Time doesn't heal anything...it just teaches us how to live with the pain...

[35]

and tense. The air is slowing by the second and so is the crappy Justin Bieber song playing on the radio. Besides the fact that my heart is still beating, no muscles move. The rapid thoughts of how this is my fault are the only thing pulsing my mind.

I didn't think that I would ever be saved by my demons, yet, my family proved that wrong and saved me.

Lily. Adam. Nolan.

We're not blood-related but that doesn't matter. We love each other nonetheless and that's okay because they're the closest family I'll ever have ever again.

To lose one of them though would be like someone snapping my body multiple times. Each crunch is one memory, one memory is for every minute I cry for them, and every minute I cry for them is my life slowly slipping away.

Now, finally, the minute I've been waiting for has arrived. I can't think straight. I even couldn't manage to put my seatbelt in the buckle with how freaked out I am. My palms are full of sweat, a bead of the sour liquid drips down the side of my face every so often

I never sweat.

I'm sitting in the car with Adam by my side, his own face scrunched up in anger and stress, yet I still see the panic in his eyes as we draw closer and closer to our destination.

My stomach does flips and it is only now when I realise that my arms that are wrapped around my stomach are now pinching the precious flesh underneath my shirt on my hip. I quickly unravel my arms from each other and release the clasp my hands have on each other. I fidget uncomfortably in my seat not knowing what to do with my hands.

I sigh in frustration and turn to Adam whose jaw is clenched tightly.

Dread is filling my stomach, the muscles tightening, not letting anything in or out. The dread is like a chilling breeze, numbing my brain as it slowly washes over my head.

Dread is the worst thing in the world.

"It's not your fault, Isabelle..." Adam says breaking me from my thoughts.

I nod my head and lean my head on the headrest, watching as the tree's flash by me in a blur. They're beautiful branches reach up towards the sky.

How I would love to touch the sky...

"We're here..." Adam whispers quietly. He stops the engine and the both of us sit in silence, looking at the surroundings around us.

"You know where to go from here, right?" Adam murmurs quietly. I nod my head and slowly open the car door. Adam does the same and we both hop out the car.

The trees grow so big and wide that you can't see past the canopy that reaches the sky above our heads. The familiar scent of pine fills our nostrils as we walk to the clearing where the old barn stands.

A sudden wave of sadness crashes on top of me as old memories flash through my head. Adam senses this and grabs hold of my hand. I look back at him and he smiles faintly, a sadness too. filling his eyes, only for a different reason.

In the distance, I see the old burnt trees that are the colour of black charcoal, crisps of it swaying in the air. Some trees are almost gone, the only thing remaining is the trunks that still spiral deep within the soil.

Slowly, we find ourselves coming to the clearing in where the final path to the barn lies. I close my eyes briskly for a short while enjoying the tangy scent of roses mixed with pine.

One last time.

Adams' hand rubs soothing circles on my knuckles. A shiver creeps its way up my spine before releasing itself and running back down my body.

"She'll be fine, Isabelle..." Adam says although we both know that this may not be completely true. We both feel the darkness that's about to come, surrounding our hearts and there's no going back. It's our job to protect and find Lily.

"Maybe..." I reply back before finally, the old barn stands before us.

The smell is the first thing that hits me. Rotting wood. The barn had most definitely seen better days. It's been almost forty years since the fire roared its way through the old forest. I'm actually surprised that the barn is still standing considering the circumstances.

Years upon years of rain and burning summer heats and now, the barn has unpatched holes covering the roof. It's been eleven years since I last came here.

Eleven years since I was first taken in by them.

Adam suddenly gently nudges my shoulder. I quickly look at him to find a phone to his ear and a finger up to his lips. I nod understandably before releasing the grip he has on my hand and walking away.

"Not too far, Prezioso, I don't want anything bad happening to you!" I hear Adam yell from behind me. I briefly smiled at him before turning back around and walking behind the barn.

Walls of rotting wood surround me as I step through the hole in the very back of the barn. It's a hidden entrance that only I know about. You lift a flap of wood quietly and then creep through the hole, entering into a massive crate that used to hold hay.

Here, you can hear everything.

I quietly creep forward and place my eye up to the hole. After a few minutes of crouching with my face up against the rotting crate of wood, I finally hear them.

Legs suddenly appear in front of me and I jump in fright. A gasp leaves my mouth making the pair of legs shift in surprise. I cover my mouth, my eyes wide with fear. My heart beats rapidly against my rib cage as the pair of legs begins to move trying to find the noise.

"Did you hear that?" The legs ask suspiciously. David.

"Huh?" Another voice grumbles back. Gary.

And finally, the voice I've been dreading this whole time. The voice of my best friend.

"Fuck off, it's probably just a fucking rat you pieces of shits!" Lily spits with anger and disgust. My hearts sink to my stomach and my eyes prick with tears. The sudden fantasy of everything has become...a reality.

My phone begins to vibrate making me jump – again – with fright. I silently cuss when I see the caller ID.

Adam. Well fuck me, he's not going to be happy...I press the dismiss button and open my text messages.

Where the fuck are you? I told you to not go too far!!

I'm not too far, I'm inside the barn.

WHAT.

I'M FINE BUT DON'T COME BECAUSE I'M SAFE AND THEY'RE NOT GONNA FIND ME! I SWEAR I'M SAFE...

I don't care. I called the police while you were busy hiding in the barn.

"What the fuck!" I hear David scream. A shriek leaves my mouth making me drop my phone and I freeze.

Everything happens so quickly, yet so slowly.

Fucking hell Isabelle.

My screen illuminates the dark space I'm in and I shiver in anticipation when David's legs disappear from my sight.

I'm fucked.

As soon as David reappears in my vision, I hear Lily's muffled screams for help. He grabs her by her shirt and lifts her off the ground. I cover my mouth with a trembling hand and watch helplessly.

He begins to beat her with his own fists and soon Gary joins in.

"Just a rat, aye?" Gary screams.

I have to stop them.

"This is what you get for being Isabelle's fucking friend, slut!" David says spitting in her face.

Lily's usually perfectly, happy smile is now covered in blood. Her eyes are black along with her nose which is bent in another direction. I watch as they both beat her.

Memories resurface as I remember all the times they did that to me. Tears stream down my face as I watch Lily lay on the ground helplessly, lifelessly...

Dead.

A scream tears its way through me like a boiling kettle. Everything within me rips itself open as another shrilling scream breaks through my mouth. The blood drains from my face as my eyes widen and my mouth becomes drier by the second.

Gary and David turn around so quickly that they both bump into each other. They rush over to the crate I'm hiding in and open it up, revealing me.

They both look at each other in surprise before smirking and taking hold of my arms. I kick and scream, begging for help. Begging for Lily to be okay.

Her blood pools around her as she stares at me with little to no life in her eyes. As my look deepens, she begins to violently shake.

I scream again. This scream is like the ones that make your blood run cold. The pain behind it ripples out in waves, shattering eardrums.

The barn doors bang open and police officers rush in. Gary and David drop me to the ground, my head hitting a pole on the way down. My body falls limply to the ground as I try to keep my eyes open.

Blurred noises fill the air but that doesn't matter. My eyes focus on Lily and Lily only.

She stares back at me, blood and froth dripping out her mouth. My hand reaches out towards her but it never reaches her, because, the next thing I know is the world slips away from beneath me and I fall into the familiar darkness I've grown up in.