Hello everyone! Sorry for not updating sooner. School's really busy. I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 9 Seeking Help

CHEVY POV

It's good to be worried about your best friend right? Lately, I haven't been so sure. Mom and dad always told me you should worry about your best friend. I believe them, but sometimes you want to listen to your friend first.

Anakin's been dating Sam for a week and I'm really worried. She's been distancing herself from everyone, and that's not like her. She won't talk to any adult and she's smart about getting help. Dally's really trying to suck info out of her, but she won't say anything.

The other night, I was over at her house. We were just hanging out like usual. She was being somewhat normal. I thought I could get her to talk.

"Anakin, what's up? You haven't been yourself for a few days," I told her as we finished up homework.

"Nothing's wrong," she answered. She's a pretty good actor. That is, until we heard a honk from the driveway.

"I gotta go," she says nervously and rushes out the door while putting her shoes on. Something is definitely up.

"Did she go out again?" Soda asks coming out of the kitchen. He had bags under his eyes. He still does.

"Yeah," I answered with a sigh leaning back into the couch.

He sighed and tears started to form.

I started crying, but held it back. I stood up, walked over to Soda, and gave him a hug. He hugged back and cried. I hate seeing my second dad like this.

"Want a ride home?" he asked wiping the tears away.

"Sure," I said quietly.

The ride to my house was quiet. When I got home and inside, the tears came. I entered the kitchen and saw my dad sitting at the table. I stopped in front of the table to compose myself. He looked up with a concerned face.

"Daddy I'm so scared! What's wrong with Anakin?" I cried running over to him and burying my head in his chest.

"I don't know, baby," he said softly hugging me.

I just cried in my dad's arms almost the whole night. He kind of cried with me.

Now, I must do something. I'm driving over to Melissa Cade's house. Melissa may be fourteen, but she's a very good problem solver. Plus her parents help her too.

I park the truck and just sit gathering my thoughts. Then, I go up to the door and it opens before I can knock.

"Hey, Chevy. I saw you walking up the sidewalk. What's wrong? You look a bit stressed," Johnny says a little worried opening the door and letting me in.

"Just worried about Anakin," I tell him truthfully. "Can I see Melissa?"

"Of course," he says and walks up the stairs.

I sit down on the couch and examine the pictures on the side wall. There's one of just the Cade family. My favorite one is of all us kids at Melissa's Birthday party from two years ago. Everyone was happy and none of this shit was happening.

"Hey, what's up Chevy?" Melissa asks coming down the stairs with Johnny behind her.

"May I talk to you? It's about Anakin," I ask seriously.

"Of course," she says and sits down next to me on the couch. Everyone in our large family is very worried about Anakin. "Are you trying to figure out what's going on?"

"Yeah," I say softly. "Are you?"

"Yeah, I've been talking to dad and mom about it. They came up with a reasonable solution."

"Domestic violence?" I ask simply.

"Yeah. It makes so much sense. She shows all the signs like rushing out when she hears the honk. The other day, I saw bruises on her arms," she says.

"Yeah, she came in her house the other night with a black eye. Even though it was dark, I could see it."

"She's definitely in denial," Melissa says and I agree with her. "Should we get Dally on the case?"

"I think so, but she'll be so mad," I tell her.

"Hey, our friend needs help. We can't just sit back and watch her suffer! She could get killed!"

That was harsh, but it's the truth. I just got freaked out because he could kill her. I don't want my best friend to die. Soda, Valerie, Pepsi, and Nikki would be devastated.

"Let's get Dally on it," I say without another thought.

"You two are doing a good thing. I'll call Dally," Johnny says and walks off to the kitchen.

I feel so much better that I'm helping my friend. A huge weight was just taken off my shoulders. Anakin will be safe soon enough. Dally will get the job done.

There's another chapter! Sorry again for the long wait. I hope you enjoyed! Please review!