chapter nineteen – first dates and death

"Is this where you're taking me to kill me?" I laughed as Marc led me deep into the woods behind the park.

"Shut up, Tee" Marc laughed. "I could never hurt you"

"Is that?" I grinned at the sight.

"The clubhouse? Yeah" Marc grinned.

I stared at the old shed that Marc, Kevin, Devin and I used to come and play in everyday. It was old when we found it and now it looked older.

"Come on" Marc grabbed my hand and lead me towards the doorway.

I gasped at the interior. It looked a lot nicer than the outside.

Fairy lights were hung on the walls and the floor looked spotless, surprisingly. Marc must have came to clean beforehand.

On the floor was a picnic blanket and a basket sat on a small table nearby.

"I didn't think you were the type of girl that wanted to go to dinner and movie for a first date" Marc shuffled where he stood next to me. "Did I get that wrong? Because if you don't like it I'll take you to see whatever you want"

"I love it, Marc."

"Did you hear any news?" I jumped up from my couch when Charlie walked through my front door.

"Nothing that we didn't know already" Charlie sighed. "He's stable. Sage said something about talking to him but I don't know if she meant if he was awake or if he's still in the coma"

My lip quivered at the mention of the coma.

"Thea, it's medically induced. He's okay" Charlie pulled me to sit on the couch next to him.

"What if he's not?" I cried. "It's been 2 weeks and he's not awake"

"Tee" Charlie wrapped his arms around me. "Summer was in her coma for 2 weeks too and Matt's lasted 2 months. And they're both fine."

"I just hope he wakes up. He can hate me forever as long as he wakes up perfectly fine" I hated the thought of Marc hating me but it was worth it if he was okay.

"He won't hate you. He'll understand that Kevin's a douchebag once you explain exactly what happened"

"Hopefully" I sigh, in worry. "I think I love him"

"Think?" Charlie jokes and I roll my eyes. "Tee I think you've loved him for a long time. Even before your crush on him in middle school"

"You knew about that?" My eyes widened in shock.

"Thea" Charlie gave me a flat face. "Everyone knew about it. You and Marc were just like me and Laurel"

"How are you and Laurel?" I smiled at the thought of my two best friends finally getting together.

"We're good" Charlie smiled widely. "I'm happy with her"

"And she's happy with you" I smile at my love struck best friend.

"Good" Charlie smiles proudly. "I want to make her happy."

Why couldn't my love life be as simple as theirs? Even though it took them years to get together, they seemed so happy with each other even before they finally admitted their feelings for one another.

"Laurel fought Mikayla today" Charlie spoke again and I frowned.

"Why?"

"She's been talking shit about you" Charlie sighed. "About the accident"

"Oh god" I groaned. "What's she been saying?"

"Tee..."

"Charlie just tell me. I need to know what I'm getting into when I go back to school" I sighed. I wasn't looking forward to it at all.

"She just said that you cheated on Marc and that's why he got into the accident" Charlie explained with a frown. "She's saying that he tried to kill himself"

"And everyone's believing her..." I closed my eyes.

"No... Not everyone" Marc spoke. "Laurel, Millie and I believe you"

"I know but I can't deal with everyone hating me right now" I cried. "I just want things to go back to before that stupid party"

"I know, Tee. I know" Charlie hugged me.

****

"Marc's dead" Devin spoke emotionlessly.

"What?" I felt like the world was coming down around me.

"It's all your fault" Kevin glared at me.

"No it isn't" I cried harder.

I couldn't breathe. Everything was muffled but the faces around me.

Marc's family.

"You killed him" Summer's blue, pained eyes bored into mine.

"No I didn't" My head was pounding.

"You killed my son" Mrs. Preston grabbed my shoulders and my heart broke at the sight of her tear stained face.

"I didn't" I pulled myself away from her and into someone's chest.

"Haven't I lost enough?" Eric spun me around. "My daughter and now my baby brother?"

"Eric" It was getting hard to breathe.

"He wanted to be just like me" Matt spoke with that same dark look on his face like the night from the hospital. "And now he's even worse than I was"

I was getting dizzy and I didn't know what I was supposed to say.

"My brother dying is going to loom over my marriage" May seethed at me.

"I didn't-"

"I haven't been happy in so long and now it feels like I never will be" Sage whispered.

I opened my mouth but I couldn't get any words out. My airway was blocked.

"I hate you!" Little Sky screamed at me and I couldn't do anything but cry harder.

I sank to the ground. I couldn't stand anymore. They were all shouting at me and I didn't know what I was supposed to do.

Suddenly they silenced. I looked up and saw that they were stepping aside for someone.

A tall figure walked towards me with his head down. He was wearing a dark hoodie so I couldn't see his face.

He bent down to my level and looked up.

The whites of Marc's eyes were red with blood. His blue eyes stood out brightly against the red coloring... His nose looked off center and the dark purple, almost black bruises that leaked down from the sockets of his eyes told me it was broken. He was pale white and there was dry blood leaking from his lip, where his lip piercing once was but now there was only stitches.

I thought I had felt pain before. But the sight of Marc in such a way.... It was the worst pain I had ever felt aside from my mother's death.

"This is all your fault"

I screamed as I awoke. A thick layer of sweat laced my body and soaked my sheets. My heart was pounding. My head hurt and I felt dizzy.

But I still picked up my phone a dialed a number.

"Thea?" Summer's groggy voice spoke.

I looked at the time and read it.

3:32 am

"Is Marc dead?" I whimpered.

"No, Thea. Marc woke up today"