Bella woke up with a jolt.
Her head ached. A hiss escaped her cracked lips. The injury on her leg throbbed. Blood caked the edges of the wound, crusting like congealed sap over torn bark-dark, brittle, and clinging to raw flesh.
She inspected her surroundings.
Broken plates. Torn books. A chair sat by her side, tilted- a nail peeking through the frame.
As she tried to move her fingers, a sharp prick sunk into them-almost reaching bone. Bella gritted her teeth.
Like her leg, her fingers sported small gashes that no longer bled. Amidst the pain, her confusion intensified. Her mind was blank-dark, empty.
She could barely remember anything that had happened yesterday.
"Miles!" Her throat was hoarse.
She wasn't sure why but her heart clenched. Her stomach curled like it knew something she didn't.
Like it could see what truly lay before her-what truly lay in the destruction.
She picked her way through the shards of ceramic scattered everywhere.
Bella noticed her phone case, surrounded by splinters of glass that caught the light that seeped through the shutters.
What happened to my phone?
The question worsened the headache that hit her skull. Her legs stiffened like flesh turned to lead. She reached out and steadied herself by gripping the protruding wall.
She inhaled. Then exhaled.
Her eyes found the broken radio.
Did Miles do this?
Her vision blurred. Dots resurrected, splotching her world with black. Her fingers on the wall trembled. Needles sunk into her limbs-lighting every part of her body on fire.
Calm down. What's wrong with you?
Maybe you haven't eaten?
Bella swallowed.
Don't you eat enough?
With the thought, she decided against the possibility of her being hungry. Instead, she took a few moments to breathe in and out.
1.
2.
3.
With each count, her vision cleared. The pain in her leg only receeded a little. Bella staggered down the living room and up the staircase.
Maybe you can also ask Miles to clean up your wound too-he does have a first aid box.
As soon as she reached Miles' room, she knocked.
"Miles!"
There was no answer.
She knocked again.
"Miles!"
Still, no answer.
He better not be sleeping.
Bella pushed the door open and blinked.
It was empty. The bed was neatly laid. The floor was sparkling. The piles of case files on his desk were stacked together.
The faint smell of his sanitizer breezed through the air.
It looked exactly the same way before they left for-
The mission!
Bella's eyes widened.
Everything rushed through her like a hurricane that barged through families in their home. Her lips tightened. Her jaw clenched.
The cloud of confusion that had engulfed her dispersed-leaving her in the cold, all alone. The text from Doris. The way she broke her phone. The voice that had spoken to her before she passed out.
All of it.
You're going to be alone for the rest of your life. No one wants you.
Even your own brother would rather be dead than have to deal with you.
No mother. No father. No siblings. No lover. Fate can be so cruel.
She wanted to fight it.
Break something else. Shout until her voice went hoarse. Slap someone-anyone.
Yet, she couldn't.
The energy in her body rushed down the drain, leaving her tired. Stupid. Confused.
Bella retrieved the key to Miles' room-locked the door then tossed it down the staircase. Just enough that she wouldn't have to see it. Wouldn't have to constantly be reminded of what she had lost.
Once the key's rattle had ceased, she decided to go to bed.
Heart aching, leg swelling, that was the only way.
To forget. To unsee.
To be free.
***
A loud bang ricocheted through the air.
Bella forced her crusty eyes open. She sat up.
Another bang.
Her eyes widened. Someone hollered in the distance.
Then it hit her.
Someone was knocking on the door.
Pulling her robe from where it lay hung from a nail, she quickly slipped it on before tying the rope.
The knocks intensified.
Who could that be?
She dashed out of the room then down the staircase. As soon as she reached the door, she wrenched it open.
Two male police officers met her gaze with sharp eyes.
"You're Miles' sisters?"
Bella swallowed the lump in her throat. "Yes."
"You're going to have to accompany us to the station."