Bella Leticia Zambada-García got ready today. It was an accomplishment for her, seeing as it had been one of the longest times she had ever gone without caring how she looked. If there was one thing Bella's mother taught her (the only thing really) it was that if you always look your best, people will fear you. Even if you're a complete mess, if you get ready every day then people will think you have your shit together. It worked for the most part but it also put an unhealthy urge on Bella to always look her best, and at the same time always critique herself. As if the girl hadn't been through enough, the very last thing she should worry about would be how she looked.
But it was the thing she worried about the most. If her shoes match her outfit, if her hair looked fine, if she was pretty. Bella knew better than to listen to her mom but when the only woman in your life is constantly telling you how messy you look, it's gonna take a toll. Carl always hated that, how Bella would focus on her looks and absolutely talk down upon herself for any issue. She wanted to be perfect, without anyone, she wanted to let everyone know how good she was doing without her shitty parents help. Yet another way parents can fuck you up.
She came to the house, knocking on the door and waiting for an answer as she tapped her foot nervously. Bella grabbed out her handheld mirror, checking to see if her hair was in place and if her mascara hadn't smudged. Finally, the front door opened and she saw the last thing she expected to see.
A teenage boy. Taller than her, with dark hair and as she was about to find; the prettiest smile she had ever seen. He smiled kindly before speaking. "You the babysitter?"
Bella only nods, finding herself at a loss for words at the cute boy in front of her and he opens the door wider to let her in. "Thanks" She quietly mumbles and enters the house, finding the boy's mother she presumes rushing down the stairs.
"You're here!" Tanisha gasps, walking over to give the girl a hug. "I couldn't thank you enough sweetie. I really appreciate it" She smiles, smoothing the girls hair before going to get her keys off the counter.
"Of course. It's no problem. I love kids" Bella reassures and the woman faces towards her.
"That's what Kev and V said. Oh I wish everyone was as nice as you, their own brother won't even watch them anymore" T scolds her oldest son, pinching him in the arm and he winces before stepping back.
"Mom, chill. It's not my fault I'm busy" He defends and she rolls her eyes.
"Mhm. Busy. Too busy to help your own mother while I pursue my lifelong dream of owning my own beauty salon!" She says dramatically and the teen crosses his arms. "Well I better get going! You call me if you need anything and help yourself to anything in that kitchen! I'm sorry about my rude ass son, Andre!" Tanisha bids Bella goodbye and kisses her kids on the cheek before stepping out.
Bella laughs, leaning over to say hi to her girls. The seven and five-year old wave shyly and return to the cartoon they had been watching and the girl finally decides it's time to speak. "So, what's got you so busy you can't even help your mom?" She teases and Andre sighs, taking a step back.
"Basketball. I'm a sophomore but I'm trying out for Varsity this season so I gotta practice as much as I can" He explains, grabbing his bag that he kept his shoes and ball in.
"Nice" Bella nods at his words.
"What's got you so not busy that you're watching five little rugrats every Sunday for the next month?" Andre laughs, leaning just a little bit closer to Bella.
Her heat was beating fast, so fast that she almost forgot to answer his question. "Oh! Uh my best friend went to Juvie so things have been kinda boring and I figured why not?"
"Hate it when that happens" Andre laughs awkwardly and they both look at each other. God, it was never like this with Carl. Usually his flirting was so blatantly obvious that she didn't even have to flirt back. "So uh who was your best friend?"
"Carl. You know, from the Gallaghers" Bella explains and he nods. "That's my bestie" This was the first time she ever realized just how bad she was at flirting. Is this why she pushed Carl away? Because she just doesn't have a single romantic bone in her body?
"Oh yeah! He was working for G Dog! Couple of my homies used to sell with him" Andre remembers, and then laughs. "White Boy Carl?"
"Yea, I started that actually" The teen laughs, it was the best nickname she bad ever given him and the best part was it required no thought at all. Before either can say anything else a honk from a car is heard outside.
"That must be my ride" The boy points and she nods as he stands there, wondering what to do next. Should he hug her? No, too strong. Dap her up? Too friendly. All of this bounced back and forth through his brain while Bella stood there, waiting for him to say something. "Well uh I look forward to seeing you around my house!" Is what he settles on saying before walking right out the front door and leaving a very confused Bella.
What the hell was that?
Three days had past since Bella's first babysitting job. She didn't see Andre upon leaving his home so she knew next time if she wanted any chance at conversation-she would have to show up a little earlier. On the other hand, she wasn't sure of her feelings towards Carl but it wasn't like he was going anywhere. And it's not even like Bella's dating the guy, there's nothing wrong with finding someone attractive. But at the same time, she felt like she was doing something wrong-like she was cheating on Carl.
It's not cheating if you're not even dating and he's in Juvie for the next year. He'll probably forget all about her by the time he gets out.
The phone rang and she answered, immediately dialing one-knowing it was Carl. "Hello?"
"Whatsup princess?" The Gallagher greets and a grin makes its way onto Bella's face. Nothing ever made her as happy as Carl did, no matter what.
"Nothing. I'm just contemplating life like usual. What about you?" She sighs, stretching her arms out as she lays back on her bed.
"Huh?" Carl asks in confusion and she giggles at the tone of voice.
"I'm just thinking about my decisions basically. I met an older boy and I'm gonna be seeing him every weekend for the next month so I'm kind of freaking. But what about you?! How's it going in there?"
A boy. A boy, Carl thinks as he grips the phone with all the strength he has. Already? He hasn't been gone a month yet and she's met someone else, probably to fall in love and date him for all of high school and he's gonna have to watch it happen before his very eyes. Maybe he was being a little dramatic, but Bella just had a way of getting under his skin. He didn't know what it was, but Carl didn't want anyone so much as looking at her so this was kinda his worst nightmare happening so fast.
"Carlllll" Bella sings, snapping him out of his thoughts. "You there? Or did you get shivved?"
"I'd never get shivved. I'm the shivver" Carl says like that's the most ridiculous thing he's ever heard. "Well uh I think I gotta go because I didn't even call Fiona last week and I said I would" He says, rubbing the back of his head as he attempts to not make this awkward.
"Oh, uh okay. I miss you Carl" Bella says disappointedly, she knew she shouldn't have brought up Andre but it wasn't like she had other friends to talk about this with. That's not true, she reminds herself. This is totally gonna be the conversation topic for her and Lip's smoke sesh later. "Be safe please. Love you"
"Love you too" And the phone clicks immediately after his words, leaving a sad Bella García.
She misses her best friend, yelling at him for doing something dumb but mostly doing something dumb with him. The teen ponders what to do next, she could take a nap and just wait for Lip to show up or she could go and hang out with Debbie-who she had honestly been neglecting lately as a friend. So Bella got up, curling her eyelashes again and then descending downstairs.
The air was cold, harsh as the wind blew right through her. She laughs, remembering the time she tried convincing Carl that she could hear the wind whistling through his ears. And that was when she spotted Ian Gallagher sitting on the front steps of his home. "Ian? You're back!" She gasps, stepping forward excitedly. "We missed you"
"Yeah, I woulda' missed me too" The ginger cockily says and Bella laughs, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm glad you're okay" Her voice is soft and he can tell just how serious her words are. "I was worried" The teen bent over and kissed him atop the head before walking up the steps. "You coming?" She asks, turning her head back.
"Nah'. Im waiting for Mickey, I gotta talk to him about something" Ian shakes his head and she nods.
"Okay, well don't stay out here too long. It's cold and you're not even wearing a sweater!"
"Yes mom" Ian teases, smirking at the teen who sticks her tongue out at him before stepping inside. She walked up the stairs, waving to V and Fiona who were in the kitchen.
The teenager found Debbie's room to be empty and she sighed, what if Debs wasn't even there? She closed the door and walked down the hall, stepping inside Carl's old room. Her brown eyes fell over his bed, that hadn't been touched since he left, it wasn't made either and her best friend was known to move almost sporadically in his sleep-which resulted in the bed being and absolute mess. She sighed, walking over to pull the sheets over the corner of the mattress and throwing his pillows on the floor in the process. Bella made her way to the end of the bed, pulling off the comforter and laughing when she found a pocket knife.
Only Carl Gallagher would sleep with a stray pocket knife in his bed, ready to cut him (or anyone) at any time.
She didn't even bother to think about the danger of that fact and was instead almost about to cry because it was his favorite knife. Bella finished making the bed, putting the knife under his pillow and hoping that when he gets back he could see that that would be perhaps a better place to put it instead of just leaving it out. The bathroom door opened and Debbie walked out. "Bella?"
"Debs!" The Latina gasps, walking over to give her friend a hug. "Thank god you're here! I have so much shit on my mind" Her words are accompanied by gun shots, to which the two teens are startled by-the both of them jumping back at the sudden noise. There are two more, those of which sounded way closer than before and Bella can swear she heard one of the windows downstairs breaking.
"V! Fiona! You guys okay?!" Bella calls out and there are a few moments of silence.
"We're fine! You two just stay in here!" Fiona calls back out and they can hear the back door slamming closed a few moments later.
The two girls look at each other and next thing you know they can hear sirens too. Well, it's nothing they're not used to. "I have to talk to you too" Debbie sighs, pulling Bella into the bathroom.
"Debs, I know we're close and all but if you gotta pee I can wait in your roo-" Bella stops, her eyes widening at a pregnancy test laying on the sink. "Did you take a pregnancy test?!" She yells and Debbie immediately lunges forward, cupping her hands over her neighbor's mouth.
"Shut up!" The older girl warns, letting go of the brunette.
Bella has to take a step back, it's really happening. Debbie finally got someone to knock her up. And worst of all, she just put her hands over her mouth after taking a pregnancy test. "I know this is off topic but I hope you washed your hands before touching me"
Debbie Gallagher rolls her eyes, she's like another Carl-always fucking around. "Of course I washed them!" She says in defense and Bella nods.
"Okay. Just making sure" The García girl puts her hands up as she talks before diverting her attention back to the test. "How long has it been?"
"Long enough I'm sure" Debbie shrugs and sits on the toilet while Bella leans back against the door. "I'm just scared to look"
"Well waiting doesn't change the outcome" Bella reminds. "Might as well just look now" She suggests and Debbie nods, taking a deep breath. The redhead looks down, her eyes widening immediately and Bella is so worried it feels like she's the one who's possibly pregnant.
"Oh, shit" Debbie smiles, holding it up to really get a good look at it. Then her face drops as it really kicks in and Bella is frozen in terror. "Oh, shit"
"Lemme see!" The Latina yells, grabbing the test and making sure she grabs the side Debbie didn't pee on. Two lines. "Oh, shit!"
Bella Leticia Zambada García sat in the van with Ian and Lip as they all enjoyed a joint (courtesy of Bella). This was their second one-the first rotation consisted of Lip and Ian telling Bella that Carl was in love with her and that's why he hung up on her. But Bella (being the young and confused teen she is) refused to believe it. I mean, it's not like she even did anything with Andre-she barely said a word about him.
"I mean how did she even know it was Mickey?! It could've been anyone! Or even a group of people for all she knows!" Bella says, referring to Sammi who had chased Mickey almost three blocks before getting both of them arrested.
Ian and Lip looked at each other with concern on their faces. "Bella, did you try to kill Sammi?" Lip asks, turning back to look at her and her eyes widen.
"What?! No! How could you accuse me of that?!" She asks in fake offense and Ian just chooses to ignore it. He knew for a fact that Mickey tried to murder Sammi and it would honestly make sense if Bella helped him.
"Hey, uh what happened to your face?" Ian asks Lip, referring to the big bruising patch on his cheek.
"Girl hit me" Lip explains, hitting the joint and inhaling.
"Probably deserved it" Ian says and Bella nods in agreement as Lip hands her the joint.
"Probably" The teen laughs, bringing the paper to her lips.
"There's no such thing as casual sex anymore" Lip starts as Bella hands Ian the joint. "You know, I, uh I think I'm falling in love with one of my professors" He admits as Ian does a trick with the smoke while Bella watches in awe. She could only do a french inhale but soon, she would know all of them-it was her plan while Carl was gone.
"Woman?" Ian asks, blowing out the smoke and Lip laughs.
"Yeah"
"Cool" Ian nods and notices his dad stumbling across the sidewalk as Lip hits the joint. "Is that Frank?"
Lip and Bella look up to see Frank Gallagher as they had many times; dirty, sweaty and looking like a homeless man who lost his imaginary friend. Lip inhaled the smoke as his father walked over. "Oh, yeah" He notices as the man drops his bag at the window, immediately grabbing the joint from Lip's hands.
Frank Gallagher hit the joint solemnly as Lip looked between his smoking buddies to see if they had an idea of what was wrong with him this time. "She's gone, boys" He sighs sadly and then he notices Bella. "She's gone, Bella" And then he walks off, leaving the three who were all higher than a kite. They laughed, as if it was the funniest thing they had ever seen while they finished that joint.
What a great end to a shitty day.
A/N am i posting hella chapters to motivate me to write????? yes, i am