If you like this story then please check out my new story Me You And Winnie The Pooh! It needs all the love it can get! 😊🐻🍯

IVY

In a matter of hours, I had my whole life ripped to shreds. Without a minute to breathe, or think or speak.

After she had fled the scene, I had been told my mom had been found trying to board a plane to the UK to escape and had been arrested onsite to face years of prison. She was held accountable for the full death of Eloise, kidnapping and attempted murder. I'd never see her face again and I was glad.

My best friend was in intensive care fighting for her life with her only source being a ventilator to keep her breathing and Brody's couldn't look at me, let alone sit in a room with me.

So I was sat in the family room at the hospital alone and unwanted.

No parents, no friends, and no boyfriend.

I wished I had been shot instead.

I was waiting for my aunt Tia to arrive, she was from my dad's side, thank god and lived on the outskirts of town. She had been chosen as my parents next of kin, which meant I'd have to move in with her and finish my senior year at a different high school. She was currently collecting my stuff from the house, I couldn't go back as the media had got hold of this story with their grubby little hands and already posted my moms face across the news with devil horns and a tail. Our town didn't take lightly to murderers so crowds with pitchforks were camped on our drive. They were too stupid to realize that my mom wouldn't be in the house but in custody, so they stayed there anyway.

I'd been told they'd thrown red paint across the lawn and all over the front of the house despite the police's best efforts to stop them. I guess I didn't care anymore. I knew my past life was over the moment my mom had looked me in the eyes and pointed a gun at my chest with no guilt or remorse to stop.

I felt like I'd lived a lie this whole time, I tried to think of any red flags that would have lead me towards this road but I couldn't.

My mom was good at deceiving people, even her own daughter.

I wanted to scream, but I couldn't, I wanted to cry but I wouldn't. All I felt inside was this dark void. A never-ending dark void that consumed everything well, everything worth living, so all I was left with was feeling nothing.

I sat in the room chewing at my nails until I could taste the blood. I was surrounded by four white walls, there was nothing else to do but stare at them. I felt my leg twitch, anticipating the moment I just bolted, ran as far and fast as I could until there was no more air left in my lungs.

I could still do it.

The police had finished with their interviews, well interrogations. Brody and Paul were with Rose's mom after getting checked out by medics and ruling there was no immediate harm. I could run and no one would even realize I was gone before it was too late.

I stood up before I could convince myself otherwise, my heart wanted out of my chest. It wanted to beat free of its cage. It sounded like it's going to crack a rib and my senses were on high alert as I held my hands firmly to my sides. I just needed to get out of the hospital unnoticed.

I walked towards the door, I could hear the blood in my eyes pumping and slowly twisted open the handle. I pulled open the door and froze.

"Ivy, where are you going?" Brody stood before me, bloodshot-eyed and unshaven. He had his hands to his side gripping hold of his trousers and I noticed the purplish hue that circled his wrists.

I knew where they'd come from since I had a pair to match.

He had changed clothes, they would have taken his old ones for evidence like they did mine and was now wearing a dark tracksuit.

A color for the occasion.

"I uh-," I wanted to stop the hammering in my chest, but there was no way that would happen now. I hadn't seen him since the police and ambulance had turned up. They had taken us away in separate cars for questioning.

He looked at me and he knew.

"You were going to run," He said as more of a statement than a question, I couldn't work out if he was disappointed or annoyed.

The words came out as a whisper and I was surprised if he had heard them, "Yes I was,"

"Don't you think I want to run Ivy?" His eyes were like a knife in my ribs, the sharp point digging deeper, "Don't you think my Dad wants to or even Rose? Whose fighting for her life on a god damn machine?"

His words cut me.

He continued without my response, his unmoving gaze was accompanied by deliberate slow breathing, like he was fighting something back and loosing, "Ivy, you can't run, you can't, we need you, I need you right now and you need us,"

My eyes dripped with tears. My walls, the walls that I built to hold me up, made me strong in this situation so I didn't break just collapsed.

"I can't... I can't do this Brody, my life is ruined," He pulled me towards him, and I sobbed into his chest unceasingly, my hands clutching at his jacket.

I thought he hated me, I thought he never wanted to be near me ever again.

He stroked my hair, whilst his thumb drew delicate circles across my cheek, "I know, I know it will never be the same. It will hurt and it will feel like you can't bear it anymore, but please don't leave, you are the only good thing I have in all this darkness, I need you, I need your light because right now I can't see straight. I want to be there for you, I want us to get through this together because together we are stronger,"

I looked up through my wet lashes to see Brody's face. He was a picture of grief, loss, devastation. It was the face of someone who had suffered enough and didn't know if he could do it all again. He looked down at me, refusing to look away, even as his lips trembled and his shoulders heaved with emotion, he was unwilling to back down.

I slowly lifted a hand and placed it onto his cheek, it was warm and soft. He leaned into it and closed his eyes.

"I love you, Brody," I breathed, it was true. I'd never loved someone so heartbreakingly passionately in my whole life. No matter what life threw at us we'd always find our way back to each other, one step at a time.

He opened his eyes, tiny spheres of honeydew and leaned forward, his lips brushing gently across mine. I felt sparks, tiny fireflies engulf me. He moved back, just an inch enough for our breaths to be entangled and spoke.

"I love you Ivy, more than you'll ever know. I know I have put you through more pain than imagined, broke your heart more than I should have, but seeing you in that chair helpless it crushed me. I never want you to ever feel scared or alone, I want to always be there to protect you, to comfort you, to be with you no matter what," His eyes looked so deeply into my own that he could see my soul and I could see his. The complex beauty of it that I wanted to know and understand.

One thing I knew was that it would forever be mine, I knew that at this moment. He knew my fears, my dreams, my everything and as we kissed our souls became one.

"Sorry to interrupt but," An awkward voice cleared their throat and we instantly parted, not completely though as Brody's hand held onto the small of my back, a warm reminder that he was still there.

It was a nurse, she looked tired in her overalls and her hair was in a messy heap on the top of her head. She was holding tightly onto a clipboard and she looked between us both and smiled.

"I have some great news to tell you both, your friend she's awake and she's asked for you," She was looking directly at me when she said the last bit. I felt my heart skip a beat at the thought of Rose being alive and wanting to speak to me of all people. I'd hoped, prayed that she would be okay and in a day that was hell on earth there was some light at the end of the tunnel.

I held my hands together, they were sweaty from the nerves and I felt my stomach twist. I didn't know what to say to her, there were so many questions I wanted to ask and to be answered. I couldn't believe she had been caught in the crossfire and I wanted nothing more than to check she was okay.

I'd never intended on her getting hurt.

The nurse gestured towards the corridor and I followed her, my hand firmly in Brody's as he walked beside me. He gave me a reassuring squeeze and I could feel his eyes on the side of my face. He stopped when we reached the door and let go of my hand. I could still feel a patch of electricity from where it had been.

"I'll be waiting for you out here," He smiled, that warm smile that brightened his eyes.

"See you soon," I matched his smile, my eyes lingering on his for a little longer before I turned towards the nurse.

"I must warn you, " She said, "She's been highly sedated,"

I didn't quite understand what she meant until she opened the door and I stepped into the room.

"Ivy," Rose beamed with a sick pot on top of head. She was waving her hands in the air with a pool of drool at the corner of her mouth. She had multiple wires attached to her arms and legs. For someone who had been shot, she still looked utterly beautiful. I stared at her for a little while, in absolute shock and awe.

"Don't just stand there silly," She slurred, "Take a seat I've got loads,"

I looked hesitantly around the room, not quite wanting to meet her hazy eyes. I grabbed a chair and scrapped it across the floor before putting it next to her bed. My eyes flickered towards the door, I could leave and there would be a possibility that she would not remember but then I looked back at her hopeful eyes and decided to sit down.

"Your mom shot me," She said so mattarfactly my mouth dropped, "That wasn't very nice of her,"

"Rose look, I'm so so sorry -"

"Nope," She put a finger over my mouth, it smelt like antibacterial gel, and silenced me.

"You can't say sorry to me, because I'm saying sorry to you," Her words tumbled out of her mouth, in a scrambled heap and for a second I thought I might have imagined it.

She took a deep dramatic breath and continued, "Listen I know I haven't been a good friend to you but you haven't either, I mean you've been a bitch let's face it. But getting shot changes you, getting shot by your best friends mom changes you but let's not get into that. What I'm trying to say is I'm sorry Ivy,"

I thought finding out my mom had killed my boyfriends mom would stun me or the fact my mom had kidnapped myself, my boyfriend and his dad. But sat here now, listening to Rose of all people telling me that she was sorry really stunned the hell out of me.

"Rose, you shouldn't be saying sorry, you nearly died," Was all I managed to say.

How much had they sedated her?

"But I am," She said, louder than before, "Because you need to understand the reason why I was there was because I was going to out you,"

"Out me?" I frowned.

She looked down sheepishly, "I saw that you and Brody were together on Snapmaps," her and that bloody Snapmaps, "And it made me mad. You two were supposed to have broken up,"

"And?" I didn't quite understand where she was going with this.

"I was going to catch you in the act and send it to those pages where they out people," She blurted out, her face red in embarrassment.

I couldn't help but laugh.

"Really? That's why you were there," I didn't know whether it was because I'd been through so much or I was on the brink of insanity but I laughed.

Rose just stared at me blinking, her eyes never leaving my face, "You aren't mad?"

"No," I exclaimed, "Rose you snuck into my house and got shot, I couldn't never ever be mad you,"

"Oh thank god," She let out a breath of relief and winced, "I forgot I had a bullet wound in my stomach,"

I cringed, "I'm so sorry Rose, you should never have - "

"Look," She stopped me, "It was either me or one you guys, it had to be me because I'm a boss ass bitch and no bullet could defeat me, you guys wouldn't do so well,"

"Of course that's it," I chuckled and leaned back into my chair.

I never realised how much I'd miss this. Being with Rose. I'd spent so long pushing her to the back of my mind, I hadn't spent enough time remembering how good our friendship was. Granted we had our ups and downs but who didn't ?

"Are you okay though?" Her question caught me off guard, I looked directly at her and felt the ache from earlier slowly seep it's way into my chest.

I'd lost everything.

My home, my family, my school and my life.

"I wish I was but no," I said, my voice breaking at the end.

She nodded her head in understanding, "You know it may feel like the end but it isn't, it's just the beginning. You have loads more happy memories to make that will crush all those bad,"

"I hope so,"

And I really did, I was sat with Rose, Brody was waiting for me outside the room and for the first time in a long time I knew that everything was going to be okay.

Vote.Comment.Love
Follow me on insta: djasdxo

Last chapter before the end! If I told you this wasn't emotional I would be lying! 😭😭😭

I'd love to know what everyone has thought of this story so far, what they'd change and what they love! I will be going through and editing chapters and finalising some bits as I did write the first god knows how many chapters when I was 16! 🤦🏻‍♀️🙈

I'm so sad that I will eventually be putting this story to bed, as you can see from the amount of chapters I've written I've found it hard to let go but I'll be onto bigger and better things such as my new story Me, You & Winnie The Pooh - which I cannot wait to show you guys! It will have the same drama and wittiness as bad boy benefits just not as much murder 😬

Anyways! I'll see you guys soon!

Love D

Xx