Bonus Chapter 1 | How It Happened (prt. 2)

Kayden

"Hey, this is Bella. I'm sorry I missed your—" Zach hung up and threw the phone onto the couch next to him. We spent the last forty five minutes pacing back and forth, playing video games and watching movies to get our minds off Bella. Nothing worked.

I wasn't typically a nail biter, but my nails were currently being gnawed on by my teeth. We tried calling her parents but no one was answering their phone. The last time she checked in with us, she said she was doing homework. That was over an hour ago and we hadn't heard a peep from her. Granted, it was only five minutes over an hour, but still.

We were driving ourselves crazy over here wondering if she was dying in a ditch or bleeding to death. We never know how severe her injuries could be after a day with Gray. This time, the Los Angeles Hospital was on speaker. "Los Angeles Hospital. How can I help you?"

"Hey. I apologize. This isn't a medical emergency, but we're trying to get a hold of either Natalie or Owen Price in regards to their daughter, Bella. This is Zach, her best friend."

"Is she okay?"

That was Zach's cue to give me a hesitant look. We didn't want anyone to know that Bella was in an abusive relationship. Bella made us swear we wouldn't tell anyone and that included any medical professionals or the police. I was tempted to snatch the phone from Zach and explain everything.

Keeping this a secret may have been what she wanted us to do, but that wouldn't help if she was actually dying or bleeding out somewhere. The receptionist needed to know the truth about why we were as concerned as we were.

"Sir? Are you there?"

"Yes. Uhh... we don't know. She said she would pop over over an hour ago but my best friend and I haven't heard from her. We wanted to know if either of her parents have. Would you please let us know when they're available?" Zach gave the lady his phone number to call him back and hung up the phone, only to slam it back onto the couch.

He swore under his breath and began fidgeting with his hands over his bouncing knees. "This is so fucking frustrating. She begged us not to say anything because Gray would kill all of us but he could've already killed her. Maybe he found out somehow that she opened her mouth to us about him and seriously hurt her."

My heart clenched thinking about when Bella told us about Gray's abuse. She tried to play it off like it was nothing. She shrugged and explained that she ran into the back door.

She had a black eye.

You can't get a black eye from running into the back door or a gash of blood on the corner of your forehead from accidently hitting your head against the cabinet. We both knew she was lying again and we weren't about to let her get away with it any more.

We sat her down but before one of us could confront her, she clamped her mouth shut and tears fell from the curve of her chin. That was the most painful thing I'd ever had to witness. Bella had a breakdown and explained everything to us, about how Gray abused her physically, sexually and emotionally.

He threatened her to keep her mouth shut unless she wanted to know how painful a bullet inside her stomach would be. He threatened any of her loved ones she decided to snitch on him to. Zach and I were seconds away from taking our dad's guns and driving to his house but we were stopped with a hand on our wrists. She couldn't handle the image of us or her parents dead in a puddle of our blood.

After that, Bella held onto Zach's or my elbow everyday at school with a tight grip. We were sporting bruises on that spot for a week before she finally stopped. Zach's phone started ringing and we froze in our spots. My fingers, arms and ankles were crossed in hopes that it was the hospital calling us back. Slowly, Zach answered the call and put it on speaker.

"Hello?"

"Hello, umm..." It was clear with her wavering voice and sniffles that something had happened since our last conversation. "Bella Price was rushed in on a gurney with cuts on her face. She had—"

I couldn't let her finish that sentence. I snatched the keys from the small table by the front door and marched toward my car, hurried footsteps following behind me. The whole drive there, my hands clutched the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white. Zach was making me even more nervous.

I tried to avoid it but at the corner of my eye, I noticed him bouncing his knee and glancing at his Apple watch then, at the time on the screen. Once we were outside the hospital, we didn't waste time rushing inside. I bumped into the receptionist's desk, panting. "Hey, we're the ones that called about Bella Price?"

"She's gonna be okay," a soft voice said from behind us. I twisted my body around to see Mr. and Mrs. Price sitting in the waiting room. Owen was staring off into space with a glare that would make the toughest cower. His face was bright red and there was a vein popping out by his temple. Natalie's hair was let out of her usual messy bun and her eyes were bloodshot with puffiness lining the bottom.

Her nose was red and a river of tears was pouring down her face. Each breath she took was shaky and you could tell she was using everything in her to not break out in sobs. It sounded more like Natalie was trying to convince herself than us. As a nurse, she had seen a lot of dying patients. She'd been in the room when they flatlined and while she didn't shed any tears, she felt empathetic toward the family surrounding the bed.

It was different this time. It was her own daughter. I could only imagine the look on her face when she saw Bella being rushed in on a gurney. Shock. Somber. Denial. I took a seat on the other side of her, Zach claiming the seat next to me.

At least there were only cuts on her face. Her head wasn't pouring out blood. There was no bullet wound in her stomach. Things could've been worse. Unless they were, but I cut the receptionist off before she could tell us more. I shook those thoughts out of my head and focused on the tiled flooring in the waiting room.

"What happened?" Mrs. Price's voice came out a whisper. She cleared her throat and repeated herself, this time with a slightly stronger tone. "What happened?"

What happened?

Oh, nothing. Just that your daughter was involved in an abusive relationship that we knew about but didn't say anything because she swore us to secrecy.

That simple question was like a punch to the gut. It hurt like hell knowing the answer and the familiar guilt that came with it.

"The paramedics found her in a backyard and there was glass everywhere from the broken back door."

I inhaled a small gasp before gulping down a lump in my throat. She couldn't hold it in anymore. She pressed her lips in a frown and a fresh batch of tears rolled down her cheeks. Natalie took deep breaths to calm herself before she inhaled another big sob.

"Where was my baby girl? Because she certainly wasn't shopping with her best friend that was apparently fake." Her tone switched to anger when she spoke the second sentence. No one could blame her. If the roles were reversed, I would be furious at my daughter's best friends for letting her be beaten to a pulp too. I dropped my head in shame. There was no way I could look into her eyes right now. Not after what I did. "Tell me."

"She was in an abusive relationship with Gray Vance."

Neither of us knew it was possible for her eyes to darken more in anger. She proved us wrong. Owen remained locked in his daze. At least we were at the hospital with witnesses if she tried to kill us. "Gray Vance? The man I let into my home? We fucking told her to never see him again! Why the hell didn't you say anything? How could you let that man beat up my baby?"

I ignored the heads that were turned our way at her raised voice. The guilt was hard enough to overcome. The added embarrassment with all eyes on us wasn't necessary. Now everyone in the room knew it was my fault a young woman was abused.

Zach chimed in. "Mrs. Price—"

"Do not Mrs. Price me. We trusted you to protect our daughter at all costs, but you did the opposite."

"Nat." Owen was snapped out of his head by the loud noises coming from next to him. He held both of his wife's hands in his to get her attention. "You know it's not their fault. I mean, look at Zach. Clearly, they feel guilty."

Zach looked sick to his stomach. His face was growing more green and I could hear the puke travel up his throat before he planted a fist over his mouth. He excused himself before making a beeline to the men's room where he was puking his guts out.

Natalie blamed him more than me. She knew him since he was a baby and as they grew older, it became his job to protect her from any harm that may come her way. The unnecessary remorse was tearing him apart.

"We were simply respecting her wishes, ma'am. She made us promise not to say anything."

"I don't give a shit about her wishes. What about mine? Huh? What about my wishes for her to find a sweet and caring boy who loved her more than anything? Respect my fucking wishes."

If only that was me. If only I was the one she was going out with. I would've taken her out on romantic dinner dates with candles and rose petals decorating our table. I would've written her cheesy love notes and slipped them into her locker for her to uncontrollably blush at. I would've been the gentleman she'd always dream of.

"Nat," Owen repeated but this time, Natalie yanked her hand away with a glare directed toward him. "You can't be mad at the boys. Even we fell for her excuses. You're just... putting the blame on them to make yourself feel better."

Her face softened. Mrs. Price roughly wiped her eyes with her fingers and stared at her hands sandwiched between her legs. Briefly, she squeezed her eyes shut to release more tears. She wasn't the only one feeling stupid for believing Bella's lies.

Bella wasn't that clumsy of a kid when we were little. She would trip on the leg of a chair in class but she wouldn't run into the wall. She told us that 'Cece' smoked cigarettes and that that was why she reeked. That should've been a hint. Bella would never hang out with teenagers like that. The tension was interrupted when we heard someone clear their throat. It was a doctor with thick-framed glasses and a buzzcut.

"You can see Miss Price now."

Natalie breathed out a sigh of relief, followed by a tired smile as she stood up and allowed the doctor to lead them to their daughter's room. I stood up but stayed put. It was best to give Mrs. Price space after she expressed her anger toward me. They needed a private family moment anyway. Owen stopped in his tracks to face me.

"You coming?"

"I'll meet you there. I gotta check on Zach." I took large strides and followed the noise of vomiting into the first stall. He was bent over the toilet and he held onto the seat as he continued to throw up this morning's breakfast.

He needed to know that it wasn't only his fault. It was also mine. We were both in the wrong for being tight-lipped. It wasn't like Gray would've actually killed her if she told us. It shouldn't have ended up like this.

Once he was done, he sat with his knees to his chest. Physically, he was here with me, but mentally, he was drowning in remorse. I slid my back against the wall and silently sat with him despite the stench lingering in this stall. A silence floated in the air that would even allow you to hear a pin drop until I decided to break it.

"You know, it's not only your fault. Neither of us wanted to say anything when we knew we should."

Zach scoffed and shook his head. "Yeah right. Let's face it. Mrs. Price mostly blames me." His eyes glistened with unshed tears while he hugged his knees to his chest. "They trusted me to take care of her as we grew up. I promised to protect her throughout school. From bullies... perverted boys... abusive assholes!" He threw a fist in a fit of rage at the wall, his face as red as his knuckles.

"Her parents trusted me. They trusted me! Even my fucking parents wanted me to make sure she was safe because they saw her as the—" His voice was faltering the more he spoke. Tears were dripping from his chin and his hands were quivering like an earthquake. "As the daughter they never had."

It wasn't fair that they relied on him to protect her. No one saw him coming. Zach couldn't be at her side every second of everyday for the rest of his life. He could, at least, make sure something like this didn't happen again.

My lips remained shut in case he needed to get anything else off his chest. I gently patted his back and allowed him to sob into his hands for as long as he needed. It felt like a lifetime before he started to get up and leave the stall.

We left the bathroom and found our parents at the front desk demanding to see Bella Price. Naomi and my mom were arguing that they were family to the Prices and that they had the right to visit. Poor receptionist felt cornered by our moms as she stumbled over her words and wiped her sweaty hands.

"Mama."

That instantly caught both our moms' attention. They approached us but not without scowling at the receptionist.

"How's Bella? Is she alright?" Mom questioned with concern written all over her facial features.

"What happened? Natalie said she had cuts all over her face? How the hell did that even happen?" Mrs. Evans joined in.

"We don't know yet. The doctor had just told us we could see her," I explained before one of them could storm the halls.

"Okay. Please let us know if she's okay, baby."

I should've paid more attention to where the doctor was leading Bella's parents. We walked through the long hallway and peeked through windows for any signs of a distressed Natalie and a furious Owen. We stopped at a door where we heard Natalie apologize profusely. What she was apologizing for was beyond me.

I was scared to see what was waiting for me inside the door but I took a deep breath and put a brave face on. Bella was hooked up to a machine, bandages were treating the cuts peppering her face and her moist cheeks were shimmering under the fluorescent lights.

I looked away at the window before the water accumulating in my eyes could escape. Zach was stronger than I was. He hurried inside and encased Bella's small frame in his arms, spilling tears on the top of her head and leaving kisses on her cheek.

"I'm so so sorry we let this happen to you," he mumbled.

"There's nothing to be sorry about. You were just doing what I said." She assured us we shouldn't be sorry but regret was obvious in her flat tone. Regret that she told us not to say anything. Perhaps she finally realized those threats were empty in order to scare her into silence. Better late than never.

Her eyes found me in the corner of the room with my head hanging in shame and my hands in my back pockets. My body stiffened up at seeing her beautiful blueish-gray eyes looking into mine. I wanted to hold her hand, kiss her bandages and her lips so badly.

However, she was unaware of my romantic feelings for her and I needed to keep it that way. I locked her in an embrace and left an innocent kiss on her forehead.

"Princess, you deserved so much better than that bastard." Mr. Price was no longer angry. There was actually a bright smile blooming across his face knowing that his daughter was okay. "I'll call the police as soon as possible because I don't want that man anywhere near you. You're safe now, princess. You have nothing to be scared of."

With that, the corners of her lips tilted upward in a tired smile and her eyes fluttered close as she was lured away into oblivion.

-

AUTHOR'S NOTE-

Surprise!

This is just a little something to explain everything that happened when Gray threw Bella out the window. I'm proud of the amount of detail I added to this bonus chapter! I was on so much of a roll that I had to split the chapters in parts because it was getting to over 4K+ words.

Also, I hope I didn't cause any plot holes. I tried to explain things as best as possible. One more new bonus chapter coming up!