Isabella was walking in the school hallway, gripping her backpack straps. She wondered if she was going to see Aiden. She hadn't been able to text or call him lately because of Matthew.
He wouldn't let her talk to her best friend because he thought she would tell him what he'd been doing to her.
Ever since he'd barged into her house three weeks ago, he had been hurting her nonstop. He was physically and emotionally abusive.
Matthew was drinking every single day and started smoking not long after. When Isabella confronted him about his habits, he would slap her in the face or beat her.
He warned her dozens of times not to tell him what to do, but she still tried to help him.
Matthew's touch made her feel like the Devil had seized her with his fiery hands. She didn't know why he hit her. She had not thought he was capable of being so violent.
She asked herself the same questions every day; did she do something wrong? If so, what did she do to make him take these actions against her? Did he do it to himself? Was it something he was going through that made him feel the need to hit and hurt her?
It was too hard to cope with this. She stuck by his side through all of this. Maybe she deserved to be treated this way. He would tell her not to do something, and because she was stubborn and didn't listen, he would hit her. Maybe she deserved to be punished if she did not listen.
Isabella wanted Matthew to be happy like any good girlfriend would, but he showed no appreciation for her. She didn't know what the drugs and alcohol were doing to him. When Matthew started hurting her, she tried to fix him by encouraging him to stop putting the poison in his body. However, lately, she questioned if she could still do whatever it took to help him become his old self again.
Isabella bumped into someone and stumbled backward, regaining her balance. She looked up and saw her best friend, who she hadn't spoken to in a while. His blue eyes peered into hers.
"Hey, Angel."
"Hey," she breathed out.
She could feel her breath getting shorter and shorter as she started getting anxious. But as she continued to stare at him, his face calmed her down like it always did.
"How have you been, since you haven't been talking to me?" Aiden chuckled, but his face lacked humor. Isabella knew he was worried about her from the despondent look in his eyes. She wouldn't dare let him worry about something that was partly her fault.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I've been busy lately."
"Really? You've been busy for three weeks straight?"
"Yeah, I suppose," she murmured, trying not to show any distress. She headed to her locker as Aiden followed behind her.
As she dialed the combination, she could feel her arms still stinging from Matthew's tight grip and winced without thinking.
"What's wrong?" Aiden asked.
"Uh, nothing." She took her backpack straps off her shoulders, unzipping it.
"Bella, what are these marks?"
She froze.
She looked down to where his hand was holding her and saw a red and bluish bruise around her upper arm that she had gotten a couple of weeks ago.
Shit, my sweater sleeve fell!
Isabella pulled away from him instantly and fixed the shoulder of her sweater, covering the bruise. "N-Nothing," she stammered.
"Isabella, what happened?" he asked sternly. His eyes urged her to be honest.
"I'm fine. I-I accidentally burned myself when I was cooking this morning." She inwardly cringed at her lie.
Aiden stepped closer and pulled down the sweater sleeve to see the bruise again.
"These don't look like burns." He shifted his eyes to Isabella's.
Before she could respond, she heard someone call her.
"Bella!"
Isabella turned around and saw the boy with those dark eyes. Matthew rushed behind her and cupped his hands on her shoulders, smiling.
"Hey, babe." He kissed her cheek, making her shudder.
"Hey, what's up, man," he greeted Aiden, who had stark confusion written on his face.
"I'm doing great. How are you guys doing?" he replied in a clipped tone.
"We're doing great too," Matthew gushed.
It was funny how he acted normal around Aiden and other people, but he was malicious when he and Isabella were alone.
"That's good." Aiden looked skeptical, maintaining eye contact with Isabella. She did everything in her power to keep her mouth shut.
"Babe, can we talk for a second?" Matthew squeezed her shoulders roughly.
She knew it would not be a pleasant conversation.
"Sure." She smiled weakly.
"We'll see you later, dude." Matthew smiled as he dragged Isabella away.
Isabella turned over her shoulder, seeing Aiden watching her—concerned.
Matthew led them inside a random janitor's closet, and he slammed the door closed.
The room was pitch black but was lit up when Matthew turned on the light switch.
Before she could say anything, Isabella's head swung to the side, her cheek burning after Matthew slapped her across the face.
Even though she had grown accustomed to his slaps, they still stung like hell every time.
"What did you tell him?" he snapped.
Isabella turned towards him, a few loose hair strands falling across her face.
"I didn't tell him anything," she whispered.
"Oh, sure you didn't. What was that face he fucking made back there, huh? It looked like he found out something he wasn't supposed to know."
Matthew looked like he was about to explode at any minute, and she was not ready for the outcome of that explosion.
"Matthew, I swear I didn't tell him anything," she murmured, flustered. "He saw one of my bruises, but I told him I burned myself by accident."
He shook his head, not believing a word she was saying.
"No, you were about to tell him something. You can't keep your promises, can you?"
Matthew raised his hand and slammed his fist to her stomach.
Isabella felt the wind leave her body, and her mouth opened wide. She fell to the ground, wrapping her arms around her stomach in pain, coughing uncontrollably.
Matthew bent down, roughly cupped her chin, and lifted her head, making her look at him. "Listen to me right now. I'm only going to say this once. You are going to tell Aiden that you never want to see him ever again."
Isabella felt like she couldn't breathe.
He couldn't force her to end her friendship with her best friend. That's insane
"You can't force me to never talk to him again." Isabella glared.
"Here's the thing, Bella. If you tell him or anyone else what I'm doing to you, I will kill them."
His words sent ice snaking down her spine.
He wouldn't kill anyone . . . he was not a murderer.
"You wouldn't do that," her voice quivered as she stared at him.
"There are a few things I'll do to get my way, baby." He smirked, removing his hand from her chin.
"Now, what are you going to do?"
She hesitated to open her mouth and say the words she never thought she would have to say.
It was the hardest thing she ever had to do.
"I'll never talk to Aiden again."
"That's right. You tell him that, and nothing will happen to him. Problem solved."
He stood up and stared down at her.
"Remember, babe, whatever happens, it's going to be all on you."
The last thing Isabella saw was him leaving the janitor's closet.
She laid on the floor, trying to catch her breath. She deserved to lie on the filthy ground. She probably deserved whatever Matthew gave her, but that didn't stop her from feeling worthless after how she'd been treated.
But Aiden . . .
She didn't want anything to happen to him because of her. Matthew said he would kill him or anyone else she told about what he was doing to her. She couldn't lose Aiden for anything. His sickness was already an issue, but she couldn't lose him because of Matthew.
She promised Matthew she wouldn't tell him one detail, and she would do anything to protect Aiden from the man she called her boyfriend.
꧁ ༄ ꧂
For the rest of the morning, Isabella didn't attend her classes. She knew she wouldn't be able to concentrate, so she just stayed in the janitor's closet for an hour, then left to go home.
She got home and laid in bed, still in the clothes she had worn to school. She just stayed there, on her side, thinking about how to tell Aiden they couldn't be friends anymore.
What would Aiden do when she told him? Was he going to hate her forever, his best friend since first grade? Was he going to make her tell him what she'd been hiding?
No, whatever she did had to be done right.
"Remember, babe, whatever happens, it's going to be all on you."
He was right. She couldn't tell Aiden the truth. She had to protect him.
She looked at her phone to check the time and it read ten to four. Aiden should be home by now since school ended some time ago. She went to her contacts and clicked on his name, putting the phone against her ear, hearing it ring.
After two rings, he answered the phone.
"Hey."
"Hey," Isabella started in her best-exasperated tone.
"I need you to come over to my house."
"Right now? Bella, I have to get ready for my doctor's appointment."
Isabella pulled the phone away from her ear for a minute. She forgot about his weekly appointments. Aiden mentioned that the appointments were needed to see how his medications were working at reducing the effects of the disease.
She brought the phone back to her ear, going back to her plan as her eyes became misty. "Aiden, I need you to come over now. I'll see you soon."
Without waiting for his response, she hung up the phone and shut it off.
Isabella was acting like a bitch. She knew what she had to say to him would not be pretty. She didn't know what his reaction would be, but she knew it wasn't going to be a delightful one.
She pulled herself off of the bed and left her bedroom. She went to the bathroom and checked to see if any bruises needed to be covered up. She saw a tiny bruise around the collarbone area from when Matthew hit her one night while they had been fighting.
She brought out her foundation and applied three coats on the spot.
Once she was finished, she dashed downstairs, waiting by the door for Aiden to arrive. She paced around the room, thinking about the words she would say to him. She could feel herself breathing hastily. She couldn't be nervous now. She needed to be calm once he got to the house.
After a while, someone rang the doorbell.
She knew right away it was Aiden.
Okay, this was it. No matter how much this would hurt, she was doing this to protect him.
Only him.