Sweet But Savoury (Bittersweet 2) (FINISHED)

Chapter 2

Lucy's POV

Blinding artificial light burns my eyes as they groggily open. Searing pain rips through my skull and my hand instinctively flies up to protect it, just coming away covered in scarlet blood. Scrounging every scrap of energy from my body, I force myself to sit up shakily. Still cupping my head, I take in my surroundings. I'm alone in a glaring white room, with tiled floors and walls. One window spans the length of one wall, apart from a gap filled with a solid, metal door. The only other thing in the room is a singular wooden chair painted ivory to match the walls, and a glass of water next to it. Parched, I manage to shuffle over to the chair and swallow the water so fast I practically inhale it, and then I drag my damaged body onto the chair. From my new vantage point, I can see out of the window and I nearly fall off the chair. "Kezzy!" I shout, but my voice comes out a hoarse whisper. "Keira!" She looks up suddenly and runs over to the window. At least she isn't hurt. I smile to myself. "Lucy!" She calls, sounding relieved. She turns and faces something I can't see. "Maddie, look! Lucy's here too!" The surprise that someone else is here gives me the random strength to stand up and walk over to the window, where I can see that we're all in cells on a single corridor. Maddie must be next to me, with Kez and one other room opposite us. "So, who hurts like hell?" Maddie jokes through the wall, cheering us up. "My back hurts so much I might not be able to ever get up. More of an excuse for set three PE, right?" she adds. Kez chuckles, and I drag my chair to the window with a giggle. "My head got messed up pretty bad. It's so red I could rise with the dawn!" I quip back. Keira just laughs at us. "I'm fine." She grins. Then a fourth familiar voice joins in from across the corridor, as Ellie drags herself up using the slight window ledge. "You guys got nothing on this." She mutters, pulling her crimson hand away from her leg. Running from the top of her thigh all the way to just past her knee is a deep cut that's bleeding badly. I hear Maddie retch (she's quite squeamish) and all I can do is state the obvious. "That's not good." She just rolls her eyes. Not feeling great, I walk back over to the chair and lower myself back into it, shutting my eyes. Fire blooms behind them, and I open them hastily. "You okay?" Kez asks caringly. I nod, the familiar stab of a headache beginning. My eyes close almost involuntarily, and I know what comes next.

Laughter echoes through the room, glasses clinking. "Happy birthday Ben!" We cheer in unison as the food arrives. All of us are having pizza – spicy for my dad, margarita for my mum and pepperoni for me and my brother. He wears a red party hat at an angle, and grins at me through a mouth full of pepperoni, cheese spilling out of his smile. We joke all the way through the evening, until my phone rings. The restaurant is deafening, so I excuse myself and answer in the cool evening breeze outside. Maddie's voice jumps through the phone, joking that we might pass the Test before my brother. She tells me to wish him a happy birthday, and then leaves me to go back and finish what's left of the cake. But instead of going back through the doors, I'm blown backwards, smashing into the pavement as the restaurant explodes, my family with it.

You should have died, the voices taunt, guilt washing over me. It should have been you.

Why didn't you save them, Lucy? They mock, knowing I don't have an answer. "I couldn't save them." I mutter, my hands flying to my ears to block the voices. But the voices are inside my head, and won't be silenced.

Why didn't you save me, Lucy? The newest voice adds, bringing tears to my eyes. "I-I c-couldn't... Cole, I-I couldn't..."

"I know." He answers, wrenching my hands from my face. "You couldn't save me Lucy, because I never died."