the endless beginning, ethan landry

8 | Pain in the theatre

AMELIE SITS IN between Tara and Mindy on the back of an ambulance while Chad leans against the side of it closest to Mindy. Amelie holds her knees up to her chest and has her left arm placed over the right side of her bandaged chest. Sam stands a couple of feet away where Anika's body lays covered and smokes a cigarette. Amelie feels as if time has stopped, not being able to process what just happened to them. Anika is dead. She promised Mindy that she would keep her safe, she fucking promised her, and what happened? She makes it out alive and not Anika. Guilt eats at her insides and her stomach churns at the thought. If she had just made Anika go first then maybe she would still be here, with Mindy. She feels so guilty, she is sure that even Mindy blames her for letting Anika go last and being dead. She looks over at Mindy who stares blankly at the ground below her and she feels like crying all over again, thought there seems to be no tears left in her body.

Anika was like a breathe of fresh air. After Amelie moved to New York, she felt like a new beginning was coming but she was still choking on the past. When she met Anika, it was like it all changed for her and her friends. Anika understood her like no one else did, was always able to cheer her up, and was always willing to listen when Amelie was having a particularly rough day. There was nothing that could fix this hole in Amelie's chest and she is now down another person who knew and loved her, for her.

Amelie also can't help but think that if she had never become friends with Anika, never had introduced her to their friends, or let her get involved with Mindy, that maybe Anika's fate would be different. Or if she had just forced Anika to go on the ladder first, then maybe the situation they are in currently would be completely different. Maybe Anika could be sitting here beside her right now.

And Quinn, fuck. Her beautiful roommate who, though she wasn't as close to as Anika, was still one of her good friends. The weight of her dead body still lingers on her mind and her blood is currently smeared on Amelie's white shirt. Quinn was also dead, and within the span of 20 minutes, she had lost two more people in her life.

"Chad-" Amelie looks up and sees Ethan has managed to cross over the police tape and slowly advances to the group. Chad angrily grabs Ethan by his shirt and shoves him against a car.

"Where were you?" Chad shoves him harder into the vehicle behind him.

"What, when?" Ethan's eyes widen and he almost looks frightened at Chad's angry behavior. Pretend, pretend, pretend. Chad pushes against him harder with anger ridden all over his face. "Last night."

"What-What? I had Econ. You know this," Ethan looks at him pointedly. Their posted school schedule up on their fridge and Ethan reminded him once more last night before Chad went back to the girl's apartment.

"Bullshit, man! You disappear and my sister almost gets killed." Venom is laced in Chad's voice as he doesn't let up his grip on the boy. He lowers his voice before he adds, "Amie almost got killed."

"What-What? Is she okay?" Ethan replies as innocently as he can with concern covering his face and puts his arm out in defence. It appears as if it is working on Chad as his face contorts and his emotion is almost unclear. "Dude, I was at a study hall with a hundred other people, you can ask any of them."

"Fuck, man," Chad snarls his lip and reluctantly lets him go. Ethan, relieved, looks at where the crime scene is blocked off and then back to the girls in the ambulance. He stars at Amelie and his eyes widen.

"Oh my god. Who?" Ethan asks in disbelief to which Chad answers that it was Anika and Quinn before walking back over to the girls. Ethan looks back at Amelie and then down to the bandage on her chest, concern flashes across his face.