Sahara came to me during free period today. "Hey, do you mind if I ask you a question?"

"Oh, no, go ahead," I said. "I wasn't doing anything anyway."

"Okay, great." She paused for a second. Whatever it is, she seems nervous. "Do you mind if we trade numbers?" she asked, breaking out of her nervousness.

"Wait. Let me know if I heard that right. You want...my number?" Sahara nodded.

"Uhm, okay," I said. She handed me a paper and I pulled out a pen. I scribbled down my number, and my name, and handed it back to her. At the same time, she wrote down her number and handed me that. "There's mine. I'm usually really busy at home so if I don't answer then you know why."

"I see..." I said, scanning the paper. "Was that it?" I asked, turning my gaze back towards her. She nodded and walked off. She had some hair blocking one eye. That's strange. If that is her go to hairstyle, then why didn't I first see her that way? She must be hiding something.

I met again with Sahara in the hallway before lunch. "Sahara, are you okay?" I checked.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine!" She said, rather quickly. I raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? You seem distant today. Is something bothering you?"

"Nah, it's just a little toasty today, that's all." It's only seventy degrees. It's not that hot. She's hiding something from me. It would be best not to push her if she doesn't want to tell but I have to keep an eye on her.

Lunch came and this time, Sahara decided to sit next to me at my class table. "So, this is your class, huh?" she asked, taking a seat.

"Yeah, they're kind of crazy honestly." I ducked from a thrown napkin. "Yeah, no kidding."

We both stayed silent for a while. I couldn't help but imagine what could be bothering Sahara. She doesn't want to tell me so it can't be good but...she can't be pushed. I can't just pry, but I can watch her. I can look out for her.

She brought up a conversation after she finished her lunch. I answered but I still worried. What could she be hiding that she doesn't want to tell me?

After school, we said our farewells and left for our homes. I noticed, as she turned, that there was a large bruise near her eye but kept quiet. I called Eugene shortly after. "Eugene, you weren't here today."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm sorry. Mom got held up and then while we were leaving, we got stopped by a train on the way to the airport. Then our plane had to be repaired so we had to wait then too. We just got on the plane so we should, hopefully, be there tomorrow unless something else holds us up."

"Well, at least you're on your way now."

"Hey, Roland, bud. You okay? You sound nervous."

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Come on, you can tell me anything! We always have!"

I smiled, just a little. "Yeah, you're right." I took a deep breath. Should I tell Eugene what I'm so worried about? Should I tell him that something is bothering Sahara? Should I tell him the truth? "Hey, you're quiet again, Roland. Come on. You'll never get it out if you keep it in your head."

"Yeah, I'm sorry. It's just that...Sahara has been acting a little different today."

"The good kind or the bad kind?"

"Not in a god way, Eugene," I replied.

"Right, continue," Eugene said. There is a noise in the background that sounded like the plane taking off. "She has been hiding one of her eyes today, which is suspicious, and then when I'd ask her if she was okay, she said it was hot, which it isn't and then she said that she was fine."

"Kinda sounds like you when you're hiding something," Eugene replied, giggling. He paused for a moment. "Have you tried everything?"

"Well, no. I didn't want to bother her too much," I replied.

""Roland, you're too thoughtful sometimes! You really should've tried harder!"

"I know, but, I didn't want to push her! She sounded like she didn't want to talk about it so I left her alone and-" My phone began to ring.

"Hey, I'll call you later. I'm getting another call."

"Alright, dude. Talk to you later." He hung up as I answered the call. "Roland, dear," mother's voice said on the other end. "What are you doing up there?"

"Oh, I was just talking to Eugene."

"Oh! Eugene! How is he doing at Mexico?"

"He was doing well. He's on his way home now."

"Oh, that's good news! I called you to see if you're ready for dinner."

"Oh, yeah. I'll be down in a minute."

Mother hung up and I stared at my phone for a second. I have Sahara's number. Why don't I just call her? Eugene is right. I am too thoughtful. But...it's time for dinner. Plus, Sahara didn't want to mention what happened. I should just leave her alone.

I put the phone back and walked to the kitchen for dinner. Currently, It's just mother, father and me. All of my siblings close in age have already moved away or is going to college somewhere else. They all keep in touch, except for one. No one knows what happened to her.

We had dinner, a lively conversation at the table, and all left for our own things afterwards. Mother went to go help a neighbor. Father went to his room to read a book, I'm sure. I went back to my room and stared at my phone again. I really should call her but she seemed sure that she wanted to be left alone.

Eugene is right. I should call her. I should check on her. I picked up the phone again and pulled out her number from my pocket. I dialed it in and waited as the phone rang on the other side. It rang for quite a while and just as I was about to hang up, I heard a voice. "Yes?" It was almost a whisper and hard to make out. I couldn't tell who was on the other end because of the yelling in the background.

"Sahara?" I asked.

"Yes," the whispered voice replied. "Hey, are...are you okay?"

"Yes, I am." I paused. She is not okay but, something must really be going on over there. Something she doesn't want to mention. "Sahara, answer me truthfully. Are you sure you're okay?"

This time, she didn't answer that fast. I heard the receiver move away and then approach again. "No..." she whispered. It was almost inaudible at the pitch she used. "Sahara, do you need me to come over?"

"No! Don't!" I could tell she yelled but it was still in a whisper. "What is going on over there?" She didn't answer. "Sahara, listen. I need you to tell me. I can't help you if you don't cooperate."

"My dad...he..."

"Did something happen to your dad?" I asked.

"Kind of," she replied quietly.

"Tell me what happened, Sahara. Take your time." She took a deep breath on the other end of the receiver and then exhaled. "My dad...my mom...they're...they're getting a divorce..."

"Sahara, what happened?" She paused for a moment again before lowering her voice. "My dad, he's been like this for a while now. He's always been drinking and always been out late at night. He yells things all the time and it scares me."

Sahara has an abusive father! She never told anyone! Why would she keep this to herself? It's dangerous! I took a breath to calm myself down. "Sahara, did her ever touch you?" I asked, hoping for the best answer. She began to whisper again. "This morning. And a few times before then."

Sahara is in danger, She needs me. "Sahara, why don't you come here for a little while. It's not safe for you there."

"I...I can't. He won't let me."

"Call the police then," I tried.

"He'll know."

"Pretend it's a pizza place."

"But...he'll know," Sahara said, her voice growing quieter. I paused for a moment. She must have tried it before. Her father must know. "I can call the police for you," I suggested.

"Are you sure? I don't want to involve you."

"Sahara, listen to me. You're in danger as long as your father is around. I can help but you need to cooperate with me."

"Okay," Sahara said, taking a deep breath. "Let me give you my address."

She shared her address with me and told me to call the police as quickly as possible. She thanked me and then hung up. Sahara is in pretty deep water. I need to get her out of that situation as fast as possible. I called the police and warned them of the situation, shared her address and then they quickly thanked me and hung up.

I really hope she'll be okay. I decided to call Eugene back to tell him how it played out. "Hey, Eugene?" I checked.

"Yeah?" he asked. He sounded half asleep but he answered anyway. "I just talked to Sahara. She is...well..."

"Come on, Roland. You really need to tell me or I can't help."

"Yeah, I'm sorry. It's just that...its a sensitive situation."

"Ah, is it? Well, I can hang up and talk to her personally when I come home tomorrow," Eugene suggested.

"That would probably be for the best," I said. "I did help her though so I hope she's better tomorrow."

"That's great. See? Going against your thoughtfulness sometimes helps, doesn't it?" I could tell he was teasing me but I felt like there was some truth in that statement. "Yeah, I guess it does."

The next morning, Sahara came up to me as I was unlocking my locker. The lock always gets stuck so I banged on it to open it. "Roland...thank you. For last night. I really needed it. And...someone to talk to."

"Oh, well, you are feeling better today, right?" She smiled. "Yeah, thanks to you." Before I could reply, she hugged me. In shock, I dropped my book. "Thank you, Roland. Thank you."

Author's Note

Okay, first off, I want to apologize for the change of rating. I wasn't going to add this in here but I wanted to build up the relationship between the two of them or things wouldn't work out. I hope you guys understand and I will try not to do it again in the future.
Second thing. Sahara and Roland's relationship is based off of Taylor Swift's song Mine. Its a super cute song and I recommend it if you haven't heard it. Thank you for reading and supporting me! Back to the story!