Fast forward two months, when Brielle's life seems to be perfect, Julie and her band have become even more famous, and Flynn is the big-time manager of "Julie and the Phantoms". Since their show at the Orpheum, the boys have become real-life humans...
Thursday, February 11th, 2021 was the day everything changed for Brielle.
But, she didn't know that when she woke up.
To her, it was any normal day as she woke up. Wake up, go to school, maybe head to Julie's and hang out while listening to the band while doing homework, go home, have dinner with Aliyah, finish homework, sleep, repeat.
"Bri, time to get up. Come on. I know it's hard to think about everything that's going on, but you have to go to school." Aliyah says, waking her sister up. Nowadays, Brielle can never wake up with her alarm, which is odd since she enjoys school and everything else in life, but she's so tired and halfway to being six feet under that everything feels off. Today is just the same as it's been for the last four.
"Yeah, I know. I just have no idea how to stop it." Brielle complains, swinging her legs over the edge of the twin bed. There's some internal wincing as she feels varying stages of pain across her body, but she couldn't
"Well, have you given any thought as to what your unfinished business might be?" Aliyah wonders, hoping she has any ideas. All of her ideas--performing on stage, learning to truly love someone, making new friends, going somewhere she's wanted to go since forever, forgiving her for leaving--were all shot down immediately.
"I've given it plenty of thought. Not that it helped at all. It just feels hopeless. My hands are starting to become more like holograms and my foot is halfway to the prosthetic it used to be." Brielle says, feeling completely hopeless. Her right leg also
"Well, why don't you just think about school? Let's get some breakfast and get you to your friends." Aliyah suggests, although even eating is sometimes difficult for Brielle. As if she's slowly turning into a ghost before everyone's eyes. Aliyah never notices the flickering, but Julie, Flynn, and the boys have been noticing the slight transparency present in Brielle's hands and feet.
It's safe to say everyone has figured out what's going on, and after finding out she's going to be gone soon, they want to treasure every moment they can with her.
And more than once a day, Brielle remembers this line Luke told her a while ago, that resurfaced in her memories when she heard her time was limited.
Just promise me one thing. Stay alive, because you have so much to live for.
That's when it hits her. She has to forgive her parents. Of everything she has to do, it's forgive them for everything they've done to her. The bruises, the pain, the tears. Becoming the maid, scared for her life all the time, feeling alone all the time.
The only reason she figured it out is because that's the only thing she was thinking of when Luke said that line originally. How much pain she was in, how terrified she was of her father, but it's what she has to do. Facing the past isn't easy, but sometimes it's the only way forward.
"Aliyah, I know." Brielle blurts out, taking a bit of her toast.
"You know what?" Aliyah asks, thoroughly confused, while also eating her own breakfast.
"My unfinished business." Willie, who just arrived, is clapping in joy. Willie is happy for Brielle, since he wants to see her grow up and do amazing things, even if she won't be able to see him once she fully crosses over. He became a permanent figure in Brielle's vision since early last night, reminding Brielle yet again she's coming up to her death date. She knows exactly how much time she has, down to the second, ticking in the back of her mind. Even if she doesn't always acknowledge it, the moment she thinks about it, it's there, like watching the clock tick down on a game that you are hoping for a last second touchdown to win, but knowing it's probably never going to happen.
"What is it?" Aliyah gets her hopes up, just for them to be dashed the moment the words come out of Brielle's mouth.
"I have to go to prison and forgive mom and dad." Willie is shocked at this, too, since he's learned how terribly Brielle was treated by her parents.
"No." Aliyah says, not even caring that she'd lose her sister.
"Aliyah, I am going, whether or not you want me to." Brielle, breaking character, stands up to her sister.
The promise she made to Luke rings in her head again, reminding her she has so much to live for.
"I want to live. And this is my last chance."
Walking out of the apartment to go to school, Brielle leaves her sister stunned and frozen in the kitchen with only Willie to keep her company. She is terrified to see her parents even one more time, but she knows it's important, and Aliyah should realize that, too.
"Luke, can you meet me at the front of the school when it's over?" Brielle calls her boyfriend, hoping for some support from someone who cares about her.
"Absolutely. What for?" Luke, worried about what Brielle wants, wonders. He has no idea what she wants, but if she's going to him instead of her sister, it has to be pretty big.
"I- I'll tell you later." Hanging up the phone, she heads into school, focusing her mind on what she needs to accomplish today while Luke's head is spinning with the conversation they just had.
"Reggie, Alex, I just had a really weird conversation with Brielle. Do either of you have Aliyah's number?" Alex, being the closest to the older sister, pulls up her contact and Luke calls Aliyah on Alex's phone.
"Alex? Why are you calling?" Aliyah wonders on one end of the phone.
"This is Luke. I'm borrowing Alex's phone. Brielle just called and she was really weird." Luke says, replaying everything in his head searching for any sign of what's going on.
"She's going to see our parents in prison after school." That's when Luke realizes why she refused to tell him. Because he'd freak out. "You need to go with her. I can't bear to see my parents again, but she needs some emotional support while she's there."
"Why me?" Luke asks, not even caring that Reggie and Alex are causing a bit of ruckus in front of him.
"Because, you care about her." Aliyah starts. "And I don't want to see her get hurt."
That reverberates in Luke's soul. Because you care about her.
Author's Note: So, I was definitely planning to get farther in this chapter than I did, but I decided I wanted to leave it where I did more than write what all happens (all of which I have already planned out in my head) with that. But, next chapter will definitely cover that, so brace yourselves! I can't believe how many of you guys are reading this story, so thank you to everyone. Also, vote and comment if you guys liked this chapter, apologies for it being so short, or are looking forward to the next one!
Loves,
mistyrider921
~𝄞~
Also, the Wattys just opened, and turns out Bruises has over 50K words, so I submitted it to the Wattys! Pray for me that it gets shortlisted and/or wins!
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