What Friends Are For

Chapter Four

CHAPTER 4

"A true friend sees the first tear...catches the second...and stops the third." -Unknown

"You...you're changing schools?" I say, my voice shaking. "F-for real?"

"You can't do that!" Bella says to Jacob. "You can't, Jacob! Please!"

"I don't have a choice," He tells us. "If I could avoid it I would, but I can't!"

"We...We have to do something about this!" Sofia says, almost crying. "Without Jacob, Alexis will commit suicide! I can't have TWO of my best friends gone forever!"

"What are ways to protect Alexis?" Asks Annabelle. "We have to do SOMETHING."

"Yeah...we can't just leave this problem," said Bella. "That wouldn't be right."

"Agreed," said Sofia. "If she DOES commit suicide and we did nothing, we'd look back and know we had a chance to fix it. But we didn't."

"Exactly," I tell everybody. "And our chance to do something is right now."

"Well, what are we going to do about it?" asks Bella. "Because I don't know what to do at this point."

"Leaving it alone is what we WON'T do. So... tell a teacher?" asks Annabelle. "But... I feel like that wouldn't help. She already talked to her teacher and she seems like she's in the same spot. If not, worse."

"I agree, because then Alexis will be put in foster care," pointed out Jacob. "If her mom finds out Alexis told us, she'll beat Alexis to death!"

That was very true. She would get extremely hurt. Who knows what Alexis' mom would do to Alexis? I shuddered just thinking about it.

"Not only that," Jacob started. "But she'll be sent to a different school! Away from her best friends! Away from school-her HOME- the thing she loves the most!"

Everyone stood there silently. Jacob was right. Alexis would only feel worse. We can't take her away from the thing she loves most-our school.

Leaving it alone would be even worse. We are her best friends, and we have her secret. Her deepest, darkest secret. And we can't do just... nothing about it.

"You're right," nervously stated Sofia. "However, we can't let her stay in a home where we KNOW she is abused and is in danger of suicide."

"Yeah, I agree with Sofia," stated Bella. "We are the only ones who know. The only other people besides us five are Emma, Olivia, and Elliana. But I'm pretty sure THEY aren't going to do anything about it."

"We are the only ones who can do something about this," said Annabelle. "But whatever we do, Alexis will still be depressed and suicidal. She'll be even sadder. Doing nothing will let whatever is happening at home continue."

We all sigh.

"Who here cares about Alexis?" I ask my friends.

Everyone raises their hands.

"Who thinks we shouldn't leave it alone?" I ask.

Everyone raises their hands.

"No matter what we do, Alexis will still be depressed," Annabelle says.

"Well, we're NOT going to do nothing about it," Bella tells us. "We

Will do something about this situation."

"Every way is a dead end," Jacob says with a sigh. "But

we have to do SOMETHING."

"Is there anybody who can help us with Alexis?" Sofia asks hopefully.