walk up the stairs and knock on the door. She was terrified she would be rejected by him, and she didn't know what she would do then.
Eventually she made her way up to his room and made a few light taps on the door with a shaky hand. It didn't take him long to open it, and standing there in his doorway she felt the most vulnerable she had in a long time.
His eyes got wide when he saw her face. Oops, she had forgotten to put makeup on that.
"What happened to you?" He gasped.
"Can I come in?" She asked in a small voice.
He opened the door wider for her and lead her in. His hand landed gently on her lower back to guide her towards the side of the bed to sit. It was an unconscious gesture, but Belle was painfully aware of it. She was regretting coming here now, it was just going to make it all the more painful when it ended badly.
"Um, you probably don't even want to see me," she started awkwardly, but he interrupted.
"I always want to see you," he said.
"Right," she brushed that off, she wanted to get out what she had to say before she let her feelings take over. "Look, I'm really sorry about the past few days. That letter was a mistake. I shouldn't have pushed you away like that and I'm so sorry," she looked up at him to see if she could gauge his expression. She couldn't, he was just staring blankly at the wall, so she continued. "I was just really scared of what would happen if I came to see you. This whole thing would become really real, and I wasn't sure if I was ready for that."
Rumple's expression remain unchanged.
"The whole thing just took me by surprise, and I wasn't quite ready to deal with it. I mean how are you alive?" She asked him.
He didn't say anything for another minute, but then he turned to look at her. "Did he do this to you?" he asked through gritted teeth.
Belle just nodded silently. Rumple sounded absolutely disgusted. She felt like he should be disgusted at her for letting this happen.
"How did this happen?" He asked in the same tone.
Belle laughed an exasperated laugh. "Do you mean my face or all of it?"
He responded by lifting his hand to cup the side of her face. She felt a small pulse of energy as Rumple's magic flowed into her. When he took his hand down, she glanced at the small mirror that was on the wall by the bed, her face was back to normal with no cuts or bruises to be seen. Her skin still tingled from his touch.
"All of it," he said.
"It was never supposed to be a serious relationship, but then I got pregnant and all that changed. It didn't really have any other option except to become a serious relationship after that." Rumple didn't say anything, so she continued, "He has almost all of your property deeds. I was really irresponsible after you died, so I guess I managed to lose them. Everything just spiraled out of control and suddenly I had Cheyenne and I was completely dependent on him."
"He's hurting you, Belle." He replied simply.
"I know, I know," like she hadn't heard it before. She didn't want to admit to Rumple that for a while she actually enjoyed being with Will, and that she missed the way their relationship used to be. "I'm just clinging to a broken relationship, at this point," she mumbled. Rumple looked slightly hurt. She felt terrible, she didn't know how to handle this situation at all. She still loved Rumple, but she was married to someone else. "I, I want to be with you again, but I don't know how that can happen," she said this in an even smaller voice. That was the first time she had admitted it out loud.
He responded by putting his arm around her and pulling her to his chest. She slumped against his side, letting him support her. She'd never felt so vulnerable.
"I would understand if you had moved on after I left," Rumple started, "I wouldn't be happy about it, but I would understand. What I can't let happen is for him to continue hurting you."
"But what can you do about it?" Belle asked.
"We'll figure something out," he replied.
"Okay," she accepted that for now, knowing that they couldn't figure it all out tonight. "Can we talk about you? How are you here?"
"To be honest?" Rumple ran his fingers through his hair, "I don't really remember much. I woke up in the woods next to my vault and I was alone."
"Your vault?" Belle interrupted him.
"It's where the first dark one was created. It's the only thing possible to bring me back. Anyway, there was a note and a magic bean, and the note said 'To Storybrooke' so I came here." Belle still looked confused. There was a lot missing from his story. "That Pirate Hook thinks he knows who resurrected me, but the bad news is that it's a one for one trade, so whoever brought me back would have had to sacrifice themselves," Rumple was looking down, Belle thought he might be feeling slightly guilty about that.
"Who does he think it was!?" Belle asked in alarm.
Before Rumple could answer there was a loud knock on the door and the Ruby burst in. Belle jumped away from Rumple's embrace, and their position had obviously startled Ruby. Ruby's worried expression did not change, and this immediately sent Belle into a panic.
"What's wrong? Where's Cheyenne?" Belle jumped up, heart racing.
"She's fine, Leroy has her downstairs," Ruby said, putting Belle's mind a little bit at ease. "Will's downstairs, he's looking for you."
"Oh my god," Belle thought he would be so wrapped up in himself or the alcohol that he wouldn't even be thinking about her tonight. "My face!" Belle looked at the mirror. Her skin was glowing, and there we no longer any bruises after Rumple had healed her. She looked at Rumple with wide eyes, "put my face back to the way it was!"
"Belle," Rumple started to protest, but Belle interrupted him again.
"No, if there aren't any bruises he's going to know that I was with you," Belle pleaded with him.
Rumple sighed and stood up, putting a hand on either side of her face. She felt the energy go through her again, and then she felt a slight soreness where all her bruises had been. She glanced at the mirror again, her face was purple and swollen just like it had been.
"I'm going down there," Rumple said to her.
"No," she protested, touching his arm. "He thinks I was with Ruby tonight. Please stay here, we'll figure something out later I promise. I'll try to come see you again tomorrow."
He silently agreed, and Belle left the room, running down the stairs with Ruby. When she got downstairs Cheyenne was fine, Will was angry, but that was to be expected. She didn't even know what he was angry about, probably nothing, but the alcohol made it worse than it actually was. He didn't seem to suspect that she had been with Rumple, and she managed to calm him down and bring him home.
That night when they were laying in bed, Belle realized how bad of a situation this actually was, and she wondered how she could possibly manage to get herself out of it.
Hope you enjoyed! R&R, check out my tumblr and all that. There is lots of stuff about Will and more about Belle's motives coming in upcoming chapters, and of course lots more Rumbelle, so get excited! xx