Two Can Play At That Game

21.

Brooklyn kept her eyes wide open. She stared at Elena's limp body, thinking about both nothing and everything.

How did she let things escalate so quickly? She felt so stupid for believing that Lacie was her friend. All the happy memories she had with her friends were now forever tarnished. But Brooklyn didn't necessarily blame Lacie, despite the fact that it was her fault that Elena was dead and Serena and Brooklyn were stuck in a room, handcuffed around pillars. No, she blamed herself.

Opening her mouth and licking her lips a few times, Brooklyn really wished she had water. She didn't know how long she had been in the room. She couldn't even remember the last time she had a meal.

"Serena," Brooklyn croaked, flexing her jaw. She pulled herself up and blinked a few times, as her view was blurry. Serena's figure became clearer, but Brooklyn quickly realized that she would rather see the blurry, distorted version instead. Serena had bruises all over her body. In some places, her clothes were ripped. Her eyes were hollow as they stared at Elena's body, which was starting to smell. Serena didn't even hear Brooklyn calling her.

Suddenly, the door burst open. A jolt of fear struck Brooklyn's heart. She wondered what other forms of torture Lacie had in store for her.

As Brooklyn prepared to see Lacie's callous face again, she was surprised when she saw a familiar tousle of chocolatey brown hair. It seemed almost too good to be true. Perhaps she was dreaming. Brooklyn allowed a small smile to stretch on her lips. She willed herself to savor this dream, to hold onto it forever. So Lacie had total control of her now. But she couldn't ever take this away from Brooklyn.

Chris practically sprinted to Brooklyn, frantically scrambling to his knees. He held Brooklyn's face in his hands, which were warm and calloused. Her breaths started to become ragged. She felt her chapped lips brush against one another.

"Don't worry, I'm going to get you out of this," Chris said. He stared right into Brooklyn's eyes, like he was memorizing the color.

Brooklyn didn't move. She didn't want to ruin the dream. "I love you," she whispered, because she wanted Chris to know that. Hopefully he would.

Chris looked taken aback by her words, but nonetheless accepted them. "I love you, too," he easily replied. And it didn't even sound like he was saying it just to appease her. No, the way he said it was like it was a fact. "Drink some water," Chris commanded, as he pulled a bottle out from the inside of his jacket.

Twisting it off, Chris gently pressed the bottle to Brooklyn's lips. She eagerly gulped it, taking in as much as she could. Most of the water spilled on the ground, and the water was room temperature, but it was still the best feeling in the world, the water sliding down her throat.

The bottle was only halfway done when Chris suddenly pulled it away. Brooklyn looked at him in shock, but his back was suddenly turned. He was making his way towards Serena, who Brooklyn had forgotten about.

She felt guilty, but she knew she had to push the feeling down. All she had to do was enjoy Chris's presence before she woke up from the dream and faced Lacie again.

Brooklyn watched Chris as he faced Elena's body. His shoulders were hunched and his neck was red. He stood up, gave one more meaningful glance to Brooklyn, and walked upstairs. Brooklyn tried to call out to him, but only a weird, gurgling noise escaped from her mouth.

Chris was gone, which meant that the dream was over. Brooklyn closed her eyes, and this time, slumbered off for real.

When she awoke, Brooklyn felt something was off. She immediately looked at Serena, who was laying on her back.