Confessions of a Bitch

Sirens

I remember sirens and men in blue uniform. I remember the ambulance and the oxygen mask over my face.

I suppose I made it out, alive and breathing.

When I arrive at the hospital, I catch a quick glimpse of my parents and David Walker. The doctors have to fix my thigh. Isabella's knife had done more damage than I thought.

I wake up hours later in a bed, in the middle of a room that stinks of disinfectant. I almost feel insulted. I did not survive months of paranoia, and hours of torture, to be in a room stinking of disinfectant.

At first, the police come in. They ask questions, and I keep my answers guarded. I only tell them what they need to know about Viper and Nathan. I don't tell them my part in sending Nathan to juvie, or my real name. If they want the information, they can find it out themselves.

As they leave the room, they tell me Isabella's dead. I don't ask who killed her. I'll find out later. It turns out dad had somehow escaped Isabella's house of torture whilst she went for her shift at Macy's Strip Club. By the time she returned back home, dad was gone, and less than fifteen minutes later, she was dead.

Nathan on the other hand, disappeared into thin air.

An hour and a half later, dad and mum walk in. They both look terrible. They look old, worn and broken. Dad doesn't know what to say. He has dark circles under his eyes, and one of his arms is in a cast. He has bandages around his neck. I can see a few more under his hospital garb, on his torso. My beautiful mother has a scar on the right side of her face, similar to mine. She no longer stands tall. She looks so small, in the room.

There is no need for words. My parents pull me into their embrace, and we cry together.

We survived. We made it.

David Walker, the bad boy of Belfast High, knocks on my door the next morning. He's in a wheelchair with a broken leg, and his right arm is in a sling. "Hey," he says, almost sheepishly.

"Hi."

He moves nearer towards my bed, and I get a closer look at him. He has a black eye, and there are scratches on his face and neck. He smirks when he notices my stare. "You don't want to know what lies beneath this green outfit."

The corners of my lips turn into a small smile. "You did it, didn't you?"

David doesn't bother denying it. "Someone had to do it." His answer his final, and I accept it.

"You said she had something on you. It was more than what took place in our early years of high school, wasn't it?"

"It doesn't matter anymore, Amanda. She's dead."

The conversation doesn't go any further than that.

Two days later, the nurse pokes her head in. "You have a visitor." I raise an eyebrow, questioningly. It couldn't be Macy or Liam. Nathan couldn't be so stupid, and show himself here. She moves over, and my eyes widen in surprise when I see the person beside her. It's Victoria.

"Hey Amanda." She stands sheepishly beside the door, with a large bouquet of sunflowers in her hand.

"Hey," I reply breathlessly.

"Can I come in?"

I nod. Victoria takes a step inside the room and closes the door behind you. We remain silent for a long time, as we take in the sight of one another. Victoria finally breaks the silence. "The place stinks of disinfectant."

And with that, we burst out laughing.

Victoria places the bouquet beside my bed, and I pull her into a hug. "I've missed you so much."

"I missed you too, Sugar." She sits on the edge of my bed and sighs. "I tried contacting you so many times after you called me, but I couldn't get to you. I swear to God, I wasn't working with Isabella."

"I know."

"No, let me finish. I went through my camera one last time, just to make sure we hadn't missed anything. Then, I saw one of the last photographs I took of the place, and realised it was her. I was going to call you up, when she rang my doorbell."

"She what?"

"Mum let her in." She explains. "Isabella knew I had been taking photographs. She also somehow knew I had an inkling she was the one behind the whole charade. Maybe it was my bad acting skills that gave it away? She told me to leave town before things got worse. So that afternoon, I printed out the picture, placed it in an envelope and hid it under my bed. By four thirty, I was out of the house."

"How did you end up on her contact list?"

Victoria begins rubbing the back of her hands, with her fingers. "She found me, and gave me the phone. It was her way of keeping an eye on me." Victoria looks me straight in the eye and continues, "Believe me, Amanda. Everyday I prayed to God, you'd find the picture under my bed. But I don't think you did."

"No, I didn't. I didn't get the chance to go into your room. Besides, I think your mum hates me."

Victoria smirks. "Don't worry about it."

I notice a long scar on her arm, and point to it. "How did that happen?"

"I cut myself to make it look like something happened to me. It was supposed to be a dramatic exit."

I snort and burst out laughing. "You had me terrified."

"I know, I'm sorry."

We fall into a comfortable silence for a little while. "We've missed so much of school." I announce.

Victoria’s facial expression turns into one of mock horror. "How on earth are we going to sit our final exams?"

"How will we get far in life?" I exclaim, throwing my hands in the air.

"We shall be poor! Poor, I tell you!"

"We'll live on the dole," I say, with a dismissive wave of my hand.

"I'll be in the nunnery anyway."

I smirk and wriggle my toes. "You missed the ball." We look at each other for a brief moment and burst out laughing.

It's good to have my friend back.