No lengthy intro this time. I would just like to thank everyone for their support. Now, get the tissues. This one may be a tear-jerker for most of you. I know I was kind of emotional while writing this...

Chapter 52

I woke up to a weight on the side of the bed. I turned over to see Antoinette leaning over me, attempting to wipe my face with a damp cloth.

"That wasn't soaked in the lake, right?"

Antoinette rolled her eyes. "Honestly, that is the first thing you say?"

"Yup. What time is it? I thought we didn't have rehearsal this week." I said as I sat up in the bed, the blanket pooling around me.

She sat beside me. "No, you are right. No rehearsal was scheduled. I just came down because I was worried."
"Let me guess: Erik told you what happened?"

She only nodded. I sighed as I rolled out of bed, dragging the blanket with me. As I was folding it back up, Antoinette came around the bed and gently took the blanket from my hands. "Are you okay, Mandy? Erik seemed very concerned after your conversation."

I didn't answer her. Instead, I just exited the room and made my way to the kitchen for a glass of water. Of course, she followed me.

"Mandy, please talk to me-"

"Where's Erik?" I interrupted her. I honestly did not want to talk about my little spell earlier. I didn't even mean to say half of what I said. I had never told anyone what had happened before. I had hoped that Erik would have forgotten what I said, but as luck would have it, it just made him even more worried about me. That is what I DIDN'T want to happen...

"He is out getting some supplies and you are avoiding me."

"Yes, Antoinette, I am avoiding you because I really don't want to talk about this right now. And please, I beg of you, don't say that everything needs to be talked about at some point because I already know but I'm just not ready and-"

She cut me off with an embrace, holding me as tears began to spill yet again. "It's okay. You don't have to talk about it. I won't make you."

I nodded against her shoulder. And this was the sight that Erik walked in on.

"Um, do you want me to leave?"

Antoinette peeled me away from her shoulder and held me at arm's length. "I think we are going to be okay. Right, Mandy?"

Again, I only nodded. My words apparently did not want to work at that moment.

He passed us and set the supplies on the table, then came to our little huddle. "When did you wake up? I was hoping to be back before then."

I took a deep breath and exhaled, willing myself not to cry again. "I just woke up, but you didn't miss much."

"And that is my cue to leave," Antoinette announced. "Remember, Mandy, I am just upstairs about five stories if you ever need anything. Please do not hesitate."

I nodded. "I know, Antoinette. Thank you."

As she left, Erik embraced me. I'm never short on hugs lately, I thought.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

I pulled away from him slowly. "Yes, Erik. I'm fine. I'm sorry for worrying you earlier. That definitely wasn't my intention. I don't even know why I said half the things I said-"

"Something happened in your time, didn't it?"

A lone red rose lay upon the grave Jackson was currently gazing upon, the cruel irony causing a cynical chuckle to escape him.

"She never did forget you, did she? Especially before your favorite show. I mean, I don't blame her. You two were so close."

He knelt down to wipe snow off of the granite surface, exposing the engraved name. "I never did blame her like she thought I did. There was no way I could. But I think you already know that, sis."

"Her name was Rose and she was my best friend. We did everything together. She was the one that got me interested in theater. It was our thing. We would put on little shows for our families when we were young. Everything was perfect until..."

I paused. This part of the story always caused me to lose it.

"Until the night she basically killed herself."

Erik gasped. "What happened?"

Tears welled in my eyes. "She had went to a party and got drunk. She had called and asked me to pick her up. But my phone was on silent and I was asleep. I had went to bed early because I had a big test the next day. Since I didn't answer and she didn't want to get in trouble with her parents, she decided to drive herself home. Despite all the warning they give us in school about drinking and driving, she still did it...and ended up wrapping her car around a tree. She died upon impact. I didn't find out until the next morning when I walked in to the kitchen and found my mom crying at the table. She told me what happened and I lost it. I lost all sense of feeling in that moment. The only thing I could do was run. If I had...if I had stayed up just a bit later or kept my phone turned up b-because I knew she was g-going to that party, she would s-still be alive!"

"Oh, Mandy," Erik whispered as he pulled me to him. "It wasn't your fault. You can't blame yourself for the actions of someone else."

"But-"

He silenced me. "No buts. You couldn't have stopped her. If anything, it was the other people who were there that are at fault. They could have stopped her but chose not to."

I sobbed, shaking my head. "But I still feel guilty about it! How could I have been so careless?"

Erik rocked me back and forth in a calming manner. "You weren't careless. I'm sure her family didn't blame you, either. There is no way that you were the guilty one in this and there is no way that you will change my mind, mon amour."

I cried harder at the nickname. I clutched tightly to his shirt as I soaked it with my tears. He could have cared less, though, as he kept comforting me.

"Nothing will happen, right? Is she alright? Can you tell her to come back?"

Silence was his only answer.

"Can you tell her to come back to me?"