~~~ Val's pov ~~~

i made my way slowly up the stairs, it was against my better judgement but I wanted to know what was going on with Bella. Halfway up the steps I felt a hand on my shoulder which made me jump out of my skin.

" Why are you creeping up the stairs like that?" Michelle chuckled, knowing that I was up to something. I placed my hands on her shoulders and brought my face closer to hers.

" Something's up with Bella, zacky went to try and talk to her and I was gonna try and listen" I said realizing that it did seem a tad childish to spy.

" Well come on then!" Michelle sang, now dragging me up the stairs with her. That was one thing about Michelle, she always had to know every single thing that ever went on. As we got up stairs I motioned silently to the closed door, signaling that's where they were. We both took our spots on either side of the door, pressing our ears trying to find the best spot. We both stood listening intently as some moments were complete silence, then we would hear one of them speak. I felt bad enough that she was even upset to begin with. I just hoped and prayed that she was just an emotional drunk, and that nothing bad was going on. Until I heard zacky say Brian's name, which caught me a bit off guard to why he would name Brian In The first place. I looked over to Michelle with a confused gaze. She ignored me though and was now pressing her ear more towards the door. As Bella began telling zacky what Brian had done to her in the bathroom I could see Michelle's cheeks flushed bright red and her hand now had a knuckle breaking grip on the door handle. I tried to stop her but before I could get to her she went storming through the door, causing me to slightly stumble. It was almost as if only I was moving in slow motion. I saw her stalk her way towards Bella and I couldn't stop her in time before I heard michelle yell and the sharp echo of the slap. once I recovered from the shock I grabbed Michelle and pulled her out of Bella's way. My heart broke as I saw the hurt in Bella's eyes as she walked out of the room. As much as I wanted to go after her, I knew I needed to calm Michelle down first before she did anything else stupid. I looked over to zacky who just shook his head in disbelief and left the room as well.

" Michelle what the fuck was that?! Are you fucking crazy!!!" I screamed not caring who heard. I released her from my hold and ran over to the door, locking it.

" Seriously Val?! I think your asking the wrong sister that question!! Or excuse me that home wrecker!!" She shouted, saying the last word even more loudly, I'm sure in an attempt for Bella to hear. I huffed in frustration, crossing my arms firmly over my chest.

" did you even hear what she said Michelle?! It was all Brian!!" I spat. Michelle simply rolled her eyes, putting her hand on her hip.

" well you weren't there were you Val!! I walked in on her and she was by herself. Brian hid in the linen closet?? Really, give me a fucking break Val! I don't know what she's trying to pull, but she's a fucking liar!! She argued. I knew the chances of me getting anywhere with this right now was slim to none. I unlocked the door and opened it slightly as I turned back to Michelle.

" ok Michelle, think whatever you want, I give up. But before you go around placing the blame, you should talk to Brian. This wouldn't be the first time he's pulled some stupid shit like this. " with that I turned and left the room, slamming the door behind me.

" Babe, what's going on?" Matt said seeming to have popped up out of nowhere next to me. I simply just shook my head, throwing my hands in the air as I walked into our bedroom.



~~~ Bella's pov ~~~

i stared in shock as I registered what had just happened. It was like the echo of the slap just kept replaying over and over in my head. I quickly placed my hand over my stinging cheek, but that pain came nowhere close to the emotional distress I was now feeling. Defeated and lost I dropped my hand to my side and walked to the door. I kept my gaze on the door, doing my best to block out everyone else in the room. Without another word I walked out and made my way down the steps.

" Bella wait!" I heard zacky yell as he followed not too far behind me.

" where are you going?" He said as he fought to catch his breath. I turned to look at him now noticing he had grabbed my hand.

" I'm going back to New York" I said, turning back to continue out the front door. I yelped as I felt zacky scoop me up and throw me over his shoulder.

" your not going anywhere, you will stay with me till this all blows over" he said sitting me in the passenger seat of his car. I didn't bother to argue, I was already mentally exhausted from this whole evening already. As we drove I just gazed out the window, watching the scenery blur by my window.

" I believe what you said" I turned my head slowly, seeing zacky looking over at me.

" thanks" I mumbled giving him a weak smile before turning my head back to the window. The rest of the ride was silent, once to zackys house he showed me around and gave me a pair of basket ball shorts and one of his shirts to change in to.

" You want to watch a movie or something?" He asked me, I felt bad turning him down, but I just wanted to go to sleep.

" I think I just need to lay down" I said, he shook his head in understating and showed me to my room for the night.

" help yourself to anything, and if you need me I'm right down the hall" he said as he shut the door. I snuggled up in the blankets and tried my best to try and not dwell on the earlier events. Just as I felt myself start to doze off I heard Brian's voice coming from down stairs. I jumped out of bed and opened the door just a crack, curious to hear what was being said.

~~~ zackys pov ~~~

' as soon as I got Bella settled in I came back down stairs grabbed a beer and flopped down on the couch. I flipped sluggishly through the channels, finding myself starting to doze off after a few minutes. I jumped in my seat as someone banged on my front door. I placed my beer on the coffee table and sleepily shuffled to answer the door.

" Where is she?!" Brian spit as I opened the door.

" well hi to you too" I huffed as he walked past me and stood in the foyer. He eyed me waiting impatiently for me to answer him.

" I know she's here zacky, I need to talk to her" he said beginning to get more agitated by every passing second. I just looked at him like he had lost his fucking mind.

" Ummm she's sleeping and no your not going to talk to her right now. You've already done enough tonight. What you need to do is go talk to your wife" I said now becoming annoyed myself. He quirked his eyebrow at what I had said.

" I'm a big boy, I don't need you to tell me what to do" he shot back at me.

" look Brian I'm not getting in the middle of this, but please just leave her alone right now. She's upset as it is and so is Michelle" I said trying to calm him and get him to leave. He rolled his eyes in response and showed himself to the door. But I know Brian, and he wasn't going to leave this alone for too long.