Carl nods and starts picking up the beads he had previously thrown out of his frustration. He carried them to his sister's room and sat on her bed while Debs looked through her stuff. "How've you been?" She asks, knowing how he must feel about the whole Bella situation.
Carl shrugs silently, looking at his hands as he plays with them. He wasn't exactly the best with feelings and everyone just expected him to act like it never happened, which was honestly his plan in the first place. The redhead sat beside him and pondered in thought. "Why don't we make her an ankle bracelet? She has tons of bracelets" She suggests and Carl nods.
It had been a few minutes of the two siblings quietly putting beads onto the string, Carl made sure he picked a good one too because he wanted her to wear it forever so she wouldn't forget him. He had a feeling she wouldn't be coming back anytime soon and the only that scared him more than losing his best friend was that she would forget him. He grabbed the white bead with a 'C' on it and put it on the string, letting it fall down. "What if it's the last time I see her?" He finally asks and Debbie looks up at him in thought.
"If you guys are really supposed to get married she'll come back" She says, fitting the string around her ankle so she knew how much to cut off.
"You think so?" The boy asks and she nods.
"I just think Bella has some stuff she needs to work out before she comes back" The redhead says in reference to the girl's mother. Bella didn't say much about her months away but Debbie could tell that the girl was slightly different during her return, she seemed so skiddish and distracted.
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Bella left in an hour. 60 minutes. And who knew how long it would be until she could come back. Her mother was an unpredictable woman but the thing that scared the girl most was the thought of moving back to México with her father, she would rather be put into Foster Care than have that happen. But she also knew that when her mom wasn't there for her anymore, she would regret not taking care of her. So Bella put up with the craziness and the tweaking out, just to have a mother a little longer.
Bella and Carl sat in her backyard, under the canopy they had pulled out into the grass. Bella insisted because she knew how easily Carl would get sunburn. "Stop!" He groans as she put sunscreen on his face. "We're not even in the sunlight!"
"That doesn't matter!" She scolds and he sighs, knowing that Bella always won their fights. He let her finish applying the sunscreen and then she spoke. "Appreciate it. No one is gonna tell you to put sunscreen on when I'm gone"
"Can't wait" He teases, leaning forward and she punches him in the shoulder. Then he digs his hand into his pocket and pulls out the anklet him and Debbie made for her. "I made this for you" He held it out to her so she could grab it. "Debs helped too but it was mostly me!"
Bella laughed at his words, fitting it around her ankle. "It's beautiful!" She exclaims with a big smile. "Tell Debbie I said thank you" Carl rolled his eyes and looked away dramatically, making her do the same. "Oh yeah thanks for making it too, I guess"
He still refused to look at her so she poked him in the ribs, making him wince in pain. "Ow!" He complains, slapping her arm. "I hate when you do that"
"Stop being such a baby" The girl teased, pushing him. "I'm just messing with you" Bella wrapped her arms around him and pressed her head against his. "I love it" She says, picking up her foot to show it off.
"Yeah?" Carl grins and she nods profusely, kissing his cheek. They sat in silence for a few minutes, knowing they would have to say goodbye so soon.
"I'll be back" Bella says, looking at him. "I promise. I'm coming back one day" She looks into his eyes and her tone grew serious.
"When?"
The Latina shrugs, looking forward again. "Until she leaves..." She paused before speaking again. "Or dies"
"Who knows how long that'll be?" Carl groans. "You know how long it can take for someone to die?!"
Bella laughs, her eyes still forwards and her head against his. "Well I'm sure she won't stay long. I give it five years at the most"
Carl turns to her, his eyebrow so furrowed in shock. "Five years?! I'll be like seventeen!" He says, counting on his fingers and Bella pouts-she's gonna miss all the dumb things he says.
"First of all, more like fifteen" She says and notices that he's still counting on his fingers. Bella gives him some time to stop before speaking. "And I really doubt she'll stick around that long"
When Bella came to Chicago she was six years old. She had been living with one of her father's wives; the fourth or fifth (her mother being the third) and when her dad said he was moving her away for her protection-she practically packed her bags on the spot. Her mom had abandoned her about two years prior and the girl didn't remember much of her, only the screaming. Her dad told her not to tell anyone anything about him, and just act like he was away on a "road trip" if any questions were raised. Arturo told his daughter not to trust anyone around her and keep to herself, a six year old. Bella was lucky that she had spent most of her life on her own anyways, and was so relieved to be away from the constant drama that was her life. That was four years ago now and she thanked God for bringing the Gallaghers and V and Kev into their lives, she doesn't know how she could've done it without them.
Carl Francis Gallagher and Bella Leticia Zambada-García now stood in the street, watching as the last bag was packed. The boy wrapped his arms around her tightly, squeezing because he knew how much this day would mean to him when she was gone. When he pulled away the last thing Bella expected to see were tears in his eyes. "I'm gonna miss you" He sighed.
"I'll miss you more" She kissed him sweetly and wiped the stray tears off her face, sniffling quietly. "I'll be back soon. I promise" Bella looks into his eyes and waves at everyone one more time before getting into the car.
As they drove away she sat with her arms arms crossed, not even looking at her mom. "Can't wait to be back"
