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Lucas
Chris crashed through the door, narrowly avoiding his sister as she stormed out, muttering, "I have an image for people..."
That image included her scratching her hairline with her middle finger, and Lucas' imagination supplied scenarios of what she might be planning next.
Security, managers, lawyers, and PR people who were congregated near the elevator cleared a path for the fuming heiress. Chris shot his mother a glare, but it withered almost instantly.
"Smooth," Alicia cooed at the younger Astor twin.
Based on the bags under Chris’ eyes, he looked to be running on about as much sleep as Lucas. And his sense of humor was stretched thin.
“Bella! Bella Annalise Astor!” Lina shouted too late.
Bella was in the elevator, doors closing and possibly flipping her mother off.
“Christian?” Lina fiercely growled.
Chris rolled his eyes. "I will send a security detail after Bella, Mother."
“Security?” Lucas said and let out a sigh.
What better way to piss Bella off even more than she already was? Send a personal detail to crowd her. Even when they were invisible, they weren't invisible to her. Lucas easily forgot that they were there until a flick of Bella's eyes indicated where one was. Since she wasn't in the public eye, most of her day-to-day required little security, but those days were probably ending after recent events.
He bit back what he wanted to say, opting for, “Chris? No, Bells will...”
Chris wasn’t listening. He wandered away from his office, already on the phone with Bella’s personal head of security, Kellan Travers.
“This is a bad idea,” Alicia sang.
Lucas wholeheartedly agreed.
When Chris returned, Lucas asked, “How is Kellan?”
Since Bella's triumphant return to New York, she'd gotten a new head of security. The man looked like he'd come straight out of the army. Actually, Kellan and Bella were about the same age. Kellan, though, was taller than Lucas and built more like an Armani-wrapped tank.
Chris beamed. “Kellan is heading to Bella’s gym.”
“Great! I’m not going anywhere near her!” Alicia announced.
No one, especially Lucas, blamed Alicia for that sentiment. Bella's preferred method of letting out her aggression was punching things. Usually people. But with purpose. She liked to box and took jiu-jitsu at one point. She was vicious on the mat. He'd often trailed her to the gym and sparred with her to let out the pent-up aggression after arguments with her mother. Usually, that led to days of Lucas poorly hiding the fact that he needed to ice his shoulders. Bella had a mean right hook and jab. And cross. And her submissions...
Lucas' mind stopped. Bella didn't have time for the gym lately.
Chris beamed.
Alicia shrugged, balled hands on her waist, waiting impatiently for an answer.
"Bella hasn't been to the gym since she came home. Not her normal gym, at least." Chris whispered.
Okay, information such as that was a double-edged sword. Chris wasn’t pissing his sister off more by crowding her. Which was good. But he was keeping close tabs on what she was doing, which... was kind of awkward to be in the middle of.
“So?” Alicia shrank as morning light hit Christian and Lucas.
Lina Astor stood at the door of her son's office, shooting icy daggers at them all. As if she blamed them for not stopping Bella from being Bella. Lucas could hear the accusations play through his mind now.
“I volunteer as tribute to talk to Bella,” Alicia said.
“Weren’t you just making fun of Chris for being scared of his mom?” Lucas asked under his breath. “Are you scared of... Mrs. Astor?” He gulped.
Point of fact, Lucas was not only still terrified of his own mother but even more terrified of both Lina Astor and Alicia's mom. He may have only met Alicia's mom at Alicia's wedding, but it was enough.
“It’s still like dibs. I’ll talk to B. You boys can...” She motioned at Mrs. Astor in the doorway.
Lina Astor methodically rapped each perfectly painted nail against the metal door frame. Alicia couldn’t form another word. She bowed out, hustling for the elevator without another glance back at the boys or Lina Astor.
And that left Chris and Lucas to deal with the ice queen.
***
Bella
Although, until this point it had been a bright, icy morning, the sun currently hid behind clouds, casting more shadows than the plywood coverings over the windows. There should be light and hope in this small building. It's where they had gotten the name. Hope Clinic.
Bella stood in the doorway for a long while, staring at the destruction of all the good she’d built.
Her brother probably had a plan for cleaning up the clinic. Chris enjoyed making plans. He'd hire people to clean up the physical mess, thin and remove the paint sprayed on the walls and desk.
Going further than the first step past the police tape, Bella took a shaky breath. Where could she start? She wanted to clean everything all at once.
The simple answer was sweeping the floor. Bella felt like she was on autopilot, wading through debris to grab the broom and dustpan from the back storage room. Bella began sweeping up the bits of glass, plastic, and whatever else had been smashed in the waiting room. She moved slowly, lost in every mistake she'd made over the last couple of days. Despite popular belief, Bella was capable of restraining herself. She generally did well not pummeling paparazzi with their own cameras.
Preston, though, always pressed the proper sequence of buttons to set her off.
At some point, Alicia showed up, watching from the doorway. Bella noticed her and waited, letting her friend make the first move.
“I’m sorry,” Alicia said while Bella was mid-broom stroke.
"Why are you apologizing?" Bella asked, leaning on her broom. "Were you getting a late-night caffeine fix and posted the video?" Those words came out harsher than she'd meant them.
Even without makeup, Alicia and her natural beauty left Bella a tiny bit jealous. She could imagine the newscasters stuck on Bella's appearance early that morning, mocking how she looked now. Hell, between the subway station and clinic, she'd seen the morning edition of the tabloid. Grainy pictures of Bella plastered across the front page, mid-rant pulled straight from the cell phone video. The worst possible quality video at the worst possible time was what Bella Astor would always be remembered for. And each page was filled with biting comments based on her lowest low.
She was sure there wasn't a single kind comment made in any media about her since she'd come home. Instead, it was attack after attack on her physical appearance, fights with Preston, and mistakes.
Now, though? Bella hid in plain sight. Hair tossed up in a messy bun and sunglasses kept more New Yorkers at bay than she'd thought. No one recognized her as the girl in the news or on the tabloids. She made herself not really look like whatever the hell she was now. Socialite. Starlet. Heiress.
Screw up.
Alicia looked more the part of an infamous socialite than Bella did.
"Fuck no," Alicia said. "But someone knows how to make me feel like shit..."
With a smirk, Bella said, “Chris’ intercom isn’t as silent as he thinks. I know you heard everything.”
Alicia bent, helping Bella sweep the broken bits of her life into the dustpan. "Not... everything."
Bella expected suits or plain clothes security sweeping the street, vetting everyone, including the freaking coffee shop employees or standing guard around both women.
“Where’s Kellan and the team?”
Alicia’s smile faded. “Chris sent them to the gym.”
A wild goose chase. That was surprisingly sweet.
Bella returned to sweeping, though there was almost no debris left this far in the corner.
"I'm sorry, B. I was thinking a lot about the last couple of days on the drive back." Alicia's voice cracked. "We are on your side. You know that, right?” But she couldn’t quite bring her eyes to meet Bella’s. “And you’re right.”
“About?”
“We shouldn’t jump to conclusions. That whatever happens is your fault.” Alicia slid next to her. “Bella, you have every right to be angry with Preston.”
Just hearing those words, Bella exhaled a breath she’d been holding.
“But...” Alicia started.
Oh, wonderful. It was too good to be true.
Bella snapped, “But what? I wasn’t fair to Preston? I should hear Pres out? It was Chris’...”
"Fiancé. Bella, I remember." Alicia grabbed the broom and set it to the side when Bella relented. "But..."
“Pres knew exactly how I felt going into our relationship.” Bella snatched the broom back and found another spot full of broken glass. “I knew better than anyone what he was like before. I watched the trail he left behind. How Chris tried to keep up with Pres. Pres promised me he would never do that to me. That I wasn’t those other girls, Alicia. That I was different. That together we’d be different. Not like our friends from school. Not like his father, who had mistress after mistress, and his mother just took it and never said one word. The least he could fucking do was own up for all that back then and all this now. But he can't. It's jokes and charm, and he just wants me to forget it ever happened. Go back to how things were before."
Moving into Bella’s path, Alicia tried to keep Bella’s eyes on hers. “I remember the conversations and the late nights talking about the pros and cons of dating that handsome POS. Look, B, yesterday... those jokes about Preston and what a guy needs to do... You know that all those thoughts are superficial. What’s important is that... I just want you to be happy. The jokes weren’t the best idea, but I think you need some closure with Pres. I think it would help. I'm not saying to open back up to him. But maybe talk to him? Find actual closure. You both still move in the same circles. He unfathomably still works for your brother. You'll inevitably run into him from time to time."
Bella thought that throwing the contents of her bookcases constituted a pretty firm ending to the relationship.
But... Alicia made a point. More than one.
“And B? You talk to Lucas about everything, but you can talk to me. I’m always in your corner.”
Bella gave a choked half sob, half laugh, and threw herself into Alicia for a hug when Kellan cleared his throat in the doorway.
“Busted.” Alicia sighed.
"Mrs. Mancini, I know Ms. Astor well enough to not bring the whole crew. She'd just slip out again. Or punch them. But it is my job to keep Bella safe." Kellan tossed his sunglasses in his pocket, "I'm going to get coffee. For a while."
Alicia eyed Kellan longingly until Bella nudged her. “What? B, he wants to keep you safe...”
"Oh, my God."
“You surround yourself with a lot of hot men.”
“I’m going to clean.”
***
Cleaning felt never ending. They swept, and Bella talked more with Alicia than she had in months. Things she didn't tell anyone, even Lucas (though that man was kind of a mind reader and didn't need Bella to say the words to understand).
Inside their tiny, broken clinic, the outside world was blocked out. Finally, when Bella couldn't sweep any longer, she collapsed into a waiting room chair while Alicia tugged on her to keep moving. They were both physically and mentally exhausted, but the clinic looked like their clinic again.
Neither kept track of how much time passed cleaning. A sudden knock on the door startled them both. As Bella answered the door, Alicia clutched the cleaning spray and rag like a weapon.
On the sidewalk stood Ms. Langry, a young single mom, her young daughter, Emma, clutching her. Running to a hospital wasn't an option.
"I saw the news but didn't know what else to do. Emma's fever got worse, and the phones..." Ms. Langry only paused for a breath when Bella placed a hand on the woman’s full hands.
Bella grappled for the woman's first name. It was on the tip of her tongue. "Avery," Bella said triumphantly. "No, of course. Come in. I mean... It's a mess, but we can..."
Up the street, shouts rang and moved closer. Instinct pushed Bella into Ms. Langry, hugging them close, her back facing the street. Something exploded across Bella’s side and back. Covering Bella in a multitude of fluids and smells.
“Shit!” she screeched.
As Alicia later confirmed, yes, there was actual shit on her.
"Assholes! What the hell?" Alicia tried snapping pictures of the car, but it was out of range so fast she only got the color and type.
Bella roared. Her ears pounded. She felt tugs and knew people were talking and pulling on her, but she shook them off and was moving down the street and descending stairs with no other thought than ending this torture. Now.
***
Alicia
Yelling didn’t get through to Bella. And Alicia couldn’t follow, not with a sick patient waiting.
Kellan ran across the street, apologies spewing out. Too late to do anything else but make sure Ms. Langry was okay. They assured Kellan they were all fine, which Kellan did not believe for a second. Alicia mentioned he might want to get his team to find Bella. Kellan already had a good idea of where to start.
Alicia whipped out her phone and typed: I swear. I didn’t mean for B to get arrested today. But you might want to have bail money ready.
Chris’ response was immediate. Where is she going?
Alicia: Probably wherever Preston is at this moment? And Kellan is here. He’s sending security out.
As a final thought, Alicia added: Call the lawyers. Just in case.