Chapter 3

"Married... I'm so happy for you, Mom," I said, giving her a tight hug. The excitement in my voice matched my sincere happiness for her. I was genuinely glad that I liked Phil too, as some of her previous boyfriends had been real creepers in my opinion. "Tell me everything," I added, beaming with a big smile.

"Well, Phil surprised me before lunch and invited me to a nice restaurant," she began, gently pulling me towards the sofa, where we could both sit down.

"I noticed while we ate that Phil seemed a little distracted and nervous, but I thought it might have been because of the game he has later tonight. Well, after lunch, he surprised me by getting down on one knee and pulling out a small box from his pocket," my mom shared, her voice filled with excitement. "It was so sweet, Bella. He had a heartfelt speech about how much he loved me and wanted to spend the rest of his life with us. I said yes immediately, of course," she added, her enthusiasm shining through.

"That sounds so romantic, Mom. I'm so happy for you," I said with a smile. "Did you guys discuss anything regarding when you're going to get married?"

"Actually, yes, we did. Phil's team is going on the road in three weeks for several months, and we kind of wanted to be married before then. So we were thinking in two weeks and then going on the honeymoon for the following week before he has to go on the road," she explained, her excitement palpable.

"Two weeks?" I asked, flabbergasted. "Are you sure that's enough time?" I didn't know much about weddings, but I was pretty sure that if you wanted a good one, you needed to do some serious planning. It was something my mom had never been good at. I had been pretty much taking care of my own needs since I was ten.

"We'll figure it out, I'm sure," my mom said dreamily, her eyes fixated on the sparkling ring.

"Wait, have you even booked a venue? How many people are you planning to invite? And what about catering?" As the thoughts swirled in my head, a wave of overwhelming tasks hit me. There seemed to be a million things to sort out.

"Um, I'll have to talk to Phil about all that. We didn't really go into the details," my mom replied, her voice tinged with a hint of worry.

"I'll help out, Mom. I can search for all the necessary information on what needs to be done on Google. But you should keep it in mind that it can't be a big event with such short notice," I suggested.

"Thank you, sweetheart. I know you're great at handling these things. In the end, it's just us and Phil that truly matter. I'll invite Phil over tomorrow, and we can all sit down to discuss the details."

"Okay, Mom," I replied. "I should get started on my homework. Congratulations again!"

I hugged her one more time before making my way to my room. After closing the door, I flopped onto my bed, lying on my back. What a day.

The next two weeks were a whirlwind of chaos. Luckily, Phil proved to be much better at planning than my mother, and he and I managed to get almost everything sorted out within a couple of days. The wedding would be a small affair at a local restaurant that they had rented out. Only our close friends from the local community were invited. We didn't really have much family left after my grandmother passed away when I was 9. I had to remind my mom to inform Charlie that she was getting married. I had been spending parts of my summer vacation with him in California for the past few years, which was a welcome change from going to Forks. Charlie seemed fine with my mom getting married, but I couldn't help but suspect that he still harbored feelings for her. I had never seen him date anyone during my entire life. I wished he would put himself out there too. As I thought about it, I realized I probably took after my father more than my mother.

The wedding day was hectic, but in the end, everything turned out fine with very few hiccups. My mom had suggested that I bring a date, but I assured her that I was perfectly fine on my own. I joked that I wanted to hook up with one of Phil's friends. I could not be sure, but I think she took me seriously, and she dropped the issue. That was weird and a little disturbing. Phil was considerably younger than my mom, but he was still close to 30.

After the ceremony, I embraced my mom and, I suppose, my new stepfather, Phil. They were off to Hawaii for a week, leaving me to enjoy some much-needed alone time. With no specific plans in mind, I was thrilled to have the entire week off for February vacation.

Before they departed for the airport, they dropped me off at home. "If you have any issues, make sure to reach out to Mrs. Johnson from down the street," my mom advised.

"I'll be just fine, Mom. You two enjoy yourselves and have a great time. But hey, try not to make a little brother or sister for me, unless you're planning on it," I joked, adding a playful wink. I had subtly asked my mom if she was pregnant when they decided to get married on such short notice, but she assured me that she wasn't and had no plans to become a mother again. I asked if Phil was okay with that, and she said he was. Ultimately, it was their decision, but personally, I thought it would be best if they didn't have kids. I loved my mom, but I could admit that she wasn't the most attentive mother, and there was no way I was going to raise her kid. I had already raised myself, in my opinion, and I didn't want to do that again.

"Very funny, honey," my mom said, chuckling. "We'll take lots of pictures of everything to show you when we get back. You're on vacation, Bella, so try to have a good time. Call your friends. And if you throw a wild party, don't burn down the house. Bye!" With that, Phil dragged her towards the waiting taxi.

At least I had the car if I needed to go somewhere, I thought to myself. I didn't have any plans, but I could always reach out to Amber tomorrow and see if she wanted to hang out. Thankfully, she was just a 10-minute walk away from me.

It felt nice being alone in the house that night. It gave me a sense of independence and adulthood. As I lay in bed, I pondered how I wanted to spend the rest of my junior year. It was clear that I needed to get out more and step up my game. Maybe I should spruce up my wardrobe like my friends had been doing. I had been wearing variations of the same old shorts for years, pairing them with different shirts each day. It was time for a change.

I tried to imagine myself on a date with a guy like Mark. Kissing him, making out... ugh, I was terrible at this. The truth was, I had only been kissed once before, at a party where my friends had convinced me to play spin the bottle when I was 14. The experience had been incredibly awkward, especially when it was my turn to spin the bottle. That was several years ago, when dating was still a new and unfamiliar concept to all of us. Sometimes, I found myself yearning to go back to that time, thinking that my 17-year-old self would be much better equipped to handle the innocent challenges I had faced at 14.

I contemplated the idea of actually having sex with someone. However, I couldn't picture it happening with a high schooler. It seemed like I would have to wait until college, or maybe I should have pursued one of Phil's friends. The thought made me giggle, but being 17, that would have been a big no-no for an adult. It was a shame because, deep down, I felt more drawn to the idea of dating and doing sex stuff with someone older. Drifting off to sleep, my mind filled with fantasies of what it would be like, and surprisingly, I found myself enjoying the mental images. If only things were that simple.

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