Endless love (Discontinued)

Chapter 25: Caller

(Betty's POV)

His name was illuminating my phone screen. I accepted the call.
"Sweetpea? Hey, what's up?" I tried to sound as calm as possible but inside I was really happy to hear his voice and talk to him again. I had not talked to him since the lunch break on Monday.
"Betty, remember the suggestion you made about, uhm.. the poker game? It's game night tomorrow, are you gonna come?" he asked me. "Yeah, of course. I promise! I just don't know how to tell my parents but I'll figure it out." I hesitated. Convincing my parents that I could go was definitely not possible so I'd need a lie, a very good lie.

Then I got an idea. "This sounds incredibly cheesy and weird but could you pretend to ask me out so that we would, like, go out on a date instead of playing poker? My parents are here this weekend, other than the last one where I was able to go everywhere I wanted to..."

I heard Sweetpea laugh. He was in a good mood. "You know what, let's do this. But remember that this is all fake, you and I are strictly platonic." Yeah, right. I was thinking the same thing... not.

Sweetpea's kisses had been in my dreams the whole week. I wanted him to smile at me again, to hold me again and to make out with me again. But the bubble of hope was popped once again.

"Okay," I answered. And then I waited. I wanted him to say something, anything just so he wouldn't stop talking. But he stayed quiet. And so did I.

After a few minutes I heard my mum scream downstairs, she was probably mad at Polly.

"Sweetpea, I gotta go..." I didn't want to hang up, not now or ever.
"Then... I'll see you tomorrow?," He asked with the soft voice I had loved since he first talked to me that way.
"Yeah," I answered.
There was silence again for a few seconds but then he hung up.

I stared at my phone; what was he doing to me?

Then I decided to go downstairs; I needed to see whether my sister was okay. Yes, she was older than me but she was so much worse at living up to my parents' expectations. Her grades weren't the best, she wasn't really popular at her school. She did have a boyfriend, but it was someone my parents couldn't stand. I didn't know his name because Polly wasn't allowed to say his name in our house and my parents threatened to send her to boarding school if she wouldn't stop dating him. But she loved him.

I walked down the stairs and saw my mother and Polly standing in the kitchen. My sister was crying and her right cheek looked red. My mum had slapped her. I hated her for this.

"Mum...," I whispered and she turned around. She was furious. "Darling," she spoke through her teeth, "I'd recommend you stay upstairs. Polly and I have to talk this through alone."
I shared a look with Polly, she was visibly scared. Even though I knew it was a bad decision I stepped in front of Polly so I was standing between her and mum. "Don't hurt her, please. Whatever happened, it's no reason to get physical," I told her and tears started to gather in my eyes as well.

"You think so, Elizabeth? Go on, Polly," mum spit out her name, "tell her what happened. You may use his name, once."

I turned around to look at my sister. Pollys' eyes were red from crying. "Jason got me pregnant and then broke up with me because I'll get too fat."

Pregnant? "You're pregnant?" I opened my mouth in surprise.

"You're a disgrace to this family. We have to get rid of this baby." My mum was still really mad at her.

Without listening to my mum, I just hugged Polly. This had to be tough on her. Getting pregnant by accident, being left by her boyfriend and then Mum telling her that she did everything wrong.

"Mum. Calm down, don't you see how hopeless she is? I think her being pregnant is worse to her than to you. You should support her, she is your daughter. Please, understand this for just one day."

My mum looked at me, then at Polly and at me again. I saw that she was thinking about what I had said and that I had convinced her. She sighed and her face was looking calm again. "Alright, I'm sorry, baby, that I've been so harsh on you. I just don't want you to feel the same-," My mum hesitated and didn't finish her sentence. "You girls should know that I love you, I just want you to make the best out of your lives and I want to push you so you can reach your goals. But we're still a family. I'm sorry, Polly, I really am."

We all hugged and I felt happy. It didn't happen often but sometimes I really loved my mother and it was easy to forgive her. I just wished that sometimes she would stop wanting to have that perfect life. And what was that sentence all about what she said, about not wanting Polly to feel the same? She got Polly when she was 26, I think that's a pretty good age to start having children.

Whatever. I enjoyed the evening with Polly who shared with me some information about Jason, her boyfriend apparently - well, ex-boyfriend now.

I felt kind of bad when the next afternoon, I got dressed for the party and hid the red dress under a black coat.

I heard the bell ring. Sweetpea.
Finally.