Two ruptured spirits, torn by time but destined to find each other, go through the trails in life and in death. Belladonna Grace Sanderson, from the physical world is struggling when her childhood best friend is going through her parent's divorce. S...
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Belladonna Grace Sanderson, September 16th 2024
When I finally arrived at Bridget's trailer, which was about five minutes from the school in the opposite direction of my home, I could easily hear screaming. I was torn between swinging the door open or standing further back from the door, knowing those screams were not from Bridget-but Paula and Ned.
I stood still, not able to move my heavy boots from the thick mud that surrounded the park. Lights from other trailers turned on and off, some people sat outside enjoying the sun that was about to set, and others came outside only to smoke. To the far right, a boy around my age held a brown bottle to his lips. His face was piercing, complimenting the golden blonde hair that escaped from his hoodie. He was oddly attractive. Before I could stare too long, Bridget nearly fell out of the front of her home, swinging the screen door hard up against the frame. She caught herself with the ground, steadying her body with hands in the mud.
"Hey sorry, let's go." She said quicker than I had ever seen. Bridget wrapped her muddy arm through mine and tugged me out of park as fast as she could. Escaping a quick glance, I turned around to the blonde-haired boy, whose amber eyes hadn't left me. A shiver went through my body, unsure if it was of fear or infatuation.
As we reached the end of Bridget's road, we swiftly made our way downtown of Bucks Hollow. It technically was more of a Port, or Harbor, but the founder decided that Hollow was more fitting for the town's history of monsters. It's said to be roaming of creatures at night, especially during the first full moon of September to Halloween night. Of course, he was making it up to scare people into submission, as many people did back in the day.
The town was already lit up heavily, sparkling with yellow and some orange lights amid the diners. And the usual fog had rolled in just late of the sunset, creating a misty burgundy haze throughout the streets. Bridget continued to hold my body close to hers, walking into the nearest food place she saw.
V's Snack Bar had about ten outdoor seating tables, with lanterns up above to illuminate the wooden picnic area. The place was usually packed on weekends, so a Monday night was more than dead. Bridget pulled herself into the splintery table, I followed her lead and slid right in next to her. We both cozied ourselves up to the mid-September night that was just beginning.
"Hey, are you alright?" I asked, not waiting a second more to wonder if she was truly safe. I took Bridget's hands in mine and began to wipe off the half-dried mud with some napkins from the middle of the table.
Bridget seemed to think way too long about her answer, keeping her eyes down trying to avoid mine. I could see Bridget bite her tongue, and nod nervously.
"No really, you can tell me anything."I said a little harsher this time. I was equally worried and annoyed, knowing I gave Bridget no reason to be mute. We'd always been so close, so why now?
"Bell, come on. Just drop it!" Bridget snapped, pulling her hands from mine and wiping off the rest of the filth on her heavy sweater.
I rolled my eyes, happy to have a reason to remove myself from the uncomfortable seat-and conversation. I practically ripped my phone and wallet from my dress pocket, removing a twenty-dollar bill from it. I was thankful my parents gave me an allowance until graduation, it helped me focus on studies and extracurricular activities, such as Bridget. I truly had no idea what the hell I was going to do after graduation. Even with two intelligent hard working parents-I still thought I needed a gap year.
As I approached the small shack with the neon lightened menu, and a giant V that flickered on and off at the top, a smiley curly haired boy waited at the window. His eyes were baggy, purple circles cupping the bottoms, and red rimmed the inner corners of his ash eyes. I honestly couldn't tell if he was stoned or just tired. His dark skin glowed a hint of green from the neon lights, making the freckles on his nose pop out.
"Hey," he said lazily, playing with what seemed to be a mini wooden basketball hoop that slingshotted a tiny ball into the air. He kept his smile, though he was missing every single shot he launched.
I stood there for a second, not understanding why I was excepting him to say more than just "hey". Sometimes people catch me off guard, it's like I'm expecting more from them when I shouldn't be.
"Hey, uh, can I just order some fries?" I said, trying to make it simple for him. The easier the task, the less faith I get to put in people.
"Yeah, sure. Anything to drink?" The boy said, now stopping his wooden game to pick up the iPad in front of him.
"Uh, I guess two cokes." Despite Bridget being a pain in my neck, I still wanted to get her something to eat and drink. Who knows if she has been eating with what she's been going through.
The cashier seemed to be still typing in my three-item order, when I turned around to check for Bridget. Oddly enough, there he was. The man in the hoodie from the trailer park. He was now smoking a cigarette, passing it from his lips to Bridget's. While she took a deep swig of the smoke, he locked eyes with mine almost immediately.
"Shit," I said under my breath. Something isn't right. Bridget hasn't mentioned a guy like that before, not only that I don't think he is her type. She'd always been so preserved, so gentle and dignified. I wouldn't think she'd go for a guy so....
"Here you go," the guy who I ordered from was hanging out the window with my bag of grease and two drinks. I barely thanked him as I ripped the items from his grip and stormed towards Bridget and mystery bad boy.
As if he sensed my presence, he was up and fast walking out of the snack bar. His hands went immediately to his pockets after bringing the cigarette back up to his lips to leave it there.
I set the bag of fries down and slid a coke in front of Bridget, setting mine down next to her. I hadn't yet seated myself, instead I waved my hands in the air like a lunatic.
"Explain?" I said, trying to keep my cool, not understanding a thing that was happening in front of me with her.
"Which part?" She said in a snarky tone. "And I'm not hungry."
I opened the bag of fries, stuck a handful in my mouth and chugged a bit of my coke. "Well, I don't really give a shit right now, eat."
Bridget's face turned sad, like she was expecting me to be mad at her. I couldn't help but feel bad for her in that moment. Maybe I really was being too harsh. "Okay look, Bridget, I'm your best friend. I love you. Please eat, and please tell me what's going on." I finally got down to her level, sitting next to her and reaching an arm out to touch her shoulder.
"Okay, but Bell please don't tell anyone." She smirked a bit at the comment, knowing that all our lives we stuck to each other. We never needed anyone else, nobody's opinions, nobody's feelings but our owns mattered.
"I promise," I said, childishly taking a hold of her pinky like when we were six. I wasn't too fond of the action, but I knew she would be.
"Okay, my mom and dad are getting in a divorce... And it's affecting me way more than I thought..." she paused for a moment, leaving me room to respond, but instead I kept silent, reassuring her to keep talking and that I'll listen. "... They have been fighting like nonstop, my mom always telling my dad to get off his lazy ass. She's screaming at him for cheating with one of the neighbors at the park, and he's yelling back saying it's her fault for always working. Mom's barely hanging onto the cleaning job, and now dad's drinking more than I have ever seen him my entire life. And Bell, it's just me at home. When I go there, it's just me..." Bridget broke in between the last sentence, her head falling into her hands as tears piled up between her fingers. Each one gently rolling off into the cracks of the bench, eventually getting soaked up. "...I didn't want to say anything to you, because your life has always been so perfect."
I immediately reached up to cup her face in my hands, "Listen, I'm so sorry. You've been my friend my whole life, I just don't want to lose you." Pulling Bridget in closer to me, I hugged her long and hard. I had likely been ignorant to her suffering, I wasn't going to lie. Living my simplistic life as if I were the only one in the world.
That night, instead of pushing her to her limits, I didn't want her to break any further. Bridget cried into my arms for another thirty minutes or so, and I took every minute of snot that was blown into my dark dress. I helped her up, we ate the rest of the fries walking to my house. And for the first time in a few months, we had a sleepover. Bridget was problematic, but for now she was my problem, and I was okay with that.
