My eyes slowly opened as the cold air brushed across my legs. I glance at the open glass door as it is the first thing I see. Cold wind blows onto me once more and I shiver. I look down at my shorts. I slowly blink, then jump up as I realize that I'm alone. I hurry to my room carefully looking at the drawn blue curtains. I dress properly and slowly walk down the hall tugging my blanket behind me. I brushed my hand against the white wall as I rubbed my eyes. "Get over here right now!" I heard a distant yell. I pulled up my blanket from dragging on the floor. I peeked into the dining room from the hallway. Daddy was pacing outside and held his smartphone in his fist. The soft orange lights cast unease on his white shirt. There was something that made me really uncomfortable about the way he moved. He looked like he was angry enough to kill someone. I stood there and stared at him moving up and down the yard. My eyes swayed left to right as if I was watching a clock.

"Im here," I heard a familiar woman's voice. "Come over here." Daddy said standing in front of the glass door. I covered my mouth when I saw Mrs. Apate hesitantly walked toward him. "I realized that CJ has a bruise on her left wrist." He said casually "Do you know what happened to her?" He went on to ask. "Oh- well…" She muttered. "There was a bit of a fight today and CJ abused a male student of mine. So I took her by force to the office." She said with confidence. "She hit him, and you violently grabbed her arm to take her to the office…" He said with an inconsiderate tone as crickets sang in the background. "Do you have any idea of what he did to her!?" He began raising his voice. "How do you know that she was wrong?! Did you even talk to her before treating her like a criminal!?" He continued accusing her. She looked down in guilt and apologized profusely. "Cithena!" He yelled as he grabbed her by her shoulders. "Yes?" She looked up slowly. "I told you she wasn't ready for school. They all saw her-" he stopped himself realizing he was speaking loudly. I blushed. He whispered in her ear and she covered her mouth. "That's terrible." She said, "Don't let anyone know about this. Especially them." He said pointing up into the sky. "Okay." She said, "What about the boy?" She asked frantically. Snap* His phone screen shattered as he continued to crush it in his hands. "Make sure no harm comes to him. His family is forgiven." He said kindly as blood dripped from his hand. "The same goes for the rest of the people involved." He continued.

"CJ said that Isabel was not the culprit of the misconduct." He put his hands in front of his pants as blood dripped. "Oh, well-" She interrupted. "They were together for all the breaks and are inseparable." He continued with a judgmental tone. "I wish I-" She muttered. "Are you calling her a liar?" He stared menacingly. "No, I'm sorry." She bowed her head. "Look into it, okay?" He said. She nodded.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

I went into my room and closed the door. "Isabel." I whispered into my blanket. "There is no way she could've done that. She would never, she's too shy and obedient to sell herself." I thought to myself. "Besides she was with me the whole time right?" I doubted. "Why would she do something like that? Did she need the money?" I whispered. "What if she was saving the money to run away?" I said quietly in amazement. "But… That would mean she'd be leaving me." I said with a weight on my voice. "No, she would never. There has to be someone else." I whispered. I fell asleep.

I woke up lying on daddy's chest, on the couch. He was sleeping and I slowly got up so he wouldn't wake up. I noticed bandages wrapped around his left hand. "So it wasn't just a dream." I thought. As I began walking to the bathroom the telephone rang. Daddy woke up and rubbed his eyes as he went to pick it up. He lifted the phone to his ear and stopped for a moment. Then he turned on the television. "Breaking news, a little girl was found dead next to a dumpster on Dolorosa road. She has been identified as Isabel Arora." I turned around in shock. "She was found with multiple severe scars and bruises. The autopsy confirmed that she died from blunt force trauma. Furthermore, a dog assumed to be hers was found beheaded next to her." The news reporter continued. "Investigations are continuing." Daddy realized that I was watching and quickly turned it off. "W- what happened to Izzy daddy?" I asked him. "Won't she be in school today?" My voice cracked. I blinked the water out of my eyes. "I'm sorry, Izzy's gone now." He whispered as he hugged me. I felt my eyes open, and my heart sank into a burning fire. "I'm sorry!" I cried as my jaw shook. "I- I'm s-so sorry!" I muttered through the blur. As if the Gods had sympathy for my pain, rain began to fall. My tears flowed and soaked his shirt. I cried for hours, and I didn't even realize that he was crying as well. I never got to say goodbye.

Later that day I went into my backpack and found a letter.

Dear CJ, I will be in big trouble when I get home. Thank you for protecting me, you're the best friend I've ever had. You always make me smile and you're really warm when I hug you. You're really nice and I hope we could be best friends forever. I'm sorry, I don't think I would be coming back to school anymore. My parents won't treat me very nicely and I'm scared. Even if I never see you again, I love you CJ! Let's be best friends forever, okay? I know you will miss me when I'm gone. Don't cry, you look better when you smile. Your best friend, Izzy.

I ran to daddy and hugged him again. I showed him the note. "I- I never got to say goodbye." I cried. "I never got to say I love you too." I continued crying. Daddy gave me a glass of water when I calmed down. "I never got to say goodbye." I whispered.