Unfinished

Fourteen

I met Jessica Bell exactly once. It was New Year's Eve, and freezing outside. I was out because my parents were in the process of getting drunk, and I did not want to be involved in the aftermath. I had decided to go to Soren's house to see if I could stay there overnight. Failing that, my plan B was to walk all the way to Ella's house, because I knew she would let me stay with her. I would really prefer not to, though, because as I already said, it was freezing.

There was no snow on the sidewalk leading to the Bell's house. I quickly climbed the stairs of the stoop and knocked. The door was opened by a woman in her late teens or early twenties who looked like the female version of Soren. Which is to say, that she had most of his features arranged in a more feminine way, and was wearing all black. One thing she had, though, that Soren did not, was streaks of purple in her hair.

"Hello. Who might you be?" the stranger asked, kindly it seemed to me.

"I'm Becca. I'm a friend of Soren's. I was hoping I could stay the night?"

I asked the last as a question, at once stating the purpose of my visit and hoping to accomplish it.

The strange girl smiled at me. "I like you. You had better come in."

The girl ushered me in, closed the door, and called into the house, "Soren! Someone's here who says they're your friend!"

"What?" was the only reply she got. The girl rolled her eyes at me.

"He is always like that. So annoying. Oh! I'm Jess, by the way. Jessica Bell. Come on, the others are in the living room."

Jess set off, pulling me along behind her. My mind was reeling; since when did Soren have a sister? And, was I about to meet Soren's parents for the first time? How was I going to ask them if I could stay the night at their house? It was New Years Eve for heavens sakes! But then we were at the living room, and it was too late for a plan.

"Hey! Soren! Your friend is here. Becca, right?" I nodded affirmatively at her, then looked around for Soren.

I didn't see him until he spoke, concealed under a blanket on the couch, eyes closed, headphones covering his ears.

"Hi, Becca. What do you want?"

"Rude, Soren!" Jess chastised. I was with her on that one, even though I knew Soren didn't mean it that way.

"I was wondering if I could stay the night. Um, if that's okay with your parents?" I had not seen nor heard any adults since I arrived, so I wasn't sure what the deal was there.

"They're asleep upstairs. It's just Soren, Will, and me," Jess said, pointing out Will who was asleep on his chair in the corner between two bookshelves.

"Oh. Well, can I stay?"

"Yeah. You can share with Jess. You could share with me, but that would make everyone uncomfortable, and I'm already sharing with Will. " Soren answered me in a sleepy, not quite there voice. I knew that If he was fully awake he'd be asking all kinds of questions about why I needed to stay over, what I was writing and/or reading, and if there was anything he could help me with.

"I think he wants to sleep, Becca. Best just come with me."

Jess led me out of the living room, down the hall, up the stairs, two doors down the hallway on the right, and into a room that, in a word, was dark. It was painted black with rather violent looking spatters of purple and red paint on the walls. The ceiling was painted black, too, and it had blue and purple spatters of paint on it. The only furniture in the room was a bed with purple sheets and a black blanket and pillows, a dark wood dresser with nothing on top, a bookshelf with a few lonely books, and a desk sitting neglected in the corner. The whole room had this air of abandonment. A black duffel sat on the bed beside a purple and black backpack. It was obvious that Jess did not inhabit this room any more and had no plans to be staying long. I wondered where she lived.

"So. Do you want to sleep on the floor, me sleep on the floor, or share the bed? I'm fine with any of those options."

I was startled by the suddenness of my return to reality, and so did not say anything for a moment.

Jess looked me square in the eye, and she seemed to see something in me that made her whole attitude shift.

"It doesn't matter right now. We can decide later. Right now do you want to go downstairs and watch the countdown or stay up here and talk to me?"

I looked at her, this girl who was probably five or six years older than me, who I had only met a few minutes ago, who I hadn't known existed until a few minutes ago. I looked at her, and I felt it in my bones that she was trustworthy, that she would listen and not judge. So I gave myself over to instinct and spilled the story of my life to this stranger in her bedroom on New Year's Eve. We talked without noticing the new year's beginning and without stopping to censor our words.

The next morning  Jess made scrambled eggs and toast for Soren, Will, and I, her parents being absent once again. WE all chatted about inconsequential things, though by the way Soren was shooting looks my way, I knew we were going to have a serious discussion later. I left shortly after, having arranged with Ella a few weeks earlier that we would spend the first of January together at her house. Before I left, though, Jess took me aside and gave me a paper with her phone number written on it.

"In case you ever just need to talk to someone," she said, then winked and left me there.

I haven't taken her up on her offer yet, but I plan to if things ever get to be too much. For now, though, it is enough to know that simply that the possibility exists.

***

A/N:

Okay, so I haven't updated in a while and I feel bad about that. Know that I was doing homework and theatre camp and swim practice and other things I couldn't exactly get out of. Know also that I probably won't update again in a while because I have two big family trips, summer dance classes, swim practice, and homework. I do have some of the next segment planned, though, which is highly unusual for me, and means a quicker update for you guys. All four hundred thirty four of you. How is there that many of you? Seriously, tell me in the comments how you found my story. I would love to know. Actually, I would love if you commented at all, especially with opinions and hopes for the story. I want feedback, guys! And if you voted that world mean the world to me.

Cheers!

Ellie