Innocence Lost

"Daisy, why do people have to move away from their best friend?" the small face looked at me. His large brown eyes had little tears forming in them. He ran his small hand over his eyes.

Sighing, I picked up the small body and watched him wave at the truck. The little girl was looking out the back window. Her blonde curls were becoming more noticeable as she turned around in her seat. The small boys' eyes met mine, "Brandon, it's hard to say. Sometimes mommy's and daddy's just want to live somewhere else, and their kids have to go with them. You know though, Molly will always be your best friend. She will always love you. Just like I do!"

He kissed my cheek, "I love you Daisy. You're my new best friend."

"I love you to Brandon, you're my best friend too sugar bear. Do you wanna go and pick up your room? I bet if you get it extra clean mama will let you have a cookie before dinner!"

He smiled and clapped his hands. Setting him down his little legs carried him off inside. I followed behind slowly, looking down at the broken path. Once inside the smell of pot roast hit my nose, "Hey Aunt Tracey. I promised Brandon that if he got his room extra clean he could have one cookie before dinner. Is that cool? It was the only way I could distract him from Molly. Poor kid just lost his best friend. Must be heartbreaking."

She just smiled her sweet aunt smile, "Are you staying for dinner?"

"For some reason I don't think that was your actual question. But I would love to, want me to call mom and ask if her and dad wanna come over too?" My feet swung from the ground as I sat on the stool.

Tracey smiled, "That would be wonderful. And Daisy, don't you remember Elliot? You were what, seven when he left?"

"Eight. Eight years ago. He left eight years ago. We lost touch. I do remember, he was my best friend. We would have sleep overs, and he would play dolls with me. Ha, I remember this one time: Elliot and I were at the park before he left, and these two boys came up and took my stuffed dog that he had given me. They threw it up in a tree and I started crying, Elliot climbed the tree and got a cut, but he saved the dog. Then beat the two boys up. Such a strong ten year old. Then the next day he left. And I cried. For days," picking at the white nail polish on my nails, I looked up at my aunt.

She smiled at me, "He was such a sweet boy, terrible what happened to his parents though. Horrible, horrible."

The phone rang, "Hello?"

"Hey Daisy. It's mom. Let Aunt Tracey know we will be over shortly. I was planning on coming to pick you up, then I realized it was Friday night meaning pot roast. I hope she doesn't mind. Love you, bye," the phone clicked off.

"Huh, guess mom was on her way. But yeah, it was horrible. I can't remember everything exactly, but I remember he said there was blood. Mom finally told me what happened last year. But I had already googled it. I wanted to throw up," the room became quiet. Looking at the window I sighed. My aunt had turned back to cooking.

Standing, I took myself to the bathroom. Shutting the pale white door, my body shook. The room became a blur, sitting down inside the bathtub, I brought my knees to my chest. 'Elliot, I remember you. You were the first guy to kiss me. You were my first kiss. And my first love. I was only Eight when you left, but that doesn't mean it wasn't love. You were there to hold me while I cried. You scared the monsters away. You were my knight in glistening armor. I miss you so much Elliot. You never leave my mind. I have hopes that one day we will see each other again.' Staring down at my leg, I pulled the pant leg down more. The scars were showing. The scars of my hatred.

"Daisy, sweetheart, dinner is ready. If you are going to eat come out."

Standing up, I fixed my makeup, opened the door, and went out to dinner, 'Just another night. Another night of faking my smile, that is until I can take the bite of the blade once more.'