Array
(
[text] =>

**Warning, this chapter uses strong, adult themes that still stay in the range of PG-13. Caution may be advised.

Four hours of sleep. I only got four fudging hours of sleep. Most people can survive that, but when a loon like Loonie pulls you from sleep by blasting her "screamo" music right by your ear, you're going to be a bit grouchy too.

I roll my eyes at the memory and finish up my quick shower. Holy sh*t. I take a lot of showers, don't I? I guess I've grown to like the sickly-sweet scent of Loonie's floral shampoo. It makes me smell like an old lady. Not the ones at nursing homes that make you want to plug your nose and puke at the same time; the old grandma ones that bake you cookies and smell purely of old furniture and mothballs.

Oh god. I think Loonie's weirdness is rubbing off on me.

I shake the wetness out of my hair like a dog. I then check for wrinkles on my face in the mirror.

Sh*t. Maybe I'm turning into an old person too!

"Dakota! Get yo' pale arse out here right now. We gotta go now, yeah?." Loonie cheers from behind my bathroom door.

Speak of the devil. "Coming," I mumble while brushing my pearly whites. My clothes are pulled on quickly and I walk out of the bathroom, almost running into my short foster mom.

"Oh darling, you look so dashing." Loonie picks at my shirt with a satisfied smile. I squint my eyes at her suspiciously. What's she planning?

I back away a little, keeping the touching to a minimum. I haven't forgotten her confusing Number. I haven't forgotten Luca either. He's going to die today, which will put a huge damper on mine and Loonie's "fun-tivities".

"Where are we going?" I ask, munching on a breakfast bar that Loonie gave me. She silently locks up her mouth and throws away the key. I sigh and follow her over exaggerating hand motions down the stairs.

Nabbing a piece of chocolate off of the kitchen counter, I stroll out the back door after Loons. I bet she's going to dump me at the orphanage; it wouldn't be the first time that's happened.

I press onto the bruise on my covered arm, relishing the sting and devour my piece of nummy chocolate. Getting in her van, my thoughts turn to Luca. I hate myself for touching him, for scaring him and Andy, for pretty much sealing his fate. Maybe the people I touch aren't supposed to die when I see, but the fact that I touched them took away their chances of living longer.

This thought makes my head spin and I close my eyes, resting back on the headrest. Shut up, I tell myself. Just shut the f*ck up.

After a few minutes, I open my eyes and watch the passing forest. I wonder how pretty this place would be in the winter; leafy trees bare, coniferous trees deep green and covered in the white sheen of snow. I sure am going to miss Minnesota.

Loonie breaks the silence by saying, "I know you don't like really interacting with people, so I rented out this lot for a few hours. But being the cheap f*cker I am, I got one one of my friends from work to chip in a smidgen. She insists on meeting you so she's going to meet us there. But she moved from Germany not to long ago and is still a little rough on her English."

"Wow. You actually have friends, Loonie?"

She smacks my sweatshirt clad shoulder, her mouth making a click of playful disapproval. "Oh shut it Mr. 'Andy's Lover'. Della is brilliant, no rudeness boy."

My cheeks unwillingly take a hot, pink glow. I roll my eyes and sarcastically say, "What, is she your girlfriend of something?"

Now it's Loonie's turn to blush. She's quick to refuse and tries to change the subject.

"Loons, you dirty bird! Tell me all about her." I sigh in relief, knowing all attention is taken away from me.

Loonie pauses, then she bursts like a possible-lesbian volcano. "Dells is the most incredibly gorgeous woman alive! She's super sweet and just adores gummy bears! I just started working with her a few weeks ago and she has some of the most scrumptious knockers I have ever seen in m-"

"Too much Loonie, too much." I cringe at the image of... woman parts. God dammit Andy! You've ruined the opposite gender for me.

Loons giggles and stares dreamily off into the distance, making me fear for my life. She's supposed to be driving, not having some lesbo fantasy.

We pull into a large, paved lot with white spouts lining two opposite sides. Next to the PVC pipes are small tubs with little colorful things in them. Loonie drives off of the road and parks in the grass next to the lot.

"No questions, Kota. Just go stand in the middle of the thingy and wait for Della." Loonie turns off the car and crosses her arms.

Somethings up. But with the way Loonie's acting, I know not to f*ck with her, so I do as she says. I look around me and don't see anything. Shielding my eyes from the overbearing sun, I realize how hot it is. It's got to be at least 95 degrees. The humidity doesn't help at all.

There's a girl's annoying giggle and Loonie's voice shouting, "Now!". Before I have time to realize what's going on, ice cold water slams on the side of my neck, jetting down my sweatshirt and needling my skin like a thousand little knifes.

I jump up and down, my ear to my shoulder trying to warm it up, hissing out, "Sh*t, sh*t, sh*t, sh*t, sh*t, sh*t, f*ck, sh*t, f*ck!" Before I have time to protect myself, another hit comes from my other side and bursts on my lower back.

I screech like a pansy. Looking over, I see a girl about the same age as Loons with a bucket of multicolored water balloons. To my other side, my foster mom stands with her own bucket. She's laughing like a hyena, but quiets down to an embarrassed giggle, blushing madly, when she notices Della watching her with a sly grin. Aw. Lesbian love.

I take this advantage and rush to Loonie, taking her bucket and pelting her with multiple globes of freezing water. Her classy fauxhawk falls flat and her so called "waterproof" mascara drips down the corner of her eye.

Gasping, Loons gawks at me like a soggy fish. "Are you mad?! Do you know how long it took me to fix up my hair this morning? You are sooooo dead." She rushes at me, but I sidestep her with a grin and hit her again right dead center on her back.

She huffs out an annoyed puff of air but then jumps about ten feet in the air when one of Della's water grenades splashes at her feet. Della covers her mouth and giggles like a schoolgirl, her white-blonde hair flying around her face, making her look like a model on the beach.

Loonie retaliates by grabbing her bucket out of my hands and chucking a balloon at her German crush. While they're distracted by each other, I run to one of the spouts and grab a purple balloon from the container on the side. Once I've got it rolled onto the spout, twist the tumbler and water starts to expand the thin plastic.

Just when I've got a new balloon ready to be filled, water hits me once again on my neck. I accidentally drop the one I was holding and it gushes all over me. I scream and giggle at the same time, smiling like a maniac. "This is so not fair! Both of you have a big bin of balloons and I don't even have time to fill one!"

Della and Loonie look at each other, water balloons in hand. They grin and bombard me with alarmingly cold water at the same time. Those hoes- I pull out secret water balloons from my stash and aim them at the two women- are going down.

************************************************************************

A few hours and gallons of water later, the three of us sit our sopping wet butts down on a bench at a table in the shade of a tree. Della offers her hand to me and says, "Hallo! I'm Della."

I give a wane smile and nod, refusing to even look at her hand. Della retrieves her hand, her smile never faltering. "Loonie has told me so much about you, Dakoda. Is it true you're already engaged to Andy?"

Would it be bad to say her accent made her sound like a Nazi?

I realize what she just asked and quickly shake my head. "Loonie!" I scold. She shrugs with a half a*sed look of apology and returns her dreamy gaze to Della.

We chitchat for a while before Loonie's stomach grumbles. Her cheeks flame red in embarrassment and she quickly stands. "I-I'll go get lunch," she says, quickly rushing away from Della and me.

I roll my eyes and look back at Della who's smiling and watching Loons leave. "It's really nice to finally meet you, Dakoda. Loonie wouldn't shut up about you coming to live with her!"

I just smile at her knowingly. "You should make a move on her, you know. Loonie's practically begging for it."

Before Della can respond, Loonie returns with a cooler. Inside is PB&J sandwiches, a bag of chips, and a couple Dr. Peppers. We each grab our food and I notice that Dells refuses to look at me or Loonie, biting into her sandwich with her eyes glued to the picnic table. A blush plastered onto her face, she finally glances at me with a look that tells me that she likes Loonie too.

Looking at my iPod I see that it's almost six in the afternoon. A shiver runs through my spine and it's not because of the fact that I'm still dripping from today's water fight. I wonder if Luca's okay. Will he have to suffer the wait until the late hours of the night or will he be dead by the time we return home?

I silently praise Loonie for keeping me distracted for so long. I really wish Andy was here.

"Dakota, I hope you had fun today," Loonie tries to say through her sandwich, "I know you'll want to be getting back to your boyfriend-" cue eye roll "-so we'll wrap things up here soon."

My wish may be granted. If I get home in time, Andy can swoop me off my feet and make everything okay.

After a few minutes of awkward silence, Della finally clears her throat and says, "I need to go now, but 'danks for inviting me Loonie. I'll see you at work tomorrow. Oh an nice to meet you, Dakoda!"

We wave her off and Loonie's face falls once Della vanishes inside her truck. "I wish she would've stayed longer," Loonie complains while she picks up the trash on the table. "What the f*ck am I doing?!" Loons drops all of the trash back on the table. "You pick it up! I refuse to coddle you like a spoiled child. Even if I am your mummy now, I'm going to make you independent if it's the last thing I do!"

I mentally roll my eyes at her and ask, "So you're pretty much saying you're going to make me do all the chores?"

"Precisely," Loonie's eyes squint as she shoots me a cockeyed grin, "Just think of it as pay back for making me look like utter poo in front of Della! My hair looks like a drowned cat for god's sake."

"You look fine, Loons." She calms down a little. "Well except for that ugly Halloween mask you're wearing- oh wait. Sorry, it's just your face."

Loonie smacks my arm and hits me with a playful glare. "Shut it, gay boy."

Who said I was gay?! "I'm not g-"

"Don't deny what's inside bro. I saw you letting Andy snuggle with you, queer-o."

"Lesbo."

"Fag."

"Dyke."

"Hey! I'm not even lesbian! I am proudly bi, so you can shut it, sparkly fairy." Loonie sticks her tongue out at me and starts up the car.

I scoff jokingly and get in shot-gun. "Didn't you at least think to bring towels so you wouldn't get your car wet?"

Loonie stops backing out onto the road and scans the now wet seats we're sitting on. "Well.... you're lame, so go away!"

"'Go away'? That's all you can come up with?" I smile teasingly.

"Go suck a d*ck then!" Loonie huffs and continues driving.

I laugh and fiddle with Loonie's personals in the glove box. There's a tire pressure thingy, multiple manuals and car diagrams, a few maps, a thing of Tums, and a box of matches. "God, your car is so boring." I whine and surf through radio stations.

"Hush," Loonie turns back to the road and yawns.

Settling on an indie-rock channel, I sit back in my seat and let my thoughts wander. They eventually fall back to Luca. What will be waiting for me back home?

When we finally pull up the driveway to my foster house, I'm a nervous wreck. I see Andy walking up the path to the house and I panic even more. Is it all over for Luca?

As soon as the van comes to a halt, I jump out of the passenger's seat and pounce into Andrew's arms. His warmth and love engulfs me and all worries of Luca are pushed to the side. "Hey handsome," Andy whispers into my ear, making me blush. He kisses the shell of my ear down to the tender top of my neck. I feel my knees go weak and I bury my face into his neck, inhaling his sweet, musky scent. "Why are you all wet?"

My clothes have mostly dried along with my hair, but some parts are still damp. "Loonie took me to a place where she and her lesbian lover threw water balloons at me." I all but whine. I swear, I'm becoming more and more girly by the day.

Andy chuckles softly and holds me closer. "Aw, my poor baby. Shall I kiss it and make it better?"

I ignore him and mold my mouth to his. Licking his bottom lip Andy opens immediately, letting me invade his warm, sweet mouth. My tongue runs over his and I can feel him shiver. Andy's arm curls around my neck, pulling me more into him. One oh his hands threads through my hair while the other one travels to my lower back, shooting tingles up my spine.

A water balloon comes from no where and bursts on the back of my neck, water gushing downwards and soaking my shirt from behind. I break away from Andy and slowly turn to see Loonie looking triumphant. "I knew I saved that bugger for something," she casually strolls back to the house, a smug smirk planted on her face.

"Loonie, you b*tch!" I go to charge after her, but Andy pulls me back by my arm. The feel of his skin calms me down and I allow myself to be folded into his arms.

"It's fine, Kota-Bear, let's just go inside and warm you up, ay?" Andy ropes an arm around my neck and leads me to the door.

".... 'Kota-Bear'?"

Andy smiles at me cutely. "Yep! 'Cause you're all adorable and cuddly with brown hair- yet secretly vicious, like a cute little bear!"

"I hate you,"

"Love ya too!"

"You know I hate being called 'adorable'," I spit out the stupid term of endearment. B*tch, I'm hot; not cute.

Andy giggles and snuggles into my side. His dove gray eyes blink up at me and all is forgiven. Kissing his temple lightly, I lead him up stairs to my room. "Why'd you come here anyway? I thought you'd be with Luca."

Andy stares at me like he's just remembering Luca. "I was with him. For a while anyway. About three hours ago he asked me to leave; he said he wanted to just be alone for a bit."

"He's still okay, right?" I ask, gnawing at my lower lip.

Andy swallows nervously. "Well that's why I came here. I made him text me every half an hour- just to check in, ya know?- and he hasn't texted me in about forty-five minutes. I called him, but there's no answer. I even went back to his house, but his mom just said he was taking a nap."

"So we won't have any idea what's going on until he contacts us again?"

"That's just the thing. I have this terrible feeling. Something bad is going to happen to Luca, just like you said. His mom was acting very weird- scared almost. I don't think his house is safe anymore, but there's no way I can be sure."

I run my hand through my hair and sit down on my bed. Andy sits next to me, but moves so he can lay his head on my lap. "I guess it's almost over now. I hope it happens quick at least." I cringe at the memory of Luca's death.

Andy's eyebrows furrow in confusion. "You mean you won't even try to prevent what might happen?"

"It won't help," I say wearily, "It never helps."

Andy sits up and stares at me. "But this is Luca we're talking about! He's been my friend for almost seven years! I can't just sit back and do nothing,"

I rub the pain out of my eyes. "Well what do you suppose we do then? What if he really is just taking a nap and if barge in there, he'll just get more scared! He's going to die, Andrew. Deal with it."

The small sound of skin slapping against skin is what makes me startle in my place. Even the light pinch in my cheek and the fact that Andy actually slapped me doesn't come to a surprise; no one ever does understand my bluntness when it comes to peoples' deaths.

"Don't talk about him like that! I know you don't care much for him, but I do." Andy stands and makes his way to the door. "I'm going to at least try to save Luca, and I expect you to follow me. You were given this gift for a reason, Dakota; use it."

I stand slowly to my feet and shuffle to the door that Andy just exited. "Some f*cking gift," I murmur under my breath, but I follow him anyway.

"Loonie, I'm going to Luca's with Andy," I shout as we near the front door.

My foster mom makes a sound in agreement (much like Nigel Thornberry's 'blarhgahargh') and I close the door behind me. Turning around I see that Andy is almost a block ahead of me, so I quicken my pace to catch up with him. When I do, he says nothing. But he does latch his hand onto my own, looking for something to keep him grounded.

We pass Andy's house and take a right, leading more towards the less-woodsy part of town. Luca only lives three blocks from my foster house, not including my long, romantic driveway. (And I'm talking Frankenstein romantic, not lovey-dovey romantic.) His house is a moderately sized rambler with a red truck parked out front. I follow Andy to the door and watch as he rings the doorbell.

Whom I presume is Luca's mom answers and says, "Andy. What are you doing here? I told you to go home. L-luca's still upstairs sleeping." She's looking around nervously with blood-shot eye. I can see bruises on the top of her arms, almost hidden by her shirt.

"Mrs. Johnson, please. I know Luca's in trouble, just let us help." Andy steps closer to her, putting a comforting hand gently on her arm. He then tries to walk past her into the house, but Mrs. Johnson blocks his path.

"NO," she screams, "Y-you can't." Tears are forming in her eyes and I can't take it anymore. I sneak behind Andy, making sure to only touch him, and slip past the two of them while their distracted.

Andy tries to get me to wait for him, but he's busy restraining Luca's mom so she doesn't come after me. "Dakota! No, wait. You don't know how dangerous it might be!" I hear him in the background, but right now all I can focus on is the muffled cries I hear at the end of the hallway.

I try opening the door where the whimpers are heard the loudest, but it's locked. Kicking the door, the cries grow louder and I can identify one as Luca. Oh god, Luca.

I kick the door harder, hoping it'll break open. After the seventh kick to the door knob, it flies off and the door slams open.

Luca's wrists are bound together while one leg is tied securely to each bed post at the foot of the bed. He's on his stomach, his head crushed against the mattress and his bloodied a*s propped up in the air. Luca's completely naaked, except for the piece duct tape across his mouth. Another man with his pants down to his ankles is kneeling behind him on the bed, his hands and privates covered in (what I'm guessing is) Luca's blood.

The shock leaves my body quickly and I charge at the man, knocking him away from Luca. We wrestle on the ground until his sheer size and brute strength takes over. I'm pinned to the ground, this horrifying man on top of me smiling maliciously.

"Looks like I've got another play-thing," he spits in my face, "I hope you're less of a struggle than my wh*re of a son." He smells horribly of alcohol and weed, making my eyes water.

Terrible chills flow through my body and I can barely hear the sirens in the background. This man is Luca's father. Fortunately, he hasn't touched my skin yet, but he's getting close. His fat, meaty hand runs up my leg, pressing down roughly over my member. I cry out in pain and try to twist away from this monster.

Blood rushes to my ears, roaring and blocking out any sounds as I kick as hard as I can and flail my arms, struggling to escape. I hear muffled shouting and a woman's screams, but I still only concentrate on getting away. My knee finally gets a solid blow to the man's groin and he breaks away with a grunt of pain.

As I scramble to stand and get away from him, arms grab me and pull me up. I struggle at first, but Andy's voice breaks through and I look up to see him holding me, crying his eyes out. Three police officers already have Luca's dad against the wall, cuffing his hands behind his back and telling him his Miranda rights. Luca's been freed from the bounds and strapped onto a stretcher by medics and is carefully rushed out the door.

Everything's going by in a blur, feeling like a dream. You'll always think, This stuff just doesn't happen to people, especially me. Until it does happen to you. But I knew this was coming, so why am I still so stunned?

I hold Andy as he cries about Luca, about me, about everything that's happened. Luca's mom is gone, probably on the way to the hospital with Luca. His dad was taken away screaming at me, telling me that he's going to finish the job when he gets out of prison.

I don't know how long it's been. Police ask us questions and we reply, still dazed and trembling. We're brought out of the crime scene and to the front lawn where Loonie and Andy's parents await.

Andy, still clinging onto my sweatshirt, says, "I want to go see Luca at the hospital."

His parents glance at each other before his mom says, "Are you sure that's a good idea sweetie? You need to rest and Luca m-"

"No, I want to go see Luca," Andy turns to me, "You'll come with, right Dakota? Please, I need you there."

I don't want to go. I want to except the fact that Luca's probably dead by now and go home to wash away today's worries. But I don't say this of course, instead I put my arms around Andy and say, "Of course Andy,"

We both disregard Andy's parents and walk over to Loonie. My hands are shaking so I don't think I'll be able to drive and Andy looks like he's in an even worse state than me, so I ask, "Loonie, can you please drive us to the hospital?"

She's hesitant at first, but must see the desperate, pleading look on Andy's heart-shaped face and nods reluctantly. We both sit in the back seat, snuggling together, while Loonie pulls out of the short driveway and speeds to the closest hospital.

Andy and I stare into each other's eyes, knowing exactly what could've happened to me if Andy didn't call the police ahead of time. I tear my liquid-gold eyes away from his push gray ones and check the time. It's forty-three minutes until the end of the day; Luca will die within these forty-three minutes.

For the past ten minutes, Loonie's been silent. She glances at me in the rear view mirror and says, "I'm so sorry, Dakota. I've only been you're foster mom for four days, and this happened."

"Loonie, this isn't your fault. It's fine. I'm glad your my foster mom." And I realize, it's true. She really is different from everybody else that's tried to baby me, from those who pity me.

We fall again to silence for the rest of the ride. By the time we arrive to Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids, it's only about twenty minutes until midnight. Andy rushes inside and asks the front desk where Luca is before I can even enter the hospital.

We're directed to the C waiting area by the Intensive Care/Surgery rooms. We see Luca's mom bawling her eyes out in the corner of the waiting area and approach with caution. She looks up and spots us, her face full of regret and sorrow.

"I-I-I... I couldn't hel-help him. My baby is... is..." Mrs. Johnson breaks into a new fit of tears.

Andy starts to cry again; I squish him into a hug and he visibly calms down. Giving him a loving kiss to the temple, I whisper him sweet comforts. A doctor walks out of the double doors that lead to the surgery rooms and calls us over to him. Mrs. Johnson stands unsteadily so Loonie helps her walk to the male surgeon.

"Please follow me, Mrs. Johnson." Then doctor eyes Loonie, Andy, and I, but let's us come as well.

While we walk, he explains everything. "Your son's still alive. But he's lucky; he was brutally beaten, stabbed twice in the side, and r*ped, causing tearing and breakage of anal tissues and arteries. He's lost a lot of blood and we're currently doing a blood transfusion, but his wounds are very severe. We stitched up the tearing and where he was stabbed right away, but he's losing the will to live. I'm sorry Mrs. Johnson, but Luca may not make it through the night."

Luca's mom cries even harder, hiccuping and gasping for air. Loonie comforts her while I tend to Andy, who's crying silently on my shoulder. I can feel my own tears running down my cheeks, but I make no move to wipe them away.

He's really going to die. I let my hopes get the best of me, and now they're crashing down around me. I've learned my lesson: don't try to change fate; it'll run it's course no matter what.

"You can see him if you want," the doctor pipes up, "You won't be able to hug him or touch him because he's still receiving blood and he's unconscious so you won't be able to talk to him, but this may be his last few hours."

Without a word, we all follow the doctor to a shared room, the other bed empty. "I'll leave you alone for a bit," the doctor said before offering a pitting smile and leaving the room.

Luca's entire mid-rift is wrapped up in heavy gauze and the rest is thankfully hidden under the thin, light blue sheets. His once perfectly combed hair now lays on his head matted with blood and sweat. A bag a blood hangs on a drip with the tube connecting to the vein in his arm. Luca's pasty skin is littered with small cuts and bruises, theres tubes poke out of his hands, and a breathing tube is secured to his mouth. His lips are colorless and his eyes are surrounded by dark gray rings.

There's a constant beep, telling us that his heart hasn't stopped yet. I subtly check the clock; five more minutes until tomorrow. Andy notices this too and the tears come faster. I move aside and watch Luca's mom say her goodbyes, followed by Andy.

For a few minutes, there's nothing but the constant beep of the heart monitor and the whimpers of Mrs. Johnson. Then the beeping falters. It speeds up, then slows drastically, and eventually turns into a long buzz.

Doctor's rush in with a defibrillator and Luca's mom goes into hysterics; bawling and screaming for them to save her only son. I watch the clock. One more minute.

They yell, "Clear!" and shoot 700 volts of electricity into Luca's chest. Nothing happens. Luca stays still, the monitor still stating he's dead. They get ready for another dosage of voltage and zap his chest again. Nothing.

Through wet eyes, I check the clock: 12:01

I slump against Andy who came over and held me tight while they were trying to restart Luca's heart. I was right. Why am I always right?

Another few seconds pass before they try to jump start his chest again. The long buzz stops. At first I thought someone turned it off or unplugged it, but then a beep slowly crescendos into an unsteady pulse.

The doctors check his vitals and make sure his drips are running smoothly. One of them turns around and wipes the sweat from his brow with a wane smile. "He's doing fine now. Luca's vitals look even better then before his heart stopped. You've got one lucky kid, Clare Johnson. He may just make it through the night after all."

Luca's mom breaks down yet again, but this time she's saying a thank you to god for saving her boy. Loonie sits down next to Mrs. Johnson and hugs her again. Andy and I share a look.

He's obviously happy, worn out, and still terrified. I'm simply terrified.

W-what's going on? Luca's supposed to be dead. He's not supposed to make it.

My hands are shaking viciously and my legs soon follow suit. Andy has to hold me up so I won't slump to the ground. I hear him calling for a nurse before my vision leaves me with my eyes still open. I'm still very aware of my shaking limps and the fact that I'm being picked up and moved somewhere. Hearing nothing, I give into fatigue and allow myself to pass out.

Halfway there. Four more days.

[text_hash] => 48629878
)