Judy started concentrating on what Dan was going to say next.

"I was one of the few people who Sam was still talking to at the time, so I called her one time and asked to meet her, and when I did that I knew for sure that something wasn't right, she kept on giving excuses for us not to meet, and her tone was a bit fearful."

"So I became more convinced that something was on, I tried and tried and she finally accepted meeting me,"

"We met in a coffee shop, we just talked normally, I didn't want to mention anything about her weird behaviour right away, I just spent time with her while talking about normal subjects, I noticed that at the beginning of our meeting she was nervous and on edge but as time passed she calmed down and started opening up,"

"We talked, had fun and laughed, and then I mentioned casually one of our friends who told me that she didn't see her in a while, Sam tensed up as soon as I mentioned that, but she relaxed and acted normal as she said that she just didn't have a lot of free time,"

"That was what she said but I was able to see the nervousness in her eyes, I knew that I shouldn't push her too much so I changed the subject, just as if that was just a random remark."

"I met her for a few more times after that and each time her refusal to meet me would be stronger, till finally, she stopped answering my calls at all, right than I knew that something was totally wrong, in the last few times we met, she was always on edge and she seemed so self-conscious around me, it was so weird, thinking about all of that and how she wasn't answering my calls anymore, I went to her family."

"Her family didn't really accept her coming out that well, her father exploded in her face as soon as she told them, shouting and cursing, her mother too didn't accept it, but her reaction was still better than her father's,"

"So her family's reaction was quite bad, but you know how it is, after she left them and started living with Brittney, they still got worried and had contact with her, I even know that her father, even though he didn't talk to her, still asked about how she was doing from her mom who had close contact with her,"

"I met her mom after Sam cut contact with me, we talked for a bit before I mentioned how Sam had been, I mentioned how she had cut contact with most of her friends, how something seemed to be in her mind in the last few times I met her and how she finally cut contact with me entirely."

"Her mom was worried and she told me that she would look into it, I could do nothing more after that except keeping on calling her, I even went to her and Brittney's house a few times, but it was always Brittney who answered and she always told me that Sam wasn't there, I didn't believe her and we even fought verbally a few times, yet nothing come out of that."

"One time, Sam's mom called me and she said that Sam wasn't answering her calls anymore, her mom was really worried and she kept on saying that something was wrong with Sam and Brittney's relationship, she said that she tried to get some information from her at the beginning and from that, she knew that Brittney was a jealous person and that she would complain about Sam spending time with some of her friends, especially those she had a good relationship with,"

"That time I was really mad, my worry for Sam clouded my thoughts, Sam cutting contact with us, her friends was weird and worrying, but her cutting contact with her mom for no reason was another thing entirely,"

"So like that, I went to Sam and Brittney's house and was going to meet her no matter what."

"As always Brittney opened the door and as always she said Sam wasn't there, I didn't care about her at all and forced my way in,"

"Sam was there as I expected, I told her to follow me outside because I didn't want to talk with that girl around us, Brittney was against that and kept on shouting, but eventually Sam stopped her and said that we were just going to talk."

"We went to a secluded place and talked."

"...I can't say I dealt with the situation well, I... I shouted at her and questioned her about what was wrong with her, why she didn't answer my calls, nor her friend's and even her mother's,"

"She just listened in the bargaining, her head was lowered and she didn't say anything, I told her to answer me... And that's what she did..."

"She asked me if I never accepted her being gay and her relationship with Brittney if I was acting like that simply because her lover was a girl, if me, her friends, and even her mom were doing all of that just to separate them,"

"Her voice was trembling as she said that, pain and hopelessness were apparent in her tone..."

"No matter how I tried to explain myself and make her see how wrong what was happening to her was, she wouldn't listen... It was as if she already had a thought implanted deep in her mind, a thought that wouldn't change no matter what, finally at the end she told me to stop coming to meet her and to stop calling her because Brittney was having a misunderstanding about us and that I was destroying her relationship..."

"So I stood there frozen as I watched her leave,"

"I met her on the roads from time to time, but she would always act as if she didn't know me... As if we were strangers..."

"It went like that for a while till one day we crossed paths and I say that she had a black eye and was wearing a scarf even though it was a hot and sunny day..."

Judy was like a statue while listening to the whole story, she just sat there frozen with a blank look on her face, but when she heard Dan say that he met Sam who had a black eye she shook and her heart felt as if it was gripped by a cold hand while a chill went down her spine.

"Seeing her like that I couldn't control myself, I went and asked her what happened, she said it was nothing while touching her scarf, she was way too defensive, I felt something was wrong and I used both my hands to remove her scarf forcefully, what I saw shocked me, ther... There were bruises on her neck... It was clear signs of being strangled..." Dan's hands and teeth were clenched while he talked about that.

Judy on the other hand couldn't believe what she was hearing, her mind was a mess and her thoughts were all over the place, as she felt her body go cold, she didn't know what to say at all.

Dan took a few breaths to calm himself down before continuing:

"She struggled to hide her neck and get away from me, seeing that some bystanders came and held me, while they held me she ran... I called her mom and told her about what happened, a few hours later, me, her parents and some of her friends went to her house, but unfortunately, we found that they had moved away... The landlord told us that they had talked to him about moving a long time ago and they still had a couple of days before moving, but Brittney suddenly came and gave him the keys that morning with no explanation... And that was the last time I saw Sam, till I saw you two today."

Even after Dan stopped speaking Judy still had a blank look on her face and didn't react for a while.

She finally took a deep breath before asking with a trembling voice:

"You... Why did you te- tell me about all of this...?" That's all she could say, Sam's circumstances were worst than her wildest imaginations.

Dan showed a serious expression and while he looked at Judy straight in the eyes he said:

"You seemed close to her earlier, you're someone who she probably feels safer letting enter her life, not like us who know what happened to her and who she already cut contact with, I wish you can try your best to help her... However, you can..."

Judy opened her mouth but no words came out...