A Part Of Your Soul

Chapter 7

I'll do my best to put the song and artist so you can look it up :)

High by James Blunt

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Sam's POV

I met Everly on our usual corner. She was wearing a gray band t-shirt and tried to tug the sleeves down when she saw me. Without saying anything, I put down my backpack, took off my hoodie and handed it her. She took it silently and slipped it over her head, but her eyes showed thanks I knew she thought the could never repay. Her family, especially her siblings, were cruel to her, and I didn't have to look to know she might have a few bruises on her. She didn't want to be put in a foster system, so she took the abuse. Again, I was constantly mad that I couldn't do anything to help her.

"Thank you for warning me about the guy with the white soul," she spoke up after a minute. "Did you get his name?"

"He says his name is Connor," I replied, feeling repulsed, "and he looks like a nice guy but I was just getting this weird feeling about him." Everly nodded.

Conversation puttered out again. Ev got out her iPod and flicked through it, finally locating a song. After a moment I got curious, and piped up "What song are you listening to?" She handed me one of the earbuds. I put it in my ear and heard 'Machines' by Crown The Empire. I grinned and said "That's an appropriate song, knowing you." She rolled her eyes and shoved me. We kept walking until we got to school.

I was worried for her. And Ev knew that. On the outside she said she didn't need to be helped, that she was capable of handling her own situations, but you can't do everything by yourself. I wanted to be able to help her as much as I could.

The day passed by in a blur, and before you knew it, school was out. Ev must have really been feeling bad because she didn't start walking in the direction of my house. Knowing where she was going I texted Mom briefly: Going to treehouse with Ev, be back later. My phone buzzed as I got the return text, Ok, so I pocketed my phone and trailed after Everly.

The sidewalk eventually ended and turned into a dirt path. We entered the forest by the town and marched on through the fallen branches and leaves until we came by an immense tree. Not far off was a large creek. The rushing water soothed my senses. Still behind Everly, I followed her up the ladder and into the room perched in the branches.

She was already sitting down in one of the chairs and staring out the window that faced the creek. I watched her as I dropped my backpack on the floor. "Ev," I said softly, "what's wrong?" She didn't respond. "Everly," I tried again, but she interrupted me by getting up and hugging me.

It took me by surprise but I understood she was looking for comfort. So I held her in my arms and hugged her back. She was shaking; I suddenly realized she was crying. Unconsciously I reached up and started stroking her hair. "It's ok," I whispered to her, "It's ok. I'm here. You're ok." Slowly, her sobs subsided, and she was left hiccuping every so often. She pulled away from me, and all at once my body felt cold where she had pressed up against me. I looked out the window. The sun was low in the sky.

With a sudden thought, I went to the next room and found two blankets-one for Ev and one for me. I draped the blanket over her shoulders where she sat on the floor, feet dangling with nothing between her and the ground but tree. I took my place next to her. We sat there a moment, not saying anything. Finally, she moved, tracing the scars on her legs (she was wearing short shorts) with her fingertip. She used to be really depressed, and cut to help get out her emotions. She eventually stopped, to my great relief, a few years ago. I watched silently. Suddenly, she announced without a purpose, "I'm tracing my scars."