Alone again

Chapter 8

“Oh my God let me get that!!” exclaimed a very petite lady with thick black hair and a heart shaped cat face with a pale complexion grabbed the metal handle that was anchoring the blood bag and the colorless liquid in its other end. I smiled gratefully as we successfully made it down the two flights of dark brown wood steps.

“Why on earth did you try that!!!?”She exclaimed placing a hand on her protruding chest breathing heavier than me.

She was wearing a sleek black dress with a white apron tied round her waist. Her hair held back in a neat tight bun. She placed her slim pale hand on her fore head to clean off invisible sweat whereas I stared at her very amused.

“You seem to have got more out of it than me.” I told her and tried to hold back a snicker.

“Well I wasn’t expecting to see a patient almost doubling over two flights of stairs and getting hit with her own drip. On top of already getting a serious stab wound and an almost cardiac arrest.” she ranted leading me behind the steps down the hall in quite a rush.

I took the time to admire the dark grey carpet covered floors. You couldn’t hear footsteps down here even if you tried. My toes swam in the soft fabric as she led me to a glamorous kitchen.

A sparkling clean white counter top centered in the middle of the large room. Light brown shelves filled with neatly stacked piles of plates hang from the ceiling next to the wall making a perfect ‘L’ round the right corner that was facing me. Underneath a long white table stretched out from the wall in the same order being anchored by matching brown draws underneath.

Miss. Petite scrambled inside to my left and I gasped taking in the sight of the large grey rectangular Fridge that stood before her. It towered her by double her height. She is quite short.

She pried it open and for the first time since we met she smiled with undeniably stunningly white sparkling clean teeth. I need to know her dentist. I need an appointment.

“I am so sorry, I am Delores but you can call me Lola.” She said still smiling at me, “can I make you something to eat? You can seat at the counter.” She said pulling out a small stool. I rolled over and sat on it resting my hands on the counter.

“I am Crystal, Crystal Cane and that would be lovely. I am starving.” I smiled and pushed out the random strands that kept running to my face.

She got out two sandwiches in plastic containers and placed them in a plate she grabbed from the shelves and placed it in a black microwave.

“So how are you doing?” she leaned back and sat across from me.

“Well apart from being very hungry I think I am getting better.” I chuckled remembering how I once woke up in my own bed and when to school normally before this mess happened.

“Do you know how I got here? What exactly happened to me?” I asked looking at her eagerly hoping someone would give me a clear explanation.

At the same time a little beeping sound announced the sandwiches. I jumped a little together with Lola and we both ended up laughing at our jumpiness. She got them out and we sat eating as I waited for her to tell me.

She took a large bite and run to the fridge and pulled out two juice bottles and handed one to me.

“Well what I know is that you were stabbed at school then rushed to the hospital,” she paused getting back to her stool, “you were unconscious for five days...”

“Five days!!”

“Then some creepy guy walks in and tries to kill you with some lethal injection that caused an almost fatal cardiac arrest,” she sighed, “girl you have gone through much more than the soap operas I have watched.”

“Then Felix and his friends Jordan and Blake brought you here to protect you but during the trip upstairs they dropped you and your stitches opened up..” she took in a deep breath and another sip before going on. This must have been tiring.

That explains the blood all over his shirt that day.

“So they called a doctor that fixed you up and Felix stayed up there holding your hand and not eating or taking a bath hoping he would be there when you wake up again.”

She looked up to me and smiled, “you guys are so cute. You are lucky to have him as a boyfriend. He cares about you so much,” I almost fell off the chair. I mean stool.

“Excuse me?” I choked on my own saliva, “we are not together. The guy hates my guts. He shows it all the time.”

“Well you are one beautiful girl with those pink plum lips of yours and gorgeous grey eyes. Damn girl I would kill to have that natural straight blond hair you have!” she said glancing enviously at my hair.

“If my brother doesn’t see that he is the biggest idiot on earth!” she slammed the counter dramatically and cleared always the plate taking it to the sink.

“He is your brother?” I asked very astonished at the lack of resemblance.

“I know... I took more of Mom’s looks than Dad’s. I am her carbon copy while he is more of dad’s.” she shrugged.

“Wow cool.” I told her, ‘why are you dressed like a maid though?” I asked her pointing to the white apron round her waist.

“I was planning to make something to eat then I come across miss damsel in distress so I guess I forgot about It.” she chuckled.

She gives off quite a calm and kind aura. She kept wearing her welcoming grin to me and her brown eyes quite similar to Felix’s were enchanting, luring me in to get to know her.

I heard the slam of a door followed by lots and lots of loud deep shouting.

“The men of the house are home,” she sighed and walked to my side helping me off the stool and handling the metal rode carrying my essentials.

“Let’s get you back to bed now shall we?” she announced sending shivers of disgust down my spine. The room was cosy but suffocating at the same time. If I kept staring at walls all day long I think I would need to go to a mental institution.

“Can I stay down here?” I pleaded, “That room is a prison. I have no idea what day it is. If it is day or night. I feel confined.” I pleaded.

She shrugged.

‘Okay then we can go to my room and talk.” She suggested and I nodded frantically smiling that I already made a new friend.

I wonder how Amy and Luke are.

“So how long have I been here?” I asked as we walked back the way we came.

“Two weeks. I think. You were unconscious for a long while.” she drawled out. The loud voices kept getting louder until we were faced with the back of a familiar broad frame.

Felix.

He was wearing a blue T-shirt that had short sleeves that showed off his very large sized muscles. He had on black loose shorts that reached his knees. I noticed his back muscles tense under the shirt.

“This whole thing doesn’t make sense!!” I heard a familiar voice that I recognize as Felix’s dad said. He was pacing about and none of the guys seemed to hear us approaching.

“First it was Crystal. Twice for that matter and now what could they have possibly wanted from her parents!!!” another voice interrupted. I saw Blake with his back against the large door running his hands furiously through his hair. Not a doubt visibly frustrated.

What... what happened to my parents? I was sacred to think about it. I knew they were fine from the last time I’d heard of them. It has been a while since I have physically seen them of course but they were fine. They still are… I hope.

“The board is gonna question me!!!” Felix’s dad screamed in anger followed by a loud crash of glass. I winced as the sound made its way to my ears but what are they talking about.

“Don’t worry Mr Black we will figure it out.” a calm voice replied and I recognised it as Jordan’s. Unlike the others he was the one with the coolest head. He had his eye brows furrowed and a hand to his chin staring intently at the ground silent looking for a solution to this problem I am oblivious about.

“I don’t know how to handle telling Crystal that her mum and dad are dead...” I heard Mr Black say mournfully. I stood still.

My parents? I pray I heard that completely wrongly. We were in the room now with Lola still supporting the stand and standing by me very silent and visibly shaken by the news herself. Her grip on the stand was so tight her knuckles turned white.

My mum!!

MY dad!!

No no no…

“What do you mean they are dead?!”I asked shouting to get their attention. Lola held me tight and led me to the front door that was opposite where the steps began. We walked toward them and I stared in disbelief.

Blake and Jordan were standing facing me their eyes shocked at seeing me. Felix held his back toward me and I walked as his breathing got rugged and his hands balled up in fists,

Mr Black cussed looking at me sympathy taking over all his features. The image of my mum’s sweet humble face entered my mind and tears flowed down my cheeks as the memories of their comforting hugs after I had another night mare, their soft kisses whenever they had to make long trips rushed back to me.

Each and every time they told me, ‘I love you’ before I went to sleep.

“What… do you mean... they are dead?” I asked. This time it came out as a pleading whisper, begging for it to be one terrible lie. Another bad dream. I grabbed a fist of Felix’s shirt and turned him to face me.

His eyes were staring at the ground and they refused to look up to me.

“Say something!!!” I shouted shaking a fist full of his shirt even if it didn’t do much of making him move.

I turned to Mr Black.

“You must be confused then.” I told him. I walked over to him slowly feeling all the energy supporting me waver with each step.

“Tell me you are confused that it was a mistake.” I pleaded walking toward him. Lola was following me carefully rolling the stand behind me.

Mr Black stared at me his eyes blinking back what I saw was small pools of tears aching to pour out for me. The little orphan teenager.

He reached out a sympathetic hand to my shoulder, “I am so sorry Crystal but they are dead.” I watched as his Adam’s apple jumped up down swallowing lumps in his throat. Lumps that buried themselves in mine as well.

I flinched as his hand almost touched me and he dropped it. The tears became the Niagara pouring out of my heart filled with so much grief the burning sensation in my chest made me feel like I was a bomb ready to explode.

“What happened?” I cried, “What killed them? They were okay. I saw mum. She wasn’t sick. She looked a little off but she was fine,” I said trying to understand how I could lose everything so fast. How it all could have happened without me being there to stop it. My words came out so soft I barely heard myself.

I looked at Blake my face clearly looking for answers.

“What happened?” I looked at him hopelessly, “stop standing there staring at me with pity and tell me what happened?!” I spat. He flinched along with everyone else in the room.

“They were murdered by an animal,” he stated quietly looking at me cautiously approaching me as if I was on a verge of crushing into a thousand pieces. And I was. “The police say it was some sort of carnival that probably escaped from the woods.” He added talking slowly and calmly sending me a silent message to be calm that it will be alright. Will it? Will it really?

Images and loud screams flashed in my mind from that fateful day. Each one painfully slamming in my mind harder than the last. The blood splattered on the glass window. The agonizing screams of pain that had sent shivers down my petit body.

My parents went through it again. A monster ripped them apart. I lost them again.

My knees grew weak and crumbled beneath me. Before my body crushed to the ground I was caught by two muscular arms.

The last thing that stayed in my mind was the yellow eyed monster I had once laid my eyes on before drifting off into the dark engulfing void of hopelessness and grief.