My Blood

The Day Her Life Changed Forever

-9 years ago-

"Come on Lily! Life is short. You got to live a little."

I roll my eyes as Bella and I walk out of Bella's apartment and begin our trek to Staten Island Technical High School. Bella and I have known each other since the 6th grade. We had the same English and when the teacher tried to kick me out of class for something that I didn't do, Bella called her out and defended me, which resulted in both of us being kicked out of the class. On the way to the office, Bella and I got talking and we started hanging out soon after that. Since then, we hang out after school at the Manhattan precinct where Uncle Fin works and everyone instantly had a soft spot for Bella. Eliot and Olivia sees her like a daughter, Munch sees her as a someone that actually agrees with his conspiracy theories sometimes and Uncle Fin sees her as someone who will always have his niece's back when he isn't able to. 

We were all like family. 

I cross my arms as the two of us stand in front of the high school. "I love you dearly Bella, but there is no way that I am breaking curfew to go to a bar that some indie band is playing at. We'regonna get in trouble."

Bella complains. "This is OK Go. They went viral with the treadmill music video and their music is fucking incredible. They're only gonna be in New York for one day and my uncle can sneak us into the bar as long as we can pay him $40 at the door."

I look at Bella surprised. "$40? Are you kidding me? That's twice as much as my allowance. How can I afford that?"

Bella shakes her head. "Well lucky for you, I thought for the both of us and got my mom to give me an advance on my allowance this month."

I scoff. "You serious? How were you able to convince your mom to give your allowance early?"

Bella shrugs her shoulders. "My mom is the best damn real estate broker in all of New York. It wouldn't be humane if she didn't teach her daughter how to hustle her way into money."

****

After I lied to my mom saying that I was having a sleepover at Bella's house(only half of the truth that I wanted her to know because I hated lying to her), I grabbed my suitcase and took a cab over to Bella's house. When I got there, Bella's mom opened the door immediately. 

"Hey Lily. It's a pleasure to see you. Come on in. How has your uncle been? "

As I enter the house, I reply to her question. "Hi Mrs. Notte. It's great seeing you as well. Uncle Fin has been doing good. He and the squad just finished a major case so now they're celebrating the big win."

Bella's mother nods her head and places her hands on my shoulders. "Lily, I've told you constantly before. Mrs. Notte is designated for my mother. I've known you since you were 3 years old. Please call me Elizabeth."

I shake my head in reassurance. "Okay Elizabeth." 

Just in the nick of time, Bella comes out of her room with her bag against her waist and a smirk on her face. She sees me at the front door talking to Elizabeth and she walks over to us. "Hey Lily. Ready to go?"

I nod my head in agreement. "Yeah. I'm ready."

Right before we head to leave, Elizabeth stops us at the front door. "Wait wait. One thing before you guys leave." The two of us look over to Elizabeth, who is staring at us with a look that I couldn't easily decipher. "Now I know that you guys will be close to Bella's uncle at the bar, but I still want to remind you guys of a few things." She counts on her fingers while she gives us pieces of advice. "Never accept a drink from a stranger. If you have a drink of water or soda, keep your hand over it and never leave it unoccupied with anyone else. Also, and this is most important of all, don't talk to anyone that seems very suspicious to you. If you see someone that looks suspicious, tell Bella's uncle and stay with him all night. Do you both understand that?" The two of us nod our heads in agreement, which give Elizabeth the permission she needs to sigh in content. "Good. Perfect. Now go on and be safe. I love you both." The two of us say our goodbyes to Elizabeth and head outside of the house, destination set on the bar that was down the street from Bella's house. 

During the walk to the bar (most of the time was spent joking with each other about the hot guys at school), we came across a man who is rumbling through the trunk with a brace on his right arm. He looks like he's struggling with grabbing what he needs with his good arm, so I stopped the two from walking and I point over to the guy with the cast, silently signalling that we should try and help the man that's clearly struggling to get something that he needs. After a few constant minutes of the two of us silently bickering between each other, Bella sighs in defeat and nods her head in agreement. 

Nodding my head as well, the two of us walked over to the man and we spoke up as loud as we could so he could hear us. "Excuse me sir. My friend and I were just walking past and we noticed that you were struggling to get something out of your car. Do you need any help?"

Almost instantly, the man turns around to face us and he looks over at Bella  with his eyes slightly hidden by the baseball cap that was on his head. "Why yes. That would be very appreciated. I've been having the hardest time since I hurt my arm."

Bella starts to help him  while I was standing to the side. "If you don't mind me asking sir, how did you hurt your arm?"

The man waves me off with his good arm. "Please call me Steve. I was volunteering at the food bank yesterday and one of the heavy boxes fell off the shelf and landed on my arm. It's not broken but the doctor doesn't want me to strain it anymore than it already is."  I nod my head with this thought that immediately popped into my head: The food bank isn't open on Wednesdays. 

Before I could yell at Bella to run, the man pulls out a tire iron from the backseat and whacks Bella across the head. I try to run away from the man, but he grabs me by the hair and throws me to the ground, causing my whole world to go black.