Some people wait their whole lives to find the perfect friend.
But not Isabella Washington.
She knew she'd be best friends with Aiden Cunningham the moment she set eyes on him. But staying friends through school is easy. It's what comes after that c...
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Isabella was walking in the school hallway, gripping her backpack straps. She wondered if she was going to see Aiden. She hadn't been able to text or call him lately because of Matthew.
He wouldn't let her talk to her best friend because he thought she would tell him what he'd been doing to her.
Ever since he'd barged into her house three weeks ago, he had been hurting her nonstop. He was physically and emotionally abusive.
Matthew was drinking every single day and started smoking not long after. When Isabella confronted him about his habits, he would slap her in the face or beat her.
He warned her dozens of times not to tell him what to do, but she still tried to help him.
Matthew's touch made her feel like the Devil had seized her with his fiery hands. She didn't know why he hit her. She had not thought he was capable of being so violent.
She asked herself the same questions every day; did she do something wrong? If so, what did she do to make him take these actions against her? Did he do it to himself? Was it something he was going through that made him feel the need to hit and hurt her?
It was too hard to cope with this. She stuck by his side through all of this. Maybe she deserved to be treated this way. He would tell her not to do something, and because she was stubborn and didn't listen, he would hit her. Maybe she deserved to be punished if she did not listen.
Isabella wanted Matthew to be happy like any good girlfriend would, but he showed no appreciation for her. She didn't know what the drugs and alcohol were doing to him. When Matthew started hurting her, she tried to fix him by encouraging him to stop putting the poison in his body. However, lately, she questioned if she could still do whatever it took to help him become his old self again.
Isabella bumped into someone and stumbled backward, regaining her balance. She looked up and saw her best friend, who she hadn't spoken to in a while. His blue eyes peered into hers.
"Hey, Angel."
"Hey," she breathed out.
She could feel her breath getting shorter and shorter as she started getting anxious. But as she continued to stare at him, his face calmed her down like it always did.
"How have you been, since you haven't been talking to me?" Aiden chuckled, but his face lacked humor. Isabella knew he was worried about her from the despondent look in his eyes. She wouldn't dare let him worry about something that was partly her fault.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I've been busy lately."
"Really? You've been busy for three weeks straight?"
"Yeah, I suppose," she murmured, trying not to show any distress. She headed to her locker as Aiden followed behind her.
As she dialed the combination, she could feel her arms still stinging from Matthew's tight grip and winced without thinking.
