“I couldn’t believe I caught Katy with that knife,” I grumbled to myself, picking out a scarlet-red apple from the food cart at the hospital I was currently at. It was mostly quiet, with the occasional doctor rushing a critical patient into the ER. It was melancholy, the way I felt alone in a crowded room. The way I lost all that I loved, the way I felt shittier about my life than ever. I couldn’t understand why God was punishing me, but I guess all I deserve is Dawn. I guess that’s enough.
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Grumbling to myself as I picked out tasty treats for Katy and me, I eventually make it back to the hospital room. Knocking, I wait for someone to answer, so I can come in. When no voice came, I let myself in, slowly entering the room, weary that it was too quiet. “Katy?” I ask, concerned. She must be in the restroom, I realized, relaxing a little before placing the tray of food on the bedside table, next to the roses Dawn dropped off before she left with Jackson to meet with Katy’s parents, to explain the situation to them.
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Fifteen minutes passed without so much as a whisper in the room. Instead of letting the food grow cold, I decided to check up on Katy. “Kate,” I say, knocking on the door. “You okay in there?”
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“Y-yeah,” she responds slowly, almost slurred. “S-sorry. I’m just… crying.”
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Hearing that, I start to worry. “Oh? Can I come in?”
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“No! N-no, please don’t,” she begs, crying harder.
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“Then can you come out here? So we can talk about this?”
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Before she can respond, I feel warm, sticky liquid touch my toes, spooking me. Turning on the light, I look down and see blood seeping from under the doorway. I shuffle with the doorknob, frantically, as I heard water running. “Let me in, goddamnit! Katy please!” I beg, banging on the door until she answers. “Open the fucking door!”
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“Go away!” She yells back at me. I could hear sobbing on the other side of the door. She must be in so much pain. Omg- what am I gonna tell her parents??
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Without wasting any time, I rush over to the hospital bed, pressing the ‘Call for Nurse’ button. “This is the front office,” a woman’s voice replies, “how may I-”
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I cut her off impatiently. “I need someone down here!” I say, breaking down into a sob. “M-my best friend locked herself in the bathroom and I think she’s bleeding. She won’t let me in. I need help!”
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I heard a little gasp on the other end and then a voice. “Okay. Just remain calm. I’ll send someone down there. Keep trying to get her to respond the best you can.”
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“O-okay...!” I sob, trying to control my breathing. I rush back to the door, banging on it harder than before. “Katy, please! Open the door!”
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“G-go away!” She begs, her voice breaking.
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“No,” I say as the doctors rush into the room, using a crowbar to get the bathroom door open. I gasp at the sight before me.
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There, on the ground was Katy, bleed from cuts covering her arms and legs. How did she do all of this in twenty minutes without making a sound?! Why?!
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The doctors confiscate the knife before putting pressure on the largest wound on her stomach. The other cuts had stopped bleeding for the most part, but that cut-or stab- didn't stop bleeding. Her skin was pale, a white canvas covering in bruises and blood splotches. It was a nauseating sight to see. “Save her!” I screamed at the doctors, trying to get around the ones standing guard.
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“Get her out of here!” One of the doctors barked at the others, the stress of the situation snapping her emotional control like a twig. She was obviously panicked, but I didn’t care. All I wanted was for Katy to survive this.
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I felt hands on my arms, and I reflectively pull away, pushing the person into the wall. I heard a crunch as I turned to see who grabbed me.
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“Dakota!” Dawn screamed at me, her nose gushing blood, tears in her eyes. Dawn’s nose was dislocated, and it was my fault.
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“D-Dawn?” I ask, feeling shitty for what I just did. I could feel myself sobbing but heard no noise. The world seemed to fade away, and I was alone in a room full of people.
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I felt her hug me tightly and I fell into her, instinctively.
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**Chapter Break**
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“I-I’m so sorry...” I say, when I stopped crying, ten minutes later. Dawn’s nose was only slightly crooked after we put it back in place, and I felt like the worst girlfriend in the world.
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She smiles a little, her teeth cracked and broken, too. “It’s okay. It was a mistake. Don’t worry about it.”
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I nod, a knot in my stomach. “She’s gonna die, isn’t she?”
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She sighs, not sure what to say. “I don’t know. To be honest, it’s not looking too great...”
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My words of sorrow were cut off by an agonized scream of help. Dawn and I exchange quick glances before I rush into the room.
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Around the room, I see bloodied bodies. The nurses I just saw operating on Katy were now dead. Sitting in the corner of the room, Katy was sobbing, shaking frantically. “I didn’t do it!” She says, sobbing, her expression horrified. “I swear! Please, I didn’t do it!”
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I move closer to her when I see the knife gleaming in the moonlight. “Katy...” I say, gently. “Drop the knife. I won’t hurt you.”
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“N-no!” She yells, holding it up towards me, like she didn’t believe my words. “I didn’t do it! Stop saying I did it!” 113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbAJHwn5UjA
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Dawn came into the room from behind me. She gasps, but I hold up a caution gesture. “No one is saying you did it,” I say to Katy, confused more than anything. “I just want you to hand me the knife, so you don’t hurt anyone else!”
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“Shut up!” She yells, holding her head as though someone was screaming at her.
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“Katy, listen,” I say, calmly. “No one is here but the three of us.”
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“He is! He made me kill them!” She sobs, dropping the knife, which Dawn quickly grabs.
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“Who did?” I ask, worried she’s going insane. “Who made you kill them?”
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“He’ll kill me if I tell you!” She begs, terrified of a force no one could see.
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After a minute, I bite my lip and guess who she’s talking about. “I-is it Jackson?”
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She nods, slowly. “Y-yes! H-he said if you found out that he was forcing me by threats to cut myself so you’d think I hated you, he would kill Dawn and my-”
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Before she finishes the sentence, I see something go through the glass window, straight into Katy’s neck, the blast exploding her jugular and instantly killing her.
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I screamed at the sight, utterly shocked to say the least. “Katy!!” I exclaimed, covering my mouth with my hand, sobbing. No, no, no! This can’t be happening!
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Before I could rush over to her, another bullet goes through Katy’s stomach, causing me to jump back to safety. I ducked out of hospital room, still too shocked to think radically.
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**Chapter Break**
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The hospital was evacuated in the next fifteen minutes and cops were called to investigate Katy’s murder. Dawn and I were sitting by the side of the street, Dawn’s hand on my back, rubbing it comfortingly. I watched as the EMT’s moved Katy’s covered body into the back of the ambulance to be taken straight to the mortuary.
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Dawn and I were the only ones that really knew what happened all through that night, and that was really terrified me. I fought with my mind to open the letters Katy gave me that were currently in the glove compartment of my car. And as my fear took over my body, and my sobs broke free as my mind was no longer denying that she was gone, one thought rattled through my brain the rest of the night.
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What if he came for us next?
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