Masen walked me back to the bakery and he
hugged me tightly. “I’ll pick you up here on Wednesday, cherie,” he said. I blushed at his nickname for me. With his
accent, it did tingly things to my insides. “Seven?”
“Okay,” I nodded. “I’m pretty certain that my
dad is reading my sister the riot act. She’ll work after school, working on
making the goods for the next morning. But, I can’t stay super late. Eleven, at
the latest.”
“That’s doable,” he smiled. He caressed my cheek
and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “And I’ll call you. At the bakery. Does it
have a speaker phone option? You can talk while you work?”
“Yeah,” I nodded.
“But, get some rest today,” he chided. He
opened the door and helped me into the bakery. Alice was at the till, ringing
up customers. She was being somewhat pleasant, but her dark eyes cut to mine
angrily as I walked inside. “It was a pleasure, Miss Swan.”
“Bella, you can take over,” Alice said,
removing the apron.
“No, she’s going upstairs. She didn’t sleep
the night before and last night, she hovered over me like a mother hen. You can
run the shop today, Alice. I’ll stay and help,” Dad growled. “Take the
afternoon, Bells.” I nodded. I hugged Masen again and I saw my dad scuffle
toward him. I went upstairs and strode past my ‘bed’ and went to my dad’s
bedroom. I set the alarm on his night stand, crashing as soon as my head hit
the pillow.
When I woke up, a few hours later, I felt
better. I made dinner for my family. I also picked up the landline and dialed Angela’s
number. I’d pushed everyone away when my dad got sick, but now, I can’t do this
on my own. I needed help. The phone rang, and she picked up. “Hello?”
“Hey, Angela. It’s, um, Bella,” I said,
grimacing. “Um, Bella Swan?”
“Oh, my word, Bella!” she squealed. “It’s been
so long! Are you teaching? Last, I heard, you had come back to New York to help
with your dad, but you were so smart, and you were destined for great things.”
“Well, I’m still in New York, working at the
bakery,” I shrugged. “Dad’s not doing so good and I figured I stay at home,
helping with the bakery and such.”
“Bella, are you okay?” Angela asked, her voice
more somber.
I opened my mouth, ready to say that I was
fine, but tears began streaming down my cheeks. “Not really, Ang,” I sniffled.
“I’m sorry that I haven’t reached out to you before, but …”
“Girl, you know I love you,” Angela said.
“Look, I’m working right now. I want to see you. Are you going to be at the
bakery tomorrow?”
“Where else would I be?” I asked, sounding
bitter.
“We need to chat, Bella,” Angela said. “I’ll
be down after the morning rush, about ten?”
“I’ll need to work in the back, but that
works,” I said, a tentative smile spreading over my face. “Hair back, Angela.”
“I’ve got this chic new bob, but I’ll pin it
back,” she quipped. “Love you, girl. I’m sorry that I … I should have checked
on you.”
“It’s not your fault, Angela. I’m just as much
to blame,” I whispered.
“We’ll talk about it tomorrow, Bella,” she
said. “I’m just glad you called. I’ve missed you. I’ll see you tomorrow,
sweetie.”
Angela's hair
Angela
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