The Past and the Present

Chapter 1

I closed my eyes, trying to sleep, but the booming voices coming from downstairs kept me awake. Tears rolled down my cheeks and tickled my neck. Suddenly, everything went quiet. My eyes closed and opened before me. I started dozing off to sleep, but just as my eyes closed for what would have been the last time for the night, the sound of a bottle breaking jolted me awake.

"Get away from me! No! Stop!" The screams wouldn't stop. I stopped myself from storming downstairs, knowing that would make everything worse.

"Come here, you ugly witch! You take everything for granted! You think this life is bad? If it wasn't for me, you would have been dying out in the streets!" my father screamed.

"You and I both know that isn't true. Do what you want to me, but don't you dare come anywhere close to Hayley!" my mother courageously spat back at my father.

I squeezed my pillow harder, resisting the urge to scream and storm downstairs. Father had come home drunk again. Mom and I were used to it by now. This wasn't anywhere close to what Father had done before.

"What did you say to me?" Father screamed at Mom.

"Are you deaf? Or did your drunk brain not process that I just said you need to stay away from my daughter?" Mom was done. She couldn't bear it anymore, and neither could I.

"Really? You're talking back to me now? Give me your hand. That'll teach you. Come here, you witch!" Father wasn't going to forgive us this time.

I could hear the gas turn on. All of a sudden, there was an ear splitting scream coming from downstairs. I couldn't hold it anymore. I had to do something, and it wasn't going to be sitting in this dark room and crying. I picked up my phone and punched in 9-1-1. Yeah I didn't know why I hadn't done this before. I might have thought that Father would stop soon, that this was all a nightmare, or maybe I was too scared, but that didn't matter anymore. This time, I wasn't going to just sit here and pretend nothing happened.

...

As I lay in bed one August afternoon, it all came back to me. Father was finally in jail, my parents were divorced, and the house was signed over to my mother. Two years have gone by since that night, and the August sun gleamed on to my face as I was waking up. After a couple minutes of trying to go back to sleep, I decided to finally get up. I stumbled into my bathroom and brushed my teeth. As I washed my face, memories of the last month flooded into my mind. It had been a month, and I felt done with my life. Looking at my face in the mirror reminded me of what Father had said that night. Was I really that ugly? I definitely wasn't beautiful, but I wouldn't call myself ugly.

Chapter 2

I headed downstairs as my stomach rumbled with hunger.

"Oh, look who finally decided to wake up! Good morning sleepy head!" Mom said as I dragged myself into the kitchen.

"Yes I'm doing fine, thank you for asking," I mumbled as I sat at the dinner table. Mother chuckled as she put the bowl of milk on the table.

"Aren't you a little too old to be having Froot Loops for breakfast?" Mother mused as she poured the cereal into the bowl.

"There's no such thing as being too old for cereal," I replied with my mouth full.

"So listen. I've been thinking about something, and I know the past month has been very crazy, but I think it's time to talk about this." Mom's voice suddenly tensed and went into a very serious tone as she sat next to me.

"Okay…?" I questioned.

"So, school will be starting soon, and with all this work I have, I don't think I can homeschool you anymore." Mom said as she fiddled with a rubber band.

It felt like a huge hammer just smashed my heart. Mom had been homeschooling me ever since I was born. Father would always hurt us in one way or another and force us to be quiet all the time so that we wouldn't disturb him. Even the slightest noise would tick him off. Mom had decided that I would be better off if I didn't go to actual school. The kids there and the teachers would know something was wrong.

"Since your father…. is gone now, I think it's safe for you to go to school and make some friends." Mom's voice became quieter, and her face showed a very desperate expression.

"Don't call him my father." I angrily replied to my mom. The words felt bitter as they rolled of my tongue .E

"Look, I know your dad isn't the best person in the world, but that doesn't make him the worst person." Mother said to me as she got up to put my bowl and spoon into the sink.

"But… but school is… it's a huge deal. I… well there's going to be so many people there." I was very quiet all of a sudden. My voice dropped to a whisper.

"And you'll make a lot of new friends!" Mom became very excited.

"Well, I'll be late into the year." I stammered while trying to make excuses.

"Sweetie, the school year starts later this month. I know it's a huge step, but trust me, you will be fine." Mother reassured me. The expression on her face forced me to agree. My mom had done so much for me, and I couldn't afford to let her down.

"Okay, I, I'll give it a try," I replied to Mom.

"I'm going to go take a ride around the neighborhood on my bike, and I might go to the park with Kiera. Is that okay?" I asked as I put my bowl into the sink.

"Yes, that's fine, but be back before 1 pm, and be safe." Mom said as I walked up the stairs. Going to public school was a huge deal, especially for me.

Chapter 3

I wasn't used to talking. Father had forced Mom and me to be quiet every time he came, which sometimes was for months. He would disappear for a while, and one night he'd come back and stay for who knows how long. It was so bad that being quiet became a habit for me. I've had to stay quiet for 16 years now, which is my entire life. I only have one good friend my whole life, whoich is Kiera,. She's my neighbor.

As I changed my clothes, I thought about what schoollife would be like. Becoming friends with Kiera was hard, but she was patient with me. We've known each other since we were 14, which was when I moved here from that house we all used to live in. I grabbed my water bottle and ran down the stairs to the front door. "I'm leaving Mom! I'll be back before one! Love you!" I screamed into the house as I closed the door behind me and got my bike. I went to the house next door and rang the doorbell.

"Oh hey, Hayley! What's up!" Kiera opened the door and greeted me. She moved beside the door and let me in.

"I'm on my way to the park! You wanna join me?" I said to her as I stepped inside the house, leaving my bike propped against the wall.

"Come on, it's so early in the morning!" Kiera whined as she led me to the living room.

"I need to tell you something, and I want to tell you privately," I whispered to Kiera. There was a moment of silence. Kiera looked at me with a very worried expression.

"Mom! Hayley's here!" Kiera screamed into the house.

"Hey, Hayley! Do you need anything?" Kiera's mom asked me as she walked into the living room. "Mom, we are fine. Hayley was just wondering if I could go to the park with her, so can I?" Kiera interrupted.

"Oh sure, but be safe." Kiera's mom said as she left the living room and went to the kitchen. "Where's your dad?" I asked Kiera. Her dad and I were very close. The moment I came to this neighborhood, he wanted to help me become a better person. My mother and him were college friends, but soon, he had to get married and move to Dallas. Kiera's parents had an arranged marriage.

When we moved here, it was like Kiera's dad was my dad. "He's out grocery shopping! Wait down here, I'll go change and come." Kiera said as she stormed up the stairs. As I waited, I walked around the living room and looked at the family pictures on the walls. One picture was a picture of Kiera's mom holding her when Kiera was a baby. Her dad was behind her mom, with his hands on her mom's shoulders. They all were smiling, even baby Kiera. Their family looked so happy, and I could see they all loved each other immensely.

"I wish my family was like Kiera's." I thought to myself as a memory flashed into my mind.

The screaming wouldn't stop. I cupped my head in my hands, covering my ears, hoping for it to stop. I could hear footsteps storming towards me in a hurry. I pushed myself farther into the closet walls while using the coats hanged up to cover my small, 14-year-old body. My back was aching from when Father had used his belt to hit me a few hours earlier.

I had dropped the bowl of cookies when he was sleeping on the couch. He woke up and screamed at me for making noise and disturbing him. The footsteps got closer and closer until they finally stopped. The closet door creaked open, a flash of light from outside blinding my eyes. I had been in that closet for at least 3 hours.

"He's gone. You can come out now, Hayley." Mom weakly whispered to me as she stretched her arms out to hug me. I rushed into her arms, tears rolling down my soft cheeks.

"It's alright." Mom continued consoling me. As I hugged her, I could feel the blood on her face and her back. I pulled myself to back to see a black eye and a bloody nose on her face.

"Mom…. what did he do to you?" I asked her as I delicately touched her face.

"It's nothing…" Mom whispered as she got up. A sudden wave of anger flowed through me.

"No Mom, it is something. Why is your voice so low?" I asked Mom as we got up. Just as we walked out of the dark closet, I saw the most terrifying thing in the world. There were huge, purple scabs on Mom's face. Her eyes were barely open, huge, black blobs under her eyeballs. Her nose was bloody and slightly dislocated. Blood gushed out of her chest. There were huge bandages around her arm and her chest. She reminded me of a mummy from Egypt. I tried to laugh, but nothing came out. I whimpered as I stretched my hands out to hug Mom. Long moments of silence went by until I pulled myself back.

"Are you okay?" I asked Mom.

"Well, that was a stupid question." I tried to laugh at myself while I put my hand on Mom's back, but nothing came out. She winced in pain, almost falling over the stairs. As I sat next to Mom, I glanced at a body on the floor. The police were everywhere. Some walked around the house, and some tried to lift the body.

"What happened to… to him?" I looked at Mom in the eyes, a part of me afraid of the answer. "You called the police, right? Well, they came at the perfect time. They took him away, Sweetie. He won't be coming back," Mom said to me in an assuring voice. I pretended not to know what she was talking about, but I really did. There was a moment of silence.

"Thank you so much." Mom looked at me, sorrow in her eyes. In the past 16 years of my life, I had never seen Mom like this, even when Father was doing his worst. He would come in the house in the middle of the night drunk, kick Mom and me around for the rest of the night, and then leave for who knows how long. We would never know where he went, we were just happy he was finally gone.

"Excuse me? Ma'am, I need to talk to you for a minute." Suddenly, a booming voice broke the silence.

Chapter 4

"Okay! I'm back!" Kiera ran down the stairs, a huge grin on her face. She suddenly realized what I was looking at. "I looked so weird back then!" Kiera said, trying to make me laugh.

"Are you ready to go?" she asked.

"Yeah," I said as I turned my back to the picture and walked out the front door. As Kiera and I closed the door, Kiera's dad walked up while carrying some grocery bags.

"Hey, Hayley! How are you doing!" He said as he walked up to me and ruffled my hair.

"Hey, Kiera's dad! I'm doing fine, what about you?" I smiled.

"How many times do I have to tell you to call me Uncle John! Well, I'm doing great now after seeing you!" He said as he opened the door.

"If you guys are done, can Hayley and I go to the park now?" Kiera sarcastically said as she hugged her dad.

"Yeah go ahead, girls! But be safe!" He said to us as he closed the door. Just as he closed the door though, I could hear slight screaming. Kiera looked at me and shyly smiled as if she was hiding something. We both got on our bikes and started riding towards the park.

"Your dad is so cool! I wish I had a dad like yours." I said to Kiera.

"No, he's not! What are you talking about! My dad is such a dweeb!" Kiera said as she laughed.

"But he's such a cool dweeb!" I said as I got pulled into the laughter.

"Sure. Anyways, what did you want to tell me?" Kiera said just as we reached the park. We both parked our bikes and started walking around the huge lake in the middle of the park.

"My mom... " I started to say.

"It's okay. You can tell me" Kiera said. Another moment of silence. Kiera had always been patient with me. That was another thing I loved about her.

"My mom told me that I can start going to a real school now, the same school as yours," I said to Kiera in a very quiet voice.

"WHAT! That's great news! I'm so excited! We can carpool! Let's go shopping! Oh my god, you need to get a backpack!" Kiera went on and on in excitement.

"Will you calm down! I don't know why you are so excited! I'm terrified! There's gonna be…. THERE"S GONNA BE PEOPLE THERE!" A sudden realization hit me. I was breathing fast. My heart started beating at what felt like 100 miles per hour.

"Well duh! That's like one of the best things about school! Trust me, you'll be fine. It's really fun when you get used to it! I'm so excited!" Kiera went on and on. We soon came back from the park.

"Bye Kiera! I'll see you later!" I said as we reached her house.

"Bye!" She replied as she closed her front door. As I reached my house, I saw another car parked next to ours. I opened the front door to a family sitting in the living room with my mom.

"Hayley! I would like to introduce you to my college friend! Her name is Jane, and this is her family." Mom introduced me.

"Hey, Hayley! Your mother has told me so much about you! These are my twins, Tyler and Ethan. They'll be going to the same school as you! And this is my husband, Luke!" Jane introduced me to her family. I smiled at them and noticed the twins. They weren't identical. One was staring at his phone. He looked really bored, and the other was staring at me. He looked really nice, but kind of creepy.

"Hey! I'm Ethan. You're Hayley right?" I nodded.

"Nice to meet you, Hayley!" He greeted me. He caught me staring at the other twin. "I see you've noticed my brother over there. Sorry about him. He's a very… interesting kid, you could say. His name is Tyler. Tyler! Get up and say hello!" Ethan said to Tyler. My mother and her friends had gone to the kitchen. "Hey. What's up. Everything good? Cool." Tyler said to me, not looking up from his phone. "Okay then. Nice to meet you too, I guess? Anyways, you guys want anything to drink? We have Coke!" I said to both of them.

"Yeah, we both will take one. No ice, please." Ethan said as he kicked his brother and took his phone.

I walked to the kitchen and picked up three Cokes.

As I walked back to the living room, I finally saw Tyler's whole face. Compared to Ethan, he looked much better. Ethan was wearing a formal suit, while Tyler wore regular jeans and a nice sweatshirt. I wasn't a formal kind of person, and Ethan came off as a little too nice for me.

"Thanks!" Ethan said as I handed him the Coke.

"Thanks," Tyler said.

"So, how's life?" I asked both of them. I found myself looking forward to Tyler's reply more than Ethan's.

"Eh. It's going pretty good." Tyler replied. The three of us talked for a while.

Chapter 5

"Bye guys! I'll see you later!" Mom said to Jane and her family.

"Bye! See you later!" I said to Tyler and Ethan.

"Wait! Before we go, can we get your number?" Tyler asked me.

"Oh. Sure!" I replied. After we all exchanged numbers, they finally left.

"So…. did you make some new friends?" Mom asked me, a funny expression on her face.

"Yeah…. Why?" I asked her as I got some chips from our pantry.

"I don't know… I just want you to have some friends besides Kiera for school," Mom said as she turned on the TV.

" What do you want to watch? " Mom asked me while plopping onto the couch.

" Anything is fine," I said as I sat next to her. As Mom was watching TV, more memories ran through me.

"Yes? Do you need something?" My mom asked the police officer.

" We need to interrogate you two…. Privately." The police officer said.

"Oh…. uh, sure. Will we need to go to the police station?" Mom asked him.

" Yes. We have to bring you two with us immediately to the station." The police officer said.

We both got up and went to the car. As we drove there, feelings of relief flowed through me.

"It's almost over." was the only thought I had. As we walked into the police station, my mom's facial expression changed completely.

" Rachel? Rachel, it's me! Oh my god, what are you doing here? Why is there blood all over you? Are you okay? A police officer with the name tag "John" asked. Just as he finished, he saw me.

"Is this your daughter?" He asked again. My mother nodded, a slight smile on her face.

"Hey! You probably don't remember me, but when you were a tiny, little baby, I held you in my arms! You were so cute and tiny and… Oh my god, what happened to you? Why is there blood everywhere? What happened to Adam? Rachel, tell me!" The man ran back to Mom. He started shaking her, impatient for an answer. Tears rolled down Mom's cheeks as if they were running away from her hazel eyes.

"Ma'am? You and your daughter need to come in for interrogation." The other police officer said.

"Yes, we'll be there in a minute." She replied.

"John, I'll talk to you later." She said to the police officer with the nametag "John" as she came to me.

"Let's go, Hayley." Mother and I followed the other police officer to a set of rooms.

"We will need to interrogate you two separately." He said. I glanced at Mom. Our eyes locked for a second, and that was when I finally saw the courage and bravery in her eyes.

"Ring! Ring! Ring!" Mom's phone started ringing as I snapped back into reality.

"Hello? Hey John! Yeah. Yeah, that's fine. Okay. Alright, I'll see you in a bit. Hayley's going to be excited. Bye!" Mom said.

"Who was that?" I questioned. Mom all of a sudden seemed very excited.

" It was John. He invited us over for dinner tonight. We better go get ready." Mom said as she got up and speed-walked to her room. I ran upstairs and changed. This was going to be a very interesting and fun night.

Chapter 6

"Ding Dong!" Mom rang the doorbell. She was wearing a light blue dress along with some black boots, and she had a slight bit of makeup on. I was wearing a regular shirt and a pair of jeans, with a pair of black converse.

"Well hello, ladies! You both are looking beautiful, as usual. Come on in."

Uncle John said as he opened the door.

"You don't look too bad yourself John. Where's Isabelle?" Mom asked while grinning at Uncle John as we walked in.

"Mom's not here…. She and Dad are-" Kiera walked into the living room with us.

"Isabelle is out for some work. Yeah, that's where she's at." Uncle John interrupted.

"Okay…. Anyway, let's get to eating!" Mom said as she walked into the kitchen.

"Hayley! What's up?" Uncle John asked.

"Nothing much, Uncle John!" I replied as I hugged Kiera.

Uncle John looked over at Mom.

"Hey, why don't you girls head up to Kiera's room and do girly stuff or whatever it is you guys do. We'll call you down when it's time to eat." Uncle John said to us while nervously glancing at Mom. Kiera and I looked at each other.

"Yeah sure. See you in a bit, Dad. Let's go, Hayley." Kiera said to me. She had a nervous look on her face as if she was worried about something. I shook off the feeling and decided I would try to have fun tonight. Kiera and I ran up the stairs and went to her room.

"Do you have any idea what that was about?" I asked her while plopping onto the bed. A moment of silence passed. A tear rolled down Kiera's cheek and fell onto the bed. I hugged her, and I didn't want to let go.

"I don't…. I don't want to talk about it right now." She whispered into my ear. We stayed that way for a few more minutes. I savored each one, enjoying the fact that I could be there for her and not the other way around for once.

"Okay, enough of this sulking. Who were the people at your house earlier today?" She asked while wiping her tears.

"Oh yeah. It was a woman that my mom knew from college and her family. She has fraternal twins that will be going to my grade when I start school."

I said to her while looking down at the floor. A moment of silence passed.

"Kiera?" I asked. I looked up to see Kiera smiling at me.

"Um… are you okay?" I nervously asked. Kiera started laughing.

"I'm more than okay! You're making friends! And they are guys!" Kiera became extremely excited.

"Okay then…. Anyways, do you have any idea why Uncle John is being so… I don't know, secretive with me?" I asked, a little terrified for the answer. Kiera became silent. A minute ago she was almost screaming, and now she wasn't even whispering.

"Listen, there's something I have to tell you about my parents-" Kiera started.

"Kids! Food is ready!" Uncle John interrupted from downstairs. We looked at each other. We then went downstairs to see my mom staring at the floor, in shock.

"Is something wrong?" I asked. I knew this had something to do with what Kiera was about to tell me.

"Oh, uh no, everything's fine. Let's get to eating!" Mom said, obviously distracted by something bothering her. The whole dinner was tense. Kiera told Uncle John that I was starting school with her, and he got very excited, too, just like Kiera. This was one of the moments when I could see the resemblance between both of them.

Chapter 7

As everyone else was laughing, another memory flowed through me.

"One of you go to that room over there, and one of you come to this room over here." The police officer said while pointing to two different rooms.

"Hayley, you go to that room. I'll see you in a bit okay?" Mom said to me in a reassuring voice. I nodded my head and followed another police officer.

"In here please," She said as she went into the room. As I walked in, she closed the door behind her and sat down in a chair in front of me.

"I'll start off by telling you my name. My name is Jennifer, but you can call me Jenny. What's your name?" She asked.

"My name is…." I paused. I was scared. Scared for what was going to happen. Scared if he would ever come back.

"Go on. I won't hurt you. I'm here to help you. I know you've been through a lot. A lot more than any 14 year old girl should go through. Trust me, I know." Jenny reassured me.

"My name is Hayley." I whispered. Jenny looked at me for a second, and in that second I saw much more than what she was showing me. Her green eyes spoke out to me, as if they were trying to tell me a story.

"You've been through a lot, haven't you?" I asked her. There was a moment of silence. She wanted to tell me. To let out all of what she was hiding deep inside her. But she chose to keep it all locked up.

"Yes, I have, but this isn't about me, it's about you." She said to me, not looking up from the floor. After a minute or two, she looked up. Our eyes meet for a minute.

"How long has… How long has your father been doing this to you?" She uncomfortably asked. I looked around the room. There was white tiles on the floor, and the wall was a normal, white wall.

"Ever since I was born." I replied in a hushed voice. Jenny wrote down a few things on a piece of paper, and then continued on.

"Why didn't you call the police all the times before?" She asked.

"I don't know. Maybe I was scared, or maybe I thought that he would stop soon. Obviously that didn't happen." I said. I tried to chuckle, but nothing came out, as if something was blocking my throat.

"Hayley? Hayley are you listening?" Uncle John said.

"Oh, uh yeah I'm listening." I replied as I snapped back into reality.

"So, as I was saying, there's a new movie out in the theater and I wanted to watch it with you guys. Is that okay?" He asked.

"Yeah sure! Will Isabelle be joining us?" Mom asked.

"Oh well she has a…. Yeah she has a business trip this weekend so she can't come with us." Uncle John nervously replied.

"Oh. Well that's fine. Just call me when it's time to watch the movie on Saturday," Mom replied.

"Mom, I think it's time for us to go now. It's getting late and I'm a little tired." I said as I got up and looked at Kiera. She got up and followed me to the door.

"Text me when you get home." She said while looking down at the floor. "Sweetie, let's go." Mom said to me as she walked out the front door. We all said our goodbyes and soon Mom and I were at home.

Chapter 8

"Well, that was a fun night!" Mom said as she sat on the sofa.

"Yeah….Mom? Is there something going on with Uncle John and Aunt Isabella?" I asked. There was a moment of silence. Mom looked me directly in the eyes. I already knew what the answer was, but I still waited for her reply.

"No… Why do you ask?" She replied. I waited for a minute, hoping she would tell me the truth, but she didn't.

"No reason. It's just that she wasn't here tonight, that's all." I replied.

"I'm going to bed. Goodnight!" I said as I stormed up the stairs.

"Night! See you tomorrow! Love you!" I could hear Mom say to me as I closed my bedroom door.

I quickly changed and took my phone. As I layed on my bed, I scrolled through my phone. I opened the texts between Kiera and I to see a text from her.

Hey. I have to tell you something about my parents…

My heart began pumping faster. I quickly sent back a text.

Hey! I'm back. What did you want to tell me?

I nervously waited for a reply from Kiera.

My parents are divorcing.

My heart stopped. I quickly sent back a message.

What! Why? Kiera oh my god!

Kiera's parents were like my second set of parents. They've always been there for my mom and I, from the moment we walked into the police station two years ago, to now. Them divorcing was…. It was like my own parents divorcing. Kiera must have been so sad tonight, and we all were laughing and having fun.

I waited for a few more minutes. Still no reply. I decided to check my other texts. I found a text from Ethan.

Hey Hayley! It's Ethan!

I found another text from Tyler.

Yo! It's Tyler!

I decided not to text them back and instead go to sleep. It had been a long day, and I still hadn't worried about school yet. There was so much on my mind that I wasn't ready for. Instead, I was still caught up in that night two years ago.

Chapter 9

A moment of silence passed between Jenny and I as she wrote some things down.

"What is your Dad's name?" She asked me.

"His name was Adam." I replied.

"Was? What do you mean by "was"?" She looked up at me.

"What do you mean by "is"?" I replied.

"I mean that he is still alive. Did you think he was dead?" She told me. My heart stopped. I replayed the moment when Mom had told me that Dad had died. Had she… lied?

"No… I know that he's alive. It's just that…. He isn't my father anymore. He is a person I knew in the past and gladly left behind." I lied. I felt like confronting my mom. She never lies, at least not me. Then why? Why did she lie this time? Questions flowed through me as Jenny wrote a few more things down.

"What did your dad do to your mom tonight?" She asked.

"I…. don't know. All I know is that she was badly hurt." I replied.

"Then why did you call the police?" She asked, curious for the answer.

"I heard screaming coming from downstairs. I knew what was coming since this had happened several times before, and I just…." I stopped. I couldn't find words to express what I was feeling.

Jenny noted down a few more things.

"Alright, your good to go!" She said to me. I got up and ran to the door.

"Wait! I need to talk to you for a second." She said just as I was about to open the door. I turned around and walked to her, eyes glued to the floor. She put her hand on my chin and lifted my head up so that our eyes met.

"I know what you are going through, and I know you constantly have fear creeping up behind you, and the feeling to give up clawing up closer and closer to you, but I'm telling you, you need to stay strong. Face your fears, even if it's a risk. Taking a risk and failing is better than living in fear your whole life. She said to me in a reassuring voice.

A moment of silence passed between us. A tear rolled down my cheek and tickled my neck.

"It isn't fair! Why does this have to happen to me?" I cried while cupping my head in my hands.

"I know it isn't fair. You just need to remember that so many young kids across the world are experiencing the same things you are, and some are experiencing worse. Instead of living in the past, I want you to live in the present. The past is something everyone wants to forget, to lock away deep inside them, to live in the present instead." She said to me.

"Do you understand?" She asked me. I nodded my head. A moment of utter silence passed between us. I pulled her in for a hug. We stayed that way for a while.

"I don't know why I'm hugging a complete stranger, but it helps." I whispered to her. We both laughed for a minute.

"Now, go." She said to me. I opened the door and turned around for a minute. I stood at the door for a minute or two and just looked around.

"Thank you," I said to her as I closed the door.

Chapter 10

I woke up to see Kiera standing by my bed.

"Wake up already!" She screamed as she pulled me off my bed. Kiera was one of the most prettiest girls I had ever seen. She had long, blonde hair and green eyes. Compared to her, or anyone else, I looked disgusting.

"Where? What? Why? How?" I asked as I slouched back onto my bed and pulled the blankets over my face.

"Get up! We are going shopping! School is starting soon and you can't go there looking like that!" She screamed as she yanked me off my bed again.

"The mall? It's like 9 in the morning!" I asked as I dragged myself to my bathroom.

"Dude, it's 1 PM. What are you doing with your life? Seriously." She said as she face palmed.

"Okay, let's take a look at your closet. Maybe I'll see something that isn't terrible." She said as she walked into my closet. As soon as she walked in, she started screaming.

"What! What happened! Is someone dead?" I asked as I ran into the closet.

"Yes! Two things! My eyes, and your sense of style!" She screamed as she covered her eyes and nodded in disappointment.

"Really? You seriously made me run all the way over here for this?" I asked as I sleepily walked back to the bathroom.

"Omg! It's a huge problem! Your closet looks like my great- grandmother's closet! You can't even go to the mall like this! We are going to my house, right now! I'm lending you my clothes. Normally I don't, but this is like a huge emergency!" She yelped as she yanked me downstairs.

About 2 hours later, Kiera and I were standing in front of the mall. I was wearing a cute sweatshirt and some black jeans Kiera lent me, and I felt like a whole different person, a noticeable person. We each were holding 9 bags full of clothes.

"Where, exactly, did you get all the money to buy this stuff?" I curiously asked her.

"My dad is giving me a ton of stuff, including money, to help me feel better about… you know, the thing." She replied. There were a few minutes of silence. Soon, Uncle John came and picked us up.

"Did you girls have fun?" He asked, a huge grin on his face. We nodded as we tried to lift our heavy shopping bags.

"Wow, that's a lot of bags! Here let me help you guys!" He exclaimed as he got out of the car.

About 30 minutes later, I was finally home. As soon as I reached my room, I dropped all of my bags and plopped onto my bed.

"Sweetie?" Mom asked as she was coming up the stairs.

"Wow those are a ton of bags!" She exclaimed.

"That's exactly what Uncle John said," I chuckled.

"Are you okay? You seem…. Dead." She asked as she sat down on the bed next to me.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just extremely tired. Shopping is a lot of hard work." I replied, my eyes slowly closing.

"Said no girl ever! You seem like you need a nap. If you need me, just call me alright?" She asked as she got up and went to the door.

"Alright." I replied as my eyes closed completely.

As I walked out of the interrogation room, I saw Mom and the police officer from before. They were sitting on two chairs next to each other. Mom was in tears, and the man was consoling her. I slowly walked up to them.

"You can buy the house next to us. But until then, you can stay in my house. There's no way you can stay in that horrible house any longer. You'll never be able to move on, and worse, he might come back." I heard the man say.

"Sweetie! How did the interrogation go? Are you okay?" Mom asked me as she got up and hugged me.

"Come sit next to me. This is John. He was my best friend in college." Mom explained as she pointed to the man.

"Hey! You can call me Uncle John! I know it's been tough, but I think moving to the house next to me will help. But your mom is completely against it. What do you think?" He asked. There was a moment of silence between us.

After a few minutes, I nodded my head.

"I agree with Uncle John." I quietly said.

"Yes! Boom! Two against one! We win! Your moving into the house next to us!" Uncle John exclaimed. We all started laughing.

"John! Everyone can hear us! They are staring! Will you calm down!" Mom started saying to him. We all kept laughing. It had been a long time since I laughed. So long, that I didn't even realize. I remembered what Jenny had said. I had to forget the past, and live in the moment. I decided that that was what I was going to do.

Chapter 11

I woke up around midnight. As I rubbed my eyes, I heard a soft noise coming from downstairs, almost like someone crying. I got up and slowly walked down the stairs. When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I saw Mom sitting on the dining room chair, crying.

"Mom? Are you okay?" I asked as I ran up to her and hugged her.

"Yes, I'm fine. It's just that the police just called and said that your father was released today. The rehab center and mental hospital helped him a lot, apparently. They also asked if… if we were okay with meeting him one more time. They said that the whole time he was there, he kept asking to meet us so he could apologize. I just don't know what to say." She explained. A hammer smashed into my chest. This had been my fear ever since we moved here. That he would come back.

I didn't know what to say. A moment of silence passed between us. Just as I was about to tell Mom that I wasn't going to meet him, Jenny's words hit me in my heart.

"Face your fears, even if it's a risk. Taking a risk and failing is better than living in fear your whole life." Her words were echoing in my mind.

"I think…. I think we should meet him." I pushed myself to say.

Mom immediately looked at me.

"You think so? I thought so too, but I didn't want to force anything on you." She replied. Another moment of silence passed between us.

"From now on, I need you to force things on me. If you don't, then all my life I'll be stuck in the horrible life we had before this." I said as I turned around and went up the stairs. I stopped in the middle of the staircase and looked at Mom. She was in shock. I would be, too. I smiled at myself as I went to my room. I checked my phone for texts.

I saw three texts. One was from Kiera.

Your closet literally almost made me puke.

I smiled. I quickly sent back a message.

I still haven't put my new clothes in my closet. It's way too much work.

She sent back a message.

Lazy much? Anyways, I'm going to bed. Night!

I sent back a message and then looked at my other texts.

Goodnight! See you tomorrow!

I saw a text from Tyler.

Hey! My brother and I are going to the movies tomorrow. Wanna come?

I thought about it for a second, and then sent back a message.

Hey! Sure! Just call me like 30 minutes before the movies so I can get ready!

He sent back a message.

Yeah I can do that. I was also thinking if it's alright if we pick you up so we all get there at the same time. Is that okay?

I noticed Tyler was becoming friendlier. I sent back a text.

Yeah that's fine too. Well, I'm going to bed. Night!

He sent back a message.

Night! See you tomorrow!

I looked at the phone longer. All of sudden, there were more people in my life than just Kiera and her family, and my mom. More people who cared about me. I put the phone back on my counter, switched off the lights, and lay on my bed. I tried going to sleep, but I couldn't. I lay in bed for a couple of hours. Just as my eyes closed a few hours later, I heard the front door open.

"Hey. Isabelle still hasn't come home." I heard a familiar voice.

"Really? Still? Why was she angry at you in the first place?" I heard my mom ask the other person.

"She was angry because… she was jealous of you." As soon as I heard that voice again, I knew that it was Uncle John. I slowly walked to the top of the stairs, and sat down on the highest step.

"What? Jealous of me? Why?" Mom asked.

"We knew each other since high school. We even dated each other, until I had to get married of course. We always spend time together! Why wouldn't she be jealous?" Uncle John replied. There was a long moment of silence.

I could see Mom and Uncle John staring at each other, as if they were getting lost in each other's eyes while trying to find themselves. My heart was beating so fast. Mom and Uncle John had dated. Why hadn't Mom told me this? Why would she hide it? Why had Uncle John and Aunt Isabelle been forced to marry? A thousand questions flowed through my mind. I wondered if Kiera had known this. I blanked out the rest of the conversation and went back to my room. I lay in bed for a few minutes, until I finally fell asleep.