Five.

Aiden

She saunters off to the bathroom as I settle down at my desk. Picking up the phone, I call my father.

“About time, Aiden!” He snaps down the line. “Now why is Leighton here with Dom while you are nowhere to be seen?”

“Dad, chill. I brought one of the fighters back to my place for the night. And before you jump to any conclusions, no I did not sleep with her.”

Technically I did, but it wasn’t like I fucked her.

“I assume you are bringing her today.”

“We will be up sometime this afternoon. She isn’t awake yet.” I lie to him “Just don’t let Dom off this time. We can’t have him buying minors to fight.”

Bella had been more than right when she said my father had been taking it easy. It was one of the things that kept me up last night. I had replayed our conversation. But the only thing I could focus on was what she had said about my father and how he no longer appeared to care.

“You don’t need to tell me what to do, Aiden. I am your father.”

“But you have been taking it easy. The others are more important than the humans” I mutter back, listening to the shower run. “I will be up later.” 

Hanging up, I make my way towards the other end of my apartment. The shower was running, but it didn’t sound like anyone was in it.

“Bella, are you okay?” 

“I’m fine!” She snaps back

The door was open a little and I could just about make out the reflection of her back in the mirror.

It was red raw. Burn marks and other scars covered her entire back. New and old scabs covered recent wounds.

A lump appears in my throat. Immediate guilt washes over me. She was supposed to be my mate. Things like that should never have happened to her.

The shower switches off and I quietly make my way to my desk. I had to find a way to get her to talk about it. 

Bella steps out of the bathroom. Dressed in one of my old tees and a pair of shorts. They hung off of her small frame. Her copper hair was soaking wet. She hadn’t had a shower so she must have dunked her hair in the basin.

“Feeling better?” I ask, hoping that she would just tell me something.

She nods her head. Sitting on the bed. She was determined to create distance between us. The complete opposite of what I wanted.

“We will be travelling later.”

“To the King?”

“Yes, so please don’t try anything.”

“You mean don’t try and escape.” Those golden orbs stare at me like she was looking into my soul. “So I am your prisoner?”

“No, but if you try anything, I will have to stop you!”

She rolls her eyes at me and shakes her head

“It’s true what they say about redheads then. Little firecrackers.” I murmur, turning my attention to my laptop.

“Darcy was nothing like me.” She shoots back.

“You’re sister?”

“She was a redhead too. Not the same as mine. She wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

I didn’t really know where to go with the information. She had told me something, but it almost felt like a trap.

“Hungry?” I mutter

“Not going to ask me about my sisters?” 

“No”

“Why not?” She folds her arms over her chest, scowling

“Because it’s some sort of trap. You are trying to make me feel sorry for you. You think that if you give me a sob story, I’m just going to let you go.” The problem was, I did feel sorry for her, but it wasn’t what she wanted to hear.

The scowl deepens. I almost felt bad for calling her out on her plan. Surely others didn’t fall for the same bullshit.

“You are strange.” she mutters to herself

“How so?”

“You see things that the others don’t.”

“I am well aware of that.” I tell her, trying to keep my attention on the laptop in front of me. What I really wanted to do was look at her back. I wanted to ease the pain. She would be lying if she said that it wasn’t hurting. Or maybe she was just so used to it that she no longer felt pain.

The phone rings and I see Leighton’s name.

“Yes.”

“Your father is pissed that you are not here.” I could sense the smile as he spoke. For some reason, Leighton always found it amusing to wind my father up.

“I’ve spoken to him. We will be there in a bit.”

“Good because Dom is pissing me off. He can’t keep his fat mouth shut.”

“At least wait until we are there before killing him.”

Bella perks up at the mention of a kill. Her golden orbs studied me and I knew she was trying to listen in. I cut the call and the scowl turns into a frown.

“You’re going to kill him?” She mutters

“If that’s what father wants. It probably won’t be me. Leighton has first dibs.”

“First dibs?”

“You know, where someone calls it first.”

“I would never give my kill to another.”

She pulled her wet hair over her shoulder, slowly braiding it as she watched me.

Her eyes remain on me the entire time I’m working. She doesn’t move from her spot. She braids and rebraids her hair as if it was somehow bringing comfort to her. 

The silence in the room was deafening. I was used to spending time alone here. But when I was sharing my room with another person, silence was the last thing I was expecting.

“Time to go.”

“You want me to wear this?”

“Or you can put on the other blood stained clothes. I would say this is more respectable even if it is too big for you.”

She pulls on her combat boots and quietly follows me out. I was expecting her to run. The moment that front door opened, I thought she was going to take off. It surprises me even more as she walks towards my car.

Bella gets into the passenger seat. She even pulls the belt around her without complaining.

“Will you at least say something?” I mutter as I start the car up. The silence was starting to piss me off.

“You saw it.”

“Saw what?” I had no idea what she was going on about.

“You saw my back. You saw it and you didn’t say anything.”

Fuck!

“I shouldn’t have looked. The bathroom door was open and I saw your back in the mirror. I’m sorry.”

“For what? For seeing it? Or for not saying anything?”

“Both.” I sigh

“I wanted you to see it.”

“You wanted me to see it? Why not just tell me about it?”

“Visuals are more impactful than words. Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Why didn’t you just tell me?”

“It’s ugly right? The burns, the scars. The permanently damaged skin.”

“Is that from fighting?”

“No. My father did it.”