Deception (N.H)

CHAPTER 2: PHONE CALLS AND FLASHBACKS!

!!Trigger Warning!! Violence.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

I groaned, hitting my alarm before being blinded by the sunlight coming through my windows. Once my eyes have finally adjusted to the light, I look around my room. Clothes filled the once clean floor and empty cups decorated my bedside table. I look to the foot of my bed only to be greeted by the long contract I spent all night reading.

I grabbed my phone from the bedside table and looked to see I had three missed calls.

Mum.

Sophia.

James.

I groaned when I noticed James called me. I blocked James but he kept stalking me and said the only way he would stop was if I unblocked him. James was my ex boyfriend who I wanted nothing to do with. He was abusive and very manipulative. I met James about a month after I had gone to a halloween party. We became friends and started dating about three months later. On our first anniversary, we said 'I love you' for the first time. That was the night I lost my virginity. A week after that night, things started changing until it hit the last straw.

Flashback.

"Hey baby" I handed him a glass of water. "I made dinner. Go get cleaned up." I gave him a kiss on the cheek. James rolled his eyes and pushed me away. "I already ate." My smile faltered.

He's eaten out every day and I was hoping today I would finally have some company. "Oh. I was hoping you would have eaten with me today." I pouted looking down. "I said I already ate." He threw the glass on the floor and gave me a push so I stumbled back. "Don't push me." My voice came out serious and stern when in reality, fear had taken over my body. "Listen here," James grabbed my wrists while clenching his teeth and pulled me to him. "I don't give a flying fuck about what you hope for. You're always so fucking clingy and it gets on my nerves. I don't know why I ever dated a whore like you." He spat the venomous words.

Tears rimmed my eyes. "I tho-thought you lo-loved me. You were m-my first." I felt a tear run down my cheek. He rolled his eyes and tightened his grip on my wrists. "How could anyone ever love such a clingy slut?" The words ran through my blood like the venom from a poisonous snake. I felt a harsh sting on my cheek.

The bastard slapped me.

The tears began pouring out. "You're just a useless slut. I can't believe I ever wasted my time on you. You're clingier than anyone I've ever met. You whine and cry and you're just a pathetic little whore who doesn't deserve any love this world has to offer." He pushed me to the ground and gave me a kick with each statement. He roughly grabbed my hair and pulled my head off the ground. "Wanna know a secret?" The poisonous tone sent a painful ache through my body. "I was cheating on you the whole fucking time." He threw my head to the ground and my temple hit some glass. I felt blood trickle down my head. James gave me one last kick on my stomach before walking out of the door.

I sat there curled up in a ball and cried all night until Sophia came to check on me.

End of flashback.

I bring my palm up to wipe the tears that escaped. The bruises took a month to completely heal and fade away. I still have a scar on the side of my temple from where he threw me on the floor. The broken glass cut my temple pretty badly. Pushing away those painful memories, I called my mum.

"Hello?"

"Hey mum. I'm sorry I missed your call. I must have left my phone on silent and didn't hear it." I ran a hand through my hair while I let out a sigh.

"It's okay dear. It wasn't anything important, I just wanted to check in with you."

"I'm okay. I didn't get much sleep last night so I'm kind of tired this morning but I'll be fine."

"Why didn't you get enough sleep? Are you okay?" The worry in her voice was evident.

I let out a chuckle. "No mum I'm fine, I just had to read through a really long contract several times so I knew exactly what I was signing."

I heard a sigh of relief come from the other end of the phone call. "So did the reading pay off?"

I bit my lip looking at the contract sitting by my feet. I began to tell my mum everything about the contract before letting out a sigh. "The contract is pretty clear and it's a pretty good deal. The only problem is the time. It's too short of a notice and it would occupy a lot of time."

"Arabella, I know it may seem very hard because of the time complications. If you think the contract is good and it's a good deal, then take it. Do what your gut tells you. There's not gonna be many opportunities walking through the door if you keep worrying about time." The seriousness in her tone made her words hit deeper.

"Mum it's for a tour. The deal is I go on tour with this band so I can cook for them."

"How long is the tour? You never told me that part."

I bit my lip and played with the ends of my hair. "It's about eight months. I can't leave my bakery for that long." I let out a sigh.

Silence filled the line.

"Mum? You there?"

"Yes. Yes I'm here. Look, don't worry about the bakery, me and your father can take care of it and I'm sure Sophia would love to help too. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and you can't let such a good deal slip away. It'll also help with the publicity of your bakery so that's a bonus."

I paused thinking over my mother's words.

"Okay. I'll take it, but mum the tour starts in about a month."

"That's okay. As long as you're ready to do this, the time won't change much."

"Thank you mum. I'm gonna take the deal." A wide smile took over my face.

"Good. I'm happy for you and I'm so proud of you." I could picture the huge smile on my mum's face when she said that.

"I have to go mum. I'll talk to you later."

"Okay then bye, I love you."

"Bye mum, I love you too." I ended the call with the big smile still on my face.

I called Sophia and told her about the contract. She was happy and encouraged me to go for it.

I simply ignored the fact that James called me and decided I would start my day.

I got out of bed and walked to my bathroom. I looked in the mirror and traced my scar. Tears pricked my eyes but I quickly blinked them away. I took a long shower while thinking about everything. The deal was pretty good and I decided I was going to take it. When I finally got out and got dressed, I called Colten.

"Hello?"