ALEXIS

I woke suddenly, every thought in high definition. My eyes took in every ray of light, and without a doubt, I know I've not managed to get through the night. My palms were coated in sweat, and my stomach tingled. Rushing to my bathroom, I held my stomach in pain. It took me a moment to wake fully, mainly by splashing water in my face, and then I realised the issue. Or rather, the dark stain that was on my clothes.

Cursing rapidly, I stumbled out of the bathroom, disoriented and confused. I searched through all my luggage, my first aid kit, and every nook and cranny of the room, It was clear that I didn't possess anything.

I debated waking Carina up and asking her if she had some, but I decided against it. Opting to go with my last choice, I changed my clothes and tiptoed downstairs to go look for some. I was nearing the kitchen when I bumped into someone. Genevieve.

"Going somewhere?" Her voice was smooth, her aura demanding and even in the middle of the night, she managed to look great. 

"Tampons?" I questioned. My voice was hoarse. Her eyes widened a little before she straightened up again. Rummaging through a cabinet, she pulled out some and handed them to me, after which she proceeded to offer me a glass of water and a heating pad. I refused the medicine, not wanting to take it, instead grabbing the heating pad and thanking Genevieve. 

She nodded in response as I turned on my heel and started leaving. "And Alexis? I'm glad that it was me you bumped into and not one of the others." I could hear the smile in her voice as she said that. 

She wasn't as cold as she looks to be. She, like the rest of us, has walls to protect herself.

Boredom is that invitation for the brain to play, to let the self soak into a moment and see the richness in the minute subtlety life offers.

I wandered down to the living room and settled down on the couch. Carina had gone shopping with my other siblings; Genevieve had immediately prohibited me from taking a single step outside the house and Luca chose to stay behind.   

I grabbed the tv remote and the controllers and plugged in the games Ace told me about earlier. The screen loaded as I tapped my fingers in anticipation. I chose my character, a guy with denim overalls, a red t-shirt, a funny-looking moustache, and a red cap with the letter 'M'. 

Mario. The screen read. In the game, I could jump and run without ever getting tired. I could become a superhero, the kind I always admired so much. I could speak with nobility, rescue others, try new things I never dreamed I'd attempt. It was a new land in which anything was possible, whatever was broken in you became both fixed and improved. That was what kept me playing - the chance to save others and become stronger myself. For me, that's balance.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself." I looked to where Luca stood, his hair drenched, dressed in similar attire to mine. I shrugged in response.

"It's fun," I told him.

It had admittedly been a while since I had had fun like this. It was relaxing really, to not be worried about anything in particular. Wishing it could be like this all the time, I smiled at him, inviting him to join.

He grabbed a controller of his own.

We spent the next hour playing; me defeating him and him whining like a baby. Ha. Serves him right. This was my game now, and I wasn't going to let him win. Currently, I was ahead of him – thankfully, cause I could barely handle him losing, let alone winning - and he was trying to knock me out by constantly throwing banana peels at me. I chuckled. The audacity.  

By the time both of us were near the finish line, I didn't realize how close we were sitting. I zoomed past him on the race track and smiled at my triumph. My brother pouted and swung his arm towards me in anticipation for a hug. As his hand wrapped around my waist, grip tightening in comfort and excitement, I froze. I could barely see, with my vision all fuzzy and my heart thudding in my chest. That moment was what the doctors called 'fight or flight'. I believed them.  

I scrambled away from his grip, clawing at my neck. Breathing was hard, really hard. Almost impossible. I pulled my hoodie over my head; immediately the cold autumn air pricked my skin. I felt myself blacking in and out of reality, my head spinning and a low groan escaping from my lips. Wrapping my shaking arms around my legs, and curling in upon myself, I clenched my eyes shut, blocking out the world.

"Alexis, sweetheart can you breathe?"

I swallowed and breathed slowly, Genevieve's voice slowly bringing me out of my disoriented state. I didn't even realise that she had come near me.  

Wordlessly, she brought a glass of water up to my lips and I took small sips, feeling the cool liquid seep down my throat. I closed my eyes. The darkness engulfed me.

"Are you okay?" I nodded, looking up; her eyes held nothing but concern.

"I'll be okay" I said softly, swaying back and forth. 

 As a computer can be overloaded, so can your brain. There is a finite processing capacity and when your ability to process fear is exceeded these panic attacks can begin. As with a machine, decrease inputs. 

Luca looked conflicted; his eyes were red and puffy, swarming with raw unaided guilt. I gestured for him to come forward.

"I'm sorry. I didn't, I would never, I swear I didn't mean for that to happen" His voice cracked at the end, "please don't hate me. I can't see you being scared around me. I wouldn't ever dream of hurting you" 

"Luca," My voice was sweet and warm. "I don't hate you. I don't distrust you, I won't be scared around you I promise. I just need some time, and with some good food and a peaceful sleep, I will be okay."

His eyes faltered, falling to the parts of my exposed skin.

"I trust you." With those final words, I walked up the stairs and slumped on my mattress. 

Sleep will do me good. 

_______

CARINA

"Come on! Hurry up!" Lucas shouted impatiently outside my room's door.

"Hold on a second..." I mumbled, going through all the things that I keep in my bag.

I took that bag everywhere. It held a lot of my belongings, and all the things precious to me. There was always a risk with caring about things, always a risk with having something special. So many things would go wrong, so I tried to keep it with me at all times.  

"Okay, I'm here," I said, finally coming out of my room.

It was still hard to believe that this place was actually mine. It was like my dreams had come true; my new home was like the palace of my dreams.

My home. It felt nice saying that, it had a homey feel to it.

"Let's go then!" Lucas exclaimed, as he grabbed my hand and dragged me towards the main doors.

I chuckled as I followed him along; his excitement was contagious. All the others followed, with Layla shaking her head. Everyone was there, except Luca, Genevieve and my sister, Alex. We weren't quite alike, Alexis and I, but I loved her no matter what. She wasn't that hard to like, in all honesty, but could sometimes be a bit much.  

Luca wasn't the type to go shopping, and Genevieve said she wanted to stay back. I wasn't too surprised at Luca's distaste for shopping, but I was a little shocked at Genevieve saying she was staying behind. I had thought that we were getting closer, and she would want a bit of bonding time, but I guess not.

As for Alex, it was simple, and understandable really. She had told me her period had started, and that she was under strict orders to stay on bed rest. It made a bit more sense why Genevieve was staying back after my sister had told me that.

I had offered to stay with her, but she refused. Poor Alex. As much as I wanted her to come with us, I knew she needed to rest. Alex had been there for me, as far back as I could remember. She always spent so much of her time standing up for me and trying to protect me from any danger. That much was evident from the car crash, and how she had risked her own life to come back and try to save me. I would forever be grateful to her for that, amongst plenty of other things.  

I tried not to think about that. Alex has always been protecting me her whole life; she's sacrificed her whole self, mind, body, and soul so I could be safe. I had to repay her, although I knew she would say that it was her duty to do it when it was the other way around. I snapped out of it after a moment. Be happy, I scolded myself.

I was going to spend time with my siblings. My siblings. Saying that felt good too. It felt good to have some more people to care for you. Someone other than Alex.   

Lucas stopped walking in front of that same white car that we had arrived in, and gave a gesture. I stared at him for a second, still thinking, before realising that it was an indication for me to get in. As I slid in the seat, he followed me, and then Amara. I watched as Liam got in the driver's seat, and then the rest piled in wherever they could.

To be entirely honest, it was a bit hard trying to remember everyone's faces, and names to go with them. Alex didn't seem to be having too much of an issue with that though, so I managed to keep my mouth shut.  

Once we were on the road, I looked out of the window. The places we drove past gave me a sense of warm familiarity, and I stared. I had never been there before. At least, not in my own memory.

Lucas and Amara took it upon themselves to tell me the names of everywhere we passed, and I smiled, nodding along. It took about a half hour to actually arrive at our destination, and by then, my legs were starting to cramp from sitting down for so long.

It was the Manhattan Mall. I had heard about it, but never seen it. It was huge. Gazing out the window, I didn't realise that everyone else had climbed out of the car. It was only when Lucas leaned into the vehicle and tapped my shoulder in amusement did I actually tear my sight from the buildings.

When I had clambered out of the car, stretching as I stood, Lucas came and stood beside me. He waited a minute as I took in the scene in front of me, before eventually becoming too impatient.

"Ready to shop?"

I nodded, still in awe.  

The outside of the mall was nothing compared to the inside. Dozens of huge shops, beautiful architecture, and cosy-to-eyes lighting. Half of me was tempted to go to every shop and buy everything. I decided to listen to the other half, which was more sensible.  

"Where do you want to go first?" Layla asked me.

I considered it, glancing towards the nearest shops. It would most likely be best to get the necessary items first, rather than exploring and finding a bunch of fun stuff. After my moment of consideration, I voiced my thoughts to my siblings, and we went to a shop called 'Strawberry'.

It had a bunch of clothes, and I quickly found handfuls, before trying them on. They were nice, though some weren't my normal style. I picked some up for Alex as well, knowing that she would appreciate the gesture.

Next, I needed some study supplies as we would be going to school soon, so we went to Staples. I got a couple notebooks for all the possible subjects Alex and I would have, a lot of random stationary items Ace insisted on buying, pen stands for the two of us, coloured and white paper and all that sort of stuff. It was kind of boring; Alex was the stationery obsessed girl out of the two of us.  

Amara suggested we get some accessories next, so we went to Afaze. The names of the shops were getting weirder the further we went into the mall, and I struggled to pronounce some of the stranger ones. Were they actually even in English? I couldn't be sure.

There, I got some cute earrings and a matching pendant for me and Alex with our initials on them. Our next stop was Call It Spring. I got a pair of converse, a pair of sneakers and a pair of some really pretty heels. That was the last of the things I actually needed. So we decided to split up and take a stroll in the mall. Lucas, Ace and I first went to Lids, where Lucas insisted on trying funny hats. We laughed and made fun of each other for a good ten minutes. It was probably one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life, if only Alex and the other siblings were there with us.

Then we went on over to Hallmark, joined by Romeo. I wanted to get something for Alex. Something special. Something that reminded her of me, that told her I'd always be by her side. After everything she went through for me, this was the least I could do for her.  

I didn't want to cry in public, but tears brimmed my eyes. How could I have been so blind? I wasn't there when Alex needed me the most. I blinked back the tears. Now was not the time. I searched up almost the entire store, looking for anything that she would like, but the problem was, I didn't know what I wanted. "Are you looking for something specific?" Romeo asked me. I shook my head no.

Suddenly, my eyes landed on a squishy kind of stuffed animal. It was a little rabbit. Alex had haphephobia, meaning she was uncomfortable when people touched her or made skin contact with her. I figured a stuffed animal to hold would remind her that I'll always be here. I picked it up. It was blue with white ears and a little rosy nose. It was perfect.   

"You want that?" Ace asked me that question, for what seemed like the 27th time that day.

"Yeah," I replied, "but not for me. I'm gonna get it for Alex." Ace nodded. "And I'm going to pay for it." I quickly added.  

He looked like he wanted to protest, but Layla came to my rescue. "That's cute." She said, looking at the rabbit. "Yeah, I'm getting it for Alex as a gift," I said. The rest of my siblings were right behind her. 

"Do you want anything else?" Amara asked me. I shook my head as a negative to tell him that I was done. "Alright then, let's get some ice cream and head home!" 

I paid for my clothes and the plushie. We got our ice-creams and headed to the cars. While heading back, Liam approached me.  

"Did you have fun?"

I nodded my head , "Alex is going to love what I got for her." I told Liam excitedly, holding up the rabbit plushie that I got for her. He chuckled in response.   

It was almost lunch time by the time we left. I thought back to the time I spent with my siblings. It was wonderful, I just wish Alex could come as well.  

As we headed back, the traffic seemed to have doubled. There were cars all around us. After a while, Liam started to pick up speed, and all the others seemed tense. Even Ace, who was driving the other car, seemed to be going fast.  

I didn't get it at first, why were we in so much hurry? I glanced out my side window, seeing nothing strange, so I looked back to the people next to me. They were all stiff, and nervous, which confused me. As Liam turned the car, taking off down a street that was not the way we had to go, I frowned, confused. Ace followed our car, turning in the wrong direction. Where were we going? I couldn't bear to ask, though, as everyone looked stressed enough.  

Lucas grabbed my hand as tight as he could. What? I wanted to ask him what was going on when I noticed all they kept looking behind us. I turned and saw two black cars, evidently sticking close to the tail of our car. I didn't recognize them, but they seemed to be following us.

Why would they be following us? That was a ridiculous idea, but that was the only explanation I had. The others seemed to think that as well, and were showing it. Liam and Ace both took so many wrong turns, but the cars were still there.  

Lucas gripped my hand tighter, so my fingers turned white. I winced a little, sliding backwards in my chair, and leaning heavily against the seat. Everyone looked anxious. I figured it could only be something bad. Then, Liam took a sharp turn.

A turn no one was expecting, which included Ace. The cars behind us stopped, but Ace didn't have enough time to. His car collided with ours, and I heard someone screaming. Maybe it was me. 

Our car hit a lamp-post, while the others' car hit the divider. I felt my body jerk forwards, hand still in Lucas', and slam into the front seat before the airbags had a chance to explode out. I might've hit my head on the window because the last thing I knew was someone calling out my name. 

And then, I blacked out.

A/N

Ty so much for reading and voting! Ily you guys and I hope you enjoy this chapter. I would say that I'm sorry for the cliffhanger, but I'm not, I did it on purpose!

What do you think is going to happen next?