This Is Not the End

Jacky's POV

Ronnie sat with me in the waiting room. We sat in silence, both trying to comprehend what had just happened. One moment, I was sitting in my room, Skyping with me mum, and the next moment there was a loud banging noise at the door. I open it up, and a blood soaked girl falls into our living room. She appeared to have been stabbed. I could not even begin to muster who on Earth would stab such a beautiful human being. She had blonde hair, pale skin (I'm pretty sure that was because of the blood loss), and grey eyes.

Elise was wearing a black Escape the Fate shirt, a pair of torn blue jeans, and black trainers. When she spoke, her voice was weak. I remember looking into her eyes and praying that she wouldn't die. Her eyes stared back at me, unfocused and glistening with tears.

I looked at my hands. They were covered in her blood, as were the knees of my jeans. I looked at Ronnie who was biting his nails. The doctors were searching for someone in Elise's life to call, seeing as Ronnie and I didn't know her. A nurse dressed in blue scrubs approaced us. I stood up.

"Any news?" I asked. The nurse shook her head.

"Nothing about her condition, however; I have bad news." she replied.

"What is it?" I asked anxiously.

"The police has just informed me that they've just found Elise's mother dead. They've arrested a young man. The police believe that he is Elise's boyfriend." the nurse said. "The only person we could contact is a cousin by the name of Maxwell Green." The nurse patted my shoulder and walked away. I sat back down. Ronnie looked at me.

"That's fucking rough." he said.

"It's also her eighteenth birthday. Who's going to tell her that her mum is dead?" I said.

Before Ronnie could reply, a man came running into the waiting room, and slammed his hands onto the front desk, startling the receptionist.

"I'm looking for Elise Green!" he shouted. His voice was strained and full of urgency.

"I know that voice anywhere." Ronnie said, getting to his feet. "Max!" He called. Max turned his head and waved. Ronnie motioned for him to come over. Max walked over to us.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. I remained quiet as I looked at him. I could see the resemblance between him and Elise. Max looked as though he had been crying for a long time, because his cheeks were red and his eyes were swollen. His hair looked frazzled and he reeked of cigarettes and coffee.

"We came in with Elise." Ronnie said. Max's eyes widened and his mouth fell open.

"Why?! What happened?! Why does Jacky have blood on his hands?! How do you know her?!" He demanded in a shakey voice.

"I don't know her. Neither does Jacky. She just showed up at our house with a knife in her. I called the ambulance as Jacky talked to her and put pressure on the wound." Ronnie explained. "I didn't even know her name until we got here, let alone that she was related to you."

"Her mum is dead." I added quietly. "The police have arrested Elise's boyfriend."

Max sank to the ground at Ronnie's feet and began to cry. "This is my fault. I knew that guy was bad news. Why didn't she fucking listen to me? I tried to get her to leave him. He was abusive and possesive. Why?! Why didn't I try harder?!" Max cried. Ronnie got down on his knees and put his hand on Max's shoulder. "Aunt Jenny...shouldn't be dead... she... Oh Elise..." he sobbed.

There was a knot of despair growing in the pit of my stomach. I didn't really know Max personally. But I knew that he was a good guy. Yeah, the shit that happened between him and Ronnie, was pretty bad. But it was in the past. Ronnie didn't hate Max, and I knew that Max didn't hate Ronnie, but their friendship did take a mighty blow. But seeing Max and Ronnie in this moment, you would never guess it. I leaned forward in my seat and patted Max's shoulder.

I could only guess how much Elise meant to Max. They seemed to be pretty close.

Some time passed and the wait for news was getting more agonizing by the second. Finally, a doctor confronted us. I was the only one who stood up. Max was using Ronnie's shoulder to cry on.

"She's alive. We lost her a few times, but we finally got her stable in the end. You can see her whenever you're ready." She said and walked away.

"Did you hear that, Max? She's okay." I heard Ronnie say. I smiled, feeling the knot in my stomach loosen. Suddenly, I felt Max's arms around me.

"You saved her life... you kept her alive... Thank you." he said. I hugged him back.

Darkness loomed overhead. She still didn't know that her mother was dead. Who would tell her?

"Come on, Max. Let's go see her. Jacky, go wash your hands." Ronnie said, as he led Max towards the back.