Mirror, Mirror, On The Wall.....

Dad Says Goodbye

I opened the door to the nurse's office. The secretary, Mr. Breitbart, and the nurse were there. The janitor was gone. Heidi was still wrapped in her towel with a man and a woman who were pretty and fair-skinned and had black hair like her. They must be her parents, I thought. The mom was crying, and the dad looked worn out. The mother noticed me and stood. "Is that her?", she said, pointing to me. Heidi turns and smiles. "Yeah, Mom, that the girl who saved my life. My best friend." I smile and the mother runs to me and hugs me. She starts crying. "Thank you", she sobs. "Thank you for saving my baby's life. She's all we have." She keeps crying and the nurse makes her sit down. The nurse looks at me. "Dear, have you been crying?", she asks me. I shook my head. "No. It's just my allergies." It wasn't allergies, but I couldn't reveal the real reason why I was crying.

"Arielle, your mother is on the phone", the nurse said. I went to the phone and picked it up. 

"Mom?"

"Arielle?"

"Hi, Mom."

"Oh, my darling! I was so worried when that nurse called me! Are you all right?"

"I'm fine Mom. I just had a panic attack. At least, that's what the nurse said."

"I can imagine. That poor girl, Heidi. Is she okay?"

"Yes, Mom."

"Oh, you're so brave my darling. And I'm so incredibly proud of you."

"Thanks."

"Would you like to come home?"

"Well, school should be over soon, so.....yeah, that would be nice."

"Okay, I'll be along to get you in a moment."

"Okay Mom, goodbye."

"Goodbye, hon."

I walk back out. Heidi's mom is crying more than ever, and Heidi's dad is trying to console her. Heidi had some tears in her eyes too. "What wrong?", I say, sitting next to her. "Is it true?", she asked me. "Did someone try to kill me on purpose?" I look down. "Yeah Heidi, it's true." She shook her head. "But who would hate me that much? Who would want me dead that badly?", she said. I wanted to tell her. I wanted to tell her so badly. The truth almost tumbled out my lips. But I couldn't. I couldn't tell her the truth. I couldn't tell anyone the truth. "I don't know Heidi, I don't know." I just held her until my mother arrived. My mother didn't question my oversized jacket or my outfit choice. She just held me tight, and wouldn't let me go. And to be honest, I didn't want her to.

When we got home I went straight to my room. The mirror on the wall glittered, and I just glare at it. I wanted to take a bat and smash it. But I couldn't do that to Arista. Not yet at least. She just really needs to clean up her act before she nearly kills someone else. I flop on my bed and decide to call Angel because he only saw me once today and I'm sure he heard what happened, and is probably worried sick about me. Sure enough, I have several missed calls from him. I dial his number. He answers immediately. "Babe? Geez, I've been so worried about you! I heard about what happened to Heidi, and that you saved her and you started throwing up and-"

"Slow down!", I said, laughing. "And don't worry anymore, I'm fine." He breathes a huge sigh of relief. "Thank God. I'm only sorry I couldn't come to see you in the nurse's office but-"

"It's okay Angel. You don't need to apologize for anything it's fine."

We chatted for a while, an hour and a half actually. Until it was almost dinnertime and I needed to leave. "Hey babe, it's almost time for me to eat. I gotta go", I tell him. "Okay bae I love you", he says and hangs up. I felt all warm and tingly inside when he told me that.