「 FRATERNIZING WITH THE ENEMY 」

48 | "Let's kick some ass!"

"She's right" Valentino spoke up, "If there's any chance of saving her we should do it".

Val's eyes told me that he wasn't just thinking of Beth, but of his own sister and Kasey rubbed his back comfortingly. 

"We're not giving up on Beth so easily," Megan squeezed Noah's hand with a small smile on her face.

Noah sighed, "Fuck... Okay we'll do it",

Everyone elapsed into silence once again,

Until Hayley cleared her throat.

"Sorry to interrupt- I really am, but unless one of you is a fifty year old man and goes my the name Joseph, we can't do this operation",

My body stiffened at Logan's father's name, but Hayley made a good point.

"There has to be something that we can do that doesn't involve her legal guardian?" Liam asked,

Hayley looked at Liam carefully, studying him before she answered, "I can't believe I freaking doing this" she groaned.

She stood up from her seat beside Liam and walked over to Beth's room, I waiting anxiously as she talked to the doctor inside for a few minutes.

I noticed how she kept the doctor's gazed trained on her and not where her hands were - scribbling something down on the clip board with Beth's details on it.

The doctor nodded and left the room, after another few minutes she finished up with whatever she was doing and walked out of Beth's room.

"I'm going to get fired for you guys," she grumbled, "I changed some of the documents; Elizabeth's transplant is set for tomorrow",

"Why are you helping us?" Vicky asked before I could thank her,

Hayley sighed, looking down at her feet before glancing back up at us, "...How do I- I just- all of you care so much for that little girl a-and when I was younger I..." I could tell she was having trouble telling us.

"That is a story for another day" I reassured her and she gave me a grateful smile, "Thank you so much for everything".

***

We stayed another night at the hospital,

And trying to contact Logan, whom we still hadn't heard back from.

Today was also the day of the gathering.

I sat in Beth's room, five minutes prior to us leaving.

The soft beeps coming from the machines next to me that signalled her heart beat was the only thing that filled the silence in the room.

I took Elizabeth's hand in mine and held it tightly,

I wasn't ready for her to go.

Not when I had just gotten her back.

I pushed the her blonde hair out of her eyes, the blonde hair that hadn't been dyed in weeks and were now showing her brunette roots.

Now she looked more like my sister.

"I love you" I said as I wiped a few stray tears from my cheeks.

A few months ago I would've told you I never cry and I promise you if my past self could see me now she would be more than embarrassed,

But now I didn't care.

Too much has happened for me not to cry.

And I'm sick and tired of holding it back for so long.

I had probably been in there for a while as I stood next to Beth because Noah came in to comfort me.

It was something that Noah had been doing a lot of lately,

"I'm sorry" I told him as he held me in a hug,

He furrowed his eyebrows, "For what?".

"For everything- for being a whiny brat and making you take me in, after directly going against what you told me not to do, after being stupid and nosy and an overall bitch",

He snorted, "Forgiven, but you know none of that matters to me anymore",

"I'm sorry for not saving mom and dad",

He pulled apart from me with wide eyes.

"What did you say?"

His voice was dangerously low and I couldn't meet his eyes.

I hadn't been very open about the guilt I had for my parents' death with Noah but my subconscious had me twisting and turning at night with nightmares and I couldn't help but think about the what if's.

And all of those what if's led back to me.

"Look at me Alex" he said sternly and I tore my gaze away from Beth to meet his eyes which were full of pain,

"Don't you ever fucking dare blame yourself for that" he told me, his voice tight, "It wasn't your fault okay? Nothing that day was your fault".

I had to look away him, I couldn't bear to see the hurt in his eyes.

"Alex for years I blamed myself for not being at home that day, so I could've protected all of you. I felt that guilt every single day and I can't bare the thought of my baby sister thinking that it was her fault that mom and dad are dead."

I felt a pang in my chest at his words.

"No amount of guilt can change the past and no amount of anxiety can change the future",

"I want you to have this" he muttered, slowly pulling out something from his back pocket and revealing it,

It was a matte black gun.

"N-No" I said, pushing it back to him.

I hadn't held a gun since that day five years ago and I didn't plan on it anytime soon.

"It'll make me feel better. That if anything happens then I'll know you have a way of defending yourself," he said.

"Noah I can't" I couldn't tear my gaze away from the gun. Of course I'd seen one before but holding one was a whole different story.

"Please" he told me, his eyes filled with so much conviction I couldn't not say no.

"Don't expect me to use it" I told him as he handed me the gun and I slipped it in my back pocket, my long grey sweater hiding it from plain sight.

Noah nodded.

"We should go," he said and I nodded again.

I kissed Beth's forehead gently, "I'll be back this time Elizabeth, I love you".

I sniffled slightly as we exited the hospital and I was met with everyone's faces giving me supportive smiles,

"Well gang, let's get this mystery solved so we can get back to the mystery machine?" Dylan imitates Fred from Scooby Doo and Val high fives him.

"I'm so pumped," Valentino added as he joined us, "let's kick some ass!".