The door closed behind Miles. The silence seemed louder than the initial call Miles had had with his colleague.
Bella slumped, eyes fixed on the ceiling.
Who had died?
Her stomach twisted. Her skin prickled. Why was there so much....bloodshed? The thought of it made her shiver involuntarily. She absolutely hated the sight of blood. Bella could almost remember the first time she went to the hospital, after she had fell on a rock, scraping her knee.
The bleeding had made her faint almost immediately so her daddy had to come in to take her. Bella inhaled.
Burnt to death.....
Her father's face seared her memory. His charred corpse. His grotesque skin. His almost empty sockets. The stench of scorched flesh. Goosebumps filed down her arms. With her father's crime hanging over her, disfiguring the beautiful spheres of memories that she had of him, she couldn't help but wonder.
What had he done to Miles?
Her throat closed up. His midnight screams . His aversion to her keyboard. His incessant coffee intake. When he first queried her about the keyboard -she couldn't unsee the look in his eyes. Fresh, bleeding, fear. One that almost rooted her to the spot.
That was until his walls came right back up again.
It was obvious he needed to talk to someone. It was obvious that he was dying.
She could see it. In the walls he built around himself. In the way he overworked himself. In the way he drank. Even though their methods were different, some where in there, Bella could see herself.
She bit her lip again.
If only he would just talk to someone.....
Bella swallowed. Maybe even, talk to me.
But, she knew that was almost... impossible. He still didn't trust her. Even though he had every right not to..... she couldn't ignore the sharp, stabbing pain behind her sternum.
Bella sighed. She stood up from the chair before walking upstairs to her room.
She opened the door. The smell of old books and polished wood graced the air. It left a salty tang on her tongue. Bella didn't even know what was better between the cleaning astringent smell or the old book smell.
The room was clean. A bit comfortable. Small. Sometimes, she wondered if she would ever wake up and realize that this was a dream.
Having a room with a small bed -which she still felt till this day was a glorified couch- a large wardrobe that could have never housed all of the things she had back in home and a small bedside table. Bella stepped into the room, closing the door behind her.
She had never thought herself to be one for details. But, she did miss the flowing carpets on the floor of her room. The way they muted her steps. The way the thick fibers would wrap her toes in a warm embrace. But here,
Bella walked towards the bed. Click. Clack. It echoed all around the room. Bella gnashed her teeth. The newest addition to the room sat at the corner. The keyboard. A small smile pulled her lips. The pangs of longing stopped for a moment.
She never would have thought that she would actually be having her first rehearsal in a choir tomorrow. She lay down, fishing her phone from the small bedside table.
Bella opened her phone and swiped to where her Instagram was in the freezer. She paused. She always did this. Everytime she opened this app, she always ended up feeling worse than she already was.
But yet, there was a pull.
A strong force that continued to nudge her, heralding with the hopes that this time..... it would be different. People would change their opinions. Someone would stand up her.
That.... her mother would change.
Despite the lump in her throat, she removed Instagram from her freezer apps.
She clicked on Instagram. It took a second for it to load. She tapped on her account.
900k followers.
That's good, right?
She tried to smile. But, her lips fumbled, forming a wonky line instead. The stone that formed in her throat seemed immoveable as she scrolled down her posts.
Pictures of her in the beach, award shows, with friends. All of which her mother was always in it. The mastermind behind her whole life. As she scrolled down, the pressure in her chest escalated, like a fire chipping away at her sanity.
She paused at one. Her hands were wrapped around her mother's waist while her mother kissed her cheek. They both looked happy in the picture. She read the caption,
"Happiness exists where love is. I love you so much, mom! You've made me the happiest woman alive."
She suddenly wanted to vomit. Happy? Had she really ever being happy?
Bella could faintly remember her mother, later that day, telling her that day that she should break up with her boyfriend of the time. She'd refused initially of course.
Two days later though, she was back in her mother's arms, crying. That day, a picture of him kissing another girl had leaked, covering all of the Internet.
How she had never seen any of the patterns was still beyond her. Trying to quell the bitter taste in her mouth, she slid into her DMs.
Bella inhaled.
She tapped on the first message.
"I've always being a fan. But, what you did, no.... it goes against every single one of my morals. Who lies against the mother that protected them?"
The air in her schest turned to lead. She forced down the lump in her throat. She scrolled down to the other messages,
"You've finally shown your true colors, you witch! Finally, the world now sees how much of a beast you are."
"Shame that your mother's so kind -if it were me, I'd have sued you without a second thought."
Her vision swam in and out. Her lips trembled. Her grip on her phone tightened.
Bella left her DMs before searching up her mother's page once again. Like every other day, since the night after the WDG.
She tapped on the most trendy reel. The one that caused this whole mess in the first place. Sometimes, she wondered why she liked playing this particular video. Hearing her mother's lies. From the mental illness to the embezzlement. Hearing the stories she wove so seamlessly.
As she listened, she felt a pang. Guilt? Pain? She still didn't know. It wrapped around her like a snake around her neck. Tightening. Hissing, spitting. Even breathing became so difficult.
She wondered once again. If she'd been silent, even though it wasn't the best but maybe..... Maybe she would have worked it out.
A sadistic smile crossed her lips.
To think, I had just been advising Miles to do the opposite exactly.
Bella scrolled up to the most recent post.
Her eyes narrowed.
In the picture, her mother was dressed in a light blue sheath dress that accentuated her slim figure. But Bella's attention was more drawn to the girl standing beside her mother.
The girl was olive skinned with hazel eyes and long honey brown hair. She, like her mother, was also clad in a beautiful light blue sheath dress, though she was on the more curvy side.
Bella's chest tightened.
She's so beautiful.
A voice laughed in her head, mocking.
You were never able to match up to that.
For once, she couldn't fight the statement as she stared at her. At how good they both looked together. Bella scrolled down to the caption. It said,
There are many hurts in life; A loved one leaving-
Bella stopped. One trembling breath in. One trembling breath out.
-Betrayal from those you trust. Pain from losing one you that regarded as your love, your friend and companion.
But still, we must continue to face life head on. Seize all opportunities that come our way. Welcome the new faces that waltz into our lives.
Last night, during the Aurelia awards, I introduced Kelly to the world. A beauty, both inside and out. A woman that never seizes to surprise me with her skill, intuition and profound resourcefulness.
After Bella's leaving, I wondered who I would pass this legacy to. Who would I hug? Who would I travel with? Who would I kiss goodbye and tell good morning everyday. Bella was, and still is, everything to me. She always will be.
But, Kelly's arrival reminded me of the light. Of the beauty of life. That, even in pain, I can still glow like I used to. So, even though Bella's loss of her self still grieves me, I have found a way forward.
And that way is now with Kelly Pierce. Until, my darling returns back home to join us, I will continue to shine. For me. For Kelly. For all my adoring jewels.
For Bella.
The world around her teetered. For a second. She blinked. Once. Twice.
So, she'd been replaced? Already. After what, a week and some days?
What made her mouth more sour was what lay behind those words. The accusations. The pointed finger. That Bella had been the one that left. That Bella had broken her mother into pieces. That Bella had left her mother in the dust.
Her blood roared in her chest, pounding so loudly in her ears, that world was almost shut out completely around her.
How could she do that?
Her fingers dug into her palm. She got up from the bed before kicking at the frame. The pain in her leg did nothing to quell the anger. To still the voices that had already began their prance.
You see... you were never anything special.
She's better of without you anyway.
You know, this is your fault. If you'd just stayed with Blake, none of this would have happened. You would have still been rich. You would have still had friends. You would have still been loved.
She sat back down on her bed. Her head pounded.
It's your fault!
It's your fault!
Your fault!
She lay, like that, fighting the wars raging inside her while the world around her was silent. Something that she once hated.
Without people to perform for. Or an audience to applaud her, it had always left her chest tighter than it ever was.
But now, stuck on this old bed, her back aching and her chest tight, she couldn't have wished for anything better.
Because, she had one thing. Something so small yet no one would understand the importance until it was lost. Something that Kelly would regret losing, sooner than she realized.
Because in the silence, she could be herself. Sad, desperate, fearful. But herself, nonetheless.
With that thought, she fell asleep.
***
Bella skipped back to the house, a smile on her face.
Her first rehearsal with the Vox Lumina was absolutely amazing. She didn't even remember the last time, she had actually received adoration for anything apart from her looks. Oddly enough, it felt so.... liberating.
To not be the one faced queen that she always thought she was.
Bella's gaze snapped towards the driveway.
It was empty, like this morning when she first rushed out.
He still hasn't returned.....
Bella shrugged. At least I have the house to myself.
As soon as she reached the door, she unlocked it. The door creaked. She pushed the door open.
With her first step, a faint crinkle gave away the envelope lying on the floor. Unnoticed. Bella looked back down the path, brows furrowed. She crouched and grabbed the envelope from the floor.
The envelope was faded, the corners creased. It looked ages old.
Had it always been here?
Bella closed the door behind her before flipping the envelope over. There was no address. Only the stamp of a globe sat at the top right corner.
Bella stared at the stamp. It looked oddly familiar but she couldn't't place where exactly she had seen it.
Bella slid her finger beneath the flap and gently tore the envelope open, careful not to damage whatever lay inside. For some reason, she paused midway.
Dread hung around her, tearing her skin with heavy precision. She took the small paper out of the envelope.
With bated breath, she removed the letter from the envelope. She opened it.
"Listen carefully. These deaths..... they aren't natural, not in the slightest.
And whatever you do, don't leave Henry alone. That won't save him, of course. But, at least then you'd believe me.
Because she's coming.
Tonight."
Bella's heart galloped. Henry. Isn't that the man Miles had said died early this morning before he left? Her stomach clenched as she pulled out her phone before ringing him.
He picked.
"Hel-lo? Look i'm-"
Bella stared at the letter. "There's something you need to see."