• {Shadows fill and empty heart
    As love is fading
    All the things that we are
    Are not saying}


    It was raining in Seattle, and just like any other rainy day Vanessa was sitting inside next to her bay window on the window seat she had installed when she and her best friend moved there three years ago. ‘Has it really been that long?’ The though entered her mind as fast as a tornado can strike. Within seconds her mind wondered to a not so distant past that she didn’t really want to remember.

    ‘It was raining and she was running. Her mouth was bleeding like she had been hit and her arms and legs were bruised. The only thing hiding her body from the views of those around her was a blood stained white towel that was wrapped around her. Holding it up with both arms she was frantically running through the forest; the only place in this stupid town where she could get some peace and escape from the reality that had plagued her since the first day she was beaten. And like every other time, he was drunk.
    ‘Not paying attention to where she was going and what was beneath her bare feet she tripped over an uncovered root that went to one of the largest trees in the forest; the great Burch. It was her only companion when this happened. She started to get up but was bruised to badly and couldn’t. That’s when her worst nightmare happed. She was raped. Violently and relentlessly she couldn’t push him off and was nearly killed. He stopped when he heard police sirens. He ran away and she never saw him again. Last she remembered before fainting was men hovering over her telling her that she would be okay. The next day she woke up in a hospital with wires attached to her and a blood transfusion still in her arm.’

    “And then I came here, to Seattle, with my best friend.” Vanessa whispered to herself and absent mindedly whipped tears off of her face. She put the book she was reading down and got up off of the cushioned seat and went to the kitchen.
    “Hey Amber.” Vanessa said to her friend that was occupying the coffee maker.
    The girl with long black hair looked up and smiled at her friend. “Hey V. What’s up?”
    “I was just thinking,” She started and paused a moment to look out of the window, but turned back to her friend and finished, “Ya know, about what happed three years ago.”
    The girl named Amber sighed and went back to the coffee, though she still offered her friend some advice.
    “I told you a thousand times Vanessa. You need to try to move passed that. He was an a** whole and even worse when he was drunk. It wasn’t your fault he had anger issues and took it out on you. You’re worth more than he will ever know or gets to know. The problem with guys that treat you right is that there hard to come by. It just be so much easier if they had a ‘build your own boyfriend’ booth at the mall. We could customize a guy just for you. He wouldn’t be an a** and would appreciate you for who you are. But seriously, if I’m going to continue to live under the same roof as you, you need to at least try to put this behind you. Ok?”
    “Your right. I dwell too much on the past sometimes. I just need to put it all behind me and move on. Even though it’s probably the hardest thing for me to get over, with my fear of men and all.” Vanessa replied to her sometimes brutally honest friend.”
    “And that’s why you have me.” Amber smiled and the pair started cracking up.
    “Friends forever!” Vanessa yelled, “Forever!” and Amber chimed in walking over to her friend and hugged her.