Mommy's House

16

BELLA was worried what Sir meant about making her happy.

He left her alone in the bathroom, and she stood there, her hair sopping wet as she shook from the frigid air. She wanted to step outside into the hallway and see what was happening, but she was terrified to even peek her head out, in fear of seeing Mommy standing there.

She turned and looked at herself in the dirt streaked mirror. From what she could see, she noticed the slope of her flushed cheekbones were deeper, her jawline sharper, her lips were cracked and her collarbones protruded farther. The mixture of her new aspects as well as the contused circles beneath her eyes depersonalized her - she didn't recognize the unhealthy girl staring back at her.

She noticed that the blood had stopped running down her legs, and her abdomen was no longer cramping. She remembered hearing in health class that malnourishment and stress could halt a woman's period. Her fingers touched her lower stomach as she let out a long sigh.

Bella jumped when she saw a figure at the doorway, and she hoisted her towel up across her chest. She looked and found Sir standing there, a small Lily flower in his large fist.

"For you," he said shyly.

Bella blinked, her lips parted as she took the flower in her free hand, and felt that it was plastic.

"I looked outside. It is cold, there are no flowers. So I took one from your Mommy," he explained quietly, and Bella forced a small smile onto her lips.

"That is... very nice of you," Bella whispered, staring down at the flower.

Her eyes stared up at him, before she realized that he was absolutely harmless. He seemed very disconnected, as well as unusual, but he didn't seem very capable of hurting her.

"What..." Bella started, taking a deep breath. "What is your name?"

Sir lifted his shoulders in a shrug.

Bella couldn't help but stifle a small laugh. "You don't know your name?" she asked softly.

Sir shook his head, his arms wrapping across his chest as he seemed embarrassed by the fact.

"What does my Mommy call you?" Bella whispered in disbelief.

Sir licked his lips, his hood lowering over his eyes as it usually did. "She calls me Idiot a lot. Sometimes Honey."

Bella sighed, unsure of how to console him. She looked towards the cracked and dirty mirror again, before Sir moved at the doorway, and pulled out a baby pink dress that was slightly more modest this time, but not by a lot. It was cut short, but there were shoulders at least, it was not strapless.

"This is for you, too," Sir handed her the dress and she took it, looking at it carefully. Sir then handed her a hairbrush, and she cringed at the thought of having to comb through the intense knots in her hair. "Your mommy would like for you to get ready."

"Get ready for what?" Bella asked, her eyes widening a little bit.

Sir smiled at her. "Come out when you're done!" he exclaimed, excitement clear in his tone. "And put the pretty flower in your hair."

Bella was terrified as Sir closed the door. What was she getting ready for? She opened the medicine cabinet and searched through the many pill bottles invading the area, but she could find nothing to use as a weapon, not even a small razor. She bit down on her bottom lip and tried to relax as she pulled the dress on and yanked the brush through her knots.

Her hair was falling out. Large clumps of brown were falling to the floor and, though her hair was generally thick, it was noticeably thinning as she continued tearing through it with the brush.