TL- One of the Stars, a general hospital fanfic

TL- One of the Stars

*AU short story written for creative writing class.

Prologue:

I could feel my fingers tighten around the rusty handle of the old lantern. The footsteps had disappeared and my heart was racing as I tried my hardest to find out where she had gone. There was no way she could have just disappeared into thin air.

Suddenly, there was a loud thud and I could see at the top of the hill that began a few feet away, a hand was hanging down. My breath caught in my throat and I dropped the lantern to the ground, not paying attention to anything but that hand.

"Maddie!" I screamed, climbing the steep hill as quickly as I could. My foot slid, but I dug my fingernails into the dirt and pulled myself back up. "Maddie!" I ran to where she was and saw the lifeless look on her face and knew that I was too late.

I couldn't save her.

I felt the tears well up in my eyes as I looked down at her and brushed a piece of hair behind her ear. I pressed my fingers to her neck to confirm that she was gone; unsurprisingly, there was no pulse.

A set of fingernails dug into my shoulder and the panic set in. I flung my arm back, knocking the person down the hill. It wasn't until then that I saw the fire that my dropped lantern had started.

Chapter 1:

The sun was just setting when I walked into the front door of my family's home. The gentle light spilled into the living room from one of the windows and I couldn't help but smile; Mom always loved sunsets, but not nearly as much as she loved the stars.

The heavy footsteps behind me told me that my father had entered the house. I turned to look at him, really look at him, and I couldn't believe how much he had changed in the past couple of months. My father had never been a man of many words, but he was caring and loving and he would do anything for his family. His face was hard, but his stone cold blue eyes were gentle and there were crinkles around the corners from the years of smiling. I realized I hadn't seen him smile since Mom passed away.

"I can't believe high school is finally over," My younger sister Madelyn stated as she came in and plopped down on the couch. Maddie is the type of person everyone should strive to be. She is effortlessly pretty, though there isn't really anything too outstanding about her, but her heart is what makes her so memorable. She had changed too in the past couple of months; the light in her eyes wasn't as bright as it had been and I know that definitely has to do with losing Mom.

My younger brother and Maddie's twin brother, Gabriel, came in next. Like Dad, he isn't big on talking about his feelings, but he will solve anyone else's problems before even considering his own. Gabe is the best person to have on your side in a crisis, which he had definitely proved since Mom's death.

"But now you can finally start college and get away from home," I reminded her. "No one wants to stay in Bakersfield their entire lives."

While our small town of Bakersfield is nice, it is the type of place where everybody knows everybody. The pitiful stares everywhere we went were definitely getting old.

"Your mom would have loved to see the two of you graduate," Dad said to the twins. Maddie bit her bottom lip, a telltale sign that she was struggling to keep her emotions in check. Gabe just nodded his head.

"We would have loved for her to be there," he replied. "I'm going upstairs." The stairs creaked under his weight as he disappeared in the direction of his bedroom.

"Are you girls all packed?" Dad quizzed. I know that he genuinely cares, but part of this is just keeping up appearances. Dad has pretty much checked out ever since Mom's death.

"I've been packed for a week now," Maddie responded. "What about you, Emma?"

"I'm all ready to go," I answered. "We're leaving tomorrow morning," I informed my father so he didn't have to ask that question.

"And where are you staying again?"

"In a cabin that Chloe found. It's going to be a lot of fun."

Dad nodded. "Alright. I'll be in my office if you need anything."

Unsurprisingly, Dad had been burying himself in his work to keep busy. I guess that is easier than to feel the pain, but I would rather just grieve and be able to come to terms with this whole situation than bottle it up inside of me like Dad and Maddie seem to be doing.

My phone rang and I glanced down at the screen to see my best friend's name pop up. I answered and put it on speaker. "Hey Chloe."

"Hi, Chloe," Maddie greeted.

"Hey guys," Chloe Hunter called out in her unusually loud voice. Her voice is part of the reason she gets so much attention since she practically demands it, and the other reason is because of how gorgeous she is. Chloe is the type of girl that you can't help but stare at because they are so pretty, but luckily, I have gotten used to it in the fifteen years we have been best friends.

"What's going on?" I wondered.

"I'm just finishing up some last minute packing. How many bags do you guys have? Do you think three is too many?"

Chloe is an avid shopper and she has more pairs of shoes than she does underwear, so this didn't surprise me at all.

"Three is definitely too many. I have one," Maddie chimed in.

"Yeah, you need to narrow it down. You won't need any heels so get rid of your shoe suitcase."

Chloe laughed. "You know me so well, Emma. Anyway, everything is still good for the trip, right? Your dad is cool with it?"

I frowned even though she couldn't see me. "Why wouldn't he be?"

"I don't know, there's just a lot going on right now with everything that happened."

"He's fine with it. He thinks it's good that we're getting away from Bakersfield for a little while."

"It is. I don't know how you guys just listen to everyone constantly apologizing for your loss and telling random stories about your mom like they actually knew her. I mean I know it's the nice thing to do, but still, I doubt you want to talk about it every single day."

Maddie and I shared a look and I know that we both agreed with what Chloe was saying. We loved Mom, we still love Mom, but it would be nice if everyone could stop talking about her for five seconds so we can actually try to move on.

"I'm just so excited to get away," Maddie finally said.

A sigh could be heard from Chloe's end of the phone. "I gotta go, my mom is yelling for me. See you in the morning!"

"See ya," I ended the call. When I looked up at Maddie, she had a faraway look in her eyes. It was almost as if her body was there, but she wasn't. "Mads?"

"Huh?" she snapped out of the trance she was in. "I'm going to go double-check that I have everything."

"Okay," I watched her until she disappeared up the stairs.

It is obvious that Maddie hasn't really been herself lately. Hopefully, this trip can bring her back because I really miss my sister.

Chapter 2:

"Wake up!"

I opened up my eyes at the sudden voice and saw a flash of brown hair before I was jumped on.

"Come on, Emma! It's time to go!"

I instantly recognized Mia's voice even in my half asleep state. Mia is Maddie's best friend, and I'm pretty sure that she and Gabe had something going on for a little while. Despite being best friends, she is the polar opposite of Maddie. Mia is opinionated, confrontational, passionate, and willing to do anything to have fun. She can be a handful, but we have all gotten used to it.

"Get off," I shoved her to the side and sat up. "What time is it?"

"A little after ten. Come on, Maddie, Chloe, and the Princess are already getting their stuff in the car."

'The Princess' is my cousin, Paige. She and Mia have never really seen eye-to-eye on things, mostly because Mia has a very in your face approach to life and Paige is the exact opposite. Paige is the motherly one of our group and she always tries to take care of everybody else.

"Let me get dressed," I told Mia.

"I'll take your bag down," she grabbed my suitcase and walked out of the room, shutting the door loudly behind her.

I stood up slowly, instantly missing the comfort of my queen-sized bed. I stretched my arms high above my head as I walked into my closet to pick out an outfit. I settled on a pair of jean shorts, a plain black tank top, and black flip flops. It didn't take long to changed and I decided to skip the makeup for the day.

As soon as I left my room, I saw Gabe exiting his. His dark hair was suspiciously smoothed down for having just woken up and I hid my smile; clearly he is trying to impress someone.

"Morning, Em," he greeted.

"Good morning. The girls are here, so we'll be leaving soon."

"Oh, are they? I didn't even notice. Mia and Chloe must be outside because I didn't hear either of them practically screaming."

I rolled my eyes. "Gabe, why is your hair already done if you just woke up?"

He ignored me and just went downstairs. I laughed and followed after him. Maddie, Chloe, and Mia were all sitting at the dining room table while Paige flipped pancakes.

"Wow, P. Breakfast?" Gabe walked by and tried to pick up a pancake, causing Paige to slap his hand. He went over and sat next to Maddie.

"We have to be there to check-in by noon and it's an hour drive," Chloe reminded us even though her attention was more on her phone than the people around her.

"Okay, Mom," Mia teased. "You almost done, Snow White?"

Paige brought over a plate of pancakes. "You could try saying thank you sometime."

"I could," Mia agreed, but made no move to do so.

"Thank you, Paige," I said to try to remove some of the tension in the room. I started to hand out pancakes to everyone. "The two of you really need to get along this weekend."

"I have no problem with that," Paige said condescendingly.

Mia smiled at her sarcastically. "I always get along with everyone."

"Aright, you guys seriously need to shut up and eat because we need to go," Chloe interrupted. She tossed her long, blonde hair over her shoulder to avoid getting syrup in it and started to eat.

The rest of us followed Chloe's lead as we joked around and talked about everything we want to do this weekend.

"You girls better go if you're going to make it on time," Dad informed us as he came in the backdoor.

"Thank you, I've been saying that for the past twenty minutes," Chloe huffed. She loudly slid her chair out and put her plate in the sink.

"I'll clean up. Go ahead and go," Dad urged.

"Bye Daddy," I hugged him tightly. I felt him press a kiss to the top of my head and instantly relaxed. This felt just like when I was a little kid and I would sit on Dad's lap while Mom read us stories. The familiarity of it all almost made me want to stay, but then I remembered that things have changed and Mom is gone and I need to go.

"I love you," he whispered into my hair.

"I love you, too."

As I pulled away, Maddie took my place. I turned to Gabe and smiled. "Try not to miss me too much."

"I won't have to try too hard," he joked. "Call me if you need anything."

"It'll be from a landline. Of course Chloe just chose the cabin she thought was the cutest and didn't pay attention to if it has phone reception or not."

"Hey! At least the pictures will be good!" Chloe defended. "We need to go though so come on."

"Have fun, girls. Be careful," Dad advised.

"We will. See you on Sunday!" Maddie called out as Chloe practically dragged her out the door.

"Bye, Gabe," Mia added right before the door closed.

"What was that?" Chloe cackled. "'Bye, Gabe'," she mocked in a terrible impression of Mia's voice.

"Aren't you the one who has been whining about needing to go?" Mia questioned.

"Hey, I'm just saying, you and Gabe could be cute," I added.

"Nothing is going on with Gabe and I," Mia insisted. "Now come on!"

We all walked over to my black SUV. I could see the bags packed safely in the back of the car and I got even more excited; this trip is actually happening. I got into the driver's seat, Chloe took the passenger's seat, and Paige, Maddie, and Mia took the back.

"You guys better not fight this whole time," Maddie threated Paige and Mia from where she was stuck between them.

"No one is fighting. Let's go!" Chloe yelled.

I put the car in drive and we all cheered as we took off for our weekend home.

Chapter 3:

After an hour long drive, two arguments between Paige and Mia, and nearly missing our check-in time, we finally arrived at the cabin. It was in a secluded area almost completely surrounded by forest and we had to meet the owners at a gas station a little closer to town to get the key.

The further we got down the road, the fewer houses there were. It's kind of unsettling, but it's nice to know that there won't be anyone around to ruin our time or to interfere with our weekend.

"There it is," Chloe pointed ahead. Maddie, Paige, and Mia scooted forward in their seats so that they could see where she was pointing.

I pulled into the driveway of the cabin. It definitely was beautiful. It looked like the cabin was completely made of logs and there was a porch that wrapped around three sides of the house. A picnic table sat not too far away from the stairs that led to the front entrance and on the other side was a fire pit that had benches made of wood sitting around it.

"Oh wow," Paige said. "This place is so cute."

"Didn't I tell you? Now come on. We'll get the bags in a little bit," Chloe was the first one out of the car. The rest of us followed after her as she led the way to the front door and unlocked it.

There was a little entry way as soon as you entered that had stairs going up and a hallway going back towards what I assumed would be the kitchen and a bathroom. If you walked to the left as soon as you walked in, there was a living room, and if you walked to the right, there was a dining area. The decorations all had a country type of vibe to them and there were a lot of browns and reds.

"How many rooms are there?" Mia wondered.

"Four, but one of them has two beds. Anyone wanna volunteer to share?"

"Mia and I will," Maddie stepped up. "What do you guys want to do for lunch? I'm starving."

"We've got stuff to make sandwiches, so let's do that. We need to get the groceries out of the car and all of our bags," Chloe reminded the four of us.

We all went out to the car together and grabbed our stuff. I locked the door and then wondered why I even bothered; it's not like there is anyone out there who would even be able to break into my car. We are pretty much cut off for the world here, except for the landline.

"This room is so cute!" I heard Chloe shout from upstairs as soon as I walked into the cabin. I dropped the bags that had groceries in them and took my suitcase up to pick my room. I saw that Chloe and Paige had already chosen their rooms, so I was left with whatever was left.

I opened the door, praying that the decorations weren't all something horrible like green plaid, and I was pleasantly surprised. There was a queen sized bed with a beautiful dark blue, silky comforter. A nightstand was on either side of the bed and there was a dresser with a flat screen TV in front of the bed.

I put my suitcase on the bed and started to unpack all of my clothes. Even though we're only staying for two nights, I like to be able to look at everything layed out instead of living out of a suitcase. I put it in the proper drawers and then opened up the door that I assumed lead to a bathroom. I went in and saw that there was a door on the other side and opened it up to see who I would be sharing a bathroom with. I saw Maddie unpacking her stuff similarly to how I had just done while Mia layed upside down on her bed with her suitcase thrown carelessly on the floor.

"What do you guys think?" I wondered.

"This bed is so much more comfortable than I thought it would be," Mia informed me as she rolled over to her stomach so she could look at me. "This place is nice."

"Yeah, Chloe did a good job," I agreed.

"Finally, someone recognizes what I do," Chloe said as she barged into their room. "Aww, you guys have cute decorations!" both of their beds had black and white chevron comforters. It didn't really go with the whole country theme of the downstairs, even though mine didn't either, but it was still cute.

"This is a nice place, Chlo," Maddie praised.

"I'm glad everyone likes it. I know it doesn't have cell reception, but maybe that's what we need. It'll be nice to be pretty much cut off from everything for the weekend so we can actually spend some time together. In a couple months, we won't all be able to hang out as much because we'll all be in college now."

"I thought it was surreal when you guys graduated last year, but now that it's me, it feels even crazier," Mia stated. "Growing up sucks."

"You'll like college," I promised. "Now let's go take care of lunch and then we'll think about some things we can do."

The four of us went downstairs to see that Paige was already waiting in the kitchen. She had started unpacking the groceries and putting them in their proper places. When she saw us coming, she stopped what she was doing.

"All of the lunch meat is already in the refrigerator if you guys were thinking about sandwiches for lunch," she announced. "There is soda in there too, and the chips are in the cabinet above the sink."

"Wow, you're useful for something after all," Mia said in fake shock.

"Mia," Chloe, Maddie, and I all chastised at the same time.

"Sorry!" she sounded far from sincere, but I didn't want to start another argument, so I just ignored her and started to look around for the plastic cups for us to pour drinks in.

"Cabinet over the stove," Paige told me. I opened the cabinet and wondered how she knew exactly what I was looking for. But it always seemed to be like that with the two of us. We were only a couple months apart and we had been close ever since I was born, and we had definitely gotten closer as we grew up. Paige is an only child, so I'm the closest thing she has ever had to a sister. Even though I consider Chloe to be my best friend, it's nice to know that I'll always have Paige on my side.

"Hey guys, you know what I was just thinking of?" we all turned to look at Maddie as she spoke. "What makes a serial killer decide that that is the day they will snap? Like most serial killers are born with some kind of illness, or they're just psychotic. But how do they know that that is the day that they are finally going to give in and kill someone?"

"That's awfully morbid," Chloe commented.

"And why do serial killers kill little animals when they're children? Do you think it's ever an accident and then they hear about that stereotype and they think that they're destined to be a serial killer and then they just follow that because they spend their entire lives just thinking to themselves that they must be a serial killer because they accidentally killed a kitten?" Maddie continued as if Chloe had never spoken.

"Hey Mads, how about you get the chips?" Mia suggested.

"Yeah, I don't really want to talk about serial killers while we're in the middle of the woods. It freaks me out," Paige added.

I shook my head at Maddie's randomness. She had been having a lot of crazy thoughts lately; last night, she started asking me if I had ever thought about floating on a cloud of cotton candy. Maddie's always been a little strange though, so it's not like it's that surprising.

"You guys are babies," Maddie rolled her eyes as she went over to grab the chips. Chloe got the bread and everyone started to make their own sandwiches. We took our plates outside to the picnic table.

After a couple minutes of comfortable conversation, Paige spoke up. "You know what we forgot?"

"What?" Chloe and I asked at the same time.

"Batteries for flashlights. We might need them if the power goes out or something,"

"Why would the power go out?" Mia demanded.

"It's good to be prepared," Paige shot back.

"But that's stupid. We're going to be here for two nights. I highly doubt the power will go out."

"You clearly don't understand how to prepare for worst case scenario."

"No, I don't see the point in preparing for things that aren't going to happen."

"You don't know that."

"Yes, I do. There is a tiny chance that the power will go out. Tiny. We have more things to worry about, like how we're going to cool off in this excruciating heat."

As she said it, I realized how much I was sweating. It was pretty hot out here.

"Well there's a river over there, right?" Maddie asked, pointing towards the woods that bordered the right side of our cabin. "Let's go swimming."

Chloe's nose immediately wrinkled. "No, thanks."

"Come on, Chloe!" Maddie whined. "Please?"

"No. You have no idea what kind of creatures are living in that thing."

"I'll go," Mia was the first to volunteer.

"Me too," I stated.

"I guess I will," Paige joined in. "Come on, Chloe. You might as well go."

She groaned. "I hate you all."

As soon as all four of us agreed, Maddie took off running towards the river. "Maddie, wait!" I called after her, but she either didn't hear me or pretended not to. We followed after her and caught up just in time to see her climbing up a tree near the edge of a river.

The water is running quickly, but not so fast that you can't swim in it. But because of the cloudiness, it was impossible to see how deep it is.

"Come on!" Maddie shouted from the branch. She was probably a little over five feet off the ground.

"You don't know how deep the water is," Paige reminded her. "I doubt this is really the safest thing to do."

"You think too much," Mia went to climb up the tree. I think she's more motivated by Paige saying not to do it than by actually wanting to.

Chloe came over and stood next to me. "Is she okay?"

I frowned. "Who?"

"Maddie. This isn't like her, Em. It's almost like she's acting out."

I could tell what she meant. Maddie had been acting a little different, but that's normal. Maddie and Mom were really close and she has definitely taken her death the hardest.

"Hold on, let's see how deep it is," I called out. Even though I agree with Chloe, I don't want to talk about this right now. I went towards the water, but as soon as I got close, I could feel my clothes being soaked through by someone jumping in.

Maddie came up laughing. "See, I told you it was deep enough! Jump, Mia!"

Mia jumped next and her body was completely submerged in water. I walked into the river since I was already wet and I was surprised to feel how quickly it got deeper.

"You probably should have checked how deep it was first," I told my sister.

"I knew it was deep enough."

There's no way she could have known, but I decided to get off the topic of her recklessness before it started a fight.

For the next hour, we swam around and explored the river. It had definitely helped cool us off, but I was enjoying it for another reason.

As I floated in the water, I stared up at the clear, blue sky that was partially blocked by the tops of the tallest trees. A place like this- somewhere far from home, in a place where no one has any expectations of you- is really helpful in clearing your head, and I definitely have a lot of things on my mind.

"You okay?" I looked to my left as Maddie swam over. She looks a lot happier than she has in the past couple of months and I'm grateful for that.

"Mmhmm."

"Mom would have loved it here," Maddie flipped to her back so she could float next to me. "Remember that summer when you were ten and Gabe and I were nine and Mom made us go camping?"

I smiled. "How could I forget? It was 100 degrees the whole weekend and the campsite had nowhere to swim. The three of us and Dad were so irritated, but Mom never complained. She could make anything fun."

"It feels like I think about her too much."

"There's no such thing as thinking about her too much. Her death was pretty recent, Mads, and if that's not enough, then there's the fact that she is our mom. We're always going to miss her and think about her."

"Was," Maddie corrected. "She was our mom. She's gone now."

"It sucks."

"Yeah," she sighed. "I think I'm done swimming."

"Let's see if the girls are," we both stood and saw Chloe trying to break up a pretty intense splash fight between Mia and Paige. I rolled my eyes. Some things never change.

Chapter 4:

That night, the five of us decided to have a fire and make s'mores. Considering none of us are the outdoorsy type, it took almost twenty minutes until Mia managed to light a fire. Once it was done, we all sat down on the log benches around the fire pit with our s'mores.

"It's beautiful out here," Paige commented with her gaze on the sky.

I looked up. In Bakersfield, you hardly ever get to see the stars. But tonight, the sky was clear and there was practically a glow coming from each of the many stars that were shining down on us.

"So what's the plan for tomorrow?" Maddie wondered.

"Sleeping," Mia answered immediately.

"We're only going to be here for the weekend, Mia. We shouldn't waste time sleeping," Paige stated.

"And you shouldn't waste time talking to me because I always want to do the opposite of whatever you say."

"Stop," Chloe interrupted before things could go any further. "We'll figure out tomorrow when we get there. Right now, let's just enjoy this."

"Wow Chloe, I would never imagine you were a nature lover," I teased.

"I'm not. I'm just sick of hearing Mia and Paige."

This, of course, started another argument between Paige and Mia, which Chloe tried to break up. Maddie came over to sit next to me.

"Every time I see stars, I think of Mom," Maddie informed me. "I think the stars were her favorite thing. I bet they were probably the last thing she saw."

I nodded even though I was a little uncomfortable. I don't mind talking about Mom, but I don't like to discuss her actual death.

"She definitely loved the stars," I agreed.

"Do you think she's one of them now? Maybe she's up there watching us."

"Maybe," I smiled a little at that. "I think I'm going to go to bed."

Mia and Paige quieted as the later spoke. "Why?"

"I'm exhausted. I'll see you guys in the morning," I stood despite their protests and went up to my room.

I'm not that tired, but it's hard to talk about some things about Mom, especially with Maddie. I feel like we grew up seeing different side of her, so our memories of her don't always match up.

I climbed under the blankets and closed my eyes. As I drifted off, my last though was that I hope Mia and Paige don't fight as much tomorrow.

Chapter 5:

"Emma," my eyes opened at the sound of my name. "Maddie made breakfast. Come on."

I sat up and saw that Paige was standing next to my bed. "What did she make?"

"Cereal," Paige laughed. "You know she's not much of a cook."

"Yeah, you've always been the best at it," I agreed. "Can I ask you for a favor?"

"Of course."

"I know that it's hard and you guys have never really gotten along, but I need you to stop fighting with Mia. You know how stubborn she is and how she's always looking to start a fight."

"Trust me, I know," Paige interrupted with a role of her eyes.

"Paige, I'm serious. You know how hard these last couple of months have been for Maddie and me. We need this trip to try and get back to normal. I know that seems impossible in just a weekend, but if we can find that same happiness we had before my mom's death, then we might be able to keep that going even when we get back home. You see how Maddie has been. She needs to be her old self again. I've already lost my mother; I refuse to lose my sister too because of her grieving."

"I'll try my best," she promised. "I've still got to wake up Chloe, so I'll meet you downstairs."

"Okay," Paige exited the room and I got up to start our second day of vacation.

I walked over to the dresser and chose a new outfit. I picked out a black Bakersfield cheerleading T-shirt and slid back on the same jean shorts I had worn yesterday. I slid my black flip flops back on and ran my brush through my hair as I put a hot pink hair tie on my right wrist.

As soon as I exited my bedroom, I saw Paige coming out of Chloe's. "Have you seen Chloe?"

"No, why?"

"She isn't in her room or any of the bathrooms."

"I'm sure she's downstairs," The two of us walked down the steps and into the kitchen. Maddie and Mia were standing across from each other with their bowls on the island and laughing at something. "Have you guys seen Chloe?'

"Not since last night," Maddie answered.

"Me either," Mia joined in. "She's not in her room?"

"No. Is the car still here?" I looked around for the answer to my question.

"Yeah, the keys are right…" Mia pointed to the counter where I had laid the keys yesterday when we got here. "Well they should have been right there."

"Maybe she ran to the store for batteries," Paige suggested.

"I'm sure that's not it," Mia rolled her eyes.

I was proud that Paige just ignored her and I gave her an approving smile, which she returned. I went over and looked out the window.

"My car is still here," I informed them.

I walked through the living room to go outside and heard three pairs of steps following behind me. When we got to the porch, there was no sign of Chloe anywhere.

"Chloe!" Mia shouted.

"Shhh!" Paige chastised.

"What does it matter? We're in the middle of nowhere," she cupped her hands around her mouth. "Chloe! If you think this is funny then you're wrong! Nobody cares that you're gone!"

"Mia," Maddie slapped her arm. She repeated her best friend's pose and started to yell too. "If you're trying to be funny, then you got us! Now come on because my cereal is getting soggy!"

"I'm sure she just went for a run or something," Paige stated. "She'll be back soon. Let's go inside."

We all went back into the cabin to eat our cereal. The morning passed quickly, followed by the afternoon, and I was becoming more and more convinced that Chloe hadn't just gone for a run for two reasons- number one, she hates physical exercise, and number two, she would definitely not be running for over six hours.

"I wish we had phone reception and we could call her," Maddie said.

"Maybe this was all her master plan. She wanted to drop us off here and take the keys and leave because she knew that we couldn't escape. I always knew Chloe was a little evil," Mia joked.

"I think we should go look for her," Paige threw in. I could tell from the look on her face that she was a little nervous about the whole situation too.

"Okay, what time is it?" I glanced at the clock. "It's 5:00pm right now. Let's all meet back here at six."

"You want to split up?" Maddie questioned. "Isn't that kind of stupid?"

"We're literally in the middle of nowhere. Nothing is going to happen," Mia told her.

"It's because we're in the middle of nowhere that I'm worried about splitting up." Maddie replied.

Paige put her hand on Maddie's shoulder. "There's nothing to be afraid of. I'm sure one of Chloe's heels just got stuck in the mud somewhere and she refuses to take it off, so she's just standing out in the dirt. Mads, you can look around the cabin. Emma, you go that way," she pointed to directly in front of the cabin. There was a large, steep hill up ahead that I was not looking forward to climbing, but I just nodded in agreement. "Mia, search back there," she pointed behind the cabin, "and I'll walk along the road to try and get some cell service. Make sure you're keeping an eye out for the keys too."

We all agreed to the jobs Paige had given to us and went our separate ways. As I started to walk, I couldn't help the chill that ran through my body. Despite the temperature being well over 90, I had goosebumps on my arms.

Right now, I have to believe that Chloe just ran off somewhere to be alone for a little while. She's always had a taste for the dramatics, so she's probably just watching us run around like chickens with our heads cut off. I can't imagine that something may have actually happened to her. Chloe has been my best friend since we were only two years old and I can't think about a world where I would never see her again.

I started to climb the steep hill and thought about how difficult this is. It's hard to get your feet in just the right places and it's a little muddy, probably from all the rain we had last week. I can't image trying to climb this thing in the rain; it would be next to impossible.

I glanced down at my phone and saw that a half an hour had already passed. I started to yell for Chloe, but there was no reply. I felt like I was a character in a horror movie, but I hope the ending to this is a lot different.

I went back towards the cabin fifteen minutes later so no one would get worried when they saw that I hadn't returned. I hope Paige managed to get some cell reception so she could call someone and get us some help. The first two people who came to my mind were my dad and my brother. The two of them would know what to do in this situation.

When I got back to the cabin, no one else was waiting outside. I opened up the door and leaned my head in. "Paige? Maddie? Mia?" There was no reply.

I decided to walk towards the back of the cabin. Mia had been searching in that direction and Maddie might be around here too, so it was pretty likely that I would run into one of them.

I was surprised when I had already walked ten minutes and not seen anyone. I started to think that maybe I should have stayed at the cabin, so I turned around. That's when I saw it.

There was a tree that must have fallen down in the storms last week and it was laying on the ground a little bit ahead of me on my right side. But the alarming part of that wasn't the tree; it was the dark hair peeking out from the other side of it.

My breath caught in my throat. Maddie, Paige, and Mia all have dark hair.

This person was dead.

One of them could be this person.

I walked forward slowly and felt the bile rising in my throat. I wanted so badly to wake up and this would be a dream. I shouldn't be doing this. I thought for a second about just running back to the cabin, but I had to know. I had to find out who it was.

Is it Paige? My cousin, the girl that I had been close to my entire life, the one who had always been on my side and defended me no matter what the situation is?

Is it Maddie? My little sister, the person I had sworn to protect for as long as I was alive, one of the only people who understand me and everything that has happened in my life?

Is it Mia? The little girl Maddie brought home in kindergarten who had eventually become my friend too, the one who I always go to when I need someone to give me the courage to do something?

I can't imagine going home without one of them.

When I got the body, I looked down and tried to guess without touching the person. I couldn't remember what any of them were wearing. I noticed how small the girl was and that's when it hit me.

Maddie and Paige are too tall to be this person. It has to be Mia.

I studied her stomach and noticed that there was no rising and falling of her breathing. She was completely still, and she was definitely dead. I reached out to move her hair away from her face and I gasped. It wasn't Mia.

I had never seen this girl before. I didn't know where she came from or what had happened to her, but I know that we don't have another neighbor for at least two miles. This made it a lot more real that there was a chance Chloe would never be coming home.

That's when I heard the screaming. It took me a minute to realize that it was coming from me.

I clamped my hand over my mouth. The saltiness of my tears was dripping into my mouth and I could feel how fast my breathing was. This girl's throat had been cut and blood was pouring out of it, so it couldn't have happened that long ago. Her killer could still be nearby.

I turned and started to run back towards the cabin. I looked behind me to make sure that someone hadn't jumped out of one of the bushes and followed me. There was no one behind me, but I came crashing to the ground when I tripped over a small branch. I forced myself back up and started to run again.

When I got closer to the cabin, I could see Mia standing to the side. I increased my speed and ran to her.

"Emma? What…" she couldn't talk anymore once I slammed into her arms. "What happened? What's wrong?" she demanded. "Is it Chloe? Did you find her?"

"No," I shook my head. I pulled back from her and leaned over the side of the porch and threw up. Mia gathered my hair in her hand and started to rub my back with the other one. "Where are Paige and Maddie? Did you find Chloe?" I wondered once I had finished.

"Maddie's inside making sandwiches and I haven't seen Paige. I didn't find any sign of Chloe," she wiped at my cheeks. "What happened?"

"Th-there's a body. I thought she was you," I hugged her again.

"What do you mean a body? Are you sure?" Mia questioned.

"I'm sure. We have to get out of here. We have to find Chloe and Paige and we have to leave."

"We don't know where the keys are," Mia reminded me as she grabbed my arm and led me inside. "We have to find those first and then we'll go. Pack up your stuff, Mads," she called out to my sister.

"Why? What's going on?" Maddie came into the living room and her eyes landed on me. "Emma, what happened? Are you okay? You're bleeding."

Mia was still pulling me, so she forced me into the kitchen. Maddie got a wet washrag and started to dab at the blood on my knees; that must have happened when I fell.

"I'm going to go pack up our stuff," Mia ran upstairs.

"There's a girl," I told Maddie. "She's dead."

"Excuse me?" Maddie stopped cleaning me up.

"I don't know who she is or how she got here, but we have to leave," I bit my bottom lip. "I'm scared that whoever killed her might have killed Chloe too."

The front door closed and Maddie and I stared at each other with wide eyes. I motioned for her to be quiet and we both slid down so that we were hiding behind the island.

I heard footsteps come from the living room and into the kitchen. I held my breath and squeeze Maddie's hand in my own as we waiting for our deaths.

"What are you guys doing?"

We both jumped up when we saw that it was just Paige and threw ourselves at her. She hugged us back, even though she looked a little confused.

"Go help Mia pack," Maddie urged me. "I'll tell Paige."

I was thankful that she was going to do it because I didn't want to have to say it again. But as soon as I went to exit the room, I was nearly crushed by Mia running in.

"You thought she was me, didn't you?" she went to Paige. "You were trying to kill me."

Paige frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb. You killed that girl in the woods because you thought she was me!"

"What girl?"

"Emma found some girl in the woods. She thought that she was me before she looked at her face. I'm sure you made the same mistake."

"Alright, you need to calm down," Paige told her. "Do we get along? Hardly ever. But I would never want something bad to happen to you. I would never try and hurt you, Mia."

"Oh yeah, that's really likely," Mia rolled her eyes.

"Stop," I interrupted. "We all see each other almost every single day at home. Why would one of us wait until we were on vacation to kill another one of us?"

"Um, there's seclusion, they don't have to worry about distractions, they know that there's no one around to help," Mia listed off.

"Wow, sounds like you've put a lot of thought into this," Paige responded. "Are you sure you didn't kill the girl to make it look like someone tried to kill you just so you would have an excuse to kill me?"

"Everybody, shut up," Maddie jumped in. "Stop being paranoid. We need to find Chloe and we need to get out of here because if not, the person who actually did this might just be waiting for us to do something stupid so they can get to us next."

"Mia, go finish packing," I ordered. "Paige, look everywhere in this cabin for the keys. Maddie and I are going out to look for Chloe."

"Are you sure?" Mia asked me. I'm sure that her concern comes from how shaken I was after finding the girl's body, but I knew that I had to do this.

"I'm sure. Go," I grabbed Maddie's hand in my own and we walked out onto the front porch.

"Are you okay?" Maddie wondered after we had been walking for a few minutes.

"I never thought I'd have to see another body," I admitted.

"It's going to be okay. We'll find Chloe and we'll go. We can go home to Dad and Gabe and pretend none of this ever happened."

I changed the subject. "Did you check by the river?"

"Yeah, but it was a little further down and I only looked from the top, not down by the actual river. I was too scared to go there alone."

"We shouldn't have split up," I said. "That was stupid."

"Em, do you think there's any truth at all to what Mia said? Do you think Paige had anything to do with this?"

"Are you serious, Maddie? She's our cousin."

"I know that, but I'm just saying that she made some good points. Plus Paige is the one who wanted to split up, and she was the last one who came back. Maybe she never looked for cell reception; maybe she just went after that girl."

"I don't want to talk about this," I insisted. "I don't know what happened. All I want to do it find Chloe and go home."

The two of us walked down towards the river together. The rushing water had definitely lost its beauty from yesterday, or maybe it's just a lot harder to appreciate that beauty in such horrible circumstances.

"Stay close enough that we can still see each other. You go to the left, I'll go to the right," I instructed. I know that I had just said splitting up was stupid, but I feel like it's different if you can still see the person you're with.

"Okay," Maddie veered to the left while I took the right. I stared at the ground, looking for any sign of footprints or something that my best friend may have left behind. I glanced to my left to make sure I could still see Maddie and I saw that she was staring intently at something in the water.

"Mads?" I called out. Her head snapped up when she heard my voice and she shook her head.

"Emma, don't come down here. Go back up."

"What are you talking about? Why?"

"Emma, please," she practically begged.

I ignored her and walked towards her. What could have possibly made Maddie this upset? As I got closer, she came to me.

"It's Chloe. She's gone, Em. You don't need to see her like this. Please go."

"What?" I shrugged Maddie off of me and went over to where she had been standing.

There was my best friend. She was face down in the mud with the rest of her body lying in the shallow water at the edge of the river. Her blonde hair was matted down with a combination of dirt and blood and her body was bent at an unnatural angle.

"No," I sobbed. Maddie caught me before I could hit the ground and pulled me back to my feet.

"We have to go. We have to get out of here," she had tears dripping down her cheeks and the sight of that alone gave me enough motivation to get away.

"I love you," I choked out to Chloe's body, even though I know she's not there anymore. Maddie grabbed my hand and we ran up the river bank back towards the cabin. We were a mess of sweat and tears and sobs, but our hands stayed locked together until we reached the cabin.

Mia came out onto the porch and saw us. "What happened?"

"Chloe's gone," I whimpered.

"Paige!" Mia shouted into the cabin. "We have to go."

"Did you find the keys?" I asked.

"No. We'll walk for all I care. We have to go," She repeated. "Paige, come on!"

"We can't just go walking down the side of the road. We don't know where this person is or what's going to happen," I said.

"So are you suggesting we stay here?" Mia demanded. "I don't want to die, Emma. We have to leave."

I looked at Maddie, whose face looked completely blank. Chloe was the third dead body I've found in my lifetime, but she was Maddie's first. I recognized the faraway look immediately.

"Go make sure all your stuff is packed up," I told Maddie as I pushed her gently towards the front door. I motioned towards her with my head and Mia picked up on the gesture. She reached forward and grabbed Maddie's hand and led her inside.

"Emma," as soon as I looked at Paige, I knew that I wouldn't like whatever she had to say. "What's going on with Maddie?"

"She's terrified because she just found one of our friend's bodies. What do you mean what is going on with her?"

"She's been acting so weird lately. Ever since your mom died, she's been a different person. What if she finally snapped?" she lowered her voice. "What if Maddie did this?"

"I can't believe you would even say that to me," I pushed past her and into the cabin. I went upstairs to my room and made sure everything was in my bag. I heard the bathroom door open that was connected to Mia and Maddie's room and the former came in, shutting it gently behind her.

"I don't know what to say to her. She looks completely out of it," she stated as she sat on my bed.

"Paige said maybe she snapped and this was all her," I whispered. Even though I didn't believe her, I wanted to get another opinion on this just to make sure I wasn't biased because she's my little sister.

"What?" Mia asked, her face showing her shock. "That's ridiculous. What if Paige is just trying to put the blame on someone else?" I could tell that she was now a lot more serious about her accusation than she had been earlier. "I know it sounds crazy, but you never know. It's all just a little suspicious."

Even though I hated to admit it, I was starting to doubt my cousin a little bit.

Chapter 6:

My hand trembled as I reached out for the doorknob to the room Chloe had been staying in. I can't believe that I'm going to have to leave this place without her. How am I going to tell her parents? What is everyone going to say? How can I live in a world without my best friend?

But then I realized that I was strong enough to overcome this. I had been living with my mom for the past couple months and I knew that, with time, I could get over Chloe's death too. It's horrible how people can just move on and pretend that that person never existed.

I guess Paige didn't come in here to pack things up because everything was still in the organized chaos Chloe had left it in. I started to pick up the familiar outfits she had packed. I would never see her wearing them again.

The door opened and I closed my eyes to take a deep breath. I would like to be alone right now, but I know that isn't possible.

"Em?" I turned around when I heard Mia's voice and saw the wide-eyed look on her face. She was shaking and I grabbed her and pulled her into the room.

"What's wrong?"

"I hate to say this, but I think Paige is right. There's something wrong with Maddie."

My heart dropped into my stomach. "What are you talking about?"

"When I went back into my room, she was standing with a pair of scissors and just rambling on about something. I couldn't understand anything she was saying and her face just looked so blank. I don't even know if she realized what she was doing. It looked like she was talking to someone else, but there's nobody in there. I don't know what's happening to her."

"Psychosis." I whispered.

"Huh?" Mia's tearful eyes met mine.

"Where is she?"

Right as Mia went to answer, I heard footsteps on the stairs. I could see that it was Maddie from where I was standing. I brushed past Mia and followed after her as she walked straight out the front door, the scissors still clutched tightly in her left hand.

I walked slowly down the stairs and felt the déjà vu. Mia was close behind me and we passed Paige on the way out the front door, who joined us.

Maddie was standing a few feet away from the porch, her gaze on the sky and the moonlight reflecting off of the scissors in her hand. It had gotten dark quickly and the stars were shining brightly.

This was definitely déjà vu.

"Maddie?" I called out softly. She didn't make any move to face me, so I kept walking towards her. "Mads."

"Stop," she whipped around and held the scissors in my direction. "Stop, Emma, or I'll hurt you."

I froze where I was. "I'll stay right here. Please put the scissors down."

Maddie laughed and I felt my blood run cold. "You think you can tell me what to do? You think you're the boss of me? I'm free now. I can do whatever I want."

That's when I noticed the blood dripping off of her wrists. The blades of the scissors were covered in it and Maddie's face definitely looked a little paler.

"Hey Em, do you remember when Mom died?" she looked up at the sky again.

"Of course I do," I forced the words out past my tears.

"What did she look like when you found her?"

I didn't want to talk about this, but maybe if I did, then Maddie would put those scissors down. I've already lost my mom and my best friend; I'm not going to lose my sister too.

"It was February and it was cold outside, remember? She had been getting sicker and sicker and Dad was thinking about putting her in that mental facility to try and get her some help so she could come home and be better, for herself and for all of us. She didn't want to go and they fought about it all the time, but Dad never gave up. Mom never did either in a way, I guess. She never got stuck in that mental facility."

I took a tentative step forward and Maddie made no move to stop me. I continued on with the story.

"It was a little after midnight and Dad wasn't home. You and Gabe were already in bed, and I had been in my room too, but I wanted some water. As soon as I opened my bedroom door, I felt how cold it was. I walked down the stairs and it got colder and I saw that the balcony door was open. So I went over to close it and that's when I saw Mom."

I felt the tears slide down my cheeks. The only person I had told this story to before was Dad, and that was on the day it happened.

"She was lying on her back on the balcony and staring up at the sky. You were right yesterday when you said you thought that was the last thing she saw. There was blood pouring out of her wrists and her throat and there was a knife lying next to her. I screamed so loud that you guys heard me and Gabe came running down and he called Dad and you hugged me and told me it was going to be alright, remember?" I took another step forward. "It can still be alright, Maddie. Just put the scissors down."

"It can't be alright," Maddie shook her head. "I'm just like Mom. I'm sick and I do these things that I don't want to do, but I can't help it, Emma. I don't want to go away. If Dad was going to send the love of his life away, then I know he'll do it to me, too. I can't go back there."

"Maddie," I tried to step towards her again, but she held the scissors out.

"Stop," she sobbed. "I can't go back. I don't want to live anymore. I want to be just like Mom," she looked up at the sky. "I'm going to be one of the stars, just like her."

"Please Maddie," I tried to move again, but she lunged towards me with the scissors. I heard Mia and Paige scream from the front porch. Maddie pushed me to the ground and then ran straight towards the steep hill.

"Emma," Mia ran over to me and sank down on her knees. "Come on, come into the cabin. We have to hide."

"Get off of me," I looked and saw that Paige was holding some sort of lantern. I guess that was the best she could find for her worst case scenario preparing since we didn't have any batteries for flashlights. I stood up, grabbed it from her hand, and started to run after my sister.

"Emma!" Paige shouted, but I didn't listen. I ran after the sound of the footsteps that were undoubtedly from my sister.

I couldn't save her.

A set of fingernails dug into my shoulder and the panic set in. flung my arm back, knocking the person down the hill. It wasn't until then that I saw the fire that my dropped lantern had started.

I stood up in shock. I looked from where Maddie layed lifelessly with a pair of scissors dug into her stomach, to where someone had just fallen into the fire I had unintentionally created. I realized the horrible mistake I had made.

I hadn't wanted to accept it. No one wants to acknowledge that their baby sister could be such a monster that they would kill two people before committing suicide. I know that Maddie was mentally ill; now that I thought about it, the symptoms had all been triggered by Mom's death and if I had been paying more attention, I might have been able to get her some help before it reached this point. But now, I knew. Maddie had killed Chloe and she had killed the other girl we found in the woods. There was no other person responsible for all of this, and I didn't know who I had just pushed into the fire.

"Emma!" I heard Mia scream. Her face was illuminated by the glow of the fire and I could see the panic. "Emma, we have to go!"

I didn't see a second person anywhere behind her. That's when it hit me.

I pushed Paige into the fire.

"Emma, now! Let's go!"

I took one last look at Maddie's face and then turned to run down the part of the hill that hadn't yet been consumed by the flames. I tripped and rolled down it until I reached the end. Mia's hands slid under my arms as she pulled me to my feet.

"We've gotta go," she insisted.

"Paige…" I sobbed.

"Shhh, it's okay. We have to go." She grabbed my arm and ran towards the road. I followed after her, though I felt blind from the tears that had gathered in my eyes.

Chloe is dead.

Paige is dead.

Maddie is dead.

As soon as we got to the road, a pair of headlights shined brightly in our faces. Mia dropped my arm to call out to them and wave her own arms, but I just stood behind her. I feel completely numb. How could this have even happened?

Chapter 7:

The sterile smell of a hospital had always gotten on my nerves. Second to that was the brightness of all of the lights and white walls and floors and gowns. It's no wonder why people don't like hospitals. How can you feel better in a place like this?

From where my gaze was fixed on the floor, I could see a pair of black boots come into view. A hand pushed my chin up and then I was staring into the blue of my father's eyes.

"Emma," he whispered. I could see a tear drop down his cheek. I had only seen my father cry once and it was on the day Mom died, so it was a little unsettling. "You're okay now, sweetheart. It's alright."

Just like that, all of the emotions seemed to hit me at once. He hugged me and I grabbed onto his shirt and cried. He whispered comforting things to me and didn't let go until I had stopped crying enough that I could actually breathe normally.

"I-I killed Paige," I choked out. "I didn't mean to. I'm so sorry," I started to cry all over again.

"Don't worry about that right now. It's okay,"

"Maddie's gone."

"I know."

"So is Chloe."

"I know."

My eyes widened. "Where's Mia? Is she okay? Where is she?"

"Em, calm down. Mia is fine; she's in the room next to yours."

I layed back against the pillows. "What happened? How did I get to the hospital?"

"What's the last thing you remember?" Dad asked gently as he sat in the chair next to my bed.

"Mia grabbed me and pulled me onto the road. I felt numb."

"Someone had been driving by and he saw you girls. He pulled over and helped you into his car and brought you to the hospital. Mia already gave her statement to the police, but you'll have to do the same. They didn't know what all you two had been through, but you're both completely fine. You're being released tonight and we're going home."

"How can we go home without Maddie?" I wondered.

"Emma, you know better than anyone how sick your mom was. You know that she never wanted to hurt herself, or hurt you, Gabe, or Maddie in any way. I think Maddie was the same way. She wanted an escape, just like Mom, so she took it. I have a hard time believing she was in her right mind when she did what she did."

"But I killed Paige. It's my fault she's gone. I-I pushed her and she fell down the hill and into a fire. It's my fault. They're going to take me to jail."

"It was an accident, Em. The police are pretty understanding of the whole situation and they know that you were a little disoriented when everything happened, plus Mia saw the whole thing happen and gave them her statement. After you give them yours, we can go home."

"I don't deserve to go home."

"Don't say that. You've been given a lot to deal with in your life and that's not fair. You deserve to go home and live a life that any normal 19 year old should have."

I looked at my dad sadly. "You know, Maddie is the fourth person I have found dead."

Another tear slid from his eye. "I know. Lay down, okay? Try and rest. I'll go see if I can find an officer."

He walked out and closed the curtain that blocked off my exam room, but he didn't close it all the way. I could see him talking to the doctor and I heard him mention the words 'psych evaluation'. Maybe that's for the better.

My view of them was blocked when Gabe and Mia came into my room. They both came to me and hugged me; I squeezed back as tightly as I could.

"I love you," Gabe told me.

"I love you too," I looked down and noticed they were holding hands. "What's that about?"

"Life's too short," Mia answered. "How are you?"

"I don't know," I replied honestly. "I feel like this is all my fault."

"It's not. I know you don't believe that, but over time, you will," Mia said.

"I should have noticed Maddie was sick. I was in such denial that any of us could ever be like Mom."

"We all were," Gabe agreed. "All three of us could have noticed that she was sick, but we didn't. We can't let this control our lives, Em. We have to keep living."

"I just don't see how that's possible." I rolled over so I was lying on my back. I don't know how I could ever get past this.

Maybe I never will.