One Missed Call

23: why two mothers

Watching as her friend instantly leaves the white horse carousel the instant her mother walks through the large heavy brown doors only brings a frown to Bella's small wine coloured lips as she watches her friend's mother hold out her hands to embrace her.

She turns her gaze from her friend and her mother, down to her dress as she gently rocks herself on the white swing set.

Her shoes remain as clean as ever as the grass she is stepping on is in fact plastic and very much unreal.

The entire ground is covered in it to avoid the children from dirtying their white uniforms.

Sunflower has a simple name, just to make parents feel the warmth from the name itself when they think of leaving their children to go and learn.

Their ever clean uniform is always clean, even when their parents come to claim them, since they constantly wash during the day and stop them from messing their clothes when it goes out of hand.

Bella already knows how to keep her clothes clean.

Her mother hates it when she has to take care of too much laundry from her and constantly yells at her not to mess her clothes up.

So she never really does which earns her a few stars from her teacher that praises her for being a very smart kid.

Though her teachers praise her for the cleanliness, Bella surely lacks a lot more.

"Bella!" Her friend calls out as she waves at her. "Won't you come over today?"

"Yes!" Bella screams out in joy and jumps off the swing set, rushing over to her friend who grins out at her and holds her hands.

The only friend Bella managed to make friends with is Sofia.

A small cherry blossom with a healthy thick head of red hair and rosy cheeks with a few freckles here and there that all together bring out her bright deep sea green eyes.

"Hi Bella." Sofia's mother chimes as she glances down at the short little girl. "You want to come home with us?"

"Yes please." Bella smiles brightly in excitement, not wanting to have to go home and find her mother.

She simply doesn't want to have to stay in the same house with her without her father around to keep her mother from yelling or glaring at her.

She is just afraid of the cold gaze Ria gives her more often than she should be giving anyway.

"Did you ask your mum?" Sofia's mother asks and Bella instantly frowns and glances away from her as she laces her short and small fingers.

"No." She says in a mummer, getting Sofia who sigh out.

"Want me to ask her for you-."

"No! I'll wait for Mr Leavens!" She frowns deeply and clenches her fists before rushing into the building as tears fill up her eyes.

"Bella!" Sofia calls out as she also runs behind her. "It's just a phone call. She won't shout!"

"She'll get mad." She shakes her head in denial. "I'll wait."

"Are you sure, Bella?" Sofia's mother asks as she frowns slightly in worry for the little girl who clearly doesn't want her to phone her mother. Too afraid she would deny and yell at her back home.

"Bella, your mum is here!" A little boy with dirty blonde hair and charming brown eyes runs into the room with his mouth nearly buried up with biscuits. "I heard her telling my mum she came to pick you up."

Bella stares at him in disbelief as she feels a bit of fear fill up her tiny body while watching the teacher's son, Toby, get so excited about it, since he has never seen Bella's mother before.

"Bella's mum?" Sofia gasps out and giggles. "Let me see!" The two rush out of the room, leaving Bella ad Sofia's mother behind.

The woman glances down at Bella who walks over to her classroom to get her bag ever so lazily, making her a bit worried.

"Does mummy hurt you Bella?" She asks as Bella walks out and drags her bag across the floor while walking towards the reception.

"She shouts a lot." Bella says in a mummer and reaches her small hands to her eyes. "My mummy doesn't like me."

"Don't cry." She walks to her and lifts her off the ground and into her arms. "I'll talk to her. Don't worry."

"No. She'll be more mad." She shakes her head and sniffs as they near the reception.

Bella's nervous eyes scan the room for the tall skinny woman, Ria.

Her eyes drop on the familiar figure surrounded by Sofia and Toby who keep throwing countless questions at her.

"Let me down!" Bella wiggles from Sofia's mother's arms and she blinks in confusion but puts her down.

Bella giggles out as she rushes over to the woman she did not expect to see, the little short legs running as fast as they could to her.

Once she got close enough to her, she shoves her friends aside and wraps her arms around Hailee's legs, relieved she is the one coming to get her.

"Oh, Bella. Wow, you're excited to see me, aren't you?" Hailee chuckles out as he reaches her hand down to pat Bella's head.

"I thought it was my mummy." She chuckles as she glances up at Hailee, and only then did Hailee notice she was crying. "I was a little scared."

"I thought she was your mummy?" Toby asks in confusion as he glances up at Hailee who smiles down at him awkwardly.

"My daddy likes her, so she'll be my mummy too." Bella says boastfully, getting Hailee to stiffen at the comment she's just made when there is a woman just beside them.

Sofia's mother raises her brows in shock and glances at Hailee who looks away in embarassement.

"You're not her mother?" Sofia's mother asks, getting Hailee to reluctantly glance at her.

"No. I'm her guardian." She smiles out and chuckles nervously. "Her father sent me to pick her up."

"Oh, well in that case, could you send a message for me to her mother?" She asks getting Hailee to stiffen but reluctantly nod her head in agreement. "Well, Bella earlier was crying because she didn't want to meet her mother whom she thought came to take her. I'm worried because a kid her age should want to see her mother."

"She really is young." Hailee nods as she pats Bella's head who is busy fighting with Toby to the fact that it's not fair she would get to have two mothers. "But we both can't do much about her mother. Her father is all she has."

"Apparently you as well. She seems to like you." She chuckles out. "When she saw you she demanded I put her down and she went running off to hug you."

"I honestly have no idea why she likes me so much." She chuckles nervously. "She barely knows me."

"She knows enough to love you." The woman smiles and walks over to her daughter who is also whining about Bella having two mothers. "We have to get going. I have work. It was nice meeting you....?"

"Hailee."

"Ah yes, Hailee. My name is Cynthia."