Chapter 13:

A Friendship Revived?

You will never believe who just showed up on our doorstep.

Isabella wiped the tears from her eyes and stared down at her cell phone at the text message she received from Ruby. She was surprised that Ruby was even talking to her, considering how angry she had been with Isabella for leaving so quickly after Trey's funeral. While Isabella crammed random items of clothing into a bag, Ruby had yelled and carried on, accusing Isabella of being selfish and abandoning her family when they needed her the most. Isabella was pretty sure that Ruby was right, but she needed time to herself, time to process everything that had happened. With the state she was in, Isabella knew she was no good to anybody. She had to go.

Since the news had broken and the bodies identified, reporters from every news network, from major networks like CNN and Fox News to local affiliates, had practically been camping on Isabella's lawn and the lawn of her parents home. They were looking for reactions, screaming questions at her, asking her if she had anything to say to the President of the United States, Congress or any other politician in office. Isabella usually responded by drawing her blinds or shutting her doors. She didn't want to talk to anybody. She just wanted to be left alone.

The tears still came and went, going from constant and gut-wrenching to a few soft spells every few hours. It never made her feel any better afterwards. There was a gaping hole in her heart that felt so open and exposed. She didn't think anything or anybody could close it for her. Functioning like a normal person didn't seem like a possibility. It was hard to breathe, to think clearly.

Isabella blinked at the text message. Contrary to Ruby's belief, Isabella had told her parents she was taking off for a little bit. They seemed to understand. She didn't understand why Ruby would take it upon herself to play white knight over something she knew nothing about. As hard as it was for her parents to let her go so soon after losing their son, they understood.

The life of Trey Alexander Evans had been one full of adventure. Isabella always wished that she could be more like him. He was popular in high school, a natural athlete, super smart and an all-around dependable guy who always had his head planted squarely on his shoulders. Everyone always predicted that he was going places, that the world was his oyster. Trey was always brave, braver than Isabella could ever be, or so she thought. He wanted to be in politics. Isabella always joked he'd be the first honest politician in office. Then, he'd surprised everybody by transferring to the American Embassy in Lebanon. He wanted to travel and he wanted to make a difference, so, he joked, he could kill two birds with one stone. Everyone had been afraid for his safety hearing of his travels and all the turbulence overseas. After a couple years, things evened out and the thought of danger became a distant memory. Their fear was replaced with the attitude of "It couldn't possibly happen to us".

But it had.

Her thoughts wandered to John Cena. She suddenly understood the feeling of crippling grief. For so long she couldn't relate to him, and they both knew it. Like Trey, Isabella had been gifted with a big heart and an otherworldly compassion for others. She had always told herself that she could be the strong one in situations like these. But she couldn't. Now she understood just how earth-shattering the loss of a human life could be. The only difference between the two of them was that Isabella swore to herself she'd never fall apart the way John had.

Who? Isabella messaged back. She looked around her hotel room. It was a nice room, spacious with lots of light and decorated in light colors. The beds in the room were comfortable and well-decorated. Isabella had spent most of her days in it.

"You're talking to me again, huh?" Isabella laughed at her phone. She had called her mother the night before and promised that she would be home in two days. Throughout the entire situation, Isabella was in awe of her mother, a silent pillar of strength in a sea full of chaos. Like Isabella, her father wasn't handling the news very well. He'd spent every waking moment since the news reached their doorstep regretting every little negative thing he had said to his son, every time there was a cancelled fishing trip or forgotten to call him back. Everyone was in the same boat, but Isabella's mother had managed to compartmentalize her grief for the sake of everyone else and stay strong. Isabella knew she wanted to break, though, to cry and scream and wail for the loss of her son.

Hot tears began to well up behind Isabella's ices, threatening to spill over. The trip that they had wanted to take together for so long was never going to happen. She supposed she could go without him, but it didn't feel the same. As cheesy and cliched as she knew it sounded, a good piece of her heart went with her brother. She felt half-alive and incomplete without him.

It had been a beautiful funeral, held at the Our Mother of Heavenly Sorrow church, the same place where she and her mother had been baptized. It was where Miranda and Trey had been baptized as well. After the service, Isabella never wanted to step foot in the church ever again. The gorgeous building was tainted to her now. She couldn't drive by it without feeling a chill in her bones and a twang in her heart.

Staring at the phone, willing it to vibrate again, Isabella couldn't help but feel like her life was circling the drain, like everybody was angry at her. Her family had been so shell-shocked by the news that she felt she couldn't burden them with her grief. She felt like there was nobody she could talk to, especially since Ruby had gotten on her soap box. Ruby told her to stay strong and step up, but Isabella couldn't fake it.

John. He's looking all over for you. Izzie, where are you? I'm worried about you.

Isabella clapped a hand over her mouth to suppress the sob that escaped from her lips. Her vision blurred with tears. She looked at the door of her hotel room and ran a hand through her matted hair. Every day she told herself the next day would be the day she took a shower, brushed her hair and took the Do Not Disturb sign down from the door. But the sun would rise and Isabella would just lie in bed and cry.

Since her run-in with Randy Orton, Isabella's head had been in turmoil. She never thought for a second that she looked like John's dearly departed Lisa, but obviously his friend saw something. Isabella didn't like Randy Orton, but she wanted to think that his heart was in the right place after failing his friend for so long. She recalled the torment in his dark eyes when he proclaimed that he had his own life to live. She understood; it was natural to get busy and forget about other people. Isabella didn't want to believe he was a bad person, but it was hard to shake that feeling after the way he had treated her. She was afraid of hindering John's recovery, though. She thought there might be a little credence to what he had told her, so she stepped back. Doing that had hurt, but she really thought it was for the best.

But losing John's friendship and losing her brother so close together made her feel like everything was meaningless. John had consumed so much of her time that he had become routine. Then he was gone and she had nothing to do with her time besides working.

I'm okay, Rube. I promise. I'll be home in two days. I already talked to Mom.

Isabella added the last part of the message after a moment's thought, to draw attention to the fact that she wasn't abandoning anybody. Ruby didn't understand. Isabella didn't expect her to.

There was a growl. It took Isabella a few moments to realize it was her stomach. She couldn't remember the last time she had eaten anything. She groaned; her stomach rumbling meant at some point she had to venture out into the real world and find something to eat. She also realized that it meant she was going to have to shower and brush her hair and her teeth and start looking like the Isabella Diane Evans she used to be.

Pulling back the white blankets, Isabella got out of bed. Her legs felt a little shaky, but she found her footing quickly. Her phone went off again, vibrating against the palm of her hand.

Good. We love you, Izzie. Don't forget that. You should call John. He's looking over for you. He had no idea what a cock his friend is.

Ruby's revelation didn't surprise Isabella as much as she thought it would. She'd had her suspicions that Randy had acted alone. Isabella couldn't bring herself to call him. She was sure Randy was right, that John only kept her around because she looked so much like her. It was unhealthy and she knew it would only hurt them both in the long run. Isabella shook her head and closed her phone. She walked into the bathroom. It was a beautiful room with dark tile. The shower was big enough to fit three people inside. She showered until her body pruned under the water. The hot water felt soothing. She cried some more, letting her tears mingle with the water.

When she got out of the shower, Isabella set to the impossible task of brushing her hair out. It was so matted Isabella was sure she was going to break her hairbrush a couple of times. As she stared at her reflection in the mirror, she studied the lifelessness in her eyes. After the funeral, she'd been channel surfing at the hotel when she landed on CNN. The talking heads were announcing that there would be inquiries opened and hearings to determine what happened, where intelligence had failed, but Isabella was too jaded and bitter to believe that it would make a difference. She knew it was nothing more than political dick-measuring. It disgusted her to see that her brother's death was going to be used a chess piece in the grand scheme of things. She shut the TV off and swore off watching the news for the foreseeable future.

She slid on a pair of faded blue jeans and a flannel button-down shirt in blue and green. Isabella walked to the patio door and pushed the curtains open, squinting at the sunlight. It felt like it had been forever since she had seen sunlight. Behind her, she could hear her cell phone vibrating, muffled against the blanket on the bed. With a sigh, she turned and ventured back to the bed to pick up the phone.

Bella?

Her face darkened. She looked at the number. It felt vaguely familiar, but she couldn't think clearly. Who the hell is this?

Isabella let herself sink back down onto the bed. She felt like her entire body was made of lead. She didn't have a clue as to how she was going to get out the door and on with her life. The desire to go out and find something edible had vanished, giving way into the desire to just lie under the blankets once more. She wondered if the bipolar emotions of sorrow and rage would ever go away.

So caught up in her thoughts, it took Isabella several moments to realize that her phone was ringing. She contemplated not answering it, but it was as if her fingers had a mind of her own. She raised the phone to her ear with a trembling hand.

"Hello?"

"Hi. This is Bella Evans, right?"

She knew his voice instantly. She squeezed her eyes shut and groaned inwardly. "How did you get this number?"

"Don't be mad, but I made Ruby give it up. You and I need to talk, and you're not going to shake me off that easily." There was a long pause between them. John didn't know how to broach the subject with her and Isabella didn't know what to say to him. John broke the silence. "Where are you? You shouldn't be alone right now."

"Don't call me again," she said, her voice cracking.

"Don't do this, Bella. Don't do this now. You need me," he pleaded. It never dawned on her that the roles were reversed now. That she was the one pushing away a friend. John was trying to do for her what she had done for him. As much as she wanted to shove him away, she wished that she could have a shoulder to cry on. She knew she couldn't lean on her family's slumping shoulders. But Randy's words had stayed in the front of her mind since they were spoken.

John's voice cut into her thoughts. "Tell me where you are, Bella. I'll come to you. You don't have to move."

"John, Randy is..."

"Fuck him. Randy is a dick and he knows what he did was fucked up," John informed her firmly. She could hear the anger vibrating in his voice. He exhaled. "We can talk about this another time, face-to-face," he added pointedly, "But, Bella, you need somebody right now. I will come to you. Just tell me where you are and what I can bring. I know I've been a shitty person to hang around with, but you need me. Let me be there for you."

John waited patiently for her answer, thankful that she wasn't hanging up on him. He was afraid that Randy had driven a wedge between him and Isabella that couldn't be fixed. He wanted to believe that the two of them had been through so much so quickly that the two of them were going to be friends for life

He heard her sigh. Then there was a hitch. She was crying again. Her voice cracked as she spoke. "I'm at the Comfort Inn in Thomasville, Georgia." A bolt of relief hit him. He smiled.

"I'll be there in a couple hours. Hang tight."