Chapter 36: Best friends

Ivy scrunched her eyes at the bright light that was sipping through her closed eyelids. She felt powerless and heavy. She could not move her hand, her head or her body.

"How are you feeling?" Lilith gently asked.

"I'm okay." Ivy responded and nodded with a bit of smile. She blinked and looked around. The room and the curtains were white, Ivy looked at her hand and an IV is inserted. She felt something on her face, it was a plaster on her cheeks where she was slapped. The beeping sound and the stench of antiseptic, she was in the hospital.

"Excuse me, miss. May I take your vital signs?" a nurse entered and asked Ivy. Lilith smiled as she hold Ivy's hand, the nursed walked towards her and start to take her vital signs. Ivy looked at Lily and Lilith gave her a smile.

"Seems she is doing pretty fine," The nursed said to Lilith. Lilith gave the nurse a smile.

"I'm sure she will be discharged but please let her stay here for 30 minutes and wait." Lilith nodded and said thank you as the nursed smiled back and walked herself out.

"Oh, Lilith Barkley is a kind person now?"

Lilith let out a laugh, "Kind? No, I'm not. If you think that taking you here to a hospital is already kind of me that is a no. I just can't let you lay on the floor after you fainted and plus you are my best friend so.. "

I gave Lily a smile as a reply. "But it's been a long time since we've talk, Lily. Great that you already have a boyfriend too"

"What? Boyfriend?" Lilith asked, confused. "Yeah, the guy you are always with. I didn't know you are ---"

Lilith let out a laugh, "He is my friend, Ivy. Why do you think that he is my boyfriend? You knew that I don't like dating boys. Anyway, how's your new friends?"

Ivy looked down as she remember what Lindsay called her. Lilith hold her hand. Ivy sighed and gave her a smile, "Well, turns out...they're not the friends that I like and never will. I mean, you know, that I don't like to have friends like them because we all know their nature. I prefer being alone but... after our fight, I decided to befriend with them. I was hurt of your words, Lily"

Lilith gave her an apologetic look, "I'm sorry, Ivy. After our fight, I also reflect some stuff and I can say that I'm pretty selfish... and toxic. I'm sorry of what I said, Ivy."

Ivy smiled, "Okayy, lily but I accept apologies..." Lilith looked at her, "What?"

"If you treat me with foods", Lilith smiled of what Ivy said. "Okay, Ivy. Will do when we will go back to school."

Ivy sat up and remember that she already skipped tons of class. "Fuck."

"Fuck, I missed a lot of classes. Fuck it!"

Lilith was surprised of what Ivy said, Ivy never said f-bombs before.

"We need to get out of here. I'm fine already" Ivy said, worried "Chill, Ivy. Just make this day as you know, chilling out" Lilith said as she let Ivy calmed down from her bed.

Ivy sighed out of defeat, "Yeah, right" and laid her back against the pillow. Silence filled in the room, Ivy silently glance down and tears streamed down her cheek.

"I'm really tired, Lily. After the party, after what I saw of what Evan did and Cole died in front of my eyes and also after being called as a slut and got insults from my par—" Lilith cut her sentence off. "What?! They insult you again? Your parents insult you again?"

Ivy gave her a subtle smile. "Well, few days...yes..."

"I thought they stop insulting you already." Lilith said, crossing her legs as she crossed her arms. Ivy gave her a fragile smile. "And.. " Ivy stopped her sentence mid-way, contemplating if she should tell Lilith.

"What is it, Ivy? Is the—"

"I... I was raped... in the classroom... two days ago, Lily. It's...I..." Fear and traumatic expression is what written on Ivy's face. Lilith's brows furrowed, angry of what happened to her best friend. She wanted to let Ivy tell her in details but she let Ivy decide if Ivy would say it in details, it's a traumatizing thing to talk about. Instead of asking what happened to her and why she was raped, Lilith stood up and sits beside her and let Ivy lay on her shoulders. She hug Ivy as Ivy continued to cry.

"If only Evan didn't see me and Cole at the party, Cole is presumably alive."

"What exactly happened, Ivy?" Lilith asked gently.

"Cole confessed on me at the party. I didn't know that someone is having a crush on me and... Evan saw us. Evan also had a crush on me but it never crossed in my mind that he is having a crush on me to the point where he will kill those people who also have a crush on me and now, Cole is dead. Evan is imprisoned.. because of me." Ivy narrates as her tears flowed out.

"Ivy... It's not your fault. You shouldn't have held yourself accountable of Cole's death and Evan being imprisoned. They both have a crush on you and it's not your fault that Evan killed Cole. It's Evan's will to do it. It's Evan's fault. Evan killed Cole and I even think that Evan deserve that because he sexually harassed some girls" Ivy looked at Lilith.

"How did you know that he sexually harass girls?"

"I saw him at school, sexually harassing other girls and I also saw you, wearing a skirt and you are sexually harassed by him at school. You pushed him away and ran. After you ran, I know you were scared to tell everyone because you were scared if you'll be blamed because of what you wear. " Lilith said, looking at Ivy.

"Girls and women shouldn't be easily sexually harassed by any guy. I hate it when they think if a girl or woman wear that kind of clothing, its means they are being invited to touch the girl or women. Sickening! But I'm actually proud of how you stood up and defend yourself by fighting back at him" Ivy smiled. She snaked her arms on Lilith waist.

"And also, if Evan does like you he should have not sexually harassed you." Lilith added. Ivy smiled and slowly nods indicating that she agree of what Lilith said.

"I'm sorry if I can't tell you the details about why I was rap-"

Lilith cut her sentence off by shaking her head, "No need to say sorry. Actually, I'm mad. I'm mad of how those people did that to you. I'm also mad about myself. about myself of not staying by your side... if only we didn't fight..."

Lilith's tears flowed out. Ivy was shocked and smile with tears welled up on the corner of her eyes.

"Don't be mad about yourself, Lily… Don't be." Ivy said and hugged her.

Lilith wiped her tears, "Did you report the counselor about it?" Ivy avoid her gaze and glanced down. Lilith took a deep breath and hold her hand, "I will report it" Ivy is about to reply but she is being the cut-off of Lilith.

"Don't be scared, Ivy. I'm here. You deserve justice. You are just a girl that is defenseless and kind. You don't deserve to be eroded by them"

Even though Lilith is a best friend that don't like to follow rules, wouldn't be afraid of what she would say even it would come out harshly and sometimes it would appear that she is disrespecting others. The best friend that is not afraid to speak her mind and won't sugar coat things out. She knew that Lilith is a kind person, there is a kind part of Lilith. Ivy smiled at her, hold her hand. She feels lucky to have a best friend like her.

"Thank you, Lily. I don't want to cause trouble—"

"And you know that my middle name is trouble"

"Okay, Miss Trouble Maker. Thank you... and.."

"I love you"

Lilith's eyes widen.

"Ivy…."

Ivy laughed. "Platonically, dummy. I don't want to date a trouble maker like you", Lilith's eyes widen and laugh at Ivy's savagery, they both laughed. It reminds them to those days when they laughed of their remarks.

"I platonically love you too, Ivy"

Lilith and Ivy stared at each other. Lilith broke it off by standing up and wiped her tears from laughing, "Anyway, you wear a skirt which is quite a major change and wears makeup but that doesn't mean it doesn't suit you, okay? It does suit you, but.. since when did you change?"

Ivy glanced down and Lilith sits on the chair where she was seated earlier. "After our fight"

"After our fight?" Lilith repeated.

"Yes, after our fight at the abandoned house. At that night, I hurriedly went home and it was raining hard. My flashlight suddenly went off that made me halt on my tracks and tried to hit it and hoping the flashlight will turn on again. " Ivy narrates, trying to remember the details. "In my frame of view, I saw someone standing, I couldn't see its face because it was against the light of the lamp post. I asked if I could help in anything, I got no reply from that person. I stared on that person but that person remains standing and suddenly runs towards me in fast-speed."

Lilith was confused, "A shadow?"

"I don't know, maybe yeah and scaredy-cat as I am, I closed my eyes and drop on my knees. I opened my eyes and the person was gone but the next morning, I felt different"

"What kind of different, Ivy?"

"Different like.. a feeling of wanting to change of something that I desire. A feeling that makes me change to be an opposite version of me"

"So you really desire to wear makeup and wear like those sassy girls and it's also an opposite version of you?"

Ivy let out a small laugh, "Don't know. Maybe? too difficult to describe it, Lily. "

Lilith slowly nods and glanced down.

"And before I jumped on the railings, I actually heard whispers. Whispers that I should kill myself, and I also saw a glimpse of a shadow that swift on my peripheral vision but I'm glad you came, lily. If you didn't come to the rooftop, I'm presumably dead."

Lilith smiled and glanced down. Lilith also saw a shadow after Evan killed Cole and now, Ivy said she saw a shadow.

"Are you sure it was a shadow, Ivy?"

Ivy nods, "No one was there when I arrived at the rooftop but anyway, it's just a shadow. Why do you ask though?"

"Nothing. Anyway, Ivy… I won't scare you anymore. We have our own pace so take the time. I hope we can go to horror booths soon" Ivy smiled and laugh. "Are you trying to ask me to be your friend again?"

Lilith shyly nods, Ivy hugged her. "Friends. Best friends, Lily" Lilith smiled.

"I will not forget to treat you with food when we go back to school and... don't try to wear makeup or skirts if it's uncomfortable."

"Yeah, anyway, we should go and... " Ivy touched her both cheeks. "I don't like this on me." Lilith looked at her and gave her a smile. "You need that for your cheeks that is slapped"

Ivy glance down, smiling. Lilith knew what happened to her. Suddenly, a nurse came and walked towards to Ivy.

"You are free to go" The nurse said with a smile as the nurse removed the inserted IV from Ivy. Lilith looks at her, waiting and Ivy replied her with a smile. Suddenly, Lilith noticed a shadow that creeps down from Ivy's body and saw it crawl down and went out on the window.

"What?" Lilith snapped back when Ivy asked. Lilith shook her head, presumably seeing things. "I'll.. I'll wait for you outside so that we'll go home"