Magnetic Collision

Chapter 17

Once Melody had been safely loaded into the ambulance car, with Blair by her side, and two EMTs tending to her, the remaining two couldn't do anything but return home. They both stumbled into Candice's apartment, a silent agreement of spending the time together. The streets were filled with joyful shouting, lively chatter, booms of fireworks, but the inside of her home had never felt quieter.

She had always been perfectly aware of the dangers of the nightlife could pose, and she always knew that she had been ignoring all the advice of caution she had ever been given. Doing reckless things one after another became the norm at some point, a habit even. The idea of 'it could never be me' had nestled itself deep into her mind, providing her with a false sense of security. But that was broken, shattered to pieces that night. Her peer, someone extremely similar to her in means of thinking, social behavior, and age had become a victim of the very thing she thought would never happen to her. Suddenly, it felt all too real. A possibility that could catch her any day if she kept her guard down.

"... Do you think she'll be okay?" the girl broke the silence, her gaze fixed on her lap as she stared down at her hands.

"I can't be sure. I don't know what she had, or how much she had of it. I just hope we were quick enough, and the hospital can help her." he offered honestly, taking a seat next to her on the couch.

"... How can someone do something so cruel..." she wondered softly, her voice coming out much weaker than intended. 

"If it really was the other girl, then she was probably a sugarbaby of the same woman Blair is working for, and got jealous of her being treated better, or getting paid more." he suggested. "It's still one fucking deranged way of taking whatever revenge she thought she was owed..."

"I really hope Blair gets her arrested..." she said, playing with the edge of her shirt anxiously.

"I doubt it. Unfortunately, the other chick wasn't dumb. She knew that to do that, Hart would have to fess up for stealing the champagne, and risk going to jail herself." he pointed out. Candice sighed.

"This is infuriating... I feel so bad for them..." she whispered quietly.

"... I know this is a horrible thought but... A part of me is relieved." he admitted. A chill ran through the girl as she looked up at him in complete shock.

"Relieved?" she echoed. "How can you feel relieved? Melody could potentially die!"

"Yeah. By chance, she ended up with the drink spiked with who-knows-what. But what if Blair decided to keep the unopened one for herself..." he started, but Candice couldn't help but interrupt in anger.

"Are you seriously just happy it wasn't you?" she asked, borderline yelling.

"I'm happy it wasn't you!" he corrected. The girl's eyes went wide with surprise. "It's selfish, and cruel, you're absolutely right. But I don't even know what I would if you were the one laying in a hospital bed right now. So yeah. I am relieved it was her. Because that meant it wasn't you!" he confessed, getting heated himself.

"... You don't care about me. You just care about your conscience. Because if I got hurt, it would because you agreed to go to that trashy party." she attempted to stand up in defiance, only to get pulled back down by her arm.

"Do you think I would feel even a twinge of guilt towards anyone else? Do you really think there's enough of kindness left in me for that?" he countered, his emotions getting the better of him. "If it wasn't for you, I would've stopped thinking about it all the moment the ambulance was called, and they were taken away, yet here I am with nothing but images of her in the back of that damn car. Fuck my conscience, and fuck everyone else. They can all burn if it means you get to be safe." he continued, no longer able to moderate his words, just letting it all flow out as they appeared in his mind.