“Maxynn, you should change,” Kate called out to me as she chased me through hallways in the hospital as we made our way to the waiting room.
“You have blood on you, too,” I informed her, in case she had somehow forgotten that she had hugged me while I was drenched.
I knew Kate rolled her eyes, even though I couldn’t see her. “But not nearly as much as you! You look like you just walked out of a horror movie!”
“I did just walk out of a horror movie!”
Kate said nothing to this, and no longer tried to stop me from continuing my way into the hospital. I was sure I was going to get stared at, but I didn’t care. I wouldn’t have even been surprised if people assumed that I was hurt, even though I wasn’t. My cut on my cheek was no longer bleeding, so there was really nothing wrong with me any longer.
“Maxynn,” a new voice called out, but now it was Brianna instead of Kate. The rest of Zach’s family was right behind her, along with my father, Johnny, and Logan. We were all breathing heavily, but Kate really looked like she was about to fall over. I assumed it was because of all the lack of exercise she had while she was pregnant. “Maxynn, slow down, honey, please.”
I didn’t want to slow down. I knew they all wanted to know what was going on as much as I did, but I felt completely sick to my stomach because I didn’t know if Zach was going to survive or not. What was I going to do if he didn’t survive? What was I going to do if Todd survived? Zach got stabbed four times while Todd was only stabbed once…
I wanted all this pain I felt to go away. Surely it was nothing like the pain that Zach was going through, but still… I still felt horrible about everything.
I stared down at my mother’s ring, not believing that I actually got it back. I still found it so hard to believe that quiet and sweet Todd was actually the one that had stolen it. I just couldn’t believe that he was the one that had been the one trying to kill me the entire time and I didn’t even realize it.
“Everything’s going to be okay, Maxynn,” Elizabeth sighed to me as she gently rubbed my back as I sat down in one of the seats in the waiting room. “Zach’s a tough guy. He’ll definitely pull through and be able to recover perfectly.”
“Don’t get her hopes up, Elizabeth,” Ethan now grumbled from beside me, and his sister gave him a look that said she would have killed him if we weren’t in a public place. “What? You don’t want to get her all happy and excited when you don’t know what’s going on. We don’t’ know if he’s going to make it or not, so don’t even talk about it and wait until a doctor comes out to talk to us.”
I could tell how much this was hurting Ethan. It was probably killing him inside. After not hanging out with each other for years, something like this happens right when they start to spend time together again.
Elizabeth scoffed and rolled her eyes at her brother, pushing herself up and out of her chair and back toward her boyfriend. I couldn’t help but smile just a little bit at them, happy that Johnny finally found someone for him.
“You know,” I started to Ethan, who was still right beside me, “you don’t have to act so tough all the time. All of us know you’re just a little kid, even though you never act like it.”
Ethan shrugged. “It’s better to act this way.”
I frowned at him. “No, it’s not, Ethan. It’s good to let your emotions out.”
This little boy just had the ability to make me so sad and he didn’t even have to do anything at all. When he used to harass me, that would make me feel bad, but now I felt horrible just because he was obviously depressed over what had happened but just wasn’t showing it.
“How am I supposed to act then, huh?” he asked me now, and I could tell that he was ticked off now. “Do you want to know what I want to do? I want to wrap my hands around Todd’s skinny little throat and kill him for what he did to my brother and sister.”
I only stared at him, not believing what he had just said to me. He said brother… and sister. Todd hadn’t done anything to Elizabeth, so that could only mean one thing…
“Ethan…” I whispered.
“Shut up,” he snapped, embarrassed.
I didn’t press on, because I didn’t want to ruin this moment between us. Even if he wasn’t going to admit it, Ethan did care about me. And that was good, because I cared a lot about him, too.
“Where is he? Where is he?” a new yet familiar voice suddenly shouted, and I felt my blood go cold at the sound of it. “Where’s Zach? Is he okay?”
When Aveline saw me, she stopped dead in her tracks and just stared. I shouldn’t have been surprised, since I was as white as a ghost and covered in blood in my shredded dress. She didn’t even say anything to me at first, which sure surprised me the most.
“You…” she growled after a few moments, taking a step closer to me now. “You did this! You’re the one that did this to him! If it wasn’t for you, none of this would have happened and Zach would have been safe! You’re a murderer, you’re a murderer! You murdered your mother and you murdered Zach! This is all your fault!”
I was the one to stare now, because I knew she was completely correct. It was my fault that my mother was dead, and it was my fault that Zach was in the hospital. If he died, I didn’t think I’d ever be able to forgive myself.
I was the one who rejected Todd. I never thought something like this could have ever happened just because I said I didn’t want to go out with him. It made me not feel bad for rejecting him any longer, but it instead made me feel horrible because of everything that had happened because I turned him down.
“Maxynn,” Johnny snapped, though his forcefulness was supposed to be toward Aveline. “Don’t listen to her. She doesn’t know what she’s saying.”
But I wasn’t so sure about that.
Without saying anything to anyone around me, she grabbed onto my wrist and yanked me away from everyone. It was as if she didn’t even care that I was covered in blood and looked like a complete and total mess. “Come on, Maxynn. We need to talk.”
None of my friends or family tried to stop us, but I didn’t want them to. It was about time Aveline and I spoke to each other, especially when it was in a safe place like a hospital. Since we were around so many doctors and nurses, I felt a lot better about talking to her.
At least, I felt safe before she shoved me into a janitor’s closet and slammed the door behind us. I heard her quickly lock it, and she then tuned on the light so I could see her glaring at me.
“Um…” was all I was able to say at first, since I definitely didn’t feel safe locked up in this tiny room with her. I had just gotten away from one psychopath, so I didn’t need to be stuck in a room with another. “What do you want, Aveline?”
“For you to just get out of here and leave Zach alone,” she spat, pushing me back now without any type of warning. I was able to stay upright and not fall over, though it was a lot harder to do after what I had just gone through at the church. “I tried to leave, but I just couldn’t do it. I love Zach too much. At least when he’s with me, he’s not in danger.”
I felt like ripping her hair out, but I knew that wouldn’t be the smartest thing to do. Here we were, locked in a janitor’s closet together, both of us still fighting over the same guy as if it was middle school or something. Even though Zach had told her that he didn’t love her, this bitch wasn’t about to give up.
“So you,” she continued now, shoving my shoulder once again, “have to break up with him and leave, unless he breaks up with you first, which he might, considering the fact that it’s all your fault he got stabbed. Of course, this only has to happen if he actually survives.”
I just couldn’t believe this girl. I thought she had been bad, but she was never as horrible as this. What had I ever done to deserve this kind of treatment, besides the fact that I apparently stole the closest thing she had to a boyfriend? It wasn’t my fault Zach didn’t like her.
“How about this,” I suggested now, not about to let her bully me anymore. “I’ll stay here so when Zach wakes up, not if, we’ll still be together and be able to get married in the future. You can just go jump off a cliff.”
She looked furious, and she rammed toward me again, but I wasn’t about to let her hit me a third time. So I moved right out of the way, but this caused her to slam right into one of the racks up against the wall. It shook for a few moments, and I thought it was going to fall right on top of her, but it stopped rocking soon afterwards.
Aveline grinned triumphantly at the fact that rack hadn’t fallen over as she turned away from it and toward me. But as she was doing so, I noticed a paint can on the top shelf roll its way toward the edge.
“Aveline,” I called out, my eyes widening at the large paint can that continued to roll. “Aveline, move!”
But she didn’t. I didn’t know if it was because she didn’t have enough time to move or if it was just because she didn’t want to listen to me. But instead of getting out of the way of the paint can, she stayed right where she was and let it crack right on the top of her head.
I let out a scream, stepping back as Aveline fell to my feet. I was only able to stare at her for a moment, her brown hair and back covered in blue paint. At first, I didn’t know what to do, but I soon snapped out of my trance and started trembling when I saw the blood oozing from where she had gotten hit.
“Aveline…” I croaked, taking a step toward her and lightly touching her shoulder. “Aveline, are you okay?”
There was no answer from her, and I felt like I was going to be sick. She was just unconscious, right? There was no way she could have actually been dead, especially after both Zach and Todd had survived being stabbed. Sure, I couldn’t see her wound because of all the paint, but… she had to be alright.
When she continued to not respond, I felt tears in my eyes as I spun away from her and toward the door. I flung it open, stepping outside and looking around for anyone that worked there. Luckily, a little ways down the hall, a doctor was making his way toward me.
When he saw me, covered in dried blood and in tears, he immediately made his way over toward me. I felt like I was going to collapse, and the doctor seemed to realize this.
“Are you alright?” he asked me, taking my arm when I swayed a little bit. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
I stuttered and stammered over my words, not able to form any coherent thoughts as I tried to tell him what had just happened. I didn’t do anything wrong; I even tried to warn her! As much as Aveline and I hated each other, there’s no way I’d want her to get seriously hurt or die!
“You’re the girl that was just attacked at her wedding, aren’t you?” he asked me now as he looked up and down at my shredded white dress that I still hadn’t changed out of, even though I really wanted to. “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
“I… I…” I choked, pointing back into the room behind me. “Aveline… she… she’s hurt…”
The doctor’s eyes widened when he saw the bloody, paint covered girl still in the same position on the floor as she had been the last time I looked at her. She hadn’t moved at all, which I knew wasn’t good.
“Go, get other doctors or nurses,” the doctor informed me, letting go of me as he quickly made his way into the janitor’s closet.
I did as I was told, running down the hallway as quickly as I could. I slipped and slid a few times, but I was finally able to find another doctor to come help us.
The blonde doctor was coming out of his office when I nearly ran into him, and I looked over at his nameplate to see that his name was Dr. Carlisle. He looked down at me in surprise, but I knew there wasn’t enough time to tell him that I wasn’t the one that was hurt, even though it definitely looked that way.
Almost completely out of breath, I pointed him into the direction of the janitor’s closet and told him what was going on. I then took off back toward the janitor’s closet, and Dr. Carlisle followed right after me.
When we got back to the closet, Aveline was still in the same position and the other doctor was holding two of his fingers up to her neck. Dr. Carlisle used his beeper to signal that we needed help.
I felt too dizzy to stand any longer, so I collapse right onto the ground next to the other doctor and Aveline. After everything we had been through, could she really die just like that? And by a paint can, no less? Aveline might have been horrible to me, but… no one deserved to die.
“It’s too late,” I heard the doctor mutter, and I really thought I was going to black out. “There’s no pulse. It was an instant death. She’s gone.”
No. No way, this can’t be happening. Aveline was dead. After everything Zach and I went through with Todd, Aveline was the one that ended up dying. I didn’t even know what was happening with Zach or even Todd, and it made my stomach turn. If I had had any food in my stomach, I knew I would have thrown up right then and there.
“I’m sorry,” Dr. Carlisle apologized to me, placing a hand on my shoulder now.
This couldn’t be happening. It just… it happened so quickly. Was this supposed to be some kind of payback for what Aveline had done to me at the party? I didn’t die! Was it karma, or just bad luck? Why was the one to die when she had nothing to do with what happened at the wedding?
The two doctors sent me back to the waiting room after I explained to them what had happened, and then I had to explain the entire thing all over again to everyone waiting for me in the waiting room. They all looked horrified, but I was pretty sure they were all thinking the same thing: good riddance.
And we waited for the next few hours for results, some of us dosing off every now and then. I didn’t sleep, I only paced. I wanted to go take a shower, and I knew I needed one really badly, but I wasn’t about to go home and possibly miss something important.
“Who is here for Todd Strauss and Zach Deveraux?” a nurse suddenly asked us as she stepped out into the waiting room.
“That’s us,” Steve nodded, standing from his seat while the rest of us followed suit.
“Todd Strauss has survived,” the nurse read off the clipboard, but this wasn’t something that any of us wanted to hear. None of us cared about what happened to Todd after everything he did to us. He was the reason why we were there in the first place. “He’ll be taken to jail in a few days.”
Well, that was good, at least. Now I knew that there was no way Todd could ever come after me ever again.
“And Zach is going to be just fine,” the nurse told us now, and I let out such a deep breath that I thought I was going to fall over. “He lost a lot of blood, but surprisingly none of his vital organs were hit. He’s truly lucky.”
Brianna and Elizabeth were bawling now, and I could see that Kate was definitely getting there. I was just so happy and shocked that I didn’t know what I was supposed to do anymore. I wanted to cry, but I was sure I had already used up all my tears from crying when I was upset.
“Zach’s awake, but just barely,” the nurse informed all of us now, not looking at me because of my horrid appearance. “He needs to get some rest before he sees anyone, but he insisted on seeing someone named… Maxine?”
I didn’t even try to correct my name as I said, “That’s me.”
The nurse grimaced at my appearance what brought me along with her anyway. I stayed silent, since she obviously didn’t want to talk to me while I looked like this, but that didn’t even matter. All that mattered was that I was about to see Zach.
“Honey,” the nurse now said to me once we were away from my friends and family and out of the waiting room. “I know what happened to you, but I think it would be best if you changed before you went to see him. I just think it would be better for him to see you in clean, fresh clothes.”
I guess she was right. I had already scrubbed at my arms and legs, even though the blood wouldn’t completely wipe off unless I took a shower. But was she really expecting me to leave and go home when I was finally able to see Zach?
“Here," the nurse sighed now, turning me toward a room and handing me a towel from one of the carts in the middle of a hallway. “Here’s a shower for patients that have to stay overnight for a few days in a row. Just go in there and clean yourself off, and I’ll get you a fresh pair of clothes.”
I thanked her, quickly making my way into the shower and turning the water on hot. It felt amazing to wash all the blood off of me, but it was weird feeling how uneven and short my hair was now.
I was only in there for about ten minutes before I finally got out, and I was surprised to see a decent pair of clothing for me to change into. I didn’t know if this was what patients were allowed to wear instead of hospital gowns, but that didn’t matter to me right then. I needed to go see the nurse and let her take me to Zach’s room.
I stepped back into the hallway, and the nurse was waiting for me there. She smiled when she saw I was no longer disgustingly dirty, and she told me how she had taken the wedding dress and thrown it away. I was about to protest, saying that it was my future mother-in-law’s, but then thought against it. No one was going to want that thing anymore.
The second she showed me which room was Zach’s, I busted right in. He looked like he was sleeping, but his eyes opened ever so slightly when he heard footsteps coming closer to him.
“Maxynn…” he smiled, reaching out and taking my hand. “Thank God you’re okay.”
“Thank God I’m okay?” I asked in disbelief. “Thank God you’re okay, Zach!”
He chuckled so quietly that I barely even heard it. “Well, I couldn’t leave you here all by yourself. It would give Johnny and chance to make a move on you against and break Elizabeth’s heart.” He then made a face that almost made me laugh. “Not to mention that there was this annoying voice in my head telling me to join them every time I thought I wasn’t going to make it.”
I bit the inside of my lip, knowing who this voice was. But right then wasn’t a good time to tell him that his childhood friend was suddenly dead. I’d have to wait until he was feeling a little bit better before I dropped that bombshell on him.
“I just…” I sniffed now, not believing that he was actually in here because of me. “I just wish you didn’t go out there to save me. You wouldn’t be here if you did.”
He shook his head now. “No, Maxynn. You wouldn’t be here.”
I knew what he meant by that, but didn’t say anything to it. I didn’t even want to think about dying then, or anytime soon. It was a terrifying thing to think about.
“And anyway, a guy who doesn’t protect the girl he loves is a coward and an asshole,” Zach informed me now with a small smirk. “How much of a jerk do you think I am? I might not be the kindest guy, but I’d never let you die.”
I wanted to hug him tightly, but I knew I couldn’t. Not yet. I was going to have to wait, even though I didn’t know how long. But still, I couldn’t have been happier that he was alive and he was going to be fine.
So Todd was still alive and Aveline was dead. Neither of them were going to be interfering or meddling into my life anymore, and that was exactly what I had wanted from the start.
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For those of you complaining about Aveline's death: Yes, you can be killed by a paint can to the head. It's called blunt force trauma.
One more chapter left!
I guess you could say that it's kind of an epilogue, but then again it kind of isn't. I don't exactly see this as an ending, so the next chapter isn't exactly an epilogue even though it'll take place a little bit into the future.
This is for the 2012 Watty Awards! Please COMMENT, VOTE, and SHARE! And don't forget to NOMINATE Ethan for Funniest Character! :)