There's a Place For Us (Complete)

Part 13

I. An Exquisitely Tragic Love Affair

(Part 13)

She met him every morning after that day. She didn't know why her heart would beat so fast when she saw him. She didn't want it to and she willed the odd occurrences to stop, but they wouldn't. If anything, the beating of her heart increased a little bit everyday. And every time they saw each other, Adam reached for her hand. Isabella didn't know if she liked it or not... but she did know that she felt safe with him.

Later on in the week, Isabella was in her house, watching the news. That's when she saw it. The news camera focused in on a homeless man. But he wasn't old and decayed, he was young and probably the only reason he was homeless was because he chose drugs over life. Isabella felt her heart jump out of her chest and she felt her throat closing up... She had to escape this. She would not allow herself to be sucked into yet another horrifying memory.

She ran into the bathroom and quickly shut the door behind her, blocking out the sounds of the tv. There wouldn't be anything in the bathroom to put the memories into full mode. In the bathroom, she was safe from torture. She put herself in the corner of the small room, and waited until her quivering body became still.

Once she was okay and she could take a breath without it shaking, Isabella brushed her sweaty palms on her long skirt and headed towards the door. The back of the bathroom door had a full length mirror, and there was no way Isabella could ignore looking in it. When she did, she didn't see herself. She saw someone else.

The person she used to be.

She saw her luscious gold curls that ran down like a cascading wave and passed her shoulders clearly. Her scent, strong with the latest perfume. Her eyes that popped out with magnificently done makeup. And her clothes. A pencil skirt that went mid thigh. Her tight fitting tank top that showed more than enough. Her 5-inch heels that sparkled when hit directly by the sun...

She looked like a model preparing for the runway. She could easily be a cheerleader and prance around the school hallways with all of the guys gawking at her.

Isabella's chin trembled and her arms shook uncontrollably. She was wrong about being safe from torture in the bathroom. She wasn't safe anywhere and now she was trapped...

It was dark and cold. So dark that her only spark of light was the moon. The wind was bitter and harsh, freezing the tears that had been running continuously for years. She panted from running so far, for so long. She jumped at the sight of a policeman even more than she did at the barks of vicious dogs. She smelt the stench again. Mold, garbage, body odor, fumes of all kind. But as Isabella looked in that mirror she saw the things that scared her the most.

She saw the homeless men again. Drug intoxicated. She felt their stares. The stares that searched her body, hoping to attain some of it for themselves. But more importantly, she felt their touch. The touch that came from their joy at how little she covered of herself. Their joy at how beautiful she was. The lust that filled them with one glimpse of her face, of her hair, her lips, her body, the way she walked... She heard their whistles of enjoyment. And at that moment, she vowed to herself that if she ever got out of there, somewhere safe, she would never be the person those men so willingly threw themselves at.

She would never be a beautiful girl ever again....

"Hey" Adam greeted Isabella at her locker. She waved, but no smile appeared on her face. She took the rest of her books and placed them in her locker, then she walked towards Adam, meeting him halfway. "How was your night?" Adam asked. Isabella looked away, staring at the floor. "Same old, same old," she replied bitterly. Adam nodded his head awkwardly, not pressing the issue.

Halfway to her classroom, and they had walked the whole length without talking, besides their initial greeting. Adam kept opening and closing his mouth, trying to get the words out without sounding awkward, but he failed miserably. He knew it even before they came out. The tips of his ears were turing red and Isabella felt the palms of his hands increasing in heat.

"I really like talking to you..." he stuttered, slowly and awkwardly. "And holding your hand..." he concluded shyly. Isabella looked into his eyes, and noticed for the first time that they were hazel. And for the first time since the moment Adam met Isabella, she smiled. A wide, happy smile...

They had reached her classroom and she pulled her hand out of his, but she entered the room with a giddy, stupid smile on her face. Almost as if it would never come off.

Adam sat down in his desk when he arrived to his classroom. There was the usual laughter, either made for him or just between two friends. Adam ignored both kinds. That had been so awkward the way he had said that! It had been mortifying, and his face was still red! That had never happened before and now all of a sudden...

He didn't understand why he always got so nervous around her lately. He always hid this weird feeling he'd get by shoving his hands in his pockets, but it didn't exactly make it go away.

"Hi Adam!" Isabella said cheerfully as she walked through the door of the tutoring room. She sat down and reached into her backpack for her binders. Adam seized his good fortune of her happy mood. "Isabella... umm do you want to go to the movies with me Friday night?"

"Who else would be going?" she asked cluelessly. Adam rubbed his hands on his jeans anxiously. "No one... Just me and you," Adam said. Isabella stared at him, terror in her eyes. "What are you saying?" she asked quietly. Adam sighed, scrutinizing her face. "Will you go out with me?" The terror and confusion remained on her face. "As in... will you be my girlfriend?"