°•○▪︎stretching forever ▪︎○•°

empty

forever is a long time. thats a big promise to make.
it had been a solid week since id last seen bea. she hadnt even come to school, and id gotten worried.
it was risky going to her house, but it was a risk i was willing to take.
her real name was beatrice, but she made everyone call her bea, because she hated her real name.
she was similar to me in that way, my name is anastasia, but only a handful of people call me tasia. anastasia felt like too big of a mouthful for me.
we planned on legally changing our names around the same time when we got older, whoever got it done first got to have an ice-cream date from our favorite place, harvey's. the winner got to pick whatever flavor they wanted, and pick for the other person.
i planned on getting mine changed as soon as possible. harvey's has every flavor of ice cream you can think of, and bea can be evil when she feels like it.
i stalked down the slightly familiar road, retying my bow hair-tie into my lengthy, thick blonde hair. i came to a stop at her old, one-story house with a tacky blue paint with dirt smudged along the siding, and off-white door and window frames. the door was an odd brown wooden door that looked like it could have been taken off a bathroom's door frame.
i was about to walk uo the dirty paved path and knock in the door, but i knew her father had to be in the living room. his old motorcycle was in the driveway, and that was only place he ever was when he was home.
i slid around the side of the building and to bea's bedroom window, and took a fearful peek inside, scared of what i'd see, but the room was empty. it looked like it had been empty for a few days. the window was unlocked, so i opened it and quietly climbed inside.
the light was off, but i couldnt risk turning it on. her room lead straight into the living room, and her dad would probably see the light filter from under the door. the light from the window was enough for me to see, anyway.
her backpack was gone from its usual spot on the door, and a few big items, like her diary and a pillow and blanket were gone.
did she run away?
i didnt blame her, her dad was the only person that lived with her and he was actual hell. but why didnt she ever tell me?
i sat on her bed. bea had a reason for everything. she wasnt reckless.
i looked to the ground, then climbed out of the window, gently closing it and walking back to my house, knowing my grandparents would make a fuss that i didnt come home right away.
it took a half hour to get there, but i didnt care at that point. i was too worried about bea to care about anything. i climbed up the steps before feeling a poke on my ankle.
i whipped around to see what it was, but saw nothing.
"tasia!" a voice whispered, and i looked down. bea was in the bushes by my front door.
"bea...? where the fuck have you been?"
she shook her head and pulled me into the bushes to give me a light kiss before brushing the hair out of her face.
"i should be asking you that, you were supposed to be here an hour ago!"
she was right. but that wasnt as important as her being missing for the past week.
"a week. a week without a single word about you, i break into your house and youre not there. nothings there, bea. where the fuck have you been?"
she breathed lightly and looked away. "you broke into my house?"
i nodded, not knowing why this was surprising whatsoever. "ive done it a million times before, whats so big about now?"
"tasia, my dads been doing more than nicotine. i found his stash of alchohol and he caught me. i got kicked out. i didnt come to school because who the hell knows if he'd be there. and i didnt talk to you because for the past week your overprotective grandparents have sat outside on the porch when you got home."
this, this was a lot to take in.
"where have you been staying?"
"alice palmer's."
alice palmer was a senior at our school, she had a big house and was presumably rich, but she wasnt the stereotypical rich popular girl. she didnt have that many friends, but rumor had it that alice's parents were extremely hospitable, so i could understand why bea went there.
"okay." i responded after a long pause.
she didnt say anything, just let her back fall on the side of the house, her arms resting gently on her knees, which were brought up to her chest.
"tasia."
"hm?"
"you cant stay here. come stay with me. please."
"what?"
"youve said it yourself, your grandparents are shit. theyre homophobic and if they knew about me they'd kick you out anyway. theyre so overprotective, they dont even let you have a phone."
right. she was right. i would get kicked out anyway. but i didnt know if i was ready to leave yet. i turned to her and let my hand rest gently on her cheek. "bea, i dont know. ill think about it."
she nodded, uncertainty in her intense blue eyes. "ill come back thursday."
thursday was two days away. my grandparents had a meeting with their boss so they wouldnt be home. i didnt know how bea knew that, but i didnt bother asking.
"okay."
i got up and didnt look back as i walked inside.
nobody was home.