300 Days With The Alpha Beta Triplets
WITH OR WITHOUT YOUR HELP

Bella:

Her words at the funeral came crashing down at once, and it finally made sense. She said it reminded her a lot, and that was it-her parents were killed in the same way.

"How... how come you never said this to me?" I asked, disregarding the hitch in my throat. She threw her head back on the seat, keeping silent for a while, before sitting up and looking me in the eye.

"Because I never wanted to go back to that dark place. I was a kid, and it happened swiftly, and they never returned. No one took it seriously because they didn't kill them like vampires do. They were staked to death with a silver stake, laced with wolfsbane, but I knew what they were, and I invited them inside." Her voice became heavy, causing me to take her hand, which I caressed gently. "Can we not do this, please," she said, and I nodded, causing her to stop.

I stared into the air, reminiscing about past events and contemplating the next step to take. My hands were obviously tied as the twins had been wronged by vampires, and Hazel, too. This left me with only Ryder and my mother.

"Bella, everyone is leaving." Kai's touch drew me back to reality, and I got to my feet at once, my eyes meeting Ryder's, who tilted his head towards me.

Fear gripped me as the thought of letting him know crossed my mind. I couldn't let him into my darkness, plus I feared how he would take the news. I feigned a smile, waiting for everyone to leave the row. As soon as we were on the stairs, I quickened my pace.

"I need to meet my mum." I moved swiftly among the crowd of people, abandoning everyone until I made it to the door.

I pushed myself into the hallway, then looked around through the crowd of students, replaceing my mother, who was cornering down the hallway that led to her office.

In a haste, I pushed through the crowd, ignoring the calls from the triplets. In no time, I spotted my mother's back and came to a halt as she turned around. I grabbed my knees, bending over, panting heavily.

"Bella, what are you doing here?" she asked. I stood straight, trying to compose myself.

"We need to talk."

When I said this, she opened the door to her office and walked in. I followed her, shutting the door behind me. She began to speak without even getting to her seat.

"You are probably here for Sebastian, and I figured you would be here eventually." Her words left me with a scrunched face, my arms crossed over my chest.

She knew I would be here? There had better be a good reason Sebastian was in school, because I would never forgive her if he wasn't here for a valid reason. Well, I hadn't even forgiven her for what she did.

"Sebastian's parents are close, and I couldn't say no to them." My mouth fell open at once, and I let out a loud chuckle, trying to hold down the anger that had been bottled up inside me.

I had flown across a crowd of students only to be told this? This must be a mad joke.

"You have got to be kidding!" I exclaimed, staring her in the eye without saying a word. So she wasn't kidding. "You know my predicament, and you know what happened to Bonnie, and yet you allowed Sebastian to come to this school because you couldn't say no to his parents?" I scoffed and then shook my head. "You really care about me, MOTHER," I stressed, pacing around the room, trying to keep my head in a good space.

"Bella," she called out in a low tone, but I wouldn't answer her. She called out to me three times before I screamed the word, "WHAT!" in her face.

My blood boiled hotter than a volcano. If I could erupt and bury her in lava, I would, but I could do little to nothing.

"What is it you want to say that will salvage the moment? Sebastian is sending me threat text messages in class, saying he isn't over me. Just so you know, he is currently dating Hazel. He is roping her into this madness, and when Hazel's grades start to slide, everything will be on Bella. Fae is in on this, too. Why the hell is she still in this school, MOTHER?"

"Mr. Ezekiel withdrew his testimony, and there is nothing we can do about that," she said. I kept silent for a while. "Of course, there is nothing you can do. You could never do anything your entire life, and my life is ruined because of you." She grabbed my hand roughly at once, pressing hard on it.

"Will you stop and listen to me, young lady!" she screamed, causing my wagging tongue to quieten. "Everything takes steps! Your father hid the truth about Bonnie from the Beta, and Sebastian hid the truth too from his parents. He did you a favor, Bella, and as of now, it is only the four of us that know, and it must remain that way."

"Add Fae to that equation." She groaned, pushing me away, causing me to stagger backward when I said this.

Tears welled up in my eyes.

"All I am saying is that I will get everything under control. Sebastian wanted to see you, and I kicked against it, so he went through his parents, whom we couldn't say no to. What reason do we have? He passed every test, and he was eligible to transfer. This was one reason your father wanted you back in the pack, so you could see him!" She breathed a sigh of relief, then walked back to her seat, sitting with her fingers massaging her temples.

"None of us asked for this life, Bella, and if you try even a little to look inward, you will see I am trying my best. You are hot-headed, Bella, and it would be easier to give up on you. I have done nothing but try to protect you. Please, you have to trust me."

The tears I had been holding back threatened to fall as I massaged my swollen hand from her grasp while sniffling. "I am sorry about that."

I shook my head as she spoke. "It would have been easier to believe you, but no!" I stamped my fist on her table, causing her to sigh.

"Last semester, my life was in shambles, and I didn't feel even a bit of your protection. If I hadn't taken matters into my own hands, then the peace I have felt for two months would be non-existent. I got rid of Fae once, and I will do it again, with or without your help."

"And at what cost? Featuring in that stupid blog that has done nothing but taint your name?"

"I do not care! If you will not help me, then I will do it again. Goodbye, Mother!"

I turned around and left, feeling the heavy weight of everything on my shoulders. But then I couldn't back down. As I made my way down the hallway, I took out my phone and sent a text to Fae.