iAm Not Afraid
Chapter 25: Apologize
They spent the rest of the afternoon, goofing around in Spencer's apartment, renergized with rays of hope.
Carly packed up her stuff. She looked at the clock. It was ten in the morning.
"C'mon Carly, Spencer's here," Nurse Sam said from the door.
"I'll be there in a minute," Carly said.
"Don't take too long," Nurse Sam said. She walked away. Carly closed her door slightly.
She walked over to her side table and picked up the card that was sent to her by her fans. She smiled. She put it inside her back pack, along with the flowers.
Carly walked to the window and was provided a beautiful view of Seattle. The sun was up, the sky was blue, people were smiling. Carly smiled as a tear escaped her eyes.
"Thank you," she whispered out loud. "If there is a God out there, thank you for giving me a second chance. I was blinded by my own selfish desires. I now realize that I can live without Sam and Freddie. It's tough, not impossible. I apologize for my wrongdoings and please bless all those kind-hearted people who helped me to my recovery. Amen."
Carly wiped her eyes and leaned her head on the window. She let them flow. Then, she looked up. She was about ten stories up from the ground. The people looked like ants. She smiled. Then her smile disappeared.
"I don't deserve this second chance," she said. She opened the window and lets the cool morning breeze dry the tears on her face. Carly was about to stick her body out of the window, when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turns around.
"Carly," Spencer said, worried. "What's this about?"
Carly looked at him. Then she smiled. "Did you think I was gonna jump out?"
"Were you?"
"Of course not! I was just feeling the breeze," Carly replied. It was the truth. She stuck her whole upper torso out the window.
"I don't deserve this second chance," Carly said.
"Carly, I told you-"
"But I'll gladly take it," Carly interrupted.
Spencer smiled. "C'mon kiddo, Sam and Freddie are waiting."
"Just a sec," Carly said, ridding her face of tears. She went back in and closed the window.
They made their way out to the exit. Carly said goodbye to Nurse Sam, with a humungous hug, and left for home.
"Home sweet home," Carly said as she plopped down on her sofa. Sam and Freddie joined her.
"Tell me about it," Sam and Freddie said.
"So how's school been for you guys?" Carly asked.
Sam and Freddie fidgeted a little. They weren't supposed to tell Carly anything about the investigations happening in the maze.
"Uhh, it's been nice," Sam blurted out.
"What she said," Freddie mumbled.
"So, you guys wanna make a video for the iCarly webside that says we're all back?" Carly suggested.
"Yeah! Let's do it!" Freddie exclaimed. "Last one there is suicidal!"
All of them ran upstairs and into the iCarly studio. Freddie got the camera ready and the girls fixed their appearance so they looked slightly appealing.
"In 5...4...3...2..."
"WE'RE BACK!" both the girls screamed.
"That's Carly!" Sam said.
"And that's Sam!" Carly said.
"And this is a quick short video of iCarly!" they both yelled. Sam pressed the button for applause in her blue remote.
"This is just stating," Carly said.
"That iCarly will return to regular program time," Sam finished.
"Thanks for your patience and support," Carly said.
"Until the next iCarly webisode."
"Keep dancing for the good news!"
"See ya!" both of them yelled.
Freddie turned the camera around to face him. "See you then," he said in a macho voice.
"That was great guys," Carly said. All of a sudden, she felt woozy and out of balance. She stumbled to walk.
"Carls, you okay?" Sam said as she caught Carly.
"Yeah, uhh...I just need to lie down for a while."
"Take it easy," Freddie said as Sam walked Carly to her room.
Carly plopped down to her bed. "You can go now Sam," Carly said.
"You sure you don't want me to stay?" Sam asked.
"I-I just need to be alone," Carly replied, sweating.
"Jeez Carls, you don't look so hot," Sam said.
"Just go!" Carly said a bit too forcefully.
Sam held her hands up in defense and left abruptly. She turned on her bed and fell asleep.
Carly woke up in a dark place. It was an ominous and scary place. All of a sudden, she heard a rumbling from behind. She gasped as she turned around.
"Who's there?" Carly yelled out. Her voice echoed eerily in the darkness.
"..." There was a deep, soft voice in the background, whispering and saying something.
"WHO'S THERE?" Carly yelled.
All of a sudden, a sudden rumbling crackled the ground. The ground split in half and Carly fell through. She screamed at the top of her lungs.
All of a sudden, she noticed she was falling on the side of Bushwell Plaza at night.
"No! Not this! No!" Carly cried. Then she saw some cyanide pills falling next to her. She screamed.
"What the heck is going on?" Carly said.
All of a sudden, she hit the ground, hard. The pain felt real. She let some tears escape.
Then, Carly heard some music from a distance. She stood up and she was in a dark place again. Although she hasn't moved yet, the music sounded louder. It was a piano piece soothing to the ears. It made Carly feel better. The pain slowly subsided.
She walked towards the music and not too far was a person playing the piano. Carly couldn't tell who it was because the person had their back on Carly.
She walked towards the person and tapped his shoulder. The person turned around, only to find out that it wasn't a person.
Carly screamed as loud as she could.
Before she could react, the Minotaur had her head in its mouth.
Carly jolted up, screaming and sweating. She looked at her clock. It was nine in the morning. There was a tray of food beside her.
It took her a while to calm down. When she did, she took the food and ate it. She walked around her room. Then she noticed, built in to her dresser, was a piano. She sat down in front of it.
All of a sudden, her fingers moved by themselves. She was playing piano! And it actually sounded good! Carly couldn't believe what she was doing.
"Hey, I know that song," Spencer said. Carly turned around. "You play piano?"
"Apparently I do," Carly said.
"What's that song called?" Spencer asked.
"Apologize by OneRepublic?"
"That's the one! I like that song."
"Well, anyway, when did a piano get in my room?" Carly asked.
"I decided to buy it for you, you know, to keep you busy when Freddie and Sam aren't around," Spencer said.
"Better than trying to kill myself," Carly said, chuckling. Spencer doesn't laugh. "Sorry, too soon?"
Spencer nodded. "It's okay."
"So, what are ya up here for?" Carly asked.
"Oh, right, Freddie and Sam are downstairs," Spencer said.
"Why don't they just come up?"
"They didn't want to bother your rest, so I decided to check on you."
"Spencer, I feel fine, okay?" Carly said. "In fact, I feel better than fine." But she can't help and feel nervous about her nightmares.
"That's good. Let's go."
"Wait, let me take a quick shower and dress up," Carly said.
"Don't be too long," Spencer said as he walked out the door. "Sam and Freddie are in the studio!"
"Okay!"
Carly headed to the studio. Sam and Freddie were watching some Girly Cow.
"Wow guys," Carly said. "You're not fighting."
"We've gotten used to it the past couple of weeks," Sam said.
"Yeah," Freddie said.
"So why're we not downstairs?" Carly asked.
"I dunno, Spencer said he needed the time alone for a sculpture," Sam said.
"It'd better be a good sculpture," Freddie said.
Spencer entered the studio. "Hey guys, I made some sandwiches, if you wanna stuff your faces, feel free."
The gang headed downstairs. Once Carly turned the corner to head down another set of stairs-
"SURPRISE!" a group of people yelled. Carly jumped. Spencer smiled as he put his arm around Carly as she cried. Sam and Freddie instinctively got close as they hug each other.
"Oh my God!" Carly cried, covering her face. She looked around. It's everyone that she knows. There's Gibby, Principal Franklin, Wendy, Mrs. Benson, Agent S and Agent R, Nurse Sam, and Jerry.
"Alright, alright Carly," Spencer said while he rubbed her back. "It's okay, c'mon."
Carly turned to her big brother and hugged him. They both got a huge "Aww!" from the crowd.
"A party at nine in the morning?" Carly asked.
"Actually, it's four in the afternoon," Spencer said. "I rigged your clock."
Carly smiled and sucked up a bit of tears before speaking.
"What's this about?" Carly asked.
"Well, since you guys are back, I thought I'd throw you guys a party," Spencer said.
"iCarly is back!" Gibby yelled. The crowd cheered on. Carly wrapped her arms around her two amazing best friends. She let tears drop down her face. Sam couldn't even hold it in and she started crying too. Freddie couldn't stop smiling to save his life.
"I love you guys," Carly said.
"We love you too," Sam and Freddie said in unison. "Hey! Stop it! Ugh!"
Carly chuckled. "It's good to have you guys back."
Once the crowd settled down, Carly stepped forward. She sighed. She had something on her chest that she wanted to get off before the fun begins.
"Listen, guys!" Carly exclaimed. Everyone settled down. "Okay, good. Now, as you may have heard, Sam and Freddie were missing and I..." Carly paused a bit. "...I committed suicide, twice! I know, how could a girl like me commit suicide? Well, I lost hope. I lost hope that my best friends were alive and it ate away at me. I was pretty much dead anyway.
"But, as you can see, instead of a funeral, we're having a giant party! And now, I'm glad that I have survived my suicide attempts. And I'm also glad Sam and Freddie made it out alive in wherever they had to face. It must've been tough. I'm glad you guys didn't give up like I did.
"So I just want to say thank you to Sam and Freddie for saving my life. If they didn't have that drug, I would've been brain dead in minutes and my heart would've beating soon after that."
"I also want to apologize to my family, friends, teachers, and fans. I am so sorry of what I've put you through." Carly's tears intensified. Sam went to her and patted her back. "It was selfish of me. I was only thinking about myself. I can never live this down. I'm so sorry Spencer."
Spencer walked to his little sister and hugged her. Silence followed. When Carly pulled away, she continued speaking.
"But hopefully we can move on from this. Forget the sins of the past. Move on to the future. Can we do that?"
The whole crowd smiled. They nod their head in silence.
"Well, I'm glad. Thanks for giving me a second chance guys."
The crowd clapped and cheered. Carly, Spencer, Sam, and Freddie all got in a group hug. Soon, the crowd encircled the four friends and hugged them as well. Once they pulled away, Freddie climbed on top of the coffee table.
"Alright, why don't we get this party started!" Freddie yelled. The crowed cheered and somebody started to blast music. Carly went off and had a good time.
Sam laughed as Freddie stepped down from the table. They peck each other on the lips.
"You are so amazing," Sam said.
"Yeah, I know," Freddie said as he smiled.
"Yo Freddie!" some guys from the AV club come over.
"Hey guys!" Freddie exclaimed. He turned to Sam. "Date tomorrow night, okay?"
Sam smiled. "Got it." Freddie went off with his AV buddies.
Sam wandered around, talked to a bunch of people on the way to the island, where all the food was. Once Sam made it, she sighed. She took a red cup and filled it with punch.
"So you must be Sam," an Asian woman says. She looks like she's about in her forties, very pretty, long black hair. She had on some work clothes.
Normally, Sam would ignore her. But Sam had a feeling that she would like talking to this lady.
"That's me!" Sam exclaimed. "Do we know you?"
"Well, not personally," the Asian woman said. "I'm Carla, a reporter for the News Channel."
"Oh right, I've seen you before. Did Spencer invite you?"
"Yeah, I just wanted to stop by," Carla said. "See how you kids are doing."
"We're doing fine, thanks," Sam said.
"That's good," Carla said. Then, something caught her eye. She looked at Sam's ring finger.
"You like it?" Sam asked. Carla snapped out of it.
"Huh?" Carla asked.
"Do you like my ring?" Sam repeats. "I think it's pretty cool."
Carla looked around. Sam saw that her eyes widened.
"I gotta go," Carla said. She practically ran of the apartment. Sam shrugged.
Carly and Freddie appear out of nowhere.
"C'mon Sam, you're missing the fun!" Freddie exclaimed.
"Yeah, they got your favorite song coming up next, let's go dance!" Carly exclaimed.
Sam smiled. "Let's go!"
Carly, Sam, and Freddie mingled around the party. They talked to people, danced and laughed their butts off. Best of all, Carly was smiling.
A/N: Sorry for the wait! I was busy typing up the rest of the story. I'm planning to make this a thirty-chapter story, so five chapters left! The remaining chapters are pretty big and reveals every answer you guys have been looking for. Hope you guys enjoyed and please spread the word and review!
Keep on readin'!