Corruption

Chapter 12*

"I saved you," I murmur. It's quiet in her room, just the soft breaths of her and Ronnie filling the silence. I'm staring at her pale walls, wishing I couldn't see so well in the dark. I want so badly to close my eyes and sleep, but it's hard when my dreams are plagued by her death. Every single one of them. Fiona's hand is resting against my hair, her other is no doubt holding on to Veronica's. She hasn't slept since she's come home. Her breathing goes uneven as I speak against my will. "You won't remember," I admit.

She won't remember drowning and she won't remember me plunging into the iced liquid to save them both. "I made sure of it," I confess. I always make sure of it. "Fi, you told Will that Ronnie couldn't swim," I sigh out, bending my head back, resting it against her mattress. Her hand slips forward and grazes my face, delicate fingers trace my lips. "Ronnie used to be a lifeguard. Baby, you're the one that can't swim."

Her fingers twitch against my skin and I sigh out. "I'm so tired, Fiona. Every night, you die. I always save you."

"Lip," She finally whispers, and it's so soft I shouldn't be able to actually hear her. "What's going on?" I don't answer. There's no way I can. It's silent for a beat too long. She runs her hand back and tugs at my hair lightly. "Come up here." I feel her shift, pressing her body closer to Ronnie's, leaving enough space for me. I quietly get up and settle beside her. She rests her head against my shoulder and the commotion stirs Ronnie some. She yawns and tosses a hand over Fi, burying her face in her back. "Aren't you sleepy?" I smile lazily up her ceiling, though there's no humor.

"I'm always open to a few dreams."

"What about my dreams," she wonders. Maybe she's figuring it out.

"I try to stay away from yours."

.

William finds me in the same position just a few hours later as he climbs through her window. I frown at the thought, wondering if maybe Fiona should invest in some locks. He raises an eyebrow at the view he finds, but otherwise doesn't mention it.

I frown, "Don't ever fucking climb through her -"

He rolls his eyes, cutting me off, "If I wanted Fiona or Veronica, I could have had them by now." He shrugs, "At the same time even. But as it is, through out the years, maybe I've gained some sort of respect for you."

I glower at him, prying off Fi's limp arm from my body. "Oh, you have morals this time around?"

"You smell like a swimming pool."

"Yes, well I had to save two drowning girls, so that generally is the outcome." I get up from her bed and yawn. "Why would you send them to a fucking pool? Ronnie being comatose and Fiona thinking she's Michael Phelps."

He narrows his eyes at me, an iridescent shimmer of blue glazing over before diminishing to an opaque brown. "Next time, you watch the fucking door. Come up with a better excuse as to why they can't go down there."

I rub at my eyes and glance back to the girls now cuddling on the bed. It's easing to know that despite everything, Fiona will always have Ronnie. I push past my cousin and clamber over the window and on to Ashley. Will takes a second too long to follow me and I all but throttle him for staring at my girl. I run my hand through my hair, ruffling out the stiffness the chlorine caused. Will hops down from one of the branches, landing in a crouched position.

He leads the way to his parked car, something too black for my eyes to adjust, narrow and slim like a sports car but can go ten times faster than anything sold on the market. We named it Drakkar for kicks. The only thing that keeps us sane is giving names to trustworthy inanimate objects.