CHAPTER 3

Hackney, East London

Inside a modern-looking mansion, a woman was busy decluttering stuff inside a closet when she saw an old box sitting neatly under the clothes.

Her eyebrows furrowed trying to remember what's inside it. She picked it up gently and placed it on the bed. Slowly she opened the cover of the box revealing several things.

A pink bracelet with the letter T on it, a smiley emoji pin, several scented letters, an empty candy wrapper and pictures. A wave of memories suddenly flooded her thoughts, a painful memory she tried so hard to forget fifteen years ago.

It was a dewy morning. The mist from the outside blurred the window glass. The bird chirped and the golden rays of sun shone 

“Hey, I’ve packed some stuff for our outreach program this weekend. I hope you already contacted our volunteers,” Bridgette cheerfully said to her best friend Trina on the phone. She placed the phone between her ears and left shoulder so she could pack the school supplies and food they’re supposed to donate for the upcoming activity of their foundation.

"Do you mind coming over? She sobbed, using a pitiful tone in an attempt to persuade Trina to lend a hand with the packing. She knew her best friend was busy watching animes again as she heard the sound of her betamax in the background

When she finally convinced her best friend to come over, her face lit up. “Great! Then he hung up the phone and continued putting the school supplies and packed food in a brown paper bag. Spread Smiles is the name of their foundation, which she affixes to the outside of the bag. Children from low-income families will benefit from this program. This weekend, they were planning to open a brand-new school specifically for them.

After an hour Trina arrived. She was escorted by their bodyguards.

"Miss Bridgette, your friend Miss Trina has arrived," a muffled voice outside my bedroom door says.

“Let her in!” she shouted. Her bedroom isn’t locked so Trina was able to come in.

Trina was greeted with a lot of brown paper bags, piles of school supplies, and empty boxes in Bridgette’s room scattered all over the floor. She looked for her best friend in her pink princess bedroom and she found her behind those boxes sticking some sort of notes on each paper bag.

“Hey girl!” Trina said, greeting her best friend with a hug. “You know, I will never get used to these creepy bodyguards. They give me goosebumps every time,” she stated.

Bridgette hugged her back and sighed. “I know. I hate seeing them here too. I feel like I’m in some sort of prison.”

Trina began helping Bridgette pack. She starts with arranging the scattered school supplies by item.

“Why do you have bodyguards anyway? Dad is also a businessman, but he never needed one. He only has his trusted driver, Chester.”

Bridgette pondered what her best friend had just said for a moment. She realized she had been hiding his father’s real identity from her.

She gave her an awkward laugh. “Oh, uh– because I’m too valuable for him? He has to treasure her only daughter, right? Ha-ha! ” Once again, she lied. Bridgette can’t afford to tell Trina the truth. She might lose her best friend, her only friend.

His father is wary of having too many visitors to their home. They have the potential to jeopardize his company's operations. In fact, this is the very reason why his father doesn't want her to have many close friends. Only Trina's tenacity allowed her to make friends with her.

"Oh, princess, you're speaking only for yourself, aren't you?" Trina teased and laughed at her own joke.

“Bow down to your princess,” Bridgette said after sitting on her pink, fluffy chair acting like a real princess and commanding Trina to bow down at her.

"Oh yeah, a princess who couldn't afford a piece of candy," Trina added in a teasing voice.

Bridgette threw a pink pillow at her. "Are you really going to remind me of it again? Well, I'm glad I lost my wallet that day. If not I wouldn't have met you," she smiled reminiscing the first time they met.

"Hey, best friends forever, okay?" Trina said with a teary eye.

"Whatever happens. No one can take us apart. Except death," Bridgette added and they locked fingers to do their friendship handshake.

Trina hugged Bridgette tightly. "I-I can't breathe! Are you trying to end our friendship?"

She released her from her bear hug.

"No. I just love you so much, you pretty thing."

"No, I love you."

"I love you most."

"I love you mostest most."

"That's not even a word Trina." The two burst out laughing because of their crazy banter but it soon ended when they heard an unearthly cry followed by a gunshot echoing throughout the house. Trina and Bridget froze for a second.

“W-What was that?” Trina nervously said. Her entire body was shaking in fear as she hid behind Bridgette.

Bridgette was already aware of the source of the noise. His father had murdered someone yet again. Probably about his ties to the syndicates again, but she pretended to be innocent by looking scared as well.

“I-I d-don’t know. I think it came from the o-other side of the street, Bridgette pretended to be nervous. She made her voice shaky.

But, as soon as they heard running footsteps outside the door, Bridgette's days of hiding out from her best friend were over. When his bedroom door swung open, one of his bodyguards yelled, “Miss Bridgette, Miss Trina please come with us! Hurry up!”

After realizing what was going on, Bridgette quickly grabbed Trina's hand and pulled her along as they fled the room. In order to protect them from any possible bullets, they had three bodyguards running alongside them at all times until they reached a black van.

“Bridgette! Thank goodness you’re safe, ” his father exclaimed, hugging her after they were all seated. He also nodded at Trina acknowledging her as well. The van left as soon as they got in.

“W-What’s happening, dad?!” Bridgette asked while trying to catch her breath. Trina was also panting while trying to stick her face in the window to see what was going on outside. She discovered several men in black are trying to fire guns at them. It looks like they’re inside a bulletproof van as no bullets can penetrate inside but Trina was still shocked.

“A syndicate group found our house. They wanted to extort money from me so they attacked our mansion to scare me. They were also planning to take you as a hostage. Luckily, my men got you before they did. I feel so relieved,” says Lewis Dawson, his father.

While they were talking, they both heard sobs, it was Trina bawling her eyes out. She was terrified by what she just witnessed.

When she reached out to hold Trina's hand and say her name," Trina quickly yanked her hand back. Her best friend's reaction surprised Bridgette.

"Trina, let me explain," Bridgette was attempting to keep her tears in check as she spoke. To avoid Bridgettes's pitiful gaze, Trina kept her distance by looking out the window.

“Why did you have to hide this thing from me, Bridgette? Why did you have to lie? Five years of friendship. Doesn’t it mean anything to you?!” Trina felt dejected and betrayed.

Bridgette was about to speak when his father interjected, “Trina, no one should know about this. Your family might get in trouble too, he said.

Mr. Dawson's words struck fear in Trina's heart. She even backed up a few centimeters from them.

“Dad! Stop it! Stop this! None of this will happen if you stopped being greedy! ” Bridgette screamed angrily.

Before his father could even say anything, the van came to a complete stop. Trina peered out the window as the van came to a halt in front of their home. Trina's fear washed away with a wave of relief upon seeing it.

The other guards inside the van checked the area first. Looks like they’re not being chased anymore.

She tried to hold Trina's hand before she got out of the van, but Trina got out quickly. There is only one thing that Bridgette can do while Trina runs inside their house, watch her walk away from her, and probably from their friendship forever. Almost to the door, she fell down. Blood started to come out of her head. She was shot dead. She wanted to run to her but her father commanded the chauffeur to drive away from the scene. That was the last time Bridgette saw her friend.

After what happened, Bridgette loathed her father even more. She stopped talking to him and avoided him at all costs. The death of her one and only friend shattered her heart. Good thing her father was able to silence the media about what happened to Trina and the involvement of her family with her death. She had to endure living with him because she's only fifteen years old. She couldn't do much.

Bridgette didn't realize tears had already fallen from her eyes. She took the pink bracelet. It was their friendship bracelet. She tied it on her bag and decided to carry it with her anywhere she will go from now on just like carrying her best friend's memory with her in her heart.