Waking up to the sound of screaming is never a good start to the day.

I sprang out of the bed, looking around, only to see that the screaming came from the girl in the far bed, who was looking around her in terror. I raced around the beds, getting to her side just as she started to claw at the IV in the back her hand and I gripped her hand before she got it out.

"Hold on! Wait! You're safe!" I gasped out. "You're ok, and you're not with them anymore."

Her eyes were wild, and now that she was awake, I was sure she was even younger than I'd first estimated. "Where am I? Who are you?"

"Okay. My name is Jesse, and you're in a medical clinic in Kentucky. We rescued from a couple of men that had kidnapped you and our friend." I gestured over to Willow and Lexie. Lexie was still asleep, but Willow was sitting up because her fiancé was moving a little in her sleep, like she was dreaming maybe. "Can I get your name?"

"I'm Bella. Bella Reed. I'm in Kentucky? How? Can I have some medicine? My head is killing me." The girl asked. She was obviously out of it, and I could understand. I knew Lexie would be too, but at least she'd have familiar faces to see.

"Yeah, let me get some and some water," I told her. "Willow, I'll get extra for Lexie too." Willow nodded at me, then waved tentatively at the girl, who waved back before laying her head back on the pillow. I'm sure she was in pain after what she'd been through, and I hurried out of the little curtained off area.

Luckily, Dr. Kipel heard the yelling too, and was making her way to us. It was still early enough that nobody was in the clinic yet, and she was able to get me some Advil and water for both patients. I brought them back to the girl and handed them to her wordlessly.

"Thank you," she murmured, quickly taking them, and then finishing the water. Dr. Kipel checked her over, asking lots of medical questions that I'm sure Willow understood a lot more than me, and then went back to whatever she was doing before. So far Bella seemed okay, but I wasn't the one to pass judgement. Maybe we'd know more by the end of the day. She finally lay back on the bed, closing her eyes with a sigh. "Thanks." I thought she was going to drift back off to sleep, but she kept talking. "What day is it?"

I had to pull my phone out to look because I couldn't even remember myself. "Wednesday. 6:30am."

She snorted softly. "I'm shocked I even woke up. I thought I was going to die."

Willow was listening in interest now, as she was on her knees, still gripping Lexie's hand in hers. She had unshed tears in her eyes, but for the first time there was hope now after seeing Bella awake. Hopefully, Lexie would be up soon too.

               "I'm glad we found you then. We were only expecting to find our friend here, but you're the bonus." I was hoping to keep her calm by making light of the situation, but I really couldn't think of any way to do that. Hey, you were almost kidnapped and taken into forced prostitution, ha ha! Not exactly an easy topic. "You don't have to talk or anything right now. We just want to get you and our friend better, and then we can figure out what to do next."

               "What is her name?" she asked in a whisper.

               "This is Lexie," Willow answered for me. "I love her so much. She is my fiancé. I thought we might lose her. But we're glad to have found you both."

               Bella was silent for a minute, and once more I thought she might have dozed off. "They were going to do something bad, weren't they?"

               I paused for a moment and decided to be straight with her. She was going to find out sooner or later anyway. "They were, yes. But they won't now. You're safe with us, I promise you that."

               "They won't come back?"

               "Not unless they're zombies!" Willow said with a snort. I shot her a quick look, not wanting to alarm Bella any more than she already was.

Bella surprised me though, just nodding and muttering. "Good."

There was one question I needed to ask, but I was kind of dreading it. "Bella, how old are you? Is there somewhere we can take you once your better?"

"I can't think of any. My dad passed away a few months ago, and I'm pretty sure my stepmom is the reason I'm here."

"Your stepmom?" I glanced over at Willow, who had a murderous look on her face. I knew who I'd be visiting before all of this was through. "Why do you think that?"

She gave a little shrug, keeping her eyes closed. I could see a few tears leaking out, and I leaned in to give her a small hug. She started sobbing into me for a minute before she was able to calm down, the sobs turning into soft sniffles. "She hated me. She didn't want me around when she married my dad last year, tried to ship me off to a shitty boarding school. I knew she was a gold digger, and my dad had money cuz he was a lawyer. But he died in a car accident. Hit and run, you know? They never found the other car, but he was forced right into a tree. She gave him a crappy little funeral, then got the ashes back from the crematorium and just stuck them in a box in the closet. The other morning, she made me my favorite breakfast, which she never does because she made it clear she wanted me to move out somewhere, and then a couple big guys show up. I ignored them at first, thinking maybe they were delivering furniture or something. I was just going to enjoy my day now that school is out, but then I started feeling a little woozy. Then the bitch said something like, looks like she's all yours, and the next thing I know I'm here."

"How about grandparents? Aunts and uncles?" Willow asked.

"None. My mom's side of the family is from Italy, and I've never met them. My dad was stationed over there in the Navy, and I guess they fell in love. But she passed away when I was a baby. I would have had a little brother, but they both died in childbirth when I was 2." She started crying again, and I decided I'd just sit next to her and wrap her up since there might be a lot more crying to come. "My dad's parents hate me because I'm gay, so I can't go there. They'd throw me right out on the street."

"We'll find a place for you, okay? I have to find a good place for my friends too, I don't want anyone else hurt," I promised her.

"Excuse me?" Willow said, her eyes flashing. "Do you really think we're letting you go through this alone again? Lexie and I are never letting you out of our sight!"

"Again?" Bella asked.

"This happened before, 5 years ago," Willow told her before I could try to defuse the situation. "They took Lessa, who was Jesse's wife and Lexie's sister, but nobody knew it. We lost her, like we were afraid to lose Lexie and you."

I sank back against the bed, thankful that Bella was slim and didn't take up too much room. I didn't want to hear this story, but I knew it was going to come out.

"What happened?" Bella asked. I could hear the fear in her voice, and I could understand why. If not for a lot of luck, she would have shared that fate.

               I heard Willow sigh before answering. "She died. She somehow got away, but we lost her. They gave her drugs, like they gave both of you, but for a lot longer." I was thankful that Willow didn't go into any more detail, it wasn't really necessary.

               "I'm so sorry," Belle said in a tiny voice, leaning into me. "And thank you so much for saving me."

               "I'm glad we did too." Willow leaned across Lexie's body and gave Bella's hand a quick squeeze. "You seem like a good kid. If you really have no place to live, you can live with me and Lexie. I always wanted a kid sister."

               Bella's eyes flew wide. "You'd really be okay with that?"

               Willow shrugged happily. "I should be asking you that. You don't even know us, so I would understand if you said no. Hell, I shouldn't even ask you until Lexie wakes up, but I know she'd say yes too. Maybe this just means we should stick together."

               Bella smiled and lay back next to me. "If she is okay with it, then I'll say yes. You're all pretty cool."

               "If I say yes to what?" came Lexie's groggy voice.