"Well, this trip flew by fast. I can't believe we're leaving in two days!" Cesca said, leaning over the railing of a boat.
"Back up! You don't want to fall off, do you?" I asked Cesca, pulling her back. She slapped my arm and screamed, "Calm down, buzzkill." I laughed and saw Red leaning against a wall, sipping a Coca-Cola. I quickly averted my eyes, I did not want to see my ex-girlfriend right now.
"Why did Red break up with you in the first place? She just came out and never shuts up about how gay she is. It's not like she's worried about outing herself like you are." Cesca said, lowering her voice so no one else would here.
"Shush!" I screamed. Cesca sighed and then went back to eating her mac & cheese. I sighed and leaned back on the railing. Wow, I really was being a hypocrite here.
I looked around at my classmates, who all seemed to be with their group of friends but me. I was the outsider. The loser.
"This is fun, isn't it?" Axel said. "Also, sucks about Red. At least she's still willing to talk to you. You know that, right, Cat? She's been trying to talk to you since the beginning of the trip."
"Yeah. I've just been severely avoiding her. And you know what sucks? This is the first breakup I've been through that my family knows nothing about. Because guess what? They think I'm the straightest girl alive." I said.
Axel chuckled. "You're the bi-est girl alive, Catlynn. And that will never change." I smiled sweetly at him.
"Well, Cesca's crushing it on the dance floor, wanna come join her?" I nodded and giggled, running over to join my two best friends. And Red. Wherever she was.
When I approached the dance floor, I decided to impress my friends, and my entire grade, by sliding into perfect splits. Cesca screamed and I cackled. "Ballet did this to me!" I screamed.
I stood up and brushed off the debris on my dress and grabbed a bag of Cheetos from a basket. I was about to slip into my own head and start daydreaming when I noticed a familiar face from the corner.
"Oh crap. How on earth did my cousin get here?" Red asked, grabbing my arm and dragging me away.
"What are you-" I asked. "I thought you didn't want anything to do with me anymore! You were the one who broke up with me, not the other way around!"
"Cat, silly goose, were you even listening! I still want to be your best friend! I'm just not ready for anything more yet, okay? Now, let's get you out of sight from Violet Gardner." Red said, dragging me away.
"Catlynn McLemore." Violet said. Wow. She didn't call me Catherine. That's a first.
"What do you want with her?" Red asked. Violet smirked and yanked me away from Red's grip. Red gasped as I was pushed against the railing.
"Shove her off and I swear to God..." Red said.
"Elizabeth. Quit." Cesca snapped.
And Violet did exactly what Red said. She shoved me off that boat.
"CAT!" from Cesca and Axel.
"VIOLET LYNN GARDNER!" from Red.
That was the last thing I heard. Then everything went black.
I'm going to die.
_________________
Elle's POV
"AND SHE WHAT?" I screamed over the phone, trying to contain my tears. It was pretty late at night, almost midnight, and I just got a call that Cat was in the hospital.
"What's going on?" Jessica asked, walking up to me.
"Sunshine...she's dying." I said.
"HOW? WHAT?" Jessica said. Before I could console her, she grabbed her phone and started frantically typing. I sighed, knowing she was texting the others.
"Violet Gardner pushed her off the boat. Hit her head, got knocked unconscious, drowned. Well, nearly drowned. There's about a 20% chance she'll make it through the night." I said.
"ONLY 20%?" Jessica screamed. "Okay, that's it. Violet...Violet may have killed her."
"Don't think like that. She's gonna be okay. Now, let's go." I said.
___________
I walked into the hospital room with Katie sitting on the bed, cradling a barely conscious Cat in her lap and singing softly.
"When did you get here?" I asked.
"Ten minutes ago." Katie said.
The doctors ran in and said, "Ma'am," pointing to Katie, "your daughter could go at any time." Katie didn't even have the heart to correct them, she just started bawling.
"Auntie...I don't want to die..." Cat whispered.
"You're not gonna die, baby girl." Katie whispered back, pushing a strand of hair out of Cat's face. She looked at me painfully, I knew she was losing hope.
And frankly, so was I.
Katie smiled painfully and said to Cat, "I'm gonna adopt a kid of my own...and I hope she's just like you."
Cat smiled a little and I kissed her nose. "I love you." I said. It was all I could say. Not a goodbye, not a hello. Just telling my daughter I loved her.
"Mama...I love you...I love you..." Cat sung softly.
Then she closed her eyes.
__________
Ryan's POV
"STUPID TRAFFIC!" I screamed, honking the horn. Why were there so many people heading to the hospital at midnight? Sunshine's dying, and I might not even get to say goodbye to her.
Finally, the traffic let up, letting me pull into the hospital parking lot in a little under 5 minutes. I grabbed my phone and practically sprinted in the doors, to the elevator, and to Cat's hospital room.
I knocked on the door. Weird. No answer. I turned the handle, and it was surprisingly unlocked.
When I got in, I waved and was almost going to run up to Elle. But Katie stopped me.
"What's going on?" I questioned.
"Ryan...you're too late."
AN: You do not know how long I've been plotting this. I'm so proud of myself. It'll end well, it'll be okay, all the usual stuff. Hope you enjoyed! Catch ya later!