Bella's POV

Beep. Beep. Beep

The beeping of my heart monitor woke me up. I looked at the clock on the wall and it read 10:00 AM. I don't know what time I went to sleep yesterday, but I must've been tired enough to sleep until 10 in the morning. I usually woke up at 7, since that's when Jonathan fed me breakfast. I didn't really want to eat from him, but sometimes he cuffed me to a chair and force fed me. When I'd cry, he'd wipe away my tears and say, "Don't cry Aurora. You used to love it when I fed you." It would only make me cry more. Eventually most of the time he'd get fed up over my crying and unchain me, then let me got back to sleep for a while. Sleeping was my favourite thing to do while I was with Jonathan. When I'd sleep, I could pretend everything was okay again and I was with my family. Dreaming was the only thing that kept me sane. When I was dreaming, there was no Jonathan. Life without Jonathan meant a life of freedom. Freedom from the hell I've lived in for a decade. That was the only time I was at peace while living with him. But, then I'd open my eyes and I'd be living my nightmare all over again.

I looked next to me and saw my mom and dad. They had fallen asleep in their chairs next to me. I think this is my last day in the hospital, at least I hope. I'm sick and tired of everyone hovering over me almost constantly. I just want to go home and see my home again. my real home as in The home with my mom and step-dad. As if on cue, the doctor walked in with my step-dad in tow, and woke my sleeping parents.

"Ms. Rossi, you've been cleared to leave. But, first we must administer prenatal vitamins to keep the baby healthy and to allow it to continue to grow. That's if you want to keep it." He said.

"I'm keeping it. Our family doesn't believe in abortions, and I'm one of the most mature 15 year olds you'll ever meet. I've been through more in a decade then a lot of people have been through in their entire life." I replied.

"I don't doubt that and congratulations on the baby. Also, you'll need these." he handed me a bottle full of pills.

"What are these for?" I asked.

"It seems you have slight depression from your ordeal. Plus, with the PTSD, you'll need to take these pills for a while." He replied. Great. Thanks to Jonathan I have to take these pills, I thought. I sighed. At least I got to go home now. My parents signed my release papers as I changed into a pair of clothes my mother had gotten my step-dad to bring. After changing, I met my parents in the lobby of the hospital. The doctor had given them the prescriptions and told me to take the pills with water and after eating something. After that, my mom, step-dad and I piled into my mom's car, but not before I kissed my father goodbye. I'm going to miss him because I won't see him until Friday and it's only Tuesday. Sometimes the week feels as though it drags on. But, with Jonathan of course it would seem that way, because I was counting down the minutes until he succeeded in killing me or someone came and rescued me. Luckily it was the second one. I couldn't even imagine not living long enough to see my 16th birthday. It's like one of those things you believe will never happen to you and are surprised when it does. At least in time my life will hopefully go back to normal. When I was younger and my mom would watch the news, I'd see stories about kids who had been missing for a long time and been found doing great things like completing school, etc. But, not having gone to school since I was kidnapped, who knows how long it'll take me to graduate. Would I have to start again from kindergarten? Probably not since I'm 15. I'm sure they wouldn't want a 15 year old in a kindergarten class. Anyways, when mom and I finally reached the house, there was media scattered at the end of the driveway, as if they were awaiting our arrival, which they probably were. My mom started slowing down because the press started swarming her car and she didn't want to hit any of them.
"Don't worry sweetie, none of these people will hurt you, okay?" My step-dad, who I forgot was there, said. I took a deep breath before exiting the car. Immediately I was swarmed by the people with cameras. They were rapidly asking questions, and the flashes from the cameras were so bright, they were hurting my eyes. I was grabbed by someone and I jumped until I recognized it to be my mother's touch. Don't ask me how I know my mother's touch, but I think everyone should be able to distinguish their mother or parent's touch from someone else's.

When I realized it was my mom, I immediately calmed down and let her lead me towards the house. The press tried to follow us, but were quickly stopped in their tracks by my step-dad who ordered them off the property. The press left the lawn, but stayed by the end of the driveway, I guess hoping to catch more pictures of me. Now I understand how celebrities and missing-newly found kids/ teens/adults feel when they're swarmed by paparazzi or press, who are trying to capture the best picture for their newspaper or magazine, or even show. Sometimes these types of people take it too far when trying to take a picture of someone. Any who, my mom let me into the house, up the stairs and down the hallway. We stopped at a door I soon recognized to be my old bedroom door.

My mom looked at me and said, "Go on... Open it" I listened to her, grabbed the doorknob, and entered my childhood room. It was exactly the same as how it was when I was 5 and before I was kidnapped.

"Your step-dad and I didn't have the heart to change it. We wanted to remember you as you were. That doesn't mean we didn't think you were coming back. We just hoped you'd come home a lot sooner than you did." My mom said and gave me a tight hug.

"It's okay mom. I know. I love you guys and I can' wait for everything to go back to normal for all of us." I told her.

She smiled at me and said, "We can't wait either." We both walked around together looking at all my old things. Then my mom pulled me over to a little vanity table, which was the only thing different about my entire room. She sat me down and put her hand on my shoulders.

"I got you this, because I'd remember all of the times I'd do your hair at your older vanity. But, as the years went on, I knew that vanity would become too small for when I knew you'd return. I never lost faith in that," She said with a small smile on her face. She picked up a brush and started brushing my hair. I looked in the mirror and into my mother's eyes to see her looking back into mine. I've missed this, my mom brushing my hair. I felt my mom stop, so I turned around to see her holding her stomach.

"Oh my gosh mom, are you okay?" I asked.

"I'm fine. Your siblings are just kicking and moving a lot right now. I think they just woke up." She said and took my hand, placing it on her stomach. I started giggling with my mom. I can't wait for my little siblings to come out. She's four months right now, so only five months to go, maybe a little sooner. 5 months until I'll no longer be an only child. Back to my mom and I, my mom resumed brushing my hair, and then she pulled out a beautiful red ribbon.

"It was mine as a young child. Your grandmother gave it to me and now I'd like you to have it. Can I put it in your hair?" She asked. I nodded. After she put it in my hair, I said, "I'll cherish it forever." She smiled her big, beautiful smile that she always had and made me feel so loved. The red ribbon looked so beautiful in my very dark brown basically black hair. I motioned for her to bend over, but not enough to hurt her stomach, and I gave her a kiss on the cheek. Then I began crying. I don't know what took over me, but I just had this overwhelming feeling of sadness all of a sudden. I don't think it's my stupid hormones, because I don't think those should be kicking in yet. I'll have to look that up online later. Any who, I finally stopped crying. My mom started laughing, and I looked at her confused. She stopped laughing and said, "I'm just remembering all the hormones I had when I was pregnant with you." "I caused you a lot of hormones?" I asked.

"Not too much. But seeing you like this reminds me of the times I did have all the crazy hormones with you." She laughed and smiled. "Otherwise you were a pretty good baby. When you were born, you barely cried. Only sometimes when you were hungry. A lot of the time you didn't even cry when you fell down, only once or twice. You were a tough little girl. That's part of the reason which made it that much harder losing you. I'd watch the news and all over the country, there's be kids going missing and turning up dead. Every night I'd pray that you were taken by someone who wouldn't kill you, and now 10 years later, my prayers have finally been answered. Okay, I'll stop talking now. But, would you like to come downstairs and help me cook dinner. You used to love to try and help me when you were younger. I'd understand if it's too soon and you don't..."

I cut her off, "It's okay. I'd love to come and cook with you." We both walked downstairs and into the kitchen.

"What are we making?"

"Your old favourite, spaghetti." She replied.

"It's still my favourite. Do you still serve it with buttered or garlic bread?"

"Yup"

"And green pepper in the spaghetti?"

"Yup everything's the same."

"Good." We started by taking some ground beef, that I hadn't noticed defrosting in a bowl of warm water on the counter, and taking it out of the plastic wrap it was sitting in. My mom then took it and threw it into the pan, after separating it into manageable pieces, and then threw it into the frying pan. While she did that, I started chopping up the green peppers, onions, and garlic. Once the ground beef had heated up to just the right temperature, my mom threw in the tomato sauce and then I threw in the chopped up peppers, onions, and garlic. My mom threw in my favourite herbs, basil and oregano. Leaving the sauce to cook, my mom poured some penne pasta into a pot of boiling water. We sat down at the kitchen table, waiting for the food to cook, talking with my mom about random things, with my mom continuously checking on the food, if it cooked thoroughly. Ten minutes later, after my mom checked on the food one more time, she told me it was ready. I walked over to her and began helping her by setting up the table with three plates. My mom called my step-dad from outside and then covered my eyes. I was confused until I heard the door open, and something rubbing against my leg. My mom uncovered my eyes and I looked down to see a Siberian husky rubbing against my leg. I bent down to pet it and it went nuts, licking all over my face.

"Nice to see she still remembers you" My mom said.

"This is my dog?"

"Yep. You've had her since you were two years old. You even named her ... Rose. After your favourite flower back then. I bet it has probably changed by now?"

"Kind of. I still like roses, but I love hibiscus flowers. When I'm older, I want to get a tattoo of one, probably on my back. Please?!"

"Of course sweetie. If you want, I'll even come with you on your 18th birthday." Mom said.

"Thank you. Hibiscus flowers remind me of my Hawaiian/Samoan culture which I love and I want a tattoo to represent that." I said and ran to my mom and hugged her tightly, careful not to hurt her. She hugged me back tightly. We let go and decided to eat. After I finished eating, I became very tired. I went to wash my dish, but my step-dad said he'd do it later. I walked upstairs and into my room, before curling up on the large sofa that was close to being a bed, and fell asleep with my dog Rose, snuggled close to me as we were both out like a light.