SECOND:
The two girls sulk along the sidewalk. Jaeden's hands shove deep into the pockets of her large baggy jeans. Kira's hands twirl and dance in front of her, the occasional detour of them combing through her hair. The noise of sneakers squeak on the pavement acts as the only form of communication between them.
The two stop at a park, appearing abandon as the sets in it look ancient and stale. The swings creak, one of them lopsided as it slogs against the pebbles. The yellow slide ink in black graffiti, some masterpieces display on them, but most nothing more than ordinary crudeness and taunts. The see-saw is warp and bent in odd places, looking more like a rubric's cube than anything. The merry-go-round, somehow, remains as the only plaything in the park to be clean. It sits, looking almost brand new and fresh. The bright orange and red shines out in the deep darkness of the park. The only street light left nearby, a weak flicker of a dying bulb.
The girls make their way towards the merry-go-round, plopping down on different sections of it. They push off with their feet, allowing them to drag in the pebbles and dirt. Kira rests her head against a bar of the merry-go-round as Jaeden remains stiff and silent. The quietness eases away from comfort to anxiety. A lump develops in Jaeden's throat as if the different words she is thinking get jumble on their way out.
"I," Jaeden laughs, her face snaps down at her hands as they rub themselves over her arms, all over the bumps and scars, the pain and torture, the regret and shame. All of it is covering her bare dark skin. She bends her head back in an attempt to prevent anymore tears from sneaking out. "I," she repeats "I just don't know. I don't know." She begins, stammering over her words. "I wish I did but I don't." Kira reaches out her hand, placing it on top of her Jaeden's.
"Stop, Jaeden," Kira scolds in a soft whisper. "I know what you're trying to do, trying to apologize, but it's not necessary. I'm not, I'm not mad at you." Jaeden stays quiet, heart walloping in her chest as she grips harder onto Kira's fingers, lacing them together. Kira looks off in the distance, smiling, content. Allowing herself to bask in the reassuring energy that seeps from Kira into her, a sudden flare of calmness washes over Jaeden, settling in her emotions of affection and bliss.
"So," Jaeden says. "My mom and Sheriff Keller are together, I guess."
"Yeah," Kira smiles. "It kind of started right after you, you left. Tommy visited her as a wellness check at first but I'm guessing it developed and just happened from there."
"So are we all just going to start calling him Tommy from now on or what?" Kira giggles, allowing Jaeden to chuckle along with her. "I'm just saying, that I'm not saying it's bad or anything. It's just a, an adjustment. But hell, this whole thing is an adjustment for me." The merry-go-round stops at the end of her sentence. Kira rises up, body turns towards Jaeden until their large brown eyes are looking into each other's. The faintness of her face appearing under the new moon of the night.
"You know, we're all here for you." Jaeden blanks, shrugging off the sentiment with her shoulders. She looks at Kira with uncertainty. "It's true, most of us, if not all of us aren't going too far away for college. We're all going to stay right here near town."
"Great," Jaeden scorns. "So what I did is costing everyone to have to alter their plans for me."
"No," Kira barks. "It's not like that, Jaeden, at all. Most of us cannot afford to go far away for school even with scholarship money. Besides it's just more practical for us to stay here and save money on stuff like dorms and all that." Jaeden shakes her head. "Trust me, Jaeden. You don't have to always blame yourself for everything. We wanted to stay here. It's not like anything negative."
"Did Lydia get into Princeton or Yale?" Jaeden asks concern.
"Yale, no but Princeton yes," Kira responds. "But Lydia and her mother agreed that it would be too expensive for her to be able to go there especially with the 12 hour drive every semester and Ms. Martin having to take time off." Kira straightens her head as she moves closer to Jaeden, cupping her hand to place on her shoulder. "Jaeden trust me," Kira whispers. "No one is doing anything that they didn't want to do. Especially with any fault to you, you have to stop blaming yourself."
Jaeden relaxes herself awhile, "I know, I know. I just don't know what's the matter with me is sometimes." A cold eerie silence falls between them. Jaeden looks over at Kira, confused. Jaeden strains herself to look at her in the darkness. "Kira?" Jaeden questions. Kira's hand drops against hers, Jaeden's breathing getting heavier and heavier. She tries to grasp Kira's gaze, noticing her eyes not looking at her, but through her, staring off into the long spacious distance.
Jaeden shudders as a quiet chill creeps down her spine. She turns around, trying to be precise and calm. She looks and sees a shape, a shadow large and menacing standing far off by the swings towering over it. Jaeden's face plummets from the sight of it. She moves closer to Kira, trying to call out her name, before a sudden grasp clamps onto her hand. It is Kira's. Then the two start to rise, gradual. They find themselves standing, their eyes lock on the creature unsure if it is watching them and waiting or just being hidden.
The two girls grip each other's hand as they begin to walk away. A single step into the pebble ground, just a small low crunch from their feet. A large flabby tentacle shoots out towards them at the exact moment their feet hits the ground. The tentacle pierces itself around Jaeden's neck. Its grip tightening around her, as the veins of the tentacle pulses against her throat with sharp needle-like suckers jutting into her.
Kira screams out, trying to slip her small delicate hands in between the creature's tentacle and Jaeden's throat. A sudden jolt snaps on Kira's hands as she realizes the creature dragging Jaeden away as her body's life begins to fade. Kira begins crying out, using all her strength to pull her out of the creature's grip.
Kira feels her teeth dig into the creature's flesh, its copper and sour blood filling up her mouth. The creature's tentacle quivers from the sudden bite. It loosens its hold on Jaeden enough for her head to slip out from its grasp. Her body collapses on the ground with a hard thud. Kira falls next to her, with her face cover in tears. She holds her hand, peering up to see if the creature is still hovering or preparing to strike once more. Instead, she sees the pale blue coloring of a house underneath the brightness of the streetlights.
She looks around and sees the large trees with leaves falling around, the sidewalk and houses all around her. She recognizes the area as Jaeden's neighborhood. She gets frantic searching for the creature but no sight of it anywhere. She looks down at Jaeden pushing her fingers to her throat, her pulse returning to her slow and weak. Kira glances at the house and back at Jaeden before running towards it. She bangs on the door loud that it feels like the whole house is shaking.
Tom opens the door, an angry expression on his face that appears to change once he looks at Kira. Her jet black hair a dishevel mess on her head, her round face wet and red from the tears, a pale bluish purple liquid covering her mouth. Tom reaches out for Kira, places his hands on her shoulders almost like preventing her from trembling. Kira stammers out Jaeden's name, pointing to Jaeden lying limp on the ground. Tom shouts out for Kevin as he runs over to her.
Kevin, Josie, and Sierra all run outside. They see a traumatize Kira standing on their doorstep before seeing Tom lifting Jaeden up. Kevin runs over to his dad as Josie and Sierra shriek and cry out. Tom and Kevin drag Jaeden to the car and they drive off in an instant. Kira turns to Sierra and Josie, apologizing over and over. They ignore her as they run off in the house, returning only to jump into the lone vehicle in the driveway and speed off. Kira blinks back tears, stumbling from the doorstep. She feels her legs moving as she is walking down the sidewalk. Her legs move slow, treading like lead solidifying itself in her bones.
She finds herself at herself at her house, the door opening. She walks in to find her dad reading and her mom resting her legs on him. They greet Kira without giving her glance. She stops in the living room, before bursting into heaving sobs. Her parents turn to look at her, startle. They rush to her, her dad wrapping his arms around her. Kira cries in her father's arms, mumbling through the tears.
They all sit in the waiting room of the hospital. The sterile blinding white engulfs them. The noises of moans, chaos, and despair fill the air. Kira glances around to see nurses and doctors walking around, their steps sounding untroubled and light. Kira moves her gaze to Tom with his arms drape over Sierra. Kira could tell that Sierra's body is still shaking the tears coming out. She looks at her parents sitting next to them, puzzle. She looks over at Josie who appears unbothered and relax, Kevin seat on the other side. She could hear the music blasting from Josie's ear phones loud enough that Kira could recognize the words. She hovers her hand over Josie's before it drops on top of it. Josie coughs, as a lone tear falls from her eye. Josie wipes it away as she jerks her hand away from Kira's. She jumps up from her seat and walks away. Kira moving her hands back to her lap.
Kevin looks at her, shrugging. He gets up to sit next to Kira, a waning smile on his lips. "She doesn't blame you, it's just," Kevin begins saying. "I mean, after last time. I think she's just trying to force herself to not be able to feel anything, to be bothered." Kira smiles and nods. Kevin places a hand on her shoulder. "How are you holding up?" He asks, a sweet tone in his voice.
Kira shrugs. "I don't know," Kira croaks. "I just know that I lost her for two years and couldn't manage. I don't know what I would do if I lost her forever." Kevin reaches over, providing Kira a hug. Kira reciprocates it, preventing herself from getting lost in it. He retreats before looking down the hallway.
"I better go check on Josie," he says before getting up to walk away. Kira sits in the waiting room for a few unbearable minutes before getting up to leave. She walks outside the hospital doors, the cool air hitting her in the face. She closes her eyes, opening them with her eyes fluttering. She peers off into the distance as a high whisper calls out to her.
"Kira?" it says. Her heart races as it calls out her name again. "Kira?" She turns to run back inside bumping into a petite red head girl.
"Lydia?" Kira asks, Lydia stomps her pointed heels on the cold hospital floor. Her voice slightly crack as she glances Kira up and down, no smile or welcome. Soon another petite red head appears behind her. Kira smiles. "Hey, Cheryl," Kira waves. Cheryl smiles back to her, moving closer to Lydia. Lydia glances over her shoulder to look at Cheryl before turning back to Kira.
"She insisted on coming," Lydia groans, rolling her eyes. "I don't even know how the hell she found out but trust my cousin to insert herself where she's not wanted."
"Well, I'm happy that you're both here," Kira says before looking at Cheryl.
"So how's everyone else? How's Jaeden?" Lydia asks.
"I'm not sure," Kira sighs. "But the doctors inform us that she should be alright." Lydia and Cheryl both stare at Kira giving looks of disbelief and fright. They all walk inside the hospital. They spot Josie and Kevin near the entrance. Josie notices Cheryl and runs to her. They both hold each other as Kevin stands nearby in an awkward shuffle. Lydia and Kira walk away, down the long hallways of the hospital.
They stop at the cafeteria before walking in and sitting themselves at one of the tables. They give awkward smiles to each other.
"I just," Lydia's words come out cold and distant. "I just don't want to want to be in this position again." She avoids Kira's gaze. "This sounds stupid but Jaeden and Allison, Stiles and Jackson, Danny. You guys, are all I have." Lydia lets out a sigh before collapsing back in her chair. Kira forces herself to not concentrate on her name not being listed, not being on Lydia's thoughts. Her phone jingles and she pulls it out of her purse. "Especially after last week, with those girls that escaped." Kira notices herself shrinking, trying to reserve those memories of those girls that died, bodies destroyed.
A light buzz of Lydia's phone rattles loud in her purse. "It's Allison," she says. "She's on her way with Scott and Stiles." The mention of his name causes Kira to freeze in her place, motionless with the guilt strapping her down to the chair. "Are you alright?" Lydia's full attention lands on Kira, as her green eyes observe her, waiting to dissect her response.
"Yeah, I just. I'm just going to go check on Ms. McCoy and my parents." Kira shouts before running off. She makes her way down the hallway, running into her dad.
"Kira!" He booms. "Great news, Jaeden is going to be just fine. She only passed out from the shock but it's definitely nothing serious. She'll be going home in a couple hours." Kira gleams as she hugs her dad. "Kira?" he starts to question. "What happened? Did, did Jaeden?"
"No," Kira shouts, her voice carries down the hallway. "It's nothing like that. It was just an attack. A weird attack by some thugs and we managed to get away."
"Kira," her dad says, pulling away from the hug. "You don't have to lie. I know Jaeden has only been out for a few hours and I know you missed her deeply. But if she's not well."
"No dad!" Kira stresses. "I told you, we were attacked. By, some thugs. They cornered us and tried to hurt us but we managed to get away. That's it." Her dad sighs shaking his head.
"You know, I don't believe that but alright," he says. "She'll be down soon. I'm heading back to the lobby." He leaves. Kira watches after him, wondering how to comprehend the events from the night.
They all wait in the waiting room. A few chuckles and happiness spreads out compare to just a couple of hours earlier. Allison, Stiles, and Scott walk into the area, Ms. McCoy goes to them hugging them each. They spot Kira and Lydia and move towards them. Kira stands, informing Lydia of looking for Jaeden before excusing herself to leave. She rushes pass Allison, Stiles, and Scott without making another glance their way.
Lydia stands and embraces each of them. Sierra walks to them, greeting them with a politeness that is designed and well known in the south. The others greet her back with more informality than her demeanor and tone displays.
Kira walks down the hallway, her heart pounding right through her chest. She stops when she sees Jaeden's room and slips her way in there. Jaeden attempts to rise out of the bed and peers over at Kira as she walks inside with a small grin. They both provide each other silent smiles before Kira goes to aid Jaeden, without hesitation.
"Are you supposed to be getting ready?" Kira breathes out. Jaeden shrugs and begins packing. She rips the machine cords off her body in a frantic spectacle, grabbing everything in sight. "I mean, I'm sure the nurses usually have some final minute check that they do before removing this themselves."
"I've already spent two years in a damn hospital, the last thing I need to spend more time in a different one," Jaeden exclaims. Kira nods and aids her. The two walk out of the room and move fast down the hallway. The sounds of their footsteps pounding low and clear in the empty halls, echoing out.
"If you want," Kira begins, stopping in her tracks. "You can go ahead and meet with the rest of them. I know Stiles and…and Allison are eager to see you."
Jaeden shoots her a questionable expression explaining her earlier meeting with Stiles. "Well," Kira stammers. "I just know my dad was suspicious about what happened. And to be honest, I'm sort of curious about it myself. I mean, I'm not sure what we saw but." Kira lowers her voice, her eyes darts around to observe her surroundings before lowering her voice. "I feel like that must have been an alien that attacked us." Jaeden's eyes stare deep into her friend's large doe like brown eyes. She sighs, nodding her head.
"I'm not sure what it was honestly," Jaeden admits, moving her gaze to the ground. Kira attempts to continue her discussion of the subject before Jaeden interrupts her. "Listen, if I'm being honest, I don't really want to talk about it or even think about it. Not now, at least."
"But, whatever that thing was, if it comes back," Kira quivers, intertwining her fingers together. Jaeden's mind begins to sprint through multiple possibilities and ideas, her breathing intensifying. Finally, she looks at Kira smiling. She walks over to her and wraps a lone arm around her shoulders. Kira returns the hug with a few tears dropping onto the back of Jaeden's neck. "I just want to make sure," Kira stumbles over her words, a few get caught in her throat with immense trouble getting out.
"Kira," Jaeden whispers in Kira's ear. Her own body trembling as she forces back tears. "I know what I did was fucked up and unfair to you. But trust me, you don't have to worry about losing me anymore."
Kira attempts to respond. Don't blame yourself. She thinks, feeling regretful for placing this position on her.
"I can't help but to blame myself, Kira." Kira's body feels like it stops. "I brought this pain, this fear and worry on you, my family. I just," Jaeden pulls away from the embrace, her eyes lingering towards the ground. Kira stands frozen, Jaeden's voice rings in and out of her head. Without noticing, she sees her walking away. In the direction of the hospital lobby, Jaeden soon disappears. Kira thinks back to earlier to the attack, before the attack.
She breathes in a sudden rush of cool crisp autumn air as she peers around her. She finds herself outside, in the front of the hospital. She receives chills as the wind trickles down her spine. She turns to return inside the hospital and runs into Scott. Her cheeks flush, staring at him. He smiles at her with large brown eyes and a calm serenity to his presence.
"Hey," Scott begins to gleam. Kira ignores his gesture and moves past him. She feels a hand clamp down on her shoulder. She stops feeling herself bustling with emotions of anger, resentment, and regret. "Is everything alright?" Scott requests. Kira nods as she keeps her back towards him. "How are you holding up?" Kira shrugs in response to his question. She tries to leave and rushes back into the hospital. "If you need anyone to talk to, I'm always here!" Scott screams out. Kira halts, her whole body rocking at the sudden jolt.
She turns around to Scott, her eyes blaring to him. "Listen Scott, maybe we shouldn't," she replies to him. Scott looks at her with an inquisitive stare. She walks up to her with slow and pensive steps.
"Maybe we shouldn't what?" Scott jokes.
"Maybe we shouldn't talk to each other, anymore," Kira states cold. Scott stops. The smile fades from his face as he looks at her.
"Kira, I don't understand. We're friends. And I just want to be there for you," Scott's words hammer into Kira's mind. She motions away from him.
"Yeah, well, you don't have to Scott," Kira imitates happiness in her voice. "I'm fine."
Scott approaches her, his body hovers close. Kira can see her eyes level at his mouth, the scent of his body filling up her nose, the touch of his hand brush against her as she swats his hand away. Kira turns away from him, moisten her lips. "You're telling me that your best friend is in the hospital for trying for a suicide attempt, after being released from a hospital because of a previous suicide attempt and that you are fine with, all of that."
Kira rolls her eyes over to Scott, the intensity flaming off of her. "Yeah," she asserts. "That's what I'm saying. Now leave me alone." Kira stomps into the hospital leaving Scott behind. She hears a loud beckoning of her name shouting at her in a deep and dejected tone. The sound follows her inside the hospital with her attempts to ignore it. She reaches the lobby of the hospital where she witnesses everyone being relieve and joyful. Kira stops in her tracks whipping around on her feet. "For the last time, Scott!" Kira demands. She looks and sees a young man, a few inches taller than her, and taller than Scott. His broad shoulders hunch over her with her eyes darting up. She glances up and sees his redden face and pimples of sweating circling around her features. His dark brown tousle on his head as his brown eyes looks at Kira with sadness and concern.
"Reggie?" Kira exhales. Her demeanor softens as she looks at him.
"I've just heard what happened? Are you alright?" Kira smiles and mouths out a calm yes to him. Reggie moves closer to her. "Are you sure?" He persists, with a gentle and open ambience to his words. Kira shakes her head, a few tears creeping their way out of her eyes. Reggie wraps his clammy body around hers, allowing her to rest her face into his chest. She inhales a feeling of relief as she releases him. She smiles at him, Reggie returning the smile adding a simple and playful knock on her arm.
The two walk around the corner and enter into the lobby. Kevin waves to Reggie with a gleeful bounce in his arms. Jaeden and Sierra walk over to Kira. They express their goodbyes to her as they exit out with Tom and Kevin following soon behind them. The rest of them stand around and converse for a few moments before they all decide to leave. The sound of the midnight clock rings out alarming and insisting on their departure from the hospital.
Reggie and Kira linger around the hospital waiting room. Their bodies slump in a couple of seats, the pair not uttering a word to each other. Reggie sneaks glances over at Kira in a periodic fashion, each time ushering himself a way to introduce a way to start a barrage of questions. Each time, he resists against it. Kira stares up at the ceiling, her mind whirling back over the years her and Jaeden have spent with each other.
The first time the pair met in middle school when Kira was new to the city. Her first encounter with Jaeden was her telling Kira how pretty she was. The compliment causing a blushing Kira to befriend the young girl in the high-top rainbow sneakers, baggy jeans, large black and white checkered flannel shirt, and sailor moon snapback. This became the cause of the ripple of their friendship throughout the years. The next three years of middle school the pair were inseparable. She would think back to the sleepovers, the homework sessions, the phone calls and texts. They all flooded back to her in vivid crisp details. Then the year they started high school rushes to her mind.
They excitement and fear that they felt when walking through the doors for the first time, then her memory vanishes with small glimpses of Jaeden being rushed away to a hospital. A trickle of blood rolling down her arm, her wrists immersed in bright red sticky blood. The gloom and sorrow washes over Jaeden's face as she cries out and leaves Kira alone, confused, helpless, frustrated.
Kira glances over at Reggie and notices him looking away quick. Kira giggles to herself, straightening up her posture as she leans over to him. "Is there something wrong?" Kira smirks. Reggie begins to stammer before admitting that nothing but trying to see if she is alright. "I'm fine, as fine as I can be I guess." Kira confesses.
Reggie turns his body towards her looking into her eyes. "What happened exactly?" he asks. Kira shrugs, her face pondering for an answer. "I mean, Is Jaeden going to be alright? She was only out for 12 hours."
"It wasn't that Reggie!" Kira screams. Reggie sits back, looking wounded. Kira sighs and reaches her hand over to caress his arm. "I'm sorry," Kira gentle voice says. "But no, it was like that, at all. We were attacked by," Kira pauses, shaking her head.
"Yeah," Reggie urges. Kira looks away from her searching through different ways and wordings that could help clear up the situation. "By something, someone. We were at the park at night, by ourselves and someone just came out of nowhere and gripped their hands around Jaeden's throat, from behind." Kira feels her eyes getting hot and she presses the back of her hand to them. Reggie stares at Kira, without any remarks or comments.
Kira stands and peers over at Reggie. "I think I should leave," she says.
"Thank god," Reggie exclaims, jumping out of his seat. "No offense, I was prepared to sit here with you all night for support and all that. But honestly, hospitals kind of depress me." Kira grins. She prepares to walk away, running across a shuffle of chaos in the hallway.
The nurses and some workers pulling an array of bodies on stretchers, their intestines rip out of their bodies. The blood trailing behind them as the nurses hurry them away. Kira stops, her mind flashes to the few hours before she came to the hospital. Her breathing gets heavy. She tries to blink back the sight of the mess. She looks around to find Reggie gone. The hospital looking unfamiliar to her before she realizes that she was standing in the middle of the ER, hearing the frantic noises and commands of doctors and nurses operating on people. Kira looks around to find the same bodies that pass by her. Their groans pierce through her ears, the monitors erupts in a series of endless beeps. Kira stands and watches, feeling her whole body trembling.
A hard hand thumps down on her shoulder, causing her to jump around. She sees a doctor standing before her, his eyes looking stern. "Excuse me miss, but you can't be here right now." Kira nods her head, with no aim or meaning. "Do you need help finding the waiting area?" Kira breaks from the man's grasp before running off. She makes her way outside. The breeze from the wind combs through her hair, wiping away the beads of sweat from her face. She walks to the parking lot and finds Reggie looking for her. She calls out his name, he pounces over to her.
"Hey, where'd you go?" he asks. Kira shakes her head, preparing to ignore his question.
"Let's go," she says. The two walk over to Reggie's vehicle. A bright red and white Maserati, the cleanliness of the vehicle reflects off the stars above them. Kira looks over at Reggie as he opens the door.
"You like?" he gleams. Kira chuckles as she gets into the car.
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