you're not alone. - johannie.

xxvii.

Thursday, afternoon, at Maddie's house
ANNIE LEBLANC

I wake up to someone shaking me.

I open my eyes and realize I was somewhere I haven't been in before.

"How are you doing?" Johnny asks.

"Okay..." I softly say.

I look around.

"Where...are we?" I ask.

"We're at Maddie's, my sister's apartment." Johnny says.

"Y-You never told me you had an older sister." I say.

"Yeah, I didn't think it was that important..." Johnny explains.

I nodded my head

"I can't feel anything, nor can I process everything that happened today." I spoke.

"Johnny..." another voice says, as a person enters the room. "Oh, you're awake, I'm Maddie, Lauren and Johnny's eldest sister."

"I'm Annie." I say sitting up from the bed. "It's nice to meet you."

"Hey, John, can I talk to her first." Maddie asks.

Johnny nods.

"I mean, privately..." Maddie says.

"Oh, okay." Johnny replied, walking out of the room I was in.

Maddie sat down beside me on the bed.

"How are you feeling?" She asks.

"I- I don't know..." I spoke. "I can't feel anything.."

She nods.

"Can you tell me what happened earlier today?" She asks.

"Um..." I start off. "I went to the river to acknowledge how peaceful it was. To make me think and process everything that's going on in my life."

"You're facing problems at home, I'm guessing." Maddie says.

I look at her then nod.

"Too much problems." I add. "I just wanted to give up."

"Did you try telling someone what's going on?" Maddie asks.

"N-no," I say, looking down. "I thought nobody would care, so what's the point of telling-"

"It's okay." Maddie interrupts my rambling.

I didn't even notice I was crying until a tear dropped on my arm.

"It's impossible for someone to be useless. To be a nobody." Maddie explains. "Someone will care about you, you've got to remember that."

"You're not alone." Maddie says. "You've got your family, friends, Johnny and Lauren, maybe even me..."

I wipe another tear.

"You wouldn't understand." I say. "My family doesn't love me. I don't have that much friends. I've never really talked to Johnny in weeks and Lauren? We're not friends anymore."

"Well, I'm here." She says. "You could always tell me your problems or whenever you're not feeling it. Come to my place. My ears are wide open."

I look at Maddie and give her a small smile.

"Thanks, Maddie." I spoke.

"Now, you should go downstairs, where Johnny and Lauren are." She tells me. "They're worried about you."

I nod.

"I'll give you some time." She says before walking out of the room.

'They're worried about you.'

Maddie's voice echoes in my head.

They're?

As in Johnny and Lauren?

But Lauren hates me.