Stargazing With Beilah

Not the Same

Things hadn't been the same since the fire. 

Beilah's entire life had been changed after her and Jake's house had been burned down. Not only had she lost her entire house as well as all of her belongings, but her brother had been incredibly injured because of it. Jake didn't suffer any burns from the fire, but he had broken both of his legs while attempting to get into the house to save his best friend: Richard Goranski, the man who set the fire. 

She still couldn't believe that her brother had sacrificed both of his legs to save the man who burned down their house. She couldn't believe that he had already forgiven Rich without a second thought. Of course, they had been close friends for a few years, but he had ruined their lives! He had destroyed the house they had grown up in and ruined every single memento they had to remind them of their parents. Pictures they had from when they were children, gifts from their parents, home videos. All of it had been destroyed because Rich Goranski had drunk too much or had smoked excessively. 

They had lost everything in the fire, yet Jake still somehow forgave Rich without a second thought. He continued to think of him as a friend and even left him a stuffed bear in his hospital room, wishing him well. 

Beliah, however, had not forgiven him so easily and didn't know that she ever would. 

Rich had shamelessly destroyed their house, their memories, and put her brother in the hospital. Beilah didn't even know what to do after the fire. She didn't have her brother to guide her or protect her at school- she didn't even have a house to stay in! She was terrified after the fire because she no longer knew what she and Jake were going to do. They didn't have a home. They didn't have clothing. They didn't have food. They were completely and utterly screwed and Rich didn't even care. 

No, she wouldn't be able to forgive this man for doing that to them. 

Spencer couldn't blame her, either. 

Thankfully for Beilah, the Canigulas were wonderful people and were more than happy to let Beilah stay at their place until Jake got out of the hospital and they figured something out. They were even willing to let Jake stay at their place once he got out of the hospital until they could figure out what to do and where to go. Beilah was eternally grateful. 

So, until Jake got out of the hospital, she had plenty of time to spend with Spencer, Christine, and their parents to look forward to. Despite how much Beilah loved Spencer, though, they had very different sleeping patterns. Beilah was the person to go to sleep early on in the night, while Spencer was the kind of person to stay up until two in the morning on a school night. 

Thankfully, Jake got out of the hospital somewhat quickly- at least far faster than Beilah had anticipated (though that was likely just because she was incredibly stressed out about the situation). Once he got out, though, Jake was in a wheelchair and would be confined to it for several weeks afterwards. He wouldn't be able to do so many of the things he had previously loved- track and field, archery, plays with Christine. He wasn't able to do all of the things that he used to spend hours doing. Even though he pretended it didn't effect him, Beilah could see through his facade. 

The fire had taken away their home, their memories, and Jake's life.

Beilah would never be able to forgive Rich.