Hi everyone! Sorry this took so long but I am so extremely busy right now. It's crazy! I needed to escape for a little while so I decided to sit right down and write another chapter.
I woke up to the wonderful aroma of bacon and sausage. Confused, I slid out of bed. Mom rarely ever made breakfast in the morning. I headed towards the door, yawning. I didn't even feel very refreshed.
Before I knew it, I had run face first into a wall. I fell backwards in a flash, and onto the floor. The impact must have been loud for it didn't take long before I heard footsteps coming towards my room.
Expecting my mother's worried voice, I was surprised that it was Angela who opened my door. "Bella, what happened?"
"Ummm..." I replied confused, my head throbbing. "I think I ran into the wall."
"Good one Sherlock," she said, helping me up. "Next time, just call for me ok?"
"Ok," I replied. My mind was overflowing with questions. Why was Angela in my house? How did my door move to the opposite wall? Why did that bacon smell so delicious? I stiffened as the past night's events washed over me.
"Bella? Are you alright? Maybe you should go back to bed. You look like you didn't get a good night's rest."
I attempted to laugh, although it came out a little rough. "I'm fine, really," I assured her. "You worry too much. Besides, I doubt I could ever fall asleep with your mother's cooking seeping into my room." Right on cue, my stomach rumbled.
Angela laughed. "This is nothing. Just wait till she makes French toast."
As we entered the dining room, I heard her father sipping his coffee as he flipped through the morning paper.
"Good morning Bella," he said, completely absorbed in the article he was reading.
"Good morning Mr. Webber," I yawned, not quite sure if I was awake or dreaming. "That smells wonderful, by the way," I said nodding in the direction of the mouthwatering scent.
"Well, I'm glad you're hungry. I made quite a lot," Angela's mother laughed. "So what are you two lovely ladies planning on doing today?"
Finishing her mouthful of sausage Angela replied, "I thought we'd go to the park or something. It's really nice out today." I nodded in agreement. A peaceful walk in the park sounded extremely relaxing, which is what I really needed right now.
Breakfast continued in silence, except for the random buzz of the morning news coming from Angela's television. I kept my ears open to any news of a missing girl; brown hair; chocolate eyes; blind, but there was nothing. I wasn't sure if I was relieved or hurt by this news. I didn't want to go back to my mother's, but it would've been nice to know that she at least cared enough to look for me.
After a scrumptious breakfast Angela and I headed up to her room only to realize I had a major dilemma. I currently had no clothes, no money, no toothbrush, no nothing. All my brail books were strewn across my room at home and even my ipod was probably floating on the mess that was my dresser.
With this realization came the dreaded prospect of shopping. I wouldn't mind shopping so much if it weren't for the fact that I had to trust other people so much. I just had to believe that the outfit I was wearing didn't look horrendous and that everyone gushing to me that I looked beautifulwas somewhat true. I didn't mind if I wasn't wearing the newest line or most fashionable outfit but I definitely didn't want to draw attention to myself.
After thanking God that Angela and I were practically the same size, I changed into some comfortable sweatpants and a t-shirt and Angela led me out to her car. I fumbled with the stations eventually settling on a peaceful jazz station. I wasn't really in the mood for hard rock, especially this early in the morning. As I heard the engine stop I groaned audibly, earning a punch in the shoulder from Angela.
"Oh come on! This will be fun! Besides, you looked like you need something to wake you up anyway," she exclaimed dragging me out of the car.
I tried to glare at her but probably ended up looking like a pouting kid. "I can't believe you just used the word fun in association with shopping," I grumbled.
"You should see the way some girls at our school shop. I swear they must think that clothes are the way into heaven the way they buy stuff. You should be glad that you'll never have to shop with one of them," she laughed, probably imagining me shuffling through the mall uncomfortably with that girl, Jessica, in our old home room.
I shuddered at the thought. "Okay, let's just get this over with," I mumbled.
Although I would never admit it I actually enjoyed wandering through the mall with Angela. She would always describe people walking by and random articles of clothing that she couldn't believe that people would actually wear. Although I couldn't see I could always imagine what everything looked like when Angela was with me. I guess her love of talking and detail made us a good match.
We came out of the mall exhausted and tired with four bags of clothes and a few other essentials I would need to live at Angela's. I would just have to live without my laptop and books for a while. I didn't want Angela's parents to spend all their money to add me into their family and I had vowed to myself to never go back home, if that's what I could even call it anymore. Angela's parents were already doing so much for me.
The rest of the week went by relatively smoothly. Angela and I would hang at the park or listen to music and chat in her room. Every once in a while her boyfriend Ben would come over and we'd play Scrabble or some other game. Angela and I would always be on a team against him and since I was good with words and Angela was good at strategy we usually won. The only downside was that Ben usually overheard our letters as Angela whispered them in my ear. I think that kid has the ears of a bat.
As the weeks progressed though, I could tell something was off. Every night I could hear Mr. and Mrs. Webber arguing quietly in the living room, to soft for me to understand. Angela began working strange hours too, which left me alone most of the day. And when she was home she was always exhausted and tired. I felt like ever since I arrived at the light and carefree Weber household their cheerful mood was slowly waning and it was because of me.
I decided that it was time that I found out what was really happening around me. I was so blind that I ruined my mother's life and I wasn't about to let myself go and ruin my best friend's too.
As every night before, I could hear Mr. And Mrs. Webber urgently discussing something in the living room. Quietly as I could I got up and tiptoed to Angela's door, feeling my way towards the handle. I fumbled a few seconds opening the door, but luckily Angela was fast asleep. Trying not to let the floorboards creak I made my way over to what was hopefully the staircase to try to listen in on their conversation. If it was none of my business I would just go back to bed, but my gut told me it probably was.
"I don't know how long we can do this Kim," I heard Mr. Webber whisper defeated. "We just don't have the money right now. We were running low as it was, but now with another kid in the house I just don't know how we can pay for it."
"We can't just toss her on the streets Jon. And as I hear she really had no family to go to. Her father died only a few years ago and I'm not sure we can trust any of his friends to help her," Mrs. Webber responded.
"I know, I know," Mr. Webber sighed. "She's like a second daughter to me and I love her but I just don't know how we'll get through this without falling farther into debt. Angela's already working overtime to help but her salary isn't cutting much."
"Well then I guess we'll just have to fall into debt Jon cause I'm not about to let Bella go. She's so sweet and too much has happened to her. We're her only hope and I'm not about to extinguish the one last flame of happiness in her life."
" Well, maybe if we sold my car…" I couldn't stand to listen to anymore. I was ruining everything and everyone I loved. The Webbers were going bankrupt and I was just one more person to add onto their list of finances. I slid down the wall and sat in the hallway, tears trickling down my face. I couldn't keep living like this.
Suddenly I heard the scraping of chairs and footsteps walking towards the stairway. Tears in my eyes, I flew down the hallway as quietly as I could, shut Angela's door, and jumped into bed. I tried to control myself as I sobbed into my pillow. It was all happening again. I really was no good for anybody. All I did was bring hardship and issues to people who never deserved it.
That night I decided that it was time for me to go on alone. If staying around others only brought them pain then I would have to learn to stay distant from them. I didn't know how I was going to survive alone in the real world, but I would have to try. With this new resolve I decided to get a last good nights rest before heading out. As I dried my tears and snuggled under the blankets I heard Angela's door creak open.
"Goodnight Bella," I heard Angela's mom whisper. As she slowly closed the door I thought I heard her mumble, "don't lose hope honey, there's always a light at the end of every tunnel."
Sorry it's kind of short and depressing but I promise it does get better. I'm a sucker for happy endings. So review and tell me what you think!