As I was waiting for Devon to get to my house, I was going through old photos. Most of them were just pictures of Camellia and me. We were always with each other for anything. She was… she meant the world to me. And the fact she might’ve been murdered makes me sick to my stomach. Who would want to murder her? She was everything anyone could ask for.

While I was scrolling through my photos, I found a picture of me, my mom, and my dad. It was all from when I was younger. We were such a happy family. My dad and my mom were planning to either adopt a pet or have another kid, which neither of those happened because something went down between them. Apparently, my dad cheated on my mom because she wasn’t ‘providing’ him what he deserved in the marriage. For a long time, I always blamed my dad. My mom did everything but yet it wasn’t enough for him. But, after a few years, I got older and I stopped blaming him. There was nothing to blame for anymore. He tried making everything right but not to get back together with her, because I’m sure he knew he already messed up big time, but tried making everything okay because of me.

Whatever, I don’t have time to be thinking about the past. It happened when I wasn’t old enough to know or process anything. Only reason as to why I know anything aside from the fact my parents are divorced is because my mom told her friends everything when I was ten. And when I say everything, I mean everything. She told them everything that went wrong with anything. Which I think is kind of sad because I’m literally her daughter and the most I know is her name, age, what she does, and what stupid boyfriend she brings over. I wish she would listen to me sometimes. I would’ve told her to stop with her in-and-out boyfriends and that it isn’t doing anything but hurting her. But, she’s never here to listen, and when she is here, she’s either sleeping or with her boyfriend in her room. I still love her though, she just isn’t always present.

I finally heard someone knock on the door. It’s probably Devon, aside from Camellia, no one ever visited me. I got up from my bed and started walking to the front of the door. I put my hand on the brown or gold round handle and open the door. But I didn’t look who exactly was in front of me. I just opened the door then walked away so I can get some small things I needed.

“Hey, Devon, when we get to her house, you need to act like you’re actually there for emotional support rather than…” I finally looked up and saw who was standing in front of me. It was Noah damn Jones. What the hell did he want now? Does he want to invite me to some other party or come here to tell me to shut up? And how did he even get my address? Ugh, probably from Camellia. I love her dearly but she told him almost anything. Basically like my mom but better, I suppose.

“What the actual hell do you want now? And where did you get my address?” I’m so sick of this dude. He’s so privileged and is so lost in life but yet he acts like he isn’t. Why does everyone like and adore him? I’m done with him and his crap. “You should leave, now. I’m expecting someone and I don’t need you here.”

He just stood there, half looking at me and half looking at the ground. Is there something wrong with him? Well, something is wrong with him. He’s just acting even more annoying then he has ever been before. I just need him to go. He doesn’t need to know I’m going to Camellia’s house.

“I- I need your… uhm, help,” he looks up at me fully and the first thing I noticed was his busted lip and his beat up eye and his arms look like as if he was in some stupid fight and he was trying to block the move or something. “I- I know you hate me, especially with the stunt I pulled in the school group chat, but I don’t know who else to go to and I’ve heard your mom is a nurse. So I thought you would know a thing or two about… this kind of stuff.”

Who beat him up? I mean, I’m not saying that he didn’t deserve it, he definitely did, but he was beat up passed a lot of people’s limits. Why isn’t he going to his parents? Wouldn’t they have a live-in nurse or something?

“Why aren’t you going to your rich parents? Don’t you guys have some kind of medical connection or something that makes doctors and nurses easily open to you guys? I have someone coming to get me. Can you ju—” he interrupted me before I could tell him to leave my house but he just yelled it out like I wasn’t just right in front of him.

“NO! I- I’m NOT going to them… th-they’re the ones who DID THIS! Valerie, please… just let me in, please! I- I can’t go to them. I messed up. I don’t think I’m allowed back until nine. Please, just let me in. You were my last resort. Anyone else CANNOT see me like this. J-just let me in, PLEASE!”

Oh. My. God. His own parents? I feel horrible now. I didn’t know. I mean who would? He said he can’t let anyone see. I stood in shock after hearing what he just yelled at me. I think my mouth was open just by a little and my eyes just immediately opened up in shock.

“I- I- uhm, y-yeah. Come on in. Sit on the couch over there. I- I’ll get some ice. You’ll be fine,” I ended up muttering to myself as I turned around so I could go to the kitchen and so he could walk into the house. “Well, eventually you will.”

“Thank you,” he said as he walked into the house and started trying to find out where he should sit. “I know you hate me, so this means a lot. I just…. your image of me is already low enough, might as well make it worse. I mean, there’s no point in getting you to like me. I did you and Camellia wrong, and- uhm. Nevermind, too much. Sorry.”

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He finally found where to sit on my black, broken-ish, couch. Which was the part of the couch where you can see a clear view of the kitchen. Maybe he thought I was going to poison him or that I was just going to escape out the backdoor so I wouldn’t have to deal with him, which I wouldn’t even trust him holding one thing in the house, let alone let him stay here alone.

I walked to the fridge and got him a water bottle then bent down so I could go into the freezer and get an icepack for his eye. I’m going to have to find something else for his lips and arms. But I’ll deal with that when I’m not having to think about everything all at once.

I walked back into the living room and walked to the spot of the couch that Noah is sitting on. I sat down next to him on the couch and gave him the icepack and water bottle.

“Here. The icepack is for your eye and, well, you know what the water bottle is for. Unless you need to be told what it’s for.” I shouldn’t have said that. That was horrible timing, undermining his intelligence is something he didn’t need at that moment.

He just looked at me, almost like he was about to get mad, which I wouldn’t blame him because his parents hit him and he came for me to help because he deemed everyone way too worthy to see him beat him. Probably because he’s the one who’s supposed to be making them look like how he looks.

“I am so sorry. Sorry, it just slipped out. I’m not used to you being- I’ll shut up. I’m so sorry. That wasn’t supposed to come out. It shouldn’t have been thought. I’m very sorry.”

His expression went from looking pissed off, to neutral, to looking like someone said the funniest thing, when in reality, I said one of the worst things I could say at this moment. Well, maybe not the worst thing but something I shouldn’t have said.

He takes the stuff out of my hands and puts the icepack onto his black eye and just holds onto the water bottle. Then he started chuckling a little bit and then just had a pained look on his face. Like something was hurting him while he was laughing.

“Ha, ow, uhm, it’s alright. I know this is a lot to ask of you but can I stay here? Usually, when I stay out of the house for the rest of the day when things like this happens, they prefer it when I don’t come back until morning, even though I’m technically allowed to come back around nine. It’s just safer for me.”

I don’t know what to do. On one hand, I should do it. Sure he has done crappy, horrible things to me and Camellia, honestly a lot more people, but he’s being hurt by his own parents. He’s, I suppose, scared, for other people to see him beat up. He needs someone to stay with, but he's definitely one of the reasons why I lost my best friend. I also need to go to Camellia’s house today. Devon is already on his way. Well he should be. It’s been probably ten or twenty minutes by now. Maybe he lives far away.

“I- uhm. Sure. My mom won’t be here until, well, when nobody needs her. I’ll text her that you’ll be staying but I won’t be here. But, please, do not touch a singular thing. Everything in here is super old and…yeah.”

I shouldn’t have told him yes. I should’ve just said no. He’s done too much for me to just open him to my home. But, at least it’s safer than the streets. Or, he may be of use at Camellia’s house. When, or at this point, if, me and Devon will go. We’ll just have to see. Maybe I should ask him if he even has the strength to walk and go into her house. Maybe he does have a soul of some kind. Maybe a heart for Camellia? Did she change one of the worst teenagers I’ve ever met? I don’t think she was like that good of a person.

“Thank you. A lot. Uhm, if you don’t mind me asking, where are you going? You keep bringing it up but that someone isn’t here.”

Ironically, I heard someone knocking on the door. Maybe just maybe Devon is finally here. Wait, what am I going to do with Noah? It’s either bring him along or keep him here by himself.

“I’ll- go get that. It’s probably the person I was expecting. But before, do you have the physical strength to come with me? I feel awkward leaving you here.”

I don’t know why I asked that. He probably isn’t able to get up on his own. But, he did walk over here without anyone to help him. I don’t trust him though. I know that sounds horrible that I don’t trust someone who came all the way here after getting beat up by his parents. But I have my every reason to. He ruined me and Camellia’s friendship and now she isn’t even here anymore. He lied to her throughout the entire relationship and she could’ve gotten a way better boyfriend than him. I don’t know what she saw in him and I never will.

“I can walk and stand up. If you don’t want me to stay here, that’s alright. That’s what I originally expected. I didn’t think you were going to be okay with me staying here. Plus, it seems like your… date, is waiting for you. Don’t want to keep them waiting. I’ll just go.” he started getting up from the couch in what seemed like a heavy amount of pain. How bad did his parents hurt him? And what did he even do that made them so pissed off that they just had to take their anger out on him? This is messed up. I get that he’s not the best person in this world but he doesn’t deserve to get beat up by his own blood.

“Ow- uhm, I- I swear I can get up. It just hurts. Don’t worry, I’ll be out of your house soon. J-just don’t worry. Ow…”

Crap. I feel worse now. He doesn’t deserve this. I mean, he deserves to get beat up but not by his family. Even though I see him as some horrible teenager who practically drove my best friend to her ‘suicide’, abuse isn’t anywhere near okay.

“No no, just sit,” I started getting up from the couch so I could open the door for Devon and tell him that we were going to bring him. “And it’s not a date. We just need to… uhm, go somewhere. You can come along, I don’t mind.”

I put my hand on the door-knob and twisted it then opened the door. And finally, the person I was waiting for was here after waiting for ten or twenty minutes.

“Hey sorry. I didn’t think you lived that far away from me. Also, you have a small house. It seems very… comfortable.” He started looking around and saw Noah sitting on the couch and it seemed like he was about to get pissed off.

He grabbed me by my arm and gripped me hard. There’s got to be a mark on my arm because of that. He pulled me over but it didn’t even do much because he practically screamed it. I’m pretty sure my neighbors could’ve heard it.

“What the hell is he doing here?!”