Seen Not Heard || BOOK 1

A Better Place

Chapter Fourteen ~ Idina

"11:40 just five short minutes until you're fifteen!" Riley shouts. We're still on the roof; we decided we wanted to be together when I became fifteen, just us in our little family unit.

"Yay," I say with fake enthusiasm, "ooh, look, the sky. Lucas, wanna look at it?" I ask not waiting for an answer as I drag him over to the ledge again for a private discussion.

*"Lucas, if you really care about me I know that you will do the right thing," I speak with urgency in a hushed tone so our friends won't hear.

"I do. And I will." He walks back to the gang. I huff, then put on a smile as I return to our friends, still contemplating what to do. When I return Farkle seems somewhat upset but smiles when he sees me.

"One minute," Farkle says looking at his watch, "Thirty seconds." Riley and Maya are on either side of me holding my hands. I pretend to yawn, stand up, and start walking to the door as I explain myself.

"Well, it's really late and I'm really tired so..." Farkle's watch beeps before I can finish my sentence just as Riley and Maya's phone alarms go off. We are silent for a moment other than the beeping alarms. My hand is on the door handle.

"Idina's father isn't dead," Lucas says standing up; Farkle, Riley, and Maya all stare at him in shock, but he's only looking at my turned back, "I'm sorry, Idina. I did the right thing. I hope you can forgive me."

My hand's still on the door. Farkle comes up to me and wraps his arms around me to remove my hand from the door. He pulls up a chair in front of where the girls are sitting, then he and Lucas sit back down on the stone ledge across from the door. With my hand still stretched out, and holding onto nothing, I turn back to my friends, at least, I hope they still are. I put my hand to my side, then walk over to the chair, and melt into it.

"Hi, I'm Idina, I'm fifteen, and live in New York City, but I'm from Houston, Texas. My mother is from here and works at a vet's office. We didn't move her because of her work; we moved here to escape someone. My father isn't dead; he's back in Texas. He would hurt my mom, and me. He would make me feel horrible thoughts about myself, and want to do horrible things to myself. He caused me to have a lot of bad disorders, that I'm still recovering from. I haven't seen him since the day I left. I'm going to Texas next month with my friends, see one of them, Lucas, he's from Austin and is on a redemption mission to ride a bull, and I am gonna be there for him like he's been there for me, even when I didn't want him to be. I know my dad's in Houston, but I'm still really scared to go back to Texas."

"I couldn't imagine what it must have been like to go through that," Maya replies.

"Idina why didn't you tell us?" Riley asks.

"You see, I forgot to mention. Other than Lucas I have these three other best friends, Maya, Riley, and Farkle. I've never really had any friends, and I was worried that if they knew the real me, and what I was facing, and that taking on this certain friend meant taking on a girl who's fighting herself, I thought they wouldn't want me. I thought they wouldn't care enough to look past that."

"You don't have anything to be worried of, we'll protect you in Austin. He's hours away, but we're right here. You don't have anything to be ashamed of either. You're still learning to be you, and to be you wrestling some demons," Farkle caringly assures.

"Idina, we love you, and we're here for you," Lucas says; we all join hands, "because we take on the world, together." I start crying, but they are tears of relief and freedom.

"As long as I know I'll always have y'all by my side, I'm ready for anything, even Texas," I say, breath, then smile, "since my friends are there to catch me if, and when, I fall."

As I grin straight at Lucas, I mouth the words Thank You to him. I'm glad I told them because now I know a hundred percent that they have my back, always.

*some lines in chapter direct lines, or variations of lines from GMW*