🌟She's Special🌟

Revealed

Friday, October 19th (Bella's Perspective)
I was taking Ace on a walk so he'd learn how to walk with me properly. He was doing a good job. I loved Ace. He's really calm yet energetic and I love it. We were back at our house.
"Wasn't that a fun walk?!" We went back inside and I took off his leash.
"Woof!"
"Look at Ace! He looks really happy." Mom commented.
"Because he's in a really happy home." I was feeling a bit tired. Probably from having gymnastics and then walking my dog.
"Bella, I'm ordering Chinese for dinner."
"Cool, Mom." Ugh, I need a shower.
"Noah?!"
"Yeah?"
"When are you gonna be done I'm showering in the basement."
"Not anytime soon. You have a shower in your bedroom." He's not wrong.
"You know, Anna texted me. She wants to meet with you on Sunday after your sleepover and therapy."
"I'd love to!" I squealed while playing with Ryan and Ace. Anna was the best mentor ever. She's so sweet and nice, and whenever I have a problem she readily has advice and tips.
"I'm glad you're loving it. I was afraid you wouldn't."
"Woof!" Ace ran to Mom. He licked her face.
"You know Ace if any other dog did that I wouldn't be happy. But, because it's you I don't care, you're the best boy on the planet!"
"What about me?!" Noah's shouted.
"Second best."
"That's more like it!" We all laughed.
************
My Room (Noah's Perspective)
"You called me?" Bella said with a smile. She sat next to me on my bed and stared into her phone.
"Who's that?"
"Morgan."
"That's ironic. I was just coming to tell you about her." She looked up.
"I wanted to ask if you wanted to join her and me on a little outing. You could bring Jake if you want to."
"Outing? Where?"
"Just to the park."
"I dunno. That sounds weird."
"Why?"
"Because it kinda sounds like a double date..." Damn, she's right.
"Not as a double date... it's more like a... friendly occasion." She gave me a puzzled look.
"So you can question Jake all you want and humiliate me?! Nah. I'll just bring one of the girls instead." She's too smart.
"Never mind then."
"Noah?"
"Yeah?"
"Metaphorically speaking-"
"This doesn't sound good."
"Shut up and let me finish. Metaphorically speaking, if I were to ever date anyone, you wouldn't tell Mom, right?"
"Well no. You didn't tell on me so why would I do that to you? But why are you studying that?"
"I'm not. It's just that the other day it was brought up in a conversation. I never really put thought into it before. It's weird Noah. I'm going to high school next year, and soon we're all gonna be in some type of a relationship or something. Or doing teenage things. It's weird to think about. Did you think that last year?"
"Not really. You're going to begin to realize soon that the teenage life isn't all that glamorous. You think that it'll be about going to parties and hanging out with your friends more. There is so much more to it than that. You'll see."
"Just tell me, Noah!"
"Bella, you'll figure out on your own. You'll see."
"I hate when you try to act all old and wise. You're only one year older than me."
"Older is the keyword."
"Whatever. I'm going to go to my room now and just chill with the dogs. Have fun with your weird lizard."
"Wait no, I want Ace with me tonight. You've been hogging." She rolled her eyes.
"Sure. Night, Noah. Love you."
"Love you too." When Bella left I went to go get Ace from downstairs.
"Hey, little guy." I carried him upstairs and I decided on something to watch.
"Morgan's been telling me to watch All American. Let's see what the big deal is."
************
Saturday, 8:45 PM (Bella's Perspective)
My friends and I all sat in a circle together. The day that I've been thinking about ever since I truly understood what happened to me. Telling my friends. We're all old enough, we've discussed some of this in health class already. My Mom has been to my school before and talked about these things. What happened at our dance studio. The unspoken truths. We all took our turns telling each other our secrets. I was next.
"I think my deepest darkest secret is my surgery," Kylie said.
"Surgery?"
"I had to have surgery on my back because of my back problems ." I knew she had back problems, but I didn't know she had surgery.
"That's why I was out of school for a while. I said I was sick. But, I wasn't. I was recovering from my surgery." We were silent for a moment.
"Well, I guess it's my turn." I took a deep breath. You can do it, Bella. You're strong. You're a fighter.
"You guys know I'm adopted. But, I never talked about what happened before Liv adopted me. My Mom, my bio mom, was a drug addict, and so was my bio dad. My mom wanted some more drugs and..."
"What happened?"
"She gave me away to these guys.....and they hurt me. Really bad. Then said I was tainted goods after they raped me over and over and over again."
"Bella...I'm so sorry that happened to you." My friends gave me a hug.
"That explains everything. You're so brave for telling us what happened."
"Yeah, you're so brave. We're proud of you!"
"Really?! I was ashamed to talk about it really. It's embarrassing."
"We won't judge you. Promise. You have our word for it. Nobody else will ever know about this." Paisley, Penelope, Kylie, Hannah, Faith, Elle, and I all pinky swore. What happened in Kylie's bedroom, would stay in Kylie's bedroom.
"Thanks, guys, this means so much to me."
"Anytime. We're all best friends, and we would support you no matter what. What kind of friends would we be if we were to just outcast you for being assaulted? That wasn't your fault, and you're not tainted goods either. It makes my blood boil. They should be in jail." Hannah said. I really do have the best friends ever.
*********
Garden City, NY (Elliot's Perspective)
"Dad?" Bella said softly. Bella has begun calling me Dad lately. When she first said it, I was happy yet shocked. I find it sweet.
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"How was your day today?" She asked while I grabbed the keys to the car.
"It was pretty good. I spent some time with Leia and Noah, went on a walk with your Mom. And now, we're going on for a little snack. How was your time with Anna?"
"It was great. We had some Korean snacks and she told me about her childhood. It was pretty cool. Plus, we played piano together."
"Do you like Anna?"
"Yes. She's very kind, and when I tell her things she gives me really good advice." Bella buckled up and looked outside of the window.
"Bella, where do you wanna go?"
"Coldstone. We haven't been in a while. Oh, and I was wondering if you could help me with Halloween."
"How could I help?"
"Okay so, my friends and I are doing a group theme. I'm going to be Courtney from Total Drama. So, I need to do some shopping. Jake's gonna be Duncan! Which is funny because in the show they're dating!" She laughed at the last sentence. I raised my eyebrow.
"But that doesn't mean anything Dad." She clarified. Bella still doesn't know that I heard the convo she had with her friends, so that made this pretty interesting.
"Really?"
"Yes, really!" I parked the car and we hopped outside.
"I love their ice cream! Ugh, I don't know what flavor to get, but I know what mix-ins I'm getting for sure!" Bella is a great person to be around. She's so warm and bubbly, and caring. I see a lot of elements of Liv in her. She's really her mother's daughter.
"I'm going to give you some advice about guys-"
"I really didn't sign up for this. Had I known it was going to turn into this, I would've just went straight home." I laughed.
"In all seriousness Bella, there's nothing wrong with discussing it. You're growing up and you're having feelings for people, and you're going to want to date soon and all of that. I just want you to be smart about it." She smiled.
"It's really nice of you to care that much, you know." After we got our ice cream, I warned her about some boy's intentions, certain experiences I've had, things of that sort. With Bella practically being a teenager in two months, I thought we could begin these conversations. She trusts me and I want only the best for her.
"Note taken. I'll remember that in like... 3 years from now." And with that conversation being over, we continued to talk about other things.