Lee,
Charlie and I have gone to the Blacks for dinner. Bella's upstairs working on her science homework so we've left you both money for dinner. Please make sure she eats something, you know how she forgets when she's working on her school things.
Love mom
Huffing, I opened the fridge to grab a soda before closing the door and re-reading the note.
It was just my luck.
Another Friday night on Bella babysitting duty. It was times like these I actually wished I had a boyfriend and an excuse to be anywhere but home.
After calling for pizza and collecting it from the delivery guy at the door, I climbed the stairs and knocked on the door opposite to mine.
Bella's door was bare except for a small splatter of lettered stickers; the corners frayed slightly from age and they defiantly needed replacing.
When we had first moved into the house as a family Bella had only been two years old, both of us unsure as to why we were living together. I remembered the first night in the big new house like it was a week ago.
It had been raining from the thunder storm that had been brewing for days. After the first big crack of thunder shook my bedroom walls a soft knock sounded against the door.
A two year old Bella had been standing on the opposite side of the door, her glossy eyes wide with fear as she clutched a Winnie blanket to her chest.
I seemed to understand straight away and allowed Bella to sleep on my big girl bed with me much like my father used to do when I was scared of the big Olympic storms.
My mother had taken a photo after discovering the two of us rugged up under Bella's favourite blanket. The same blanket she'd never let anyone touch.
"Bella?" I called standing back as she appeared through a slit in the door, dressed in a long flannel shirt and jeans.
"Hey," Bella whispered, her eyes darting back toward her desk ever so often.
"Pizzas here."
"Oh right. Mom and dad were going to Billy's right?" she girl asked nervously, biting her bottom lip and tucking her hair behind her ear.
It was still weird that Bella called my mother, mom, but I understood and my eyes softened for a moment.
Bella's birth mother had been killed in a car accident when she was six months old and Sue was really the only mother she ever had.
"Yeah. Come on. It's getting cold." I nodded in finality not leaving any room for her to make excuses.