There’s a
knock on the door early the next morning. I sit on my bed hugging my knees as
Dillon opens the door. It’s Marcus. If he’s surprised to see Dillon, it doesn’t
show, but I notice a change in his expression. I get up and walk toward the
door, the wound throbbing under the bandage wrapped around my ankle as I do.
“Hi,” I say, plainly. Marcus flashes
a faint smile, but he looks drained; he was probably awake all night, making
sure Olivia was doing okay.
“What is it?” Dillon asks him. “Is
something wrong?”
“It’s Scarlet,” he answers. “She…”
he trails off, begins to bite his lip, and his eyes fall to the floor. “She
died last night,” he murmurs. I clasp my hand over my mouth and a cold, empty
feeling rushes through me. Tears dribble down my face. The only thought that I
could muster up is that this was all our fault.
“They’re having a small service for
her,” Marcus adds after a while. Dillon I both nod, and step out of the room,
shutting the door behind us. I try to hide the pain that comes with simply
walking, but it’s hard to ignore. It must show on my face since the two of them
are at my side supporting me.
Marcus leads us to a door that I had
never noticed before, and out to a large, thick trunked oak tree and everyone
standing in its shade. I feel weak at the sight of the white sheet covering
Scarlet’s body that’s lying on the grass. Olivia, whose condition has improved
greatly, comes over to us, face damp with tears. Chase, Isaac, and Seth set
down their shovels and gently lift Scarlet into the ditch they had just dug. Tears
are shed all around. They then pile the dirt back on top of the sheet and pat
it down. Violet unearths a bit of the dirt, and plants some scarlet colored
flowers. Where she got them, I have no idea.
Everyone’s silent, but all of the
unspoken words of sympathy and remembrance hang in the air.
“Scarlet was one of my best friends
here,” Rae chokes out between bursts of tears.
“She was a friend to everyone,” Seth
continues.
“She was great person to be around,
even just for the short time that I’d known her,” Olivia chimes in, drying her
tears.
“She had a way of staying positive,
even in bad situations,” Chase adds. I feel as if I should say something too,
since Scarlet really was a nice person, but the only thing I can think to say
at the moment is that I’m sorry I contributed to your death.
Hugs are given to Violet before we
go back inside. She stays behind while the rest of us somberly make our way to
the dining hall. During breakfast, Headmistress Baumann comes in with an
entourage of officials.
“Attention!” she booms. Her voice
projects throughout the silent room. “Due to yesterday’s events, you have the
day off.” You’d expect cheers to erupt, but instead, people turn and murmur to
each other. “Something else will be arranged, but in the meantime, you are
instructed to stay inside, either in here, the common rooms, or your own
rooms.” With that, she leaves. I’m surprised that she’s actually just letting
us do whatever we want for the day, but I’m grateful for the free time.
We settle down in one of the common
rooms. No one knows what to say; we’re all still distraught over the attack
yesterday and Scarlet’s death. After a while, I get up and decide to go see
Violet. I’m pretty sure everyone notices me leaving, but no one makes any sort
of remark. I struggle down the vacant hallways and out the door, disregarding
the fact that we’re supposed to stay inside.
I approach Violet
sitting by Scarlet’s grave.
“Hey,” I say, sitting down next to her.
“Hi,” she responds distantly. We sit there in silence for
a minute.
“I’m sorry,” I tell her. It’s a horrible thing to say.
Those words don’t have any affect at all. Saying that you’re sorry just can’t
describe the feeling you get when you lose someone you love.
“Thanks,” she says. I can tell that she’s just trying to
be nice and that she’s thinking the same thing I am. Another moment of silence
passes.
“I know what it feels like; to lose someone you love.” She
doesn’t respond, and I don’t blame her. I just don’t know the right things to
say to console someone, which I find pretty ridiculous considering I spent most
of my time with Dillon, Marcus, and Olivia who are in the same position as I
am.
Then it hits me how selfish I am. I cry over my parents
and all that’s happening while Dillon comforts me when he probably feels the
same pain I feel.
“How do you handle it?” I ask her. She looks at me in
confusion. “I mean, it’s been so long since my parents died, and I’m still
shaken up about it. I wish I were stronger…like you.” She gives me a faint
smile.
“Well, you’re under different circumstances,” she points
out, “and I’m usually not one to show my emotions, but strength isn’t simply
the ability to keep your composure. Strength, to me, is encountering something
that tries to knock you down, but you manage to stay standing; even if you
stumble along the way.” I sit there and take in her words. Violet was right.
After ten minutes or so, I get up.
“It’s getting late; we should probably go back inside.”
“You go ahead,” she says, “I’m gonna stay out here.”
“Okay.” I stand by the door, but before going in I add,
“Thanks.”
“No problem,” she replies, giving me a weak smile.
I still have time before curfew, so I go back to the
common room to find Dillon.
“Hey,” he remarks. “Where were you?”
“I’m sorry,” I blurt out. He takes me in his arms.
“For what?”
“I’m selfish and I haven’t even considered how you or
Marcus or Olivia are taking everything I just break down and cry and then you
come to calm me down and I forget how you’re going through the same thing and—”
“Oh Skye,” he says, holding me tighter and stroking my
hair. I let tears escape; knowing that this was a bad time to start crying, but
something in me couldn’t help it.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper again, voice shaking.
“You have nothing to be sorry about,” he says, stroking
my hair. “I know you’d do the same for me.” It had never crossed my mind
before, but I realize that I would do the same.
If Dillon were the one feeling dejected all the time, I
would try to comfort him. If he were the one who was so unreachable, I would
try to get through to him. If he were the one who didn’t have the heart to love
someone because of everything else that had to be dealt with, I would love him
despite that.
(Author's note: I'm not particularly happy with how this chapter turned out. Probably has something to do with the fact that i started this over the summer and am just finishing it now)
♥Skittlez
