Set Her Free

7.

"Liz if this is how Ariana's stay is going to be, I'm not sure how it will end up. Would this house become a fiesta for boys? It's not even been a day and there's already someone here." My mother mumbled to make sure Ariana couldn't hear anything from the hall.

"Mum she's my best friend. She's the only person who made this country home to me when up till now people still make me feel like I don't belong here. She was involved in an accident because of me and her parents didn't even take the moment to think of her and visit her at the hospital. The least others can do is come show their love. Ariana is not like that and it's only one time. This won't happen again mama, please let's just make it easy for us all and for her too."

"Fine," my mother sighs and smooths my hair, "I just don't want anything bad to happen okay?"

"Nothing would happen I promise." I assure her and walk out to where Ariana once sat but she's not there. I climb the flight of stairs to check in the guest bedroom and she's also not there. Where could she possibly go? I reach the end of the hallway and my bedroom door flies open as she run out and straight into the bathroom, she was fine just a few minutes ago. Her sobs are heard through the door and my heart squeezes at the thought that maybe she heard my mom and I talking about her. It's bad enough she doesn't have her parents to care for her and now my mom has to act this way towards her.

I rushed down to the kitchen to call my mom and tell her Ariana was crying in the bathroom and she came up quickly with me to check up on Ariana. My mom can be a little harsh sometimes but she likes Ariana and treats her like her own daughter when she comes to visit. She's just paranoid that others might influence us to do the wrong things or even boys might get to our heads.

"Ariana hunny is everything okay?" My mother places her ear on the door only to hear more sobs from Ariana. "Come on, you can talk to me dear, just don't trap yourself in there." Concern spreads on my mother's face and I can tell she was also thinking that Ariana might have heard our short conversation in the kitchen.

"Don't worry Aunty Elise, I'm fine."

"Ari please don't do this. If you don't open the door in the next minute I swear I'll break it down!" I hear her chuckle lightly from behind the door and the clicking sound of the lock follows. Under her eyes have formed into red bags and her face holds nothing but sadness.

My poor Ari, she doesn't deserve this.

I wrap my arms around her as she returns the gesture and I hear her cry onto my shoulder. Since she came out to me for comfort and hugged me back, I realized that this has probably got to do with her parents.

She gulps down the last drops of water before walking alongside me to my room, locking my door behind us so that my mother won't interrupt.

"What happened Ari?" We lay down on the bed and I wait for her to start talking. She blows her nose into the tissue before looking up at me, releasing a heavy breath she's been holding for long.

"My parents called." Was all she said. This could be good or bad. Her cries could be joy or sadness. It didn't seem to me like she was happy but who knows. Her parents haven't been the best this week so I don't expect anything good to come from that phone call.

"And what happened?"

"At first I thought they were calling to check up on me and ask how I was after the accident. They did ask me how I was, they knew I was at your house, Camila told them. I started shouting and insulting them for not even visiting me once at the hospital and all they could say was I'm almost sixteen and I'm old enough to go about things without them being around." Her tears escape her eyes and I realize the familiar burn on my cheeks as my tears also fall for the sight in front of me. This once joyous girl who never let anyone bring her down is sitting in front of me today, sobbing her eyes out because of her 'parents'. I felt angry for her. How could her parents possibly say that? At age fifteen my mother treated me like I was a ten year old, whilst on the other side of the earth , fifteen year olds are 'old enough to take care of their own selves and handle things without their parents.

If it was a less deathly situation, I would understand that okay they're right because soon she'll be going off to college and won't be asking anyone to do anything for her but right now while they still can, they should love her unconditionally and show her all the care they could.

"I'm sorry Ariana but your parents are stupid, no offense!"

"None taken." She gives me a weak smile and I just feel like going over to her house and shooting her parents in their heads.

"How can they even tell you you're old enough to handle these kind of situations? So let's say God Forbid, you died or you went into a coma for like eight months, would they still say that or will they come rushing to you like they give a damn?" Her eyes widen at my shocking question but she has to understand that how she's being treated is nothing but unfair. She has to open her eyes and see it.

"I don't know anymore honestly. I'm tired of thinking about them when I doubt I even cross their minds once. I have you and your mom and Uncle Phil. You guys are like my second family and I'm grateful for you all. It just hurts me that my own blood parents who brought me into this world, who gave me life, don't even care that I was involved in a car accident and yet they still manage to stay calm and talk nothing but bullshit. I'm just tired."

We both lay side by side on my bed,thank God I had changed it to a bigger one last month or we both wouldn't have fit on my small mattress. She looks past me and her eyes hold pure anger and sadness, her tears forming at the back of her eyes waiting to finally gush out.

I couldn't do anything anymore at this point, I could only be there for her and let her know that everything would be okay. Her silent snores fill the room as I drift off into my own thoughts, thinking about all the time gone that I didn't even use to go over my books. Finals is in two days, well one day because it's in the night now. Only God knows how I'm going to make it through these two weeks with Ariana and her parents on my mind, Andrews visit the other day, Zach and Yale. My mind was way into the future that I didn't even think about the present and how if I don't pass these finals, there wouldn't be a future anytime soon for me.