Yeah, I know, I'm late by more than a week. I kinda hit a writer's block after the last chapter and sometimes I can't blame myself. I mean, HOW do you write a person's point of view that has just lost their ex-boyfriend/best friend? But I eventually got there. It's a bit on the short side, and I can't say its my best work so...let me know what you think?
Disclaimer: No, still working on the guys who do actually own beyblade. They still won't give me the rights! -huffs and storms off-
Eye of the Storm
Chapter Thirty: Wish Me A New World
Sometimes, if I try hard enough, I can escape from reality. I'm welcomed into a world where there are no such things as war and poverty, where no one is held prisoner and tortured. I go to a world where life is as perfect as I could want it.
Sometimes, if I try hard enough, I can pretend that I'm still in America, where we ruled the streets and my friends were troubled yet carefree in a way that shouldn't be possible. I can pretend that everyone still fears me, fears Sky even worse and is downright terrified of that seventeen year old who rumours say, is dating me. I can pretend I'm still a fifteen year old girl with a mission; find Ryan and cause as much trouble as possible in the process.
Sometimes, if I try hard enough, I can believe that my relationship with Johnny would last forever and that we would never hurt each other so much again. That his intense violet eyes and red hair would be thing I woke up to every morning, that one day we would get married and live together. I can believe that there'll be a redheaded little girl with mischievous green eyes that would call me Mommy.
Sometimes, if I try hard enough, I can pretend that I'm not sitting beside a hospital bed.
Sometimes, if I try hard enough, I can pretend that I'm not holding James Hearn's cold and pale hand, hoping to God that he would wake up.
And knowing he probably won't.
"My baby! My poor baby James…"
"I'm really sorry Mr and Mrs Hearn, there's nothing more we can do."
It was all a blur, the next few days. Nothing but tears and a horrible feeling of emptiness.
"Willow, you've gotta eat. You haven't eaten since the wedding yesterday."
"I'm not hungry."
"Eat the damned food Sandy!"
My food tasted like ash and my sleep was plagued with nightmares. I found easier just to not sleep at all.
"We can't!"
"Yes, we can! She's barely slept two consecutive hours since the wedding!"
"But we can't just force it on her…"
"Johnny, I'm her best friend. I have been since we were two. Trust me when I say I know what's best for her,"
"Sky…"
"Damnit McGregor, don't make this anymore difficult than it already is!"
When she put sleeping pills in my apple juice, I endured six hours of nothing but nightmares overflowing with blood and bullets, golden eyes filled with pain, nothing but sheer pain.
But then I woke up, feeling more refreshed and just a bit better, and I couldn't blame Sky.
"Willow, the doctors say he's gone into a comatose state."
"Will he ever wake up?"
"Honey, they don't know. They don't know."
"Thanks for telling me Mrs Hearn."
"I think you have the right to know. There's no one my James ever loved more than you honey."
Sometimes, when I'm alone, which isn't often, I take his hand and whisper things to him. I tell him what's going on, how Kara was so upset when she heard Jamie had taken the bullet for her, how Max was shell shocked about Kara being pregnant. How Sky had taken to beating the shit out of her punching bag to vent steam, how Danny and Mattie constantly had to keep an eye on both me and Sky. How Johnny was worrying over my lack of sleep and food. How Holly was slowly sinking into depression.
How everything was slowly collapsing around us, and I didn't have the energy to stop it.
"Heya Jamie." I muttered, as I took his hand and sat on the edge of the bed. I stared down at his pale face that contrasted violently with his raven black hair.
"It's gonna be the New Year in two days," I said, reaching a hand to his face and moving his hair away from his face gently. "It's a shame you'll miss it. Although we haven't quite celebrated Christmas yet, which has left Dad confused as to why his kids weren't at home on Christmas day,"
He didn't move. Not a single flicker. But I knew he could hear me. He just had to.
"You didn't get to open your present." I sighed sadly, "I picked out such a cool thing as well. But never mind eh? You can open it when you wake up. Whenever that is. Either way, the rest of us haven't opened our presents either. It feels too weird, opening presents."
"But that was four days ago." Announced a voice from the doorway. I looked over my shoulder to see Mattie standing there, surrounded by everyone else who had been involved. She and Sky were carrying a large bag of presents.
"We decided that Jamie would've wanted us to get over it and start being a little happy. I'm sure he didn't put himself in a coma only for us to suffer because of it." Sky said determinedly.
"Yeah, we gotta face it Lils. James would've wanted you to be happy." Johnny said, walking into the room and pulling me gently to my feet. "What d'you say?"
I looked at my friends' faces, they were all so sad, so concerned. Since when did we need to act beyond the age of eighteen? They were right. Jamie would want me to be happy.
"Okay," I said.
They all broke into grins, and Kara rushed forward and hugged me tightly.
"I was so worried about you and James," she whispered, "I barely had time to worry about the kid in my stomach."
I hugged her back, smiling. "You just worry about my niece/nephew okay? I wanna spoil that kid rotten. As far as I'm concerned, I'm gonna be favourite Auntie Willow."
Kara laughed, and pulled back. She reached into the bag of presents, pulling out a wrapped rectangular box.
"This was from James, to you Willow. I thought you might want to see it first."
I sat down on the bed again with the wrapped box in my hands. I turned to the unmoving nineteen year old.
"Cheers Jamie. Merry Christmas, eh?"
Holly grasped my arm tightly. I barely paid any attention to her as we stared up at the two storey house that belonged to the Tate family. Kara shifted nervously next to Max, who had a determined steely look in his cerulean blue eyes.
"They are so gonna flip on us." Kara muttered.
I snorted. "About what? The fact we haven't been at home for the last five days? Or the fact you're pregnant?"
"Both," Max smirked, "But who gives a shit? We do what we like, eh?"
"Maybe you Max," Holly shot at our older brother, "You're eighteen and free to do what you like. What about the rest of us, huh?"
Kara interrupted before the blonde could retort. "Guys, please. No arguing. And don't argue with me," she added to Max, who had opened his mouth for the second time. He promptly shut it again.
"Well, whenever you people I call family have finished bickering amongst yourselves, perhaps you'll join me while entering the place that's suddenly looking like a torture house," I said dryly, walking up to the house. Holly made a noise of protest, since she was still latched onto my arm.
Max snorted in laughter. "A torture house? Honestly, you never fail to amuse me little sis."
I gave a wry smile, shaking out the bundle of key rings and keys and God knows what else, and finding the key to my front door within seconds. Yeah, I WAS about to use that key when suddenly the door flung open and the blonde woman known as my mother stood in the doorway.
"Holly! Max!"
You forgot me you stupid piece of—
Oh, who am I kidding? My own mother hates me and I know it.
There was loud thump from inside and suddenly Dad appeared, pulling me into a one armed hug. After a split second, he used his other arm to gently tug Kara into his arms as well. Needless to say, the youngest Hiwatari looked surprised but happy.
Can't say I'm surprised either. Kara practically lives here, after all. And her Dad died when she was young, so there was never much in the way of parents. Her mom was constantly away on business.
"Where the hell have you been, Willow? And you, Kara? Max? Holly? You take off looking depressed and tired and come back FIVE days later. You missed Christmas and everything!" Dad exploded.
"Sorry Dad," I said.
"Sorry Mr. Tate. It's all my fault." Kara muttered, hanging her head shamefully.
Mom upturned her nose at those words, her eyes cold.
"Like hell it's your fault Kara!" Max suddenly interrupted, looking up at Mom heatedly. "It's all Voltaire's fault, and you know it,"
"Yeah, but it's my fault they missed Christmas, isn't it?"
Something snapped inside me at the harsh reminder of Christmas Day. "So is it your fault that Jamie's in a coma?" I spat at Kara angrily. "Don't blame yourself for something beyond your control Kara. We decided to get you out of that wedding, Voltaire decided to point a gun at you, Jamie decided to save you. It was all beyond your control and don't you start thinking otherwise, alright?"
There was silence for some very long seconds, but Kara eventually nodded, her eyes wide.
"So," Mom started hopefully, "That James kid is in a coma?"
FUCKING STUPID BLOODY—
"JUDY!" Dad roared furiously, "How dare you talk to your own daughter like that! How DARE you treat her with such crudeness!"
FUCK! I HATE HER!
"She is not my daughter." Mom said coldly and flatly.
Holly and Max winced, and Kara gasped. Dad went pale, a sign of shock and anger.
I closed my eyes briefly before snapping them open again.
"I'm glad you think so. Perhaps you would not mind me calling you a inconsiderate, incompetent mother who has nothing better to do than pick on her least favourite child just because of a slight mishap when I was younger!" I snapped, giving her the filthiest look I could conjure.
"How dare you--"
"God damnit will you SHUT UP!" Max yelled over us, his expression livid. Okay, Max angry is not a good thing. Especially when he's meant to be such a good-natured guy who takes everything into stride. Yeah, Max angry is really not all together that great. "I hate it when you start throwing insults at each other like a pair of spoilt brats! Especially after everything that's happened. Now, Willow, would you allow us to tell Mother and Dad what happened?"
I sighed, shrugged and took a step back.
"Okay, before we get into details of where we've been the last five days, I think Max and Kara should tell you something," Holly said, grasping my hand. I squeezed her hand in reassurance.
Mother and Dad glanced at each other uncertainly.
"Please, whatever you decide, you have to understand that we can't changed what happened." Kara said, her eyes wide in fear.
Max nodded, wrapped an arm around Kara's waist and said rather boldly:
"Kara's pregnant."
SMASH!
"DON'T YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!"
"WHY THE HELL NOT?"
"Kara, Max, you should probably find somewhere else to stay for a while," I said loudly over the smashing and yelling coming from downstairs. Mom and Dad were yet again having another argument. Guess who's on our side? Yup, Daddy dearest.
"Perhaps. Question is, where?" Kara sighed. "Maxie, I don't want to take you away from your family,"
"I have Dad, Holly and Willow's support and as far as I'm concerned, that's all need family wise Kara. Just like you have Kai," Max told his girlfriend.
Kara nodded and buried her head into his shoulder.
"That's it." I muttered, getting to my feet. I refuse to stay in this house a second longer! Besides, they won't notice we're gone for a while, not while they're arguing in the living room and throwing everything breakable thing at each other. You see, this is why I prefer America! I could just escape to Chris and Danny's house, where we have our Headquarters. So much easier…
"What?" Holly asked, curiously.
"C'mon," I told my siblings and best friend. "Lets get outta here."
"What? Willow, your Dad said to--" Kara started.
"Yeah, I know, but I'll just leave a note. He'll understand. We can't stay here Kara, its only making you stressed and that isn't good for you OR the baby."
That was the last of it.
When had everything got so stressful? When had the world decided it didn't like me and was going to ruin my life?
And there was always more to come.
"Where are we going?" Holly asked, as I pulled out of the driveway in the silver Mazda I had gotten for my birthday. Curled around my shoulder was Sachi, my other birthday present, the ferret. In the trunk were several rucksacks we had packed that would last us at least a week.
I think it's safe to say Max and Kara are officially moving out.
Although that doesn't really work for Kara, does it? She practically lives in my house, but my mother never quite accepted her. So, really, she never lived in my house officially. She still spent at least one night a week in her own bedroom.
Jeez, no wonder she ended up pregnant.
I didn't answer Holly's question.
It became clear enough when we pulled into a garage only several miles away from the school.
"Tala's house!" Holly spluttered. "Lila, no way!"
"Why the hell not?" I said, climbing out of the car.
"Because- well…Lila, don't do this to me! Not with Ray…and…everything…"
"Ray has to get over the fact you've left him Holly," I told her sternly, placing her rucksack in her hand. Picking up my own, I waited for Max and Kara to grab their own before shutting the trunk and locking the car. "C'mon guys, if we're lucky Tala would've gotten out of bed already,"
Well, it IS two in the afternoon already, but Tala Volkov is one lazy bastard.
DING DONG!
We waited patiently for Kayla to open the door.
"Miss Willow, Miss Holly. What a pleasant surprise. Ah, and Miss Kara and Mr Max. I'm assuming you wish to see Master Tala?"
"Yes, if that's okay Kayla," Holly said, smiling.
"Of course, come in, come in." Kayla, the plump head housekeeper, ushered us in. "He's in his bedroom, still sleeping I should think. You know the way."
Holly led the way with complete ease even though we all knew the way to Tala's bedroom. After many carpeted stairs and empty corridors, we stood before the jet-black door that was oh-so-similar.
"I'll talk to him…" Holly sighed, and without even bothering to knock, she slipped past the door and closed it behind her.
I sat down on the stair with a dull thump, closing my eyes.
Golden eyes… pain… bullet… blood… thick crimson blood against white… so pretty… so painful… come back… Jamie…
I snapped my eyes open again, breathing hard.
Flashes of images plagued my mind, mixing and blurring together, Jamie with his golden eyes and messy raven black hair, sometimes he's laughing, sparkling, full of life, he likes to smile, he likes being happy. Sometimes he stops to laugh, the sparkle dies and life escapes like rain falls. Sometimes there's blood, so much of it, it pools on his so perfectly white shirt.
Drowning in a pool of his blood.
Always drowning…
Jamie…
SNAP!
"He said you can take the guest bedrooms in the corridor at the top of the stairs," Holly was saying, leaning against the black door and her skin pale, her hands clenched into fists.
I shook my head to clear my heads of all thoughts of Jamie, failing miserably, and sighed. I was the first up the stairs and into a spare bedroom, throwing the rucksack into a corner and letting Sachi hop off my shoulder onto the bed, where I threw myself next to her.
I pulled back my jumper sleeve and stared down at the bracelet there. It was several leather cords that wrapped around my wrist in an intricate design, occasionally sporting a different coloured stone with a name carved into it.
Holly, green. Max and Kara, yellow. Sky, light blue. Johnny, violet. Kai, dark blue. Mirror, orange. Fred and Nick, bright red…it was a blur of colours and names, everybody was there, all with their own colours. All my friends and family.
A blood red stone stood out from all the other colours. Along with the name, there was a message.
Love you always. Jamie.
This was his Christmas present to me, and I know I couldn't've asked for anything better.
I clutched the bracelet tightly and closed my eyes.
And I cried.
Okay, that's it. I just wanna say thanks to everyone who reviewed, and if you read Goddess of Fire, you might have to wait at least another week for the next update. I kinda don't know what to do with that one either. So, yeah, thanks for being patient!
Please review and thanks again for reviewing the last chapter! That was the most reviews I've ever gotten for just one chapter for this story...
Ciao dudes and dudettes
Chiya