It's at nine years old where a lot of weird things happen. Girls suddenly grow taller. Kids start to break into more groups. Losers become more defined. Kids attitudes change and parents react. 

The thing that happened when I was nine was that I was first slapped so hard that it left a black eye. it wasn't even prompted. When I got to school the next day I had to lie and say I fell as if my uncle wasn't drunk the night prior. It was a strange occurrence that became much more frequent by the months. Danielle would always watch, a despairing look on her face.

I started seeing her as my mother despite the fact that sometimes she would give me a good smack out of frustration. She was better than my uncle. And she always smiled if I called her my mom. Even more so when Luddy did too.

We were a happy family when my uncle wasn't there. Each day, I asked silently why Danielle stayed with him. On the really bad nights I wished for Danielle to take Luddy and I and run away from him.

Life at school was better. Toni and I were two peas in a pod. There were few times that we were separated for any reason. It was mostly petty fights you'd see in cartoons. It was during one of those that we met Francis. He was bold type of kid.

You know, the type we made fun of.

He walked up to us and simply said, "I have snacks."

"Are you bribing us?" I said.

"No," He frowned. "my mom said that was a good way to make friends." He was overly honest having been a sheltered kid.

"Depends, what kind of snacks?" Toni asked.

"Goldfish."

"Welcome to our club then!" Toni grinned and pointed to the one empty chair at our table.

From then on, we were the best of friends.

That was the only good thing to happen for the next few years. Those years were all the same. The only thing that changed was the abuse. It got worse. Of course, I'm skipping it because it's not a time I like to remember.

Except this one instance.

The damn bastard I call my uncle broke so many bones in my body, I was in the hospital for a week. I shared a room with a girl named Eliza. She the most beautiful hair. It was brown but it glowed despite that. Her eyes weren't emeralds, they were portals to a field. She wore these tubes in her nose to help her breath. I never liked them because they obstructed her beauty. 

We became good friends in the week I was there. Late night talks were the main event where we would imagine the world with flying cars and dogs with helmets. We were naive kids wanting more than the life we lived. We never truly told each other why we were in the hospital. We just accepted the fact that we were here and we were living. It's a type of optimism that people yearn for as they get older. I'm no exception. 

We were almost living two lives. It depended on whether family was there or not. It was rare to see them out of the hospital because of Eliza's condition the term 'visiting hours' didn't apply to them. 

On my last night our conversation took a turn. Her family had gone home because of her insistence to get sleep. The tone wasn't the usual imaginative fun tone as before.  

"I wonder if my parents would let you come over to my house." She said once the lights were out. "It would be cool to show you all my games."

"If they say yes, then I might just explode with happiness." I smiled at her despite the fact that she couldn't quite see it. 

"I would too." She struggled a giggle out. Her breathing was off as if she was slowly being drowned by the air going in and out. She took deep breaths to even it out. "I wish it could happen."

"But it definitely will." I assured her.

"Maybe." She heaved. "I'm glad I met you." 

"I'm glad I met you too." I could feel the weak smile she flashed. It disappeared quick because her breathing became heaving. Her monitor was going off sporadically. "Help!" I screamed as loud as my lungs could take. A nurse came rushing in. The lights flashed on and she ran over to Eliza. 

More nurses rushed in and they did all kinds of things to Eliza. Soon enough, she was being rolled out of the room. I stayed staring at her spot while a nurse tried to console me. I didn't hear a word of what she said. I just remember my thoughts of pure fear. 

I didn't see Eliza the next day nor the day after that. I never saw her again.