"So what are you proposing? That you and I become friends?" I asked unenthusiastically.
Ben smiled and shrugged his shoulders. "Think of it this way, Sweetheart. If you say no, I'll just bug you to no ends and then you'll have to agree." He grinned.
"You think I need your help? I don't need anyone's help! Especially yours! I was doing fine before I met you. And I would do fine without you!"
"Really? Says the girl who got beat up her whole life." He mumbled.
"I'm sorry, Summer."
"Don't call me that!" He looked confused. "Gods, you make me so angry! Don't call me 'Summer'! I hate hearing it from you. You only call me by my real name when you're mad."
...
"Listen, I'm only going to say this once. I'm sorry. So can you stop being mad at me? It's bringing down your hotness points." I smiled against Ben's back as he carried me.
"I dunno, Sweetheart. I'm feeling pretty confident about the amount of points I have. Maybe I could get something else?" He grinned cheekily, inching his hands up slightly. I sighed in defeat, leaning forwards slightly and pressing my lips to his warm cheek. His grin grew wider.
"I need you to stay out of my business! You're not my knight in shinning armour, so stop acting like you are!"
"Really? Look at your face! That bruise. How about your bruised rib? Huh? Did you protect yourself when Jared hit you? No. Look at the scars on your back for the gods' sake!"
...
"Summer you won't lo-"
"No, don't you say that. Everyone I have ever loved or cared about, has either died or left me. Everyone except for you."
"So, you were going to ask me to the dance?" I asked, pretending to be surprised. Ben laughed, looking away from Veronica.
"Damn it! You ruined the surprise, Veronica. Ohh well. Sweetheart, go to the dance with me?" He asked, looping his fingers in my shorts belt loops.
I smiled up at him. "Of course." My lips rested on his cheeks.
"Can't you see what this does to me? I'm always on edge, I-I have a hard time falling asleep, I'm losing my appetite. All because of you. I'm crazy about you. You are always on my mind. For the first time in my life, I feel like I am really needed. All because of you."
"Who?" Ben asked confused, staring intently at her. He looked down to me, his face turning red. "That's my uhh, friend, uhh.." Friend? You're kidding me..
"Keep an open mind. I'm not as bad as I seem." Aiden said softly. I stared up at him in awe.
...
He wrapped his arm around my shoulder, keeping me steadied to his chest. Instead of pushing him away, I let him help me. "Come on. It'll be okay."
"You are, gorgeous. In your own way." He said softly.
My breath hitched. I looked into his eyes, then to his lips. "I guess you aren't that good at what you do."
"I'm sorry about earlier. I don't know what came over me."
"Don't worry about it. It was kind of nice.. feeling something other than pain."
Summer stop!" He yelled, trying to take the bottle from my grasp.
"Give it back!" I yelled. The bottle flew out from my hands, sliding under my bed. "What did you do!" I cried and screamed.
You were really going to do it..."
I was ready. I wanted to die. "I've got nothing left to live for."
"I-I can't do this.. You still love him.." Aiden got up, backing away from me. His back pressed against the wall. "I'm sorry.. So sorry." His hands covered his eyes as he slumped to the ground.
To have my deceased Mother insulted is crossing the line. "Don't you dare speak of her like that in my presence! She took care of me and did the best she could to protect me from you! You're nothing but-" Aiden took hold of my hand, giving it a warning squeeze.
"Do it, or so help me gods, I will kill her right now!" He shrieked. Aiden glared him straight in the eyes, taking the black object from Grant's hands.
"Aiden please don't do this." I begged, tears threatening to spill over.
"I'm sorry.." He choked out.
"Aiden, please.. no." I cried. He grunted softly. The ripping pain of the whip against my bare flesh elicited an agonizing scream from me.
"Felix, you can still stop this. You can make up for everything, and I'll forgive you. We can go back to normal."
"Summer! No! He is-" I watched in terror as the grunt pulled out the blood soaked knife from Aiden's upper back. The other grunt released his arms, letting Aiden's limp body collapse to the floor. Blood began to pool around his body, covering the white tile.
My strangled scream echoed through the hallway. "Aiden!"
"No. I'm not letting you die." I pushed my hand down on his open wound. He cried out painfully. "As much as I didn't want you to, you saved my life. So I'm saving yours."
I felt the blade of the knife rip through my skin. I groaned, pain searing through my abdomen. "You killed him. You need to die." He dug the knife deeper in. Pain began to spread through my entire body.
"Y-You set me up." I managed, blood beginning to fill my mouth. He pushed the knife deeper until the hilt met my skin.
"It doesn't hurt. Just let me go. You won't have to worry about me anymore. You can be with whoever you want." Tears collected in the corners of my eyes. "I want you to be happy."
"Don't you say that. You are the only person I could ever want to be with. I'm so sorry about that night. I'm sorry that I ever made you feel like you were second. It took me so long to realize it. It was always right there in my face and I never acknowledged it. Summer Minami, I love you."
"Goodbye, Ben."
Darkness surrounded my entire being. A bone chilling cold spread through my limbs, causing me to shiver. As those final memories played back, tears sprung to my eyes. It's over. I'll never see Ben again. Or Aiden or Kate or Keith.
Where am I? I can't see a thing in here. Wherever here is. There was a familiar childlike laughing. You're on, what I like to call, the Horizon. A voice said in my head. Kirlia appeared before me, her white and green body glowing against the darkness.
"The Horizon?" My voice was weak.
A horizon is the line at which the earth's surface and the sky appear to meet. The Horizon is the line which separates life and death. Her words were slow, allowing me to process the information she was giving me.
Sweat beads formed on my forehead. "W-Why would I be in the 'Horizon'? I thought I died?"
Kirlia smiled. Place your hand to your heart. Tell me what you feel. Playing along, I placed my hand to my chest. My eyes widened as I felt a very weak beating. So weak, I hardly felt it. It isn't much, but it is enough to sustain your body for a short while more. Which is why you are here. Your mind thinks you are dead.
"I'm not understanding what you're explaining." There was a sudden tremor in my body. An electrical charge shot through my entire being, eliciting an agonizing scream from me. I collapsed to the ground, my chest and abdomen convulsing upwards. "Make it stop!" I cried.
I can't! Kirlia frowned. They are trying to bring you back. There was a momentary pause. Then another wave of electricity coursed through me, centered around my chest and spiraling outwards. I screamed out again, tears falling down my cheeks.
I felt a sharp prick on the inside of my elbow. Within a few seconds, I felt some type of fluid flowing through my veins. I squirmed uncomfortably, and stood up. "What is going on?" I asked breathlessly.
She was quite for a few seconds. Here, let me show you. Kirlia took my hand, and within seconds, we appeared in what seems to be a hospital room. Doctors surrounded a bed, all talking over one another. I looked down to see that I had no body. I felt a rush of freedom, nothing holding me down. With curiosity, I floated over towards the bed, and froze. My pale body lay on the bed. Blood was everywhere. It stained my clothes, the doctor's gloves, and the bed. So much blood.. Kirlia's voice sounded in my head again. There is something else you need to see. It seemed as if time sped up. I watched as the doctors finished up. They hooked me up to a machine and left the room. Some woman came in and changed the sheets and the hospital gown I wore. There was a few seconds where I was alone, then the door opened. Time slowed back to normal.
The urge to cry loomed over me when I watched Ben sluggishly walk to my bedside. His head was hung low, his hands balled into fists by his sides trembling. He sat in the chair right next to my bed and laced his fingers with mine. Tears continuously leaked from his eyes, hardly allowing him to speak. "P-Please, don't leave me." He took sharp breaths in and let out another sob. "I already lost you once. I can't go through it again. Don't die." He cried, lowering his head onto my shoulder. I watched as sobs tore through his body, making his body shake uncontrollably. "I'm sorry. So sorry for everything wrong I've ever done to you. Sorry it took me so long to realize what you mean to me. Y-You were by my side when no one else was. I took you for granted." Ben raised his head, and ran his thumb over my body's cold pale cheek. "How could I have not realized how much you loved me. Why didn't I realize I loved you the same." Another wave of sobs consumed him.
I can't watch anymore.
Within the blink of an eye, the same darkness was around me again. Kirlia stood in front of me. Tears fell down my cheeks. Seeing Ben so distraught makes me feel guilty. Although, he probably feels much guiltier. As long as they have you hooked up to life support, you will be stuck here.
"What? No no no! I don't want to be here. It's like being in a black hole. I feel like I'm being ripped in two. My soul is trying to leave me but my body won't allow it. I just want it to be over. I just want to die." My voice was hardly above a whisper. Kirlia's eyes widened.
She shook her head sadly. Please, wait here. I shall return.
I scoffed. "Where else am I going to go?" Kirlia rolled her eyes, then vanished, leaving me by myself in complete darkness.
So long. It feels like I've been here by myself for over an eternity. My body gets colder and colder with each passing hour. Sometimes I can hear Ben's voice faintly around me. I think I've heard Aiden as well. Nice of them to visit my body. It would be so much easier if they just unhooked me from the machine. Aiden, Kate and Keith, and Ben could all get on with their lives, instead of having to worry about whether or not I'll wake up. If I have any say in it, I won't be waking up.
There was a puff of air. I looked up from my sitting position. Kirlia stood across from me, alongside my... "Hello. baby girl."
"Mom?" Tears welled in my eyes as I bolted upwards and ran into her arms. She laced her arms around my back tightly, holding me close. "Mom you have no idea how much I've missed you." My voice was strained.
She rested her head atop mine. "You've been so brave, darling. I'm so proud of you."
I pulled away slightly to look up to her. "Mom.. I killed him. I killed Dad." Tears streaked down my cheeks.
My mother smiled sadly. "You did what you had to do to protect the ones you love, just as I did for you all those years ago. It isn't always easy making the right decision. We've all made mistakes, yet you've made up for yours."
"Is it over?" I asked. Hope beginning to bubble up in me.
She pulled away and moved back next to Kirlia. "I'm afraid not, Summer." Her tone was serious. My mouth fell ajar. "Your brother is still out there. He needs to be stopped and it is your responsibility to be the one who stops him."
Anger suddenly surfaced. "My responsibility? Mom, he betrayed me and stabbed me. I can't face him. He is not my responsibility!" I yelled.
Kirlia shifted uneasily. You must do it now, Madam. They are about to unplug her from the machine.
A bright wall appeared behind me. It flowed like water, depicting a misshapen view of my body on the hospital bed. A doctor stood next to the machine, his finger hovering over a button. Ben sat next to me on the bed, gripping my hand tightly.
There was a gust of wind, knocking me to the ground. The doctor pressed the button and there was a terrible ripping sensation all over my body. "No, it's too late!" My mother covered her cheeks.
Kirlia's eyes widened. Her finger! Look! It passed the barrier! My mother and I both looked at my hand that supported my weight. Only the tip of my middle finger had passed through the water-like wall. It does not matter how much or how little of her body has passed through. As long as it happened before she was unhooked!
I tried to pull my finger away from the barrier, but it wouldn't budge. All of a sudden, my hand was pulled in. "What's going on?" I asked, fear evident in my voice. The entire length of my arm was pulled through.
"It isn't your time. Please, Summer, be careful. Protect the ones you love."
"Mom!" I cried out, before my entire body was sucked through the barrier.
My eyes shot open. Ben stepped out of the room, closing the door quietly behind him. I tried calling out to him, but I couldn't find my voice. I have to get to him.
With a new found rush, I ripped the needle out from the inside of my elbow. A crippling pain tore through my abdomen as I tried to sit up. Regardless, I slid out of the bed, collapsing to the floor. I can't feel my legs. There is no time for this! With painful grunts, I used the wall and bed to hold up most of my weight as I walked to the door.
I finally pried it open, and moved into the icy hallway. Sharp shivers shot up through my bare feet as they connected to the ice cold tiles. I watched Ben's retreating form and tried to catch up with him. "Ben." I croaked, hardly able to hear myself. Losing all sense of balance, I crashed into a medical table parked against the wall. Syringes and trays clanked against the floor, their clatters echoing through the hallway. Ben turned around, his face going slack. "Ben." I strained to call out to him.
"Summer.." He shook his head. "This isn't real. I'm hallucinating. You're dead!" More tears filled his red eyes. His cheeks were a dark pink.
"Ben." I cried out louder than previously. "Ben." My arms began to shake from holding myself up. Before I could call for help, my legs gave out, causing me to collapse to the floor. There was a ripping sound and intense pain in my abdomen. I looked down to see blood beginning to stain my hospital gown. Within seconds, Ben was by my side, supporting my head on his lap. I could faintly hear him calling for help.
Everything is getting blurry. I'm so exhausted. I just want to sleep..
Alrighty, hopefully everyone enjoyed! Till next time. -A