BELLA froze, standing at the door and making sure she was blocking Cole from Mommy's vision. She licked her lips and tried to relax her shoulders, but it was difficult as she watched the eye continue to blink and stare. Before she knew it, Mommy's eye had disappeared from the small crack in the door once Mommy realized Bella was pressed against it.

Bella swallowed and leaned her forehead against the door in relief, whispering prayers to herself as she begged for Mommy not to barge in angrily.

"Bella," she heard Cole say, and Bella closed her eyes tightly.

"Yes, Cole?" she whispered, turning around to find Cole standing there with sopping wet hair and only clad in the pants Mommy gave him.

She noticed that he had gotten noticeably thinner, as his arms were skinnier and she could see his ribs beginning to protrude through his skin. She felt relieved to find that the slices across his chest were healing well, and the previous infection had clearly subsided.

"She was watching, wasn't she?" he asked, running his hand through thick, saturated black hair as he reached to get the clothes from the sink.

Bella looked away from him again. "How did you know?" she spoke quietly, though Cole didn't seem to care if Mommy heard him or not.

He lifted his shoulders and pulled the white tee-shirt he was given over his head. Bella moved behind him, still holding the blood-stained rope in her hands, and he sighed heavily when she wrapped her fingers around his sore wrists and brought them behind his back.

"Please don't tie me again," he pleaded quietly, but Bella just shook her head.

"I have to," she said, shakily bringing the rope around his wrists and pulling tightly. He sucked air through his teeth in pain, and she loosened it a little bit. "She probably saw that I took it off, and I'm sure I'll get in a lot of trouble."

Cole almost laughed. "You've barely gotten punished the entire time we've been here. She likes you."

Bella recoiled, looking at him with furrowed eyebrows. "She likes me? She calls me a slut every time she sees me, she hit me so hard I almost got a concussion, and she almost let her boyfriend have his way with me! " she whispered angrily.

"Then she gave you food and a new dress," he responded coolly, and Bella's small fist clenched in anger at his words.

"Can we please stop fighting for one second?" Bella asked, rolling her eyes and leading him over towards the sink. "You start every single argument we have, and it's annoying."

Cole's light eyes watched her every move as she reached for the razor and poured a large amount of shaving cream into her palm. Bella had to stand on the tips of her toes to gently rub the cream against the stubbly area of his lower jaw, and she felt him flinch the second her fingertips touched his face.

"Sorry," he mumbled quietly.

Bella noticed the long scar that ran from the top of his cheekbone to the bottom of his jaw, a feature she noticed the first moment she saw him. She squinted her eyes before she rubbed the fluffy cream over the scar, completely covering it.

"How did you get that?" she asked gently, turning the rusty knob of the sink on to wash her hands off.

"Get what?" he asked, and she picked the razor up from the side of the sink.

"Your scar," she whispered, moving to press the razor to his face.

He was about to answer before the sound of the door opening made Bella jump. She accidentally sliced a small portion of Cole's face instantly with the razor as she looked to find Mommy standing at the doorway.

Cole took a breath while his blood began to surround the white cream on his jawline, but Bella couldn't take her eyes off of Mommy's lanky silhouette. Mommy's eyes were darkened and narrowed as she stared at Bella, a touch of a grin on her thin, wrinkled lips.

"You tied him back up, I see," Mommy said darkly, and winced at the sound of her deep voice.

"I didn't want to bathe him because he's my older brother," Bella answered, looking at Cole who was staring at her in confusion.

Mommy's eyes sparkled in the poor lighting of the tiny bathroom as she leaned against the door frame, her bony arms crossing over her chest. "Good. I know that you can not seem to control yourself around him, but you are getting a lot better, Darling."

"Thank you," Bella answered politely. "Do... do you want me to shave his face?"

"Allow me to do the honour," Mommy said, ripping the razor from Bella's grip and moving her out of the way. She almost tripped over her feet but she caught her balance against the wall, as she watched Mommy gently slide the razor against Cole's face.

Cole watched her, his chest heaving as Mommy's face moved gradually closer to his.

"You look like your father right now. It's disgusting," she spat, her words slurring while continuing to drunkenly shave his face.

Cole's shoulders twitched as Mommy cut his face again, and he exhaled heavily.

She finished up shaving his face, grabbing a dirty towel off of the side of the sink and rubbing the remains of the cream roughly off of him before she threw the razor down in the sink. Each of her movements were sharp and angry, and Bella felt nervous as she watched her continue to stare at Cole.

"Why do you have to look like him?" Mommy asked, her voice breaking as tears began to well up in her dark eyes. "I hate him, and I hate you," Mommy growled, her nose touching his.

They were relatively the same height, both stretching to about six foot, but Mommy had only been slightly taller than him. Their foreheads were pressed together and Mommy's eyes were downcast as they bore into his.

"I hate you, Steven," she slurred, moving away from Cole's face. "I hate you for what you did to me and my children."

Cole's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed and pressed his back farther up against the wall. Suddenly, Mommy's hand flew up and slapped his face so hard, his cheek instantly faded into a red colour. He squinted his eyes shut to prepare for another slap, but this time, she swung her leg back and kneed him directly in his groin with a heavy amount of force.

Cole clearly lost his breath as he hunched over, nearly falling to the ground in pain.

Bella's mouth fell open in shock.

"You deserve worse," Mommy said to Cole, watching him as he doubled over and groaned.

Mommy turned to Bella and smiled.

"Take him into the room and come upstairs, alone, for dinner when you're finished, Sweetheart," Mommy ordered sweetly to Bella, before she looked to Cole in disgust. Cole was still doubled over, his cheeks inflamed and his eyes closed as he tried to breathe his way through the pain.

Mommy turned away from them and walked out of the room, and Bella rushed over to Cole.

"Are you okay?" she asked worriedly, gripping onto his shoulders and moving him to an upright position. His face was red and his forehead was clammy as he nodded.

"Yeah," he said, his voice straining. "I, I need a second," his words were breathy.

Bella stared at him with wide eyes. "Let's... let's get you back in the room," she said, as she reached over to grab his arm.

Cole moved his restrained arm away from her, clearly still in pain.

"Hold on, Bella, she just kicked my fucking dick," he huffed, and Bella could sense how aggravated he was.

Bella swallowed hard and looked at the doorway, blinking in confusion from the events that just unfolded in front of her eyes. "I'm... I- I don't... I don't understand anything that she does," Bella whispered, while Cole swallowed and looked at her, his striking eyes filled with anger.

"Why did you tie me back up again?" he asked angrily, and Bella took a step away from him. "I could have... I could have hurt her, or something, and we could have gotten out of here!"

"Cole, you're just mad, you need to relax. I had to tie you back up-" Bella started.

"You just don't get it, do you?" he cried out.

Bella stared at him with wide eyes. "Cole, I..."

"No, Bella, because you like that she likes you now. Don't pretend like you don't! Why the fuck else do you actually do what she says?" Cole yelled, and Bella shushed him.

"Stop it!" she tried to say calmly. "I have a plan, you know that-"

"Yeah, you have a plan," he laughed, shaking his head. "It's all about you. Me and Elliot will probably die soon, while you're getting fed and everything upstairs. You don't have a fucking plan, you're just... fuck," he said in frustration, and Bella felt tears piercing her eyes.

Bella's eyebrows furrowed as she glared at him. "You know, the reason she hurts you so much is because you don't cooperate! And just because I do, you're jealous?" Bella asked, her body beginning to shake with a mixture of rage and sorrow.

"Bella, forget about me. There's a seven year old kid in there who's starving and weak, and dying while you're busy bonding with that bitch," he said, his breath strained. "I- I don't care about dying, but Elliot, he... he doesn't even understand this. He's terrified of you."

"What more do you want me to do?" Bella practically screamed. She didn't want Elliot to be afraid of her. "I'm trying so hard to-"

"No you're not, you love the attention she gives you! Her and her sick fucking boyfriend. You love it," Cole said, his words piercing right through her.

Bella swallowed and calmly stared at him, not allowing those tears to fall. "You're a... a jerk! I'll go and eat while you suffer, see if I care. I only like Elliot anyway!"

Bella grabbed roughly onto his arm and pulled him out of the tiny bathroom, before she shoved him back into the room with Elliot.

Cole's eyes watched her as she slammed the door shut. When she got into the dark hallway of the basement and started towards the stairs, tears began heavily cascading down her cheeks, and she couldn't help but sob.