Arabelle

Chapter 45 - Meals

Chapter 45

Bella’s POV

I had been waiting in the living room when mum came in, I rushed over to her, I had known she was safe but still it brought me great relief to see her standing in front of me,

She had a broad happy smile on her face when she walked in and it got even wider when it fell on me, she rushed to me and enveloped me in a hug,

“Oh honey, I am so happy today, it was a complete success, everything just went absolutely great” she said as she hugged me,

I was just glad she was safe and that she was not harmed in anyway, I felt comfort and relief flood through me as I hugged her,

When she pulled away, I saw the happiness in her eyes and I felt my heart break because it was very possible that she was in danger,

I couldn’t trust that family, how could I? After all I had died by their hands,

“I am so happy honey, let’s have lunch at home then in the evening, we go out for a fabulous dinner in the city, just me, you and Sofia, it will be a girl’s night out” mum said happily, happiness twinkling in her eyes,

Seeing how happy she was right now, I couldn’t bear to say anything to dampen her mood so I forced a smile on my face and said “I am really, really, really happy for you mum, today is a totally big day, I believe we should celebrate and be completely and utterly merry”

I was surprised by the enthusiasm in my voice, it sounded so bloody real, like I meant everything I said, like panic and dread were eating into my very core at the moment,

Mum hugged me once more and when she pulled away, I saw that she looked happier than I had seen her in a very long time and the fact that my heart broke because of that made me feel like a terrible monster,

Mum smiled at me then she walked into the house calling out to Sofia to get something pretty ready for tonight because we going to have fun later,

And I stood there panicking and going completely crazy.

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Derrick’s POV

I wasn’t sure how long I waited in my room before someone finally came up to my room and told me that my mother asked her to call me, I thanked her and she left,

Even after the girl left, I sat in my chair for a while, I couldn’t bring myself to get up, somehow I was still finding this very hard to believe, perhaps it was all a dream and none of it was real, because it sure as hell very unreal to me,

It seemed I had taken longer than expected to come down and join my mother because not long  after a gentle knock sounded on my door and the door opened, my mother peeped into the room, a smile on her face, she came in and walked toward me,

“You don’t want to come down?” she asked,

I could hear the uncertainty in her voice, I almost wanted to laugh, my mother had bullied me into doing everything she wanted, exactly when she wanted and how she wanted all my life and here she was today, feeling uncertain about me wanting to eat with her, miracles did happen indeed.

“I was just about to come down now” I said, my voice came out colder than I intended,

I saw her body go rigid for a second but she quickly relaxed again, that didn’t surprise me at all, she was my mother after all, and she had hidden her emotions from me for 28 years so I couldn’t expect her to start now,

“Look Richard” she began then she stopped again,

She was calling me Richard again, she wasn’t pretending anymore it will seem, I looked at her and she looked like she was struggling to say something, I was finding this all very interesting, today was really a day of miracles no doubt,

She finally took a deep breath and sat in the chair opposite me, this was going to be very, very interesting and it will surely be a day I remember forever,

“I know that you probably hate me and you must find my behaving like this very strange since you were used to me never showing you any love and care” she said,

I remained quiet and continued to watch her with a straight face, when she realized I wasn’t going to say anything, she simply cleared her throat and continued,

“I know I can never make for been a bad mother but I want to make amends now, please Richard give me a chance” she said,

Was she kidding me right now? Is that the only thing she felt she needed to apologize for?

“And that is all you are sorry for? For been cold and aloof toward me? Honestly, I am not bothered about that, they say you can’t miss what you never had anyways, I never knew how all that felt and so now it’s completely okay, it’s all I know, but besides that, don’t you have anything else to be sorry for?” I asked,

I found that I was eager to hear what she will say,

I watched her fidget in her chair, she suddenly looked smaller and very insecure, but that was she did, she said nothing and she looked like she wasn’t going to say anything,

I felt  sadness in my heart, I was a fool to believe that she could change, that she would actually be sorry for all the wrong she had to me and Arabelle, I didn’t mind if she wasn’t actually sorry to me but if she was at least sorry to Arabelle then I guess I would not be so angry at her, but she was who she was and nothing could ever change that,

I stood up, a rueful smile on my face “Come to think of it, I am not really hungry so I am afraid I will not be able to join you for lunch, I have somewhere I must be” I said,

Mother’s face fell, she suddenly looked sad and me, well I didn’t care,

I walked around the table past her, she was looking at me like I had just done the worst possible thing and once again, I didn’t care what she thought,

I walked over to my closet and started leafing through clothes, I needed to get the hell out of here before I lost my temper completely,

“You will have to excuse to me mother, I want to change my clothes” I said, my voice was artic cold,

I heard her stand up and then footsteps followed and then I heard the sound of the door closing,

Once she was out the door, I threw the shirt in my hand to the floor, I was angry but most of all, I was extremely disappointed in both myself and her, I was disappointed in myself for thinking she could be anything other than what she was and I was disappointed in her for not at least trying to be anything different than what she was,

Slowly I bent down to retrieve the shirt I had thrown on the floor, I decided to wear that particular shirt,

I decided to take a drive into town to clear my head, that will surely calm me down, I took off the shirt I was currently wearing and slipped on the blue one in my hand,

I grabbed my car keys and walked out of the room with one destination in mind, I guess I needed to hear that sassy Texan accent today.

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Bella’s POV

I stood in front of my closet thinking of what to wear, I wasn’t sure what to wear when I didn’t want to go out or when I was slowly been eating away by anxiety and dread,

I leafed through some dresses but not a single one moved me, I didn’t want to go out and celebrate, I needed to be trying to find out what why Lady Blackwood was alive and if she was the person I had been warned about by Ruth,

Deep down, I already knew she was the one, if she wasn’t the one, there was no reason Richard will be so protective, Richard only cared deeply about me and his mother back then and I knew he wasn’t trying to protect me so that leaves only his mother in the picture,

I will confront Richard at the earliest chance I got and this time, I will get him to talk to me, I needed answers and I needed them fast, I felt like I was running out of time, mum had already been dragged into this and that was the last thing I wanted,

“Are you having trouble picking out a dress Bella?” I heard Sofia say from behind me,

I turned around to look at her, I hadn’t hear her come in, I was probably too deep in thought,

“It will appear that way” I said with a smile on my face,

“How about I help you pick out something then” she said and dropped the laundry she had brought up on the bed,

“You are a life saver Sofia” I said and walked over to the bed, I sat on it and folded my leg facing the closet,

I watched Sofia walk over the closet, she leafed through some clothes then she pulled out a yellow dress, it had a canary pattern on it, from the look of it, it stopped below my knees, the hands were tiny straps, the hem of the dress was frilly, it had a low neckline, it was pretty and I had no idea I even had it,

“I love that, it’s really beautiful, I had no idea I even had it” I said as I stood up to collect the dress she was handing to me,

The fabric was soft to touch and very light, I couldn’t believe I didn’t know I had this cloth,

“You got the last time you went dress shopping with your mother, I think that was 3 months ago” Sofia said,

I remembered going shopping with mum but I couldn’t even remember the dresses I got,

“I love this one, I will wear this” I said with a smile,

Sofia smiled and said “Glad I could help”

“So what will you be wearing later?” I asked with a smile,

Sofia smiled shyly and said “Your mum gave me on of her dresses, I will be wearing it later”

“I look forward to seeing you later Sofia” I said with a smile,

Sofia smiled and walked out,

I took the dress and hung it for later and fell back to the bed, looking at the ceiling, dreading the fact that today while mother was having one her happiest day, I will be hating every second of it because I knew something was wrong.

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Derrick’s POV

I was disappointed to find the doors to Angie’s coffee shop closed, I had driven all the way here and she wasn’t around,

It suddenly seemed like a complete waste of time, I sat in my car for what seemed like hours just thinking about everything and anything, I wasn’t sure for how long I had sat there with my head on the steering wheel but when I looked out the window, I saw that it was getting late,

I needed to get home soon, I had a long drive ahead of me and I was suddenly feeling very exhausted and I just wanted to go home and sleep,

I started my car and turned it back toward the direction of home, hoping that I didn’t have to deal with mum again.