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“Yeah,” I said with a smile.“We don't have anywhere to be after this, so that sounds perfectly fine to me.Why don't we meet her there?”
“She said we could walk.Is that okay?”
“I'd like to walk,” Juliette replied and got up, brushing off the remaining grass that stuck to her dress.“Where is her mom?”
“I’ll go find her!”And Bella was off in a flash.
I looked away for a second to send Juliette a wink.One goddamn second.
But that was enough for me to lose sight of Bella.
I was on my feet in seconds, my heart pounding in my chest.I took a moment to find her, just in case I was freaking out for no reason, but after coming up empty, I really started to panic.
“Where’d she go?”I asked frantically.Juliette was by my side, her hand gripping mine as she scanned the park with me.
“I don't see her,” she whispered, fear lacing her voice.
How the fuck did this happen?
My eyes scanned everything.The playground.The place where I saw the little girl she was playing with run off to.All the trees.Various people sitting on the ground having their own small dates.Everyone was happy and smiling, and there was no sign of Bella.
No.No no no no.
This can’t be happening.
We started moving further into the park, getting more anxious by the second, and then I saw her with someone who was all too familiar.
Before relief could even show its head, rage hit me.
I rounded on them, walking as fast as I could, anger boiling in my veins.And then Juliette saw it too, and I watched the fear on her face, even if she wasn’t fully aware of what my mother was capable of.
“Oh no.”
Bella was looking down while my mother’s hands were on her shoulders.All the happiness had drained from Bella's face, and now she was standing there with a frown, looking like she wanted to be anywhere but there.
“Bella!”
Bella’s panicked face cracked my heart as she saw me and ran to me.Juliette grabbed her, hid her behind me, and hugged her, making sure my mom couldn’t get anywhere near her.
“What a coincidence,” she said, though her voice and the look on her face told me it was anything but.And I knew this woman would do anything to try and get Bella.
Even if it meant stalking us.
There was no such thing as coincidence with her.Because of how important her image was to her, she made sure she had everything planned.Nothing surprised her.Nothing rattled her.
And the only thing we had in common was that she would not let something go until she had her way.
“I told you I didn't want to see you again,” I hissed and kept Juliette and Bella behind me.Bella grabbed my hand and held it close to her face.I could feel Juliette shift so she could hold onto Bella tighter.
My mom looked at me with hatred in her eyes.
The thing about my mother was that she had always loved my sister.She had been her first child—the first everything.She was perfect.And while it annoyed me, I loved her.She took care of me when my own mother cast me aside for not being perfect enough.
My mother volunteered at schools.In her community, people knew her as the friendly lady across the street.
But they didn't know that she hated her mistake of a second daughter.
My sister and I did not have the same father.But both of those men decided to leave my mother.I figured that they saw the true her and couldn't bear to be with her regardless of their children.