Stay...Alive

Chapter 20

The first thing Victorine saw when she woke up was a wood wall. Silently groaning, she rolled onto her back to see a wood ceiling. A wave of pain washed over her forehead, and she rolled onto her other side, where she saw the silhouettes of three women standing in front of a doorway, their faces masked by the light. Victorine took a second to realize she was lying on a once-colorful beach towel, under a blanket with a rolled up jacket under her head acting as a makeshift pillow. It was the closest she'd been to sleeping in a real bed for a while. And it felt f***ing great.

"You bitches tried to take me away from her," she heard Yolanda grumble.

"I didn't want us to lose two people," the red-headed lady, Lyla answered.

"I knew she could take care of it herself," Laura added, shifting her weight onto one leg. "And I was right."

Victorine grinned, even though it hurt her cheeks a little. One of the silhouettes turned her head to Victorine and ran right to her side. She saw Yolanda's face, her eyebrows all scrunched together, and starting chuckling all over again. Even if it hurt.

"Oh, thank God you're okay," Yolanda sighed, patting down Victorine's wild white hair. "What you did was very brave. Very crazy, and very dangerous, but brave."

Victorine tried to sit up, wincing. Yolanda put an arm around her and helped her up until the little girl leaned up against the wall.

"You saved my life," Yolanda said. Victorine paused, and hesitantly looked her in the eyes. Yolanda smiled gratefully. She couldn't help but smile back and break eye contact. "Y'know what, Vicks? I have somethin' else to thank you for. Remember when I first came to that house, I was just a snide little...a-hole. And I'd been shown no affection in, like, a year! Not to mention Jacey getting more caught up with Parker while she simultaneously went insane. But you, kid, became the thing I went on for. And you still are. 'Cause you're one of the only people in my whole life that didn't leave me in the dust. I'd wouldn't let anything hurt you. And you seem to have the same instinct for me. So honestly...thanks, kid."

Yolanda held out her arms, and Victorine fell into them. Yolanda kissed the top of her head and whispered, "You did good, kid."

Victorine pulled away and lowered herself back onto her bed.

"Get some rest," Yolanda whispered, patting her head and leaving her be.

The first people to visit her when she woke up were Asha, Lane, and Anita.

"You didn't die!" Lane exclaimed.

"It's the soldier boy who's dead, right?" Anita hinted. Victorine responded with a shrug but confirming or denying anything.

"Glad you're safe," Asha said with the most contagious smile there was. "Ya kicked his butt, didn't you?

Victorine nodded enthusiastically. "Nice. I remember once some kid at school who kept calling me a terrorist came to school the next day with a broken nose. I asked the girl who sat next to me what happened, and she said, 'justice.'"

Victorine chuckled as Asha sat down beside her.

"Lane told the me that Yolanda told that you saved him. He said you're a hero," Asha whispered, Lane not standing too far away. Victorine paused, and knit her eyebrows, but Ahsa kept talking. "You-"

"Where are we?" Victorine interrupted.

"Oh," Asha responded, a little unsure. "We-"

"Found a ghost town!" Anita explained.

"Yes,'" Asha quietly agreed.

Her next visitor barged in, ran to her side and tackled her in a hug. Victorine hugged Primus back as he held her tight. Gina, Frankie, and Horace followed in after him.

"Lane told me you killed a guy," Horace said right off the bat.

Kinda, Victorine mouthed. The second Primus let go of the little girl, Frankie swooped in to give her a hug. And she arguably hugged her tighter.

"You saved us, Vicky," Frankie said into Victorine's shoulder. "You really did."

"Damn, you hug her more than you hug me," Gina joked.

"Screw you," Frankie responded playfully, her voice still muffled.

Her next guests were Parker and Jacey, who sat on each end of her like a mom and dad.

"You not too scarred from anything of that?" Parker asked. Considering everything else Victorine had been through, she shook her head. "Good."

"'Cause you could always talk about it with us," Jacey added, patting Victorine's back.

Parker leaned in a little, and whispered, "Especially since...something like that...happened..."

I know, Victorine mouthed, noticing Parker's face filling with worry at the recollection. Victorine couldn't help but smile at the effort the two were making. Who could blame 'em? They know how it feels, Victorine thought. When Jacey smiled at her and she smiled back, she couldn't help but feel grateful.

"I bet you're proud of yourself for taking him down yourself, right?" Jacey asked. Victorine looked over her shoulder at Parker and raised an eyebrow. They exchanged a smirk. Over Parker's shoulder, she saw a figure in the doorway she recognized on the spot: Cherie.

Cherie paused when she saw Jacey and Parker and bit her lip while inhaling sharply. Afterward, she skipped up to her while squealing, "Hello!"

Victorine filled with dread as she went in for a hug, but was stopped by Victorine's apparent shock.

"I heard you single-handedly saved the whole group," Cherie said, nodding her head from side to side. Well, when you put it that way-

"I hope you're feeling better! You...didn't really look too good before. Not that that's bad! You went through a lot, and..." Cherie broke eye contact and kind of just stared into nothing.

"Who's this?" Jacey questioned.

"I-I'm Cherie," Cherie introduced, holding out her hand a little nervously. Reluctantly, Jacey shook it, and so did Parker. Afterward, she bit her lip and started to fiddle with her fingers.

"Uh...I hope that you feel better, and...stuff," Cherie said, getting a bit more uncomfortable as time went on. Victorine simply nodded, not knowing exactly how to respond.

"So...feel better!" Cherie repeated as she slowly backed to the door and went outside.

"She tried," Parker acknowledged.

"Is she a friend of yours, or-" Jacey began, only to be cut off by Victorine shaking her head. "I mean she seems nice..."

Victorine gave her one look, and Jacey knew exactly what she meant. "I mean...she probably hasn't seen any of her friends in a while...I haven't seen her with anyone."

Victorine leaned her head back, closing her eyes. "Just give her a try. I gave Yolanda a try, and you know how we ended up."