Holiday Tears: A Christmas Novella

Part Three: Accusation

        He brought her back. Too soon. Far too soon. It was the last thing she wanted to do. Return. Face him. Put up with his ignorance and incompetence. And he dared to call himself her friend. 

        These were the only thoughts in Charlie's head as she toppled back into the hospital room; there was no curiosity concerning what the visit might hold, no eagerness to pass time in some other manner than floating in the Nether's infinite expanse. As she brought herself to her feet, not bothering to dust off her jeans, she kept herself turned pointedly away from the Friend. Serves him right, reacting to her like that during the last visit.

        As she waited for him to speak in the infuriatingly calm and quiet voice of him, she allowed herself a single curiosity; would Rider come to see her? Of course he would, she told herself. He was, after all, her boyfriend. He'd be worried about her. Charlie let out a thin breath from between her teeth. She knew how the Friend would react to Rider. And it wasn't an ideal reaction, either. Especially if he knew it all...

        When the Friend had still failed to interrupt her thoughts, Charlie glanced over her shoulder toward his usual corner. Sure enough, there the man sat. But he was not looking at her. In fact, he more or less disregarded her presence entirely as he kept his eyes fixed upon the hospital door, calmness washing over his handsome features.

        As though in response to his visual prompting, the hospital door creaked open to reveal... Lisette. Charlie's face softened as her friend strode in, visibly forcing back tears as she stood looking down upon the body of Charlotte Angler. Her blond hair framed her slender features, her usual purple eye shadow forsaken, as though she couldn't be bothered to attend to her appearance on a day in which she was full of such pain and sorrow. Darling Lisette, with her indigo highlights and loyal heart. It almost broke Charlie's own to see her friend like this.

        Charlie and Lisette had done everything together since the former moved into the latter's neighborhood. Charlie had been lost, friendless, and afraid, yet Lisette dared to take on the challenge of accepting her with all her numerous flaws. They had done everything together, from getting their first tattoos, drinking their first beers, smoking their first cigarettes, attending their first top-notch party...

        At this thought, Charlie's nostalgic smile faltered considerably. The party. The last party Lisette had brought her to, she had ended up drunk behind the wheel, with five ill-fated passengers hooting and hollering around her. And the joyride hadn't ended well, she knew.

        In that moment, Charlie whirled on the Friend, her face pale and fearful. "Please," she pleaded hoarsely. "Please don't take my back to that night. Please don't make me see..."

        Sighing quietly, the Friend stood, wrapping his arms around her in a strong embrace that did little to quell her sorrows. "I'm afraid you don't have much of a choice," he told her, apology in his eyes. "But this time I will stay in your sights while we are there. I will not let you suffer alone."

        He did not pull away from the embrace even as he pulled her into the Nether alongside him, slicing through the infinite expanse at incredible speeds. Charlie looked up just as a purple pulsing light engulfed them. It was the worst feeling in the world, knowing exactly where they were going and what she would be forced to see. She squinted her eyes shut in a fruitless attempt to ward off the inevitable.

        "Look," the Friend breathed, his hand pressing down carefully on her shoulder. Against her better judgment, Charlie opened her eyes.

        To her surprise, Charlie stood not at the side of a beaten roadway surrounded by police cars and ambulances, but outside of a dilapidated brick building in the gentle morning light. Children slouched into the school, which devoured them upon their entrance. However, a black haired little girl merely looked onward, standing outside of a bright green Volkswagen Bug with fear in her eyes.