Today was an unusual day for the blonde. It happened to be one of those moments where she woke up with a gut feeling, knowing something was well off and something was bound to happen, but putting her nose on what it would be was unpredicted. Mentally preparing for anything was a challenge in itself. She’d just have to allow the tides of the moment to proceed her way. Anything proceeding in her direction must be handled with care. Whilst, there was a long day ahead of her due to meeting with new clients, the gut-wrenching feeling had to be subdued in an attempt to give everyone her undivided attention. Yet, that was a difficulty. Her conscious danced elsewhere. Was her grandmother hurt? Did something happen to one of her friends? Was her paranoia getting the worst of her? Was her mother going to appear at her office, sitting in the modernized waiting room to have a quality moment with her daughter? What was going to happen? As her mind danced for the majority of the day, a text message light up her phone from Maia, relief instantly settling over her whilst seafoam hues reading if she could drop by and check on her father. Without any hesitation, the blonde agreed and would be there right after her last meeting which would be over at five o’clock.
If her best friend needed her to drop by, without any other questions or reason, it was in her duty to do so. Ever since the females were young, her relationship with The Rourke Family had been substantial considering the lack of normalized family in her own household. Christian, her step-father, had been there in times of desperation when Jolie had needed it the most. When a singular moment had brought the pairing closer together, the bond between step-father and step-daughter continued to flourish even with the distance. There was a phone call exchange once a week. Typically lasting for thirty minutes, often an hour if the week had been eventful. The conversations consisted of Jolie informing Christian over her interests, the friendship she was establishing, what she was learning in school, and how she desired to become a Speech Pathologist by achieving her Bachelors’s in Communication Science and Disorder but completing her education with getting a Masters in Speech Pathology Language, which was what her specialty was currently in. This was the entirety of the conversations. Every once in a while, the blonde questioned about her mother and step-sister but never allowed that topic of the conversation to proceed further than a couple of minutes. The point was - she had Christian, but she also was grateful for the dynamic Jolie had established with the Rourke Family after all of these years.
Once the remaining minutes of her appointment with her client dwindled down, the blonde walked them out of her office politely, reminding them to make an appointment with Nancy, her receptionist, because the progress in their sessions has been phenomenal and this had been the path Jolie wanted to progress on. The blonde made sure to gather her belongings - laptop, cell phone, and purse which contained her laptop, before closing her office door behind and signing off with a friendly goodbye to Nancy, who offered to close up due to her recent plans to stop by the Rourke residency. Due to the dense traffic exiting from Balboa Island, a typical drive to visit the elder Rourke man took an extra ten minutes. Eventually, when she did arrive, the likelihood of her invitation to drop by was slim to informed. Wandering around to the back, where she knew the best option of entering in happened to be through the kitchen, wandering aimlessly and in her own element, only to be startled by a voice in her general direction. Wiping her head like strands of her platinum locks fell from her shoulder to her back, vaulted brows furrowed tucked together, catching a glance of Bella. Due to the similarities of Jolie and the Rourke daughters, people often mistook the set of four as sisters. At this precise moment, it seemed Bella was mistaking Jolie for the figure of Maia. Not like it wasn’t the first time. Surely, it wouldn’t be the last time.
After the startling moment of Bella’s voice, entering the residency with her normal state of comfortability, the blonde hands occupied a bouquet of flowers and a bottle of Prosecco, gently setting them down on the counter. Seafoam hues eventually met with Bella, a gentle tilt of her head. “Well, not the first time I heard someone tell me I looked like your sister,” she concurred through a raising sensation upon her mouth corners. All of them could pass by as sisters. If they ever wanted to challenge and complicate someone’s day. “I had a gut feeling this morning. I thought I was going to hear something horrible. But everything settled once Maia sent me a text and asked to drop by.” Explaining the reasoning for Jolie’s appearance at the home currently. Would Maia show up? Or would this be a no-show? After Maia and Jolie’s last conversation, one she kept in the privacy of her own place, the odds could’ve been slim to none but wasn’t her place to exchange words. A delicate up-pull of her shoulders indicated a non-verbal response to Bella on whether she’d have to be alone with Benjamin. Only to have Bella extend the invitation toward her general direction. Must’ve good ideal planning on her behalf because there happened to be no other plan set in stone. “Fine by me,” she agreed easily. Jolie was never one to decline from an invitation. There was a purpose she was here. It wasn’t just to drop in and dip out later. If she was asked to come over, then she would make use of time in Rourke’s childhood home. “Believe it or not… your sister found me on a good day with no evening plans. My receptionist was nice enough to close up so I could come over.” The blonde explained, now maneuvering around the kitchen to take care of the bundle of Red Roses, finding a vase to occupy their residence till they withered. A little touch of color never killed. “Tea, yes,” she retaliated, arranging the dozen of roses. “When did you get back to Newport?”
Round eyes flicker to the bottle of wine and flowers that Jolie decided to bring over. She blinks in thought, then her eyes narrowed. She never thinks about bringing things over. Always a waste of money, things never lasted. It was such a simple gesture and yet Benjamin loved it. “Simple things for simple people, I suppose,” Bella mutters under her breath, out of the blue. “Hear something horrible? Like, hearing the Rourke family house burn down?” Bella asks half-assed, gesturing to the very crisp meatloaf. “I don’t think that would be horrible news, but I’m just one person.” She knows her incredibly dry tone is probably coming off as sarcasm to Jolie. But God would she love to see this place burn. She was sick of it. Out of date, mold in the foundation. For Bella, it gave off a weird sense of fake peacefulness that rang in her ears. Smiling portraits, silly creations the Rourke children made when they were in their younger years. “Sentiment,” Bella says to herself, leaving her place and grabbing the bottle of wine by the neck, then moves to a drawer to take out a corkscrew. “It’s always been his….” The cork comes out with a loud POP! Bella didn’t flinch. With the cork still attached the screw, Bella waves it around dramatically in thought before completely talking with herself, not really caring if Jolie chimed in or not, “What’s the word I’m looking for?” Ruination. Downfall. Chemical defect. “His thing.” Bella bits her tongue for her family. And only her family. “So, wait, -- - My sister invited you over and... Didn’t show up herself? Shit. And people call me the rude one.” Bella looks to Jolie with amusment in her eyes, lips twitching from laughter. “Ahh -- - I arrived week ago.” Bella answers Jolie while pouring the blonde her tea into a clean mug and passes it over.
‘ You know your voice travels, dear. ’
“Good.” Bella quips quickly. ‘ This house has thin walls. ’ Says Benjamin, scooting his way into the kitchen, shooing his youngest child out of his way just as Bella finished pouring the wine into three glasses. “Easier to burn down.” Bella’s round eyes look over to Benjamin, waiting to see the reaction. All she got was the role of her older man’s eyes. A doormat. Really. My father is a doormat. That’s it? I threaten to set fire to this house and all I get is an eye roll? Bella shakes her head and turns away to resist the urge of ‘accidentally’ tipping over the flowers Jolie has placed in a vase. Of course, Bella takes her wine glass and tea mug with her back to the dining table, leaving Jolie and Benjamin in the kitchen.
Setting herself back into a creaky chair, the journalist starts her research again. Clicking through page and pages of articles and blogs for anything she finds interesting. public-radio icon accused of harassing female colleagues, police contracts that shield officers from scrutiny and disciple, refugee children in Sweden who are suffering from a mysterious disease, a crazy number of murders in Nebraska in which law enforcement place a string of people they considered socially deviant, despite the lack of evidence against them. Her heartbeat thumped against her chest as she sends email after email. Bella was on a roll tonight and nothing was going to stop -
‘ Bella Sophia Eden Rourke, would you get off that damned computer off the kitchen counter. ’
Slender fingers freeze over the keyboard midsentence, hers flicker over to her father who has taken a seat on the opposite side of her, looking at his youngest daughter with a pointed look. Bella’s jaw clenches and unclenches. Her hunched form straight up and looks at Bella was an even gaze, even though she feels completely ticked that she was interrupted. Her eyes now move her own fork, to her father’s hand, back to her face. Then, very slowly, Bella closes the laptop. “Anything for you, pap.” Bella gives a smile that doesn’t reach her eyes. Not even close. Now that the computer was out of the way, Bella could see that Benjamin had food on his plate. Bella gets out of her chair to make her way back into the kitchen. She wasn’t even hungry. She could go for a smoke, though.
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