Part II

***

Grace had never seen anything like this before. Everyone looked amazing. She was a little nervous, but it was almost an unspoken rule that the group was just going to have fun and not worry about superficial things like appearance on the dance floor. Jessie and Grace were going to take it slow, ease their way into it all. They were both new to all this. Katie and Carla dove right onto the dance floor together. It made Jessie a little jealous that she was dancing with another girl.

Eli floated around, checked out the older girls on the dance floor. He was never too far away from the girls. Jessie and Grace stood at the "Beverage Bar". A place in the corner where they only sold sealed, non-alcoholic drinks. Yup, this was a pretty clean cut club. Some people wore glow bracelets and waved glow sticks around, making the club seem almost uneasy to Grace and Jessie. There was something unnatural about the whole place. It was beautiful, synthesized, dark. The music thumped hard. The usual edgy but obscure dance music you would expect to hear in a club like this. Some songs had words. Others didn't.

Grace was ready to get out there and mix it up a little. There were a lot of attractive guys around, and although she wasn't the direct type of girl she was thinking being on the dance floor would give her a better chance of meeting someone than staying around the Beverage Bar. "You ready to get out there?" Grace asked Jessie, who was also taking her time to soak up the scene. Jessie grinned slightly before she answered. "Yeah, I think I am." Grace smiled back and then they were off.

The two danced around lightly trying to find Carla and Katie. No rush. They were both enjoying the music. Enjoying the night. This was all amazing. It was just what Grace needed and she never even knew it. The music was intoxicating and the lights were hypnotizing. It was like doing drugs with out actually doing them. She had to close her eyes and let the world slip away into blackness. What was it about Carla? If it wasn't for her she wouldn't be here having a great time. It seemed like Carla had the capacity to make things really bad or really good. Maybe that was just her nature even if she didn't exactly mean for things to be that way. But Grace was glad her friend was back.

Something was different though. Grace opened her eyes to see that there were less people around her. Jessie was still dancing next to her, but by the look on her face Grace could tell Jessie was sensing something strange. "People are gathering over there for something," Jessie said loudly over the music and pointed to where the clubbers were gathering around. Grace hovered through the crowd to see what was going on. Maybe there was someone break dancing. Grace had no idea. She had never been to a club, so everything was an adventure.

It took a bit of effort to get to the front of the crowd, but Grace was almost there. She felt kind of nerdy for being so interested in something usual clubbers probably see every weekend. But she was curious.

What she found wasn't something the usual clubber sees every weekend. "Carla!" Grace squealed. Grace knelt to the floor where her friend was. Katie was doing the same, crying, not knowing what was wrong. Not knowing what was happening just like Grace. "What happened?" Grace asked, looking at her friend on the floor. "I dunno," Katie sniffled trying to speak through her tears. "We were just dancing and she started coughing and she just fell."

Grace was in a panic. What do you do when something like this happens. Her body heated when she saw her friend on the floor, not moving. There was blood running from her mouth and onto the floor and into her hair. There's always hope though.

"Eli!" Jessie screamed and ran to her brother. She was scared. Scared for this girl she barely knew. She was just as confused as everyone else. Eli was pushing through the crowds of people standing around Carla's still body. "Everybody get out of the way!" Eli said loudly. He dipped down and picked Carla up from the floor. "What are you doing," Grace asked. She was starting to get hysterical. "I called an ambulance. They couldn't get through the crowd with everyone standing. They're waiting outside," he answered moving towards the exit/entrance with Carla in his arms. The three girls were following close behind him. The ambulance was waiting outside the club. There was a stretcher ready for Carla there. Eli put her down on it gently and the paramedics strapped her in and began to load her into the back. Grace raced forward to get on with her friend, but one of the paramedics stopped her.

"You can't come in here miss," the man said. "I'm her sister," Grace lied quickly. "Oh okay," the medic helped her into the back. Grace turned around to see Eli, Jessie, and Katie. "We're gonna follow in the truck," Eli told Grace. She nodded. "Grace?" Eli called. Grace turned back around before the medics closed the ambulance doors. "She's gonna be fine," Eli told her. Grace nodded. That was going to be the only acceptable outcome for Grace. She wasn't going to let anything happen to Carla.

***

The gang had been waiting in the lobby for hours. They wouldn't let Grace go in with Carla. Instead she was stuck filling out forms on behalf of her. Grace was having a hard time concentrating on all of it and didn't know all of Carla's information so it was all done to the best of Grace's knowledge. It was late so Jessie and Katie were sleeping on one another in a loveseat by a pair of vending machines.

Eli was trying to get a hold of Lily and Sam. The cell phone wasn't getting any service so he had to use a payphone. He was trying to tell them that he had everything under control and that Grace didn't want to make a big out of all of this. They insisted on coming down to the hospital anyway.

It was all stressful. It was all unreal. Grace just wanted things to go right for a change. She just wanted to enjoy a cool night out with friends and family. She went up to the front desk and handed in the forms. She was pretty confident with them. The only real thing Grace didn't know was Carla's insurance information. She knew her height, weight, allergies, and illness history.

"Can I see my sister now?" Grace asked the nurse as she slid the clipboard to her. The nurse looked the forms over. "Yes, She's in room 219."

Grace barely let the nurse finish before she darted to find Carla's room. She was all the way in the 260's so she had to race down the hall to the teens. When she finally reached the room she could see a doctor looking over Carla's chart. She was sleeping peacefully. "Is she gonna be okay?" Grace asked, out of breath. "The virus has gotten into her lungs," the doctor replied. "We recommend that she stay here for at least a week," he continued.

"What kinda virus?" Grace moved closer to Carla's bed and grabbed her hand. There were all sorts of tubes and instruments sticking out of her arms and chest. Grace was becoming uneasy just looking at it all. "You mean you don't know?" the doctor looked at her. "Know what?" Grace was scared. The doctor didn't answer right away. "If you don't know I can't tell you. She can tell you when she wakes up," the doctor pointed to Carla.

Grace was becoming frustrated. What was wrong with her friend? Grace knew that whatever it was…it was bad. Something Grace might not be able to handle. The doctor exited the room. Grace could hear someone entering.

"The parents are on their way," Eli put a hand on Grace's shoulder. "How you doing?" he asked. Grace shrugged coldly. "They wont tell me what's going on. Some type of confidentiality thing," Grace stood at Carla's bed side. She didn't exactly know what to do here. All she wanted was for Carla to wake up. But she didn't want to wake her. She looked so peaceful and serene. Grace was sure that whatever was wrong with Carla would have her needing loads of rest. So she pulled up a chair and waited.

***

Morning streamed into the hospital room. It awakened Grace. She could also feel her hand being squeezed firmly. Warmly. Grace wasn't the only one awake. "How do you feel?" Grace asked Carla who was beginning to stir from her slumber. She looked like some modest beauty from a fairytale with her pale skin and long, wavy hair flowing all over the bed. "I feel better," Carla answered with a small voice. "Good," Grace said solidly. "You scared me last night."

Carla was silent for a moment. The two knew that it was time for some sort of explanation. "So are you gonna tell me what's going on?" Grace asked. It was hard for Grace to say. There's something about bleeding from the mouth that says something is seriously wrong. If it was a nose bleed…that would be a different story.

"Do you want the sugary version or do you want it straight?" Carla asked softly. She was better, but she didn't have too much stored in the energy department. But how did Grace want the truth. She didn't know if she could handle it either way. "Somewhere in between," Grace answered. Carla sighed as deep as she could. Grace could tell it hurt to breathe.

"I went to get a check up at the doctors office and they said my white blood cell count was low," Carla began. "I figured it was because I was a vegetarian and ate lots of crap on top of that." A smile came to her face. "I didn't think it was a big deal. I'd take some vitamins and I'd be fine." At this point Grace wasn't too sure where the story was going. "I went back for a check up a month later and got the same results…that's when they recommended I get tested…"

"For what?" Grace asked.

"HIV." Carla said simply.

Grace let go of Carla's hand. She had never been as scared as she was right at this very moment. It seemed like everything was over. Finished. Right there and then. It was a done deal.

"No," Grace shook her head furiously as if that would make everything better. "Yes," Carla breathed. There was a moment of silence. Then Carla spoke. "The sad part is, I don't even know who I got it from." There was another moment of silence that seemed to last an eternity. Then, out of nowhere, Grace broke down. Started crying viciously. She got up from her chair but fell just as quickly. She couldn't feel her legs. Couldn't feel anything.

***

Three weeks later

Grace: She didn't want to stay in the hospital, even though her white blood cell count was dangerously low. She knew she was going to die so she figured it would be better to die somewhere pleasant. No need to make things worse. (Laughs to herself) Carla always did that. Made the best out of everything. That's probably what I miss the most about her.

For some reason it seemed like this would be the last night. Grace found it strange that she could somehow sense death lurking around the corner. At first it sent shivers down Grace's spine but she knew it was nothing to be afraid of. The only thing to fear was loneliness and Grace didn't fear that too much. It felt like Carla had prepared her for that. Grace felt equipped to go out and find friends that were similar to Carla. None of them would be as perfect as Carla, but Carla would always be there…even if she wasn't there.

"So this is like a slumber party. I feel twelve," Carla giggled. "Yeah, I know," Grace agreed. They were eating pints of ice cream on the couch and watching a DVD. Even though Carla was almost gone she still looked beautiful. She looked so classic. Her hair was wild and her skin was solid and pale. She was gorgeous and sickly at the same time. "I wish I had more time to do things like this," Carla said but not sounding very regretful. Grace was silent. What was there to say?

The night went on and the two laughed and talked about high school. The too went upstairs to sleep in Grace's room. "Night Grace," Carla said. "Night Carla," Grace replied. It was the last time. Carla fell into slumber. She had a peaceful passing. It didn't bother Grace that it happened right next to her. No, she was only glad Carla didn't have to die alone. She didn't have family really, so Grace was glad that she could be next to her. Be with her when Carla needed her.