Children's Draft

Chapter 18 (Part One)

(Daniel's PoV)

Dear Daniel,

    I wish you were here. I really need someone to talk to. I'm still so upset about Bradley. I know I should just forget about him and move on, but I can't. I really liked him, and I really thought that he liked me back. I'm so sorry this is all I talk about nowadays. I just can't seem to get my mind off it. I feel so stupid for believing we were falling in love. My friends all seem sick of hearing about this. I just feel so lonely. I can't wait until you get back.

--Joy

    I felt so bad for Joy. She just seemed so broken. I didn't want her thinking of what Bradley thought about her then or now, but at the same time I couldn't blame her for doing so. She was hurting.

    Still, it had been almost three months since she found out about Bradley cheating on her. I desperately wished I could physically be there for her, or even just to help her in any way. I sighed, holding the letter in my hands.

    "Is it Joy?" Logan asked.

    I nodded. "I hate that Bradley's done this to her." I set the letter down on my bed. "She's in pain and she's lonely. Her friends won't even let her talk about it."

    Logan's face lit up. "I have an idea." He tore off a piece of paper from the edges of one of his letters, scribbled something on it, and handed it to me. It looked like a phone number.

    "What's this for?"

    "It's Alisha's phone number," he explained. I still wasn't following though.

    Logan sighed in mock exasperation. "Give it to Joy. I bet they'd be great friends. They don't even live that far away from each other. She could even help her join the online group video chat."

    "What's that?"

    "Several girls that know people in this platoon all will do a group video chat every so often," he replied. "Alisha says it's a good place to just talk and vent--overall just not feel so alone. It sounds like it would be perfect for Joy. She could use a bigger support system."

    I wrapped my arms around Logan. "Thank you so much."

He smiled and laughed. "We can hug later, you've got a letter to write."

I grabbed my paper and pen out of my bag.

Dear Joy,

    I'm sorry to hear that you're still not doing so well, but I think I have something that might help. My friend Logan has a girlfriend who is part of an online video chat group of a bunch of girls who all know people from this platoon. Her name is Alisha Anderson and her number is 4023065935. You should try to contact her. I don't want to force you to do anything, but I think you'd benefit from more supportive friends. Please think about joining. I hope you start to feel better soon.

--Daniel

(Will's PoV)

    Christian had been gone for over an hour. The guards had taken him away for interrogation. I kept wringing my hands, attempting to distract myself, but to no avail.

    "Do they normally take this long?" I asked repeatedly.

    Ryan shrugged. "I've lost all concept of time at this point, but I don't think so."

    I let out a pained sigh. I waited and waited until finally the guards dragged him in. His thick hair was coated with blood and his head hung towards his chest. Without thinking, I screamed. "What did you do to him?"