GLASS NERVE | alex rider

Three.

( tw : death , mentions of suicide )

CHAPTER THREE
PERSPECTIVE

  Belladonna only ever saw Alex cry once.

About three months into their friendship, Alex came running to her doorstep a tearful mess a few hours into the early morning. Despite the early hour, someone opened the door and shoved a handgun into his face from in the shadows. If he hadn't been upset enough already, that was the icing on the cake.

James Devin never liked Alex Rider, or Tom, or anyone for that matter, so when the boy came banging on his door at 2 AM, he came out guns at the ready, despite recognizing the young figure stood on his porch soaked in rain and tears, illuminated by the military grade floodlights strapped around the house. As for Alex, things wouldn't have ended well if Bella wasn't awake and came barreling down the stairs to see what the commotion was about, her hands shoving the handgun away before James could make any rash decisions.

It had been nothing, really. Ian came home upset and Alex was already having a bad day, so as soon as Ian raised his voice, the boy was out of the house and on the way to the closest place he knew: Belladonna's house, down the street.

Bella, with her lack of a mother and affectionate father, was never good with comforting people in their times of need—she couldn't even comfort herself when she needed it—but Alex seemed so bent out of shape that she chose not to pass him off onto Tom (who still didn't know about the entire situation). At that point, she didn't even like Alex that much but it was wrong to just turn him away, especially so late in the night—early in the morning? Either way, she let him stay, out of the meager amount of kindness in her heart.

It seemed the squabble with Ian was just the tip of the iceberg, every event that ever caused him to feel upset, no matter how small, was laid out upon unsuspecting Bella that night. He cried and cried, screamed into her pillows a few times, and even took a depression shower of just cold water for nearly a whole hour.

She'd never held Alex until that moment. They didn't hug, there was no reason to. The most they'd ever touched was when Alex would hold her hand to keep her from being swept away by a crowd or to guide her when crossing the street—they just didn't hug. But that night they did. A lot. Over and over again.

Bella liked having friends (most of the time). She felt a profound sense of comfort knowing Alex saw her in enough light to come to her door in tears, asking for help. It made her feel like maybe her hands weren't that dirty.

They talked about a lot—the both of them surprisingly. Bella decided to open up, hoping her topics of conversation would distract him from the fragile relationship with his only living relative. He knew about her mother, when she died, how Bella ended up with her father, and even about her institutionalized twin sister.

That was the first time James ever let the boy upstairs, in Bella's room, with the exception of keeping the door open. It didn't matter if Alex was falling apart, the door had to be open.

Bella showed Alex her one of favorite movies, The Princess Bride, which managed to lull the two teens to sleep before Buttercup even got kidnapped. And despite the discomfort of it all, James left the two in Bella's bed, shoulders pressed together and fingers loosely intertwined.

Now, Bella was facing the same tearful Alex, only this time things were so much worse.

Bella didn't mean to be awake. She meant to go to sleep immediately after she got home so she'd be curled up when James finally came home. But Bella knew she needed to shower and forcefully sober herself up before she went to sleep or she'd wake up unable to participate in her ballet lesson at 5 AM, thus she showered.