Chapter 43: Chapter 43

Isabella's pov;

"Go on."

I let out a sigh and thought for some excuse while Harry was staring at me waiting for an answer from me. But I don't have any. I said it because I wanted to escape from him and didn't expect he would wait for the entire day and caught me during my basketball practice.

"Wasn't it getting late for you? I mean it's 5 pm. Aren't you supposed to go home by now?"

"Nah! I was informed that I'll be late today. So all set."

Set for what?

"I… i…"

Ikea hit me with a ball and asked me, "Are you proposing to this guy?"

I throwed the ball over her face but she blocked it and said to Harry, "Why does your face look familiar to me?"

Harry said, "Our pictures got shared in the noticeboard and in the school official site…"

Before he finished, I stopped him and said to Ikea, "Don't you have practice now? I remember it's not a break time, yet so get back into the field."

"While you're talking, I tried to remember where I saw this face and I got it. I saw your pictures together. The bully who fell in love. It's you, right?" Asked harry.

He let out a chuckle and said, "Yeah, it was me. But I'm not a bully. Actually, my friends…"

"Blah… blah… blah… over. Go and continue your practice."

Ikea winked at him and said, "If she didn't say yes, just to remind you I'm available" made a chuckle and left.

After Ikea left, Harry said, "Your friends are funny. Why aren't others like this?"

"What do you mean to others?"

"Liam, Evelyn, Sophia, Noah."

"The others you're talking about are my best friends."

"Okay. Coming to our part, tell me what you wanted to tell me."

I thought he forgot about it but he still remembers it. What should I lie now? Think! Think! Nothing comes into my mind. Argh!

"Bella!"

I heard someone calling my name. It's Noah. He waved his hand in the air at me asking me to join him. Ha! I got the way out!

"I'm sorry. I've gotta go. See ya." I ran away from him and joined Ikea, Noah and others.

When I came to the stand being thirsty, Harry gave me a bottle of water.

"What are you still doing here?"

"Waiting for you. Take it."

I took the water from him and tried to drink it but Noah hit it from my hands. It dropped on the floor and the water spilled all over.

"Why did you do that?"

"You're getting angry at me? I don't understand. What's happening here? When did you start accepting water from the bully?"

"It was just water."

"You're taking the bully's side. He's your bully. Did you forget that?"

"Why does it matter to you? Why are you getting hyped up for nothing? He just offered water to me. What's wrong with that?"

"I'm your friend for hellsake!"

"Then behave like a friend." And walked out from the court with anger.

I wiped my tears from my eyes and walked to the entrance of the school. After coming out of the school, I walked along the pathway to the candy shop.

Harry ran after me screaming, "Hey! Stop! Bella, stop!"

I stopped walking and asked him, "What do you want with me?"

He looked at me and came closer and touched my cheeks while asking, "Did you cry?"

I took his hands off my face and said, "No."

"Why did you fight with your friend? It's not like the first time he snapped a water bottle from you."

"But you gave it to me."

He held my hand and asked, "Does this mean you like me?"

"I don't know. I don't know. I don't know why I get mad when others talk about you. I don't know why I get mad when someone calls you a bully. I don't know why I'm not pushing you away? I don't know why I'm letting you do whatever you want. I know I don't like you but I don't know why I'm still speaking for you…" and started crying.

"Then why did you call me a bully if you don't like others calling me?"

"I-I have to go."

When I tried to leave, he gave me a back hug and said, "I liked you for a long time. I liked you the moment when I saw you in middle school when you stepped upon a rough boy for your friend. I liked your courage which I lacked. To your eyes, I'm a rich guy son so I can do whatever I want. But that wasn't the truth. I never did anything to my liking so I gave up having interest in anything. You're the first one I liked on my own." He broke the hug and stood in front of me and continued, "The guys around me aren't my friends. They were there for my money and not for me. I gained the title bully when they hang out with me. I hated it in the beginning but everyone looked scared around me and I liked it. You stood before me and hated me and told it to my face which made me like you more…"

I removed his hands from my shoulder and said, "What are you doing?"

"I didn't do anything when people around you were bullied because I wanted you to speak more to me again and again. I was ready to hear it even if it was a hate speech about me…"

"Stop it."

He continued, "I was the one who told people to circulate it around the school. I don't want anybody to look at you. Because you were mine from the beginning…"

I closed my both ears and shouted, "Stop it! Stop everything! Stop it!"

"I love you, Bella."

Flashback scenes of Isabella with her dad:

"Why are you leaving, dad?"

Dad, "Bella, I love you. But I can't be with you anymore. I have to go."

Mom, "Bella! Don't run, stop! He's not going to come even if you cry."

Bella to mom, "Why is he leaving, mom?"

"He doesn't love us anymore, Bella."

Flashback ends.

Harry squatted down to me and asked, "What happened, Bella? Are you alright?"

I raised my head and saw him with a worried face and gripped his collar and asked, "Love? What do you know about love? Do you call that love?"

"Bella…"

"Stop saying my name!" I shouted at him.

Noah came all of a sudden and separated us and said, "I knew this would happen." And asked Harry to leave.

Harry asked him, "What's happening to her?"

"Can you please leave now? I'll explain it to you later."

After Harry left, Noah made me sit on the nearby bench and asked me, "Did he say the L word?"

I gave a nod and continued wiping my tears.

He gave me water to drink and patted my shoulder and said, "I knew this would happen. That's why I asked you to stay away from him. Leave it aside. Drink the water now."

"Can't I live like a normal person?"

"Hey! Stop spouting nonsense. You are a normal person."

"No, I'm not. Did you see how crazy I was? Mom said Dad goes crazy sometimes. Did I end up like him?"

Noah, "Come here."

Noah gave a hug and said, "You're not a crazy person and I promise you won't end up like your dad."

"I'm scared."

"Don't be. It won't happen. I won't let it happen to my best friend."

Harry pov;

What happened to her suddenly? Why did she get angry all of a sudden? I have never seen her like this before.

I saw Noah coming to my side so I ran to him.

"What's happening here?"

"I told you to stay away from her." And tried to walk away.

"I… I really like her. I'm not playing around. Please tell me what happened? I really want to know. I'm worried about her."

He let out a sigh and said, "I can't believe you."

"Please, I want to know."

He let out a sigh and said, "Her parents got separated when she was a child. Do you know that?"

"Yeah, I heard about it."

"Her dad was not like us. He has mixed minds so he'll go crazy sometimes. Isabella thinks she's also like him. We tried to talk it out of her but she said she's turning like him as the day passes on. Seeing her parents separation, it kinda gave her an impact so she's kinda scared of love and relationships. It was like a trauma for her."

"Trauma? That's a big word."

"So stay away from her. I don't want to see you anywhere near her."

"That's difficult."

"What?"

"I'm not going to stay away from her. I'm going to be with her all the time."

"Are you crazy? Did you forget what just happened back then?"

"I remember it. That's why I'm not leaving her alone anymore."

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

My car arrived so I got into the car and headed to my place.

When I reached my place, the butler from inside the house ran towards the car and opened the door for me.

At the entrance of the house, "Exams are around the corner. Did you start working on it?" Father asked me.

"Yes, father. I did."

He went back to his meeting with his friends as I walked to my room.

I looked at the tree, which i planned to give to her as a surprise but i then realised the tree was not the proper surprise and thought about something else more appropriate.

I want to know how she is now? How to know that? Should I make a call? Will she attend it after what happened today?

When I made a call, she answered it.

"Are you alright now?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Sorry, I didn't know that…"

Before I completed it, she said, "It's fine. I'm okay now. What did you call me for?"

She sounds fine.

"Nothing. I just wanted to know how you are."

"Okay."

"Goodnight."

"That's it?"

What does she mean by that?

"What?"

"You called me to ask only to know how I am."

"Yes."

"Did I embarrass you? Did everyone see us while I was acting like that? You must have felt embarrassed because of me, right?"

"It's never like that. I got blank when you acted like that. I didn't get embarrassed because of you. I'm sure about that."

"My cover-up has been broken, I think. Will you be different after this?"

"No! I won't! Why should I?"

"Noah told me about your conversation with him. He said that you're stubborn and sounded more crazy than me."

"Bella, you're not crazy. Remember that."

"Not many know about this. Even in my friends circle, Noah and Sophia are the only people to know this. So I kinda… I don't know what to say. So please don't say this to anyone."

"Hey, I won't do that. Why do you think like that? Even though I'm a bully to others' eyes, I don't do things like that."

"Um, I waited to call you first but I thought you wouldn't pick up the call after what had happened so I didn't do it. To my surprise, you called me." And let out a chuckle on the other side.

"I like it when you talk like this. Is this how you talk to your friends?"

"Yeah, why?"

"When you speak like this, it feels like you're being yourself and… you started to like me back right?"

"No!"

I laughed and said, "I was kidding but not really kidding though."

I heard someone's voice, "Bella, who's on the call?"

Bella said to me, "I'll talk to you tomorrow." And ended the call.

Who was that on the call? I'm sure that voice belonged to a guy.