Storyteller [ON HOLD]

Chapter 5

"Ow." I hear her mutter. I grope for her in the darkness; I can't see her anymore so it must've worked. Finally, I find her hand and hold onto it tightly. "You shouldn't have done that." she says. "Why not?" I ask. "I shouldn't be alive. I shouldn't be able to think for myself but you've given that to me." I feel her turn towards me. "Thank you." She begins to cry and pull her into my arms. "It's ok V, its ok." I whisper.

     She eventually stops and just lies in my arms quietly. Then she speaks, "Never in my life, the one before this, would I have thought that someone would do this for me." I raise an eyebrow, "Did you know that you were only a character in a story before all this?" "No it's just that, I never thought that someone would do something...something so big for me. You gave me an actual life Abby." I stroke her hair, "V. you're like a sister to me, I would do anything for you and what I did, it was nothing." "It was everything!" she sobs into my shirt. I bury my head in her hair and just hold her.

    I hear the trapdoor open and watch as the light from above casts my shadow across the room. "Are you alright Abigail?" It's Miss Drew. "I'm fine." I croak. "You can come out now if you like." I shake my head, "I can't ma'am." "Why ever not?" I wipe my nose on my sleeve, "I couldn't leave my sister here by herself." "Your sister?" I can clearly hear the shock in her voice. "Yes ma'am, my sister, Veronica."

     "Uh.... Abigail, our records show that you were an only child. You don't have a sister." I sigh, "Hanae and Shorty are my sisters, and now, so is Veronica." "Veronica? Abigail is there someone else down there with you?" I sigh; she's just not getting the message. "Yes ma'am." I hear her walk over to me hesitantly and kneel down beside me. I cover Veronica with my arms so that Miss Drew can't see her. She lays a hand on my shoulder, "Abigail let me see." "No!" I hiss. 

    "Abby, it's alright." Miss Drew's eyes widen at her voice and I reluctantly uncover her. "Hello there," Miss Drew says softly. "You're Veronica yes?" She nods. "Where did you come from?" "Abby's story." Miss Drew looks at me with wide eyes, "You brought her out of your story?!" I nod slowly. "Well you must put her back!" I hug Veronica closer to my chest, "No! She's my sister!" Miss Drew sighs. "Fine, come along then, we'll have her fitted for a uniform." I stand up and take V. by the hand.

    We exit the basement and head to the uniform shop. All the while V. grips my hand like I'm an anchor that holds her to the ground. V. hands me rabbit doll before she goes to the change rooms. She smiles weakly and reluctantly let’s go of my hand. I look at the doll and smile, it’s like the one I had when I was little. She comes back out and immediately reaches for the rabbit. I hand it to her straight away.

    She looks adorable in the uniform, even if it is just only jeans and a white shirt. "How do I look?" she says giving a quick twirl. "Like one of us." I say smiling. "Would you like me to escort you back to your dorms girls?" Miss Drew asks pushing up her glasses. "No thank you Miss Drew. I want Abby to show me around." V. says giving her a toothy smile. Miss Drew smiles too, "Ok then, have a nice night girls." I frown, how long were we in the basement for?

     We walk back to my dorm, correction our dorm, hand in hand. "What if nobody likes me Abs?" V. asks. "Don't worry about it! Besides, I know a few people that would love to meet you!" V. smiles. "Ok here we are." I say stopping at our door. I open it and stick my head in. Hanae and Shorty smile while Nat just turns away. "Abby!" Hanae and Shorty cry. "You're out already?" I nod, "Hey Shorty, there's someone here that I want you to meet." I throw the door open and V. jumps out from behind me and cries, "Boo!"

     "OH MY GOSH!" Shorty screams running up to her. "Oh my gosh! Are you real? Abby is she real?" I laugh, "Yes V. is real and guess what, she's living with us now." V. blushes as Shorty continues to scream, "OH MY GOSH!" "Ok, calm down Shorty." Hanae says pushing Shorty out of the way and leaning down to V's height. "Hi I'm Hanae and that psycho over there," she jerks a thumb in Shorty's direction. "Is Elizabeth, but everyone just calls her Shorty." V. blushes, "He... Hello."

    I smile and tow V. inside the hectic room. "Who's that?" she asks pointing at the girl sitting in the corner. "Oh, that's Natalie." "Why is she so upset?" I shrug. I turn to Shorty who is in a cross between laughing and crying, "Shorty! Do we have a spare mattress and some blankets?" She nods and goes to the cupboard. "We only have a camp stretcher is that ok?" she asks turning to Veronica. She nods, "It's better than where I've been sleeping lately." Shorty smiles and begins to set it up.

    There's a knock at the door and Miss Drew pokes her head in, "Oh Veronica I forgot, you might need these." She hands V. a pair of Winnie the Pooh pjs. "You can choose another one pair later if you like." V. smiles, "No thanks Miss Drew these will do just fine." Miss Drew beams and closes the door behind her again. Shorty bursts out crying again. "Why is she crying?" V. asks me. "She's just a little emotional that's all."

    Everyone gets changed and settles in for the night. A few seconds after the lights go out V. says, "Abs, you're skin is glowing." "I know, it does that." V. yawns, "It's pretty. You look like an angel." I smile to myself; she's not the only one that says that. "Thank you," I whisper. I close my eyes and for once since the accident, I have a dreamless sleep.