Heya! Sorry about the wait, but, well, extreme writer's block! Well, today's my brithday (yey!) so I decided I should plough through it and get this up. So, here you go!
Disclaimer: I only own my characters and the plot.
ENJOY!
Eye of the Storm
Chapter Thirty Two: Until The End Of The World
I eyed her wearily.
"Where were you?" the words tumbled past my lips in a rush, eyes focused on the brunette standing before me. She looked completely out of place in the grand entrance hall of the Volkov's mansion.
"Around." She replied quietly.
Around?
Damn her!
I glared.
She stared at the floor.
"You…missed the first day back at school." I attempted.
"I know."
"What the fuck is wrong with you!" I snapped, losing all patience. She didn't even wince.
"Nothing, sis."
I gaped as she turned on her heel and calmly walked up the marble staircase. Just like that.
Doesn't matter that I totally freaked out at lunch because she was missing. Doesn't matter that she never answered her phone. Doesn't matter that Tala started getting wild, crazy ideas that she had been kidnapped or had committed suicide or something. Doesn't matter that she really worried her sister and boyfriend and friends.
Ring ring!
I winced. Right, speaking of boyfriend.
"Tala. Hey." I greeted into my phone.
"Hey. Is she—"
"Yup. She just arrived a minute ago."
A sigh of relief. "Thank God. I'll tell the others."
"Okay."
"Thank God she's alright, eh?"
"Yeah." Physically, anyway. Mentally? I'm not so sure.
"I'll see you soon!"
"Bye…" I muttered, flipping the phone shut. I sighed. God, life just couldn't get a little less complicated, could it?
"And when you think you've hit rock bottom, you take another dive." Jamie's voice echoed in my head. I winced.
What is THAT about?
I seriously doubt it can get any worse than this.
I walked up to my room, dumping my bag in the doorway and greeting Sachi who ran up to me, clambered up my leg and settled on my shoulder.
"Hey little buddy. How's lazing around without a care in the world been?" I asked softly.
Sachi blinked her adorable hazel eyes.
I chortled, lightly stroking her before picking her up and putting her on the bed. I started to get changed, taking off my uniform and going to the closet, attempting to find something to wear. After some contemplation, I took out a pair of black jeans and light blue long sleeved top.
I left my room fifteen minutes later, running straight into Tala.
"Ooph!" I mumbled, as we both bounced backwards. I managed to fall flat on my ass while Tala managed to stay firmly on his feet. Damn him!
"Next time, watch where the hell you're going." Tala told me with a tired grin, pulling me to my feet.
"Very funny." I grumbled, before flashing him a smile. "Did you just get here?"
"Yeah…er, is Holly…"
"She's in your bedroom." I said, nodding to the door that led to the spiral staircase leading to Tala's room. I bit my lip before adding, "Something is seriously wrong. I mean, really really wrong. As in, catastrophic wrong. Tell me you have a vague idea as to what."
Tala shook his head sadly. I could tell he was really upset about the whole thing. "I don't know Willow. Things are a bit weird at the moment. Holly really, y'know, cared for Ray, so what with the way he's acting right now, she's been a lot more down lately. Plus, we've gotten into a fair few fights."
But they always fight. It's what makes Holly and Tala so perfect.
I looked at him sadly, "Don't worry, everything will be fine."
He didn't look like he particularly believed me.
Then again, I'll be six feet under before I start believing those words.
"Alright, I'm pissed off."
I looked at Johnny blankly across the table, snapping out of my dazed state of mind. You know, the one I've constantly been in since Jamie did the whole 'Whooo! I'm so great! Lets jump in front of a bullet!' thing.
Not that I'm not grateful. For the whole saving Kara and Max thing.
Really.
Love him for that.
"Why?" I asked my boyfriend curiously.
"This." He waved an application form for a university in my face. He had been attempting to fill it in for the last ten minutes while I munched my way through some chocolate cake.
"What's the problem?" I said, putting down the spoon on the now empty plate. "Where you applying for anyway?"
"Cambridge."
"WHAT!" I yelled.
Johnny winced.
"That's all the way in England!"
"That's the not the only place I'm applying for…" Johnny muttered in hopes of appeasing me.
Are you kidding? ENGLAND? HIM, IN ENGLAND, WHILE I'M STUCK HERE FOR SENIOR YEAR!
What are you trying to do? Kill me?
"Where else you applying?" I demanded.
"Um…Tokyo University?"
I sighed in relief.
"But, really, my first choice is Harvard."
I groaned, letting my head bang against the table. "That's all the way in America…"
"Well, it's not like we all know you're not gonna go back there." He told me with a gentle smile.
"Yeah, for Uni! I have to get through senior year first!"
"Lils…come on, it'll be fine. We'll still see each other in the holidays. We're not gonna break up just cos there's the Pacific Ocean between us."
"You gonna not have sex for four months straight?" I asked him, eyebrows raised.
"Uh…" Johnny stammered, looking very alarmed.
I rolled my eyes. "See?"
Johnny sighed and safely switched the topic. "How's Holly?"
"Weird," I replied without missing a beat, sighing. "I mean, really, really weird. Depressive. Despondent. Looks like she just wants the whole world to just leave her alone for once. God, she must be so upset with all the shit Ray's been giving her. He's running her name through the mud, and it's getting to her, bad."
Johnny shook his head. "I'm worried for her."
Aren't we all?
"Hey guys!" Mirror chirped, dragging Kai by the hand as she waltzed through the door and slipped into the seat next to me. She looked up at Kai. "Baby, can you get me a hot chocolate with marshmallows, please? Thanks!"
Kai rolled his eyes. "You guys want a top up?" he asked us.
"Get us a strawberry milkshake and a mocha, would you?" Johnny said, digging into his pocket and holding out a five-dollar note. Kai waved it away and walked to the counter, while Johnny just shrugged and held it out to me.
I rolled my eyes and took it, totally used to my boyfriend handing me random five-dollar notes so that I could buy magazines and stuff.
Usually I would refuse, but I got used it after a while. Johnny sure is stubborn.
"Alrighty then. What's the news on Hols?" Mirror asked.
I told her what I had told Johnny, Kai listening carefully as he brought the beverages.
"I am so tempted to kill Ray," Johnny told us.
"You ain't the only one." I muttered.
"Well, here's your chance." Kai said, looking over my shoulder. I whirled around, seeing the Chinese teen walk into the café at that moment.
"Um, excuse me." Johnny said, getting to his feet and walking towards Ray.
"What is he gonna do?" Mirror asked worriedly.
…Oh my God! What is he doing?
Yeah, my boyfriend just grabbed him and hurled him outside.
"Bloody hell! He just punched him!" Mirror yelped, looking outside through the window.
I was out of my seat and outside faster than you could say 'what!'.
"What the hell d'you think your doing!" Ray yelled at the angry redhead, clutching his bleeding nose.
Johnny punched him again.
"I'm getting payback! For the way you've been treating Holly!"
"Why the hell would you care?" Ray roared in anger. "Just a few weeks ago you called her a slut!"
"Unintentionally," Johnny growled, "And I paid for it. Just like you should."
Ha! You ain't kidding!
"Actually," I interrupted sweetly, thoroughly enjoying this, "The term was 'cold, heartless bitch' and he mostly talking about me."
"Go to hell!" he snapped at me.
Oh, but Ray. I'm already in hell. Haven't you noticed?
I just smiled at him, which seemed to frustrate him even more.
And that's one for the Good Guys!
Johnny grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt. "I want you to listen, and listen good. You stay away from Holly Tate, and you stay away from my girlfriend. In fact, you just stay from all of our girls."
"That would include Kara," Kai added from behind me, watching lazily with an arm around Mirror's shoulders. "I don't trust you with her. Especially in such a delicate state. Well, I don't trust you period, but that's another matter."
"Delicate?" Mirror said to her boyfriend, "No wonder Kara nearly chopped your balls off yesterday, you don't ever call a pregnant girl delicate, especially Kara Hiwatari."
Kai frowned, "So that's why she…?"
Mirror nodded, smiling at her poor, confused boyfriend.
I sniggered.
"D'you understand, Kon?" Johnny snapped at Ray.
"Yeah," he growled out, "I get you."
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"
Oh, crap.
Johnny blinked and let go of Ray. I turned, catching sight of my sister glaring at us.
"Just what gives you the right to go around beating up anyone you sodding want!" she screamed at us.
"But, Hols, he's been treating you like—" Mirror tried.
"How d'you think Willow got expelled from her old school?" Holly snapped, "By beating up some guy until he was almost comatose, just because he pulled some very nasty moves on me!"
"Just because?" Johnny growled, glaring at Ray, "Sounds like he deserved it."
"Trust me, he did." I snarled, temper flaring.
"Will you two just—"
"SHUT UP!" Ray roared, "If I needed protecting, I rather it come from a prostitute than you, Tate! But then again, someone could mistake you for one!"
Holly froze, looking like she has just been slapped.
You…you bastard…
I leapt forward and drove a fist into his face, undeniably glad when I heard a sickening crunch of his nose breaking. I went to hit him again, but Kai grabbed my arm, shaking his head.
"Come on, let's go, before you get yourself in shit." He told me softly.
I…don't…care!
I just want to beat the shit out of him!
"Willow!" Johnny said sharply. "Lets go."
I sighed, and looked towards Holly.
But she was already gone.
Hmm…strawberry milkshake…
"God, I go to the kitchen for five minutes and she sodding disappears." Tala was ranting, presumably about Holly leaving the house without telling anyone and ending up at the café, and that harsh scene.
I was sitting on the breakfast counter in Tala's kitchen, slurping on the strawberry milkshake Kai had managed to grab before we left.
"Did she come back?" Mirror asked.
"Yeah, she's in our bedroom," Tala sighed, running a hand tiredly through his red hair, "Christ, I don't know what to do."
"You're not the only one lost on this," Max told him. "I'm really worried for her mental health."
"Same," I said, and Kara nodded in agreement behind me, where she was sitting cross-legged on the counter and running a brush through my hair.
To be honest, I feel much worse than any of them. What with the recent yet sudden loss of Jamie, who I was so used to being able to trust to be there so I could vent all my frustrations on him, I didn't know what to do about Holly.
It was like she was beyond my help.
The help of her own twin sister.
I've always protected her, from right when we were little kids.
So what the hell am I doing now?
What the hell am I doing?
Wasting time, I would think now. I didn't realise it then, but I was wasting time.
I walked into my room, piggybacking a sleepy Kara. We must've spent an hour in the kitchen, talking about everything and anything, and poor Kara, whose hormones were totally out of whack, became tired.
To be honest, I was tired as well, all of the stress with Holly disappearing for the entire day and such had made me just want to curl up in my bed and take a nap, and there seemed no better time.
After all, Holly's safe and sound in Tala's bedroom, right?
God, those were famous last words.
"Mmm, thanks Cass…" Kara mumbled when I put her down on the bed. "Ow. What the…" she grumbled, lifting her head from the pillow. There lay a white letter.
I recognised the envelope from Holly's personalised stationary.
Kara gave it to me, since Lila was written in neat, curvy writing on the front. I frowned in confusion, and opened it hastily. There was a letter inside.
I began to read.
Dear Lila,
Oh, wow. I don't know what to write. What do I write? Well, first off, since there's so much I need to say to everyone and so little time to do it, I want you, sis, to pass on these messages, because I won't be here to say goodbye.
I won't be here period.
I stopped.
I knew what it was. I knew it the moment I saw the envelope, but I didn't want to believe it.
It's a suicide note.
Oh God.
Holly…
Sis…I read the rest rapidly, then flipped it over. Two words glared at me.
Land's End.
What? What does that mean? Oh Jesus, please, don't do this to me. I gave the letter to Kara, who frowned and started to read it, while I tore out of the room and down the hall. Down the spiral staircase, almost kicked down the door and…
She wasn't there.
As soon as I came up the stairs, Kara tore out of my room.
"Land's End…it's the cliffs Willow!"
The cliffs. My sister, my darling Holly, was going to end her life by throwing herself off the cliff and into the freezing waters below. The shock alone would kill her. If that didn't, she would drown.
No.
Oh God, no.
I turned on my heel and ran, Kara close behind me. I crashed into the kitchen within a record time of fifteen seconds.
"Willow!" Johnny said, surprised at our sudden entrance, "What's the matter?"
"Holly! She's going to commit suicide!" I gasped out.
Everything was autopilot and blurred after that. Tala threw me his car keys and jammed on his trainers. Johnny followed suite, as did Max, Kai and Mirror. Max ordered his girlfriend to stay behind and call around, in case anyone had seen her.
We piled into Tala's Jaguar convertible, me driving; I was faster, everyone knew it. I jammed my foot on the accelerator and we were off, zooming straight for the road that followed the beaches and cliffs.
It didn't take us long to find her. She was still standing on the edge, staring at the sunset.
Still finding the guts to take the plunge.
"HOLLY!"
She whirled around, eyes wide.
I could hear the wild thumping of my heart in my chest. I could smell the salty water in the breeze. I could feel the bitter cold seeping into my skin, in my rush I had forgotten to put on something over my t-shirt.
I could see the tears running down my sister's cheeks.
"No," she mumbled, looking away. "GO AWAY!"
Please don't do this, please don't do this, not to me, not to Max, not to Tala, please sis, don't do this…
Oh God, sis, PLEASE!
"Holly!" Tala yelled over the sound of waves crashing into the cliff walls. "Please, Hols, don't do this. How many are you going to hurt if you do this?"
"How many people am I going to hurt if I don't?" Holly screamed at him, whirling around, "That's all I'm good at, right? Hurting people?"
"That's not true and you know it Holly!" Max retorted. "We're your friends, your family. If you do this, it'll kill us!"
"You can manage, I'm sure! After all, if Willow can deal with Jamie going into a coma, I'm sure you can manage this!"
I felt an ice-cold knife wedge deep into my heart.
"NO! I CAN'T!" I screamed at her, feeling tears gathering in my eyes, "I CAN'T HANDLE JAMIE BEING GONE! I CAN'T! IF YOU GO AS WELL, I'LL LOSE IT!"
Holly turned away, looking over the cliff edge.
"YOU'RE MY SISTER! MY TWIN! WHAT AM I GONNA DO WITHOUT YOU?" I continued yelling, desperation in my voice.
The tears started to fall.
"Come on, Holly, this isn't the way to go," Johnny tried.
"Suicide? Don't be a coward! The Holly Tate I know wouldn't do this!" Kai yelled over the wind.
"Holly, please," Tala begged, "Holly, I love you. I love you so much. Why are you doing this to us? To Willow, to Max, to me?"
Holly turned right around, so that her back was to the setting sun behind her.
"I love you too," She said softly, looking at Tala. Her chocolate gaze turned to me, and then she added, "I'm sorry."
At the moment, horror filled me. It took every single cell in my petit shell of a body and filled them to the brim with sheer, unadulterated horror.
No.
No.
Oh, Christ, no, please, no…
She stepped backwards, right to the edge. And she started to fall.
"HOLLY!"But she was gone.
Silence filled the air. Mirror suddenly collapsed to her knees, sobbing. Kai dropped down next to her, pulling her into a hug. Max seemed shell shocked, as did Tala.
I felt Johnny wrap his arms around me, but at the same, I didn't. All I could do was stare at the spot Holly had been standing.
I just watched my twin sister commit suicide.
The words resounded in my head.
I just watched my twin sister commit suicide. I just watched my twin sister commit suicide. I just watched my twin sister commit suicide. I just watched my twin sister commit suicide.
Holly…
I'll follow you to the end of the Earth, sis.
"No." I muttered.
"Willow…"
"No." I repeated, struggling against Johnny's grip. "No. No. No. NO!" I screamed the last one, finally pushing him away. I turned on my heel and ran towards the edge.
I didn't hesitate.
I didn't think.
I just leapt.
Dear Lila,
Oh, wow. I don't know what to write. What do I write? Well, first off, since there's so much I need to say to everyone and so little time to do it, I want you, sis, to pass on these messages, because I won't be here to say goodbye.
I won't be here period.
First off, Maxie. God, Max, I don't think I could've asked for a better older brother. You've been there for me, always. I just wish I could be here to see my baby niece/nephew (personally, I'm thinking it's a niece). Kara, you and Max make the most wonderful couple ever. I hope you and your new family live life to the fullest.
Girlies, which means Mirror, Kara, Destiny, Mariah, Mariam and Sky, thanks for being such great friends. I know some of you are angry with me because of what I've done to Ray, and trust me, I know I deserve it. But thanks for the last two years, almost two decades in Sky's case, and only six brilliant months for Dest and Mi.
Boys, thanks as well, for the laughs especially, and for making me grow up. I truly hope every one of you will find happiness with someone special in the future.
Kai, I can't tell you how much I appreciate everything you've done for me and Willow. So I won't bother. You're the best.
Ray, I'm sorry. I know it's not enough, but I am sorry. So, so, sorry.
Tala…I love you. Please don't ever think I didn't. Because I do. So much.
And sis…finally, its just you, my Lila. You're the one thing that kept me tied to this world, and yet sometimes I think you drift off as well. I'm so sorry about what happened with Jamie. You don't deserve the pain. Hang on to Johnny, babe, he's a keeper. Just sort out his temper, eh? Keep cracking jokes, keep being weird, keep being…you. Because you're a light we all can't afford to lose.
I would've followed you to the end of Earth, sis. Just so you know.
Love,
Holly.
Ahem. Yeah. Well, thanks for waiting patiently. And reviewing. Can you do that again? I mean, review?
Ciao!
Chiya