Woah...that's not cereal....
Ten.
Hannah’s POV
We got back to the bus quicker than I wanted. I didn’t know if I would be able to retell the story told to me so long ago. This story to say the least was a really depressing one, it would not doubt make those hard ass Navy Seals cry. We all sat down, and they stared at me waiting for me to speak.
“The story really starts when she was born, and don’t interrupt me, or I will turn this bus around got it!” They all nodded their heads in agreement. “Like I said, it all started when she was born, you all know that her mother was very young, and therefore she was put up for adoption, but what you don’t know is that the Mariano’s wasn’t the first family to adopt her.” I paused trying to regain my thoughts. This is way harder than I thought, and I’m not even to the worst part yet.
“She was actually adopted by a couple in their forties, they couldn’t have children, and shouldn’t have even been allowed to adopt. Anyway, this couple was nothing like they made themselves out to be, the adoption agency thought they were leaving Isabelle in good hands, but they were anything but. They turned out to be underground drug dealers.” I looked at all of their reactions, but I couldn’t tell what any of them were thinking.
“They were cruel and very idiotic people when it came to Isabelle. By the time she was five they had already gotten her hooked to every drug imaginable, causing her small body a lot of withdrawals’ that were hard for her to handle. She was always shaking, and sweating from the symptoms, and felt like she was dehumanized. “This time around I could see horror on all the guys’ faces, but Matt’s was the worst, he looked completely distraught.
“One night her parents went out for a meeting. They were supposed to be back in a couple hours, and they told Isabelle to wait on the stairs facing the door, until they returned. You all know how obedient Isabelle can be, so she did stay there, for three days. It took three days for someone to find out that the couple that died in the car accident had a child. After her parent’s death, she was sent to live with the couple’s son. He following in the footsteps of his parents was also into drugs. He constantly dowsed her up with drugs, and then took them away just to watch her squirm, and scream in pain. After a while he started giving her alcohol adding to her agony.” I held in my tears, I’m just glad they didn’t have to see Isabelle’s face while she was telling the story.
“Pretty soon, he started to beat her on top of treating her like his personal slave. She would get sent to the hospital at least every other day, adults thinking she had some disease from all the discoloration caused from bruising. Her brother was even meaner with this happened. He always yelled at her, saying she was trying to escape. He would tell her his parent’ death was all her fault, and it was no wonder her parents didn’t want her, because she was ugly, and unworthy of human contact. When she turned seven, he started doing something else too. Since she was so young, and never was taught wrong from right, she thought it was perfectly normal. One night he came into her room, and he raped her.” Now all the guys’ had angry looks on their faces, but they didn’t even know the half of it.
“On her eighth birthday her brother took her out, he said he had a surprise for her. They walked down town, and he stopped her on a street corner. He told her to stand there and wait for men to come with money. He said to go with them, and do whatever they asked, and at the end of the day he would pick her up, and collect the money. He made her sell herself, to disgusting pedophile men. Later when she realized what had actually been going on she was appalled at herself for doing all those things. She never once blamed her brother just herself, for being so naïve.” Matt started balling his fist trying to suppress his anger. I never really noticed how much she affected him before.
“On the eve of her ninth birthday he left telling her to have dinner done by the time he got back. Her ribs were broken, and she couldn’t move, so when he came through the door an hour later dinner wasn’t finished. He became enraged and starting throwing punches anywhere he could reach on her. Then he stopped and picked her up by her neck choking her. He then looked at the counter. There was a knife she had been chopping vegetables with on there. He picked it up and held it to her throat. Somehow, she managed to kick him in the shin and they both dropped to the floor. He went after the knife, so Isabelle grabbed it before he could. He jumped on top of her, but suddenly his movements seized, and he fell down beside her. She looked over at him and saw the blood. She accidently stabbed him when he lunged on top of her. “ I had to stop my voice cracking imagining the scene in my head, causing tears to well up in my eyes.
“The next week she was put in a foster home because of his death. The whole next year she was sent back and forth across the country, transferred from home to home, nobody wanted to her because of her troubled past. It was when she was ten, she was sent to a home in Florida. There she was adopted by the Marianos’. They looked beyond her past, and helped her. They gave her a safe home, and provided her with the help she needed. By the time her eleventh birthday rolled around she was completely sober, and nobody could look at her and see her anguish anymore. “At this Johnny wrapped his arm around me to comfort us both.
“She had been home schooled since her brother died. He never allowed her to go to school so she had to catch up. She studied hard, and had passed nine grades in two years. So when they moved back, she registered as a freshman that year at Huntington Beach High School. She was happy that she was back in her home town. She no doubt thought people would not recognize her, it had been so long, and she had changed so much. So, until you guys’ came around she kept to herself, never talking to anyone, and being overlooked. She meant to keep it that way, but her clumsiness caught up to her the day she ran into Matt. She calls it the day her life turned around. She said for the first time ever she felt like she had actual friends, not people who just felt sorry for her. She was happy. Then at the movies, that jerk came along, and messed everything up exposing her secret. She never wanted to be reminded of her past but all those memories came rushing back.” The guys all looked at me, somber looks residing in their eyes.
“She felt traumatized by all the emotions. I guess her father noticed, and that’s why he sent her away. He didn’t want all her hard work to be thrown away. He thought it would help her to leave the place where all the ugliness started. He felt bad having now only realized how nerve-racking it must have been for her to be back in that town. She never actually told him that it probably helped her through more than anything, facing her demons. She moved to her to her uncle’s place in Ohio afterward. She wrote me a letter asking me to not be mad she didn’t say goodbye and telling me not to tell you guys’ where she was. She didn’t want to hurt anybody.” I heard a sign come from Matt, not knowing where she was had probably hurt more, but I somehow knew he understood her intentions.
“She graduated and went to college. She loved baking, and as you saw earlier she decided to go to culinary school. She went there with an open mind determined to not let anything get her down. She was doing a good job too, until one of her new friends invited her to a fraternity party. She went and she ignored the alcohol calling her name, she had remained sober for five years and planned to keep it that way. She started talking to this cute guy, and he offered her a cup saying it was only soda. It turned out to be alcoholic, and had drugged. The next morning she woke up in an alley, naked only remembering some of the horrific details of the night before. Following that, she started using again, and became addicted. “
“One day when she was eighteen, she was watching T.V. getting ready to shoot up when a video came on the screen. The title read: Avenged Sevenfold-“Unholy Confessions.” She started crying and knew she had to change her life around. We hadn’t talked since she started college, so she wrote to me, and asked me to help. I knew she needed me more than ever, so I came to Ohio to help. That’s when you guys’ thought I started college. Anyway, she pulled through stopped the drugs, she said it was nearly impossible for her, it was hard enough the first time, but she knew she desperately need to stop.” Matt now had an unreadable expression on his face. I had to finish the story though.
“She went back to college, finished her degree, and moved to New York. She bought the shop that you saw, and has been great, getting her life back on track, and taking care of herself for once. Every time after that when we came to New York, that’s where I went, to visit her. We’re close, I’m really the only person she talks to, and she socializes even less now. She’s afraid of everything, she tries to hide it but I can see the terror in her eyes whenever a man walks by, she can’t trust anybody anymore. Hence the whole, not being the same person anymore.” There the deed was done, and I couldn’t go back.
“Oh my god,” Jimmy whispered. The rest of the guys’ were silent, no doubt thinking about what I just told them. “I’m sorry to just tell you all, all of this and leave, but I have to go meet Isabelle. I will see you later though, and don’t do anything stupid okay?” I said in a soft voice. They nodded and I left the bus going to meet Isabelle.
We got back to the bus quicker than I wanted. I didn’t know if I would be able to retell the story told to me so long ago. This story to say the least was a really depressing one, it would not doubt make those hard ass Navy Seals cry. We all sat down, and they stared at me waiting for me to speak.
“The story really starts when she was born, and don’t interrupt me, or I will turn this bus around got it!” They all nodded their heads in agreement. “Like I said, it all started when she was born, you all know that her mother was very young, and therefore she was put up for adoption, but what you don’t know is that the Mariano’s wasn’t the first family to adopt her.” I paused trying to regain my thoughts. This is way harder than I thought, and I’m not even to the worst part yet.
“She was actually adopted by a couple in their forties, they couldn’t have children, and shouldn’t have even been allowed to adopt. Anyway, this couple was nothing like they made themselves out to be, the adoption agency thought they were leaving Isabelle in good hands, but they were anything but. They turned out to be underground drug dealers.” I looked at all of their reactions, but I couldn’t tell what any of them were thinking.
“They were cruel and very idiotic people when it came to Isabelle. By the time she was five they had already gotten her hooked to every drug imaginable, causing her small body a lot of withdrawals’ that were hard for her to handle. She was always shaking, and sweating from the symptoms, and felt like she was dehumanized. “This time around I could see horror on all the guys’ faces, but Matt’s was the worst, he looked completely distraught.
“One night her parents went out for a meeting. They were supposed to be back in a couple hours, and they told Isabelle to wait on the stairs facing the door, until they returned. You all know how obedient Isabelle can be, so she did stay there, for three days. It took three days for someone to find out that the couple that died in the car accident had a child. After her parent’s death, she was sent to live with the couple’s son. He following in the footsteps of his parents was also into drugs. He constantly dowsed her up with drugs, and then took them away just to watch her squirm, and scream in pain. After a while he started giving her alcohol adding to her agony.” I held in my tears, I’m just glad they didn’t have to see Isabelle’s face while she was telling the story.
“Pretty soon, he started to beat her on top of treating her like his personal slave. She would get sent to the hospital at least every other day, adults thinking she had some disease from all the discoloration caused from bruising. Her brother was even meaner with this happened. He always yelled at her, saying she was trying to escape. He would tell her his parent’ death was all her fault, and it was no wonder her parents didn’t want her, because she was ugly, and unworthy of human contact. When she turned seven, he started doing something else too. Since she was so young, and never was taught wrong from right, she thought it was perfectly normal. One night he came into her room, and he raped her.” Now all the guys’ had angry looks on their faces, but they didn’t even know the half of it.
“On her eighth birthday her brother took her out, he said he had a surprise for her. They walked down town, and he stopped her on a street corner. He told her to stand there and wait for men to come with money. He said to go with them, and do whatever they asked, and at the end of the day he would pick her up, and collect the money. He made her sell herself, to disgusting pedophile men. Later when she realized what had actually been going on she was appalled at herself for doing all those things. She never once blamed her brother just herself, for being so naïve.” Matt started balling his fist trying to suppress his anger. I never really noticed how much she affected him before.
“On the eve of her ninth birthday he left telling her to have dinner done by the time he got back. Her ribs were broken, and she couldn’t move, so when he came through the door an hour later dinner wasn’t finished. He became enraged and starting throwing punches anywhere he could reach on her. Then he stopped and picked her up by her neck choking her. He then looked at the counter. There was a knife she had been chopping vegetables with on there. He picked it up and held it to her throat. Somehow, she managed to kick him in the shin and they both dropped to the floor. He went after the knife, so Isabelle grabbed it before he could. He jumped on top of her, but suddenly his movements seized, and he fell down beside her. She looked over at him and saw the blood. She accidently stabbed him when he lunged on top of her. “ I had to stop my voice cracking imagining the scene in my head, causing tears to well up in my eyes.
“The next week she was put in a foster home because of his death. The whole next year she was sent back and forth across the country, transferred from home to home, nobody wanted to her because of her troubled past. It was when she was ten, she was sent to a home in Florida. There she was adopted by the Marianos’. They looked beyond her past, and helped her. They gave her a safe home, and provided her with the help she needed. By the time her eleventh birthday rolled around she was completely sober, and nobody could look at her and see her anguish anymore. “At this Johnny wrapped his arm around me to comfort us both.
“She had been home schooled since her brother died. He never allowed her to go to school so she had to catch up. She studied hard, and had passed nine grades in two years. So when they moved back, she registered as a freshman that year at Huntington Beach High School. She was happy that she was back in her home town. She no doubt thought people would not recognize her, it had been so long, and she had changed so much. So, until you guys’ came around she kept to herself, never talking to anyone, and being overlooked. She meant to keep it that way, but her clumsiness caught up to her the day she ran into Matt. She calls it the day her life turned around. She said for the first time ever she felt like she had actual friends, not people who just felt sorry for her. She was happy. Then at the movies, that jerk came along, and messed everything up exposing her secret. She never wanted to be reminded of her past but all those memories came rushing back.” The guys all looked at me, somber looks residing in their eyes.
“She felt traumatized by all the emotions. I guess her father noticed, and that’s why he sent her away. He didn’t want all her hard work to be thrown away. He thought it would help her to leave the place where all the ugliness started. He felt bad having now only realized how nerve-racking it must have been for her to be back in that town. She never actually told him that it probably helped her through more than anything, facing her demons. She moved to her to her uncle’s place in Ohio afterward. She wrote me a letter asking me to not be mad she didn’t say goodbye and telling me not to tell you guys’ where she was. She didn’t want to hurt anybody.” I heard a sign come from Matt, not knowing where she was had probably hurt more, but I somehow knew he understood her intentions.
“She graduated and went to college. She loved baking, and as you saw earlier she decided to go to culinary school. She went there with an open mind determined to not let anything get her down. She was doing a good job too, until one of her new friends invited her to a fraternity party. She went and she ignored the alcohol calling her name, she had remained sober for five years and planned to keep it that way. She started talking to this cute guy, and he offered her a cup saying it was only soda. It turned out to be alcoholic, and had drugged. The next morning she woke up in an alley, naked only remembering some of the horrific details of the night before. Following that, she started using again, and became addicted. “
“One day when she was eighteen, she was watching T.V. getting ready to shoot up when a video came on the screen. The title read: Avenged Sevenfold-“Unholy Confessions.” She started crying and knew she had to change her life around. We hadn’t talked since she started college, so she wrote to me, and asked me to help. I knew she needed me more than ever, so I came to Ohio to help. That’s when you guys’ thought I started college. Anyway, she pulled through stopped the drugs, she said it was nearly impossible for her, it was hard enough the first time, but she knew she desperately need to stop.” Matt now had an unreadable expression on his face. I had to finish the story though.
“She went back to college, finished her degree, and moved to New York. She bought the shop that you saw, and has been great, getting her life back on track, and taking care of herself for once. Every time after that when we came to New York, that’s where I went, to visit her. We’re close, I’m really the only person she talks to, and she socializes even less now. She’s afraid of everything, she tries to hide it but I can see the terror in her eyes whenever a man walks by, she can’t trust anybody anymore. Hence the whole, not being the same person anymore.” There the deed was done, and I couldn’t go back.
“Oh my god,” Jimmy whispered. The rest of the guys’ were silent, no doubt thinking about what I just told them. “I’m sorry to just tell you all, all of this and leave, but I have to go meet Isabelle. I will see you later though, and don’t do anything stupid okay?” I said in a soft voice. They nodded and I left the bus going to meet Isabelle.