White Roses Fade to Black

“Yeah, so I play drums and guitar. Not much of a singer, but I do a bit of back. Or did, before my mom made me move from the south up here,” Freddie smiled.

Lucie nodded and smiled back. They’d been having a long and detailed conversation; she’d finished her coffee and hadn’t realized.

“I guess I can sing. Can’t do much else apart from a couple bars of drums and maybe whistle,” Lucie grinned.

This made Freddie laugh. Lucie’s insides twisted themselves into knots and made butterflies stronger than she could stomach. She could barely keep her skittles down for the fluttering sensation.

“So, what kind of music do you like?” Lucie asked, discreetly punching her stomach to stop the butterflies.

“Uhm, punk, punk rock, pop punk, emo, rock. My Chemical Romance is my favorite band right now. Changes with the weather, but I feel that MCR is gonna always be in my heart,” Freddie said.

Lucie was dying here. This Freddie guy had the same taste in music as her, and he had such passion about his music.

“Wow, me too! Do you write and draw?” Lucie curiously asked.

“I love to write and I guess you’d say I’m artistic,” Freddie smiled, holding up a sketch pad.

“Oh. Well, can I see some of your work? Coz you’ve been drawing the whole time we’ve been talking,” Lucie grinned.

Freddie giggled and handed her the sketch book. Lucie flicked through; the amazing drawings were almost photographic. The latest picture looked familiar to her. The chocolate brown hair that fell about the face and over one eye; the bright blue eyes so full of sorrow; the screwed up teeth that weren’t so bad when you looked at it.

“You drew me?” Lucie smiled.

Freddie smiled and nodded.

“There’s just something about you…” he whispered.

Lucie felt her face heat up. This guy was so sweet, it was unbelievable. There were only ever three guys who actually gave a damn about her, and they were Mike, Calum and David. David…

Lucie snapped from her trance and realized why she was actually at the hospital. David, the panic attack, her parents…

“I-I’m so sorry, but I have to go. Where did you say you’re new school was?” Lucie asked, standing up and starting to walk away.

Freddie looked a little hurt and genuinely taken aback.

“I, uh, Bellview Comp. I start tomorrow, year eleven and form WA,” he said, also standing up.

Lucie’s ears pricked up. That was hers and Lesley’s form; he was gonna be in the same form as her.

As Lucie walked away, she wondered whether she’d ever meet Freddie’s twin. She thought about David, and she thought about Freddie’s drawing and what he’d said. The words circled round her mind.

“There’s just something about you…”

*
Katherine stared at David’s pale figure. The twitching had become more frequent, and every so often, he would make a sound. It sounded more and more like Lucie’s name every time he did it.

“David?” Katherine muttered.

David groaned and moved his head slightly. His eyes flicked open. Katherine gasped and ran out to find Lucie.

“Lucie?” Katherine almost yelled.

A tired looking Lucie, who was sauntering along the corridor, looked up in a wave of shock, worry and fear.

“What? What is it? What’s wrong!?” Lucie yelled.

Katherine gasped for air and started to shake Lucie. Lucie became confused and raised an eyebrow questioningly.

“It’s… David… he opened… his eyes!” Katherine cried.

Lucie’s eyes opened wide and she pushed Katherine aside. She ran into the room and sat by David, taking his hand in her own.

David’s eyes flickered open again and he looked at Lucie. He made a noise that almost sounded like a word.

“I’m… sorry… Lucie,” he whispered.

Her eyes filled with tears again. She’d been right; he had heard everything. She pulled his hand up to her face and kissed his knuckles softly.

“I’m so sorry, David. I never wanted you to hear anything my parents ever said to me. Whether it’s true or not,” she whispered, looking away and blinking back tears.

David tried to sit up, but Lucie wouldn’t let him.

“Sweetie, you need to rest,” she muttered.

David nodded slightly and smiled warmly. Lucie felt the tears stab the backs of her eyes; how she’d missed that perfect and beautiful smile. She climbed slowly onto the bed, where David, as best he could, wrapped his arms round Lucie.

“Love you…” he whispered.

“Love you too…” Lucie whispered sleepily.

She yawned and slowly drifted off to sleep. David pulled her body close to his own, kissed the top of her head and drifted back off to sleep.

*
Katherine hung around for a while, watching her two friends sleep. The nurse came in to tell Lucie that visiting hours were over, but Katherine glared at her and nodded towards the bed. The nurse went a delicate shade of pink, nodded and left.

“Damn straight, bitch,” Katherine mumbled.

Lucie moved in her sleep and Katherine looked at her. The bruises on her face were more visible than ever, and Katherine wondered where they’d come from. She weighed up all the possibilities and came to one…

She gasped. Lucie’s parents did this to her? Katherine felt the tears burn her eyes, and felt no desire to hold them back.

“Jesus, Lucie…” she whispered.

“What? What about Jesus?” someone asked.

Katherine just and looked round. Lesley stood at the door, holding a bunch of papers and a sketch book page.

“Some guy outside said to give this to Lucie,” Lesley said confusedly.

They both pulled a face and set the page on the bed, looking at it intently. It was a detailed picture of Lucie, looking almost like a photograph, if it wasn’t for the millions of little sketch lines.

“Whoa…” they whispered in unison.

Katherine looked at Lesley and Lesley looked back.

“Hey, I’m sorry for yelling at you the other day,” Lesley muttered, looking away.

“Nah, it’s okay. You’re going through a lot of shit; we all are,” Katherine smiled.

Lesley smiled back and they both looked at the drawing. Their eyes darted from the picture to Lucie, who was smiling slightly as she slept. David’s fingers subconsciously and sleepily played with her chocolate brown hair, making her smile more and move slightly so she was burying her face in his chest.

“I don’t think that guy out there is just some guy…” Lesley muttered.

Katherine looked at her weird. But she could be right. What if Lucie was falling for this random Southern dude?