Stay (Topp Dogg) {Published on Amazon}

Part 28

Monday

Xero

There's nothing more embarrassing than having an episode in front of all of your friends. I'm thankful it was in front of my friends, but that could've been prevented if I just looked at the clock ad drove myself to the doctors office as I usually do.

It took a while for me to wake up this time. My problem has been getting worse and worse. There's no way to control it though.

When I woke up, I found Hyein laying beside me on the floor. She was laying on her side and her hand was on top of mine.

I couldn't stop the smile that rose up my face. I rubbed her hand with my thumb. "Hyein," I called her name.

I looked at the digital clock. It's two in the afternoon. What exactly happened this time? My hallucination is different every time. I can't remember.

"Hyein," I called her again. She groaned and slowly sat up, pulling her hand from mine. She looked so cute rubbing her eyes. I thought of the twins that she's carrying and felt the sense of togetherness. Then I remembered that she's married to my adoptive brother. The realization made my heart split in two.

I pushed away the pain though when turned around and smiled at me. "Xero!" She yelled my name and wrapped her arms around me. I hugged her back, but tried to make it friendly, not as if I was in love with her.

I moved over on the couch and she sat down next to me. "Xero, what was that whole thing about? I have to know. You can't hold it off anymore."

I didn't think she would make me talk about it right after I woke up.

I sighed heavily. "Do you really want to know?" I asked her. She nodded her head and I sighed again.

"I knew you would find out eventually. I was just hoping Kidoh would tell you."

She raised her brow at me in confusion. I bit my lower lip, not wanting to talk about my past, but seems I may have to.

"Okay, so you know that Kidoh's family adopted me, correct?" She nodded her head.

"Well, it's not because my parents were bad people, or because they left me. I was put into the foster care system because my family died in a house fire." I felt choked up just thinking about it. I don't want to continue.

I stopped talking and looked at her, hoping I said enough.

"Is that it? You're not going to tell me how you survived?" She asked questioningly.

I looked back up at her and met her eyes. They were clear. She wanted to know more.

"My house had three floors. I slept on the third. My parents had put my younger sister and I to bed. In the middle of the night, I started to smell smoke. Our alarms weren't working, so nobody else was awake and nobody else noticed the smoke," I had to stop talking for a second. Remembering that night when I was thirteen is still terrifying to me. It's only been five years, after all.

"I ran down the stairs and realized that the fire started in my parents bathroom. It was spreading and really fast. It raged into their bedroom and was spreading across the hall to my sisters room.

"My parents would have another way out, so I tried to save my sister, but then the flames covered her door and I couldn't get to her without severely burning myself.

"So then I ran to my parents room and they were still sleeping. I didn't understand how they could with all the smoke in their room and the fire creeping in. That's when I realized they were unconscious. They suffocated to death before the fire burned them."

Without realizing it, I had started crying. When I realized that my parents were dead, I assumed my sister was too. I already knew that I would be alone.

"That's not the worst part though. The worst was when I heard my sister screaming. I ran back to her room and the fire had spread more. She ran out of her door, the fire surrounding her. I ran to help her, not caring if I was burnt. If she was still alive, I would help her.

"I caught myself on fire with her and ran downstairs as fast as I could. It hurt. It hurt really bad. I just wanted to save her, but she stopped right after I pulled her out of the fire. She dropped and rolled right there. Then the fire caught her again and she didn't scream anymore.

"I patted out my arm that was on fire and grabbed the phone, calling 911. I knew I was too late though."

I held back any left over tears I had. I've cried over their deaths so many times. It just wasn't worth it anymore.

"I watched through the windows. I saw the fire break the glass and come out the windows. It'll never leave my memories."

I stopped my story there and stood up, walking to the bathroom. That's where I cried. My father always told me not to cry in front of others. It's okay to cry, but not before other people.

It was quiet for a while in the apartment as I cried. When I walked back out, Hyein was still sitting there, waiting for me.

She smiled at me and I smiled back.

"Every hallucination is different. Sometimes I see what would've happened if I didn't save myself. Sometimes I see my family running behind me only to get caught by the fire. Sometimes I save Jisoo. That's my little sister."

She stood up and walked over to me. Hyein didn't say anything at all. She just hugged me. I hugged her back, feeling the comfort she was trying to send to me. It was nice, really nice.

A/N:
So, I have decided to do the 12 hour challenge for you guys. It's going to be tough, but oh well. I can do it!

This is the first of the 12 parts. Please enjoy, comment, vote, and share :)