don't look back

thirty five|| is she alive?

Sage.
December 12, 2018.

As my senses came back to me, I felt the extreme pain in my arm. "B-Billie?" I called out in a panic, reaching around.

"I'm right here, baby," she soothed me, lacing her fingers in mine.

"W-what happened?" I opened my eyes, seeing that I was in an ambulance.

"You fainted, it's okay. You're okay."

Suddenly the memories hit me like a truck, remembering every detail of what happened in Sophia's apartment. I sat up and looked at Billie. She didn't look okay, and I don't blame her. "Billie?" I whispered.

She shook her head, tears streaming down her face and she pulled me in her embrace. Is Sophia dead? Billie's body shook in my arms and I knew I had to be strong for her.

"Girls?" I heard a strange man's voice. Billie lifted her head and wiped her tears away. There stood a cop...were we about to be arrested?

"We are sweeping the apartment for evidence but we need to get both of your statements," he said.

"Yeah, okay," I nodded, "So Sophia-" I began but he interrupted me.

"Separately," he raised his brow.

"I can't leave her" I shook my head. There was no way I was leaving her on her own right now.

"Alright, I'll give you a few minutes but it's better to do this when it's still fresh in your heads," he explained before walking away from the ambulance.

"Is she dead?" I asked Billie.

"She's in s-surgery right now. I h-hit a-" she broke down before being able to finish her sentence.

"Hey, hey, it's okay," I shushed her, wrapping my arms around her and rubbing her back gently.

"Billie, Sage," Paisley exclaimed jumping into the ambulance. "I came as fast as I could!" She wrapped her arms around us both.

"What happened?"

-

"And uh, I shouted at Sophia to stop," I took a deep breath, trying to not cry in front of the cop.

"Take your time," he spoke, looking up from his notepad.

"Um, she looked at me and Billie she grabbed the knife...she uh..." I sucked in a breath as a small sob escaped my mouth.

"That's when she stabbed Sophia?" The cop clarified.

"Mhm," I squeaked, still trying to hold in my cries as I covered my mouth with my shaking hand.

"Thank you, Sage, you can go back to the ambulance," he dismissed me.

I walked back to the ambulance where all of Billie's family and Paisley sat. Billie had calmed down now and both of us had given our statements. Cops had been searching the apartment for about two hours now and we haven't heard anything about Sophia's state.

"So," a policeman broke the silence that filled the air around us, "we found a camera set up in the apartment. It was all caught on film. It was clear that what Billie did was self-defence. You are all free to go home unless you have any questions."

"What?" Billie furrowed her brows. "W-what if she's dead? What if I killed her?" Her voice was so weak and broken. I shouldn't have ever let her get involved.

"Billie, I know you aren't capable of just murdering someone, I know that your heart is in the right place," the cop spoke.

"I, I don't..." she stuttered, shaking her head.

"Go home and get some rest," he said before leaving.

-

Billie and I were cuddled up on her bed, both of us processing everything silently. 'The office' was playing quietly in the background as we tried to normalize our surroundings. There was a soft knock on the door and both our heads turned to see Maggie walking into the room. She sat down at the edge of the bed. Both of us sat up quickly.

"Sophia is stable. They are transferring her to a hospital inside juvenile detention where there will be a trial," Maggie explained, Billie breaking out in tears. Even though Sophia did the worst thing she could probably do to us, neither of us wanted her to die.

"It's okay," I reassured her, softly rubbing her back.

"Billie, I don't know why you were at this girl's house and I don't know what happened. All I care about is your safety. Is there something I can do for you girls?"

"Not right now," she shook her head.

"Sage, do you need anything?"

"No thanks Maggie," I smiled softly.

-

A/N: Shorter chapter but it explains how things played out. Fair warning, there will be a little time skip between this chapter and the next.