The Girl Who Cried Help

Chapter Nine

(Three weeks later, investigation for domestic violence is still underway)

********

Adrian I sit together on the cold, worn down metal of the park bench. We had grabbed some hot drinks to go with the bitter winds, she had some coffee while I stuck with my usual, green tea. The police had gotten a hold of my mother, and investigated my old apartment. They even gave me some of my old things, like my laptop and old sketchbook. I was glad that those were the items they had given me, it would give me something to do while I stayed with Adrian.

"Have you heard from the police?" Adrian asked me, taking a long sip from her cup. I shrug, "Not much after they delivered my stuff." I take a small sip of my tea and look out onto the playground. A few children play with their friends, a few women (which I assume as their mothers) watch over them from another bench.

"Are you excited to go back to school tommrow, after your little break?" Adrian asks. Even thought she had skipped when we went to the police, she had gone to school for the next few days. I shrug once more, "I guess, I'm going to have a lot to catch up on." Adrian chuckles, "I wouldn't worry about it, you'll get it done quick."

I smile, she was right. I wouldn't ever consider myself a teacher's pet, or someone who enjoyed school, but I didn't struggle with assignments and typically got them done the minute they were handed out. Maybe that's just something I did to distract myself, I had never really thought about it before. "Hey, Jade there's something I've been meaning to-" Before Adrian can finish we hear a car horn from behind us.

A boy gets out and runs over to us, "Jade!" I recognized his blue eyes and messy blonde hair, it was Liam. Liam and I had never been super close, but we were friendly. I had a few classes with him, and we typically partnered up for projects at school. He was tall, athletic, popular. Pretty typical guy at school.

I glance at Adrian, who shoots me a mischievous smirk. "Hey, Liam!" I say with a smile, I didn't want to seem rude. "Hey, where've you been? I haven't seen you at school in..a while." He says, his voice drifting towards the end. "Crap.."

"Oh..I have some personal things going on right now and I just needed a mental health break." I say, trying to be as vauge as possible. It's not that I didn't trust him, I just didn't want anyone to know. "Oh jeez, hope everything is okay."

An awkward moment of silence passes, Liam being quick to break it. "Well I just wanted to make sure you were okay, see you at school!" He says, waving goodbye before jogging back to his car. "Bye..?" I mutter, my expression fogged over and confused. I glance over to Adrian, and we both burst into laughter. "That was the weirdest thing!" Adrian says, giggling. I nod with a wide grin, "I know!"

"He's totally into you.." Adrian says with a smirk, taking a swig of it before tossing in the trash can beside her. My eyes widen, "Liam?! No way!" "Um, yes way!" Adrian exclaims, "I saw the way he was looking at you." I shake my head, "I don't know what your talking about."

"Well are you into him?" Adrian asks, clearly trying to hide her curiosity. I laugh, "No way! I've known him too long to see him as anything else but a friend."

Adrian smiles to herself, seeming almost pleased by my answer. "What?" I ask with a small giggle. "Your adorable." She says mocking me a little. I roll my eyes playfully, "Let's head back to your place, it's gonna get dark soon." She nods and leads me towards her car.

We get in and fasten our seatbelts, but sit in a silence. "Are you gonna start the car?" I ask, curious as to why we were just sitting there. "Yeah it's just..." She starts, "I need to tell you something."

"Yeah.." I start, "What's up?"

I didn't know what she was going to tell me, I honestly had no clue. She was clearly nervous, her hands clammy as they gripped the steering wheel.

"I'm lesbian."

The words rang through my head a few times, as I sat there in shock. "O-Oh.." I say, "That's cool."

"I've been meaning to tell you, I've just been so nervous and-"

I smile and rub her back, "No really it's okay, that's actually really cool." She sits there for a few seconds, not knowing what to say, and honestly I'm not so sure myself. In our town, you never really see gay people, or really anyone who isn't straight. It just isn't as common, and something that's joked about. It shouldn't be, but it is. She smiles, "I was hoping you'd say that."

We sit for a few more seconds, this time the silence more fond and comfortable. We giggle, then pull out of the parking lot and make our way home.

To be honest, I had my suspicions about Adrian. Of course, I was completly okay with it. I'm not the type to discriminate, after all, I got my own things going on. It made me almost giddy, to know that I wasn't the only one in the community who was different.

We drive for a little while longer before I break the silence once more, "Does anyone else know..about-"

She sighs contentedly, "Just you."

I slowly nod my head, "Not your mom?" "No she knows, I thought you meant anyone at school."

I understand why she hadn't told anyone at school,

She's afraid.

And honestly I didn't blame her, there were a lot of mean kids at our school. People who discriminate against anything they don't understand. We pull up into the driveway, "Welcome to my humble aboad, did I mention Im gay?" Adrian jokes.

We laugh and head inside,

Things are good.