This Is Not the End

Elise's POV

I laid in the hospital bed, feeling drowsy, but fighting the urge to sleep. My thoughts were honing in on the detatils of the past couple of hours. I remembered Rodney plunging the knife into me. I remembered stumbling down the street. I remembered Jacky's voice looming over me... then nothing.

The door opened and two people walked in. I looked up and saw Ronnie Radke and my cousin, Max. My face lit up.
"Hey Max!" I said. Max rushed to my bedside and took my hand and kissed it. I looked at him. "Hey! Your eyebrows grew back!"

"Yeah..." Max gave a nervous giggle.
I looked at Ronnie, who was standing at the foot of my bed.

"Are you the Ronnie who called the ambulance?" I asked.

"Yes, that was me." He said.

"Huh... small world. Thank you." I said. "Where's Jacky?"

"He went to wash up. He should be here any moment." Ronnie said. I turned back to Max. He had something on his mind; I could see it on his face.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

Max hesitated, then sighed. "Your mom...she's... dead." He said.

It took me a moment to process this. My mind shuffled through darkness for a moment, then the memory came back.

"I know. Rodney killed her. He stabbed me with the same knife." I said, feeling tears beginning to well up in my eyes.

Ronnie walked closer to my bed and sat down beside me. "What happened?" he asked.

I sighed.

"Rodney wanted me to go with him to Ireland. Mom wouldn't sign the papers, the ones that would allow me to leave the country. Rodney came over to get me, because it was my birthday. Mom wouldn't let me go, which was fine because I didn't want to go. An argument broke out, and mom was about to call the police," I paused to wipe my eyes. "and Rodney got angry. He pulled out his knife...and...and...he stabbed her. Just like that! Mom fell back, and... bled. All I could do was stare." Max squeezed my hand. "Then Rodney told me to pack. I lunged at him. I wasn't thinking; I was just so angry! He plunged the knife into me and ran." I started shaking. Ronnie ran his fingers through my hair.

"Well, Rodney's in jail." Ronnie said.

"Good! My mom didn't deserve to die!" I shouted. The door open again and another man walked in. He was carrying a bouqet of pink flowers and a small bear. He had brown hair, blue eyes, and was wearing a black shirt, and torn jeans with blood stains on them.

"Hi..." he said, coming further into the room.

"Hi! You must be Jacky." I smiled, wiping my eyes. "Thank you...for everything." Jacky set the flowers on the table beside Max and handed me the bear. It was small and black and it was wearing a shirt that said "Get Well Soon". The word "soon" was crossed out with black sharpie and underneath it said "Now!". I smiled at it.

"You didn't have to get me anything..." I said, staring up at him. Jacky shrugged and sat down behind Max. The door opened again. "WHAT THE FUCK?! Is this Grand Central fucking Station or something?!" I said. It was a nurse.

"Sorry to interupt, but only family allowed in the rooms at this hour." she said. Ronnie and Jacky stood up.

"Well see you tomorrow, kid." Ronnie said, leaning down to hug me. I hugged him back.

"Yeah..." Jacky said as he leaned down for a hug. I hugged him tightly.

"Thank you, again." I kissed him on the cheek. Jacky pulled back and blushed.

"Bye." he said, and followed Ronnie out the door.

"Max... where am I going to go now?" I asked after a short pause.

"I don't know. I can rent you an apartment if you want to stay in Vegas." he offered.

"That would be nice..." I said, rolling over clutching the small bear. I closed my eyes and let the drugs work their magic and put me to sleep.