Page 25 of Love and Memories

Bella rested her hands on her cheeks and inhaled a deep breath. “What am I going to do? I don’t have a place to go. I don’t have any money.”

Her questions were firing faster than Travis could process them. “Whoa. Whoa. Settle down. We’ll figure this out.”

“I’m out of time,” Bella said. “I don’t want to stay any longer because I already can’t afford any of this hospital bill, but I–”

Travis reached for her hand and covered it in both of his. Her fingers were cold against his skin. “I said we’ll figure it out. I’m not leaving you, okay?”

Bella’s breathing came quicker, but she nodded.

“Okay, let’s start with your parents. Do you want to reach out to them now? If not, we can go to plan B.”

“There isn’t a plan B. I guess I should call them,” Bella said hastily.

“I can call them, and you can hear the conversation and gauge how you want to respond. I can even make it sound like I’m a salesman just to make sure we got the right number.”

Bella rested her other hand on her chest as it rose and fell with her deep breaths. “You don’t have to go that far, just… maybe ask about me. Say you're an old friend or something.”

Travis pulled out his phone with one hand and kept hers locked in his other. She was starting to warm up, and his palm was starting to tingle.

No time to examine that anomaly. He had parents to locate.

Bella told him the number, and he made the call, putting it on speaker and resting the phone between them.

It rang twice before a woman answered. “Hello.”

Travis glanced up to see Bella’s reaction, but she sat frozen, staring at the phone. Was she even breathing anymore?

“Hi. My name is Travis. I’m looking for Isabella Young.”

The line went silent, and Travis watched Bella. Why wasn’t she moving?

“You have the wrong number,” the woman spat before hanging up the call.

Travis stilled. “That was uncalled for. Sorry I bothered her.”

When he looked up at Bella, she hadn’t brushed it off the way he had.

“Do you have a different number for them?” he asked.

Bella swallowed hard and looked up at him. “That was my mom.”

10

ISABELLA

Travis gaped at her, then glanced back at his phone. “Are you sure?”

“Positive. I know my mom’s voice.”

She also knew the bite behind her mother’s tone. It was the voice she used when she’d had enough of Isabella.

Straightening, Bella sucked in one deep, grounding breath. Help wasn’t coming. She couldn’t go home. They’d moved on without her, and she had no idea what she’d done to push them away.

“Bella, I–”

Bella pulled her hand from his grip. She’d been clinging to him like he was her savior, but now her hope was gone. “Let’s just move on. Didyouhave a plan B by any chance?”

“They shouldn’t do that to you. Whatever the rift is between you, you’re still their daughter, and they should–”

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