Bella Burrows's Arc

Chapter 7 of 9

Bella walked home from the theater with the count still ringing in her head. Sara had pulled twelve burps before Bella managed three. Her own diet wasn't enough. Cheeseburgers and brine pods had carried her this far, but Sara drank something stronger and burped like the ground was moving. Bella needed help. She knew one woman who might give it. Scarlett Gorman worked out of a building no one else on the road would go near. It stood at the edge of the marsh, walls made of clear panels with glowing tubes running across them like vines. Pink and green liquid moved through the tubes in slow pulses. Bella had heard Scarlett brewed her own drinks in there, the kind that kept a belly full past supper. Out front sat a smooth stone seat with a worn hollow in the middle, lit from inside with a soft blue glow. Scarlett sat in it, hands folded on her bare belly, waiting like she had known Bella would come. "You lost," Scarlett said. "I know." "To Sara." "I know." Scarlett didn't move. "Sit down." Bella sat on the grass. Scarlett looked her over once, then pushed up from the stone and walked into the lab. Bella heard glass clinking. When Scarlett came back, she held a small bottle. The liquid inside was purple and full of bright bubbles that drifted up against the cork on their own. Scarlett held it out. "One swallow before you drink anything else," Scarlett said. "Two if you want her to cry." Bella took the bottle. The glass was warm. "Sara drinks the same thing," Scarlett added. "I sold her the first batch. I made yours stronger." Bella looked up. "Why help me?" "She rubbed my belly once on a signed contract. I rubbed hers after she won. I'm done rubbing." Scarlett sat back down on the stone seat and closed her eyes. "Don't waste it on a crowd. Wait until he's watching you alone." Bella tucked the bottle inside her shirt and stood. Her belly was already starting to round out for the day. She felt the bottle warm against it. She walked home knowing the next burp she let out for the half-elf would not be one Sara could match.