The Brave and Beautiful

Just In The Nick Of Time

Hope's POV

My room had gotten boring. The entire weekend I had spent time sitting here, watching the rain patter softly on the window panes.  A sigh escaped from my mouth, as I lay down on my bed. Getting up and checking my new phone was useless, I hadn't added any contacts yet. I couldn't stop thinking about Josh, and how he had just ended things without even giving me time to speak. The picnic basket lay on my floor, taunting me, a constant reminder that I was alone.

I decided to get off my butt, and go to the bathroom to clean myself up. I hopped in the shower, changed out of my track pants, and put on some make up. Maybe me, Liz and Jill could both go see a movie, or head to the mall.  Elmsville is such a small town, so if we could get out of here, that would be a bonus. 

My phone buzzed, and I expected it to be a text, but it continued to buzz. The only contacts I had on my phone so far were David, Izzy and Adam. And 236 of course. I walked over and looked at the contact. David. I almost declined, but then I remembered he was my best friend, and he had been shunning me lately. Maybe he would explain why.

"Hope? Are you there?" He said. His voice was rough, and sounded as if he had a cold. Or he was crying. My heart skipped a beat.

"Yeah, I am. Are you alright?" A few seconds passed, and then he took a deep breath and answered.

"No. Can you come over, I'm home alone and my parents are gone. I need my best friend" I looked out my window, and saw his house. An empty driveway and no lights made the house look abandoned.

"Sure. I'll be right there!" I said. I threw my purse on my bed, and walked down the stairs. I screamed to my parents where I would be, and left.

When I got to his house, I froze. I peeked threw his front windows, and all the lights were off. On a cloudy day, it looked even creepier. Silence threatened my sanity, as I pushed the door open. I stepped inside.

"Hello? David!?" No response. "I'm here!" I started to descend up his steps.

"I'm in here" I heard a voice. It was coming from the bathroom. I creeped toward it. The door was cracked open, and I burst through.

David was sitting against the wall, tears on his face. He looked ashamed of himself. I sat down beside him, and put my hand on his shoulder. His blue bathroom had wallpaper with sharks on it. It was big, at least for a kids bathroom. Crest toothpaste, and deodorant sticks lay on the counter, by a sink. The toilet was sitting on a certain part of the floor. It was then I smelt the foul stench.

"I did it again, Hope. I made myself barf..." I gasped. Since when did he do that? 

"David, that's really dangerous! I didn't know-"

"Hope, I hate this. All this 236 stuff sucks! It's not fair!" I say. 

"I know, David. I know. But... why didn't you tell me?"

"Same reason you aren't telling me everything..." I blinked. He had a good point. Guilt poured through me. I didn't even tell my best friend what 236 was making me go through. I sat next to David on the floor.

"Okay then. I'll tell you everything!" I said. And I did. I told him about Nick, cheating on tests, and so on. He listened attentively, never judging. When I was done, he told me stuff as well.

"I keep getting these flashbacks, flashbacks of- of me doing horrible things. I don't know what it is that is happening though, I-I can't remember" David cried.

"Oh my god! I'm sure everything is fine"

"How can you be sure!?"

"I don't know. But the real matter is that you've been doing terrible things to your body! There are a lot of people who specialize in-"