Status: Complete

My House is NOT Haunted

End

Seeing as there was no more use for my legs, they gave out beneath me. The pain in my shoulder intensified, and I felt the blood seeping down my already soaked t-shirt. I sat still on the balcony, replaying what had just happened in my mind. Lightning flashed across the sky.

One one-thousand. Two one-thousand.

BOOM! The thunder rattled the house, and pushed me flat onto the floor. I scrambled for the door to Jason’s room.

Layney appeared behind me. Her face was blank, though I could tell inside she was completely happy. That thought alone made me smile.

I didn’t get far into the room before I collapsed again. I couldn’t seem to muster up the energy to move, so I just turned to Layney. I noticed something strange. She was… more transparent than usual. Almost like she was fading.

“Layney,” I wheezed. I couldn’t really talk a whole lot in my condition. “You’re…”

She looked down at herself, and laughed. Her laugh sounded like she was actually happy, not at all like how I’d heard her laugh in the past two months. “So I am. Thanks to you.”

All I could do was raise an eyebrow, since my mouth wasn’t really working and black dots were dancing around my eyes.

“Your job as a medium is to help us spirits get to our final resting place. It’s different in every case but, for me, it was making sure Brandon got what he deserved. And he certainly did. It’s my time to go now.”

I tried to say, “I’ll miss you,” but it came out more like, “Ilemisssssssu.”

She chuckled, and walked over to me. She was still fading, and my now it was hard to make out her facial features. Not that I was completely coherent, or anything. “I’ll miss you, too. Oh, gosh, I’d planned a whole good-bye speech… Well, just know that I’m really grateful to you. Extremely. Take care of your family, Kelly. They’ll need you. You don’t know how much yet, but you will. Well… Good-bye Kel.”

She gave me one last warm smile before she completely disappeared. The dots in my eyes bled together, and everything went black.

-----

Beep…Beep…Beep…

Oh, God. What isthat beeping noise?

I opened my eyes very slowly. I was in a white room that looked a heck of a lot like a hospital. I turned to the side, and saw that the annoying beeping was a heart monitor. When my eyes focused more, I realized that someone was sitting in the chair on the other side of my bed, sleeping.

“Whitney,” I croaked. My throat was really dry so it sounded more like, “Wihee,” but I think she got the point.

Her head snapped up, and she stared at me with wide green eyes. “Oh my God…” she breathed. I looked at her strangely. What was she talking about?

She stood up, and called for a doctor. I was still a little loopy, no doubt from the pain medication, but I still couldn’t figure out why she was freaking out. A man in a white coat, the doctor, I supposed, ran into the room. Whitney whispered something to him that I didn’t catch, and then he went over to one of the machines and did… something.

Once he was done with… whatever he did, he came to my bedside. “Miss Queen, I’m glad to see you’re awake. It seems like you’ve been shot in the shoulder. Are you aware of how lucky you are? That bullet missed your heart by about two inches. Had it hit, you wouldn’t be here. Now, I suggest you get some rest. Do you need more medication?”

I blinked at him. What was he…

Yesterday’s events hit me like a truck. Brandon Trying to kill me. Stealing a car. Going home. Brandon trying to kill me. Jumping over the balcony. Brandon (sort of) admitting he killed Amber. Laney pushing Brandon to his death. Laney leaving, for good.

My breathing became shallow, and I felt my heart rate speed up.

“Whoa, there. Don’t freak yourself out. You’re still healing, it’s not good. I think you need some more medication. I’ll be right back,” the doctor said, and left. I turned to my sister, who looked like she’d seen a ghost.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Hey, what do you know? My voice worked.

She stared at me for another minute before sitting down on the side of my bed. It sank beneath her weight, causing my injured shoulder to move. Pain ripped through my body, and I gasped. She shot back up.

“Sorry. It’s just… Well, they said that there was only a slight chance you’d wake up… And you did…” She trailed off. I noticed she’d started crying.

“Where’s mom and dad?” I wanted to know.

She sat down, wiping her eyes. “They’re in the cafeteria, getting something to eat. Everyone’s there getting breakfast. They’ll be back in a minute.”

“Oh.” I bit my lip, and asked the question I really didn’t want to know the answer to. “What happened to… Brandon?”

I didn’t think it was possible, but I’m pretty sure Whitney’s face went paler. “He was discovered at the crime scene with a broken spinal cord. He hasn’t woken up yet, but if he does he’ll be a paraplegic.”

I stared at the wall. Ok, so he wasn’t dead. Darn it.

She noticed I was quiet, and continued. “He’ll be sent to jail, though. He’s apparently suspected of abuse, rape, and murder. At least two accounts.”

I was about to say something else, although I honestly couldn’t tell you what, when my parents barged into the room, followed by Jason and Brooke. I smiled, showing them that I was alright.

“Kelly! Oh, thank God you’re awake! We were so worried!...” My parents droned on. I love my parents and all, but there’s only so much of that you can take.

“I know, I know. Nice to see you guys,” I said lamely. Well, what do you usually say to that?

Brooke walked over to the bed. She sat in one of the chairs next to me, her hands folded in her lap. She stared down at them while she waited for us to finish.

“… But Kelly, why would you even think about going down there at night…”

Jason looked about as uncomfortable as Brooke. He stood in the doorway, leaning against it and watching us. I looked up at him, and crossed my eyes, something I always did when my parents were annoying me. He smiled.

Suddenly, my dad’s phone rang. He searched around in his pocket for it, only to realize it was in the other one. Typical.

“Hello?... Yes… Yes, she’s fine… No, really you don’t-… Oh, alright… I’ll be right there,” He hung up on whoever was calling, and turned to my mom. “Ellie, my, uh, mother is coming. She’s at the airport right now. We need to go pick her up.”

My mom glared at him. “She’s… here.”

My dad fidgeted nervously. My mom has never gotten along with my grandma, for some reason. “Um. Yes. I might’ve mentioned Kelly’s accident to her…”

Mom shot up out of her seat. “You told your mother to come without telling me first?! Honestly, Don, why would you even-” She stopped, and took a deep breath. “Ok. Fine. Kelly, we’ll be right back. You’ll be ok with your friends here, won’t you?”

I nodded weakly. My mom kissed me quickly on my forehead, and stormed out after my dad. Once they were out of earshot, I let out a giggle.

Jason walked farther into the room now, and sat down on a chair beside Brooke. Whitney was sitting on her other side.

“What did he do to you guys?” I asked quietly. I knew they knew what I was talking about.

Jason looked at me. “He didn’t do anything. He ran out after you.”

I nodded. “…Brooke?”

She was still staring at her hands. “I dated him after you did. He raped me, abused me, and tried to kill me when I escaped,” she stated quietly.

Whitney covered her mouth, and Jason set his jaw. “Well, he won’t be able to harm you again, Brooke.”

I looked at the three of them. My three best friends. Heck, other than Nina and Lindsey, my only friends. I couldn’t have been happier.

Jason stood up and turned to face Whitney and Brooke. “Do you guys mind if I talk to Kelly alone for a second?”

They nodded, and left the room. Before she was out the door, I heard Brooke whisper something to Whitney that made her laugh. I rolled my eyes, not wanting to know what it was.

Jason picked up one of the plastic chairs and brought it over so that he was sitting right next to the bed. He propped up his elbows on the side and held his chin in his hands, the way a little kid does when they’re bored in school. I smiled at him.

“You want to know a secret?” he asked playfully.

I nodded again.

“I haven’t left the hospital since you were brought in, and watched you sleep every day.”

I stared at him. I felt bad, really that he’d done that. I mean, why would he do that?

Jason took his arms down. “Do you know how much danger you were in that night? I mean, on top of it being the storm of the century, you were being chased by an idiot with a gun! Kelly, do you even know how worried I was? I’ve watched you lay there for the past week, not knowing whether or not you were going to live! Why did you do that?”

I looked into his eyes. He wasn’t angry, just… curious, I think. “If I hadn’t left, he would’ve killed you all. I was just trying to save you.”

He groaned. “And what would’ve happened after he killed you? He’d go home and call it a night?”

He had a point there. I honestly hadn’t thought of that.

Jason sighed. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be so harsh on you. It’s just… you have no idea what it was like, watching someone you love dying…”

I could’ve sworn, when he looked up at me, that he had tears in his eyes. Jason never cried.

I reached up – with my good arm – and toughed the side of his face. He placed his hand over mine. “I’m sorry,” I said quietly.

“As long as you promise not to take yourself away from me like that again, I’ll forgive you,” he said, as his face broke into a crooked smile.

I smiled back at him. “Here’s my promise.”

I slid my hand down to the back of his neck, and pulled him toward me. He leaned over me, careful not to go near my injured arm, and kissed me. The electricity jolted through my body, and my heart beat jumped erratically.

He pulled away when he heard that, seeing as how I was still hooked up to the heart monitor. “That’s going to be embarrassing.”

I laughed. When I opened my mouth to say something, Brooke and Whitney came rushing back into the room carrying armfuls of food. I rolled my eyes. “What are you guys doing?”

Brooke set everything down on one of the seats while Whitney replied, “We’re going to watch a movie on my portable DVD player.”

I rolled my eyes again as they hustled about, pouring a bowl of popcorn and sodas for everyone. Whitney had asked the doctor if I could eat, and he’d said yes. Jason slimed at them and rolled his eyes at them with me.

When everything was settled down, I asked, “So, what’s the movie?”

Whitney pushed a button on the DVD player, and said, “Nancy Drew.”

Jason and I looked at each other, and burst out laughing. Brooke joined in with us, along with Whitney. We laughed as the movie’s previews started, and when the feature presentation began Whitney shushed us.

As they watched the movie, I couldn’t help but think about how lucky I was to have such great friends. Someone up there must have been watching out for me. I had a pretty good idea who.

Thank you, Jeff, I thought to myself.

Things might have not been the best they could be at the time. I still probably had to testify against Brandon. My house was still full of mold. I missed about two weeks worth of trig that I know I’m going to regret.

But some how, right then, I knew that things were going to be a lot better from now on.
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Yay! I'm done posting! *confetti* I know the ending's a little cheesy, but hey, I'm only 14. Thanks for reading!