Chapter Twenty-Two

((Warning: I may use a little bit of language XD))

 

~ H a n n a h ~

 

     I nodded, even though Echo couldn’t see me. “Okay. I will.” And with her answer, Echo hung up on me. I set the phone down on my dresser and smiled a bit. There was a knock on the door. I went down the stairs and opened it. There was Vanessa. My grin disappeared. “What the hell are you doing here?” I asked bitterly.

     Vanessa smiled. “What? I can’t visit my friend?”

     I growled a little and turned, walking to the couch.

     “Why are you so grumpy, Hannah?” She asked me. Vanessa crossed the room and sat next to me. She leaned in and smiled. “You don’t like me?”

     “No–I,” I started. I didn’t want to tell her, but I had to. “Do you know an Echo?” I suddenly asked, my anger melted away.

     Vanessa blinked. “Y-yeah. Well, no. Sort of.” She said, hesitant. “She called me and said Snow White.”

     I giggled. “Sleep Beauty, here.” But then it came to me. Was Echo trying to tell us something? “W-wait here.” I said, and ran upstairs to get my phone, and dialed Adrianna’s number.

     ”Hello?” Adrianna asked groggily.

     I smiled. “Anything strange lately?”

     Adrianna managed a giggle. “Yeah. This girl named Echo called and told me this: ‘Princess and the Frog.’ Weird, huh? I know.” She said. “I wonder what that means?”

     “…She told me Sleeping Beauty and told Vanessa Snow White.” I said. “Anyways, did she tell you to meet her somewhere?”

     “Yeah. But I have to go there anyway, because my parents are taking me.” She sighed. “Hey, you going?”

     “For sure. Anything new about Alec?”

     Adrianna coughed. “Yeah; a news reports came out yesterday and it’s in the news. I’ll read it to you.” She said, and I could hear her pick up something. ” ‘Alec P. Chase strikes again. He has now made it back to Panic. Word has it that he has murdered a young Eri LeValle. We have few clues, such as blood DNA and a few hair folicles.’ “

     I nodded. “Poor Eri…” I muttered, a tear escaping. “What did she ever do to him?”

     Adrianna coughed again and sighed. “Who knows. Maybe she bumped into him and got on the wrong foot.”

     “Possibly. Read on.”

     “O-okay… ‘LeValle was found dead in this dumpster. Her hair was matted with blood, her eyes shut, and…’ ” Adrianna didn’t continue. “H-Hannah… I can’t continue… T-they have a picture… This poor girl…” She sobbed. “She looks so innocent!”

     I took a deep breath. “No. We are not going to go through with this Alec case. I can’t stand him! We gotta put him in jail or some–”

     “No, Hannah. Alec…” Adrianna paused. “Alec didn’t do this. He was framed.”

Chapter Twenty-One

((Nyaa~ It’s me again! I’m back making chapters…after a LONG hiatus ^^))

~ H a n n a h ~

 

     I was silent for a moment. “W-who is this?” I asked, trying my hardest to not sound scared.

     “Nyaa~ My name is Break.” Said a boy’s voice. “Nu! Break–leave! I’m talking!” The girl’s voice chimed in.

     I groaned. ‘A prank call. Great. Just what I needed.’ I thought. “Look, hang up now if you’re prank–”

     “Ha! You think this is a prank call?” The girl’s voice asked. Her voice was a mix between sweet, sweet innocence, and evil. Pure evil. “Anyways, my name is Echo. No last name needed. I’m here to warn you of something.” She said.

     “What? Warn me of what?” I asked.

     I could feel Echo’s lips crack up in a smile. “Nyaa~” She sang lightly. “Let me tell you one thing.”

     “W-what’s that? What do you need to tell me?”

~ K a l i ~

 

     The waitor returned momentarily. “Your drink, Miss.” He said, giving me the glass.

     I smiled and he walked away. ‘…where are you, Mark?’ I thought, taking a sip and finally opening the menu. Mark was suddenly in front of me. “How did you–”

     “Not now. I’m too stressed to talk about me. Let’s talk about you; why are you–” Mark started.

     I sighed and crossed my arms, narrowing my eyes. “You’re, like, an hour late, Mark. Why?”

     Mark hesitated. “Want the whole story? Er…okay. Well, I started to study with Adrianna when she started to feel sick. I told her I had to go but she didn’t let me. I think she just wanted me there to comfort her or something.” He shrugged. “Anyways. After a while, Adrianna finally let me go. When I left, I got in my car, and there was a little mini car trouble. When it was fixed, I came. All that within the hour.”

     I rolled my eyes and slumped down in my chair. “Well, at least you showed up.”

     He smiled and chuckled. “Yeah; unlike most boys.”

 

~ H a n n a h ~

 

     Echo gave a small laugh in one breath. “Miss Hannah,” She started. “Do you know why you’re here? Or what you’re doing?” She asked. I could almost feel her icy cold breath. “Hm?”

     I let out a breath and clutched the phone. “N-no.” I said, tripping over my own words.

     “Nyaa~” The boy, Break, chimed in. “May I tell her, Echo?”

     Echo had obviously thrown something at him. “Well,” She said into her phone. “Do you know the fairy tale Sleeping Beauty?”

     I facepalmed. “Yeah.”

     “I want you to remember that. For future references.” She said. “Oh, and tomorrow evening, meet me at Che Veau Parlait.”

Chapter Twenty

[Feels good to be writing again; I was busy with schoolwork and family.]

~ H a n n a h ~

 

     I found myself sitting on my bed. It’s been about a month since I’ve seen Adrianna and the crew. My phone’s screen glowed from two missed calls. I picked up the phone and opened it with one hand, the other wrapped around my legs.

     The phone read, ’2 Missed Calls – Adrianna Mason.’ I called her. Five rings and straight to voice message. “Hey, Adrianna. It’s Hannah. I miss you guys. This school’s a little weird… But, er, just give me a call back.” I said. “I really wanna talk.” And then I hung up the phone.

     It’s true. I did move away from the town. My parents heard about this ‘Alec’ problem and found a house a few states away. I now lived in the large town of Wellsburg, attending a weird private school called Queens Victory School. Yeah, weird.

     My phone buzzed again, but there was no caller I.D. I blindly answered it. “Hello?” I asked into the reciever.

     “Hello, Hannah.” A girl’s voice said.

~ K a l i ~

 

     The restruaunt I was on a date at was pretty crowded. Mark was late, as usual, but I didn’t mind. First, so I can get ready and prepare. And second, I could get my nervous vibes out. “Er…waiter.” I said, tugging on a waiter’s shirt sleeve. “Can I get a refill?”

     “Sure.” The waiter said, walking away with my cup.

Chapter Nineteen

[I'm not going to label the chapters anymore. I feel it might give too much away.]

     I sighed and toppled onto my bed. Mark sat beside me. He laid a hand on my back. “Wanna study?” He asked.

     I looked down towards the ground. My stomach hurt from the position I was laying in, on my stomach. “Sure.”

     He smiled. “Okay. So,” He started reading the book. “What is an adjective?”

     “Something that describes a noun.” I muttered into my bed sheets. I didn’t look up at Mark. “I don’t feel so good. Can we study tomorrow?” I asked him.

     Mark nodded. “Sounds good. I hope you feel–”

     I clutched onto his shirt as he stood up, but my face was still buried in the sheets. A few moments of silence went by.

     He stroked my hair. “I’m supposing you don’t want me to go.” He guessed. I nodded. “M’kay. I’ll stay.” Mark said, sitting back down.

     My mother walked in with a tray of snacks. She saw Mark sitting next to me, and my hand still clutching onto his shirt. “Is everything okay?” She asked, setting the tray down on my desk.

     Mark shook his head. “She said she doesn’t feel good at all.”

     Mom sighed. “I’ll go get the medicine.” She left the room in search for the medicine.

     I groaned. “My stomach really hurts, Mark.”

     Mark rubbed his hand on my back. “Do you think it’s something you ate?” He asked. I shook my head, telling him I didn’t eat anything because of the roller coasters. “Oh. Well maybe Alec–”

     I looked up at him. “Sure. Blame Alec on everything.” I finally stood up for Alec. It was strange; very unlike me. Mark looked at me like I was crazy. “Er, sorry. I’m sick. Excuse my crazy head.”

     Mom returned with the medicine. “Here. Take this.” She said, handing me a pill and a cup of water. I took it.

     Mark and my mom watched me take it. I looked at them. “What?” I asked. My mom smiled and left the room, leaving the snacks. Mark took the tray and set it between us. He smiled. “Don’t you have a date with Kali soon?”

     He laughed. “Hey, you’re the one who wanted me to stay.”

     “Well I want you to go.”

     “Make up your mind, woman.”

     “Go on your date. Then come back. Duh.”

     He stood up and left. “Bye then.” He said. I waved and rolled over on my back.

     I barely ate anything. My stomach couldn’t handle it. “What’s wrong with me? Why am I so sick?” I asked myself out loud. I stood up, reaching for the tray. I fell over. “Dizziness? Is that a symptom?” I got up and slowly took the tray to the kitchen.

     “Oh, I don’t think you should do that, honey.” Mom said, taking the tray from me. “You better go to bed.”

     I slowly nodded and retreated to my room, falling asleep.

Chapter Eighteen – Fun.

     Gianna and Vanessa walked together to the car, I thought they forgot about Mark and I. The two of us lingered around and waited for the line to shorten.

     Mark laid back against the wall, putting his hands in his pockets. “Hey, Adrianna, I have a question.”

     I leaned back on the wall as well. “Yeah, Mark?”

     “What would happen if I were scared of roller coasters?” He asked. A bead of sweat formed on his forehead and his eyes never broke away from the entrance to the coaster. “I’m obviously not, of course. I’m j-just saying.”

     I looked at him. “You’re kidding me.” I started to laugh a little. “You’re scared of this?”

     He quickly moved into an attack position, shaking his fist. “I’m not scared! I’m just nervous!” Mark realized what he was saying and covered his mouth. “I take that back–I’m not scared!”

     “Of course you aren’t.”

     Mark scowled. “Screw you.” He saw the line move up, but didn’t move.

     “Are you going to move up?”

     “Ladies first.” He gestured to the line.

     “Oh contraire. I say you first.” I joked, moving up.

     About ten minutes later, we were at the front. I gave the man our tickets and pulled Mark into the seat. “You’re sitting next to me. Do you realize what that means, Mark?” I said with a smirk. I slowly leaned in and narrowed my eyes. “Let the fun begin.” And the ride started. The snake-like seats jerked us left and right, up and down, right-side up and upside down. Mark screamed.

     “Dang this ride!” He yelled.

     I grabbed his hands and tried to put them in the air, but he resisted and clutched the bar with his life. I laughed. “Haha! Have some fun, Mark! It’s not like there’ll be pictures!”

     “You’re lying!” You’ve picked this car because you rode it earlier, and when you rode it, you knew you’d drag me on this! That means you’ve bugged this!” He, while clutching the bar, lifted one finger and looked around for my ‘camera’.

     “What’re you talking about? I’ve never bugged this thing! This is the first time I’ve been on this!”

     Mark screamed as we went down again. “Stop this thing!”

* * *

 

     After the ride, I had to literally pry Mark from the car. He was shaking. We met up with Gianna and Vanessa at the car. He told them the whole story of how he had a terrible time. “Oh, come on, Mark! It was fun!” I said, slapping his back.

     “To you! I was having a freaking heart attack!” He gasped for air again and got in the car.

     “He had a great time.” I said, smiling widely.

     “Did not.” He muttered.

     “Did too.” I smirked.

     Gianna drove Vanessa back to the hospital and bid her adieu. Mark and I took a bus to my house, and we studied there for about two hours.

Chapter Seventeen – Break from Life.

~ G i a n n a ~ 

     Adrianna and Mark helped Vanessa into my backseat. Adrianna slid in next to her and closed the door. Mark entered the passenger seat, while I hopped into the driver’s seat. Vanessa flinched a little from the speed bumps that surrounded the hospital. “…Sorry.” I muttered. 

     “No big deal.” Vanessa said. 

     “I’m hungry.” Mark said, rubbing his stomach. “Let’s get something to eat.” 

     I turned the corner and drove the car into a parking spot. “Like what?” 

     Mark made a face and thought a while. “How about chinese food?” He suggested. 

     Vanessa smiled. “Yummy! Sounds good to me!” 

     “Me too.” Adrianna and I said in unison. 

     “Alright. Peeking Mountain Chinese restaurant it is.” I started the car back up and backed out of the parking space. The next few minutes were quiet. No one spoke. No one made any noise. The only noise was the traffic outside of the car. There was no other customers in the restaurant. Mark took Vanessa to a table, while Adrianna and I got the drinks. The buffet was fresh. “Vanessa, do you have to eat certain foods?” I asked her. 

     She shook her head. “No.” 

     “Good.” Mark said, standing up and taking a plate. “Let’s eat!” 

     We ate the food like a pack of wolves. Mark was so hungry, you could tell by the way he looked at the food. We filled the practically empty shop with laughter, noise, and talking. The workers smiled and seemed to be happy that they had our business. 

     “Where to next?” I asked as we finished our last bite. 

     Adrianna stared at me blankly. “Umm…” She started to say. 

     Vanessa, seeming to quite enjoy the events of today, suggested that we go to the amusement park. “I Haven’t been there since I was very little.” She said. 

     I thought about it. The costs would have been expensive, but seeing the way Vanessa’s face lit up when Mark and Adrianna agreed made it worth the cost. 

     “Okay. That sounds fun.” I said, smiling and leading the three to my car. 

  

* * * 

  

     The amusement park was fun. Mark and Adrianna, the daredevil’s they are, went on every rollercoaster, every tumbler, and every fast-moving ride there was. Vanessa and I went on the somewhat fast and somewhat slow rides, due to her condition. 

     “Thanks again, Gianna.” She said, not looking me in the eye. She stared off into the sky like a child. “This means a lot.”

     I wrapped my arms around her shoulders and hugged her. “No problem, cousin.”

Chapter Sixteen – Remarkable Speed.

The weekend had finally come. Mark and Kali stayed with me at the hospital all of Saturday. Hannah couldn’t come; she had soccer practice.

The nurse’s wouldn’t tell us anything about Vanessa’s condition. They said that they’d tell us when they’re done, and when Vanessa will be released. Way to go, nurse. Yeah, right.

Anyways, Kali was starting to get bored–which wasn’t a surprise, because she got bored easily. Mark tried to make some jokes, but they didn’t work. Kali started to tell me and Mark that she was going home, but the nurse busted out of the emergency room, breathing deeply.

“Is everything okay?” Mark said, standing up.

The nurse shook her head. “Doctor Marks left, about an hour ago, for his lunch break. It’s been an hour, and he’s still not back! This patient’s going to die without him! What am I going to do!?” She started to pace worriedly.

“Wait–who’s the patient?” Kali asked, hoping it wasn’t Vanessa.

“Let me check.” She opened the doors again and rushed back. She returned moments later and showed us a clipboard. The paper on it said the patient was in room 1394. We, leaving the nurse in the dust, ran to the room.

I found the room. “Vanessa? Are you here?” I looked in the small and dark room. “Nessie?! Nessa?!”

I heard a moan. “Anna? Is that you?” Someone said blankly. Anna was the name Vanessa called me when she was too lazy to call me by my real name, Adrianna.

“Y-yes! Is it you, Nessie? Is your doctor the man named Dr. Marks?”

“No. Mine is–” She coughed. “–Dr. Franklin. Why do you ask?”

Whew. She wasn’t going to die. I switched on the side lamp by her bed and sat in the chair next to her. “Nothing important, Nessie. Just wondering. Hey, um, how are you? What’s been happening?”

I saw her try to roll her eyes. “I’d rather not speak about it. But they did get the bullet out. And I can’t show you, because they have it all wrapped up in this weird gauze-like stuff.” She pointed to her side. Vanessa then laughed. “Funny how just a little bravery puts you in the hospital with a bullet hole in your side.”

I nodded. “Yeah. But at least you’re not dead.”

“Yeah. Thank Dr. Franklin for that.” She weakly pointed to the door, and a man, who was most likely to be Dr. Franklin, stood there, smiling.

The doctor adjusted his coat. “No need to thank me, ladies. I’m just doing my job.” He crossed the room and checked a clipboard, which was on the desk, and probably had the most recent statistics of Vanessa’s health. “Ah, Vanessa. You’re doing quite well; your body is healing about ten percent faster than most bodies. Remarkable.”

Vanessa smiled excitedly. “Great! Does that mean I’ll be out faster?”

“Sadly, no. We need to find out what’s producing…this…this, you know, whatever’s making you heal faster.” Dr. Franklin said. He seemed like he didn’t know what he was talking about.

I sighed. “Really? That sucks.” I leaned my back on the wall behind me. “But no worries. I’ll come back every day, Nessie. Even if it means to visit during school hours. I’ll be here for you.”

Vanessa laughed. “No need to. I’ll be fine. I promise.”

* * *

Kali and Mark stood up as I walked out of the room. Gianna remained in her chair. “She’s healing at remarkable speed. But she will have to stay a little longer because the doctors want to find out what’s making her heal so fast.”

They both stood up. “That’s weird…” Kali said. “Oh well. Well, I gotta go get Hannah. She’s still at soccer practice; I told her I’d pick her up.” Kali gave Mark, Gianna and I a quick hug goodbye and left. The two of us both lingered around a bit longer and waited for Vanessa’s hourly release. That’s a good thing. The hospital’s rules allow the patients, if they’re in the right health, to have an hourly release, which meant that they get to go anywhere they want for an hour.

The nurse pushed a wheelchair, containing Vanessa, out towards the waiting rooms. “Vanessa Leone.” She called. Mark and I waved our hands to let the nurse know we were her guardians and watched as Vanessa stumbled out of the wheelchair and stagger towards us.

“Where will we go?” She asked.

“I say we go to Gianna’s place. Alec doesn’t know where that is.” Mark suggested.

“Good idea. Let’s go.” Gianna said, grabbing her keys and leading us to her car.