Author's note:
Ugh, my word count is literally going down by the thousands. I'm trying to get content out for you guys, but it's hard to make long chapters and get them up right away, so I'm going to keep my chapters to a couple major scenes each. First chappy was intro+ I guess, but I'm not sure how many super long chapters there will be.
Again, I'm sorry this is so short.
Ps. Thanks for the reviews. Keep them up and I'll keep it up :D
Bella woke to the chipper voice of a nurse whispering "checks!" she glanced out into the hallway from her open door and saw that it was four in the morning. She could hear voices in the hall talking loudly and laughing and she groaned, covering her ears with her pillow.
"Seriously?" she grumbled, before looking at her two roommates to be sure she hadn't woke them. She made eye contact with Rosalie, who was sitting with her back against the wall, gazing at her with an amused expression. Bella nearly jumped, surprised the blonde was awake. "What are you doing up?" she asked Rosalie.
Rosalie's expression changed to something unreadable. "I don't sleep," she said quietly, bringing her knees up to her chest and resting her chin on them. She looked almost fragile, but then her face contorted into a glare. "Stop looking at me like that."
"Like what?" Bella challenged, annoyed at the blonde's morphing behavior.
"Like you're trying to get inside my head," Rosalie snapped, throwing her pillow at Bella in frustration. It hit Bella square in the face, causing her to yelp in surprise. An orderly ran over, poking his head and a flashlight into the room.
"Checks?" he announced nervously, sounding like he was asking a question rather than checking on the girls. Rosalie flipped him off, giving him a look that could kill, dispose of the body, and frame someone else. The orderly dipped his head, shuffling away like a frightened rodent.
"I'm not trying to get inside your head," Bella protested, hissing softly so she wouldn't call attention to their room or wake their other roommate. "You've been on my fucking dick every other hour and then a total cunt. I just want to get to know the person I'm rooming with." The brunette paused for air, almost shaking with rage. "But fuck you Rosalie, you're a waste of time, you'll be here forever and I'll be out in a few days."
Rosalie looked away from Bella, looking genuinely hurt, but Bella tried to remember it was just an act, that the blonde couldn't feel human emotions. She had to will herself to believe Rosalie, the girl she was so eerily attracted to, was a monster. Bella got out of her bed, walking out into the hallway.
"What are you doing out of bed?" one of the nurses barked, glaring at her with accusing eyes.
Bella smiled a false, sweet smile. "I'm having trouble sleeping, do you have anything to help me rest?"
"What's your name?" the nurse asked, scrolling down her chart.
"Bella Swan," the brunette answered, walking up to her desk.
"You already got something to help you sleep," the woman grumbled, sounding overworked and irritated. "If you can't sleep, then lay down, you can't be out of bed right now."
"Wait," Bella demanded, putting both hands on the desk. "I gagged on the pills from earlier and threw them up, I'm sorry," she lied, hoping the nurse would be too tired and careless to notice.
She shot Bella a look that said she didn't actually believe her, but walked over to her cabinet, pulling out a tiny packet of pills and a plastic cup of water. "These will make you sleep," she commented, watching Bella take the medication. "If not, oh well. Stay in your room." Bella nodded, opening her mouth to show she no longer had them. Without another word, she walked stiffly back to her room, spitting the pills out into the palm of her hand and hiding them in her pillowcase once she'd gotten to the safety of her room.
"Gonna try to kill yourself again?" Rosalie asked after a few seconds of utter silence. Her voice was icy, causing a shudder to wrack Bella's lanky frame. "I have a bunch of xanax if you have the balls to do it."
Bella glared at her, feeling trapped. That was her impulsive intention; she had planned on storing up a bunch of pills if she ever decided to plan her ultimate escape. However, the fact that Rosalie had pointed it out, after her harsh treatment had inspired the idea, left Bella unsure of how to react. Should she take the xanax, making her look like an overemotional bitch, or leave it, making her look like a ball-less attentionwhore. Finally she sighed, turning to face the wall and attempt to ignore Rosalie.
"I thought so," Rosalie growled, though her voice held a tinge of sadness. Bella felt guilty, knowing that even if Rosalie was cold and held no conscience, it was possible for the brunette to hurt her, and unlike the blonde, Bella was actually able to apologize for it.
She stared blankly at the wall for the next few hours, attempting to find the words to say to Rosalie to make everything between them all better and special feeling again. Her efforts were fruitless, and after a few more ideas that could only be described as psychotic floated into her head, Bella felt sleep take her once again.
She woke up feeling as she expected she would – like she'd been woken up from a drug-induced slumber because once again she was letting herself get her head and heart all messed with by a girl. She grumbled, annoyed by the other patients running door-to-door shouting "meds" and "line up for breakfast!"
"Ugh," Alice groaned from her bed, burrowing her face into her pillow as she covered her ears with her hands. "It's people like them that make me want to start eating meat again…"
Rosalie snickered. "What does that even mean?" she asked, sounding a little more condescending than playful. Alice being Alice, either didn't notice or didn't care.
"You're in a crazy house, figure it out," Alice replied logically, before walking into the hall to get her medication. Bella watched the smaller girl walk agonizingly slowly out of earshot, giving the brunette a chance to speak.
"Rose," Bella whispered from her bed as the blonde got up and began to strip.
"Hm?" Rosalie replied, not bothering to look at Bella.
Bella ran a hand through her hair awkwardly, pulling at imaginary knots. "I'm sorry for what I said last night," she started, pausing, not sure what else she could say. Rosalie was a sociopath; she didn't know the meaning of the word sorry. Would this apology really matter? "I know that it doesn't really mean anything to you, but I really am sorry."
Rosalie turned to look back at Bella, a pained look on her face. After a moment though, it was replaced with her usual confident smirk. "Well," she started. "You really hurt my feelings last night you know. You're right. A little 'I'm sorry' isn't going to fix anything." Bella opened her mouth in protest, but the other girl stopped her. "No, let me finish. Sorry isn't enough…" she trailed off ominously, tapping her foot and looking up thoughtfully. "You have to suck up to me until I say otherwise."
Bella blinked, pleasantly surprised by the blonde's playful words. She could tell she had gotten to Rosalie last night, and she was almost certain she would be on the sociopath's verbal hit list. "What's my first order of business your majesty?" Bella asked, looking up at the blonde with eyes filled with mock adoration.
"Mm," Rosalie murmured, gazing at Bella with such a gentle adoration that Bella had to subtly pinch her arm behind her back to see if she was dreaming. "You have to sit with me at breakfast today." She grinned cheesily before walking up to the medication counter to get her cocktail of drugs. Bella followed a few moments later, still a little stunned by their interaction. This back and forth thing with her had happened so much in the past day that Bella should be expecting it, however her change of feelings for the brunette continued to shock Bella.
Once again, Bella pretended to swallow her pills while storing them under her tongue expertly. She was familiar with this technique after years of performing it for her overprotective father. She recognized one of the pills to be Prozac while the other looked like the Klonopin that had been given to her in the hospital. She wondered if people would trade her things for her Klonopin. Bella had once been a benzodiazepine fiend, popping xannies by the bar, but she was over that, and she was sure that her tolerance for the tiny pills was through the roof. She slipped the pills into her bra and walked over to where the other girls had gathered.
Bella made eye contact with Rosalie, surprised to see the longing in her violet depths. "I guess the two of you made up," Alice chirped behind Bella, causing the brunette to stumble awkwardly forward as the group began walking towards the cafeteria.
"For now…" Bella complained. She was thankful that Rosalie had decided to be flirty, and kind, and not push her away, but she was fearful for the next time the blonde was over being close to Bella. "I'm going to sit with her at breakfast, is that okay?"
"Bella, you don't have to ask permission to sit with someone else," Alice laughed. "I've had half a year without you here, I have other seating arrangements if the new kids decide to bail on me."
Bella grinned, happy her new friend wasn't upset she didn't want to sit with her. She wondered if she should go walk with Rosalie, but decided against it. Their interactions tended to work out better when initiated by the blonde. The group made its way to the cafeteria, finally getting to and then unlocking the doors to the large room.
The brunette walked over to the table Rosalie had sat at the night before, but the blonde stopped her, calling her name and beckoning her to the table Bella had stayed the rest of dinner last night. "You seem to like this table," Rosalie observed, sitting at the chair against the wall.
Bella shrugged, pulling her own chair out. "I like whatever table you're sitting at," she dared, shamelessly flirting with the other girl. She felt good about this day with Rosalie. She had a feeling that whatever was going to happen between them, it was going to be good.
"That's very cute, sweetheart, but we both know you'd much rather sit with our lovely roommate," Rosalie countered. "But thank goodness I get you all to myself until you're done sucking up to me."
Bella knew what Rosalie was doing. The blonde was manipulating her, feigning jealousy and putting herself down so Bella would shower her with reassurance and compliments. Strangely, although the brunette could read into the other girl's tactics, she still played into her game, thinking the better of the blonde and refusing to believe that her illness defined who she could be. "No, I actually really am glad to be sitting here with you," Bella replied honestly, smiling reassuringly at the taller girl.
Rosalie grinned, pleased with Bella's answer, and got out of her seat to get in line. "Are you coming?" she asked the brunette, who was still seated in her chair, gazing somewhat shamelessly at Rosalie's ass as it raised from her seat. Rosalie seemed to notice this, as her smile grew wider and more flirtatious.
"I don't normally eat breakfast," Bella answered awkwardly, not wanting to follow the other girl up and not get anything for herself. The stalker comment had got to her, and she didn't want Rosalie's friends to make fun of her later for it.
Rosalie frowned, grabbing Bella's hand and pulling her out of her chair. "You have to eat, Bella. Breakfast is important and food should never be taken for granted," she trailed off, leading Bella to where the trays were stacked. The girls both grabbed a tray and a bowl, getting a single tiny box of cereal and a carton of milk.
"Bella, you're not only following Rosalie around but you're getting the same food as her? Gee, what a weirdo," Tanya taunted, glaring at Bella jealously.
Bella tried not to let the pain she felt show, but she couldn't bite back her harsh words. "At least I didn't try to fucking hang myself over her, you pathetic whore," she hissed, walking away to her table, not sure if Rosalie would follow her or stay with her friend. She felt regret hit her like a ton of bricks as she watched helplessly as Rosalie talked quietly to her upset friend, before walking over to Bella.
Her next words surprised the brunette though. "Tanya's needs to realize it's over," Rosalie grumbled, opening up her thing of cereal and pouring the dried bits into her bowl, following it with a stream of milk. "She's no fun to fuck with, she cries too much and then it just gets more annoying than funny."
Bella blinked, shocked at how Rosalie felt about the girl she had assumed was her friend. "You aren't friends with her?" she asked, unsure of what the blonde meant.
"Fuck no," Rosalie denied with a scowl. "She's so annoying. She's not even hot either, and she thinks she's good enough to be with me."
Bella raised a brow. "And how hot do you have to be to be good enough for you?"
"I'd say about your level of hotness," Rosalie hinted with a smirk. Bella grinned back. She felt like she was seeing her Rosalie again. The playful and kind girl who was as interested in Bella as the brunette was in Rosalie.
"So are you saying I have what it takes to be with you?" Bella asked, only half joking.
"I'm saying you're hot enough to be with me," the blonde purred. "But I haven't hung around you enough or talked to you enough to see if you're cool and fun enough to be with me."
Bella grinned. "So if I can prove to you I'm cool and fun, you'd go out with me." She was cheering inside her head, her heart beating fast. Surprisingly she was not making a fool of herself yet.
"Oh, I know you're funny and cool," she complimented the brunette kindly. "But the others don't. Only me and Alice. So you have to prove to everyone else that you're as awesome as I see you are. Then we can talk about getting to know each other better," she murmured suggestively, smirking at Bella's dazed expression.
"What if I want to get to know you now?" Bella grumbled.
"Okay, fine," Rosalie conceded. "What's your favorite color?"
"Huh? What?" Bella asked in confusion. Rosalie gazed at her expectantly, waiting for her to answer. "Um, violet I guess…" the brunette forced out, still not getting why Rosalie asked such a random question.
"Violet like my eyes?" Rosalie teased causing Bella to blush. She paused, taking a bite of her cereal. "I like grey. It matches how I feel." Bella looked down at her own tray, not sure what to say. Rosalie tended to volunteer cryptic information before shutting her out. She wasn't about to risk triggering Rosalie's mood swings by asking what she meant by that. "What kind of music do you like?" Rosalie asked, grinning as they began to have a lengthy back and forth barrage of random questions, getting more and more personal, but none very deep.
"Boobs or ass?" Bella asked Rosalie, laughing as Rosalie paused and looked deep in thought.
"Well," she started. "My argument for boobs is that they're fucking soft and beautiful, and you can stare at them while you're talking to someone." She looked down, mock-checking Bella out. "But when you're making out with a girl… The ass is a great place to hold onto."
Bella didn't think she could be so turned on by the answer to such a simple question, but there was something so sexy and alluring about Rosalie, and anything sexual that came out of her mouth left Bella soaked.
"What about you?" Rosalie asked Bella. "I bet you're an ass man. You can't stop staring at mine."
Bella blushed furiously, before pulling herself together enough to produce a somewhat put together thought. "You're always showing it off for me. Maybe if you leaned over the table a little and let me sneak a peak, but all you ever give me is ass, ass, ass," she complained jokingly, eliciting a soft laugh from Rosalie.
"It's fun to tease you," Rosalie confessed as they were getting up to go back to their ward. "I don't want to hurt you. I don't want you to stop talking to me." She sounded meek and vulnerable.
Bella couldn't tell if this was another manipulation technique Rosalie had in her arsenal, but again, she didn't find herself caring. "Don't worry Rose," Bella assured her with a soft smile. "You're the best thing here, the only way you'll get rid of me is if you tell me to fuck off again."
"I might," Rosalie warned as they walked into the adolescent part of the hospital.
"Well, then don't mean it," Bella grumbled back, squeezing Rosalie's hand. She seemed so powerful yet fragile, once again reminding Bella of her experience with the Devil's weed.
Rosalie frowned. "Ugh, you're a pain," she growled, walking into their room and collapsing onto her bed. Bella noticed there were dark rings under the blonde's eyes, giving her a different kind of ghostly beauty, but also making her look slightly unhealthy. "You're supposed to be the clingy emotional one, not me."
Bella couldn't help identify yet another method of manipulation. Letting someone in about something minor that might not even be true, and then giving them a false sense of security. Bella wasn't sure if that was Rosalie's true intention, but whether it was or not, she would once again allow herself to take part in the blonde's mind games. But as Alice walked into the bathroom for another shower, Bella took the time to try out a strategy of her own.
"I feel like you're messing with me all the time," she said with a laugh. "I mean, maybe I'm different than the others, but you've already confessed that you fuck with people this way…" she said in an attempt to see how Rosalie really felt about her.
"You think someone as gorgeous and fun to be around as you can get fucked with?" Rosalie countered in mock surprise, leaning up in her bed to give Bella a seductive gaze.
As Bella had practically made up her mind to walk over to Rosalie's side of the room and basically throw herself at the other girl, a nurse pushed their door open, announcing her presence with a quick 'hello' before departing as suddenly as she had arrived. Thankfully though, saving Bella the embarrassment of having the blonde reject her and think of her as a horny dog for the rest of her stay.
Thankfully Alice got out of the shower a few moments later, breaking the lusty tension between the two girls. She walked into the room, pulling a tiny grey sock out from under her shelf. "Anyone got anything they want to trade for some addies?" the short girl whispered in a cheesy auctioneer voice.
Bella shrugged. "I have some kpins," she replied, pulling the pills from last night and the morning out to show the other girl. Bella wasn't really a fan of stimulants, but she knew she wouldn't take the klonopin and that at least her amphetamine tolerance was low enough that whatever amount Alice had to offer would at least give the brunette a buzz.
"Damn," Rosalie commented. "Bella's already getting into trading."
Alice grinned at Rosalie. "Girl learns fast," she agreed, handing Bella four 30 milligram capsules of adderall in exchange for Bella's two milligrams of klonopin. "You want any, Rosalie?"
Rosalie shook her head. "You know me, up all night already. I don't need an extended release stimulant to add to my sleepless nights." She shrugged. "Then again, snorting them would be more effective and make the duration shorter anyway." She pulled out two of the blue xanax. "Here," she offered, handing the shorter girl the pills and receiving the same amount of pills as Bella.
Alice grinned. "See, it's smart doing business with me. I'm the only one in this ward with adderall, and I have a fuckton all stored up."
"How many xannies to you have?" Bella asked Rosalie.
Rosalie pulled out four colorful mechanical pencils, pouring out their contents onto her bed. Each held about twenty. "I have enough to have a good time," Rosalie replied, filling her hiding spot back up with the tiny blue pills. "By the way," she commented boredly. "I was so fucked up last night, I don't even remember what happened. I don't want to know what you said, but I just needed an excuse to get you to sit with me."
Bella grinned and Alice had to cover her mouth to stop the 'aw!' that would have escaped her lips. Yes, Bella was starting to feel very good about where things were headed with the blonde.