My best friend's brother and my brother's best friend (2016)

Guilt

Alex.

I can hear his footsteps echoing behind me through the long black corridor while I run as fast as I can. From his direction, I can hear the sizzling sound of electricity as he sparks the ten foot tall cattle prod and waves it high in the air tauntingly. Even though he isn't touching me, I can feel the painful electrical sparks igniting against my skin as let out a piercing scream. All the while the bright light of hope far down the corridor, seems to travel further and further away from me with each pounding step I take.

Suddenly I'm on the floor and feeling an unbearable sharpness, I lift my bloody hands up in horror and inspect their gaping holes while my screams seem to silence. Glancing down to the floor, I see that it is now covered in metal spikes that penetrate excruciatingly through my limbs and oozing blood. I can't help but scream out again at the top of my lungs until I feel Alex's unusually large and cold hand covering my mouth and containing the screech's that ring through my head.

"Danielle! Danielle, it's ok! You're ok!"

I feel totally disorientated as my mother's gentle voice seeps into my consciousness and I jolt forward, gasping for air, taking in my new surroundings. Looking around the clean white hospital room and inhaling the strong smell of disinfectant. It takes me a while to realise that I was dreaming.

"Where's Jeremy?" I ask weakly, desperately pulling the tangled and sweaty sheets from my legs and pressing my hand to my damp forehead in relief.

"He's just got out of surgery. He's still asleep but the doctors said he's stable," my mum reassures me gently, stroking my hair away from my face. "It's just a matter of waiting now."

The past few hours slowly come back to me. Me and Jeremy being rushed off to the hospital in different ambulances. Arriving and sitting helplessly on a bed as the doctors checked me over, treated my burns and my broken arm and patched up my head which apparently split right open when Caleb slammed me against the wall. I hadn't even realised the deep gash that was matting my hair down with blood. I remember freaking out and being physically sick when I saw Alex being rushed past totally unconscious on a bed. They kept telling me that he'd be monitored 24/7 by the police, not that it made me feel any better really.

That's the last thing I remember before passing out completely from panic and exhaustion. Until now.

"The police said they want to speak to you ... when you're ready of course," my mum adds sympathetically and tightly squeezing my hand. "They said ... they needed your statement ..."

That's all she can manage before she chokes up completely and bursts into tears.

"Oh mum."

I lean forward and wrap my good arm tightly around her neck, gently stroking the back of her head with my thumb.

"How could he let this happen, risk his whole family all because he was too proud to go to Al - his own sister - for help!" She sobs, finding a crumpled tissue from her cardigan pocket and moping up her face. "I'm sorry sweetheart, I told myself I'd keep it together in front of you."

"Where is Mason?" I whisper, feeling my heart break for the millionth time this summer.

"God knows! He took off when he got the chance, left Al some note," she sighs, sniffing loudly as she calms down.

"It's not his fault mum, not really," I mutter as I put on my bravest face for her.

"Anyway," she starts, getting up and pulling her cardigan tightly round her as I only now take in how exhausted and unkempt she looks. "Al and the others should be here soon. I told them to go home and get some rest and they promised to bring back some proper food and clothes for all of us."