Paradisal Tragedy Read Online Free PDF Page A

communicate with people; she tended to stay to herself, especially when it came to people of the opposite sex. They were animals, right?
    So why couldn’t she will herself to leave the park.
    “Why did you move here?” Travis asked, sitting next to her on the bench.
    Annabella began to fidget with her oversized sweater. She was hurt in the most violent and horrible way. That’s why she moved here. How could she possibly tell that to anyone – a stranger no less?
    “Personal reasons,” Annabella said softly, trying anything to get him to leave. She couldn’t handle someone being so close to her. In fact, she hated it. Putting space between them, Annabella got off of the bench and began to pace back and forth. “I’m not sure I’m comfortable sharing with a stranger.”
    “I’m Travis,” he introduced himself, offering her a hand. “What’s your name?”
    “Annabella.”
    “See, now we don’t have to be strangers anymore, so what kind of personal reasons?” Travis asked. He was surprised how interested he was in her. She seemed different, she didn’t throw herself at him, and he liked that. There hadn’t been a girl he met who hadn’t crushed on him in such a long time. Or maybe that was just his cockiness.
    “My dad got a job offer. It was better than the one he’d had in Tampa, plus my parents thought it would be better for me.” She finally stated, not entirely sure why she was revealing all of this to a stranger.
    “Better for you how?” Travis asked. Annabella was almost grateful when her phone began to ring in her pocket. When she looked at the caller ID, a picture of her best friend from Tampa appeared. Aubrey.
    “I’ll let you get that. Again, I’m really sorry for all the things I said, and I hope to see you around,” Travis admitted. Before he could stop himself, he was gone.
    “Hello?” Annabella answered, not wanting to face anything in her past.
    “It’s about time you answered. It’s been weeks since you’ve called,” Aubrey hissed at her harshly.
    Annabella and Aubrey met when they were six, and they always had the exact same classes all throughout grade school. They were each other’s wing-girl in time of need. They shared everything together, until recently when Annabella began shutting everyone out, especially her best friend.
    “I’m sorry Aubrey. I’ve just been busy getting settled,” Annabella lied. She couldn’t face the wrath of her best friend right now. She wanted more than anything to tell her everything, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it.
    “It’s okay; I’ve just been so worried about you Bell. You’re my best friend one day, then the next you’re a completely different person,” Aubrey observed sadly. She missed her friend, in every sense of the word.
    Aubrey had been the first person to notice her change. She stopped hanging out, she always skipped lunch, and she even stopped responding to the texts Aubrey sent her a million times a day. She called her out on it one day, telling her that she needed to get her act together before she destroyed everything good in her life, but Annabella just didn’t care.
    “I know that, and I’m sorry, but I’m okay. I promise,” Annabella tried to sound happy, but the crack in her voice said otherwise. Lucky for her, Aubrey didn’t notice
    “I miss you so much, so many things have happened, and you’re just not here to share them.
    “I miss you too. I wish you could come visit,” Annabella said honestly. And she meant it. Maybe not anytime soon – she still wasn’t ready to face her – but she did want to see her friend. As much as she hated the thought of ever going back to her hometown, she missed her friends. She had no one in Chandler and that made everything worse. It was her own fault in a way; she was the one who chose not to go to a public school to finish up high school. She took the online route and graduated almost two months earlier than the public system did.
    “Me