A Girl in Red

38 | SURPRISE FRANNY

SURPRISE FRANNY

I giggle as I lay in the fluffy white bed with Alana in my arms. We're in our own little world as a soft breeze flows through the room. We're surrounded in golden light and the view of a beautiful green terrain outside the open balcony. She's nuzzling into me and talking about going down to the beach, soon.

"Do you love me?" I murmur on Alana's lips. Sunlight streams into the room and fills me up with the warmth that can only be described with the word: peace. I know the answer even though she doesn't answer. Instead, she kisses me hard on the mouth. We kiss for a moment longer before finally breaking away and I gaze at her. "What are we going to do today?"

"You're going to die, Chesca."

"What?"

Everything flips and suddenly I'm sitting in a car and there's music playing that I can't hear. I can only hear the screams of my brother and the love of his life dying in his arms. He's slamming his fist into her chest to get her heart beating again but there's only so much he can do. Alana is sitting in the passenger seat and she's staring ahead at something in the future but I can't look ahead. I can only watch my brother — I can only live through one of the worst moments of my life.

"Rory, let her go!"

"We're almost to the hospital!"

My hands clench the wheel and tears fill my eyes. What have I done? I did what I needed to do. I did what I needed to do. I did what I needed to do.

Panic bubbles inside of me and I'm regretting every decision I just made. I'm supposed to be the responsible one, I'm supposed to be the protector, and yet I've hurt him beyond repair.

"Baby, wake up, baby, please," his voice is wrenched out of him, "You can't leave me here."

"What have you done?" Alana asks.

I shake my head, "I'm sorry."

"You're not sorry, Francesca," She looks so disappointed in me, like she can't believe that I would do this and a part of me can't believe I would do it either. "Are you happy?"

"What?" My eyes search her face in confusion as everything slides into a blur and then refocuses. I blink wildly but it's like looking through glasses that are foggy and dirty. "What's happening?"

"Are you happy with yourself?" Rory sobs out.

"No, no, no of course not, I never meant for this to happen."

"Wake up." Alana says softly.

"What?"

Rory screams, "You traitorous bitch! You did this!"

I blink hard as the world begins to blur even more than before and the light turns dark. My arms suddenly feel empty and then a sharp pain goes through me. I gasp in shock and slip into something cold. There's something touching me roughly and I move against it but there's a restriction.

I can hear Alana's voice hurried and frantic. She's saying the same thing over and over again. "Wake up, wake up, wake up."

"Francesca!"

I jolt and my eyes finally really open. Alana is staring down at me with fear in her eyes paired with full tears. She sighs when I finally groan and pulls me into her chest. I admire the feeling of her chest against my cheek for a moment before I realize the situation that I am in. What is she doing here?

"Alana, no." I push her off of me with my shoulders because my arms are tied back with a very scratchy rope. "You have to get out of here."

"Not without you, come on."