I examined myself through my reflection. My hair had gotten longer; the short brown curls that once hung an inch under my shoulder were now almost to my belly button. I looked very pale, yet my rosy cheeks gave some pigment to my face, along with my cat green eyes. Taking my shirt off I examined the multiple purple spots that scattered across my back. My body always bruised easily, I thought to myself. I had lost a lot of weight, looking flimsy. As I stared at myself, observing all these changes, I felt a tear stream down my face. I couldn’t believe it had already been a year since my mother and my father passed away. My sister and I survived one whole year living with our uncle. Our uncle was an alcoholic; his days consisted of sleeping on the couch and his nights, finding reasons to take his anger out on me and my sister. We barely ever got much sleep making the nights seem never ending. It was my responsibility to take care of Sofia, my sister. It was just me and her against the world.
“Amy, get down here!” My uncle yelled.

“Coming!” I screamed quickly, throwing my shirt back on.
As I walked downstairs I saw Sofia with her head in her hands and the sound of her weeping. I began to run towards her when I was stopped by a strong pull that caught my shoulder.
“I said get down here for a reason,” he said rudely, pushing me back. “I’m going out of town, I’ve got some business to take care of,” He continued.
“What?” I exclaimed, “What are we supposed to do?” I asked, realizing he doesn’t do much for us anyways.
“You can take care of Sofia; I left some money on the counter. You guys will be fine,” He said walking out.
“You can’t just leave us alone!” I screamed as I heard the door shut behind him.
Turning around I quickly ran to Sofia asking her what was wrong. She continued crying and pushed me off, keeping her head down.
“Sofia Mary Flocker, what is going on?” I said sternly.
She slowly removed her hands from her face and began to lift up her head. As I began studying her face I noticed her lips were incredibly swollen, her cheeks were hiding bruises in between her freckles and her innocent hazel eyes were darkened by the black surrounding them. I grabbed her gently, hugging her as her tears soaked my shirt.

The days were going by faster than ever without my controlling uncle breathing down my neck. It had been two weeks and he had yet to come home. We were running out of food, forcing me to work more often. Sofia’s face was healing, yet the pain in her wholesome eyes was still clearly present. She walked around the house looking lifeless and I knew I had to do something.
“Hey Sofia, let’s go out tonight!” I offered.
“No thanks Amy, I’m really tired,” She responded.
“Oh that’s too bad, some kid is throwing a party and Drew is going to be there. Isn’t that the boy you thought was cute?” I asked as I watched her from the corner of my eye. I saw her eyes light up and she was holding back her smile,
“Drew?” she quietly questioned.
“Yeah but its fine, we don’t need to go,” I said.
“No!” She yelled, “I mean how? We’re not even allowed to go out Amy,” She continued.
“And who’s going to stop us Sofia?” I asked as she looked around realizing we had been alone for days now. I softly took her hand and dragged her upstairs to get ready.

I hated parties, I hated crowded rooms, and I hated the thought of a house filled with drunk people making fools out of themselves. The only thing that made it okay was seeing that beautiful smile on Sofia’s face and the happiness it held. I hadn’t seen her like this for much too long.
“Ready!” She yelled, walking out gracefully in her royal blue dress.
“Okay well then let’s get out of here,” I said as I grabbed the car keys.

We could hear the loud music from miles away. A part of me just wanted to turn that car around and go back home. Sofia however was as excited as ever, there wasn’t a moment of silence with her. I felt like I hadn’t heard her voice for ages. As we pulled to the house I was mentally preparing myself to be stuck at this party alone. Sofia had always been outgoing and friendly, whereas I was more reserved. After our parents passed away I lost the couple of friends I did have by isolating myself. Sofia managed to stay in touch with her friends and let them help her through everything.

I had parked and Sofia didn’t wait a minute before jumping out the car. She was extremely eager since we barely ever got to go out. As I walked around the car I heard her ask,
“Do I look okay? My hair? Anything in my teeth?”
I laughed and gave her a reassuring nod. We began walking towards the house and I couldn’t help but notice its beauty. It was white, covered with windows all around, and an inviting garden leading up to the door. As I walked forward I came to see the inside was nicer. When I was done observing the house, I turned to reach for Sofia’s arm. We had been at the party for five minutes and Sofia had already found her friends. I could hear her laugh across the room, and I couldn’t help but smile.

I decided to grab something to eat and sit down for awhile since I began feeling sick to the stomach. As I walked towards the couch I was trampled by a boy who fell right on top of me. A sharp pain sprung in my lower back and climbed up my body. His heavy body consumed mine and I could feel his heart pounding against my chest. I pushed him up to see his face,
“I’m sorry!” he exclaimed.
He quickly stood up, pulling me up by my hand and then making his way to my waist. He stood uncomfortably close to me and I couldn’t help but notice his radiant blue eyes looking into mine. His dirty blonde hair fell over his forehead; I could feel myself looking up since he was so much taller. He was skinny, yet I could feel the strength in his hands.
“I’m so sorry, are you okay?” he asked.
I could hear innocence in the voice coming out of his plump lips.
“Yes,” I said mesmerized by his eyes.
I looked as if I’d seen a ghost; I stood so still, unable to move myself. He laughed, letting go of my waist and I noticed how perfectly his teeth were aligned. I had found myself smiling as well.
“I’m Draven.” He said, pulling out his hand.
“I’m… I’m Amy” I said, smiling uncontrollably.
That lonely feeling began to disappear, and time started to fly by effortlessly once we started talking. I felt this warmness inside me while talking to him, as if for a moment it was just us in that house. I told him about my family, my sister and my uncle disregarding that he was a complete stranger. We talked for what felt like hours but I didn’t seem to mind.

We heard many footsteps make their way downstairs while screaming.
“What’s going on?” Draven yelled.
I looked at the people as they passed by and their faces were filled with fear. Draven stopped one of the people and once again asked,
“What is going on here?” this time more stern.
“A gun… he... he... shot her,” he said breathing heavy.
I began to feel uneasy as Draven pulled me upstairs. I could feel the fear he felt when I looked into his eyes. We walked across what seemed to be the longest hallway which led towards the game room. People pushed us aside running for the stairs. I got a glimpse of the body but I couldn’t make out if it was a boy or a girl. There was a group of girls surrounding the body, all of them crying. One of the girls had a familiar face, it was Sofia’s friend. She looked up at me and shook her head and mouthed some words that I couldn’t make out. Her eyes filled up with tears as she grabbed the girl standing next to her. That same uneasy feeling I had got worse. I pushed everyone aside to take a better look at the body.

I couldn’t breathe; I could feel this uncomfortable ache travel from my stomach down to my legs, making me weak. I felt tears fill my eyes and it became hard to see. I was scared and I felt helpless. I fell to my knees and she laid beside me. Draven held me close but I pushed him back. This couldn’t be real I thought to myself, “You weren’t supposed to leave me,” I whispered, crying more than ever. I shook her roughly, hoping I could bring her back to life. Those innocent hazel eyes were once again darkened, but this time by death.