Taken by a Stranger (Meadema)

Chapter 20 - Some White Lies 🙊

'Hey Beth, I have something for you here. You can put all the stuff you need to take with you in this suitcase'. Viv entered the guest room with her Manchester City suitcase. At first she was going to give Beth an old suitcase, but since she was going to drop Beth off at home herself, she could take the suitcase back with her and she thought a better suitcase would be more suitable.

It was quite confronting, the amount of stuff that went into the suitcase. For a moment, the harsh reality came around the corner again. The only thing that went into the suitcase that was actually hers... Well... Only her bra. She had lost everything, stuff that was in Steve's house that was hers, clothes of hers that were still hanging there, all gone. Nothing of herself that she had lying here with Viv. The only thing that went into the suitcase was that bra and then some things she got from Viv. The ball that she got from Viv after her hattrick and the present that she got from Viv, the box on which the ultrasound of the baby plays.

Beth stared at the suitcase, with only three items in it. It was stark evidence of what her life was like now. Viv looked at her, saw the tears welling up in Beth's eyes as she was confronted with what she had. It hurt Viv a little too, to see the meagre amount of stuff that went into the suitcase, so she quickly left the room, grabbed an extra tracksuit of her own, an extra pair of pyjamas and gave her a Manchester City sweater. 'Here Beth, look. An extra tracksuit, which you can wear at your dad's house, a pair of pyjamas and of course my extra sweater, so that you will always be a Manchester City fan and maybe wear it when you watch one of my matches again'.

Viv knew from a conversation they had a few days ago that Beth's childhood room actually only contained some furniture and posters on the wall. There was no more clothing left, no other necessary items, nothing. So Viv decided to at least give her some basic items. 'Thank you Viv, I promise that I will give you your tracksuit and pyjamas back when we see each other  again. But this sweater her, well... I don't know if you'll ever get it back. It's so nice and cozy'. 

A small smile appeared on Viv's face, now that she saw Beth looking at her Manchester City sweater lovely. All those times she saw Beth lying on the couch in it, walking through the house in it, wearing it while sitting in the stands at a game. All those times she saw her, it had given her butterflies in her stomach. How beautifully the sweater made her eyes shine, how beautifully her blonde hair fell over it, but most of all, how beautifully her belly stood out in it. She couldn't do anything else, even though her initials were on it... This sweater was Beth's from now on. 'Well, you can have it. It looks amazing on you and besides, I can order a new one for free'.

Beth looked at her with wide eyes. 'Really?'. A soft giggle left Viv's mouth. 'Yeah of course. I love to see you in it'. Not a second later Beth took Viv's City sweater out of the suitcase and started to pull out her own sweater. 'Fuck Viv, I'm stuck, can you help me?'. It was a Beth thing, always tying the two strings of sweaters together. And normally she always unties them when she takes off her sweater, but now, in all her enthusiasm? Well, she had forgotten that for a moment.

Viv looked at her, Beth's sweater stuck in front of her head, so that she could no longer see anything. A lump shot through Viv's throat for a moment, all those thoughts about her feelings shot through her head again. 'Uhm, yeah of course'. She carefully stepped towards Beth, her own belly came into contact with Beth's baby bump. She pulled the sweater back down, revealing Beth's red embarrassed face. 'Hey, don't get awkward. It can always happen. I promise not to make a comment this time that mommy needs to learn to undress herself before she can undress her daughter, like I did with the cream puffs on the couch'. Beth looked at her, a look of disbelief on her face. 'Hey, now you've said it. God, I'm glad I'll be rid of your stupid teasing Vivi'.

Viv meanwhile undid the knot in the strings of the sweater Beth was wearing. 'Oh, is that so? So you won't miss teasing Vivi?'. She saw Beth's hand grab the strings of her sweater in a flash, saw her face turn even redder. 'Be carefull or I'll tie your strings, pull your sweater over your head, so that it's stuck and then I'll have to come and rescue you from your sweater, for which you'll first have to endure a lot of Beth teasing'. Now it was Viv, who by now matched the redness of Beth's face. 'But no, I was lying Vivi. I'll miss your teasing so much'.