Blood And Roses

Chapter Three: Veronica's Breakdown

TW: Graphic panic attack, mentions of blood, vomiting and fainting, potentially upsetting content
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The minute Veronica heard that loud noise from upstairs, she immediately froze. She hadn't been drinking, she was too unsettled by Tia's sudden change in demeanor, and she had a feeling she knew why now. Immediately, she went to investigate, making her way upstairs.

And what she saw frightened her.

Tia laid on the ground, limp, blood dripping from her mouth. Not one bit of her was moving. Her hair was scruffy and tangled, not to mention frizzy. Her eyes were almost fully covered by her hair. Her mouth slightly parted. That was when Veronica saw the light blue petals.

As she stared, she unknowingly began to tremble, teetering on the verge of crying, and that's when she heard a wretched scream. A scream that had sounded like someone who was faced with a terrible reality of someone they cared so deeply about. A scream of pure, unbridled, raw agony.

Too quickly, but not quickly enough, she realized she wasn't alone. Lawrence was shouting directions, as Ellie tried to preform CPR, and Bimini tried to call an ambulance. Then Veronica realized someone was obstructing her movement. She turned her head, letting her glacier blue eyes set on Joe's soft grey eyes.

"Veronica, dear, are you alright?" That same voice, the one who made countless cabaret references and offered millions of words of wisdom, was now directed straight at her, and that's when the reality of the situation really started to settle in. But still, there was something extremely off-putting.

"Where is Aurora..?"

Veronica didn't mean to say it out loud, but she did. She heard a loud siren blaring in the background. The ambulance was here. Joe looked at her with a puzzled expression plastered on his face. Concern evident in his eyes. Veronica simply stared at him, trembling.

"A-Aurora, Tia's g-girlfriend, w-where is s-she?" Veronica murmured, and Joe's eyes widened. He stepped back, dropping Veronica's hand. His eyes darted around the room, but there was no sign of Aurora. As soon as he dropped his hand, a sudden blood curdling scream rang across the room.

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"Ma'am, I'm sorry but you need to stay here." A paramedic tried to console Veronica, but it was no use. It was like she was too far gone. Lawrence, thankfully, or maybe not, was standing close to her, and grabbed onto her arm, preventing her from moving any closer.

"What's with all the fuss?" Aurora tiredly murmured, finally deciding to come outside. As she saw the vines spilling from Tia's lips, and the light blue roses that stuck to her skin, she immediately froze. This wasn't supposed to happen, and it wasn't supposed to go on for this long.

As soon as the guilt registered on her face, Veronica visibly tensed, turning around, her blue eyes suddenly turning a menacing shade of grey. Immediately, Joe sensed there would be trouble, and grabbed onto Veronica's other arm, just as Veronica started to near-hyperventilate, her face twisting in her anger.

"Joe, Lozza, you'd better let go of me if you fucking know what's good for you!" Veronica shouted, all of her emotions were blending together and now she felt like she'd lose control. She needed Tia to be alright, and the thought of her not being okay was absolutely devastating.

"Veronica, dear, don't. Breathe. Breathe. Tia's gonna be okay, just breathe." Joe started, gently squeezing Veronica's arm, causing the smaller girl to turn her head to them, and her expression felt like a punch to Joe's heart. The anger, panic and overall agony was more than apparent on her face.

"I told you to let me go!" Veronica shouted, yanking her arm away with all her strength. Joe stumbled forwards, but kept his composure. Veronica went to throw a punch at Aurora, but Lawrence grabbed onto her shoulders, effectively stopping her from hitting Aurora. Veronica was slowly beginning to break.