Change of Heart (NaNoWriMo 2011)

Chapter 17

Jariel wondered why Dawn had rushed out in such a hurry. Something was obviously wrong, that much he already knew. It didn’t take a genius to know something was wrong when someone bursts out of the room in a hurry, without bothering to explain anything. He hoped that everything was okay as he sat back down, the phone close by, ready to call the police if necessary.

            He turned the television on and watched some Criminal Minds episodes. He had to admit, although he didn’t like the violence too much, he enjoyed this show. The people on the show were hilarious, especially Derek Morgan and Penelope Garcia. He watched the show and when an hour passed, he began to grow a little bit worried. She said to wait an hour or so, but he couldn’t help but think something was wrong. He was about to call the police when the apartment door burst open and Dawn came running in with Annette.

            “Are you okay?” he asked, rushing over to them. “What’s going on?”

            “I’m fine. “Dawn said, mostly out of breath. “And Annette just had a stumble with her boyfriend, Derek.”

            “Ex-boyfriend.” Annette said, rolling her eyes. “I can’t believe I was stupid enough not to listen to you.”

            “It’s fine Annette.” Dawn said, yawning. “I probably would have done the same thing.”

            “No, you wouldn’t.” Annette looked over at Dawn with an I-don’t-believe-you look plastered on her face. Jariel just laughed watching them bicker back and forth. He was happy to see Dawn happy for once. Ever since Annette had stormed out that day, Dawn had been sulking around the house, most likely worried about Annette, if there was something wrong with her herself, or something else because that was just how Dawn was. Dawn cared about other people, something that Jariel thought to be impossible. When he first arrived on this hell hole, he thought that all of humanity was the same. Selfish, greedy, slobs who wasted away on this earth, only caring about what was good for themselves. Well, Dawn had proved him wrong.  Dawn had shown Jariel that there were a few people on this planet that would lend a helping hand. That not all human beings, scum, were selfish, greedy, slobs.  It made him feel a little bit better about humanity. Only a little bit though.

            Dawn smiled again and left the kitchen with Annette to go help her unpack her clothes from her overnight bag. Jariel loved it when Dawn smiled. Her smile lit up her face and Jariel always found himself to smile along, it was as though Dawn’s smile was contagious. He had to admit, he was growing a little bit soft, especially when it came to Dawn. She just made him happy. After all, she had been the only one who had helped him through a rough spot.

            “Sorry I left in a hurry without an explanation.” Dawn said, snapping Jariel out of his thoughts.

            “It’s okay. I’m sure there was a good reason.” Jariel shrugged, as if it was no big deal.

            “Derek is just a…a bit of a problem.” Dawn said, playing with the sleeves of her hoodie. “He’s an abusive drunkard. He was never good for Annette, but no matter how hard I told her she wouldn’t leave him. “She let out a sigh. “I guess she had to learn it the hard way.”

            “She just didn’t want to hear the truth. Sometimes, the truth stings, and people do just need to learn life’s hard lessons that way. It’s not necessarily what we want, but it’s what happens. That’s life.” He answered, looking up from the floor to meet her face. She smiled at him as she tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear.

            “Yeah, I guess that is life.” She agreed. “Well, I’m gunna head to bed. See you tomorrow.” With that she waved goodnight and left Jariel’s sight.