Clifton was different, to say the least. It seemed to be stuck in the '50s, but that's what I liked about it. Not much had changed since we left, my dad was somewhat better in himself, but that was it. Aisling and I still talked, but I was still upset that she wouldn't meet. How bad could have her stepdad been? He was hardly a murder. I'm was holding out hope that she would come around to the idea.
I was never the shy type I had a lot of friends growing up in my old town, but I struggled to fit in the new school my dad enrolled me in. It was like people knew I came with baggage, so they tried their best to avoid me. I Almost felt invisible at the school, like a ghost haunting the hallways. I was sitting down in the cafeteria when a girl caught my eye. She'd been staring at me since I sat down, so I smiled at her, and before I knew it she was walking over to me.
"Hi, I got some drawings, do you want to see? My name is Eve." " How did you know I'm into drawing?" Eve looked at me and smiled. "I sit behind you in art. I saw you doodling, and they look impressive. You got some talent." I'd be lying if I said, I didn't appreciate the comment. "Nice to meet you. Let's see what you got."
Eve was a welcomed distraction from the way I was feeling. We seemed to have a lot in common, and if it wasn't for Aisling, she would be my type of girl. As the months ticked by, we developed a brother/sister kind of friendship. We became solid best friends, and I could count on her for anything. She helped me a lot with Aisling by giving me a girl's insight. Made me feel better about the relationship.
I was getting the feeling our relationship was after running its course. She was getting distant, even more so than ever. I was starting to lose my patience with her. It was getting to a stage where I could see no reason why we couldn't meet up. I thought it was time I gave her an ultimatum. I loved her with all my heart, but she made it so hard for me. I was even willing to go talk with her stepdad; show him I wasn't a bad kid and that just made her worse.
Aisling rang me out of the blue. She sounded upset and kept saying her stepdad was mad with her and she's scared for her life. I tried my best to calm her down. I told her to go to the police if you feel like you are in danger. She told me she found out something terrible about him but stopped short at saying what it was. I told her I would come and get her, but what she said next sent a chill down my spine. "He will kill you too." And then the phone went dead. I left her off. She knew where I was if she needed me. I had problems of my own and wasn't in the mood for her dramatics.
I met up with Eve in school, and she seemed a lot more upbeat. "You sick or something? I think this is the first time I've seen you smile." "I'm feeling hopeful for the future for once," she said as she skipped down the hall. Eve was a mystery, she never talked about her family. I've never been to her house, to be honest, I didn't know much about her. She keeps this protective barrier up, always. It almost feels like she is in survival mode. Eve's personality didn't match her face. Stunningly beautiful, but shy as a mouse. If she believed in herself, she could rule the world.
Eve could see something was bothering me. I didn't want to burden her with the state of my love life, but she had a way of dragging stuff it out of me. "Has this got something to do with Aisling?" "I don't know what to do with her, I don't think she's interested in me anymore." "To be honest, I don't know why you are so obsessed with her. If she keeps dicking, you around tell you won't take it." Eve was right as always. I knew what I had to do.
Later that evening, I was at home in my room trying to summon the courage to tell Aisling we were done. I didn't want to break up with her, but I was hoping the bluff would work. I tried ringing her phone but got no answer. I tried getting her on the computer, but her profile was deleted. I searched painstakingly through the internet for her. Aisling had completely disappeared. It was as if she never even existed.
Days had passed and still no word from her. So many possibilities crossed my mind. I was so scared for her. What if she was dead? I couldn't stop thinking about what she was saying about her stepdad. What if he'd done something awful to her? Do I go to the police? Or maybe this is her way of letting me down. I felt helpless and scared. If she didn't want me anymore, she could've said and not leave me in the dark like this.
Weeks passed, then months and no word. I stopped hoping and wondering if she would ever talk to me again. I was moving on and put the whole Aisling thing to bed. I had told Eve I was done and that gave me some closure. Later that night I was a but to shut down for the night when a message from Aisling appeared on my phone.