Forget Me Not

Ch 26. What Did She Do To You?

Rachel's POV

One week later

I sit on my bed, staring at the closed wardrobe door. There are so many thoughts running through my brain that all of them seem to jumble together making it difficult for me to focus on any one thing.

The last week has been a blur. After Vanessa saved us all from Sarah's wrath, the police arrived shortly. My head had been thumping with each heartbeat and I remember feeling dizzy due to my wounds and the adrenaline rush. I wanted to go upstairs and wake my mom up but had no strength at all.

I kept looking at Sarah lying their in her little pool of blood. A part of me wished she was dead. The other part prayed for her to be alright. One of the officers of the two who came in the squad car came to the basement and called for an ambulance.

I and Sarah were taken to the hospital. While Hannah and Vanessa drove down to the police station to be questioned. My mom came to the hospital an hour later, tears streaming down her eyes, saying she felt so guilty for sleeping through it all. I told her it wasn't her fault. She was drugged after all.

The news that Hannah was back and alive spread like wildfire through our town. Her family was ecstatic to see her. Hannah's mom sat with her as the detectives questioned her about her disappearance, about Sarah, about what went down at my house during the early hours of 18th of October.

Sarah woke up on the morning of 19th. We still don't know whether the detectives have questioned her or not. They have enough evidence from me, Hannah and Vanessa to implicate her for what happened in my basement.

Sal texts and calls me everyday after school, filling me in on what I have missed. I'm not yet ready to go to school as the doctors have instructed me to rest for a few days until the wounds on the back and front of my head start to heal a little. Also because of the anxiety attacks that I keep having in the middle of the night. I always feel that Sarah is hiding somewhere in my house with her knife ready to thrust it in my chest when I fall asleep.

I haven't told my mom about the attacks yet. I don't want to cause her anymore worry. Instead I call Sal and he talks me through it, his calm voice lulling me back to sleep. At first, I hesitated to disturb him in the middle of the night but Sal kept insisting that it was no big deal at all. That he was always there for me, no matter what hour of the day or night. That just melted my heart.

Even though Sarah told me that she was the reason that Hannah ran away, I still don't know what had happened between them that led Hannah to take such drastic measures. There are still a lot of missing pieces in the puzzle.

What did Sarah actually do to Hannah?

Why was Vanessa helping Hannah?

Did Amelia have any part in all of this or was she innocent from the start?

And what was Hannah's shoe doing near the lake?

That is why we have arranged to meet at my house. Me, Hannah, Vanessa and Sal. Vanessa thought it would be better if he knew everything from the start too.

The doorbell rings a few minutes later. My mom opens the door and I hear footsteps coming up to my room. Someone knocks the door and I see Hannah's head pop in.

"Since when did you start knocking?" I ask with a playful smile on my lips.

"I don't know why I did that," Hannah grins and hugs me.

This is the first time we are seeing each other after the incident. Hannah wanted to tell me everything the next day itself but found herself stuck between the police interviews and some much needed family time.

"Where's Sal and Vanessa?" I asked.

"Oh, they'll be here in a couple of minutes. They just left school."

Hannah is restarting school from tomorrow and we had promised her mom that we would help her cover up everything that she had missed.

We sit on my bed looking here and there, waiting for Vanessa and Sal. It is getting a bit awkward and I'm sure Hannah can sense it too. But I don't want it to be this way. I mean come on! We have known each other for so many years now. I can't let whatever happened during the past few months get between us.

Before I can break the ice Hannah speaks up, "So..you and Sal, huh?" Okay, this was not what I was thinking of. Hannah's smirking but I can the hurt in her eyes.

I sigh, "If you say then I'll end it. I swear. You've already been through God knows what because of Sarah and now I don't want to hurt you anym–"

"Rachel! Are you crazy? He really really likes you a lot, Vanessa told me. I can't force him to like me. The one thing I have learned after all this is that you can't force any kind of relationships. And I know that you like him too."

"But so do you, Hannah."

"Ah, it's just a stupid crush," she waved her hand dismissing her feelings, "it will go away."

"Are you sure?"

"Yesss! Though I do agree that I was devastated to see you two dance romantically in the gymnasium that night but I got over it once Vanessa told me how crazy Sal is for you."

"He is?" I blush, "Wait, so it was you wearing the hoodie, right?"

"Yeah." Hannah smiles sheepishly.

"But I came running after you and you had just disappeared into thin air!"

"I was hiding in the washroom. Boys washroom!"

"What!" I chuckle.

"Aaron was standing right near the exit. I panicked, okay. Guess I'm not so stealthy as I thought myself to be." Hannah shrugs and gives me a playful smile.

The doorbell rings again and we know who it is.

"Rach, can you please see the door?" Mom calls from downstairs.

"Sure, mom."

I open the door and let Vanessa and Sal inside. Sal pulls me towards him and kisses me on the mouth, "I missed you."

"I missed you too," I whisper back though its just been two days since we saw each other. Sal has been helping me with school work every alternate days.

Once upstairs, we all settle down at various spots in my room. I thought things would be weird between Hannah and Sal but they both smile and hug each other. "I hope you're treating my bestfriend well," Hannah winks at him.

Sal blushes and looks at me, his hand combing through his hair. Something I know he does when he's nervous or feeling shy about anything.

"Any news on Sarah?" Vanessa asks sitting on the rotating chair in front of my study table. We all shake our head negative.

"Soo..shall we begin?" Hannah looks at Vanessa.

"Yep. I'll start. From the very beginning From when I first moved here and started school when we were 9 years old. When I first met Amelia and Sarah. Man, those two used to inseparable."

"What!" I narrowed my eyes and looked at Hannah but her face was calm. She already knew this fact.

Vanessa has just started talking and I am already shocked by the news that Amelia and Sarah ever used to be friends.

I brace myself for whatever is coming next. Because I know that it's not going to be good.