There's a Place For Us (Complete)

Part 16

I. An Exquisitely Tragic Love Affair

(Part 16)

Adam went home after dropping Isabella off at her house. "You're home early," his mom commented as he walked through the door. She was used to him skipping school by this point, and she knew there was no point in objecting to it. He wouldn't change his ways.

Adam nodded his head, not offering up an excuse. He never did. Adam just sat down at the kitchen table and hung his head in his hands. "They want to put her in a mental institution..." he muttered half to himself, half to his mom. His mom opened her eyes wide, gratified at this new openness, and she jumped at the opportunity.

"Who, hunny?" she asked gently. Adam shook his head. "This girl..." He sighed. "My friend. She makes me a better person," he said slowly. "And despite everything... everything," he stressed, making it seem there was a lot, "part of me wants her to be more than just a friend." His mom smiled. "Let's see a picture," she said, reaching for his phone. His hand stopped her. "We don't have pictures on my phone," he paused. "She's not really the picture type." He remained sad and distant. "Well," his mom continued awkwardly, "is there a picture in your yearbook?" Adam's face lit up slightly. He ran upstairs and retrieved his yearbook. His mom waited as he flipped through the pages. She expected to see a perfectly fake girl with perfect skin, hair, and makeup, and way too much skin showing. But when Adam pointed at a picture and said "this is her" that was not the kind of girl she saw. The girl had messy blonde hair and wore no makeup. Her smile was pretty, but to the eyes of teenagers, her smile meant nothing, and Adam's mom knew that. Her body remained covered, for she wore a turtle neck with a tiny pin shaped in the letter "L" over by her left shoulder. The girl almost looked as if she tried to make herself ugly... But who would do that?

"Oh she's... She's lovely," Adam's mother stuttered. He smiled and replied, "yea." His mom squinted down at the page to see the tiny name printed under the picture. "Isabella..." she murmured. "So Isabella's your girlfriend?" she asked, hoping she wasn't pushing her luck. Adam shook his head. "To her, I'm just a friend," he elaborated. "She'll never care for me that way I care about her... I've been trying..." He took a breathe and stared at the wall before him. "I guess I should just give up..." He watched as his mom's eyebrows furrowed as he spoke. "We've been through a lot and I feel like... I don't know..." Adam's mom stood up from her chair and spoke to him in a strong, powerful voice. "So after all you've been through, you're just going to quit, just like that?! No! You're gonna fight like hell until you can't fight any longer; that's what you're going to do!" She stared at him, and he stared back. "I didn't raise my son to quit, so he sure as hell isn't going to do it now." And with that, she left the room, leaving Adam alone, wondering what he could possibly do to win her heart.

Once Adam got the car moving and they had had that small conversation, nothing else was exchanged between them. Isabella stared out the window. She watched as the birds flew up overhead and the clouds slowly meandered through the piercing blue sky. Children played on their front lawns, oblivious to the cold, hard truth of reality. She heard Adam next to her. His breathing was heavy and when Isabella glanced over, his knuckles were white from his grip on the steering wheel. They arrived at her house, and silently she got out. Adam drove away the second she got out.

On her doorstep, she found an envelope. Just like the one she got every month, and just like every month, Isabella muttered her sarcastic thanks. She sighed, exhausted from the day's events, and heavily sat down on the couch.

'Mental institution...' the words rung in her head.

'Institutionalize her... She's crazy...'

It wasn't the first time she had heard that. It had been said to her back when she was just a child. Back when she was five years old. They hadn't taken into consideration just what had happened... They hadn't even cared. They didn't even have the decency to find out what had happened. Only she knew details, she had never told anyone...

Suddenly, goosebumps covered her body. She let out a cry. Why was there no way to stop these?! Why was she a captive to her own past, a prisoner in her own memories?

She was being sung to in an eerie tone, but the song had a sweet texture to it. " You are mine forever and if I should leave you, you will find me no matter how hard it may be. Look for me and I'll be there...."

She couldn't remember the face of the person singing. It was blurred from too many years of memories and not enough years of life. She remembered her body being jerked back violently and suddenly. The fear that had taken over her. The lights temporary blinded her, not allowing her to see the events unfold before her. But she could hear them. She could hear the screech of metal on metal. It deafened her, and was harsher than any sound anyone could imagine. The bellowing honk of the car horn that never seemed to stop. She was forced to cover her ears, but not because of the honking or the crash, but because of the screams. Screams filled with so much anguish and fear. The types of screams that made your skin crawl and make you feel as if you yourself are in that pain. She rocked herself back and forth, wanting nothing more than her mother's comfort. Where was she? Why wasn't she with her? As the noises got louder, Isabella rocked herself back and forth, faster and faster. She clamped her eyes shut tight and pressed her hands hard against her ears, trying but not succeeding at blocking out the sounds that scared her more than anything had in her entire life.

"MOM....!," she wailed. A hand touched her knee. "I'll be there..." a woman whispered with just enough strength to force it out.