AN: Don't own twilight.
The glowing sun was situated high in the sky and the rays spread unforgiving heat along the roads, causing pockets of heat waves to rise up and part as the police cruiser Bella was in drove through it. Bella had been told very little, but she knew that she was on the way to the capital of Alaska: Juneau, where she would be under the protection of Sheriff Denali.
The police officer escorting her to Sheriff Denali, and her protection, was Officer Cheri. Bella didn't mind so much, as she had taken a liking to her. "How's the stitches holding up?" The woman asked as they sped down a small highway.
Bella was actually holding her sides because she had the irrational fear that if she didn't, her body would simply fall apart without the aid of her hands. She felt fragile still, despite her mending status. She said as much to Officer Cheri as she kept her eyes trained on the scenery outside. "They're annoying, and itchy. Mostly they're just sore."
Ever since Bella had agreed to the protection scheme, in which she was to go into hiding and do nothing while they search for her sister -which still didn't sit right with her- the police officers had been acting more cautious around her, and alert. They genuinely seemed to believe that someone was after her.
Officer Cheri looked at Bella from the mirror and gave her a small smile. "Yeah, I hate stitches too. They're a bitch."
Bella answered with an animalistic grunt. Minutes passed as she watched the sun disappear to be replaced by dark clouds, thick with oncoming rain. Within another twenty minutes of this though the first droplets of rain began to fall and splash against the side windows. For a while the rain stayed a gentle patter before it turned into a hard lashing, beating at the glass.
Bella let out a small huff, a headache beginning to form from the aggressive rain and her stitches itching terrible. She wanted to scratch them but Cheri warned her against it, telling her that it would just take longer to heal. In the end Bella drifted in and out of sleep while Cheri drove in silence.
When she did wake up again, she took a few minutes to fully come-to before she decided to strike up conversation, knowing Officer Cheri must be bored out of her brain. "So… this person I'm going to be under the protection of, what can you tell me about her?"
Bella was amused as she watched the dreamy smile appear on Officer Cheri's face before she seemed to realize what she was doing and went red. She coughed timidly before she answered. "Sheriff Denali is well respected in Alaska. She's built her reputation on catching bad guys, and keeping her town, and others near it, safe from harm."
Bella nodded for Officer Cheri to continue as she was keen to hear more on Sheriff Denali. No one had really shared any kind of information with her, much less anything about the woman herself. "She's one of the youngest Sheriff's I have ever spoken to, no doubt about it, and she has a huge family: her, her parents and three sisters."
Bella's interested was piqued. "How old is she? Does she stay in the town?"
"I think she's twenty-four and no: she doesn't live in the town. They actually live on the border or outskirts, I'm unsure; in the woods is all I know. I've hear that their house is huge and has breath taking views. It'll be good for you Bella, and Lisa; when she's found."
Bella swallowed the lump in her throat at Lisa's name and instead diverted to a different question. "Why do they live in the woods, and not the town?"
Cheri raised an eyebrow in the mirror. "Curious thing, aren't you? But if I had to guess I'd say it simply comes down to wanting privacy. I mean, she's the Sheriff and she must know every single person in town. Who wouldn't want to get away from that, just for a few hours?"
Bella nodded, understanding. She let her head fall back against the leather seat of her chair once more and looked back through her wet window, watching the rain run in a single downpour over the glass. Around about an hour later, the weather was even worse. The rain wasn't letting up and it was so bad that Officer Cheri couldn't see through the windshield.
They had just reached a long, narrow and in Bella's opinion, rather lonely looking road that seemed ominous in the night when Officer Cheri pulled over. "We're just pulling over for five; I think I missed a turn off somewhere. Bloody rain."
Bella tried not to fidget but the quiet of the car and the stillness of her movements agitated her, and made her think about how itchy her stitches were once more. "Can't you use the sat nav?" She finally asked.
Officer Cheri's head was bent as she searched through the glove box but Bella caught her shaking it, causing her long ponytail to swish hypnotically. "Stopped working 'bout a half hour ago. But… I think… There should be… Aha!" She called triumphantly and finally straightened up with a map firmly in her grasp.
"What about your phone?" Bella questioned again, wary about relying on the piece of paper.
Officer Cheri shook her head once more. "No signal." She held up her phone quickly, indicating the 'no signal' message along the front screen.
Bella finally gave up and sighed in resignation. She waited as patiently as she could while Cheri read over the map. It took some time, but Officer Cheri finally seemed to decide on a route and sat back in her chair, clicking her seat belt into place. The small noise in the silent air made Bella jump, as she had been drifting off into sleep again.
"Sorry," Cheri muttered, noticing Bella's jump. "We'll just let this car past then we'll move."
Bella followed Cheri's quick finger point in the direction of a car that was coming down the road from the corner ahead. Because they were in a small ditch, they had to allow the car rite of passage otherwise they would have caused either an accident or simply sandwiched the two cars together on the small strip of road.
Personally Bella thought the person driving the other car was going to cause an accident anyway, with the way they were speeding and in such wet conditions to boot. She was surprised Cheri hadn't pulled them over already and she said as much out loud.
Officer Cheri unclicked her belt and grabbed her hat from the passenger seat, frowning. "I think I'm going to have to. That's seriously reckless driving. Sorry Bella, bear with me."
Cheri was just about to turn on the cars lights, to indicate to the speeding car to pull over when suddenly the car zoomed past them, skidded harshly on its wheels and flipped over itself, landing with heavy impact against a tree and knocking the whole thing down. The tree fell with a crunch that turned Bella's stomach.
Bella sat in shock, her blood having run ice cold and her heart racing in disbelief. Had she really just witnessed a car crash of that magnitude? Blinking thoroughly, she finally noticed that Officer Cheri had already ran to the wreckage and left the cruiser's driver door wide open which was letting in freezing wind and heavy rain.
Bella finally got out, gently holding her sides and shut both hers and Cheri's doors, still in numb shock. She tightly wrapped her coat around herself, clinging to her throbbing sides and made her way over to Cheri with as must haste as she could muster. When she was besides the officer, she noticed that she was talking loudly into her radio but received only static in return.
"Damn it! Fuck, okay. Bella, I need your help. We can't contact anyone, so we need to get this person out by ourselves. Otherwise, they will die. Do you understand me?" Officer Cheri asked firmly.
Bella was freezing, the rain was lashing unforgivably hard on her skin and her heart was racing. She was terrified, but she nodded. Officer Cheri nodded once, giving the signal, before she slowly began to wrench open the driver side door. It didn't budge. "Shit! It's stuck. Bella, go to the cruiser trunk and get the crowbar in there."
Bella wished her body wasn't in so much agony, because despite how fast she wanted to run to save this person's life, she physically couldn't make her body go at the speed she wanted it to. After what felt like an age she finally reached the trunk, seized the crowbar and made her way back to Officer Cheri.
It took an agonizing few minutes but Cheri finally pried the door open. Bella thought she was getting somewhere but after another fruitless handful of seconds, it was clear the door wouldn't open anymore and the gap Cheri had managed to achieve so far wasn't big enough for her to fit through.
She finally decided to smash the window in and made sure all the jagged pieces were out of the door with covered hands before she climbed inside. Bella noticed with panic that smoke was emanating from both ends of the wreckage. "Hurry, Cheri!"
Wide eyed, Bella watched as Cheri managed to pull out a young man. He was covered in cuts and had deep gashes over his cheeks and arms. Bella was horrified to see that a hefty chunk of glass was buried in his stomach. "Oh my god! I think 'gonna be sick."
Officer Cheri didn't seem to hear her, or didn't care -which Bella couldn't blame her for- as she began to drag the man as far away from his car as she could manage. When they stopped, now closer to the cruiser than the wreckage, Cheri checked frantically for his pulse. She quickly stripped off her jacket and covered him with it.
"Bella, there's a first aid kit in the trunk. Quickly!"
Bella was thankful they were closer to the cruiser now, because it looked as if the young man didn't have any seconds to spare. She got to the trunk and back to Cheri with the first aid box in record time. Just as Cheri was opening it, head lights blared down upon them and a car fast approached their position in the road.
Officer Cheri kept attending to the man, so Bella stood quickly and waved her arms at the oncoming driver to signal help, despite how much it killed her to do so. The driver pressed hard on their brakes and clambered out of their car without delay. A man stepped out, with a large and unkempt beard.
They were all drenched at this point, which Bella knew wouldn't help the injured man's chances of living. "He won't make it. No matter what we do; the glass is wedged deep and the weathers terrible!" She screeched over the roaring wind. "He could have internal bleeding Cheri; he needs real help!"
Cheri growled as she put plasters over the wounds. "My radio is down, and my phone can't get a signal!"
"Try mine! It's in the car!" The man yelled.
Cheri looked at Bella as she pressed over a wound, soaking her hands with blood. Bella felt nauseated. She didn't need to be told as she pushed up, whimpering from her crouched positon and jogged to the man's car. She leaned on the car seat, nearly slipping because of the rain turning the leather slick, and snatched his phone from where it was visible on the dashboard.
Bella dialed emergency services and waited with baited breath as it beeped continuously. It finally picked up after several long seconds and Bella spoke in a rushed panic, describing the scene and that she was with an officer, hoping that would make them come faster. She paused to shout at the grizzly man, asking what road they were on and then relayed it into the phone.
The woman on the other end told her rather bluntly that they would have to hold on for a while, because the roads were too slippery, narrow and downright dangerous to race down on. No shit, she thought sarcastically. That had been what caused the accident in the first place! Bella stayed on the phone while they waited.
Ten minutes later and finally, an ambulance, police car and small fire engine turned up. Their headlights illuminated the foursome. Thanks to their combined efforts, although Bella felt like it was more down to Cheri and the grizzly man, the injured man had a more hopeful chance of living.
The man driving the police car told them to get in for a ride to their destination, and promised Cheri that he would arrange for her cruiser to be towed to her when he could. Officer Cheri was grim about it, but she accepted and left to get all she needed from the cruiser, and lock it up, before she got into the police man's car.
They said goodbye to the grizzly man before they got into Officer Dean's car, having not learnt his name through the ordeal and promptly fell asleep the moment the man started towards their destination: Juneau. Bella didn't know how much time had passed when Officer Dean woke both her and Cheri up. Cheri looked miserable, and Bella felt the same.
She was cold, hungry, soaking wet and exhausted. She was also pretty sure she was still in minor shock. The state that young man had been in was horrific. Officer Dean told them curtly that they would be entering the capital in another fifteen minutes. Bella scowled, annoyed that he had woke her, just to tell her there was more of a journey for them.
Cheri noticed this as she stretched her arms and legs, and smiled comfortingly. "Some day, huh?"
Offering her a smile back, Bella agreed, "some day."
With the car driving swiftly over a small bridge, Bella let herself zone out a little without falling asleep again. The sky was cloudy, and dark, but Bella could still see trees, and mountains. Beneath the oppressive grey, the place was a vivid green, with deep blue rivers breaking it up. "It's stunning," she whispered, more to herself than anyone in the car.
After that she watched the clock, eager to reach their destination. Exactly eight minutes later the car rounded a corner and the windshield showed a bustling town up ahead, despite the poor weather. Bella glanced briefly at the scenery but in town it was mostly store fronts. They finally came to a complete stop outside a police station.
The station was similar to most, apart from the name and the logo. Officer Dean got out and opened Bella's door for her, who shivered when stepping out into the cold and thanked him with chattering teeth. Officer Cheri passed Bella her one bag full of her belongings, taken from her house by the police. The bag consisted of mostly clothes, with some wanted possessions.
As Bella turned and prepared to enter the police station, she noticed a woman coming towards them. Bella assumed she stood at 5'5, with strawberry blonde hair that hung loose and was thrashing wildly in the cold wind. Bella was surprised at her choice of clothes for such a day: jeans, a leather jacket and from what Bella could see: a plain t-shirt.
As she got closer, Bella's interest was piqued as she spied the woman's unusual amber eyes that sparkled strangely. They were unlike anything Bella had ever seen before. The woman stopped just in front of both Bella, and Cheri.
"Tanya," Cheri greeted with a smile.
Tanya smiled back. "Cheri, long time no see."
Bella heard the hint of an accent in Tanya's speech, but she couldn't put her finger on where it might have originated from. The two women began talking, leaving Bella and Officer Dean to stand awkwardly on the side, shivering in the wind.
Tanya gasped at the story of their earlier fiasco. "That's terrible! I'm glad to hear that everyone made it out safe, and sound," she finished with a grin. Her eyes suddenly turned to Bella. "You must be Isabella?" She inquired with a raised brow.
Bella thought the question was ridiculous, because she knew that Tanya knew that she was in fact 'Isabella' as she had come with Officer Cheri, who was travelling to Alaska simply to bring her here, but she nodded all the same. There was just… something, about Tanya. Something weird about the way she carried herself, and spoke and the way she watched Bella.
"Well, would you like to get going? I'm sure you would love a nice, warm shower."
Bella nodded enthusiastically, which instantly gave her a head ache. She was still feeling pretty banged up, and she couldn't remember the last time she'd had a shower. She wondered how much better she would feel after it. "I would love that, thank you. I don't mean to be rude, but I thought I was going to be picked up by Sheriff Denali?"
Tanya chuckled, as if truly amused. "Yes, I'm her sister. Kate was called out of town on business, I'm afraid. Therefore, she won't be home until later, by which time I imagine you'll be passed out in bed." Tanya smirked.
Bella hoped that she wasn't restricted to a bed time, or an early one at that, and that Tanya was just indicating either Bella's tired self from her traumatizing journey, or Kate's late arrival.
"Well then, I suppose this is goodbye," Cheri suddenly spoke up.
Bella turned to the officer, smiling softly. "Thank you for everything," she whispered as they hugged goodbye.
Cheri squeezed her gently before releasing her. "Good luck, and be careful. We'll find Lisa," she promised.
Bella forced back tears, scared to let go of Cheri. She had become familiar, and safe. To be released to the Denali's, with no word on her sister, was terrifying Bella. Cheri turned and walked into the police station with Officer Dean, who had been silent through the whole exchange. Tanya took up Bella's bag, despite her protests.
"Shall we?" She asked instead, walking off without waiting for a reply towards the small car park.
Bella followed after Tanya, still hugging her body as it thrummed in pain. She really needed to take her meds. Tanya stopped at a large black Jeep. Bella noticed the sign to be Porsche, but she knew nothing about cars so she shrugged it off and climbed in after Tanya unlocked it. Tanya put her bag on the back seat next to Bella before clambering into the driver's seat.
Seeming to notice Bella's shivering, after buckling her seat belt, Tanya turned on the heating. The warmth began to ooze immediately through Bella's leather seat. She resisted the urge to purr and instead subtly snuggled into it. The heat was doing amazing things to her aching body, which made her anticipate her oncoming shower with greater excitement.
"Is your house far?" Bella asked, trying to find a new relationship with this stranger.
"Depends on what your perception of 'far' is. It's only really up the hill," she replied.
Bella didn't respond and instead looked out of the window, watching the view as Tanya drove the Jeep left, then right and then through a secluded area of trees. For a solid ten minutes all Bella could see out of her window was tree, after tree, after tree, until finally Tanya pulled out of the tree line, off a dirt path and onto the drive of a large house.
Tanya began to slow down, preparing to cut the engine while Bella stared in wonder. It was so big. By far one of the biggest houses Bella had, or would have, ever stayed in. The house itself was a curious mixture of brick and wood, quite modern in style and had a roof supported by three large pillars.
Bella immediately feel in love with it. Tanya came to a stop inside the garage, which was attached to the house, and cut the engine. They simultaneously undid their seat belts. Bella opened her door, grabbed her bag and slid out of the car from her high seat. Behind her, Tanya locked the car, flicked the garage door switch and then opened the door that led into the house.
"Would you prefer to see the room you will be staying in first, or the bathroom; for a shower?" Tanya asked as she opened the wooden door.
Bella peeked inside. The door opened to a hallway that was artfully decorated, complete with vases of flowers, photo frames and a large mirror. There were three different doors, leading off into different parts of the house and a large stair case. Honestly, Bella wanted to explore the whole place at once, but decided on a shower first. She informed Tanya of her decision.
Tanya closed the door behind them, and then led Bella towards a door on the left that was situated under the stairs. Bella was pleasantly surprised, as she hadn't expected it to be a bathroom. Tanya pointed out the towels and toiletries and then informed Bella of where she would be once she was cleaned up.
Bella thanked her, anxious to be under the hot water which Tanya informed her was an endless supply, and therefore she could take as long as she would like. The moment she locked the door behind her, Bella stripped as fast as she could out of her dirty, wet clothes and bandages, and then turned on the shower. She carefully stepped into the sparkling clean tub.
Time lost meaning as Bella washed herself repeatedly. She hadn't had a decent wash while in the hospital and hadn't had a bath for at least two days before the incident at her house. She used a concoction of body washes, leaving her smelling like twenty contrasting scents but decided on coconut shampoo and conditioner for her hair.
After some time, when she was wrinkly, Bella's legs began to shake. She'd been on them a lot, when she was really meant to be resting. She decided to carefully lower herself inside the tub, not wanting to get out yet. The room was so hot and humid, complete with thick steam that she had no need to plug the bath to keep warm, but the heat did lull her off to sleep.
"Bella? Bella! Where are you!? BELLA!" A woman screeched.
She was crying heavily as she raced through the darkness. Cries of terror, or pain, or a mixture of both called back from the shadows. The woman followed them, continuing to shout the girls name desperately. "Isabella!"
Smoke began to billow out from the end room. The woman ran harder and finally reached the smoky room. Her heart was racing and sweat was dripping down her tear stained face. She whimpered in fear of what she would find inside. Some moments later, after entering, she exited the room with a small girl wrapped in her arms.
The young girl was crying hysterically, just like her mother. Beneath her cries, she was muttering, "I don't know what happened, I don't know what happened. I promise, I promise. I don't know what happened mommy!"
The woman looked down upon her daughter's black face, covered with ash and smoke and beneath it: fear. "It's okay, Isabella. It was just an accident."
As the mother and daughter cried into each other's arms, another pair of feet came racing towards them. The man stopped just shy of the women and his voice screeched with disgust, "is that blood!?"
The woman looked closer at her daughter, her heart hammering at the dark, dirty blood all over her. "She's covered in it!"
Bella woke with a strangled gasp and blinked fuzzily. The shower water continued to spray down upon her, soaking her face and hair further. She sat up gingerly, her body now sore from her cramped nap. She stood as quickly as she could manage and shut off the shower. She continued to proceed with caution as she got out of the bath and wrapped a towel around her.
Once at the sink, Bella swiped her hand across the fogged up glass. Her reflection looked back her and she realized that beneath the water of her shower, she was crying. She quickly wiped at her face and rummaged through the cabinets to see if the Denali's had a spare tooth brush. She found one, still in the wrapper, and lost herself in the simple task of brushing her teeth.
Once she was done with her teeth, had gotten dressed and wrapped her hair in her towel, she exited the bathroom with steam trailing behind her and shouted for Tanya. When Bella asked about putting her dirty washing somewhere, she was directed to the laundry basket that was neatly concealed in the bathroom.
While she'd done that, Tanya came down to meet her and guide her in a tour around the house she would be staying in. On the first floor alone there was a total of seven rooms: the garage, living room, dinner/dining room, kitchen, bathroom, basement and most absurd: the gym. Bella couldn't believe the luxury they lived in, to have a gym in their house.
The second floor had five rooms: three of which were bedrooms, a bathroom and a 'chill out' room where there were game consoles, sofas and a large TV with an ample selection of films and activates. The bedrooms were: Tanya's older sister: Irina's room, their parents and a guest room, which is the room Bella would be staying in.
The third, and final floor was in Bella's opinion, the best floor. It had six rooms all together: another three of these were bedrooms; Kate's, Tanya's and another guest, and there was a library, a spare room for their 'junk' as Tanya called it and a hot tub room! A hot tub! Apparently it connected to the roof outside, but Bella didn't really understand what that meant.
By the time the tour was over, Bella's head was reeling from the sheer size of the place and the luxury within it. She had seen every room except for private ones: such as their parents room, Kate's and Irina's, but Tanya had shown Bella hers and the guest ones, including the one she would be staying in. They were all beautifully decorated and lavish.
Tanya could clearly see that Bella's eyes were permanently bulged out her sockets and smirked at her as they entered the living room to sit on the couch. "So, what do you think?"
"Seriously impressive. I've never been to a place like this before, in my entire life."
Grinning, Tanya grasped her own hands together tightly. "That's always good to know. I'll show you more tomorrow; outside and where things are."
Bella nodded, glad it would be postponed until tomorrow because she didn't think she could take in anymore information right now. Tanya glanced at her watch as they lapsed into silence and then looked to Bella. "Hm. It's half nine. Bedtime. Oh, and don't forget your pain meds. Did you leave your bag in the bathroom?"
Bella tried to repress the sourness in the look she threw at Tanya. She wasn't tired after her steamy shower and tour of the house, and it was way too early to go to bed. Bella couldn't even remember the last time she'd had a bed time. She was about to voice these opinions when the door opened and a woman walked in.
Bella assumed this woman was Kate Denali and not Tanya's other sister or mother, simply from her age and sheriff's uniform. Her hair was a very pale blonde, a color Bella had never seen before on a woman and was pulled back into a neat ponytail. As well as her light blonde hair, Kate was very pale; the same coloring as Tanya, and she also shared Tanya's amber eyes.
Bella noticed that Kate looked stressed and was carrying a laptop in the crook of her arm. She closed the door behind her as she shook the dirt off her work boots, kicked them off her feet and made her way over to the opposite couch that Bella and Tanya was sitting on, all without glancing at the pair of them.
Despite Kate sitting down, Tanya stood from the couch she was sharing with Bella and walked over to her sister, bending at the waist to give her a hug which Kate half accepted, and returned. "Stressful day?"
Kate simply nodded as they released each other. Tanya turned and indicated Bella, and Kate's eyes followed her. "Bella, this is Kate and Kate, this is Bella."
Kate smiled warmly but there was an odd look in her eyes. Something Bella had seen in Tanya's eyes, but couldn't put a name to. "Bella," she greeted. "I'm sorry I couldn't be here earlier. I had hoped to get acquainted quickly, but work took me away."
Bella smiled warily, feeling awkward in these people's home, who were still very much strangers. "That's okay. I understand."
Both Bella and Kate continued to hold their smiles to each other, to the point where it was getting awkward before Tanya softly cleared her throat. "Kate, can I have word in private, please?" She directed the question to her sister but turned to Bella and said, "excuse us, Bella."
Bella had no time to reply as they left the room and gently shut the door behind them. Bella was left to sit on the couch, uncomfortable in the unfamiliar surroundings and even more so when she began to hear the two sisters arguing. She anxiously glanced around the living room, trying to find something to do, or somewhere to put herself.
Her eyes landed upon Kate's abandoned silver laptop, lying on the opposite couch where the sheriff had left it. Bella went rigid as Kate shouted something about files on her laptop to Tanya, feeling as if she had been caught doing something wrong. When she finally realized that she hadn't done anything… yet, she unclenched.
Internally she debated the pros and cons of running over to it and peeking. If Kate was protecting her, then surely there would be files on her case? There could be something about Lisa in there, or even herself, that they weren't sharing with her. Seconds ticked by as the two women argued in the next room, their voices loud but their words muffled.
It could make a sound when she opened it and alert Kate or it could have a password. Finally deciding, Bella quickly stood, winced under breath and then moved over to Kate's laptop. She gently lifted it, her whole body tense and quivering in case it made a noise. Luck seemed to be on Bella's side, because there was no noise and no password.
Bella had to hide her strangled gasp however at Kate's screen background: a completely topless woman with large breasts and erect nipples. Surely Kate should have a password with a screen like that! And wasn't this a work laptop? For some reason, wasting time, Bella stared at the image and then at her own, slightly smaller breasts.
What am I doing? She hissed to herself. She quickly scanned the desktop, trying not to look at the picture too intently and finally spied a folder that was open on the task bar. In this folder there was more folders. One had Lisa's whole name and in that folder was different dated folders.
Bella clicked on that days dated folder and found different documents. She hastily clicked them, her heart racing as she heard Tanya and Kate's arguing tapering off, meaning they would be coming back any minute now. One file told her Lisa's last known whereabouts, which were… in this very town!
Bella bit her tongue, forcing the screech of anger inside her back down her throat. No wonder they had sent her here! But why hadn't they told her this? They had promised to find Lisa, but didn't even tell Bella of her known sightings! Bella's hands shook as she scanned the address with her eyes multiple times and then hastily closed all the things she had open.
The door of the next room clicked, signaling Tanya and Kate's exit and Bella's stomach knotted. She quickly shut down everything, opened what Kate had previously had up on the screen and then closed the lid and placed the laptop in the position that Kate had left it in, or at least, the one she hoped she had left it in.
Just as the living room door had opened, Bella had reached the sofa she had been sitting on and so she whirled around, hoping the sisters thought she had just stood on their entrance. "You okay?" Tanya asked, probably noting her red and flushed face.
"Fine," Bella wheezed, out of breath from the shock of pain she had experienced in whirling to face the sisters. "In pain, mostly. I haven't taken my medication," she half lied.
"I'll go and grab your bag and some water," Tanya offered and promptly left.
Kate smiled as Tanya went down to the bathroom and then through to the kitchen. "While your here Bella, me and my family will look after you. When I'm not here, your care is down to them. Okay?"
When Bella nodded to signal she understood, Kate continued to talk. "Unfortunately, I'm working on a big case right now, and I'm very close to closing it. So when, and if, I'm not around, it's really important that you understand that they're in charge."
Bella nodded again, annoyed that Kate had said the same thing in two different ways. At that point Tanya came back in and handed Bella her bag. She allowed her some time to rummage through and get her pills before handing her a tall glass of water and then there was silence as Bella swallowed them down.
When she was done, she handed the glass back with a, "thanks," and tucked her pills back into her bag.
"Would you like to get some rest now?" Kate offered but didn't demand, like Tanya had.
Bella was surprised to find that now it was her choice, and that she had taken her pills, not to mention her heart stopping snooping earlier, she was really quite tired and even yawned as she nodded in agreement.
Tanya and Kate wished her goodnight and left her to take herself to bed, with her bag in hand, and without their aid. On the way up the stairs, Bella could only think about Lisa and where she was, if she was okay, why she was in this town, when she had gotten here and why the police hadn't told her. Why were they keeping secrets from her?
Starting tomorrow, Bella was going to find her sister and there wasn't a damn thing the Denali's, or anybody could do about it.
AN: So that's another chapter and now things will start to get more interesting and dark in the next few chapters.
Thanks to LeighJ11 for being my bets she did a great job with this chapter.