赤裸裸的滑稽故事

“Axel said the Priestess will make sure Roman can\'t come back,” Bell said quietly. She kept her eyes focused on the small teddy bear in her hands.

After Galen and Caleb had returned to the room, they sat together for an hour. Four friends chatting and laughing.

It was wonderful.

Just a few short minutes ago, the boys had left to pick up the lunch they had all finally agreed on.

As soon as Galen had left the room, Ashleigh had felt the shift in Bell just as before.

Rather than try to break the ice, she remained quiet, allowing Bell to decide where their conversation would go this time.

She chose to talk about what had happened; Ashleigh tried her best to remain neutral in her response.

“Yes,” she nodded. “She said that she would seal the territory to him.”

“Do you think she can?” Bell asked.

Ashleigh nodded.

“I believe that the Priestesses hold power we can\'t begin to imagine,” Ashleigh said. “What I saw her do, was insane.”

Bell lifted her eyes; they were nervous and unsure.

“Lian would never lie about something like this, Bell,” Ashleigh added. “If she says they can do it, they can do it.”_.

Bell nodded and turned her eyes back to the bed.

“I froze,” she whispered.

Ashleigh swallowed, feeling her heart quicken as Bell seemed to want to open up.

“I felt him….” Bell said softly.

She paused, clenching her jaw and turning toward the window.

“It was worse than I remembered,” she said. “His voice, his smell…. It was…. Terrifying. I felt like I was back there again…. In Autumn, with nowhere to run or hide.”

Ashleigh closed her eyes, trying to hold back her own feelings.

“I knew I should scream,” Bell whispered, her voice cracking.

She brought her knees up to her chest, hugging them tightly as tears rolled down her cheeks.

“But I couldn\'t,” she continued. “Seeing him, hearing him, feeling him…. I couldn\'t.”

Ashleigh hesitated to reach out to Bell. In all the years they had known each other, Bell was never one that wanted comfort, especially physical comfort.

In fact, the only times that Ashleigh could remember seeing Bell willing to accept a comforting touch or hug was from Galen or Axel.

Even Corrine and Wyatt she would pull away from.

But her husband and her brother were the shoulders she could lean on.

Ashleigh felt a pang of jealousy, wishing she could offer Bell anything that would ease her mind.

“It felt like…. Like he had stolen my voice from me all over again….” Bell cried softly.

Ashleigh squeezed her hands into fists, biting the inside of her lip, trying to keep from screaming out the anger in her heart.

What could she do to help Bell feel better? What could she even say?

“Like anyone could ever steal your voice,” a warm voice called from the door.

Ashleigh and Bell both looked up to see Axel giving a gentle smile.

“Do you know how hard it is to get you to shut up?” he asked playfully as he entered the room.

Axel walked straight to Bell, putting his hand on her cheek, a soothing touch. He smiled at her with a gentle nod.

Bell didn\'t pull away. She smiled.

“I wouldn\'t have to talk so much if you would just listen to me,” Bell replied.

“That\'s true,” Axel nodded.

They laughed, and Ashleigh felt relieved. It was an honest laugh. Bell genuinely felt at ease with his presence in the room.

Ashleigh turned to look at her brother. His focus was still on Bell, still trying to keep her smiling. They made jokes about his listening skills and questioned whether his scar had made it into his ears.

Axel made Bell laugh and held her hand as they chatted about subjects that were easier to talk about.

Ashleigh joined in, and they laughed together. They made jokes at Axel\'s expense. And when the boys returned, they made jokes at Galen\'s expense.

Axel excused himself not long after they got back with lunch, promising to stop by the house the next day when Bell was free to go home.

Ashleigh watched as he left the room. She swallowed down the heavy feeling she had. They had laughed together with Bell, but they had hardly looked at or spoken directly to each other.

“Ash,” Bell whispered.

“Hmm?” Ashleigh replied.

“Go talk to him,” she smiled.

Ashleigh shook her head.

“Maybe another time,” she sighed. “I\'m not sure what we would say right now anyway. Probably just fight again.”

Bell took a deep breath and leaned closer to Ashleigh.

“Did you know that I hate talking about my problems?” Bell asked with a smile.

“What?!” Ashleigh replied with feigned shock.

Bell gave a soft laugh.

“Axel,” she continued, “has always been one of the few people I have felt comfortable talking to about things that I can\'t normally say out loud.”

“I know,” Ashleigh smiled, “it\'s the main reason everyone always assumed you would end up together.”

Bell laughed, remembering the angry nurses who had lost their bet when she married Galen.

“Before Galen, he was probably the only person I really let my walls down around.”

Ashleigh nodded, and though she tried, she couldn\'t hide the disappointed look on her face. Finally, Bell smiled and touched her hand.

“It wasn\'t personal,” she said. “I never knew why. Of course, you and Renee were my best friends, but for some reason, Axel was the only one that I really felt secure with.”

Bell paused and looked over at Galen, he was talking with Caleb, but she knew he heard every word she was saying. He wouldn\'t say anything. He wouldn\'t ask about the things she and Ashleigh talked about. He listened to know she was ok, not to pry.

“Just like that one over there,” she smiled.

Ashleigh looked at Galen. She saw the slight red in his ears and covered her mouth to keep her laugh quiet.

Bell smiled and looked back at Ashleigh.

“Thinking about it now… After everything that has changed in the past year. I think one of the reasons that I always felt that way with Axel was because he always seemed even more lonely and broken than I was.”

Ashleigh looked up at Bell.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

Why hadn\'t she ever seen that in her big brother?

He always seemed fine. He knew his place in the pack, the plan for his life. He struggled sometimes and may have had trouble concentrating… but broken? Lonely?

“He\'s gentle, and he\'s genuine. He was the first source of comfort and security I ever knew in Winter,” she continued. “But, the intensity and devotion with which he protected and comforted me. It felt like he was making up for something. Or like I was a sort of placeholder for someone else he wanted to protect but couldn\'t.”

Ashleigh furrowed her brows.

“I thought for a long time that it was you,” Bell said. “That you being so strong on your own made him feel an emptiness that he filled with comforting me or eating chocolate.”

Bell laughed, and Ashleigh smiled, though she felt a heavy weight in her stomach.

“But no matter how much he was there for me all these years, there was still something missing in him,” Bell said, looking at Ashleigh.

Ashleigh swallowed.

“That all changed around the time of my wedding. After he found what he had lost.”