Page 52 of Betsy
Amanda pulled the phone away from her ear and tapped the screen again. Ringing came from the speakers. She’d put the call on speaker phone so we all could hear.
“Hey, hermana. Que paso?”
She’d called my sister?
“Hi, Bella. This is Betsy’s friend, Amanda. Actually, all of Betsy’s friends are here.”
The girls went around in a circle saying hi and introducing themselves.
“Don’t tell them anything, Bella,” I yelled like a hostage trying to warn someone about the bad guys in a movie.
She giggled over the line.
“We’re actually calling because your emotionally-resistant sister has gone and developed feelings for a guy.”
“Oh, please tell me it’s the hot lead singer of the band she’s touring with.”
Amanda looked at me over the phone’s screen, eyebrows raised.
“I told her to have some fun and live a little before she left, but I honestly didn’t think she’d take my advice,” Bella continued.
“So, you’d be happy if she started dating Asher North?” Amanda poked carefully.
My breath caught in my throat.
“Truthfully?” Bella sighed. “I’d be more than a little relieved.”
“What?” I breathed out the word before I could stop the syllable from escaping.
“I feel guilty about everything that happened, and you seem…I don’t know, stuck, I guess. You haven’t seemed to move forward with either your personal or professional life, and I know that’s my fault. If you dated, I think…I think I might be able to start to forgive myself.”
Molly put one hand over her heart and dabbed the corner of her eye with the other.
I reached out my hand to Amanda, who placed the phone in my palm. “Bella, you have no reason to feel guilty about me. I’m the one who introduced you to Wyatt, so that blame is mine. Being with someone like Wyatt, even someone who loves music as much as he did—I don’t want that to be a constant reminder and source of pain for you.”
“Betsy,youlove music that much.”
I didn’t answer because I didn’t have a good argument to counter that.
“Do you really like this Asher guy?” she asked.
My friends stared at me. Nicole rolled her eyes when I didn’t answer. “Silence means yes.”
“Then you can’t use me as an excuse. Not unless you want me to feel even more guilty than I already do.”
I huffed a laugh. “Are you using guilt as a guilt trip?”
“Only if it’s working,” she teased.
“Brat.”
She giggled again. “I learned from the best.”
I ended the call and looked up. My friends beamed at me.
Jocelyn stood. “Now that that’s settled, I’m taking the spotlight back.” She smoothed out the wrinkles in her boho-chic dress. “I’m getting married!” she squealed.
I followed the girls outside to the back yard, where Malachi’s grandmother had made his brother hang twinkle lights and his sister had arranged wildflowers in mason jars and set them on linen-covered tables. I pushed thoughts of Asher and what I’d do and say when I saw him again to the back of my mind. Tonight was for Jocelyn and Malachi.
