Chapter 31

Bella

"What's so important that you wanna see us?" Gerald asked my mum

My mum, Gerald and I were in the living room. She said she has something important to say

"Damien is having a formal party to celebrate his graduation from college" she announced

"Okay?"

"You need dates"

"Can I bring Drew?" I asked

"No"

"Then I'm not going"

"Can't you bring anyone else?"

"Nope "

"Fine but keep him out of my sight. Its this Friday. I'll order your clothes tomorrow so you can choose"

I smiled. I love it when I get my way

I can't keep you from harm

But I'm set in fire to keep you warm

I can't go on and on setting fires to keep you warm

I ran to my room to pick my phone call. It was Stephanie.

That's weird, she never calls anyone except she wants something. She prefers texting

"Bella! You have to see this"

I chuckled

"Hello to you too"

"I'm serious. I just saw Drew and Leslie at the mall holding hands" her breath was heavy like she was running

"What? I don't believe you"

"I'll send you proof. Give me five seconds"

She hung up. In a few seconds, she sent me a photo of them

I felt my heart sink. This can't be a mere coincidence, can it? Even if it is, why were they holding hands?

This must be the reason Drew said he couldn't hang out after school, he was busy with Leslie

I don't want to believe this

***

"Whoa!" Sharon said

She's the only person I can talk to that won't judge me plus her son is involved and she's mature enough to handle it. We were talking in the living room while Abby watched TV.

I put my face in my hands

"I don't know what to do"

I was close to tears. How could they do this to me?

I remembered what Steve told me about my parents yesterday.

I can already see the signs

Sharon rubbed my back trying to soothe me

"Don't cry darling. I'm sure this is all a misunderstanding"

"They're fucking holding hands"

"I don't even know what to say. All I know is he likes you too much to cheat on you"..

"Explain the photo then"

"I'll talk to him when he gets back"

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. There's nothing I can do know. Since Sharon said she's going to talk to him, I might as well wait.

"I think I should go now" I said

"Are you sure you'll be fine on your own? You could stay with me for a while"

"Yeah. I'll go to the park to clear my head''

"Alright darling"

"Thank you very much"

"You're welcome"

I went out of the house and walked to the park which wasn't too far.

I sat on one of the benches and watched children play. How I envied them right now

I wish I could be a child again, so carefree. No boyfriend drama. No friendship betrayals. Just fun and games. Although, that wasn't the case for me. I never enjoyed my childhood. I grew up way too fast

"Hi" a voice said

I looked up to see a boy. He was tall with dirty blonde hair

"Hi" I replied

"Is this seat taken?"

"Nope"

He sat beside me

"My name's Josh. I'm new in this neighborhood" he introduced

"I don't care"

My boyfriend is allegedly cheating on me with my friend who I just forgave who also happens to have stolen my ex boyfriend and some guy is coming to introduce himself to me. Best believe that I'm not in the mood at all.

He laughed. Is this boy normal?

"At least tell me your name" he said

What's the harm?

"Bella"

"Bella. It suits you"

"How so?"

I looked at him, he was actually really cute

"Because it means beauty in French"

"Yeah. I get that a lot"

"What school do you go to?"

"West view high"

"Oh, are you a senior?"

"Yeah, what about you?"

"I finished high school three years ago"

Oh wow

"Cool"

"Can I have your number? Maybe we can hang out sometime?"

This is all levels of wrong. I should probably tell him I have a boyfriend but a tiny voice in my head tells me otherwise.

I took a good look at Josh. He is terribly good looking, a bit older than me and is nicely dressed. He looks like the perfect revenge plan. I smirked. If Drew wants to play dirty, I can too

"Sure"

I typed my number in his phone and saved it

"Thanks"

"You're welcome"

"So uh what kind of music do you listen to?" He awkwardly asked

I laughed

"What's funny?" He asked

"The fact that you're trying too hard"

He scratched the back of his head

"I can't help it. You're very pretty"

"I know"

I'm confident, there isn't any need to thank him when he's telling me something I already know

"You wanna go somewhere? Get something to eat so we can talk better. You can even show me around. That is, if you're free, of course"

I thought about it. There's no harm hanging out with a guy, is there? "

"Let's go"

Drew

I dragged my bag tiredly as I entered my house I checked my time; 9:45pm.

Great, I worked for six hours straight . It was worth it cause I made 120 dollars with tips

"Drew"

It was Sharon. She was leaning against the wall. I smiled at her

"Hey mom" I was about to hug her when she slapped me

It was so hard the sound echoed

"What is wrong with you?" She shouted

"I don't understand"

"Why are you cheating on your girlfriend?"

"What? Where is this coming from?"

"Bella came over here crying. She showed me a picture of you and some Leslie girl at the mall holding hands"

Yup, I'm definitely screwed

"Mom, its not like that I promise"

She folded her arms

"Care to enlighten me?"

"Bella's birthday is coming in a few weeks. Leslie is helping me get a gift for her since they're best friends. We went to the mall today to check out clothes. We were caught in a bad timing, she was just pulling me out of the store. .That's what happened"

She looked at me with scrutiny in her eyes for a while

"I believe you" she finally said "I know when you're lying"

"Ah thank goodness"

"Bella's not too happy about it"

"I have to go talk to her"

"Go do that"

I rushed to Bella's house. When I got in through the gates, I climbed the building till I got to her room. I peeped in to see what she was doing.

She was already fast asleep on her bed. I tapped lightly in her window. She tossed in her bed. I tapped again.

She got up slowly rubbing her eyes. She frowned when she saw me

"Go away"

"Baby please"

"No. I don't want to talk to you"

"Hear me out please"

She stood up and came to open the window letting me in

"What do you want?" She frowned

"To talk to you"

"Go talk to Leslie"

"It's not even like that"

"Then tell me what it's like"

"I know Stephanie sent you that picture. Its all a misunderstanding, trust me"

"Go on with the lies"

"She was just pulling me out of the store"

"What were both of you doing there in the first place? Were you out on a date?"

"No!"

"Is that why you couldn't hang out today? You were busy with Leslie"

"She just needed someone to talk to"

"Why couldn't she talk to me?"

"Cause she didn't want to bother you. I care about you too much to cheat please believe me"

She kept quiet for a while as if thinking about what I said

"I don't believe you. Please leave"

"Please I.. "

"Go away"

"No. I'm not leaving till we work this out"

"Leave or I'll scream"

I had no choice. I'll go as she wished

"Fine. if that's what you want"

I climbed out her window and went home with a broken heart