The Good in You

In the Eyes of Ellie: A Letter

It's been four months ever since Drake asked about Miley, Judy, Trisha, and Amber. The topic was still stuck in my mind. What did he want to know about them?

Part of me thinks that he will do something bad to them. Even though he changed, he could still hang on to his past.

The other part of me thought he was just curious. Who wouldn't want to know about four abused kids?

Drake came home one evening smiling at a letter and tiny box in his hands.

"Anything special?" I asked.

Drake put the letter on the counter, "There's something for you."

I made a strange face, "Really?"

Drake nodded, "You should check it out."

I got up from the couch and made my way to the counter.

I ripped open the letter and began reading it:

Dear Ellie,

It's me, Trisha. Drake came to school and asked told us he was staying with you. Whatever the reason you're staying with him, I hope you're doing well. He told us you're worried about us, so I want to let you know that I'm okay. My mom abused me because she had depression. I don't really know where's the connection, but she got help. She goes to a therapist now and she's doing much better now. She controls herself a lot better now and we even got a dog! It's a cute little beagle girl that we rescued from an animal shelter named Bella. Well, that's it for now. Thanks for your advice before you left and hopefully you can come back to us. Love, Trisha.

Hi Ellie! It's Judy, here. Your advice didn't work out so well with my aunt. But I told my grandparents about what she was doing and they decided to help me. They take care of me now. It's great there! I met a lot more of my cousins my age. They're all really sweet. My grandparents own a barn and we raise chickens, cows, some horses. They got me a lazy but cute cat. I named him Joe. Hopefully, you can come back to us. I don't know why you ran away(if you did) but I just want you to come back. It's not the same without my favorite teacher. So, see you soon(hopefully), Judy.

Hey, Ellie! It's me, Amber! My brother hasn't been hurting me anymore and it's a lot better living with him now! He takes me out a lot and he spoils me with all these clothes. He even has a girlfriend now and she's the best! Her name is Bailey and she's the sweetest! We laugh all the time about everything and she's so cool. They are so in love with each other! (one time, I caught them kissing!) I'm trying to convince my brother to propose to her or something, but he still isn't convinced. Speaking of marriage, I totally ship you and Drake together! He's the sweetest! Maybe you two will get married(invite me to your wedding!) We all really want you back here (even Andre! (Also I think he might like me because he asked me out to the winter dance! My brother is taking me out to find a dress!). Art class is not the same without you. It's a lot gloomier. And I miss all of our talks that we have. I wish we can see you again. No one knows the reason why you left (Rumors say, that you left because your friend broke up with her boyfriend! Tell her I said everything will be okay!). But anyway, I miss you. Love, Amber. P.S. I have a lot more to say, but Miley is being too pushy on me.  

Hey, Ellie. It's Miley. I know I shouldn't be reading the other girl's messages to you (that's Amber's job) but I did it anyway. None of them know the real reason why you left. But I do. Drake told me. He said he kidnapped you and abused you for money. He also talked about what your stupid Ex-Boyfriend did to you. I wouldn't have believed the rumors going around, like your friend breaking up with her boyfriend. I don't think you'd leave for more than a year for her. But I didn't ever think you could have gotten kidnapped. But I'm happy your better now. Anyway, about me, my mom and dad did this stupid deal where my dad will stop abusing my mom if he helps her abuse me. She never really cared about me so I'm not surprised. I told Drake about it and he told me about his childhood. Then, he decided to put me in foster care. At first, I hated the idea because I'm turning into a teenager, and that's something no one wants. But then I met Riley. Riley is a sweet woman. She likes to read and talk about a bunch of stuff. At first, I thought she was pretty nerdy, but she's actually, she's really cool. She also has a boy two years older than me. His name is Leo. We became best friends and I love living there. He even goes to the same school so I don't have to switch. Ellie, even though it might be hard for you to forgive Drake, you should. I honestly don't know if you forgive him or not, but you should. He didn't change for no reason. He changed for you. I was reading Amber's message and she's right. I ship you guys. And if you two ever get married, please invite me to your wedding. Be Safe, Miley.

Tears stream down my face. The girls still cared about me. Drake cared about me. And the girls were okay. Drake helped them. Especially Miley.

I already forgave Drake. I was just still a bit scared of him.

But I'm not scared of him now.

I ran into Drake's arms a cried in his chest.

 When I found the energy to say it, I whispered, "Thank you. If there was a bigger word than thank you, I would have used it."

 Drake rubbed my back, "Hey, it's nothing. I was just trying to help."

I looked up at Drake and gave him a weak smile, "And you did more than that." 

Drake smiled and looked at the tiny box, "Amber told me to give you this."

I opened the box and found a cute bead necklace. Amber loves jewelry so she must have made me something.

It was a necklace that said "Ellie" and "Drake". Our names were separated by a heart.

I smiled and blushed at the necklace, "You read the letter, right?"

Drake nodded and blushed as well, "Amber and Miley sure like us together."

I went to the bathroom and put on the necklace.

I wasn't a fan of jewelry, but this necklace was something I was sure to keep wearing.