Belief: Chapter 5

In prosperity our friends know us; in adversity we know our friends.
- John Churton Collins

Belle picked up the phone and called Kylie. It was a quick decision, but one she knew she wouldn’t regret. “Hey, it’s me,” she said, as soon as she heard Kylie answer.

“Hey, Belle,” Kylie returned. She sounded haggard.

“You sound tired, are you all right?” Belle wondered, concerned.

“I’m all right,” Kylie lied. “What’d you need, baby?”

Belle paused. “Nothing actually, I just was wondering where exactly your apartment’s at. ‘Cause I’ve been asking people and no one will tell me.”

“Baby, that’s because it’s low income, and in a bad neighborhood. You don’t need to be comin’ out here. I appreciate it, though.” Kylie stressed.

“What if Andrew came, too?” Belle pressed, not giving up.

“Andrew don’t scare nobody, baby,” Kylie chided gently. “Besides, Robby and Elise aren’t in a state for company right now…” Kylie hinted.

“Oh, it’s not social,” Belle assured. “Andrew and I were just thinking that you three deserved some help. So I could help with cooking or laundry, or Elise and I could hang out while you get stuff done. And Andrew could do any other stuff that Rob needed help with.”

“Baby, that’s a sweet offer, but I don’t know how Robby feels about it,” Kylie hedged.

“So? I mean...not to be pushy, but I mean, what are his options? What are any of y’all’s options? It’s an offer to help, you know? Either he’s grateful for the help, or his pride will be hurt. But either way, Andrew and I want to help.” Belle stood firm.

Kylie sighed, the night before playing itself back in her mind. It really wasn’t fair of Belle to call now, because if there was ever a time Kylie would cave on an offer to help, it was today…

The previous night had been nothing short of unbearable for all of them. Rob had called her in the middle of the night. She had known Elise didn’t sleep well, but Kylie didn’t expect to find the girl beyond consolation when she came across the hall in her nightgown and robe to investigate what the trouble was. What she’d found was almost beyond imagination.

Elise was recoiled in the corner of the sparsely furnished living room. Her voice was gone, but she continued to scream. She was clearly terrified, but any time Rob advanced to try and comfort her, her panic grew.

As a last resort, he had called Kylie. It had been going on for nearly an hour, and Rob was exhausted from trying.

Intuitively, Kylie had dropped low, attempting to get on eye-level with Elise. Being female, a minority, and not to mention fairly short, herself, Kylie knew it could easily be intimidating to have someone talking above you from their full height.

“Hey, Elise…” she spoke softly, her own eyes bright with tears. “I’m gonna come to you, okay? I know you’re scared, but we gonna make everything okay again,” she assured, inching closer.

As Kylie expected, Elise’s alarm intensified. Behind them both, Rob cursed.

“Robby,” Kylie turned slightly. “Go to my place and lie down,” she said firmly.

“Hell, no!” he exploded. “She’s my sister!” He paced the floor, clenching his fists until his knuckles turned white.

“Rob.” Kylie kept her voice even. “You wanna do what’s best by her, you’ll leave.”

Kylie turned back to Elise. She had begun to tremble violently.

Abruptly, Kylie heard the door close behind them. She said a silent prayer of thanks that Rob had listened to her and in his anger had managed to refrain from slamming the door and further spooking Elise.

Resuming the task at hand, Kylie kept her pursuit deliberate and fairly quick, not wanting to prolong the girl’s anguish and anxiety longer than necessary.

Once she was close enough to touch Elise, Kylie spoke. “I know you’re scared, baby. But if you can, listen to me. Everything’s okay. I know it doesn’t feel like it right now, but it is. You want a hug?” Kylie asked carefully, unsure of how much Elise could understand in such a frenzied state.

Elise’s eyes remained wide and petrified; her breathing shallow.

Deliberately, Kylie extended a hand, purposely not doing what her motherly instinct wanted, and brush the hair back out of Elise’s eyes. Instead, she grasped Elise’s hand, and from there, slowly took the trembling girl into her arms.

What Kylie wasn’t expecting was a fight.

Instantly, Elise came alive, strangled noise permeating the silence around them. Survival mode had kicked in full-force and Elise struggled with unexpected strength.

But Kylie held her, hoping that if she kept her close long enough, it would sink in that she was safe. Unconsciously, she fell into prayer, asking God to deliver Elise from the grips of this fear.

Within minutes, Elise had begun to calm, and clutched desperately at Kylie, relieved beyond words that she had come, and helped her…

“Kylie?” Belle’s voice penetrated through the memory.

“Yeah,” Kylie’s tone was disinterested, but Belle knew better.

“It’ll be okay,” she offered sweetly. “Andrew and I’ll be there after school today. Don’t worry. We’ll find you.”

--

“So, why are we going to Rob’s?” Andrew asked, unable to conceal his nervousness.

“We’re going because we love Kylie and we wanna help out,” Belle explained matter-of-factly.

“But you said Rob doesn’t want us there,” Andrew pointed out, carefully studying the street signs they passed, and getting more anxious as the neighborhoods deteriorated.

“I said Rob might not say he wants us there. But everybody deserves a little help. And Kylie seemed really stressed. Besides, I like Elise, and I want to get to know her more.”

“You already know you have the same pants,” Andrew quipped dryly, “What more is there to know?”

“Funny…” Belle said, smiling.

‘What’d you think of Thursday?” Andrew asked, referring to the small group he and Belle had descended on without an actual invitation.

“Well, it probably wasn’t the best week to go, but I don’t regret it,” Belle reasoned cheerfully.

“Don’t you ever get tired of being so optimistic?” Andrew asked, only half-joking.

“Don’t you ever get tired of being a crab?” she shot back, and giggled.

“I’m just saying…” he reasoned, “It’s like, unnatural to be that happy.”

“Maybe for a grump,” she teased, not getting tired of their debate.

“I think this might be it,” Andrew squinted.

Belle looked, too. “Yep, it’s the one!”

Andrew parked, got out and promptly locked the car. Once they were on their way up to Rob and Elise’s, Andrew glanced at Belle, who was staying close.

“Belle, what on earth do you need your purse for?” he complained. “Here, give it to me,” he offered, waiting expectantly once his hand was outstretched.

“No! Come on, Kylie’s expecting us,” Belle waved him off, and continued up the stairs.

In no time, they were at the correct door, and Belle knocked on it, waiting.

“Hey, you two,” Kylie greeted, giving them both a hug. “Elise isn’t home right now, but she will be in a bit. I’ll be going to pick her up. Now, there’s not a lot here, at least not what y’all are used to, but make yourself at home.” Kylie urged.

Andrew immediately went for the refrigerator, and frowned when he saw how little was there.

Walking back out to the living room, he took another look and saw the couch unfolded into a bed in the corner of the room. His stomach sank. He had no idea they were living with such limited resources.

Andrew dug in his pocket, and felt the cash he had gotten from his check at work. It wasn't the best-paying job, and it wasn't full-time, but it was more than a lot of people had, and he couldn't think of a better use for the money.

Passing Belle in the hall, Andrew caught her arm, and whispered, “I’ll be right back.”

“Okay,” she shrugged, as usual, having no idea what her friend was up to, but knowing his heart was undoubtedly in the right place.

--

Gratefully, upon Andrew’s return from the store, Belle was the only one there. The last thing he wanted was to hurt Rob’s pride, but everybody needed to eat, and, more than just Ramen and sandwiches.

Setting the bags down carefully on the table, Andrew began unloading them.

“Aw, Andrew, look at you being all domestic,” Belle teased. But inside her heart swelled with pride, because that was just the way Andrew worked - quietly in the background, and preferably when no one was watching.

Cans of soup appeared on the table, then, a two-liter of 7-Up.

“You got them sick food,” Belle observed.

Andrew nodded. “I figured they could use some on hand,” he said simply.

Boxes of the easy-make twenty-minute meals appeared, and Belle smiled. “He’s a guy,” Andrew defended. “And he’s not gonna have a whole lot of time to cook.”

Belle’s eyes widened at the variety of things Andrew had bought, and she quickly set to work, stocking their nearly empty fridge and moved their single staple food aside in the cupboard to make room for the newly-acquired soup, and other items.

And Andrew hadn’t forgotten the necessities. He’d come back with milk, eggs and bread, a habit he couldn’t seem to break, no matter who he was shopping for. He’d brought back cereal and fruit, wanting to make sure all their bases were covered.

“Belle? What do you think we should do for supper?” he asked, busily shelving things.

“I don’t know. You want me to start something for ‘em?” she asked. “Oh, I have the best idea!”

“I knew you would,” he smiled.

“And it won’t use up that much of their stuff,” she reasoned. “We’ll make enough for the three of them, be sure to clean up, and let them enjoy themselves.” Belle was thrilled with her ingenuity.

So once everything was put away, Belle set to work, pulling out the bread and eggs. French toast was the best meal, and it was especially sweet if you weren’t expecting it. She recruited Andrew to slice fruit, and set the table. And within a half-hour, Belle had finished, giving them a modest one apiece knowing they were on a budget, and not wanting to use up their new groceries.

Quickly, she and Andrew picked up their mess. They washed, dried and put away the dishes, made sure the table looked nice, and then she and Andrew slipped out the door, at Belle’s urging, because Kylie had told her she’d be back with Elise, and Rob should be home not long after.

They spent the drive home in virtual silence, neither needing the moral boost of discussing their good deed with one another. Andrew simply was grateful God had used him, in even the smallest task like buying groceries.

And in the end, their reward was small, but worth it. A brief message from Rob was found on Belle’s phone the next day:

“Hey Belle and Andrew, this is Rob. Thank you for dinner. It was awesome. You have no idea what a relief it was to have dinner on the table for once. You guys are awesome.”

--

It wasn’t long before Belle decided to follow up on her offer to be there for Elise, and called to ask if she could spend the night. Usually, she wouldn’t have been so forthright, but she knew Elise would never think to ask a friend to stay the night – she had so much going on as it was.

Rob agreed, after letting Belle talk to Elise and make sure it wasn’t going to be too much for her, and by six o’clock that evening, Belle had arrived. She was helping Rob get dinner cleaned up, while Elise remained at the table, concentrating on a paper she’d gotten from rehab that day, which dealt with sequencing.

The work itself wasn’t hard, but recalling how certain words – even simple words – were spelled, was proving somewhat difficult. Things like holding a pencil were now very trying, and her handwriting remained big and awkward. The three little exercises were taking considerable time to get through, and once Belle was finished, she sat down beside Elise.

“You need some help?” Belle asked, seeing that Elise looked stalled in her progress.

Elise barely moved, not even looking up when Belle approached.

“What are you stuck on?” Belle tried again, reaching to touch her hand, and get her attention.

Abruptly, Elise flinched, pulling away from Belle, until she got a good look at her, and relaxed. But tears had sprung to her eyes in the moment. Elise wiped them away, knowing she needed to finish this before she and Belle could do anything else.

“It’s okay,” Belle said simply. “I was just wondering if you needed help.”

“I got it,” Elise answered, seemingly oblivious to the tears that continued to fall.

Belle nodded, realizing her presence there was more a hindrance than help. “Okay. Well, I’m gonna go set up in the other room, so you come out there whenever you’re finished.” And Belle excused herself, making a conscious effort to stay out of the kitchen until Elise was finished.

In the meantime, she set to work preparing the living room. Once she had laid out her sleeping bag, she wasn’t sure what to do for Elise, but she figured Rob wouldn’t be thrilled about her sleeping on the floor, so Belle just pulled the couch apart, and got the bed ready, in case Elise got tired.

Belle took out her make up, really excited about the prospect of she and Elise making each other over, and then found her CDs and CD player. She hadn’t been sure if they had one, so she brought hers along – hoping her forwardness in that area wouldn’t offend Rob. But he didn’t end up caring.

As it turned out, he felt so relieved about having Belle there that he decided to take Kylie someplace close to get some coffee. As much as they saw each other, the two rarely spent time alone with one another. Though it would be far from a romantic dinner, Rob knew they needed it, and felt confident leaving Elise with Belle for an hour or so. If he had seen anything over the past couple days it was that Belle was incredibly mature for seventeen.

It took another half-hour for Elise to emerge from the kitchen, and when she did, Belle was ready for her. Once the kitchen was free, Belle immediately took it over, popping microwave popcorn, and pouring them each generous amounts of Coke.

Elise’s eyes widened as she saw Belle with the junk food. “Where did we get that?” she asked suspiciously.

“I brought it,” Belle smiled, setting down the huge bowl of popcorn between them, and the glasses on the coffee table – the only piece of furniture in the room, besides the couch and recliner.

Thankfully, Elise seemed very at ease. They sat in silence for a little bit, munching popcorn and listening to Belle’s most-recent CD purchase. It was music that Elise had never heard, but it was good, and she found herself really enjoying the brief times that Belle sang along, stunning Elise with her beautiful voice.

“So, what do you wanna do?” Belle asked, lounging on her sleeping bag.

Characteristically mute at a moment she was expected to answer, Elise tried not to let it get to her. “I don’t know,” she said finally, the words sounding weighted with the effort it took to vocalize them.

“That’s hard for you, huh?” Belle prodded matter-of-factly. “Talking when somebody asks you a question?”

Elise nodded, feeling heat flood her cheeks.

“I didn’t say that to embarrass you!” Belle exclaimed, quickly apologetic. “I just wanted to know if there was something I could do to make things easier for you. If I’m making you uncomfortable or something,” she explained.

Elise shook her head, without her voice for almost a full minute, reduced to mouthing words until it came back. “Patient… Just be patient, if you can,” Elise restated. “If you wait long enough it’ll come back.”

“I can do that,” Belle agreed. “So, what do you think about playing beauty parlor?” She asked, happily, motioning to her stash of cosmetics strewn across her sleeping bag.

“You’re a little old to play with make-up, aren’t you? Aren’t we both?” Elise looked wary, as if indulging in such childish play couldn’t yield a positive result.

“No!” Belle insisted, laughing. “Besides, it’s good for us to make ourselves feel pretty – I do it all the time!” Picking through the mess, she selected a couple tubes of lip-gloss.

“Which color?” Belle asked. “Which one do you want to wear?”

Finally, Elise picked one, and Belle set to work. It didn’t take her long, however, to realize that Elise probably wasn’t the best candidate for a makeover. She flinched every time Belle came toward her with anything.

“I’m sorry,” Elise ducked her head. “I’m not very good at holding still,” she admitted.

But Belle waved her off. “It’s okay. You wanna do me instead?”

Momentarily, Elise forgot about her blunders, and smiled a little. “You sure you wanna do that?” she asked.

“Of course I am!” Belle agreed. “Now, make me beautiful!” she demanded and struck a pose.

--

Belle was ripped from sleep suddenly. Someone was screaming. She glanced around, her heart racing. It came back to her in bits and pieces - she was spending the night with Elise. She rose quickly and went to her friend’s side. Belle didn’t find her in the bed but crouched in one corner of the room, with a look Belle had never seen in her eyes.

“Elise?” Belle questioned quietly. She had no idea what to do, she only knew that Rob was apparently the deepest sleeper ever, because he wasn’t there yet.

From her position, curled into the wall, Elise’s head jerked up, hearing her name. But it wasn’t Belle’s voice she heard. It was his.

--

“Elise!” The sound of her name could still make her skin crawl if it was said at the right moment.

He had appeared in the doorway, calmly enough, but his voice made it clear that something was going to happen. “Come here.” Again, the eerie calm – when Elise knew better.

She got out of bed and followed him obediently, knowing that ignoring him or hesitating would just make everything worse. He walked silently until they got to the staircase; then he nodded at her to go forward. She vacillated for a moment, in an exhausted stupor of not knowing what on earth he could want with her going downstairs at this hour.

But the brief time of uncertainty on her part had been exactly what sparked the action. She was mercilessly shoved from behind. And once she lay helpless at the bottom, her body aching, she saw the whole time, he’d been concealing something behind his back. When Elise finally saw the baseball bat, she had screamed, knowing him well enough to realize that he would only stop beating her if his arms got tired…

The blows had been crushing, and Elise hadn’t stopped screaming until she blacked out.

--

The screaming was what got to Belle the most. Her skin prickled, as the hair on her arms stood up. She’d never heard such a desperate sound coming from a human being.

“Honey, it’s okay…” Belle pleaded, in tears now at seeing Elise so scared.

But the noise never let up. The sounds Belle was hearing weren’t unlike a small child or wounded animal, just wanting escape but having none.

“Rob,” Belle called softly, her voice breaking.

“I’m right here,” he said, appearing from behind her. His own face was pale and ashy as he studied the situation. He looked weary. “I don’t know what to do.” Rob admitted. “This happens so many times, and I don’t know what to do for her.” The defeat in his words was almost tangible, as Elise continued to scream, her voice already going hoarse.

Belle sat, wondering if his unspoken implication was for her to do something. But she was at a complete loss. But like a mantra, one phrase of a worship song she’d played earlier stuck with her, and she fearlessly began to sing, her voice broken from weeping.

“Father, You’re all I need, my soul’s sufficiency, my strength when I am weak, the love that carries me…”

The sound of the song, and the peace it carried, mingled with Elise’s still-terrorized screams, but Belle kept on, repeating the same verse of the song over and over, making herself and entire room open to God, and open to His help.

Gathering courage, Belle crept closer, eventually enfolding Elise in her arms and whispering the song in her ear.

Strangely, and for the first time Rob could recall, Elise seemed to settle at another person’s touch. Normally, she would recoil, but this time was different. Leaning forward until her head rested on Belle’s shoulder she accepted the hug, and the sound of a friend nearby – and a song – seemed to help her immensely.

In moments she was breathing deeply, still leaning against Belle.

“You can go ahead and lie back down. I’ll get her,” Rob offered.

Belle shook her head. “She’s fine here. Really,” she insisted seeing his skeptical expression.

Too tired to argue, Rob retired again.

Awkwardly, Belle shifted, so her back was to the wall, and laid Elise down gently, so her head rested in Belle’s lap. Elise remained asleep throughout the movement and jostling, and Belle leaned over, snagging a blanket off the bed, and covering Elise with it.

Gently, Belle stroked Elise’s hair, stopping suddenly when she felt something she didn’t expect. Parting it carefully, Belle saw that under the top layer, Elise was just starting to grow hair back. The lengthy scar was unmistakable, and Belle’s heart hurt, not able to fully imagine what must have brought Elise to the point of needing surgery.

But Belle didn’t let the sight of such a wound deter her, and continued to stroke her friend’s head, praying for God to let Elise sleep through the night.

--

Sleep was difficult for either girl to obtain, since Belle was sitting up, and Elise was constantly reacting in almost undetectable ways. But Belle could feel every change, even the smallest ones, and she was continually speaking words of assurance, only dozing when she could.

By the time day broke, they had both managed to rest a little. Belle’s neck was stiff and her back ached from sitting up against a wall all night, but she would never let Elise know as much. She pulled the blanket back around Elise’s shoulders, trying not to shiver, in her summer nightgown, despite the fact that autumn was in full swing. Belle couldn’t resist, because it was the cutest one she owned.

Elise awoke suddenly, her breath hitching right away, as if she were prepared to scream. But Belle kept a hand reassuringly on her head, as it had been all night.

“Good morning,” Belle greeted gently.

Elise nodded; her heart raced, and she looked around, trying to ground herself in the here and now.

“It’s okay,” Belle spoke softly.

Instinctively, Elise moved to sit up, feeling humiliated at where she was. She tried to shut her brain off and not remember, but it didn’t help. She recalled everything too clearly.

“Hey, where you goin’?” Belle asked kindly. Easily, she caught Elise and pulled her back so they sat close again. Elise stiffened at the touch, but Belle didn’t let go. “You can sit here, don’t worry about it, okay? Do you wanna lay your head back down?” she wondered.

Elise shook her head.

“Things were pretty scary for you last night,” Belle said sympathetically, unable to keep from petting Elise’s hair.

Elise moved her head away a fraction of an inch. She didn’t know if she liked this or not, and it was always better to play it safe. She forced herself to speak. “I’m okay.”

“No you’re not,” Belle chided gently. “That’s fine, though. Just stay here a minute.”

Elise obliged, relaxing a little, at Belle’s desire to have her nearby.

“Who usually helps you when you’re scared?” Belle asked quietly.

“Kylie sometimes, or sometimes Robby tries. Otherwise nobody.” Elise spoke dully, as if talking about someone else.

Belle pursed her lips, unhappy with the admission that, as she had suspected, Elise was usually left to fend off her nightmares on her own.

She didn’t show her mood, though. Instead she kept the chatter going. “So do you wanna talk, or eat breakfast?” Belle wondered.

“Neither,” Elise admitted. “I’m never hungry.”

“Well, let’s eat anyway. I’m sure Robby won’t be happy if you don’t eat. Did you like my French toast?” she asked, already getting a pan out.

She caught Elise’s nod, and got to work. With her back turned, she asked carefully, “I hope you don’t think this is rude, but what’s that scar from on your head?”

“Surgery.” Elise said plainly. Speaking to somebody’s back was a lot easier than speaking to their face. It was harder to be intimidated.

“Surgery from what?” Belle asked, still shocked that her friend had such a big incision.

Elise let out a breath. “I was beat.” She was surprised how easily the words came out.

“I’m sorry, you were what?” Belle asked, turning. She couldn’t have heard right.

“I was beat,” Elise said again, looking at her hands.

“You had surgery because someone beat you?” Belle questioned, still unable to grasp what she was hearing.

Elise nodded, and then continued. “My mom’s boyfriend…pushed me down our basement stairs. It was concrete…and Robby thinks I hit my head real hard then. Once I was at the bottom, I saw he had a bat…”

It was all so easy to say when Elise considered that Belle was an outsider, who didn’t know what her life had been like. She hadn’t been able to tell Robby anything – even the most basic things like how it started. Elise felt like she was talking about someone else. She could never distance herself that much with Robby, because he felt everything so deeply, and because she knew he blamed himself.

Rob stumbled in then, stopping the conversation in its tracks. Belle knew enough not to pursue anymore questions with him present, and instead turned her attention back to breakfast.

“Hey, girls,” he greeted tiredly, going straight for the coffee.

He was a sight. His hair stood up at all angles, and one leg of his sweatpants was pushed up to his knee. Rob walked over and kissed the top of Elise’s head, relieved when she didn’t flinch.

“Want some French toast again? Belle’s cooking,” Elise offered, stunning herself with the ease that she spoke.

Rob noticed, too, and smiled, not wanting to embarrass Elise in front of her friend. “I’d love some.”

“Syrup and butter?” Belle called from the stove.

“That’d be great.” Rob returned, ducking quickly in the bathroom to get cleaned up and dressed for work.

Belle set a plate down by his coffee cup, and then set out to make Elise’s. “One or two?” she asked over her shoulder. She’d given Rob two, since he had a busy day, and she figured, judging from his appearance that he could use the energy.

“How ‘bout a half?” Elise bargained.

“Girl, you want me to make you half a French toast!” Belle exclaimed, laughing. “How does that work? You’re getting one,” she said decidedly.

“Mean…” Elise pouted, but Belle could tell she was smiling.

Rob emerged then, looking miraculously cleaned up given the five minutes he was gone. He sat down, saying a quick but sincere thanks to Belle before starting in, knowing he never had enough time in the morning.

“Okay, I’ll be at work until about supper,” Rob said. “If anything comes up you can call Kylie, she’ll be off in a little bit. Or if there’s an emergency, you can call me at work,” he scribbled down the number, still a little apprehensive about leaving Belle unofficially in charge of his sister for a work-day.

But she had offered, and it was easier on Kylie who was used to coming off a night shift, and immediately going to their apartment, only able to catch up on her sleep eight hours later when Rob returned.

--

Minutes later, Belle was seated at the table with Elise. Belle, in her cutest silk pajamas and Elise in some long shirt – the disparity struck Belle particularly hard then, but Elise didn’t seem to mind.

Elise stared uninterestedly at her breakfast.

Belle couldn’t eat either. She was still thinking of Elise’s last statement before Rob came in the kitchen. She couldn’t get it out of her mind.

“Is that what your nightmares are from?” Belle asked suddenly.

“What?” Elise asked, confused, not quite getting the shift back into that conversation.

“From when your mother’s boyfriend did that to you?” Belle pressed incredulous that one person would actually do that to another.

Elise nodded, still staring at how shiny the syrup was. She wished she could only eat the syrup.

Absently she continued. “He was always telling me to get out. He wanted it just to be him and my mom. And I pretty much ruined that for him, so it was his plan from the start for me to leave. He tried to kick me out, but I wouldn’t go. I was sixteen, but he thought I was close enough to being an adult to fend for myself. He’d always tell me I was smart, and I could make it on my own. He was full of shit…” she trailed off. “So when I didn’t leave he started hitting me. I guess he thought if he made being at home bad enough, I’d wanna go. But I never did. So finally he had enough,” Elise finished.

“Wait. You were sixteen? How old are you now?” Belle asked.

“I just turned seventeen. It happened a few months ago,” she confided.

“What did your mother think?”

“I don’t know…but Robby never let me go home, so I guess she’s on his side.” Elise deduced.

Belle’s stomach lurched. “She’s still with him?” she asked disbelieving.

“He’s in jail, but yeah.” Elise confirmed.

“Honey, I’m so sorry.” Belle apologized, reaching for her hand.

But just like that, Elise had come back to herself again, and withdrew from the attempt at contact.

Elise shrugged. “I don’t wanna talk anymore,” she mumbled softly.

“Okay. I can understand that. Do you wanna call up Andrew and we can do something?” Belle asked.

“Not really. I mean, I like Andrew, but I kinda just wanted to hang out with you,” Elise admitted.

“Oh that’s fine. I was thinking of shopping anyway, so we’d be doing him a favor by not inviting him.” Belle smiled.

Elise felt flushed. She didn’t really like the idea of shopping either, and briefly thought she’d be better off with Andrew.

“No shopping?” Belle probed studying Elise’s reluctant expression.

Elise shook her head. “I just don’t like a lot of people, and I don’t really have money,” she confessed.

“That’s okay, we don’t have to go shopping,” Belle dismissed the idea. “We could just hang around here if you’d rather do that.”

Elise nodded, hating the idea of facing the monstrous staircase in order to get out of the apartment.

Belle was putting the eggs away when she caught sight of a package of easy-bake cookies. She grinned, thinking of Andrew at the store, picking them out. “You wanna make cookies?” Belle called.

“We don’t have any stuff,” Elise returned tiredly.

“Wrong,” Belle held the package out happily, dancing around. “Andrew got these the other day when we were here.”

“I’m gonna go get dressed, quick.” Elise decided, hoping she could actually be quick about it.

“Why don’t we just bake in our pajamas?” Belle called.

“Because, I’m cold!” Elise insisted, disappearing in the bathroom, to pick out of the meager selection that was in the dresser that stood inside.

Meanwhile, Elise preheated the oven, and then dashed out to clean up their mess from the night before. She folded her sleeping bag and stowed it in the corner, and packed most of her things back up, leaving only a set of clothes and her CDs and CD player out.

Belle found a small, almost enclosed area at the end of a hall, and covertly changed clothes. She was fast – it took her barely two minutes to dress. Elise on the other hand, was taking a bit longer. So Belle made due, washing her face and brushing her teeth at the kitchen sink. She even did her make-up there, using her tiny compact mirror.

Eventually, Elise came out. She looked cute, wearing her usual patterned jeans, and matching top.

“Ready?” Belle asked. And at Elise’s nod, Belle ran to the other room to retrieve her CD player and put it on the counter, sticking a CD in, insisting that she never baked without music.

The two set to work, Belle breaking the dough apart and Elise putting it on the cookie sheet. Sometimes, though, even the simplest tasks were confusing, and she didn’t understand when Belle suddenly looked at the sheet like something was wrong with it.

“You need to spread them out,” Belle explained, seeing all the little cookie chunks concentrated to one area of the pan.

Seeing Elise’s bewilderment wasn’t lifting, Belle reached over and organized a row. “Like that.”

Slowly, Elise set to work, fixing the cookies, and feeling oddly overwhelmed by the background music.

Once she had the cookies lined up the way Belle wanted, Elise walked out to the living room, trying to shut out the noise in the other room.

Belle was happily oblivious, as she bent to put the cookies in and set the timer. Only when she turned around did she discover that Elise was no longer there.

Walking into the living room, Belle saw her curled up in the recliner. “Hey, the cookies are baking,” she said softly.

Elise shook her head despondently, without a voice again, and hating it. Helplessly, she covered her ears, not knowing what else to do.

“Okay,” Belle understood, stepping back into the kitchen and turning her CD off.

“Thank you,” Elise mouthed.

Belle crouched in front of the chair. “You’re welcome. You know what?” she asked, taking Elise’s hand in her own. “I’m so blessed to have you as my friend,” Belle told her sincerely.

And Elise didn’t hesitate before reaching out and giving Belle the hug she deserved, for being there in ways no one else had, and helping in ways she couldn’t imagine.