Chapter Three
I PROMISE

     Mara was sitting in her car waiting for Eli to come out of the school building. She watched as other students came out and either got on one of the busses or entered cars. She still remembered when she used to take the bus. Her hand unconsciously went up to touch her hair. Bobs were not her thing and she wore her fair share of them during her first years of high school due to annoying kids who enjoyed sticking their bubblegum in her hair.

     She still remembered the kid who sat behind her on the bus. Max Lopez. The kid was a menace. It was like he enjoyed seeing her cut her hair every month. Luckily she wouldn't be seeing him anymore since he transferred to a private school for junior year.

     A loud knock made Mara jump and she looked to the side to see Eli impatiently waiting for her to open the door. Mara immediately knew something was wrong by the look on his face. There were dry tear tracks on his cheeks and his eyes were red and puffy.

     She quickly unlocked the door and Eli slipped into the passenger seat not even looking in her direction.

     "Eli? What happened?" He shook his head and Mara took that as a sign he didn't want to talk about it at that moment. She nodded at him and turned on the ignition before pulling out of the West Valley parking lot.

     The ride to his house was silent. Sometime along the drive, Mara's hand ended up in Eli's lap while said boy clutched onto it strongly. She wanted to know what had happened before they met up. She knew it probably had something to do with Kyler or Brucks since she knew they were his main tormentors. She just didn't want to push the boy. Eli would tell her on his own time. He always did.

     They got to his house and Mara parked her car in his driveway. Eli reluctantly let go of Mara's hand so she could get out of the car but as soon as they started walking to his front door he grabbed it again.

     The two entered his house, kicking off their shoes and heading into the kitchen where Mrs. Moskowitz was baking cookies. "Oh, Mara! It's good to see you dear. How have you been?"

     "I've been good thank you."

     "I made you kids some cookies so you can take some whenever you like."

     Mara nodded and told the two she had to use the bathroom. She already knew her way around their house so she quickly found the bathroom. She closed the door quietly and leaned on the sink. Staring in the mirror, Mara didn't like the girl who looked back at her. Just because she wore different clothes didn't mean the girl underneath had changed. And she hated that.

     She couldn't help that she wanted to look like other girls. Everyone had always told her she had to change to look like them. Even Demetri proved her point when he told her she got "hot" over the summer. Did that mean she was ugly before? Was he just confirming her suspicions that everyone was right and she was just an ugly freak?

     Something wet hit Mara's hand and that's when she realized she was crying. "God, you're such a baby." She turned on the sink and splashed some water on her face. A shout came from the other side of the door and Mara's hand shot out and quickly turned off the sink. Slowly opening the door she hid behind the wall that separated the hall from the kitchen.

     "Just wake up Mom! I'm a freak! I'm never gonna have any other friends besides Demetri and Mara. I'm never gonna get a girlfriend. I'm never gonna be anything other than a kid with a weird lip!"

     Eli stormed away and ran into his bedroom not even noticing Mara standing in the hall. Mara flinched as the boy slammed his door closed. She slowly revealed herself to Mrs. Moskowitz who gave her a sad smile. She nodded her head at Eli's door. "I don't think he likes me much right now. How about you go talk to him?"

     Mara nodded and approached the boy's door. She put her ear to it and from inside she could hear sobs. Sadness clouded her features when she pushed the door open and saw him lying flat on his stomach and heard muffled sobs coming from him. Mara approached him and cautiously put her arms around him holding him to her. He rested his head on her chest and sobbed harder. Her arms squeezed him tighter and she rubbed up and down his back. There was a wet patch on her shirt now but she didn't mind. She just cared about helping the boy feel better.

     "Shhh, everything's gonna be ok. I promise."

     "Everything's gonna be ok, Mara. I promise."

     The girl squeezed her mother's hand from beside her hospital bed. Laura Abrams had been in the hospital for 5 days. The doctors still couldn't tell what was wrong with her.

     She looked behind her and peeked through the window to see her father talking to one of the doctors. He looked stressed. There were visible bags under his eyes and his hair was a tangled mess. It seemed like Mara wasn't the only one not sleeping at night.

     Ryan was asleep in the chair beside her. She was glad he was getting some rest. The boy had been suffering from nightmares and he had missed football practice all week. Mara didn't like seeing her twin upset even if he could be rude to her sometimes. They were only 10 after all. Kids were always rude to their siblings. He would eventually grow out of it.

     Turning back to the hospital bed, Mara wiped a tear that had fallen from her eyes. She didn't know what she would do without her mother. She was her best friend. She felt a hand on her cheek and she looked up to see her mom looking at her with a sad smile.

     "You're gonna be fine, ok? No matter what happens, I want you to remember that I love you. I love you so much." Mara nodded and wiped away her tears.

"Hey, how are my favorite girls doing?" Shane Abrams approached his wife's hospital bed and kissed her cheek. He sat down in the empty seat on Mara's other side and ruffled her hair. "How you doing kiddo? Do you want something from the vending machine?"

Mara shook her head and played with the sleeves of her hoodie. "I just want mom to be ok."

Her father frowned and pulled her into his chest. "I know. I do too. All we can do is not give up hope ok?" He pulled away and kissed her forehead. "I think your friends miss you. I can call Moon's mother and ask if you can speak to her. It might help you feel better."

"No that's ok. I'll see her at school. I just want to take a nap."

He nodded and took off his jacket to place it over her. Shane Abrams couldn't help the sadness that overcame him as he looked at his children sleep. They didn't deserve to go through this. Especially when they were still young.

He pulled his chair closer to the hospital bed and grabbed Laura's hand, placing a kiss on the back of it. She was sleeping now and it only made sense that he got some rest too.

      The three awoke to the sound of rapid beeping and rushing footsteps. The scene in front of them was enough to traumatize them for life. Laura Abrams was convulsing in her bed. Her eyes had rolled to the back of her head and her hand was still tightly clutching her husband's.

     The cries of Mara were echoing throughout the room and only when the doctors pried Laura's hand out of Shane's was he able to rush to his children and turn her away from the gruesome sight. There were tears in his eyes but he couldn't break right now. Not in front of his kids who were hysterical in his arms.

      A long, single beep filled the room and everyone fell into deafening silence. Everyone knew what had just happened yet no one wanted to believe it.

     Laura Abrams was dead.

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     When Eli woke up his room was dark. He must have been asleep for a few hours. He felt a weight on his right arm and looked over to notice Mara had fallen asleep beside him. The events of a few hours ago came flooding back into his mind and he couldn't help but feel embarrassed.

     He's never broken down like that before. At least not in front of her. She probably thought he was more of a baby now. Having to hold him while he cried. He was pathetic.

     Mara stirred beside him and her eyelids slowly fluttered open revealing her beautiful green eyes. Now Eli knew why green was his favorite color.

     "Oh, you're up. Are you feeling better?" Mara wiped the sleep from her eyes and sat up against his headboard.

     Eli nodded. In truth, he did feel a little better. He sat up beside her and leaned his head back against his headboard, closing his eyes. "I'm sorry you had to see me like that."

     "Don't apologize. We all need a little cheering up sometimes. Now come on. I want to eat some of those cookies."

     Eli watched as Mara jumped off his bed and ran to the kitchen. He smiled at the now open door and shook his head. Maybe he didn't need any other friends. As long as he had her he was ok.

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So this was a pretty sad chapter but I wanted you all to know more about Mara's past. RIP Laura Abrams.

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