Tainting Her Innocence

A New Friend

Aniley

She gently woke me up when we arrived at her house. And from what I could see, her house was a homey two story that had very pretty pink roses growing in the front yard, along with a white picket fence to add to the cuteness of the place. And the inside of her house was just as nice as the outside. A spacey living room and kitchen, and walls filled with pictures of her family.

We walked into the dining room and just sat there awkwardly for a while until she broke the silence.

She asked me the basics like 'What's your name?', 'Where are you from?' and 'How old are you?'

I told her that my name was Aniley, I was from Virginia, and that I'm seventeen years old. And that I'm a senior attending the local high school in town.

Her eyes lit up at my answer, but she didn't say anything else. And I took that as my signal to talk. I pretty much asked the same question as her as well. I learned that she'd attend the same high school I go to and that she just got back from a family trip, which is why she was on the road so late. She has lived here her whole life and her name was Isabelle.

"But you can call me Bella," she said sweetly.

"Sure thing, Bella. Hey, um, can I use your phone? My brother doesn't know where I am,"

It was already 1:30 in the morning and the last time I talked to my brother was when he dropped me off at school. And that was at 8:00.

"Yeah you can use it," she said while getting her phone out of her pocket and then handing it to me.

I muttered a thank you and started to dial Jonathan's number when she talked again.

"Hey, Aniley?" She paused waiting for my attention.

"Yeah?" I asked urging her to continue.

"Would you like to talk about what happened back there?" She asked uncertainly.

I shook my head and gave her a small smile. I wasn't ready to talk about what happened and I don't think I will ever be ready to talk about it. In all my seventeen years, I have never been more conflicted in my life. My brain was happy at the fact that we escaped, but my heart was rioting in pain at our distance from the man.

"Okay, that's fine. But if you're willing to talk, I'm here for you okay?"

I nodded in response. Bella was one of the nicest people I've ever met and I had a feeling that we would soon become great friends. I hope.

She left to the kitchen to get us some drinks and snacks, leaving me alone to call my brother.

Dialing his number, I pressed the call button and waited for him to pick up. By the sixth ring his sleepy voice answered on the other line.

"Hello?"

"Jon-Jon?" I said using his nickname hoping that it would make him less mad.

"Aniley?! Where the hell have you been?!" I physically cringed at the tone of his voice.

Looks like the nickname didn't help.

"I'm...at a friend's house. Her name is Isabelle and I met her today. She asked me if I wanted to come over to her house and I did, I forgot to call you about it. I'm sorry," I lied.

It killed me to lie to him, he's the last thing I have and it hurts to not tell him the truth. But I just couldn't tell him, I didn't want him to have more on his plate than what he already had to deal with.

"You made a friend?" His voice a lot less angry. Actually, it wasn't angry at all, it was more curious now.

"Yeah?..." I trailed on.