Chapter Seventy Two

Bella's POV

"Bella!" I heard Dar scream loudly and run to me, jumping on me and making both of us fall to the chilly floor. I felt her hair in my mouth and her warm embrace lightened up my spirit. Oh, this girl didn't change one bit.

"I missed you so, so much!" she crooned happily and I never felt happier myself. I was finally home with her!

"Little sis, I missed you more!" I replied and hugged her tightly, our bodies still on the floor.

Well, she had on little white denim suspender and a black tube. She packed her hair in a bun and as always, has her lip gloss on.

"You two may want to get up now. Its getting awkward," Cameron said and we both chuckled as he extended his hands and helped both of us up.

"And who are you? Are you Caden? Did you guys kiss? Did you make out? Tell me the deets. Everything! I think I like him," Dar mused happily and inspected Cameron, touching his hair, his arm and even sniffing him. "He smells so good!" she added.

"No, he's not Caden, Dar. This is Cameron. Caden's brother," I informed and her eyes popped out in embarrassment.

"Oh, i'm so sorry. There's quite a resemblance," she stated and brought out her hand for a handshake, which he responded to politely.

"You look so skinny!" I said, staring at her lean body.

"I'm actually on a diet. And you look so much chubbier," she stated and pinched my cheeks.

"Get back here!" I yelled and chased her like we were a bunch of five year olds. Cameron laughed in amusement.

Soon, we got into a cab and headed home. Dar kept telling me tons of stories and things that happened while I was away. Her junior school crushes, her dates and everything. I felt a different kind of happiness.

"So, what about ma and pa?" I asked and she paused her rambling for a second.

"Just forget them. They're - " she said immediately, trying to get my mind off the topic.

"Dar," I called out in a soft voice.

She sighed and rolled her eyes before speaking up finally.

"Ma is really angry. They're both furious. I advise you to not even come home today because its gonna be a mad house loud house. Like, loads and loads of crazy!" she said and shook her head.

Should I be scared?

I sighed deeply and felt a warm hand on my shoulder. I looked up and stared at Cameron.

"Oooooooo..... Love is in the air," Dar said from the front seat and I rolled my eyes.

"Dar, please stop it." I said, getting sick of her love issues.

"I think Dar's really cute," Cameron said with a smile.

"You should stop thinking then," I said and she curled her lips.

"And you aren't so bad yourself," she replied and they both chuckled, not even minding me.

Ugh, so typical.

We arrived our home and we all came down from the car, exhausted from the journey.

"You lost every single thing?" Dar yelled on surprise.

I nodded with a frown.

"Wow!" she shook her head and opened the door.

I stared at the house for a moment before finally walking in. It didn't look different from how I left it. It brought back the old memories and everything I loved and lived for. And the worst memories were just about to be created.

"Come on in," Cameron pulled my arm and we walked into the living room.

As expected, Dar did her renovations and it looked really beautiful. She changed the former brown coloured furniture into beautiful black ones and hung a few paintings on the wall. I recognized a particular painting on the wall. It was my anime when I was still so young.

I remained quiet to prevent any further embarrassments from Darcy.

"Wow, Dar. I must say, you stepped up your game with these designs!" I praised.

"I know right," she nodded and placed her hands on her waist, looking around with a proud grin.

"What about ma and pa?" I asked and a frown crawled up her face.

"They're inside," she replied.

Suddenly, I heard footsteps from the inner room and my heart beat increased and I suddenly felt really feverish.

I stared at ma stand right in front of me and behind her came pa, his brows knitted in anger.

"Ma, Pa. I can explain," I said and hurried over to them.

"The prodigal daughter returns," Ma started and stared at me, her eyes so vicious in anger.

"Sit," Pa urged and I slowly sat on the couch.

"You don't understand what you did, do you now?" Ma asked.

"I am so sorry. It was all an accident," I apologized.

"There's no need for apologies, Bella. I am so disappointed in you!" Pa raged and raised his hand to hit me. Quickly, I ducked and stared at his hand midway in the air and a figure in front of me.

"With all due respect, its not her fault. Mistakes happen. She's brave enough to admit her fault and I think you should be really proud of her. She's been through so much and I can tell. So, if you love your daughter the way she claims you do, I don't think you'll want to hurt her,"

Cameron, what are you doing?

"And who are you? Her boyfriend?" Pa glowered with a hiss and returned his gaze to me.

"I am Cameron Kensington, sir. Just a friend," he cleared with a smile.

"Arabella, you made us so disappointed. Watching you ruin your reputation on the news broke our hearts. For God sake, you were jailed! You have a prison record. That's not how things were meant to go," Ma cried out.

"I promise, I'm gonna make everything right," I said and held both their hands. "Just trust me. Please. I'm gonna go to the university and make you proud. I promise. This is never going to repeat itself. Please, just believe in me. Please," I begged in whispers and didn't bother to stop the warm tears from flowing.

Ma broke into a smile and dragged me in for a tight hug.

"I love you," I whispered.

Dad joined in and I was overjoyed. I couldn't let them down again. I had done it once and I saw exactly how it turned out. Horrible.

"We really couldn't stay mad at you. Especially now you need us the most," Ma revealed and I smiled happily.

"Thank you. I promise, I am not going to let you down ever again. Thank you so much for - "

"Its okay, Bella, we know," Ma interrupted with a smile and patted my cheek.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

It was cold and really beautiful. I enjoyed the street lights and beautiful graffiti on the street. It was empty, apart from the few pedestrians and even fewer cars that drove by.

The moonlight looked stunning and I felt a surge of happiness in me. Like I was where I was meant to be.

"Thanks for what you did back there," I said and turned to Cameron, making us stop in our steps.

"It was just the right thing to do. You didn't deserve any of that and I guess standing up for you is the least I could do to make it up to you after the trouble I caused,"

"But still, thank you so much," I said once more.

"You are welcome," he replied and slipped his hand back into mine and we continued our stroll down the streets.

My phone vibrated in my pocket.

"One sec," I said and picked the phone from my pocket. I opened the message and tears threatened their way down when I read it n a whisper.

Caden~

I am sorry.

"Who's that?" Cameron asked.

"Nobody. Just nothing," I shrugged and quickly returned the phone back to my pocket.

I needed to forget him.

"You need to get over him,"

"I know," I replied with a nod.

"I know you will,"

I smiled and nodded.

"Cameron, I don't think I want to - "

"I'm not trying to date you. All we're doing is holding hands and walking through the streets. That's all. I promise," he assured and I felt so embarrassed at my thoughts.

"Thanks for clearing that out," I replied awkwardly.

"Come on, let's go."

I smiled as we walked back to the house but his stupid face was saved in my memory. Like everything I thought of reminded me of him.

Get out of my head. Its over and I need to forget you. It was all just a mistake and nothing more.

The End.

Author's Note.

Thank you all so much for reading this chapter. It means so much to me.

Don't forget to vote and comment. What do you think about this book?

Its finally done and dusted! But, watch out for the epilogue.

Thank you to all those who stood by this book. It means so much to me.

I really appreciate the time you invested in this book, the votes and comments. Everything was so fantastic.

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Much Love, Pauly Q.