Bella Burrows's Arc

Chapter 4 of 9

The half-elf reached the picnic table while another burp was still climbing out of her. He did not sit on the bench. He held out a hand and waited for her to take it. Bella set down her bottle and let him pull her up. Her belly swung forward and she caught it with her free arm. He smiled and led her off the road toward the field behind the fence post. A pavilion stood at the edge of the pasture. Bella had walked past it a hundred times and never stepped inside. Curved metal beams arched over panels that glowed soft green and pink in the morning light. The half-elf had dragged a metal chair under the dome. Green vines twisted around the armrests. He sat down and patted his thighs. Bella lowered herself sideways onto his lap. The chair held them both without a sound. Her belly settled across his legs like a sack of grain. He pulled a small bottle from his coat pocket. Warm amber oil sloshed inside the glass. He unscrewed the cap and poured a slow stream into his palm. The smell came up sweet and clean. He rubbed his hands together and lifted her shirt to the bottom of her ribs. Bella sucked in a breath. Her stomach was tight as a drum and she felt every bubble move when he laid his hands on her skin. He rubbed slow circles from her ribs down to her hips. His fingers pressed in and out along the curve. A burp climbed her throat and she went still and closed her eyes the way she always did. It came out long and loud and shook the panels above them. He did not flinch. He said good girl in a low voice and kept rubbing. Another burp followed right behind it. He moved his thumb to the top of her belly and pushed gentle until a third one broke free. He laughed once, soft, and told her to let them all out. Bella opened her eyes. Two summers back a man had sat through six burps with both hands on her belly and then never come back. This one was on the seventh burp already and his hands were still working oil into her skin. He was counting under his breath. She heard him say eight when the next one rolled up. He said nine a minute later. He kept count for her so she did not have to. She leaned her head against his shoulder. Her belly kept giving and he kept rubbing and counting. She did not ask him to come back tomorrow. She did not have to. He had brought the oil in his pocket. He had planned to stay.