There's a Place For Us (Complete)

Part 6

I. An Exquisitely Tragic Love Affair

(Part 6)

Adam took a full step back. "I don't think about you one way or the other! I don't have time to decide if I like you!" he yelled back. She zipped her coat up the little bit that was left and started on her long walk home.

Finally after the long hour walk home, Isabella unlocked the house and turned the lights on. It was erie in the house and the lamps cast strange shadows on the carpet. She prepped her usual meal and sat down at her small table meant for two. She rolled up her sleeves, exposing her arms.

'Where'd you get those scars?' Adam had asked. Like he cared. He just wanted a story for his friends. She continued to stare at the marks that ran up and down her bare arms. She remembered the pain... The screams... The flying insults and loud arguments... The scorch of the lit cigarets. Most of all, she remembered the wicked laughter.

Her body quivered and she felt as if she was living it all over again. She raised her arms in a way to defend herself. "Noo! Please! Stop!" she shrilled. Her voice shook in fear. She shut her eyes tightly, waiting for her treatment. When it didn't come, she opened her eyes. There was no one there. She realized, there had never been anyone there. She tried to remind herself that it was over; it would never happen again, but somehow she never believed that. She sobbed uncontrollably into her dinner.

'Where'd you get those scars?' she heard again.

If only he cared. If only anyone cared...

Adam never brought up her scars again, and he never asked her if she wanted a ride home either. The first time was something he didn't want to repeat.

Two months went by of the tutoring, and finally Adam got a little sense of who Isabella was.

They were reading "Romeo and Juliet." It was his book for English class. Adam read one page aloud, then Isabella read the next. They continued like that for forty five minutes.

Although Adam read with zest in his voice, Isabella read in monotone. It added a depression to the room, and it was very unpleasant for Adam to listen to. When they finished the act, Adam stared at the wall ahead of him. "I wish I had a love like that. A love that you would die for. A love so strong that you can't go on without the other..." Isabella rolled her eyes. "Oh please..." she said bitterly. Adam looked at her, coming out of his daze. "Love doesn't exist. And there's no such thing as safety, or comfort."

She looked off in the distance. "There's no one who cares about someone just because he can. Every single person out of the 8 billion people in the world, expect to receive something in return for their kindness..." Adam looked at her, knowing this scratched deeper than just the surface. "I do believe in happiness, but it's only temporary. Happiness never lasts." She spoke sadly. It intensified the depressing feeling that made the room stale.

"Not everyone's like that," Adam insisted softly. She looked at him baffled. "Yes they are. Everyone." "Even you?" Adam questioned. She nodded her head, ashamed. "Even me. Although what I want doesn't inflict pain, while others glow in others cries of suffering..."

"Isabella," Adam started, "what happened?" And once again, her walls were rebuilt. "Nothing happened," she said quickly. He was about to press the subject further when she started to review the act they had just finished reading. Something had happened. He was certain.

She held back her tears as she pretended to study a poster on the wall. Something had happened, but it wasn't something she was about to go screaming to the world, and that was exactly what she would be doing if she dared to confide in Adam Green.