The Great War | Billy Hargrove

14 | A New Friend

"Well, yes. I was on my way home from a party so that's why I had the flask of whiskey with me. Please don't tell me you're more of a vodka drinker," the girl frowned at her. Isadora shrugged as she took another sip of the whiskey.

"To be honest, I prefer tequila," Isadora shrugged.

"Well, anyway, I was on my way home when I saw you and it kind of looked like you could use someone to talk to, and I also thought maybe you could use a drink. I know it helps me feel better when I'm feeling upset," the girl said.

"Oh, right. I ... I don't know if it'll help me feel better. Last time ... last time I turned to alcohol to help feel better, it just numbed the pain but I don't know that it ever made me feel better but I guess I have nothing to lose, especially since tonight has been such a shit night, but I'm fine, I guess," Isadora shrugged in response as she took another sip of the whiskey and grimaced before she looked back towards the other girl, "Oh, I'm Isadora Jones."

"Beatrix," the other girl told her.

"You got a last name, Beatrix?" Isadora asked, as she raised an eyebrow at the girl, noting there was something oddly familiar about her but she wasn't sure what it was.

"Just Beatrix, but you can call me Bea or Trixie, if you prefer," Beatrix told Isadora, as she looked at the blonde and wondered what had gone down between her and Billy, especially since she thought that Billy had been intending on telling Isadora how he felt about her but seeing the blonde standing in front of her now, she figured something had happened at the dance tonight and she wasn't sure how Isadora would react if she knew the truth about who she was, so she made the decision to keep her last name to herself.

"Right," Isadora frowned before shrugging and taking another drink. As she coughed, she looked towards Beatrix and sighed softly, "This is probably going to sound like an odd request but can you please not tell anyone that you saw me here. I kind of just want to be alone right now and I don't really want anyone to know where I am, so I don't really want anyone to know that you saw me."

"Oh, your secret is safe with me. I hope you don't mind me asking though, but why do you want to be alone right now?" Beatrix asked her.

"It ... it probably sounds kind of stupid but I just ... I just need to be alone right now. I guess I needed to escape from everything and everyone," Isadora said. Beatrix nodded and watched the girl as she wiped tears away from her cheeks before sighing, "I just ... I don't even know where I'm going to go."

"You know, if you need a place to stay, the old Creel house isn't far from here and I don't think anyone goes there anymore so you could potentially stay there," Beatrix suggested.

"The Creel House? Is it safe?" Isadora asked.

"I don't really know. All I know is that no-one lives there, it's abandoned and completely boarded up, but why don't we check it out. I can even keep you company if you want," Beatrix smiled.

"Yeah, sure. That sounds good," Isadora nodded before the two started walking in the direction of the Creel House, Isadora taking a few more sips of the whiskey as they walked and by the time they reached the Creel House, the blonde was pretty tipsy and words just started tumbling out of her mouth, "I was just a fucking bet. I mean what kind of asshole even makes a bet that he can get a girl to sleep with him? You know what, I was an idiot for falling for it though ... it — it doesn't make sense though. Why would he ask me to be his girlfriend if he was just making a bet he could get me to sleep with him? Why not break things off with me beforehand? I slept with him before he asked me to be his girlfriend and I think ... god, I think I was falling for him."

"He sounds like a total asshole," Beatrix said, although she couldn't help wondering what Isadora was talking about. She wasn't sure what had happened tonight at the dance but she made a mental note to try and ask Billy what happened and get to the bottom of everything.