MOMMY slithered her skinny body through the doorway and exposed herself to the three of them, staring at them as they huddled together in desperation for warmth.

Mommy took a step closer, and Bella stared up at her, her grip tightening around Cole's torso as Mommy stopped to kneel in front of them.

Bella noticed Elliot and Cole were both asleep, their eyes closed and their chests rising in a soft rhythm, but Bella was shaking. She was exhausted as well, and just wanted for Mommy to leave her alone so she could get a little bit of rest.

Mommy tilted her head to her side, her straw-like hair falling to her shoulders as her tiny eyes scoured over Bella.

"I must separate you from them," Mommy said gently to Bella, her thin fingers brushing over Bella's exposed shoulder. Bella shuddered instantly at the contact, and she blinked up at Mommy.

"Don't," Bella heard Cole mumble under his breath, his eyes fluttering open slightly as he looked at Mommy. "Please don't."

"It's not a choice," Mommy grinned at Cole, exposing her rotting teeth as she reached over to stroke the back of her hand against his cheek.

Cole flinched away from her touch, blinking in confusion.

"Hmm," Mommy hummed in thought. "We must get you cleaned up at some point. You are growing facial hair, and my little boy is not allowed to become a man yet."

Cole took a deep breath, and Bella could tell he was about to say something rude to Mommy, so she whispered for him to stop.

Bella shifted her body away from Cole, frowning at the loss of warmth from the contact they previously had, as Mommy straightened her legs. Mommy smiled at Bella, grabbing her hand and helping her to stand up.

"You are obeying me?" Mommy asked, her grin turning devilish as she narrowed her eyes.

Bella swallowed and nodded, looking down at Cole and Elliot. Cole's eyes stared up at her, their blue tint turning dull almost right before her eyes as they filled with sorrow and muted anger. Bella shook her head at him, a tear falling from her eye as she grabbed Mommy's hand.

"At least take the kid with her too," Cole begged suddenly, his voice hoarse as he stared at Elliot peacefully sleeping. "He... he wouldn't want to not be with her."

Mommy cackled under her breath, closing her eyes in elation as she dismissed Cole's request instantly. "I am separating her so she can control herself around you boys. She must be alone if she wants to change her slutty ways."

Bella couldn't stop the stream of tears falling from her eyes as she stared at Cole. She didn't want to be away from them; she would surely lose her mind being isolated.

Mommy lead Bella out the door, and she heard Cole exhale heavily just before she exited the room and stepped into the basement corridor. She folded her arms around her chest and rubbed them for warmth as Mommy, surprisingly, brought her up to the staircase.

"W-where are we-"

"Quiet," Mommy requested sternly.

Bella sniffled and wiped a tear off her cheek as she walked up the stairs behind Mommy. When they reached upstairs again, she noticed the sky had shifted to nighttime, and the only illumination in the kitchen was the dim lamp beside Mommy's boyfriend who had been seated at the table.

Bella stared around the dirty house in confusion as Mommy slammed the basement door shut behind her. She pointed to a chair at the table across from her boyfriend.

Her boyfriend had his hood up, as usual, but she could see more of his mouth shape, his pointed chin, and his skinny nose. She could see a piece of a dark tattoo coming from the collar of his sweatshirt and trailing up the side of his neck.

"Sit. Now," Mommy ordered, and Bella walked hesitantly over to the table, feeling Mommy's boyfriend's eyes on her the entire time.

Bella sat at the stool across from Mommy and her boyfriend.

"My dear boyfriend, you can refer to him as Sir, will be bathing you tonight. I would if I could stand the sight of you. You are bloody and it is disgusting," Mommy spat, shaking her head.

Bella swallowed, trying to ignore the way Sir's eyes were watching her intently.

"Why am I up here?" Bella whispered meekly.

Mommy groaned and rubbed her temples. "Because my dear boyfriend said I should appreciate you more. Because you are my daughter, and we should be close." She grabbed a nearby bottle of beer and took a long sip from it. "You're lucky I am giving it a try. If you try to get away, even just once, I will kill your brothers in front of you, and then I will kill you. Got it?"

Bella nodded, while Mommy looked at her boyfriend.

"Go clean her up," Mommy ordered, sitting sloppily at one of the stools and taking another long drink from her beer bottle.

Bella tried to resist from protesting as she stood and followed behind Mommy's boyfriend, through a small and dark hallway with plain walls, and into a bathroom that was even dirtier than the one in the basement. There were pill bottles all over the sink, there was dried vomit on the floor and dirt streaked across the mirror.

Sir turned the bath water on and gently closed the door.

Bella was frightened, standing in the corner of the bathroom as she played with her fingers.

"I will not hurt you," Sir said, his deep voice always shocking Bella. "You are pretty."

The way he spoke made Bella believe something had been wrong with him - his words were drawn out and his sentences were incomplete.

Bella nodded slowly as Sir stepped towards her and got on his knees in front of her, making her look down at him.

"A pretty girl should be treated nice. I do not like the way She treats you," he said, his voice loud over the sound of the water running in the tub.

Bella forced a small smile - it was just a mere tilt at the corners of her lips, to mask her discomfort. Her big eyes blinked at him; she could not see his eyes from the shadow his hood threw across his face, but she knew he was staring at her.

"Why do you let her hurt my brothers?" she asked quietly, her voice almost inaudible over the sound of the water.

Sir took her hand, his large fingers overpowering hers as he rubbed his thumb over hers. "Your little brother cries a lot," Sir spoke thoughtfully. "Your big brother is mean to me. He talks in Spanish. It confuses me. He deserves to be hurt... I will never care about him."

Bella pulled her lips into a thin line, not bothering to correct that Cole actually speaks Italian. "He is just scared," she whispered, her voice as soft as possible as she shrugged her shoulder. "Nobody deserves to be hurt."

Sir's mouth tilted into a small smile as he tightened his grip around her hand.

Bella pulled her hair behind her ears. "M-maybe you can do me a favour..." she trailed off, her heart pumping rapidly as she wondered how he would react to this.

"Anything for you," Sir said eagerly to her.

Bella swallowed. "Could you... convince my Mommy to let me go outside?" she whispered softly. "I would love to see the pretty flowers and the sky. I won't run away, I just want to be in fresh air."

Sir immediately turned away from her, and Bella felt scared, as she knew she made him defensive and distant by asking him that.

"I can not. You know that," he grumbled angrily, standing up and turning the water off.

"Oh," Bella replied, closing her eyes and licking her dried lips.

Sir cleared his throat, and it was silent for several minutes.

"Are you sad?" he asked, his back to her.

Bella stared at the floor. "Yes, I really am sad," she said while sniffling. "I just want to go outside."

Sir faced Bella, his large hand grabbing her small hand as he pulled her closer to the tub.

"I wish that you can go outside," Sir told her. "I wish that you can be happy."

"The only way I'll be happy is if you let me outside," Bella tried her best to convince him, but he just shook his head.

"Get undressed and take a bath," Sir ordered, as he turned to face the door.

The entire time Bella undressed, and even as she stepped into the boiling water of the tub, she prepared for him to turn around and look at her. But he did not look once. He remained facing the doorway until she finished and wrapped a towel around her body.

"Please do not be sad," he said suddenly, his eyes that Bella could not see were surely staring at her as she held the towel around herself. "I will make you happy again. Just wait."

_