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...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Isabella was lying in bed, watching a random show on the small television hanging on the wall. She wasn't enjoying it, so she grabbed the remote and switched to another channel, looking for something else.
As she flipped through the channels, a soft knock grabbed Isabella's attention. The door opened to reveal Nicole entering the room.
Isabella hadn't seen Nicole in a while; she sat up on the bed. "Hi, Nicole."
"Hi, Bella. How are you feeling?" Nicole walked over to the bed, sitting on the edge, commiseration in her eyes.
Isabella kept a brighter mood in her voice and a strained smile when she said, "All right, I guess."
Nicole sighed, taking Isabella's hand in hers.
"I'm sorry for what happened. Aiden told me everything."
Isabella figured Nicole knew everything, but she felt comforted knowing that Nicole cared about her, like she cared about her nephew. She couldn't imagine how her parents felt when they had heard the news of their daughter being in the hospital for nearly killing herself.
She was not thinking about the people who cared about her and recklessly dumped those pills down her throat.
"Yeah." Isabella sighed, distressed. "I-I didn't mean to hurt anyone, I swear. What happened, happened so fast. I don't have an excuse for what I did because I should've come to you or my parents for help. But . . . I thought I would take the easy way out since everything was my fault."
The woman stared at her with an intense look in her eyes.
"Sweetie, I want you to listen to me. This wasn't your fault, and this wasn't Aiden's fault. You can't blame yourselves for something someone else did; it's not healthy," Nicole declared.
"Your parents, Aiden, and I all love you. We wouldn't want you to be miserable because of this. The important thing is that you're safe now, and all you can do is be with your family."
Isabella took a moment to let Nicole's words sink in. She gave the older woman a grateful smile. "Thank you. I know I have to focus on myself and you guys. I just don't know how I'll deal with my parents when they come back," Isabella said nervously, nibbling her bottom lip.
"I understand, but once they see you, they will listen to you and support you. Everything is going to be fine."
"I hope so."
Another visitor knocked on the door and opened it. The two women were shocked when they saw who had entered. It was Aiden, whose face looked bruised.
Nicole rushed to her nephew, alarmed.
"What the hell happened to you?" she exclaimed, looking over every inch of his body.
"It's nothing, I'm fine," Aiden muttered.
"You're fine? Aiden, what did you do when you left that would cause this?" Nicole bluntly pointed at his face.
"I had to do something important, okay?" Aiden lowered his voice so Isabella wouldn't hear.
"You had to do what?" Isabella asked.
Aiden and Nicole turned to the young girl on the bed, who was frowning at his injuries. They knew she heard what he'd said, he wasn't quiet enough.
Aiden walked to the bed and took Nicole's vacant seat next to Isabella. He seemed on edge, having to explain what had happened while he was gone, but Isabella wanted to know and so did Nicole.
"While you were asleep, I went to Matthew's house to talk to him."
Isabella was appalled. Why would he go to Matthew's place? What did he say? What did he do? She didn't get to ask the questions she wanted as Aiden continued.
"To make a long story short, I beat him up pretty bad. He said something horrible and I lost control."
"You what?" Nicole gasped.
"Nicole." He sighed. He cleared his throat before he spoke again.
"I called the police and they took him into custody after I told them what he had done. They're investigating it. The police will need to talk to you soon."
Isabella didn't know what to say.
He had hurt Matthew and called the police on him. She didn't know how it had happened so fast. All she could think of right now was how happy she felt. She was finally able to breathe after all those months of pain from him.
Matthew would probably be locked up behind bars for good if she talked to the police about this. Everything she went through from beginning to end, everything would be over.
She wouldn't feel trapped anymore.
She would be free.
Isabella pulled Aiden close to her and hugged him. Aiden saved her once again from her now ex-boyfriend.
"Thank you . . ." she whispered in his ear, closing her eyes in relief.
Aiden wrapped his arms around her, and soothed her as she placed her head on his shoulder.
The teenagers pulled apart and Isabella saw a nasty bruise on his cheek. She grimaced at how bad it looked. She couldn't picture how hard Matthew punched him.
"Jesus, Aiden, you need to get this checked out. How did you come in here without anyone noticing?" she asked, bewildered.
"I snuck in before anyone saw me. Besides, it's just a little bruise."
"You snuck in here?" Nicole furrowed her eyebrows, clearly angry.
"Nicole, please." Aiden groaned.
Isabella shook her head. "Why are you so stubborn?"
Aiden paid attention to Isabella again. "I'm stubborn because I care about you, you know that." He smiled genuinely. "I don't care if I get some bruises along the way. What matters is keeping you safe."
Aiden had always been there for her since the beginning, whether she deserved it or not, especially when she almost lost him after the worst fight they'd ever had. He always wanted to keep her safe no matter what.
He would tire himself out until he knew she was okay.
Although Isabella wanted more for Aiden, every time she looked at him, the first thing that came to her mind was that he deserved everything. After what he had been through, he deserved every amount of happiness she could never give him, the safety she wanted to give him desperately, and a break that could help him recharge after the exhaustion he went through every day.
The friendship they had was special. A friendship that was meant to be treasured forever. A friendship that would never be broken.
However, there were numerous times when Isabella thought of Aiden differently. Sometimes, when he would stare at her, there would be a fluttering feeling inside that she could not control. Her heart raced when he would hug her tenderly as if she mattered above everything else.
Since being with Matthew, Isabella understood what real love was. Abusing someone physically or emotionally was not love.
It was awful to make someone feel like they didn't deserve to be alive or to treat them like dirt. With Aiden, she felt safe and content.
She somehow lied to herself about her feelings. She had these feelings for a long time, but always had some excuse to deny them. She couldn't hide it anymore. The emotions she had held inside were battling with her, and she kept fighting to make it untrue, but lately, the feelings had become stronger. She couldn't hide her affection for him anymore—it was impossible at this point. She thought she could get over it for so many years, but it probably wasn't meant to be ignored.
