Bella's Asylum

Chapter 4

Reed's POV

"Bye. Drive safe," she says while hugging me. God I loved her hugs.
"I will. I'll see you tomorrow." I grab my things and head to my car. I wish I could stay here but I have to go home. I feel arms wrap around my waist. I chuckle lighty at her childlike behavior.
"Don't go." She places her head on my back.
"I have too, I'm sorry." I turn around to give her a proper hug. "I'll be okay. If he's drunk I'll come back okay?"
"Fine," she pouts. I get in my car and wave at her. She waves back before walking inside. I put her favorite song on because it makes me happy knowing if she were here she'd be dancing and singing along. I finally get home and wait in my car for about 10 minutes figuring out what I'll actually do if he's drunk. And what's worse is the lady my dad had an affair with is here. I grab my bag and head inside.
"Where the hell have you been boy?" my dad slurs from the couch.
"I've been with my friends." I look down. I hear him walk towards me. I see his boots.
"Look at me when I talk to you boy." I smell the whiskey on his breath. "Look at me!" I look up and he slaps me. I grab my cheek and walk away. "Get back here," he says, but I keep walking up the stairs. I hear him run after me so I sprint to my room and slam the door. I push up against it as he hits it. Bang, bang, bang. After about 5 minutes I hear him walk away. I sigh and pass out on my bed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I watch as she walks up to the edge of the cliff. Her raven hair blowing with the breeze. Trees all around us changing colors. I go to the willow tree to admire it. She turns around and smiles as I sit down. Her green eyes glisten along with the beautiful sunset. The branches slowly wrap around me. I start to panic. I look over and see she steps right up to the edge. Tears flood her eyes.
"Bella!" I yell trying to get her attention. "Bella! Don't do it!" I cry out. Tears are now pouring out of my eyes. I can't lose her. She's the air I need to breath. The ground I need to walk on. The water that keeps me afloat.
"I love you," she cries.
"NO!" I scream. The branches finally let go of me, but I don't get there fast enough. She jumped. I look down into the black abyss and see green eyes.

I jump up crying. I realize it's just a dream and check the time. 12:39 am. I check my phone for any texts and see her name. I smile knowing she's safe.

B: Hey. Did you get home okay? 5:30pm

R:Yeah. Sorry I didn't text you before. I passed out. 12:40pm

B:Thank god. I was about to go to your house and expected to see your dead body.

R:Go to sleep. It's late.

B:But you just woke up.

R:Yeah, but you need rest for tomorrow. I'll be fine. I'm probably gonna fall back asleep.

B:Okay. Gn.

R:Gm*

B:Whatever

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Beep! Beep! Beep. I groan and throw my alarm across the room. I get up and get ready for school. Today I'm wearing a light grey hoodie paired with black ripped jeans and white converse. I rush out the door before my soon to be evil step mom can stop me. I stop at Dunkin Donuts to get the girls drinks. I get their favorites. For Rae I got an Iced Latte, I got Harper Strawberry Dragonfruit Dunkin' Refresher, and for Bella I got an Iced Black Tea with Lemon. I pull up to the school and see the girls talking by Harpers car.
"Hey ladies," I say while handing them their drinks.
"You didn't have to get us drinks," Rae says.
"It's not a problem." I smile watching Bella do a little happy dance while drinking her tea.
"Thanks," she hugs me. "I'm glad you're okay," she whispers in my ear. The other girls don't know about my dad and the family drama. We walk in the building to go our separate ways. Harper sticks with me because we have French together. I suck at it but I try my best. Harper also helps me with stuff too. Harper is a good friend. She can keep a secret and is always there for you when you need her. I get made fun of sometimes because my friend group consists of three girls but I normally ignore them.
"Bonjour, cours," Mrs.Tanner says happily. She's the nice teacher everyone loves.
"Aujourd'hui, vous travaillerez sur vos projets de classe. Choisissez votre sujet, créez votre présentation de diapositives, assurez-vous d'ajouter des photos et des vidéos. Les vidéos ne peuvent pas durer plus de 5 minutes." The class groans but goes on their computers. I chose to do the French Revolution. I think Harper is doing her's on the climate and geography of France. The bell rings for the second period which is ELA. Mr.Benson is boring and doesn't really teach us anything. We usually just listen to music and finish homework.
RINGGGGG. Lunch finally. I rush to my locker and go to the cafeteria. I sit at our normal spot waiting for the girls. I hear the melodic laugh I live for. I turn to her and notice her wearing a different outfit than this morning. She's wearing black jeans with a teal sweatshirt and black nike sneakers.
"I see you changed," I say as they sit down.
"In Spanish Jace accidentally ran into me and spilled my tea all over me." She takes a bite of her salad. "I miss my tea," she pouts.
"I'll buy you another one tomorrow," I laugh.
"No need. I already told Jace too," she smiles. The girls continue gossiping while I admire them all. Bella and I are the closest in the friend group, all things considering. And Rae and Harper are close. Honestly I think Rae has a thing for Harper. She looks at her the way I look at bella; complete admiration. My theory is that she parties and hooks up with a bunch of guys to hide her feelings.
"Reed!" Bella yells getting my attention.
"What's going on?" I ask confused.
"I was wondering if you'd be my "date" to the dinner party on wednesday," Bella uses air quotations.
"Yeah, sure," I say nonchalantly. The rest of the day goes by in a blur. I end home dreading going inside. I go to the kitchen to cook dinner since I haven't eaten today. After this year we'll be graduating and I can move out of this hell hole. Ever since I was a little kid I've been saving up to go to culinary school. I plan on being a chef and opening my own restaurant. I hear the front door open and see my dad walk in.
"What are you doing?" he asks. He seems mad.
"Cooking dinner," I say while cutting tomatoes.
"I don't like tomatoes. You know this boy."
"Yes I do know. But it's part of the side, you don't have to have it." He grunts and leaves the room. After about 30 minutes it's ready. I set the table and call everyone to the meal. Everyone meaning my dad and his girlfriend. I made Chicken with a balsamic dressing on it with melted mozzarella. On the side to add on is minced tomato and basil in more balsamic dressing. I also made noodles with butter on the other side.
"It smells good," Shannon says as she sits down. After dinner I go to my room to sleep.