Bellman Tower

Chapter 16

I groan and open my eyes. My head hurts like someone's been at it with a sledge-hammer and my neck is stiff as if someone is holding it in place. I look up into the concerned faces of Jay and Shaun. "We did it." Jay whispers, "He's gone."

"What?" I sit up suddenly. Then I wince and my hands fly to neck as it protests with a shot of agony.

Jay winces, "Yeah, I reckon your neck's going to be sore for a bit. We finished the chants. You nearly died, Nikki. We were so scared and I almost bailed but Shaun convinced me otherwise. I'm so ashamed."

"Don't be." I shake my head, realising I'm in a hospital room, "What did you say to the doctors?" I wring my hands together.

"We said that your scarf caught on to a nail and strangled you half to death. We tried to get it off, but the sucker was really stuck on there and eventually you passed out and one of us miraculously had the idea of cutting it off."

I put my head in my hands and look up tearfully at the boys, "I owe my life to you. I always will be in debt of you. Thank you. Thank you so much. You did what I couldn't do. You freed them, you freed them from Trevor. I don't know how to repay the two of you... I really don't."

"You don't have anything to repay us for." Shaun looks down at me, "Nikki, if anything, I have to apologise. I came into the house and I ruined it all. You nearly died because of me."

"No, I didn't." I shake my head stiffly, "Shaun, do not blame yourself. Don't you dare." I hear Jay's low chuckle and when I turn to look at him, he clears his throat and looks somber. Unable to hold it in, I grin at him and then the three of us are reduced into tears of unexpected laughter.

As we compose ourselves, Aunt and Uncle burst into the room, "Nikki! You're awake. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Aunt." I croak out, "My neck hurts a little but I'm okay." I think it's best if I don't mention my banging headache.

"I am throwing all of your scarves out!" Aunt declares and then cocks her head at me, "Nikki, why weren't you more careful? If something happened to you..."

"But it didn't." I point out, "Look at me. I've just got a sore throat. I'll be fine in a few days. Trust me."

Aunt shakes her head at me, "We're going to talk to the doctor and sort some things out." I watch the both of them strut of the room, closing the door with a soft click behind them. It's kind of ironic that I was just in hospital 24 hours ago and here am I again. It's as if I can't get enough of this place.

If Mom and Dad were here, I can just picture their concern-streaked faces, both of them clutching both of my hands, anxiously asking me questions.

I see Dad's tanned, smiling face as he whirls me around our living room, holding me close and pretending to be my ballroom dancing partner. We giggle and circle our way around the furniture, beaming with delight all the time. Mom walks in, pushing her chocolate brown hair back and takes in the sight before her. She stands still for a moment before coming in and stealing me away from Dad, spinning me around herself before joining up with Dad. We all hold hands and spin around in a circle as fast as I can, all of us squealing and letting out peals of laughter. Dizzy, Dad collapses on the ground and Mom and I take the signal to flop on top of him, knocking the air out of him. Dad raises his arms and tickles us until we both roll off of him. We lie on the floor, panting for breath, all of us still laughing away.

I break myself out of the memory when I feel something run down my cheek. I raise my hand to my cheek and then look at it. It's a salty tear. Jay and Shaun look at me, disconcerted. I shake my head at them, "I'm okay." It's a lie. I feel as though someone's cutting me up inside, like I always do when I remember Mom and Dad out of the blue. They didn't deserve to die like that, they didn't deserve to die so prematurely. They didn't deserve anything bad that happened to them. They were more than my parents, they were my whole family, my best friends, my confidantés, people who were all mine and I didn't have to share them.

But now... I put my head in my hands as tears stream down my face. I feel supportive hands on my shoulders and I know Shaun and Jay will be worried about me, but for some reason, I can't stop the tears from pouring out. Before I know what's happening, I'm pulling all the hospital equipment from my wrist and am standing up, despite Jay and Shaun's protests. I wrench open the door to see Aunt and Uncle and the doctor standing in front of me. "What are you doing here?" Aunt asks, "You should be in bed."

Without saying anything, I tie my laces on my sneakers and push past them, breaking into a run as I hear the doctor yelling to the nurses and security. I pull my hair out of the band and cross the road, sprinting down it as I glance back, seeing a cluster of security guards running behind me, calling my name. Smiling, I jump in the air and whirl around once before turning up the speed, sprinting across the road and jumping up on a car bonnet as it tries to block my way. I blow a kiss to the dazed driver and then jump off, my arms pumping as I sprint down the street, bumping into people who call curses and swears after me. Ignoring them, I sprint faster, running up the familar hill and push open the intricately designed gates of Bellman Tower.

I run up the driveway and let myself into the house. I run up the stairs and burst into the attic room. It's empty. "TREVOR!" I call, spinning around slowly, "TREVOR! WE DID IT! WE WON!" Laughing with glee, I run down the stairs again and into my room. Standing on a easel, is my painting of the house back to it's original state. Colourful and not ruined. My grin is wider when I see the picture of Mom and Dad and I rejoined. I run down the second staircase and bend down when I see a drop of blood. I run my finger over it; this is my blood. I raise the same finger to the Band-Aid on my forehead. I look at the Welcome rug and drag it over, covering up the spots of blood with it. A smile appearing on my face again and I open the door to the main room, picking up the remote for the TV and turning it to MTV.

When Aunt, Uncle, Jay and Shaun finally get home, they find me dancing to Turn It Up by Pixie Lott. Lost in my dancing, I take Jay and Shaun's hands and drag them into the centre of the room, encouraging them to dance along with me. Then I go over to Aunt and Uncle as the chorus starts up and pull them also into the middle of the room. I sing along, "Turn it up, turn it up, for the people that say we're moving on and we'll be okay..." Shaun and Jay look at me and know the true meaning of the words. I crank the volume up as the five of us begin dancing with all of our hearts, all of us celebrating for different reasons...

A month later....

I place a rose on the grave and stand back, reading the engraving on the stone-

R.I.P. John and Jessica Seville

1977-2011

Beloved Parents, Sister, Brother and Uncle and Aunt.

They will forever be in our hearts, our memories and in every thing we do. We will never forget them. May God be with them in every step of the way.

I sigh and wipe a tear away. Two supporting hands warm my cold shoulders and Aunt and Uncle step on either side of me. I look at the two of them and then look back at the grave with a faint smile on my face. "We'll never forget you." I say before turning around and leaving the graveyard. I wave at the Father, who nods at me and go to the gates, where Jay and Shaun are waiting. They both hold their arms out and grinning, I wind my arms with both of theirs and we strut our way back to the car...

Thank you for all the support and comments and votes and fans you guys have left for me. I really appreciated everything and granted, this story was short but it was my first and I didn't really have anything else to write about. I am planning a new story (maybe it will be a series) and I would honestly appreciate if you continued to show the support you have been. I love you guys SO much and thanks for being so welcoming!!!

Lightness