Hope

Ten

"Mom, what's gonna happen to dad now?"Denise asked as they walked into the house.
"He... he'll get better but he's going to go to jail, Denise"her mother said.
"Can't we do anything?"
"Your dad went too far,he's going to be charged with a lot of things"
"I know. Ethan is still upstairs"
"Go get him" Denise nodded and walked upstairs to her brother's room.
"Ethan!"she yelled before knocking. The door opened slowly.
"Ethan,are you still angry? We saved Martha,you know.."her voice trailed off as she walked into his empty room. She walked to his room and found a note on his table.
"Weird"she whispered as her gaze went up to the ceiling fan. Ethan was hanging by the neck,dead. She screamed.
****
"You should go back to school since Matt is getting better"Joy said.
"I still wanna stay"Hope said stubbornly.
"Malik will drive you girls back to school"Joy said.
"No thanks. Jenny drove us here,she can drive us back" Hope said curtly.
"Look,I know you're still angry with me after everything.."
"You're right,bye"she said quickly as she walked out.
****
Charlie almost bumped into someone.
"Hope"he said looking up with a smile. She waved at him shyly.
"It's been a while"he said.
"I had to go home for some family matters"
"I'm glad you're back"
"Me too"
"Um..do you want to go out tonight? You know watch a movie?"
"Sure"
"Okay"he smiled. "I'll pick you up at eight"

****
Hope walked into the questioning room slowly. Her heart was racing. A police man had called saying she was close friends with Rose and wanted her for questioning. There was a translator there to help her in case she didn't understand something.
"Hope Willis,thank you for coming. We won't take much of your time"the police officer said. Hope nodded nervously as another police officer walked in.
"Have a seat,Miss Willis"he said. She sat quickly.
"Miss Rose was arrested for illegal selling and usage of drugs,do you know anything about that? She said you two were friends". Hope gulped and took up the courage.
"We were never friends or close. I left the room as soon as I found out what she was doing with drugs"
"Thank you,Miss Willis. That will be all"
     Hope almost bumped into a man,he was running. The road was busy. There had been an accident.
"He's losing a lot of blood,call an ambulance!"a voice yelled. She saw a man surrounded by a few people,he was losing a lot of blood. She had to do something. She ran quickly.
"Everyone move,give him some air!"she yelled as she dropped her bag. She took off the man's shirt and pressed it to the bleeding stomach. She looked and saw a pharmacy next by and grabbed the man next to her.
"Get some pain killers and a first aid kit now!"she yelled.
   Hope sighed as she washed her blood stained hands.
"Hey"a voice said and she turned sharply.
"Um...hi"she said looking at the strange woman.
"You were the one that helped my son,you saved his life today. Thank you,he is my only child and you saved his life"the woman took Hope's hands and smiled.
"God bless you,my child"she hugged her before leaving.
***
    "Hey"Hope said uneasily to Denise.
"Hi"she said looking up.
"How are you holding up?"
"How do you think?"she sighed. "My brother probably committed suicide because he was so worried about you. Here you are,where is he? In a casket"Denise  said through gritted teeth.
"I'm sorry, Denise. But this is not my fault"
"Yeah"Denise stood and brushed pass her.
   "I'm so sorry for your loss"Joy said handing Marisa a bouquet of flowers.
"I'm sorry for yours too"she said. Joy looked at her quizzically as she walked away.
"That was weird"she said as Hope came to join her. "I...."
"Hey,mom. Can we leave? This place is giving me the creeps and I have a tomorrow,so,let's bounce"she said turning to walk away. Joy managed a smile at a passerby before following her daughter .
***
  "Um,hey Hope"Matt said nervously.
"Hi"
"So,you're going back to school,today right?"
"Nah,I'll wait a while. Gonna leave early tomorrow"
"I hope you pass your test,I know you'll ace it..."
"Did you want something?"Hope asked.
"I...I..."he stuttered.
"Do you need help with maths?"she asked. Matt bowed his head sadly.
"Come on, we'll use the study, it's always quiet there"she said leading the way. Matt smiled and followed.
*****
"You have a visitor"the prison guard said as he opened the door to Rose's cell.
"Who is it?"she asked.
"You can actually find out when you get there"the guard snapped. Rose rolled her eyes and walked to the visiting room. A strange woman sat opposite her, looking at her with a smile through the glass.
"Um...who are you?"Rose said through the phone.
"I believe we can help each other"she said.
"In what way?"
"You can help me and say bye bye to this place"