Some people wait their whole lives to find the perfect friend.
But not Isabella Washington.
She knew she'd be best friends with Aiden Cunningham the moment she set eyes on him. But staying friends through school is easy. It's what comes after that c...
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Isabella couldn't feel her body. Everything was numb. She was slowly waking up, hearing a beeping noise beside her. She tried to open her eyes but was having trouble since her eyes were swollen. After a while, she fluttered them open to find her vision blurry.
Her vision cleared enough to make out white walls, and she could smell the strong scent of chemicals and medicine, making her nose crinkle. She scanned the room, trying to figure out where she was. She checked for clues when she spotted a tall EKG machine beside her bed, then glanced down to find an IV stuck into her arm with old bruises on her skin.
Oh God, what's going on?
Isabella began to panic, her breathing shallow and erratic. The heart monitor beeped louder and went frantic as she started to freak out. Right when she was about to pass out, a group of people in scrubs entered the room and rushed to the young girl.
"Isabella. Isabella, can you hear me?" the nurse asked gently. Isabella could hear her ears throbbing while she stared at the woman.
"Isabella, I need you to breathe in and out slowly. Can you do that for me?"
Isabella was able to hear the instructions and watched as the nurse demonstrated. She took a deep breath and exhaled it, using the exercise a few times until her rapid heartbeat subsided. After she had calmed down, her vision cleared up, and she was breathing normally. She noticed two nurses in scrubs by the bed.
"Are you okay?" the nurse asked her.
Isabella opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. She cleared her throat and opened her mouth again.
"What happened?" she asked, her throat parched.
The nurse's face showed sympathy. She turned over her shoulder to her co-worker, making eye contact, and they nodded.
Noticing Isabella was struggling to talk, the second nurse went to get a plastic cup of water from the pitcher and rushed over to her. Isabella saw the cup being handed to her and took it gratefully. She took a few sips from the straw and felt her throat soothed from the cold water.
When Isabella stopped drinking, the first nurse took it as a sign that she was done with it. She took the cup from her and placed it on the table next to the bed. Isabella had time to adjust as the nurse asked, "Do you remember what happened last night?"
Isabella scrunched her nose, trying to remember what had happened the night before. The last thing she remembered was coming back home after spending time with Aiden; she went to her room and saw—
Matthew.
He was in her room and confronted her about not having the two hundred dollars he had asked for. After that, they fought, he beat her up, and he . . .
No . . .
He raped me.
Isabella shook her head to get rid of the memory, but it wasn't working as the scene raced back into her mind.
