My Best Friend, Forever

Chapter 8

"Ivy," I called out. "Ivy, where did you go?" I began to panic. Ivy was sitting on the couch when I left for school. And now she is gone.

I checked every room, I checked the bathroom, she was no where to be found. I hurried down the basement stairs until I found her, resting on the mattress.

"Ivy..?" I asked as I slowly took the last few steps down.

She stared back at me with that expressionless look.

"Why are you back down here?" I asked her. No response. It then became clear to me, in a weird way, my subconscious was reminding me that Ivy was in the basement, and the basement is basically underground. It is almost like she is burying herself again, she is returning to beneath Earth's surface. I brushed my thoughts, focusing on Ivy's pale face.

"It's so cold down here. Please, let's go back upstairs." I said softly.

Ivy and I returned upstairs and I rested her on the couch again. Ivy is not dead. I heard her voice several times since that night, even before then. Something wasn't letting me go, something made me hold on. Ivy was the best friend I ever had, and I couldn't let go of all of the memories we had.

"I..I will make us some tea, okay?" I told Ivy as I slowly got up from the couch and trailed into the kitchen to prepare us hot tea.

I boiled the water and stood there waiting for it to finish. I reached in the cabinet above the stove and grabbed the honey and sugar. I peered in the living room to see Ivy. Her face was turned, in my direction, looking straight at me with an expressionless look. It's almost like she's waiting for me to say something else, she's waiting for me to talk to her like old times. But it's hard, she's so silent and I have no idea what to say. I padded back over to the kitchen and added the honey and sugar to both cups of herbal lemon tea. I carried the hot cups back to the living room and rested them on the coffee table and sat beside Ivy, her eyes never avert from me.

I sipped the hot, sweet liquid and looked at her. I could hear her voice even when she isn't talking.

She's bored. Things are not the same and it scares me, things will be the same and I'll be damned if I ever have to face the truth. I am in a world where I lost everything already but Ivy will not be one of them. I will have to entertain her.

"How about I do your makeup..like how you did my makeup before." I pulled my lips into a small smile and her face was blank.

I had a small box of makeup, most of it was already Ivy's. A lot of belongings went to her sisters and parents, but I managed to keep her makeup. It wasn't given to me, she left it at my house the last night she had slept over.

She was sat on the couch, and I brought the small makeup box to her, sitting it on the glass coffee table. I pulled the brush out, with the small bit of knowledge I had of makeup, dipped it in the fine power and brushed it along her sunken cheekbones.

"I'm sorry I'm nowhere near as good at makeup like you are. I've tried to teach myself your techniques." I told her.

She stood still as I painted her face like a doll's. Her eyes were sunken and dark, the makeup adding a little more life to her. Her eyes were open, and I added light mascara to her lashes.

I had a small crush on Jacob. He was just so cute and nice, and I couldn't thank him enough for helping me on the exam I was so nervous about. I started to grow with thoughts, thinking of the possibility of him liking me back. But then my second thoughts kicked in, silencing those previous thoughts. He couldn't possibly like me back, I was not as pretty as most other girls.

He was all I thought about as time went by. We talked a lot, and hung out too. We would go to the movies, or go to the park, and Ivy would come along with us too. We always had a good time, and my feelings grew stronger for him. I never thought we would become so close, we were only friends. I was sure Jacob would eventually catch on and realize that I do like him, because he was always so sweet to me and seemed to care about me a lot.

We had planned a camping trip in this nice wooded area with tall mountains. Jacob and his friend Tony were coming, and Ivy and I were coming too.

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It was getting darker outside, and Ivy laid there still on the couch with her face done up with makeup, and her pretty blue dress.

Ivy hasn't talked to me all day, and I wondered why she wasn't speaking to me. I was washing the dishes after making dinner. I peeked back in the living room to see what she was doing. Her cheekbones were prominent and her collarbones were bruised. Her skin was pale with purple bruises up and down her body.

I love Ivy so much. But my stomach grew with a heavy feeling which made me feel sick. I hated how things turned out, but I'm happy she's here with me. My head hurt and started to pound even. My thoughts couldn't control themselves, I was back and forth with millions of thoughts that didn't feel like my own. I decided to go to bed and maybe I will feel better.

"I'm going to sleep Ivy. My head hurts." I said to her, and she just laid there. "Goodnight. I will see you in the morning."

I walked to my bedroom and laid down. The house was eerily silent, who knew silence could be so loud sometimes?

I tossed and turned, then eventually fell asleep. It seemed to go by fast, because I was already waking up. I found myself rising from bed, and walking. It was still dark outside, and I found myself walking to the living room, where Ivy was. Except, she wasn't on the couch. Confused, I turned around and saw her standing directly behind me. I stood there, still, not moving. She looked at me with piercing red eyes. I felt as if her eyes were looking right through me. But still, I stood there without moving.

The kitchen cabinets opened and all of the glass cups and plates and dishes fell out, the breaking sounds pounding in my ears. Ivy stood there, lifeless, evil and angry, I have never seen anything so demonic in my life.

I woke up, panting and breathing heavily. I was dreaming. It was still dark, and the eerie silence reminded me of my nightmare. It was hard to fall back asleep after what I just saw.