Love Amongst Destruction

Chris’ POV -
“Bella...oh Bella.” I cooed, once more.
My eyes scanned the beautiful sight of her body, that currently was lying still in the large marble bath tub.
I had the faucet ever so slightly turned on, in hopes of the cold water waking her up from that rather harsh knock to her head.
Not saying she didn’t have that coming to her though.
I had plenty of time though, Chance and Abby were properly subdued with the lovely little concoction of sleeping pills I had added to their drinks before Abby thought the others and I had left.
They had, but I got to stick around for the fun stuff.
I needed to make sure Bella understood just how serious we were about not letting her mother know who had taken her. I could confidently say I was 100% sure Bella knew the dangers of coming clean to the cops and other authorities on what had happened. Abby was not on that same page however.
Emotions are one of the strongest things we have on earth. They make us do things without thinking of the consequences, even if we may be warned against them by ones that are closest to us.
There was zero doubt among myself and the others that if Abby were to figure out who did it, she would go directly to the police.
We simply couldn’t have that.
My attention was thrown back to Bella as I heard a soft whimper coming from the tub.
Show time.
I took my time strolling to the edge of the tub, and squatted down right next to it.
“Good morning.” I greeted her in a hushed tone of voice.
Her normally bright eyes were seemingly dimmer and a tad bit glazed over.
“I’m not dead.” She coughed out.
I threw my head back and let out a hearty chuckle.
What a fucking peach.
“Dead? Of course not, what a shitty way to end things. We would never kill you Bella….hurt you yes, kill you no.” I explained, watching her eyes as she processed this information.
There we go, there’s that spark in her I knew there was.
Bella quickly popped up, in what I could only assume was an attempt to run to the door. However, the foggy haze her head still occupied quickly took hold and caused her to trip on the edge of the tub, ending back up on the floor.
“Fuck you.” She spat.
“Oh come on, Bella. We all know you’re an incredibly smart girl, but for fucks sake, be smart enough to learn when to stop.” I groaned, her futile attempts to get up, and even get to the door starting to piss me off.
The point of me staying behind was in no way to hurt her. I wanted to just direct her of consequences that would arise if she were to tell her mother everything. She’d be whisked away faster than imaginable, and as far as Chance and Abby…..we wouldn’t worry about that until it happened. Which is why I was here, to warn her but I was so obviously being ignored by the headstrong slave that was attempting to round up as much strength as possible.
“I hate you!” She suddenly screamed, her voice shattering the air itself.
Tears flowed down her gentle cheeks as she gave up.
Bella crashed against the side of the bath, faced towards me, and wrapped her arms around her knees.
A small trickle of blood was dripping down her forehead, and that strong stoic look was lost, one of fear and hate had taken over.
It was a look powerful enough that it hit me deep.
Some things in this world, come to facts that we accept no matter what life throws at us.
For example, one fact of mine was that Bella was ours, she belonged to us; no ifs ands or buts.
Bella also was to follow all rules, all band members had rule over Bella, etc. There was one extra fact, one that was easily lost to Bella; that is if she even recognized it at all.
I loved Bella.
We all do.
At the end of the day, whether she gave us a hard time or a good time, whether she was curled up in bed with us, or even sneaking cross country to find Chance, all I hope for is that she’s safe, and her valiant heart continues to beat strong.
My love for her grew stronger on a day about 5-6 months ago when Michael called me, panicked and screaming, afraid that she wouldn’t wake up due to blood loss.
I couldn’t bear the idea of never seeing that bright face again, the kindness that radiated through her heart, the innocence to her soul.
I looked up and focused back on the now.
Bella’s face was now a harsh red tone, with tears striping her cheeks like a tiger’s fur.
“What are you thinking?” I whispered, moving my position to sitting down on the floor, making Bella and I now more level, minus the 9 inch height difference.
“Pain.” She softly muttered out, directing her glance directly into the floor.
“Are you in pain? Is it your head?” I asked, worried she had suffered enough bumps to her head tonight.
All I got was a slightly sarcastic chuckle that quickly ended itself.
“Of course I’m in pain, my fucking head is bleeding.” She groaned.
One more fact….she had a wonderfully sassy and sarcastic humor, once in awhile I truly valued and appreciated it.
There was a wide cabinet above my head, and it had a clear door that opened it up, in it was exactly what I was looking for. Some towels to help her out.
I grabbed one that was nice and soft, and gave it a gentle toss into her lap.
“Adding pressure will help.” I suggested, scooting back to my place on the floor.
Bella carefully inspected the towel as if she was expecting it to be laced with something, until she finally placed it right near her hairline.
Instantly the pearl white towel took on a pink tint as the blood soaked in.
Poor thing, that hadn’t been the plan at all.
We sat in this stalemate for quite a while, neither of us saying anything. I tried my best to keep a calm and straight face through the entire time, and I believe it worked pretty well. Bella on the other hand…..she was a Jack of all emotions at the moment. She went from screaming that she hated me, to crying, shooting me a poker face, and staring at….well almost through me with a look of longing. For what I wasn’t quite sure.
What she did next was something I wouldn’t have ever expected.
Bella patted the spot next to her and motioned for me to come and sit by her.
I hesitated….was this a good idea?
“For fucks sake, I’m not going to shank you.” She grumbled, rolling her eyes.
“I wasn’t afraid of that.” I said, getting up and walking towards her.
I swear, you could actually hear her heart race a bit the closer I got.
Good to know I still had some effect over her.
“Oh really? Why the hesitation?” She questioned me.
“Why all the questions?” I shot back.
“I’m a curious girl.” She mused, putting her head back against the wall.
She moved over an inch or two as I sank down to my butt and sat next to her, my tattooed arm just centimeters away from that pure, pale flesh.
“I’m not gonna shank you.” I said, throwing her own line back at me.
“Maybe, but you’ve already kidnapped, raped, and mentally as well as physically fucked me up, so call me crazy for being cautious.” Bella growled.
“Now why did you need me over here?” I asked, trying not to snap at her for that last comment.
Bella quickly leaned over and placed her right hand directly in the middle of my chest.
No words…..no movement…….just silence as I continued to breath and feel her hand raise up and down with every breath I took.
“You know what separates humans from monsters?” She whispered softly.
“One is fake?” I guessed, wondering where she was going with this.
“No. Its that we humans have heartbeats...it proves our mortality…..it proves we’re all flawed creatures.” She responded in a soft, almost pained voice.
A question popped in my head, and while I normally would have shut it down, I couldn’t resist.
“Does hearing my heart help you see that I’m not a monster?” I asked.
“I suppose it does…..but then I think of the past and what’s to come in the future and it cancels each other out.” She replied.
“You know….you could just come back with me….right now….no questions asked.” I whispered, throwing my last attempt to the win.
“You know…..I could also tell you to go fuck yourself. However, I'll spare us both that and let you figure out my answer for yourself.” She said, extremely calm.
I’d take that as a no.
“I was just offering.” I stated, putting my hands up in defense.
Bella was just about to respond to me, but the buzz of my phone interrupted us.
I motioned for her to continue, but suddenly the ring for face time was coming from my phone.
“Go ahead, they sound desperate.” She laughed, standing up and walking over to the mirror to check on her head.
As soon as the screen was fully visible, I saw Tyler’s number next to the facetime icon.
Shit, he wouldn’t stop until I picked up.
“Hey, not really a good time.” I quietly hissed into the phone.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Tyler growled.
“Relax...we’re just talking.” I replied, not wanting him to get the wrong impression.
There was no doubt in anyone's mind that Tyler would start a fight with anyone of us at the questioning of Bella’s health and safety.
“Let me hear her voice.” Tyler finally said, sighing loud.
I rolled my eyes, he was head over heels for this girl.
I pretended to hang up the phone, but I set it right next to me, face down, but placed the speaker in her direction.
“Let me guess...it was either TJ telling you to kill me, or Tyler making sure you don’t.” She chuckled, joining me in the action of eye rolling.
She’s good.
That also was enough proof for Tyler, and that’s when I shut the call off.
“Has the bleeding stopped?” I asked her, changing the subject.
“Yeah.” She said, chucking the towel into the tub and leaning against the sink, now facing me once more.
“That’s good.” I stated.
“I know why you’re here right now, just you. Why were you here before? If the whole goal is for my mother to not find out what truly happened, why would you confront her, face on? Bella questioned me.
“Now that’s a surprise I can’t ruin, my dear.” I told her honestly.
“Then answer me this, what’s the plan? What does my future look like, as well as yours?” She continued to ask.
“Unless you choose to, we won’t be crossing paths any time soon. You need to sort things out within yourself, about well…..everything and everyone.” I admitted.
“Now is that you telling me the truth, or am I gonna have Ronnie slamming my head into a door next week Wednesday?” She wondered, with a hint of skewed sarcasm.
“Only if you call him and ask him to do so.” I chuckled, knowing she wouldn’t but in a fucked up way was hoping she would.
“Time to go.” She muttered out of nowhere, slightly stumbling to the door.
“Woah there, where are you going?” I asked, jumping up from my spot on the floor.
All I got was a simple head shake from her.
“Bella, what the hell are you doing?” I groaned, wrapping an arm around her waist, to aid in keeping her up straight.
“You’ve got to go.” She whispered.
A tiny smile peeked at the corners of my lips, she was way beyond smarter than any of us even realized. And that with the fact that we knew she was a genius.
“I think you know I can’t just go, it’s not that easy.” I whispered back, my lips brushing her pierced ear.
Her contemplative silence caught me off guard, as her knee suddenly caught my groin, and fucking hard.
“Fuck!” I growled, as I temporarily dropped to the ground, and I watched Bella run out the door.
All I needed was a deep breath, and the chase was on.
“Chance! Chance! Chance! She shrieked, her cries practically drawing a map for me to follow.
“Chance can’t hear your screams, love.” I chuckled, now not caring if I scared/hurt her.
I was very much a fan of an eye for an eye.
Finally, there was one last final scream that shook every object in the house.
“Gotcha.” I hissed, walking into the kitchen, and blocking the doorway.
There was Abby and Chance, both seated at the kitchen table. However, as per my plan they were passed out from the little cocktail of drugs I mixed them and their heads laid still against the table’s cool surface.
“Get out!” She wailed, anger and fear battling in her eyes once more.
“Oh Bella...you know I can’t just leave.” I chuckled, taking a large step towards her.
She stumbled back, her back slamming into the counter.
Her eyes went wild with looking around her, trying to find something, anything to help her.
In a snap decision her hand settled over the knife rack.
She wasn’t that brave or daring to do it.
“Don’t test me.” She snarled.
“You’re not that fucking brave, love. You’re weak….we both know that.” I growled, taking one step closer to her.
I knew that the closer we got, the more pressure she would feel and give up even faster.
Bella pulled a knife from the rack and gripped the bottom of it as tight as possible.
“Trust me, you’re not the first one to tell me I’m weak. Everyone tells me that.” She whispered.
My eyes averted to a bright light shining from upstairs and that’s when Bella charged into me, knife held above her shoulder, pointed down.
We crashed roughly into the wall, my back practically getting stabbed by the cupboards behind me.
I reached up, and was able to get a tight enough grip on Bella’s muscle-lacking arm to avoid a stab.
“Let go!” She screeched, fearing her demise in this situation was fast approaching.
“I’m done!” I snapped in her ear.
The knife was quickly knocked out of her fist with my strength and I spun her around, so she was now pinned where I had been.
“Mom!” She attempted to scream, but it came out a hushed whisper, weak and pathetic.
“Time for bed love,” I groaned, reaching in my back pocket and pulling out a small hypodermic needle.
One last horrified sob came from her body as her gaze turned longingly to Abby and Chance.
I shoved the needle deep in her neck where I knew it would work the quickest.
She didn’t even make a peep.
Bella glared at me though, almost the same way a prisoner cautionarily glared down a corrections officer.
Those hate consumed eyes quickly gained weight as I watched a battle between her eyelids against gravity and the drug coursing through her veins.
My arms caught her as she collapsed, fully asleep.
“Goodnight my love. I know you don’t realize it, but we really do love you. I’d do anything in the world to keep you safe, and safety isn’t something Chance can truly provide you. I know you'll discover that in our time apart…...he’ll manage to do something that you won’t be able to forgive. It’ll help you see the good in us. For now though, I’ll go,” I whispered to her now still body.
I placed an ever so gentle kiss on her forehead, and gave her one last tight loving hug.

“I love you.” I cooed, wanting those to be the last words she heard from me-for now.

Notes

Ok, I seriously loved writing this chapter!!!

I've missed being able to write about the tension between the bands and Bella, especially Chris, personally I find the domincance conflict between them kind of fun.

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and once again thanks so much for continuing to read this story :)