"Guys we want to play-oh, I think we are interrupting a moment Brooks" Ellie says barging in causing me to laugh.

"No, I was just thanking Mason for getting me this extremely soft blanket since I'm always cold" I say and Ellie jumps on the blanket, melting into it.

"Oh my. This thing is so soft. You lucky bįtch" Ellie says jealous.

"Sorry Elles" Mason says.

"Dude, we need to take a picture together" Brooks says to Mason.

Mason changed into a blue shirt and some jeans. Brooks is still wearing a gray t-shirt and a gray zip-up over it. He has some white sweatpants on too.

They both look good.

Ellie is wearing her silk robe and some of her clothes underneath. Her makeup and hair still perfect.

Me on the other hand...

Mason and Brooks have Ellie take a picture of them and it came out really good.

"Hey man, I'm gonna buzz soon. My mom will go crazy" Brooks says laughing.

"I can drive you" I say looking at Ellie.

"Thats a good idea. You had a couple drinks. I'll come with you" Ellie says agreeing.

"Yeah, sure. Thanks Leah" He says and I nod.

"Bye Mas, I'll be back" I say kissing his cheek.

"Drive safe please Le" He says handing me his car keys.

"Of course" I smile and he says bye to Brooks and Ellie.

The car ride went by extremely fast. Brooks gave me directions since I had no clue where I was going. On the way back to the Whites, Ellie turns to me.

"Hey Leah, I have a question but you need to answer it seriously" She says.

"Okay, but first. Did you drink?" I say, not wanting to get dragged into or admit to something from Ellie's drunken thoughts.

"No, I had a sip of a beer but thats it" She says and I nod. "Okay, so. Do you have a crush on anyone?" She says placing her face in her hands and elbows on the center console.

My face immediately burns and I glance over at her.

"What are you up to Elizabeth White?" I squint at her, challengingly.

"Come on, tell meee. I won't tell a soul" Ellie whines, shaking my arm.

"Chill, chill. I do like someone but I can't say who. I'm sorry Elle's. But you do know him" I say and she nods, a smile lighting up her face.

"I knew it, I knew it, I knew it" She mutters causing me to giggle.

We get home and we run into the house.

"Mason" I scream jumping onto his back.

"Hey love. How was the drive?" He says adjusting me.

"It was good" I say, my phone binging.

'Mother: Stop leaching off them you thirsty høe. Mason doesn't like you and neither does his family. Come home to where you are useful.'

"I gotta go" I say jumping off Masons back and walking to the upstairs bathroom, making it less obvious.

She's right. Why would Mason ever like me? An abused girl, struggling to fit in. I'm a charity case for him and his sister, never mind his family.

I change back into my jeans and hoodie and knock on Tara's door.

"Hey honey" Jim says opening the door.

"Oh, I'm sorry Jim. I was just going to give this to Tara" I say holding out the neatly folded robe. I left mine at home and wanted something to cover up so Tara let me borrow hers.

"Are you okay? And thanks, I'll give this to her" He says and I nod, sniffing.

"Yeah I'm great. It was nice to see you" I say hugging him.

I go back into Masons room and write a quick note, I leave it on his desk and put another one in the picture frame of us that is on his night table.

It reads:

I sneak out the front door and quickly drive away, but not before saying bye to my Bella.

"Bye Belle. I'll miss you but the Whites will take excellent care of you and love you forever. I'll see you again one day" A tear falling down my face.

The ride home was short, but I stopped to get food causing an extra ten minutes.

My phone beeps and I see its a text from Mason.

---------

Mason: Leah what happened?

Mason: Where are you?

Mason: Talk to me

Mason: Leah I need to know

---------

I put my phone on do not disturb, a couple tears falling and press down on the gas, speeding down the road.

Leah's gone.

She left a note.

She's not coming back.

Ever.

"Ellie" I say, frozen in place, note in hand.

"What Mason? I'm trying to sleep" She says coming up to me, grabbing the note.

"What?" She breathes out.

"This, Mason. Somethings wrong" She says turning to me.

"Mom" Ellie releases an ear piercing scream, sobbing.

"Ellie, whats wrong" She says running into my room, hugging her.

I feel like I am suffocating, I don't know what to do. If I would have told her how I felt I could have stopped this.

Mom reads the note and her face drops.

"Theres more to this. Mason, you need to find out where she is. Somethings happening" She says rushing out of the room, getting my father.

I can't do anything except grab my phone, spamming Leah. I need to know she's okay.

Thats when the phone rings.

"Mom, it's your phone" I scream running over to it.

"Hi, is this Mrs. Williams?" The lady on the other line says.

"Who is this?" My mom says shakily.

"This is Crystal Valley Hospital Center. Your daughter has been in an accident and is critical condition" The lady says.

My chest gets heavy, my eyes start burning, my legs give out and I'm left with nothing but pain.

"We are on our way" Mom says and my dad helps me up, rushing into the car. I hold the picture of us close to me, praying that this is all a dream. A prank, anything.

I can't stop the tears from rolling down my face and I look over at Ellie to see that she's trying her hardest to hold them in.

She reaches out and grabs my hand for support, but thats not enough.

"It's okay" I say, rapping her in a hug. Trying to convince myself of that, more that I am with her.

I might have just lost the one girl I love.

I'm a failure. This is all my fault. They felt bad, thats all. You deserve to be with your parents.

My foot presses harder on the pedal, drowning in my thoughts.

Soon, my thoughts get cut off by the sound of honking.

I jam on the breaks but its too late.

Headlights blur my vision until I am left in complete darkness.

Alone.

Hey, sorry its been so long, a lot has been happening in my life recently. But this was a chapter that is going to change a lot. It's short but extremely important and crucial to the plot. Thank you so much for reading. Don't forget to comment, vote and share! Let me know your predictions. Theres a whole lot of possibilities!

Word count: 1433

~Leah