Perfect

“No Edward what the hell are you doing?? She’s not even dead!” I shrieked at the 64-inch black plasma TV hanging up on my wall. New Moon from the Twilight Saga was currently playing on the screen.

I shoved another handful of popcorn into my mouth and internally moaned at the delicious taste of butter and salt. I had candy wrappers and food lying all over my king-sized bed and was wrapped up in a cocoon of blankets, savouring the last bit of the summer holidays before I had to go back to school. I’d only got home this morning from England and I was exhausted, but a movie marathon was in order and that’s exactly what I had decided to do.

The ringtone from my iPhone 7 plus that was sitting on the bedside table echoed loudly throughout the room and I groaned at the interruption. I put the popcorn down beside me, grabbing the remote and pausing the movie. I rolled over to find out that it was my best friend calling. The picture of her in a green mask pulling a funny face was on my screen and I giggled at the memory.

Swiping across to answer the call all I heard was screaming from the other end, I had to pull the phone away from my ear just so I wouldn’t go deaf. I could still hear rambling on the other end of the line when I put the phone cautiously back to my ear, just in case she erupted into squeals again.

“Claire chill.” I giggled through the receiver in a playful tone.

“I just can’t believe your home Bella, it’s been so long and I missed you so much while you were away!”

“I missed you as well, but there’s no need to scream. I thought you were being murdered for Christ’s sake!” I could hear her laughing from the other end so I just rolled my eyes and laughed with her. “Are you excited to go back to school next week Bella, it’s our last year?” She asked in an inquisitive and cautious tone.

She knew I hated school, which is why she always tread carefully when asking me these questions, and there were so many reasons why. One of them being a promiscuous girl by the name of Katherine Hayes. As soon as I’d stepped into the school and introduced myself she’d despised me and I’m still to this day trying to figure out why.

She had the guys swooning at her feet and tons of friends. I just couldn’t understand her hatred for me and it’d been like that ever since Freshman Year when High School first started. Not to mention she’d convinced the whole school to hate me and also banned me from any and every social event or she’d destroy whatever shred of dignity I had left. Not that she wasn’t succeeding at doing that already.

I sighed and bit my lip looking down at my hands, something I tend to do when I’m really frustrated at something, “No not really. I can’t tell whether this last year is going to be absolute hell. or if it’s going to tone down a little bit.”

“We’ll make sure it’s not Bella and I’m sure you’ll be happy to see Ash.” She squealed when she said this and I could practically imagine her pretending to wink at me from the other side of the receiver, even though I wouldn’t be able to see it.

To explain, Ash Rivers had been my crush ever since I’d laid eyes on him. He was the school’s golden boy and hung with the popular crew. He wasn’t quarterback but he was running back and still on the football team. He was also smart, generous, kind and athletic but apparently, had a bad taste in girls.

I remember it like it was yesterday, I’d walked into school the day of Sophomore Year to find him making out with Katherine. I was hurt, really hurt. What was annoying, was that Katherine knew that I’d liked him and had deliberately gone for him only to hurt me, and she had. She’d even spotted me standing there with my mouth hanging open and tears welling up in my eyes. By then she’d started kissing him more deeply and roaming her hands around his body. Worst thing was, he was enjoying it. I remember turning tail and running out of there straight towards the car.

I’d sat the whole day in my room, not worried that I was skipping school. I’d just cried and tried to shrug off the pain as if I didn't care. Although to this day I am still sitting here pigging out, having soppy movie marathons. This time was because I’d seen a picture of them kissing on his Facebook timeline, even though I had tried to pretend I didn’t care. It was just a silly high school crush and I’d get over it sooner or later. Right?

“Bella!”

“Bella!”

“Bella!” She screamed as the phone flew out of my hands and onto the floor. Remembering that I was still on the phone to Claire, I bent down to pick up the smooth white and rose gold phone to put it back up to my ear. “Sorry Claire, lost in my own thoughts again. But I have a feeling he’s not going to care, he never notices me anyway and even if he did his girlfriend would pulverize me.” I said, shuddering at the thought.

“Oh, come on Bella, this year’s going to be great I can already tell! It’s our Senior Year!” She whined with hint of excitement in her voice.

“Well I guess this is our last year, so we better make the most of it.”

“That’s the spirit Bella, that’s the spirit.” she said making me sound like I’d just agreed to the hardest mission ever. “We’ve got lots to catch up on by the way.”

“Well I’ll see you for our last first day of school on Monday then!”

“Okay, love you!”

“Love you too!”

The call ended leaving me with the dial tone, so I put my phone back down and lent back on my bed head surrounded by thousands of gigantic pillows and deeply sighed.

“Martha!” I yelled at the top of my lungs when I realised that ice cream tub was empty. I was desperate for ice cream so all I had to do was call. A cute maid with grey curls came rushing in with a worried look on her face.

“Are you okay Princess Isabella?” She asked with her heavy English accent, looking around the room frantically trying to find the source of my problem. I picked up the empty container of cookies and cream ice cream and pointed at the inside of it. “Could you possibly grab me another container of this tomorrow please Martha, it’s quite delicious.” She shook her head and sighed deeply, creases forming on her forehead before nodding her head and turning to walk out of my room.

“Also, remember, first name basis around here. Especially with you, you’re my oldest nurse and I love you to pieces. You’re basically family to me, so either Bella or Isabella!” I smiled warmly at her before she walked out the door. She returned it by giving me a low bow before walking out of my room to go put the food on the shopping list that I was so deliciously craving.

She was my oldest maid and had cradled me ever since I was young. Since my parents weren’t around often it was her who I spent the most of my time with. I still loved my parents with every piece of my heart, but I was so used to her being around that’d she’d just become a part of my family naturally.

I thought I’d occupy my time by having a shower before going back to the movie. Stripping out of the pj’s I’d been in all day, I walked towards my massive en-suite and into the shower. The floors were marble and there was a large vanity that stretched t a few meters long. There were two sinks and a long large mirror above it. The shower was just as big, it could fit at least 4 people in it with the pressure options on the side of the wall.

Jumping in eagerly after pressing the button on the wall to turn it on, I let the warm water fall down my face and over my body. I felt gross after lying in bed all day eating food. I continued to wash my hair with the strawberry scented shampoo and conditioner sitting on the shelves in my shower. I loved the scent of strawberry but my body was a lavender scent, not overly strong but just enough to make me smell clean.

Finishing up by washing my face with some proactive, I was then out of the shower. I dried myself with one of the large blue towels hanging from the rack and then wrapped myself in the cream silk dressing gown I’d grabbed from my wardrobe. It had my initials on it just above where my heart sat and was a gift from my father for my 12th birthday. It also had ‘Coolest Princess Ever’ written on the back but my father denied he ever put it there.

Smiling sadly I thought about my parents, I missed them although I knew they had to stay for royal business back home. I missed the sounds of my ‘little’ brother running around noisily even though he was eleven, and playing his video games late into the night and I missed seeing my mother every morning when I woke up. My father’s dad jokes always put me into fits of laughter and I missed Bailey. I loved that dog with my entire being.

Lost in thoughts about my family, I walked towards the vanity and picked up my toothbrush. Squeezing a bit of toothpaste onto the bristles, I brushed my teeth for a couple of minutes before finally rinsing the brush and putting it back into one of the draws. I grabbed my hairbrush and started to run it through my hair. I missed the long hair that I had in England, it had reached my waist but to blend in I had to cut my hair again to shoulder height, so I could pin it up underneath a wig that was a completely different colour to my original dirty blonde hair.

It was tough trying to pretend to be someone I wasn’t. I’d had to get lessons on how to be American, but it didn’t take long for me to find Claire and she helped me with the process of that.

I yawned and figured it was about time to hit my pillow even though I had a movie there that I hadn’t yet finished watching. Putting the brush back into one of the draws, I dragged my feet over towards my bed and hadn’t even finished crawling under the covers before my eyelids starting drooping and was off into a deep slumber.

I had dreams that night, dreams I didn’t want to have. The same dream I’d been having repeatedly ever since the start of the year. The one where I was pushed into a wall, trying to scream for help but the drunken man shoved his dirty hand over my mouth. Kissing my neck and looking hungrily down at my chest. I remember squirming to get out of his grasp but he had me easily pinned against the rough surface. He’d started running his hands up my legs and around the back grabbing my butt. I’d started screaming by then, knowing the kind of thought’s running through his mind. In an instant I’d whipped a leg free and kneed him where the sun didn’t shine. He whimpered in pain letting me go, clutching his jewels. I remember his face turn stone cold and I started to sprint, tears cascading down my face. I didn’t hear footsteps but he spat out a few words I’ll never forget,

“I’ll hunt you down princess and torture you for what your daddy did.”

I had no idea what he’d been speaking about but I’d had no interest. One of the maids had found me sobbing and crying in the corner of the palace. She’d had such a distressed look in her eyes, but I hadn’t felt liked talking to anyone. Martha went and got my parents and I forced myself to spit it out anyway and they’d been trying to catch him ever since.

For the second night in a row, I woke up screaming. I couldn’t breathe and had tears streaming down my face. It’d been like this for so long now and I was kind of getting used to it. One of the guards inside rushed in to see if I was okay, he looked at me cautiously and I gave him a nod. “Return to your post.” Was all I could manage to squeak out in my weakened state.

He looked at me for a little while longer before returning the nod, with a small bow and resumed taking station outside my door again.

I remember hearing reports of a man that went by the name of Victor Rodgers attacking girls that had looked like me all around England. He’d never been caught and no one knew where he was or what his next moves were.

I cried myself back to sleep after a while and this time I fell into a deep sleep and there were no dreams at all, just black.