Halfway Gone

It wasn’t long when Nick entered her room after Kim’s mother left. By then, Kim was now resting against the upright bed, and she was now taking in her surroundings properly. She even realized a small amount of bandage was wrapped around her head that she hadn’t noticed before. She was dressed in the mandatory hospital clothes, as a thin sheet was pulled over her bottom half.

“Are you okay?” Nick asked as he approached the side of her bed.

Kim placed a hand on the bandage around her head. As soon as her hand came to contact with the injury on her head, she felt a wave of pain struck through her head violently. She quickly removed her hand from the spot.

“I can manage,” she answered.

“You mom didn’t seem too happy when she walked out,” Nick commented.

“She doesn’t want me investigating Rosie’s death,” Kim responded. “And I didn’t exactly promise I’d stop.”

The more Kim thought about what her mother said to her, the more she couldn’t help but admit that her mother did have a point. Things were getting out of hand from the threatening phone call to the brick being thrown through her window. Even Rosie had these kinds of threats coming to her, and they meant that they wrote because they sure delivered. That was why Rosie’s dead. Kim was sure of it.

“Well, I got your mail,” Nick said as he held up a sealed envelope, and a folded piece of paper. “Your mother told me to go to school and pick up a school newsletter and your mail since you’re going to be staying here for a while.”

“What? How long am I staying here for?” Kim asked, surprised.

“You have to stay here for about a week before you can leave,” he responded. “They want to keep you under observation.”

Kim sighed and looked down at her lap as her fringe fell down in front of her. She blew out air through her lips, causing her fringe fly out a little in front of her. “This sucks,” she admitted.

Nick chuckled lightly. “Don’t worry, I promise to visit everyday after school. I’ll even bring your homework for you do to all day and night,” he promised. His tone was mocking. “Oh yes, and I’ll definitely fill you in on the day-to-day gossip.”

“Ha, thanks,” Kim rolled her eyes, voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Well, here’s your mail and school newsletter,” he handed her the school newsletter and the sealed envelope.

“I have a feeling that the mail is from those guys,” Kim frowned.

Nick chuckled. “Surprisingly, no,” he smiled. “I think it’s your bank statement for the month.”

Kim looked down at the school newsletter, taking in the huge bolded, capitalized letters. It didn’t come to much of a surprise that the school was holding this kind of event this year, since it happened last year. It was a legacy. The night of nights, as some students would say. It was the ball of the year – the night to never forget.

“Are you sure you want to go?” Kim assumed he’d already made up his mind about the event.

Nick nodded. “I think I should do this,” he said. “I know, it’ll be strange without Rosie, but I think it’ll help me get over the fact that she’s… gone. But to think that we didn’t get to say the things we wanted to say to her-”

“Nick, don’t start,” Kim interjected him before he could continue. She felt her face flush a little. She was trying to her best to not cry, and her head was beginning to hurt a little. “If you want to go, just go.”

“Sorry,” he mumbled quietly.

“It’s fine.”

“Kim, you should know something,” he informed as he sat down on the chair besides the bed. “When the brick was thrown through the window, a note was attached to it.” He pulled out a strip of paper that was cut out.

“Did you read it?” the blonde asked.

Nick nodded once. “It’s quite harsh what it says on there,” he said. “To be honest, it’s pretty much all those threats you’ve been receiving I guess.”

Either way, Kim knew it’d still freak her out.

“Did you show the police?”

The curly haired teenager shook his head. “I didn’t think they’d take it seriously since they didn’t take those bruises on Rosie’s neck seriously in the first place,” he said. “I’m sure they would have laughed in my face if I just showed them.”

Kim nodded in agreement. “Okay, well, let me read it,” she said.

Kim took the note from him and looked down at the piece of paper. She froze. She could feel her heart beat a little faster as a wave of anxiousness flowed through her body. She read the note over again.

We told you to stay out of it. You deserved this.

“Nick,” she said softly as she looked up into his eyes. “I’m scared.”