"Are you okay?"
Nobody had asked Marissa how she felt yet. She had been asked hundreds, maybe thousands of questions. But not once had she been asked if she was okay, or if she needed anything. She supposed she couldn't blame Ryan for not thinking to ask her this; she had just shot his brother in the back, but she expected Summer to have been more attentive.
Wow. She was being selfish. For God's sake Marissa, she told herself, Trey could die! Now was not the time to wish for attention. She would probably get plenty of it later, having shot someone and all. The realization of that set in. I just shot someone. Of course she had a reason, he would have killed Ryan, but still, she shot someone.
Ryan was now on the floor. Had he passed out? Was he dead? Marissa thought she was running to him, but when she looked around her, she hadn't seemed to move. Sandy was with Ryan and the policeman was still asking her questions. She wished that he would shut up. The room was spinning as she tried to comprehend exactly what the man was saying to her. Sandy yelled at her not to say anything, Ryan had said that to her earlier. Gosh, that felt like hours ago.
Summer grabbed her by the arm and somehow she ended up in a car. She was brought to a place and was asked more questions. She thought she was going to throw up. Where is Ryan? She remembered something she had said to him over a year ago. 'It's times like these when a girl needs her boyfriend the most.' Well it was times like those and he wasn't there.
Sandy was driving her home. She pressed her forehead against the cool glass of the window and concentrated on breathing. In, out. In, Out. Breathing had never seemed like a chore before. What was happening to her?
Home.
Sandy walked her to the door, where they were met by her mother. Marissa pushed by her into the house, just wanting to get to her bed. Vaguely, as if in a dream, she heard Sandy talking to Julie, explaining everything. She heard her mother gasp and call her name, but she didn't turn around. She found her bed and collapsed.
Hours, it felt like days later, the door to her room creaked open. She felt her bed sag a little as a body laid down on it. She turned to find Ryan lying next to her in the bed.
"Hey," He said, "Are you okay?"
And she was.