Isabella kept running till she got out of the house and began heading towards the big wide gate.
The house was so enormous that it took her a while before she got to the gate. She forced it open and rushed outside, running for a distance before she spotted a moving vehicle on the road and a few people wandering around the corners.
She stops for a moment and places her hand on her knees then stoops down a little, trying to calm her hard breathing after a long run.
Isabella panted heavily as cold sweat began dripping down from her face. After escaping from those men, she felt a wisp of relief but the fear of being caught or chased by them still lingered in her heart.
She felt her phone buzzing inside her pocket and immediately, she dipped her hand into her pocket to find it inside. She wondered how her phone was still in her pocket after spending a night with strangers.
Her face changed to a frown and her eyes flashed in panic when she saw the name of the caller. It was her mom calling and she knew she would be worried sick about her.
Isabella thought of what she would say to her mother once she answered the call. She knew her mother must have so many questions about her absence and if she had to tell her the truth about going to the bar with her friend, Bianca, she would be dead when she gets home.
Isabella swallowed hard countless times, trying to moisturize her dried throat as she stared at her mother’s caller Id on her phone screen as it rang, still thinking of an excuse or maybe a believable lie to give to her mother.
After thinking of a response to give, she finally picked the call and brought it up to her ear so she could hear the caller’s voice clearly.
“Where are you Isabella?!”
Her mother’s voice boomed from the other side of the phone which made her jerk the phone out of her ear just to lower the volume of her phone a little before placing it right back on her ear.
Her ears were itching inside already by hearing her mother’s tensed voice which sounded like she was deeply worried.
“Mom—I—I don’t know…” Isabella stuttered, looking around her surroundings, trying to figure out where she was. She had no idea where she was at the moment.
“Isabella please come back home. Come back home before you kill me alive”, her mother’s trembling voice choked out as she sobbed through the phone.
Isabella knew her mother was having a panic attack at the moment which might be dangerous to her health since she has a HBP (High Blood Pressure) issue.
Hearing her mother cry made her heart tightened.
“Mom please I’m sorry, I’m on my way home now”, Isabella assured her before she hung up the call and rushed to board a taxi on the road.
“Please take me to Via Corionia 91 Street”, Isabella said in hesitation but although the name of the place was hard to pronounce in her accent, but at least the driver did understood what she said.
“Via Corio 91 Street”, the driver corrected and Isabella nodded in confirmation. “Sure ma’am”, the driver responded and without any hesitation, he started the car engine and zoomed off at once.
Isabella’s heart was pounding viciously and her head was running wild with thought. She thought of what her mom must be going through all because of her. She looks at her phone notification which shows her a thirty missed calls, indicating that her mother had been calling her for almost an hour. “Oh God, I’m finished”, she muttered silently with her whole body shivering with fear.
Few minutes later, they arrived at her apartment and the driver stopped.
Isabella alighted from the car, dipped her hand into her pocket and brought out a few amount of cash and offered it to him. “Please manage this sir”, she pleaded then ran into the house without waiting for him to say a word.
Slowly, she twisted the door knob when she arrived at the door and pushed it opened before stepping in.
“Where did you take my daughter to?”
Isabella heard her mother roar when she entered the house. She was letting all her frustration out by yelling at Bianca angrily in the sitting room. Even Bianca’s mother, Ava was present, seated on the sofa, panicking in fear.
Isabella has never seen her mother this angry before in her entire life.
Isabella’s heart was still pondering hard against her chest when she called out for her mom’s attention. “Mom I’m home”, she said to her mom and immediately, everyone turned to acknowledge her present in the house.
“Oh my gosh, you’re back”, Ava, stood up from the sofa and quickly rushed to engulf Isabella into a hug. “I and your mom were worried sick about you”, she disengaged from the hug and clasp her face lovingly for a few moments, checking if Isabella had any scar that shows if she had endangered by anything but there was nothing.
“Mom…” Isabella called when Bianca’s mom released her from her grasp and took a step back.
“Shut up”, her mother snapped, interrupting her from uttering a word. She was so angry that Isabella didn’t return her last night and it almost took out her life when she noticed she wasn’t home yet.
Last night, Isabella’s mom, Celina had thought she might be in Bianca’s house so that was why she didn’t bother to call or search for Isabella till this morning that she discovered she isn’t home yet and neither In Bianca’s house.
Celina’s heart was filled with great regret for allowing Isabella to leave the house so late at night with Bianca. If she had known Isabella won’t return home last night she wouldn’t have allowed her leave.
In a fit of rage, Celina rushed over and landed Isabella a harsh slap across the face.
Isabella who wasn’t expecting it, held her cheek in shock and brought down her gaze to the floor, not wanting to look at her mother’s cold eyes.
“You have started following man right? Huh? That is why you didn’t return home last night right??” Her mother interrogated her with questions while Isabella’s eyes turned red as she was trying so hard to control her emotions so she wouldn’t end up crying due to the stinging pains on her cheek.
“Mom I swear I didn’t follow any man home”, Isabella tried to defend herself which earned her another slap on the other side of her cheek from her mother. It almost blocked her ear drum.
“Where were you Isabella, for a whole night?” Her mom asked again and Isabella stood still, frozen without uttering a word. She was thinking of a lie she would probably tell her because if she had to tell her the truth, she’d be dead by now. Her mom forbids her to go to such a place like bars or nightclubs and if she finds out the truth about Bianca taking her there she won’t allow her to see her again.
And just as if Bianca sensed Isabella’s dumbfounded expression, she spoke out for her. “Hum ma we only went for a job interview last night and the place was so crowded, I couldn’t find Isabella so I had to go home. I am so sorry Mrs. Celina because it’s all my fault”. Bianca explained softly which was able to calm Celina’s anger.
Celina heaved a deep sigh. “You still have some explanation to give to me Isabella”. “Now go to your room”, Celina ordered, pointing at the corridor that leads to her room.
Without any second thought, Isabella went to her room and slammed the door shut. She falls on the bed and buried her face in one of her pillows and begins to cry.
Suddenly, Isabella heard the door open and she quickly dried her tears in the pillow before lifting them up to see who had entered her room.