Okay so this chapter kicked my ass and then decided to have its filthy way with me because it totally had a mind of its own. O_O Again I say I don't like angst but it needs to start somewhat dark since ya know, being hunted and promised death is not what rainbows and sunshine are made of. Just sayin'...but I tried to add some happy moments in there. X) But I digress, I'm really wanting to get to the mushy loveness quickly since that's what I'm good at.
There are a lot of flashbacks in this chapter to create some kind of perspective for the characters. It hopefully won't be too confusing but I wouldn't be surprised if I confuse people even further. SORRY!
Trust me. We're almost to the 'tell all' chapter. Where everything should be laid bare so that you guys aren't left in the dust, but till then...GRAB YOUR SWIFFERS AND ENJOY THE RIDE KIDDIES!
And there should be some Rose/Ang interaction in here so hope ya like. Also, there is a song included in this chapter. I definitely recommend you listen as you read. It's a beautiful song and I thought it fit perfectly for this character.
Didn't Want To Say Goodbye by Ari Hest
Bella's POV
She always hated hospitals.
Loathed them in fact. They just never seemed to leave her with that warm fuzzy feeling whenever she was there, and she was there pretty frequently that the paramedics knew her on a first name basis and that fact just filled her with embarrassment. When the paramedics have seen your face so many times that they just roll their eyes when they see you, it starts to get real old real fast. Hospitals, generally, were cold, dull and everything was way too clean that it creeped Bella out like she was a victim in one of those serial killer movies. Plus, hospitals reminded her of pain. Like right now for example, she could do without feeling like her eyes were melting every time she cracked an eye lid open. It seriously felt like acid was being poured directly onto her cornea and she groaned miserably and felt like an idiot every time she did, thinking that the next time she opened her eyes that it would be different. Suffice to say that no, it didn't get better, and yes it still hurt like a mother heifer. She had resigned herself with lying there in her hospital bed like a useless fish, eyes shut tight and incredibly bored out of her mind. She wasn't sure there was any hope for her ever having a –somewhat pleasant experience at the doctor's office. The dizziness had passed, thankfully, but now she was only painfully aware of the residual numbness in her leg. No, that hadn't gotten better either, and the doctors had thought that maybe it was a severe infection that had spread rapidly through her body. They said it would explain the numbness, nausea and the dizziness, and in some cases infections have been known to affect motor functions. But it was only a theory. A theory that was quickly dismissed since Angela had been wheeled in with almost the same exact symptoms. Bella just as quickly realized that the doctors had no idea what was wrong with either of them, and she wasn't surprised to learn this. She had a better idea of what was going on than they did but she didn't really know what was happening to her and Angela. It's not like she could ask for a second opinion. Well, she could ask Angela but she hasn't seen her friend since she saw her vomit that black stuff all over the floor…
Bella shuddered at the thought. She was probably never going to get over that. She didn't like having that image in her head but it was ingrained on the back of her eyelids and that illustration only made her think of the voice in her head. God that voice. She hopes to never have to have that voice moseying around her brain ever again. It was like having a chill you just couldn't shake and there was no warming yourself up. Bella was at a loss of what to do now. She didn't know how It had found out about the girls' plan and the fact that It seemed to be everywhere and know everything about both girls' whereabouts made her feel even more uneasy. There was no privacy. Not even when the girls thought they were perfectly alone in an empty classroom with the door locked. Bella was right about some things at least. The animal claw was a warning. At first she wasn't sure about that theory but now there was no mistaking it. And she had made many of those as of late to know. It was only a few days ago that Bella had woken up early in the morning with a sinking feeling in her gut that demanded her eyes to open and investigate.
[Three Days Ago…]
Something wasn't right, she had thought.
Bella slowly opened her eyes. She blinked and glanced around her room for anything out of the ordinary but saw nothing. Scrunching her eyebrows together, she glanced at her clock on the bedside table. 3:25. It was waaay too early to get up. Groaning softly, Bella went to turn from her back onto her side, but stopped when she felt it. It was wet. Warm. It stuck to her thighs and calves and everywhere under her comforter. Bella shot open her eyes and adjusted her body to its previous position and stayed perfectly still. She calmed her panicked breathing slightly and craned her neck down to her feet. She couldn't see very much in the darkness but still noticed lumps that definitely weren't her feet. Slowly reaching her hand up from under the covers, Bella gripped the edge of her comforter and swallowed thickly. Steeling herself, Bella forcefully pushed aside the warm barrier and slapped her hand over her mouth to muffle her horrified scream.
Bella turned and switched on her bedside lamp.
Blood.
"Oh…god." She gasped. Wet crimson stained her legs and sheets, small puddles pooling around her legs and between the folds of her once lavender colored sheets. Bella mashed her lips together and forced herself not to spew her dinner as she took in the sight of animal carcassesgutted and dismembered on her lap, blood still flowing freely from its wounds onto her bed and body. Bella clamped her hands over her mouth tightly. She was going to be sick. So…much…blood. She felt dizzy and nauseas at the sight before her. She closed her eyes and carefully swung her legs over the side, red droplets trickling down her legs onto the wood floor. That was going to be a bitch to get cleaned up. Hopefully it wouldn't stain.
Bella groaned at her thoughts. They were not helping at all.
For the rest of the night she didn't sleep. She did the best she could to clean the blood from the floor, stuffed her sheets and anything else soaking in blood in a trash bag and set that aside. She used the plastic tongs from the kitchen to pick up the dead animals and stuffed those in a trash bag as well then dumped them out back into the trash can. She'd dispose of them later on when she wasn't worried about Charlie catching her and asking her what she had in the bag. She washed her sheets and pjs (they were probably a lost cause but at least they wouldn't be dripping with blood when she threw them away). She did as much as she could to pick everything up but stopped when she saw that it was almost time for her alarm to go off. She sighed tiredly and grabbed a clean towel from the back of her door and made her way into the bathroom and took an hour long shower. She just couldn't get cleaned. She washed her hair three times (even though there was no blood in it) and scrubbed her skin raw till it was almost as red as the smeared blood on her floor. She cried and hiccupped and shook her head at the memory of what she woke up to. It wasn't real. It wasn't real. It couldn't be. It wasn't real. It wasn't real. It wasn't real. It's all in your head Bella. You're going insane. It didn't happen. I mean, who would do something like tha—no! It. Didn't. Happen. None of it happened. It was just a horrifically vivid nightmare. Very vivid. It wasn't real. It wasn't re—
She heard a knock at the door. "Bells? You up?"
No I'm in the shower because I fell asleep here. She thought sarcastically.
"Y-yeah I'm up Charlie." She forced out.
"You're up mighty early, kid. It's not like you. Is everything alright?" He replied, his voice muffled by the door and the running water from the shower head.
"Yeah yeah. Everything's fine. Just felt like getting a running start on things. I'll be down to make you breakfast in a minute." She said, hoping he wouldn't actually take her up on her offer so she could clean up her room a little more before by some cruel chance he walked into her room and spotted something that she missed.
"Oh uh don't worry about it Bells. I'll just grab something on the way. You have a good day at school." He said. Bella returned the sentiment and waited till she heard the heavy thuds of his boots descending the stairs. Turning the knob off and grabbing her towel, Bella wrapped it around herself and proceeded to air dry, brush her teeth, and brush her hair like any other morning. Though she knew it wasn' the sides of the sink in a near vice grip, Bella tried her best to keep her emotions from overwhelming her. She and Angela had promised each other that they would never bring what happened in the woods up to each other. They would carry on with the rest of their lives like nothing happened, because according to the girls, nothing did. They were trying a new philosophy, 'out of mind, out of sight'. Whether that proved to be effective the girls weren't really sure. Until now.
Now…well now Bella didn't know what to do. After she had collected herself sufficiently, she looked up at the mirror and frowned at her reflection. Dark circles hung heavily under her eyes, a stark contrast to her pale skin, her eyes were red and puffy and her lids drooped low in exhaustion. She looked like shit. Shaking her head, Bella got out the make-up bag that her mother had bought her. She hardly ever used it, but now seemed as good a time as any. She fished around the black bag for a few moments until she found what she was looking for. She applied a little foundation on her face to cover up her sleepless night and after she was satisfied and done she put everything away. She shrugged at her still drying hair. It would do. She was putting off going to her room for as long as she could but knew she had to finish getting ready at some point. She exited the bathroom and took a much needed breath as she stood in front of her bedroom. She closed her eyes before she finally turned the knob and slowly eased it open.
She hated today.
Bella was hesitant to tell Angela about what had happened that morning but finally decided against the idea. She promised her she wouldn't mention it and she didn't want to go back on her word now, even if she was scared shitless. But regardless of Bella's efforts to brush it off for her friend's sake, Angela wasn't clueless to her friend's odd behavior. The taller brunette could tell that something was wrong but Bella wouldn't tell her anything beyond the usual 'I'm fine' and 'I'm just tired'. And at lunch, she stayed silent, ignoring any and all conversations at their usual table. Sure the conversations were never stimulating and were usually filled with rants about how much they hated a teacher or a pop quiz they totally bombed because they spent all of the previous night playing Black Ops till well over 3 o'clock in the morning, but Bella didn't even flinch at Lauren's snarky comments (which pissed the fuck out of Lauren, Angela had noticed with an odd sense of pride) and stared blankly at a spot on the table as she pushed her food around with her plastic seemed like she had completely shut down. Angela knew that Bella wasn't what you'd call much of a social butterfly and was a little shy around people but this was ridiculous because she was never that way around Angela before, not even when they had first met. So why was she avoiding eye contact and giving Angela mumbled responses all throughout the day? This was Angela for crying out loud! Her best friend! She wouldn't put herself in high regard if she didn't think she belonged there. They shared everything. Bella was her only true friend in this lonely town. Angela had a bad feeling about this and her stomach was in a hard ball all day. Something was off and whatever it was her gut was telling her that it all had gone to hell last night. Now all she had to do was get her friend to spit it out.
Easier said than done. Too bad Bella has decided to be mute today, Angela had thought.
Ang's POV
Angela's brow furrowed as the memory faded to the back of her mind, settling there like a warm buzz before it finally ceased its sensation. Well… that was odd. She's not even sure what made her think of that day of all things but she couldn't quite shake the intense feeling of déjà vu. The only weirdo thing about that whole memory was that it wasn't just hers, it was Bella's too. Or at least it sure did seem that way. Had that actually happened to Bella? Is that why she was acting so weird on Friday? It would explain a hell of a lot. But how could Angela know that? It wasn't possible. Was it?
No, Angela finally concluded, shaking her head. Stuff like that doesn't happen to real, sane people, especially her…then again…who's to say that she's exempt from the strange and crazy these days? Gosh her life was so random.
"Are you listenin' to me?"
"What? Oh hm yeah. I was just uh…headache." Angela finished lamely pointing to her temple as if that would explain everything, and in her case, it probably would.
Amelia glanced at her sister worriedly and softly touched her forehead before tapping it lightly. "You need to stop giving my nerd grief, ya her me?"
"Are you talking to my forehead?" Angela asked, amused.
"No. I'm talking to the evil little men that are beatin' your beautiful brain to mush. I'm very disappointed in them." Amelia said sternly as she playfully glared at her forehead.
"Nut." Angela chuckled. Amelia smiled.
"Speakin' of nuts…" She trailed off. Angela eyed her sister carefully as Amelia stared at her oddly. She wasn't sure if she liked the knowing glint in her eyes.
"Since when have you stopped likin' 'em?" She asks innocently, her tone hinting at her accent at the end. If Angela had been drinking water it would have been sprayed all over Amelia.
"…W-what? What the fuck kinda question is that?" Angela asked, her brows scrunching together.
"A legitimate one. Now, stopped deflecting and answer me already."
"No." Angela huffed indignantly.
Amelia raised an eyebrow.
"Oh and why pray tell not?"
"Because…because." Was her elegant answer.
"Oh well since you put up such a convincing argument and a riveting conclusion." Amelia said in a flawless British accent.
Angela folded her arms like a stubborn child. "Because I don't wanna and it's a stupid question anyway and I don't like nuts because I'm allergic remember? Well uh not those kind of...um *cough* I mean, the nutty nuts like peaniii—uh well I uh…oh my god this isn't coming out right at all. What I meant was … why are you smiling at me like that?" Angela frowned.
"Because you are so gay and I love you." Amelia smiled warmly, a hint of mirth in her eyes. Angela stared at her, shocked.
"H-how—how did you—"
"Know? Well remember that time when you were a wee little thing and were obsessed with N'Sync?"
Angela scrunched her face in distaste.
"Yeah, well pretended anyway. But you had this huge poster of Britney Spears in her epic catholic school girl outfit, Spice Girls and any other girl power group and then you had this liiittle (she makes a show of squeezing air between her index and thumb) poster of Justin Timberlake and well…it was easy to figure out from there."
Angela gaped at her in disbelief. "That's it? That's your big revelation? I liked a lot of 90's girl groups?"
Amelia shrugged. "That and you wrote about how gay you were in your diary."
"You read my diary?" She whisper yelled, mindful of the still sleeping blonde in the room.
"Well yeah. What else are big sisters for than to whine about how annoying you are and invade your privacy?" She said casually.
Angela rolled her eyes and leaned back against her reclined bed with a huff. "And you call me annoying?"
"And damn you were thorough, too. You had pie charts of popular lesbian exposure in media through the years and lists upon lists of movies that I've never heard of and what I'm hoping are not, like, porno flicks."
"Oh my god will you please shut up?" Angela held her hand over her face, silently praying that the blonde wouldn't wake up and hear any of this. Amelia laughed and poked her sister's stomach. As much as she loved her big sister, she would not shut up and she wondered if she would get scolded if she said slapping her was the only way to cure her headache. It seemed plausible. Kinda.
Amelia side glanced the blonde and then looked at Angela. She kinda stumbled on her own idea of who the mysterious blonde was. The woman jerked her head, indicating to Rosalie. "Is she your girlfriend?"
"No."
"No?"
"No."
"Is Bella your girlfriend?"
"No."
"Really?"
"Really really."
"Aw. But you guys are like so annoying together and stuff." Amelia pouted.
"Wow. I can't believe you ever thought I was the annoying sister."
"Hey no one ever said I was perfect."
"I know I didn't." Angela mumbled.
Amelia spent almost the next half hour grilling Angela on the beautiful blonde who, Angela had to point out several times, was only sitting less than 10 feet away. Of course that didn't deter Amelia in the slightest much to her younger sister's dismay. If anything her brows only wiggled even more suggestively and her hand gestures were more exaggerated and wild. Angela began to wonder if it was her sister who was actually on the drug trip and not her. Thankfully she was saved by her appointed nurse who just so happened to have the best timing ever after Amelia had been about to make a rather lewd hand gesture. Angela mentally shouted a thank you to the woman in scrubs who came in to give the girl her scheduled dose. Amelia smiled politely at the nurse when she left and then turned to her sister, dropping it immediately and began the second part of her interrogation. It only took Angela a few minutes before the meds finally knocked her out. Then instead of opening her eyes like a normal person once she woke up, what must have been hours later, she simply let her mind wonder as she kept them closed.
She envisioned fields of endless green and a sky painted the most beautiful pallet of pinks and purples swirling together amongst the clouds. She felt content and happy, like everything was as it should be and nothing could ruin this moment. Instead of the lush grass beneath her, she was lying on a soft blanket, of that she was sure, as she leant back on her elbows, legs out in front of her and crossed at her ankles, her head thrown back and basking in the residual warmth of the sun as it hung perfectly over the horizon. She was in heaven and she knew she was right when she saw her Angel. I mean, how can anyone tell her she was wrong? She was fucking sparkling for crying out loud! Her gorgeous golden hair was tinted pink around the edges from the sky above and her sparkling honey eyes almost rivaled her shimmering skin. It was surreal. Her angel smiled beautifully at her, straight, pearly white teeth gleaming in the disappearing sunlight. It was the most beautiful sight Angela had ever seen and it all felt so real.
Too real, Angela thought fleetingly
Her angel smiled softly down at her and inhaled deeply, her eyes closing, a look of pure bliss taking over her features. Angela's eyes widened as what unmistakably sounded like a pleasurable moan left her angel's lips.
Oh god…
Once her angel opened her eyes, Angela could swear that her heart was running a marathon inside her chest and had rudely decided to use up her oxygen as it did its cardio routines. The beautiful woman winked at her and slowly licked her ruby red lips.
Guhhh…
This was, hands down the best dream/ fantasy she had had so far of the blonde. Anything racy made Angela feel creepy and she always stopped it before it could get …active. Her angel looked wantonly at Angela and moved over her, both her arms placed on either side of her head, staring down at her with a mischievous glint in her eye that thrilled and worried her. She couldn't look away from her gaze even if she wanted to (which she didn't).
"I've been waiting for you Angela." The blonde husked. The brunette felt her breathing quicken at the feel of the blonde's cool hand cupping her cheek softly, her thumb sweeping gently from her cheekbone to the corner of her lip and back again. Angela felt the urge to kiss her finger.
"You have?" She choked out.
The blonde nodded.
"Longer than you can imagine." She whispered. Angela's eyes widened. How long exactly? A month? The beginning of the year? Since last year? Angela furrowed her brow but didn't voice her question. This was starting to feel all too real. She didn't feel like she was in control of her daydream anymore. Was she sleeping? How could she be so aware if she was? She was starting to feel another headache coming on.
Rosalie smiled and trailed an icy finger down her cheek and slowly traced the gentle curve of her jaw line. Goosebumps erupted on her skin as Rosalie began to rake her long nails across her slender neck. Angela shivered. "Has anyone ever told you that you have the most beautiful neck?" The blonde breathed sexily in her ear, cool air hitting her neck and making her shiver again. Angela couldn't respond. Like she couldn't say anything. She felt like the very will to move had left her body entirely without her noticing. Rosalie's eyes flashed.
A gasp left her lips and her eyes nearly bugged out of her head as she felt something cold and wet glide up the shell of her ear. Rosalie moaned.
"Fuck you taste better than you smell and trust me, that's saying something." Rosalie purred as she nuzzled Angela's neck, licking a path up from her collarbone and to her pulse point. Angela moaned before she could stop herself. This was definitely not her normal fantasy. Rosalie brought her other hand that wasn't supporting the her weight up to cup her cheek as she began flicking her tongue across Angela's pulse point. God that feels amazing. The brunette bit her lip to keep from voicing just how good that felt.
Then it all changed. Angela opened her eyes. The sky became warped and ugly; painted a violent red that bled like a gushing wound, falling to the world in heavy torrents and bathing her once beautiful vision.
Angela panicked.
"She's coming." Said a silky voice, and yet haunting and tragic in its burdening echo. That alone put Angela immediately on red-fucking-alert.
"Who? I don't understand." Angela said.
Rosalie lifted her head, and regarded Angela with such an intense look of hunger the girl found herself swallowing thickly and instinctively tried to put some distance between them. Golden pools swirled to obsidian right before her eyes and all Angela could do was gape at her uncertainly.
"She's coming baby. God I can feel her now...just below the surface. She's…right…there." Rosalie purred like a jungle cat, her head thrown back and her golden mane bouncing wildly as she did. "She's so close." Rosalie moaned breathily, her hips thrusting forward in a sensual rhythm that made Angela bite her lip. She was beyond confused.
Angela shook her head. "I-I don't…"
The wild looking blonde opened her eyes, gazing down at her with a look that Angela couldn't place. "Soon." She husked.
"What?" The girl blinked.
"Its almost time baby." Rosalie said, leaning in closer to the girl. "But you have to open your eyes first."
Angela furrowed her brow. "My eyes?"
"You'll be blind if you don't."
"Blind?" Angela questioned. "What are you—" The blonde cut her off.
"Open your eyes baby. You'll see things clearly that way."
"You're not making any se-."
"It's only a matter of time…" She stated. Angela's veins freeze at the deep rumble that echoes hauntingly around her, echoing the blonde's words.
"For what? What's going to happen?"
"Change." She whispered. Suddenly, she was accelerating forward, her body rushing ahead of her before she had time to understand what was happening. Angela blinked slowly a few times and groaned, cradling her head in her hands. Ow.
"Are you alright?" Angela snapped her eyes open and stared wide eyed at a very awake looking Rosalie. A very tame and non scary looking Rosalie. Thank. God.
Angela gaped like a fish for a few seconds as she stared at the concerned blonde. "Angela?"
"Huh?"
"Maybe I should get the doctor." Rosalie made to get up.
"No! Oh my god ow!"
Rosalie rushed to her side. "What? What is it?"
"Its-its just my head." Angela squeezed her eyes shut as she messaged the side of her temple with the heel of her hand, cursing her stupidity for yelling at the blonde in the first place. Loud noises are a no no, Angela. Duh.
The brunette willed her eyes to open but self preservation won out. She honestly wanted to stay still for a while. No funny business.
"Are sure you don't want me to get your doctor."
""Yes. Please just—" She sighed. "I'm fine okay. See?" Angela removed her hand slowly. "all better."
"You're a terrible liar."
"Only when I'm drugged." She mumbled under her breath.
"What was that?" Rosalie asked, amused.
"Nothing."
Rosalie nodded but didn't say anything.
It grew quiet and Angela was grateful for the time to think. Thinking was probably not the healthiest thing to do given her current condition but her mind was abuzz with cluttered images. She wasn't sure what needed to be weeded first but grabbed for what was most prominent. Bella. It seemed to always lead back to her.
[Three Days Ago…]
She had tried to talk to Bella more about what was bothering her after lunch that day, but Bella seemed to retreat even further into herself at the thought of explaining her need to give everyone the cold shoulder. So Angela scrapped that plan and decided to switch tactics. The girl wasn't sure what else she could do for her friend but wouldn't give up until she saw a genuine smile blossom on her friend's pretty face. She'd know it when she saw it. Angela had skillfully persuaded (guilt tripped) Bella into coming over to her house after school to study for a test they were due to take on Thursday. Bella hesitated but after Angela whipped out her infamous puppy pout and pathetic Bambi eyes Bella finally but begrudgingly agreed and followed her friend in her truck. When they got there, Angela grabbed the usual rations, Doritos and a package of Oreos and two cans of soda. With the snacks piled in her arms, Angela climbed the stairs and gently kicked the door open with her foot and strode into her room, dumping the 'supplies' onto her bedspread. By then Bella was on Angela's computer and scrolling through her music.
"How is it that you have more music than me? Your iTunes says you barely listen to this stuff."
Angela shrugged. "I've been writing more than I've been listening lately." Angela answered simply. Bella turned her head and looked at her friend.
"Have you finished anything yet?" Bella asked. Angela chewed on her bottom lip for a moment as she thought about if she should answer that. She had. She had written a lot actually. Most of, in Angela's opinion, was complete and utter crap but she had liked a few at least. She nodded.
"Yeah." Angela sat herself cross-legged on her bed. "You wanna hear one?" she asked softly. She was still self-conscious about performing in front of people, even Bella. She had only ever played for her mother. Bella smiled softly and nodded emphatically.
"Please." Bella swiveled the desk chair to face Angela.
Angela stood and grabbed Maya's (her guitar) case from her resting place against her stand and plopped back on her bed.
"It's crap. I'm warning you now." Angela muffled with her hot pink guitar pick between her teeth as she maneuvered the guitar out of its case and gently placed the case on the floor then situated her wooden baby on her lap.
"You say that every time, yet, every time I say you're full of crap. So shut it and play already."
Angela smiled and adjusted her fingers in their desired position.
"Alright but don't say I didn't warn you."
"Consider me thoroughly warned, now hush. Onward maestro!" Bella clapped as if signaling silence for rehearsal in a Broadway production. Angela giggled and nodded then once again drummed her fingers subconsciously against the fret board like she did every time and began swiping the strings with a practiced ease. A soft but steady melody flowed gently from the instrument and Bella forced herself not to close her eyes against the lulling sound. Bella loved hearing her friend play. She was a gifted musician and very few people knew this and even fewer had actually heard her play. The fact that she was one of those few made her feel special; honored. It felt like she was being included in this big beautiful secret. Bella's ears perked up at the sound of Angela's strong voice as she sang the beginning of her song.
"In a room draped in blue
I am thinking of you
I am tired, I can't sleep
And for you I will weep
In a flash, you are gone
Yet around me life is calm
I cannot understand
Is this part of the plan?
Bella watched as her friend's face twisted with emotion as she sang, her eyes closed and her mouth scrunched up like what she was trying to get out was difficult for her. Bella's heart clenched at the sight. It was heartbreaking.
I get cards with bouquets
But they can't take your place
I have dreams about us
But I always wake up
I can ask all I please
I can beg down on my knees
For a reason, for a sign
But these answers I won't find
And I will weep
Yeah I will…weep
Oh can you hear me?
Can't you tell me why?
"Why?" She softly whispered to herself. With her eyes still closed, Angela shook her head and picked up the melody again, continuing like nothing had happened and she hadn't just faltered at all.
"I'll go on without you
And what's left for me to do
But to stay where I am
In my world of pretend
And I won't know until I die
If my faith was but a lie
'Til then you'll hear it in my cry
I didn't want to say goodbye to you"
Once Angela finished the last chord, she was breathing hard and hadn't made a move to put anything away and simply sat still on her bed. Bella frowned as she noticed a single tear fall from Angela's chin. Bella had never been good with comforting people, especially crying people but Angela had proven to be different in every way. Bella knew or rather felt what she needed to do and hadn't disappointed her friend yet. For that, she was grateful. Bella jumped into action and stood from her chair before she knew what she was doing, walking over to the weeping brunette. Bella took Angela's hand between both of hers and held it as she sat down next to her. This didn't feel like a hugging moment so she did the next best thing and caressed the back of the girl's hand with her thumb as a comforting gesture. Bella felt the hand squeeze hers in a vice grip, clinging onto her for dear life as Angela's shoulders shook with silent anguish. Bella held on, mashing her lips together to keep the words she desperately wanted to say inside herself; that everything would be okay and that things would get better. She didn't say that though because she didn't know that. And it didn't sound like the most comforting thing to say no matter how good the intention behind her words. Angela sighed after a moment and wiped her face with her other hand.
"Sorry about that."
"Don't. Please don't apologize for crying, Ang. If it helps then never feel like you should feel bad for letting it out." Bella said. Angela smiled weakly and looked at the other girl.
"Going soft on me huh?" Bella smiled at Angela's attempt at lightening the mood.
"Maybe…or maybe I'm just more sensitive and insightful and therefore more awesome than you." Angela rolled her eyes and poked her friend in the stomach, amused at the squeak that came from her.
"Yup. Soft like pudding." Angela laughed as she laid her guitar gently on the floor.
Bella pouted.
"I'll show you soft." Bella said as she lunged at Angela, tickling her mercilessly. Bella's fingers began their assault on the girl's sides, producing the most satisfying giggles and breathy chuckles. She smiled evilly as she attacked her prey.
"UN—UNKLE! God-freaking daa—ha ha ha—oh god I ha-hate you—"
"No you don't." Bella sing-songed.
"Yes I—snort—do. Gahh! Stop! Please—I give. I give." Bella stopped but didn't move her hands.
"Say I'm not soft." She told her.
"You're not soft." She mimicked, crossing her eyes to further make fun of her.
Bella cupped her ear. "I can't heeeaaar yoooouuu."
"You have abs of fucking steel alright?" She said exasperatedly.
Bella smirked, satisfied.
"Sounds about right."
..X..
So Angela hadn't been successful in her battle strategy…okay so she didn't even have one to start with. Instead they ended up having another tickle war, breaking a lamp in the process, and basically scoffed at studying all together and decided to eat all of their junk food as they watched Madea goes to Jail.
She tried not to think too heavily on it, though, it seemed that not thinking about what Bella had kept from her and avoiding the whole fucked up situation they were in, running from it, had left them worse off. Angela couldn't shake the feeling that maybe that's why they were in the hospital in the first place. Like maybe something was hell bent on making sure they failed in every way, made sure they suffered. Why anyone would want that for two innocent teenage girls, she wasn't too sure. The brunette felt that niggling feeling in the back of her mind, like she was meant to remember something. Something really important. Dammit! What was it?
"You're going to give yourself another headache if you keep thinking so hard."
Angela blinked. "What?"
Rosalie smiled softly at the brunette. "You looked like you were in deep thought. I was afraid you were going to get lost there." Rosalie said with a slight smile.
"Har har."
Rosalie smiled. "Yes. I thought it was a little funny."
"Clearly." Rosalie's smile grew at the sound of Angela's small chuckle. Then a moment later silence followed.
This was weird, Angela thought.
"Have you seen –"
"Your sister? Yes, she went to get something to eat from home. Something about eating in the cafeteria would just put her in a hospital bed and then she'd never get out of here."
Angela rolled her eyes at that. That sounded like her sister.
"Such a wise ass." She muttered to herself.
"So how are you feeling?" Rosalie asked. Angela looked up and furrowed her brow, surprised by the question.
"Um okay I guess. I think the meds are wearing off because I don't feel so awesome and uh," She coughed. "Floaty."
"Floaty?" Rosalie quirked an eyebrow. Angela blushed as she scratched her nails over the texture of the blanket.
"Yeah. I don't know how else to explain it."
"I'm not sure it would help much if you did anyway."
Angela nodded slowly, not really sure what was being said but simply wanting to have something to do.
Silence.
"Soooo…" She drawled out, mostly just trying to fill the loud silence.
Rosalie watched Angela silently. Angela felt her face heat up and stared at her lap as she began fidgeting with her fingers. It was obvious to Angela that the blonde wouldn't start a conversation with her. Which sucked because she had so many questions but didn't know how to go about voicing them, most she knew even the blonde couldn't sighed. Why did this have to be so hard?Wetting her suddenly dry lips, the brunette turned to the blonde and watched as her Rosalie's eyes didn't find hers but were focused somewhere else. Her brow furrowed when she saw the blonde glance at her mouth before quickly snapping her eyes back up at her brown ones.
Huh. Note to self: ask Amelia to bring chap stick.
Taking an encouraging breath, she began, "Don't take this the wrong way or anything," and that's so not how you start a conversation! She paused."But what are you still doing here?" She asked slowly, hesitant to voice the question. She didn't want to sound rude. She saw Rosalie frown slightly and mentally kicked herself. Great. Now you hurt her feelings.
"Not that I'm not grateful for you being there when…whatever it is that happened …uh happened." She rushed out. "It's just we don't talk outside of school…or…at all actually and my sister said you were here when she got here and you called her on my cell phone— but how did you even know who she was and that she was my sister. You've never spoken to me…okay there was that one time that your pen ran out of ink and you asked me if you could borrow one of mine and I said sure no problem and you said thanks and smiled beautifully at me and I gave it to you and you took it and…and uh…" Angela furrowed her brows. "What was I talking about?"
Rosalie smiled sweetly at the brunette and said, "Why I'm here." She offered.
"Right. Yeah so uh why are you here exactly?" Rosalie silently stared at the ground for a moment as she bit her lip. Angela had always thought of the blonde as looking like a refined angel. Beautiful and composed at all times, though now she looked anything but as she uncharacteristically rung her fingers with her hand.
"I wanted to make sure that you were alright. You gave me such a fright when you collapsed and I guess I wanted to make sure that you were well with my own eyes and ears instead of asking my father if you were okay." She nodded as if agreeing with what she just said and watched as Angela digested her statement.
"Uh well that's very kind of you. And I'm really sorry for falling unconscious and puking in your vicinity and all." Angela winces in embarrassment. "That must have been something to see.
Rosalie chuckled. "Nothing I haven't seen before. Trust me. I've seen far more gruesome things in my time." She said, her tone taking on a heavier note on the last part.
Angela furrowed her brows at that. "Your time? Gosh you make yourself sound old." She chuckled.
Rosalie laughed. "You could say that."
"You're one of those old souls, huh? Like 18 going on 40? Is that how you'd phrase it?" Angela tapped her chin with her finger, scrunching her brows adorably in thought.
"Yes. That's one way of putting it, I suppose."
You're being mighty cryptic blondy.
"How would you put it then?" She asked with a slight smile and a tilt of her head.
"Lots of ways." The blonde said with a slow curl of her lips.
Were…were they flirting?
"Care to share?" Angela lifted an eyebrow.
"Hmm. Maybe."
"Is that like a 'maybe when pigs fly' kinda statement or a 'maybe tomorrow over coffee' kinda deal?"
"Are you asking me out for coffee?" Rosalie asked surprised.
Angela sputtered. "Well I…I mean I didn't…uh yes?" Rosalie lifted an eyebrow. "Only as friends of course." She rushed out then brunette brows furrowed. "Acquaintances?"
"My you're cute when you're nervous." Rosalie commented casually as she smiled softly.
Yup. They were flirting.
"Umm." Angela blushed causing Rosalie to giggle.
"I spoke to my father earlier while you were asleep." The blonde started.
Angela sat up in bed a little, her attention peeked. "And what did he say?" Did he know what was wrong with them? Did something happen to Bella? Oh god Bella!
"It's nothing bad, I assure you. I merely asked how long you would be in the hospital for and he said you could leave tomorrow if you wanted."
Angela released a heavy breath at that. "That was all he said?"
Rosalie was silent for moment before looking away and nodding. "He wasn't allowed to tell me anything else."
"Would you like me to call him down here? He usually has his regular cell phone on him?" Rosalie began reaching into the pocket of her stylish red petticoat before Angela waved her off.
"It's fine. Really. I kinda want to believe for at least a little bit longer that there's nothing wrong with me before someone hits me over the head with a dose of reality."
"I'm sure that its nothing too extreme Angela." Rosalie assured.
"But do you know that?" Angela asked her tone emotionlessly.
"No but I know my father and if anyone can figure out what's happening to you, it's him."
"No offense to your faith in your father or anything but I think that this one is a little over his head." Angela said somberly.
"Why's that?" Rosalie asked curiously, frowning deeply.
"For lots of reasons." She replied.
I hate that chapter. Seriously. I despise it. But nothing better would come out. So crappy ending is crappy. But whatever. -_-
Anyways. Drop me a review and your witty two cents! I love hearing what you guys think. C=