Chapter 21- Bring Me To Life

Pete walked back through the double doors that led to the parking lot. Leila had been complaining that she was getting chilly, so Pete offered to fetch her shawl from the dining hall. Pete was half-way across the hall when he heard a familiar voice screaming down the hall. He stopped in his tracks and looked in the direction of the noise. It was Andrew. Pete had never seen his twin brother so scared before; which in turn made him very uneasy. He couldn't move from his spot. All he could do was watch his brother run towards with a horrified look on his face. When Andrew finally reached Pete, he couldn't catch his breathe. Pete noticed that Andrew had a something wet on his left pant leg.

"What's going on Andrew?" Pete said, placing a hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him down.

"It's Casie… She's passed out and I can't wake her up. She's had too much to drink and I couldn't get her to stop. Pete, help me; she won't wake up!" Andrew finished, his voice had turned into a yell.

Pete felt his heart drop into his stomach. The first thing he thought about was Leila and how he was going to tell her that her best friend was unconscious in the bathroom. The second thing that rushed in his head was helping Casie. She was becoming a close friend of his; and the fact that she was in danger frightened him.

Pete didn't even think twice and took off towards the parking lot. He hit the doors, slamming them open. That made the few people that had lagged behind turn to look at the noise; including Leila, Cara, Patrick, Andy and the pretty girl who was Danielle's cousin. Leila smiled upon seeing Pete, but frowned when she saw him running at her, with a solemn look on his face. When Pete was ten feet away from the small group sitting under a pretty dogwood tree, he yelled to Cara. This caused Leila to stand to her feet; she was soon joined by the rest.

"Cara! Come quickly! It's Casie!" Pete shot at Cara, Andrew finally reaching them.

Leila felt her heart stop. Thoughts ran through her head about what could be wrong with Casie. Cara looked to Pete in shock.

"What's wrong with her?" she asked, panicked.

Pete looked to Andrew to tell Cara.

"She went to that bathroom to throw up. And she did that a couple of times, and then when she went to stand up she blacked out on me. I tried to wake her up, but she wouldn't. I couldn't get her to wake up…" Andrew trailed off, thinking about Casie.

Leila's heart was pounding in her chest. She was beginning to hyperventilate. She didn't know what to do; all she thought about was getting to Casie. And without any warning, she took off.

Pete felt her brush past him. "Leila, wait!" But she was already halfway to the door.

When she was nearly there, she tripped up in her shoes. With two swift motions, she kicked them off and they went flying in the air; landing about ten feet apart from each other. In stocking feet, she ran to the door, swinging them open, and disappeared in the darkness of the hall. The rest of the group ran after her. Pete was in the lead. He didn't want Leila to see Casie in the start she was is. When they reached the door, Leila's dress tail was flipping into the bathroom. Pete gathered all his energy and took off with an extra burst of speed. He reached the bathroom door and found Leila, standing over Casie.

Leila looked down on the unconscious Casie on the floor. Tears were stinging her eyes. She fell her to knees just as Cara and the others reached the door. Cara immediately went to Casie, pushing Leila aside.

"Move Leila, I have to have room," Cara said, gently pushing Leila aside. Leila pushed back.

"I'm not leaving her side!" she yelled, her voice echoing in the small room. Cara looked to Pete for help. Pete came forward and took Leila around the arms, pulling her to her feet. Leila fought him as best as she could, tears flowing down her face freely now.

"No! Stop!" she screamed, trying to break free. Patrick came to the aid of Pete, knowing full well the strength that Leila had, having to have held her back from Ashlee once. Patrick took one arm of Leila's and Pete had her by her waist. Cara felt for a pulse on Casie.

"Her pulse is very slow and soft," Cara said, with a sad look in her eyes. She began to perform CPR on her. Leila stopped struggling and turned into Pete's chest. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to him. Leila threw her arms around Pete's neck, crying softly his shoulder. The sound of sirens joined the other sounds in the room. It started out softly and got increasingly louder. Soon they heard the sounds of hurrying footsteps and deep talking. An EMT reached the door and noticed all the people in the bathroom.

"I'm going to need you all to file out of this room, now," the man said in a very authoritive tone. Pete walked Leila out first, still holding on to her. Patrick and Cara walked out hand in hand; Cara was very white in the face. Pete saw a chair nearby, and walked Leila to it. He lowered her down on the chair, releasing her. He got down on a knee, taking her hands in his; placing his forehead on Leila's. He began to whisper comforting things to her; words that no one else could hear. Cara and Patrick were off to the side, her head on his shoulder. Andy and his new friend had taken Micah outside to play; all of them thought that this was not a place for a little boy.

The EMT's soon had Casie on a stretcher and was toting her out. Leila shot from her chair and followed close behind. When they were sliding her into the ambulance, Leila went to get in, but Pete held her back. Leila swung around giving Pete a furious look.

"I don't think you should ride in there," Pete said softly to her. "I don't like you seeing Casie that way; I don't like anyone seeing her that way, even me. It'll be better if you just ride with me to the hospital," he finished, rubbing his palm on her cheek. When Leila still did not seem to agree, Pete said, "I promise we'll follow very close behind."

That convinced her, but she was still a little tweaked. That passed as soon as the ambulance took off. Leila then felt worried and panicked for her friend. She couldn't live without her; they had been friends for a long time. Pete must have seen the look on her face and knew what was running through her mind, because he reached out a hand and took hers, rubbing her knuckles with his thumb. Cara and Patrick were in the back seat of Pete's Honda Civic, with Patrick holding the hand of a fretting Cara. Both her and Leila were pale in the face, and would not quick talking about what's happening with Casie. They arrived at the hospital shortly after the ambulance. Leila and Cara did not wait for the car to stop, they flung the doors open and jumped out and ran to the front desk. The nurse didn't know anything about their friend yet, but promised that they would be the first to know when she did. All they could do know was wait. Slowly, they all shuffled towards the waiting room. Pete let Leila choose where she wanted to sit, and sat down, putting an arm around her. She sighed and turned her face into his chest. A little bit later, Pete could feel the wetness on his shirt and knew that she was crying silently. Cara wasn't holing up well either. Patrick was trying to soothe her, but, being a nurse, she was spouting off things that could be happening to Casie.

Andrew could not stop pacing. Thoughts of all kinds ran through his head. He was really beginning to feel for Casie and he couldn't have her snatched away like this. Walking around the small room, Andrew realized that he really cared for Casie. He didn't know when it had happened, but it had. He stopped in his tracks; gazing straight ahead and nothing in particular. How could he have let this happen to her? He was supposed to be protecting her. And he failed. He flopped down into a chair and placed his head in his hands. Pete noticed this, and made a mental note to talk to his brother, but now was not the time for such questions. They had to focus on Casie.

Leila took hold of Pete's other, holding it to her. Leila decided to focus on something other than the excruciating wait for news about Casie. She gazed down at Pete's hands, examining every inch of them. His finger tips were coarse from many years playing the bass; black polish was beyond chipped on his nails. It was when she looked at his thumb she noticed something she had never seen before. Between the space from his wrist to his thumb was a tattoo that never caught her eye before. She soon realized that she had never seen it before because it was a new one. She brought it closer to her face; the tears she had shed made her eyes puffy and sore. She ran a finger across his, and it felt relatively new. She blinked old tears away and squinted at his tattoo. In tight cursive letters it read, "Wear Me Like A Locket". Leila's heart jumped to her throat, knowing exactly why he got that. She looked up at Pete, who had been watching her all the while. He just smiled down at her, and kissed her cheek. But before she could open her mouth, a noise came from across the room.

Just then, a nurse came out of the double doors.

"Are you the family of Casie Depp?" she asked, holding a clip board.

Leila shot up from her seat and ran to the nurse. Cara was next with Andrew close behind.

The nurse smiled, "I assume that's a 'yes'", she said. She looked down at her board, studying some notes, and looked back up. "Miss Depp is going to be fine now. We had to pump her stomach and she's still asleep. She has a severe case of alcohol poisoning. We'll have to keep her here for a few days for observations," she said, looking around at everybody.

Leila turned to Pete, holding on to him; the day's events getting to her. She was so happy that her friend was going to be okay. Pete stumbled under the sudden hold, be regained his balance quickly and wrapped his arms around. Cara walked up to the nurse.

"When can we see her?" she said.

"You can now, but she's asleep. You might want to wait… possibly getting some more comfortable clothes," she said, noticing their wedding attire.

This brought Leila out of Pete's arms. She shook her head.

"No thank you. I don't want Casie to wake up to an empty room," Leila said.

The nurse looked sympathetically at Leila. "Well, maybe you can stay with her, and the rest of you can get her a change of clothes? I'm sure that she won't be waking up for a while. We sedated her just a few minutes ago."

Pete nodded his head. He looked to Patrick and Cara. He turned Leila around and looked down at her.

"You can stay here with Casie, and we'll go get you some different clothes… okay?" he said, looking in her green eyes.

Leila smiled up and him. She leaned over to kiss his cheek and give him a hug. But before they left she grabbed his hand and kissed the new tattoo. He just flashed her one of his dazzling smiles and walked out with Cara and Patrick. Andrew reluctantly followed his brother. He really wanted to stay with Casie, but figured Leila was the right person too. She had known her longer than anyone here, and he had just got to know her.

oo

Casie lay there in bed, not even opening her eyes. She didn't know how she got there, but she knew why. She felt the tears welling up in closed her eyes as she thought about the events that led to her hospital stay. A breathing from her left side made her snap back to reality. Her eyes flew open and looked down. It was Leila, still in her Brides Maid dress. She had her head down by Casie's hand; she appeared to be asleep. Casie placed a hand on Leila's shoulder, gently shaking. She let out a soft groan and slowly lifted her head. Once Leila looked at Casie and realized that she was awake, she shot up in her seat. Leila couldn't stop smiling; she was thrilled that she had finally woken up. Casie was a little afraid of how Leila was going to react after being mad at her during the wedding.

"H-how long have I been out?" she stammered, from having not used her voice in a while. Her throat was really sore; she assumed it was from throwing up as much as she did.

"Just a few hours. How do you feel?" Leila asked timidly.

"Tired, but I'll be fine," Casie said, looking at the spot right above Leila's shoulder. They sat there for a while, in an awkward silence. Finally, Casie couldn't stand it anymore.

"I'm sorry, Lei," Casie choked out. Leila looked at her sadly. In a quick movement, Leila stood up and embraced Casie in a hug. They stayed that way for a while, until they heard a cough from the door. They broke apart, unshed tears in their eyes. Leila looked over her shoulder to see Andrew heading up the group. They had all changed and Leila now realized something. She was still in her wedding gown and her stockings were snagged and ripped from all the running she had done. She had no idea where her shoes were. She looked at Pete, who had a bag of clothes for her to change into. She said goodbye to Casie and walked to the door, stopping to look at Andrew. She put her arms around his neck and hugged him. She put her lips to his ear and whispered what she had to say to him.

"Take care of her. Don't ever hurt her… promise me that. Be good to her."

She let go of him and looked him in the eyes. He just looked down at her in shock. He didn't know anyone knew about his infatuation with her. Leila patted him on the shoulder and walked to Pete, who was looking at her with curiosity. She waved it off and had him follow her to an empty room, so she could change. Cara and Patrick decided to let Andrew go first and went back to the waiting room.

The door closed behind them, leaving Andrew standing in front of Casie. She just watched him across the room. He walked to the bed slowly and lowered himself down in the seat Leila just vacated. The awkward silence just kept on going. Casie was looking anywhere but Andrew. She heard a noise from him and turned to look, but when she turned her head, she met with Andrew's, who was leaning over her. His lips touched hers harder than he had intended, but did not break the kiss; instead he just softened it up a little. His hand found her face, and Casie relaxed under his kiss.

oo

Leila closed the door behind her in an almost empty hospital room. Pete hopped on the bed watching her in the semi darkness. Leila walked to the bed and opened the overnight bag Pete had packed for her. She wasn't worried about what he had picked out for her; being in the fashion business, she was sure that he was going to pick out a shirt that was semi-close to matching the pants. It was when she was pulling out her clothes that she realized that she had to have help zipping up the dress and she was more than sure she was going to have help getting out of it too. She packed her clothes away again and headed for the door. Pete sat up quickly.

"Where are you going?" he said, watching her walk to the door.

"Um..." she struggled with her words. "I had to have Cara zip up my dress and I'm going to need to unzip it too," she said, and for reasons she didn't understand, a red blush crept up her cheeks. Pete didn't seem to be fazed by this.

"I can do it for you, you know?" he said, slouching back down on the pillows. Leila searched his eyes for a few seconds. Ideas of what to do were flying in her head. Finally, she just shrugged her shoulders, locked the door and walked to Pete, turning around. What was the worst that could happen?

Pete sat up and swung his legs off the bed. He pulled Leila between his legs, to get closer to him by the ribbons on her dress. Leila paced her hands on his knees, holding her breathe. She hated feeling this way in front of Pete, but she was nervous. She had no clue why; hadn't she known him long enough for this nervousness to leave her? She felt his fingers follow the zipper line up to the top; it sent goosebumps running down her arms. He grasped the zipper and pulled it down slowly. Her nervousness reaching its' peek; her breath becoming quicker. She scolded herself for acting this way. Pete knew he was driving her crazy. He figured if he had gone this far, he could torture her a little more. He brushed his fingers up the length of the unzipped zipper. He saw her shiver and jump out from between his knees. Holding her dress up with one hand and grabbing the bag with the other, she excused herself the bathroom to change. Pete couldn't help but smirk at her actions, and lay back down on the bed. Thoughts of Leila filling his head, he just lay there waiting for her to come back out.

After about five minutes, Leila came back out in a pair of jeans and an old college band t-shirt. A fluster still apparent on her face. A smile returned to his face upon seeing her. She looked up at him, noticing him smiling at her.

"What are you smiling about?" she questioned with one of her own twitching at her lips. Pete shrugged his shoulders and grabbed Leila by her hand; he pulled her on to the bed and moved over to make more room. It shocked Leila, but she relaxed in his arms immediately. Her hand found his, the one with the new tattoo. Running her thumb over it, she looked up into Pete's caramel eyes.

"When did you get this?" she asked.

"Joe's bachelor's party," he said, watching her closely.

She looked back down at it, smiling to herself.

"Do you like it?" he questioned.

"I love it," she said, reaching up to kiss his cheek.

oo

Andrew was sitting in the chair by Casie's bed. Ever since the broke the kiss off, they had been talking about anything and everything. Cara and Patrick even came in a while after Andrew did, because he hadn't left and Cara wanted to see Casie. Once they had left, Andrew took to holding Casie's hand in his. Casie loved the feeling of being with him, but she didn't know what "they" were. They hadn't talked about that.

"Um, Andrew?" she asked in the pleasant silence that was surrounding them. He looked up at her, catching her eyes. "What are we, really?"

He looked confused for a minute, but it soon dawned on him.

"I hadn't thought about that until just now," he said truthfully. Casie broke eye contact with him and stared across the room. He squeezed her hand, making her look back at him. His blue eyes looking into Casie's equally blue ones.

"Casie, as cheesy as this sounds –forgive me, will you be my girlfriend?" he said, smiling up at him. He could have kicked himself for not thinking of something cleverer than that; but Pete was the one with the way with words, not him.

Casie looked at him, hardly believing what she was hearing. Then a smile crept on her face.

"I thought you would never ask."

-note from the author-

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it!! The next chapter is going to be called "A New Beginning", so stay tuned!