in 1999 Gareth Southgate had an affair with Nadine Sterling. It led to her having a daughter whom they decided to call her Isabella and they wanted to keep her so they decided to co-parent whilst staying friends.
it's 2021 now and Isabella's father...
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"from strangers to friends"
||ISABELLA||
i got back yesterday, nothing had really changed. i felt like shit, i felt numb, i'd stopped crying but it was only a matter of time before i broke down again. my brother had found out what had happened and tried to keep in touch with me but i chose to ignore it. i didn't want to know, i didn't want to talk to anyone yet for some reason, i still wanted Mason. i was so hurt and felt so betrayed but it was done. what's done is done and there's no relationship without trust.
i sighed as my phone began to ring, Raheem. "for fuck's sake" i whispered to myself. i picked up the phone. "Bella what the fuck?! i've been calling you all day what the fuck is going on?" my brother yelled down the phone. "Raz-" I started. "Don't fucking Raz me i don't wanna hear it. explain yourself right now," he repeated. i groaned to myself.
"i heard that." he sassed.
"i went home okay? i don't wanna be there," i responded. "And whys that?" he asked. "i just-" I started. "i'll tell you why because i already know i just wanted to hear your excuse but now i don't care. you left because you got a video of a girl sat on Mason's lap, you had a hissy fit, didn't even let him explain himself, left him feeling abandoned in a foreign country and got on the first flight home," he yelled making me go quiet.
"now! i'm gonna tell you exactly what happened and you're gonna fucking listen and stop being childish-" he began. "chaaaaldish," i mimicked. "read the fucking room Bella!" he yelled making my smile disappear.
"listen and i want NO INTERRUPTIONS!" my brother told me. "okay!" i defended myself. "we went to a club, got pissed and some tapped girls came over to us, we tried to move them along but Mason was off his head, he kept telling all of them he had a girlfriend but CHLOE insisted on staying, this one girl sat on his lap and Mason AND THE REST OF US tried to get her off him but Chloe took a fucking video so we got SECURITY TO KICK. THEM. OUT." He yelled, "it wasn't Mason's fucking fault that his ex girlfriend was there! he hasn't spoken to her in over a year, she was just fucking there. you've been manipulated and you've ended something beautiful because of a fucking lie!"
oh. chloe's his ex.
"i- i'm sorry" i stuttered. "Bella, it's fine, what do you want to do about this, though?" my brother asked. "i don't know," i sighed.
i paused the TV as i heard a knock on the door. who could that fucking be. my eyes widened as i opened the door and was met with Mason's beautiful brown eyes, god those eyes. "hey," he whispered. Mason looked exhausted, his eyes were, red, puffy. he'd clearly been crying. "h-hi," i stuttered. "can i come in?" he asked. i opened the door for him, signalling for him to come in as he sat on my sofa in silence.
Mason and I had been sat in silence for a while, neither of us knowing what to say. "i spoke to Raheem...about what happened," i blurted out. "y-you did?" Mason asked. "yeah," i whispered. "i'm sorry Izzy-" he started. "no, mason i'm sorry," i interrupted him.
"i jumped to a conclusion and i acted terribly, don't feel guilty for anything you've done because it's not your fault. this was all about me and issues i have with myself and it was nothing to do with you or anything you did wrong," i apologised as he sat next to me, still facing me, intertwining our hands. "what those girls did to you was awful, they took advantage of you and that's not okay, if you'd like to report it i'll be with you every step of the way-"
i immediately got cut off by his lips in a kiss, our lips mixed with our warm tears making me snap back into reality. we pulled away and Mason wiped a tear of my cheek with his thumb, kissing my cheeks where the tears just were.
"friends into lovers"
"but, Mason. we can't be together, we shouldn't it's not right," my eyes began to water again. "w-why?" he stuttered. "because all this has done has proved that i can't trust anyone enough yet, i've been so hurt in the past and it wouldn't be fair on you if i was in a relationship and didn't trust you, i'd be wasting your time whilst you could be with someone better-" i began.
"but that's the thing! there's no one better! and there's no one else i want to be with. i want you and only you! i'm so in love with you," he sobbed. "Mason, it's not fair if i do this to you, okay? you're an amazing person but a relationship is nothing without trust," i whispered. i really wish i didn't have to do this. but, it's what's right for us. we sat in tears facing each other. "it's just not the right time for us, maybe in another life," i whispered. "i'll wait for you...i promise, even we have to go through 9 lives," he chuckled. "don't put your life on pause for me, Mase," i chuckled.
"i love you," Mason whispered as he walked towards the door. "i love you," i gave him a weak smile. "i love you 3000" he smiled as he held his pinky out. "i love you 3001" i smiled as i intertwined our pinkies.
after shedding a few more tears, Mason and I said our goodbyes. fuck. right person. wrong time.
