Oh, Baby! #Wattys2020

Chapter Thirty Two

Bella looks at herself in the mirror, her navy blue gown flowing when she moves. She gulps, brushing her straightened hair out of her face. It used to be long, but she recently cut it to her shoulders and she admires the way it frames her face. It distracts from the circles under her eyes. She fixes her cap, adjusting it so it's facing the correct way. There's a soft tap on the door, drawing her attention to her mother, standing in the doorway.

Her mother is wearing a blue dress with short sleeves. It hugs her body, emphasizing her legs to makes them look even longer than they are. Her blonde hair is tied up neatly in a bun, not a hair out of place. And for once, she's not covered in oil. Her sculptures are always leaving her covered in something. But today was a special day.

"You look beautiful." Her mom comments, tears shining in her eyes.

Bella looks at her reflection, her eyes traveling down her body to the cast sticking out of her gown. "I think I'd look better without the cast."

Her voice is bitter, the last several months have been spent in this cast, her hobbling around on crutches or in a wheelchair. Kevin broken her tibia in several places, and it's taken months to heal properly. It didn't help that her leg decided to heal wrong and they had to rebreak it. Her mom presses her lips into a thin line. It was hard finding out about what happened to Bella and Hale's family.

Especially since they had no idea what was going on until they recieved a call from the hospital saying that Bella was being flown to the nearest hospital after receiving major injuries in a hostage situation. The new stations were covering it almost immediately afterwards. Hale and Bella's names were splattered over the internet for weeks after that night happened. It was hard to cope with considering everyone involved was traumatized.

Mia wakes up every night screaming, she won't even sleep in her own room anymore. Bella has nightmares and every day has to live with the fact she took someone's life. Hale doesn't say much anymore, and refuses to tell Bella what's wrong. They barely speak anymore, instead just sit in silence when they are around each other. He was reminded of what she did for him over and over again, every time he looked at her; he relived that night. He felt like coward, as if he'd failed Bella and his family. He was supposed to protect them and he nearly got everyone killed.

It was hard living with that weighing on his mind every day. And he didn't know how to deal with in any other way than silence. What was he supposed to do? He felt as if he couldn't move on while everyone was still hurting. He didn't feel much other than guilt, but he felt like he was ready to move on. Just like everyone else.

"It'll be funny watching you waddle across the stage though." Her mom responds lighthearted. Bella forces a pained smile. She wanted to be happy today, after all she was graduating. But the cast was weighing her down.

"Don't let Dad record it, please." Bella pleads with her mom, balancing her crutches as she pivots to face her mom.

"I can't make any promises." She responds, a mischievous smile curling her lips. "Come on, Hale's waiting downstairs."

Hale has been staying with her ever since they were released from the hospital. Mostly because he needed to know Bella was near to be okay. He broke down every time he was away from her for too long. He didn't know how to hold himself together anymore. And being at home, with Mia, when she has nightmares and screams; it drives him insane. He can't stand knowing he did that to her.

He looks up from his phone, slipping it into the pocket of his fitted dress pants. He hurries over to help her down, sliding an arm around her waist.

"I got it." She mumbles, but let's him help anyway. Things are weird between them and everyone was starting to notice.

"Thanks." Bella nods when she's at the bottom of the stairs, hobbling over to her dad who is standing in the kitchen with his camera. She smiles at him, looking at his dorky suit that looks way too posh on him.