STAY WOKE ✔︎ || A. Grande

ғɪᴠᴇ

Ariana walked to Briar's cell when she suddenly saw a bunch of bulky men outside of her patients cell. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. What were they doing? We're they getting rid of her patient?

Ariana pushed through the many people and looked in the cell herself to see a black substance on the ground. It smelt like... blood. Her eyes widened and she began to frantically look around for her patient.

As she walked passed a room with a large window, she saw a patient getting shocked by a shocking chair. Her eyes widened when she saw it was Briar. However, Briar didn't seem effected by it. Briar was becoming numb.

She banged on the window yelling, but her yells only seemed muffled as no one heard or saw her. Tears fell down her cheeks like waterfalls when she saw Briar becoming more and more numb. People were watching her from afar when someone barged through the door and told the people who were shocking Briar to stop.

Ariana rushed into the room and unhooked her patient from the chair. She held Briar's hot and numb body in her hands and continued to cry.

———

Ariana bandaged the last of Briar's hand and sighed. She put the fifth empty roll of bandages in the trash then moved Briar's bandaged onto her lap. She brushed through Briar's hair as Briar laid there, quietly sleeping.

As Ariana was brushing her fingers through Briar's hair, she slowly felt herself drifting off to sleep. But she managed to wake herself up before she could fully doze off. She gently put Briar's head on her pillow and then left the cell. She closed the door behind her and locked it. Ariana put her hand and forehead up against the door and began to cry. 

——𝗳𝗹𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸——

"Why do people think I dangerous, mommy?" Briar asked her mother as they hurried to get into the car. "They don't think you're dangerous, bunny, they think you're... special." Elsie said as she buckled Briar in. She looked up at Briar's terrified face and gave her a small smile while rubbing her chubby cheek, "don't worry, bunny. I promise that everything will be alright. We're going to go live with Aunty for a little while, okay?"

"Otay!" Briar said happily while kicking her legs up and down. Elsie smiled and got into the car. She began the drive to Chicago, where her sister was located.

———

"This is all Danny's fault! My daughter is a demon- not a fake one- a REAL one all because of him!" Elsie cried out to her sister. Millie hugged her little sister as she continued to cry. "I'm getting hurt, Millie! Physically! A-and, I don't want to blame it on Briar but it's h-"

"No it isn't, Elsie. Don't you dare say that it is Briar who is doing this. It's just a demon that is controlling her. Most likely Danny's." Elsie wiped her tears as she slowly let go of her sister. "Millie... I have to do something really bad to myself or something is going to happen to Briar. I need you to look after her when I'm gone. Please."

Millie knew exactly what Elsie was talking about. She shook her head and grabbed Elsie's shoulders, looking her dead in the eye. "You CANNOT leave Briar. She needs you. She needs you more than she needs anybody else. If you leave her, that child will be ruined."

Elsie shook her head as tears covered her vision. "I can't live on to only get hurt!" Elsie cried.

"Then stay woke!"

"I CAN'T MILLIE! I NEED SLE..."

Briar sat down on the floor with her teddy bear and cried as she heard what her mom was saying. "I am dangerous, Stubby. I told you and mommy." Briar said as she sobbed. "We going to be all alone, Stubby. No more mommy."

Briar pulled the strong that was coming out of her old, raggedy teddy bear. "I will always love you!" The teddy bear said. Briar continued to pull it until she fell asleep by the door where Elsie and Millie were still fighting about the soon to come death of Elsie.

———

"Goodmorning, Briar. I got you some chocolate milk." Ariana said with a smile as she entered Briar's cell. Three days later and Briar was doing much better than before. She was no longer numb, but she was still badly burnt. Her face had been uncovered so she could eat, but her face was still burnt.

"Whatcha thinkin' about?" Ariana asked the small girl.

"Mommy." Briar replied back making Ariana's smile falter. Ariana looked at Briar and couldn't take her eyes off of her as Briar began to silently cry. "Mommy said I was... dangerous." Briar began to say as her body shook. "Briar?"

"Dangerous. I'm... dangerous." Briar began to shake more and more. It looked like she went to Antarctica without a coat. "Briar you are not dangerous. Come here baby."

Ariana pulled the shaking girl into her hold and she noticed how Briar instantly calmed down. "Mommy..." Briar cried. Ariana didn't know what to do, so she did the only thing she could do in the moment.

"It's alright, bunny. Mommy's here."