Innocence Sold

Chapter 1

(The picture above is of Ella Woods.)

The sunlight shone through the window, into a dark room. The snores of a young woman softly filled the room. Drool oozed out of my mouth onto the warm pillow. Milk chocolate hair was a tangled mess.

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!!! The alarm resounded throughout the apartment, waking up my exhausted body.

"AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!" My surprised screams rang out as I fell into the cold, hard and unforgiving ground. I groaned, and slowly, very slowly, pushed myself off the floor and steadied my still drowsy self. I rubbed my eyes as I shuffled my groggy self to the kitchen.

RRRRIIIINNNNGGGG!!!! I winced at the extremely loud noise, and carefully answered the phone.

"Hello?" I mumbled into the phone, and pulled it away after hearing a ear-piercing screech.

"Ella Woods!! Where the heck are you?!" I took a deep breathe.

"Peyton, calm down woman. It's nine o' clock," I groaned at the early time.

"You promised to meet me at Panera's. At 8:30! Come on!!! Don't you bail out on me, AGAIN?!" Peyton whined.

Oh crap, I forgot. Again! My eyes widened at the realization and I groaned. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. Give me 15 minutes. I'll be there soon, Pey." I end the call, and start to get ready. I quickly take a shower, and pick out a decent outfit, for Peyton's sake. I smiled as the last time I met her, in casual clothing. That woman threw a serious fit. I slip on a pair of dark blue jeans, a white sweater, some dark brown flats, and my good ol' trusty glasses. I wrapped a light brown polka dotted scarf around my neck. After putting my hair into a messy bun, I grabbed my dark turquoise purse, and checked my appearance. She better appreciate the effort, or else! I checked the time. Crap, I thought as I bolted out to my car.

As I enter Panera's, the smell of coffee overwhelms me, and I crinkle my nose in disgust. But as soon as I smell the mouth-watering bread, I sigh happily. I sure do love my bread. Probably a bit too much. As I hop in line, and start to observe the menu, I hear my name being called. I look around the crowded place to spot a furious and fuming, but still gorgeous, Peyton. She was waving her hand, motioning for me to come to her. I guess I owed it her for being late.

"Stupid guilt." I mutter as I step out of line and head in her direction. She scowled at me as I approached her. As usual, her blonde curls and blue eyes went wonderfully with her flower printed dress and jean jacket. Her black heels finished it off with a perfect touch.

"You look beautiful Peyton." I say, starting to try to apologize her. She glares at me, and I gulp.

"A least you showed up this time, Elizabeth." Peyton snaps. I wince.

Full name already?! Is she this mad? I smiled weakly, overcome with feverish guilt. I have been acting like a sucky friend, seeing that I have been blowing her off for the past three months. My guilt was overflowing.

"Pey, I'm so sorry. I really do feel guilty about being late again. It's just school and-" I try to apologize, but then I saw them. I saw the tears. Tears slowly running down her face as she watches me with a broken expression.

"Am I not more important than school?" She whispers, her voice on the edge of cracking. Oh my gosh... what have I done?

"Pey, what's wrong?" I say back softly. Her lower lip trembles, and tears fall down her face.

"I just thought you said you would always be there for me Ella. Remember?" She responds. My face widens in horror. Now I've done it. I have lost my best friend.

"I feel like a wreck. My parents are divorced. Since I found out my boyfriend was cheating me, he broke up with me, and spread rumors of me cheating on him. And then I come to find out, he cheated on me with Tanya! You know, that girl who was my new friend on the swim team?" My eyes widened in guilt and rage.

"No! He didn't! I swear, when I get my hands on him, I'll-I'll- GAH! I am so sorry. I should have been there for you." My eyes tear up.

"I can't keep up with my college classes. My life has no purpose anymore." She says, her voice just cracking. Now I pull her in for a hug. What kind of friend am I? I feel absolutely horrible. Not being there for her when she needs me most. I feel selfish, guilty and horrible.

"Peyton, I feel horrible." I say, my eyes watering up. "I-" My voice cracks instantly as I couldn't hold the tears back. Her head shoots up and her eyes widen.

"ELLA!!!" She smothers me in a big hug.

"I'll never leave like that, ever." I tell her.

Soon after that, Peyton and I were sharing stories and relieving memories from the past. We were laughing like good ol' times.

It was around 7 o' clock that evening. The day was well spent. For Peyton and I, it was fun and relaxing, after the big dramatic moment at Panera's. The sun was setting, letting a beautiful tint of orange, pink and blue shine out upon Earth's residents. I was showing Peyton the latest post on my instagram feed. We burst out laughing, wiping the joyful tears from our eyes. On that post was a picture of bananas inside a clear, plastic bag, with a large, hairy, black spider inside of it. Its caption read: "Bananas. Fresh from the country of NOPE."

My neighborhood was near the college I attended, which was located out in the countryside. Lamp posts encircled the neighborhood, lighting the way for Peyton and I. It was a gorgeous sight to see.

As we continued to walk and talk, the breath-taking sunset slowly disappeared off into the distance, letting only the bright lights of the lamp posts guide the way.

Suddenly, one by one, the lamp posts surrounding us flickered and lost their light, leaving behind a small, almost unnoticeable trail of smoke and a loud POP. Soon, all that was left was the single lamp post that loomed over our heads. Peyton was trembling.

"Ella... wh- what's happening?" She asked me, staring at me with those big, frightened, blue eyes of hers. My heart ached for her. I had a sickly feeling that we were being hunted down as prey.

"I- I don't k- know. Ella, just remember, it's not your dad. Your dad is not here." I answered in return. I pulled her in for a reassuring hug, just as a huge gush of unnatural wind passed by. Some could say, it was almost, supernatural. As I observed the surroundings, I realized that we were in luck.

"Peyton! Let's go!!! My house is only a couple more down." I said excitedly. I started to pull at her, but Peyton resisted my urges to go.

"El- Ella... I don't kno- ow... I'm afraid." Her voice quivered in fear.

I grabbed her hand and replied, "You have me. I will protect you, Peyton, even though no one else is here."

She took in a deep breath while clutching my hand in a death grip, and we walked forward into the darkness before us. I smiled, and pulled out my phone's flashlight.

An ear-piercing scream erupted from Peyton as she was yanked and pulled into the darkness.

"PEYTON!!!" I screeched in fear. I shone my flashlight everywhere around me, just to confirm that Peyton had vanished. I frantically called out for her, as my nightmares became a reality.

From the darkness, a rough, calloused hand covered my mouth.

"Wow, is she that important?" A croaky voice whispered in my ear. I elbowed him straight in the diaphragm, which sent him into a coughing fit. He let go of me, amd took a step back. I turned around, but I was met with flying hand. Slap! I fell to the ground, clutching my right cheek, which was tbrobbing in severe pain. He climbed on top of me as I squirmed and fought, but to no avail.

"This will teach you not to mess with me, human." My eyes widened in fear as a cold needle pierced my neck, and an unknown liquid entered my body unwillingly. Something inside that mixture forced my body to loose all strength I formerly had control of. I started to fade into the darkness, but before I completely fell victim to the injection, the same voice spoke again.

"Sweet dreams."