ROSS'S P.O.V. (STILL)
I stared at her. How did she know me, and why was she saying sorry to me?
She looked back up at me, and I could see that her eyes were tearing up again. "I never meant for any of this to happen. I didn't think she would ever take it this far. I didn't think she would do anything except maybe insult her a few times. Oh God, I'm so sorry."
I was so confused now. "Who are you?"
She blushed, her entire face turning red. "Sorry, I probably should of introduced myself in the first place. I'm Olivia. Sheila's younger sister."
I jumped up from the bench. "You're Olivia!!?? You're the reason this whole thing is happening!"
She didn't even try to deny it. She just burst into tears. "I know. I was just so embarrased when i got stood up, and I wanted there to be a reason, and I was venting to my sis, and she just got all over-protective. and i couldn't stop her. I was actually so happy when we moved, because i knew she couldn't do anything to Jenn anymore. But then we came back, and I've tried so hard to get her to stop, but she won't listen to me, andandand now Jenn almost died, and it's all my fault!"
I didn't know what to do. I kind of just stood there, dumbfounded. Then my anger kicked in. "Yeah. She did almost die. and it was on purpose too! Your sister tried to kill Jenn, and she obviously put a lot of thought into doing it! I don't care if you've tried before. You have to stop her, and you have to stop her now, before she actually does something that can't be fixed!"
"I'll try-"
"No, no trying. This ends NOW. Either you get Sheila to back off my girlfriend, or I will put a stop to her. No matter what."
She looked at me wide eyes. I turned around and walked back inside. The doctor was back with the group, and I quickly jogged over.
"-going well. I'm still not sure how long she will be out, but I will call when she wakes up."
We all looked at him like he was insane. Cora said our thoughts for us, "I'm not leaving here until she wakes up. and I don't think anyone else here is either." We all nodded our agreement.
The doctor sighed, "Fine. You can stay during visiting hours only though. Unless she wakes up afterwards, then you can come in on an exception. Would any of you like to go see her?"
Her parents went with him. Then it would be Noah, then me, then Cora. I couldn't wait to see her. Noah and Cora filled me in on what I'd missed-the drug was basically out of her system, and Jenn was out of all danger, it was just a matter of waiting for the drug to wear off, and for her to wake up.
I filled them in on what had happened with Olivia.
Noah looked at me dead-on. "I'm coming with you dude, if you have to go after Sheila." I nodded in agreement.
*******
CORA'S P.O.V.
I sat down on the chair beside Jenn's bed. There wasn't any tubes in her anymore, except for monitering her blood pressure and stuff. I took her hand in mine. it still felt the same to me. Warm, and solid. She just looked ike she was sleeping, but the harsh flourescent lights above us, and the too-sterile atmosphere of the room ruined that illusion. That and that if I'd touched her hand while she was sleeping, she probably would have jumped into the roof from shock and surprise.
I couldn't believe I'd almost lost my best friend in the world today. For a second time. Before, when she'd drowned, it had partially indirectly been Sheila's fault. Now it was fully her fault. I had this fear in between the beeps frm the moniter, that the next one wouldn't come. That all of a sudden she would flatline, and I would never hear her ramble excitedly about the latest concert she'd gone to with her sister, or her laugh, or spend hours fangirling with her, or eating sundaes. I bent my head over her, and cried.
"Jenn, I know it's the drugs keeping you under, but please, please try to wake up. Please."
No answer. Not that I'd really expected one. I sighed, wiped my eyes, and went to join the others. Whoa. Everyone was here. Riker, Rocky, Rydel, Ellington, Kelly, Jill, Kate, Jake, Mark, and Stormie had joined us. i walked a bit further, than saw a very familiar brunette sitting at the other end if the room, sadly watching the group. I walked over, and sat down beside her.
"Hi Olivia."
She looked up at me, and i could tell she'd been crying. A lot. Without thinking, I leaned over and gave her a hug. I felt her stiffen in surprise, then she wrapped her arms around me and held on tight. "I'm so sorry for everything. i never wanted this to happen. I just wanted a reason for him to stand me up, I just thought Sheila would insult her a few times, then ignore her forever."
She started sobbing. I held her tighter, and rubbed her back soothingly. The three of us had been best friends, and even after the thing with Roger, if it hadn't been for Sheila, we would have still been best friends. "Shh, Livie, it's okay. You could never have stopped her. This isn't your fault."
She started crying harder. "Yes it is. I'm the one that said that Jenn caused Roger to stand me up!"
"Livie, you didn't know what it would start. You didn't tell her to do anything to Jenn. You didn't expect her to do anything."
She didn't say anything, just held on to me tighter, and kept crying. I sighed, and extricated it myself. standing up, I put my hand out to her. "Come with me. We can go see Jenn. You can see that she's going to be just fine."
Her eyes widened, but she grabbed my hand, and followed me as I headed back to jenn's room. I could feel the eyes of everyone from the group following us. I hoppe none of them made a scene about Olivia, or about me bringing her to see Jenn. It would just make her feel worse, and she was feeling pretty horrible already.
All her life she'd been walked on by Sheila. Had never done a single thing that wasn't Sheila-sanctioned, and probably hadn't let herself think anything that Sheila wouldn't have liked. She just wasn't strongwilled, and Sheila could probably out-stubborn a mule. Olivia was spft-spoken, and liked to please everyone. If I had to choose anyone I'd ever known to be the embodiment of the word insecure, it would be her. But she was an awesome person to hang out with.
She was the funniest person i knew, and was a natural dancer. She was a skilled ballerina before she could multiply, and had mastered every known style of dance by the time we were in grade 4. She was amazing to watch, and I'd yet to see someone who was better.
We made it to Jenn's hospital room without incident, and she sat down in the chair, looking like she was about to burst into tears again.
"She looks so.... different."
I nodded. "Yeah. She's changed a lot since you've left. But she's also changed a lot since Sheila got back on her case. She almost drowned the day you guys came back. Then she almost lost Ross. Then a whole lot of other stuff happened. Now this. Her life's been a special sort of hell for her since Sheila came back. I really hope it ends soon. For her sake."
Her face fell again. "I'm gonna try and talk to Sheila tonight.I've been trying to build up my confidence. i guess this is the perfect time for a test."
I smiled, and put my hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure you'll do great. I mean, you came here today. You started the conversation with Ross. You apologized, you still stayed around, even when they were ignoring you, and you stopped crying. You're stronger than you think you are Olivia."
She did seem more confidant now, and more at peace with who she was. It was a good change.
