Page 208 of Breaking Point
“Please make it stop,” I cry out, my hand clutching my chest. “Please make it stop!”
Grayson sounds pained. “I can’t, Bella. I’m so sorry.”
“I don’t want to be here without her. Please don’t do this. Please, please, please bring her back. I don’t want to do this,please,” I beg.
I don’t know who I’m begging or how what I’m asking couldeven happen. All I know is that her death has caused such immense pain and the only one that can soothe it isher.
She can’t fix this because she isn’t here.
“Please,” I whimper.
But all I’m met with is a bottomless pit of pain.
Chapter 56
Grayson
ONE WEEK LATER
Bella stands at the foot of the bed, motionless, her skin ashen as she stares down at the black dress Layla laid out on my bed for her.
I had to bring her here.
She couldn’t be in that house with the memories of her mom. We tried. Bella would wake in the middle of the night calling out for her mom, only to fall into a fit of sobs.
On the second night, she broke completely.
I came out of the room to find her taking a golf club to her mother’s pill bottles that were left over—and the side of her father’s closet. I thought that was all until she spotted her art supplies and there was no stopping that woman. Fury and venom overcame her face and she began screaming at the top of her lungs how unjust the world is.
I didn’t realize her mom was the one who got her into art. That it was something they did together when she was a little girl. If I had known, I would have put the supplies away.
But after that, there was no going back to the house for a while. She’s been at my home ever since, never leaving my room.
The soft padding of feet from the hallway makes me turn. I spot Layla’s fiery red hair come around the corner and I stepout, lowering my voice to a whisper. “She hasn’t gotten dressed yet.”
Layla was on a flight home the moment Charlotte called and she hasn’t left Bella’s side since. Neither of us have. We’ve been taking shifts, making sure she’s never alone.
Bambi, too. She’s been glued to Bella’s side, has been since the moment I brought her here. She knows something is wrong and has taken it upon herself to watch Bella as well.
Layla’s heavy eyes, with the telltale signs of lack of sleep, flick over my shoulder. “I’ll do this. Why don’t you go call the funeral home and make sure everything is ready for today?”
Dipping my head, I go to move but find I can’t.
Layla steps into the room, her movements slow like she’s approaching a cornered animal. Her voice is a hushed whisper and I can’t make out what she’s saying, but it doesn’t matter. Bella doesn’t move an inch, her body remaining rigid.
I come up behind them, Layla’s helpless expression locking on mine. I cock my head, motioning for her to call the funeral home instead.
She’s as reluctant as I was to leave, her face tightening with pain. But once she does, I lay a gentle hand on Bella’s arm.
“Blaze, do you want help getting dressed?”
Her eyes are boring into the dress as if she’s waiting to see if it will go up in flames.
She doesn’t respond so I brush a lock of hair behind her ear. “Come on, baby, let me help,” I say softly. She doesn’t stop me when I pick up the dress, so I continue on. “I’m going to take your robe off now, okay?”
A small fraction of a dip of her chin has me exhaling with an inch of relief.
She can hear me.
