HOME ISN'T HOME ANYMORE
( chapter 8 — the hospital )

LOTTIE'S EYES FLICKERED OPEN AS THEY ADJUSTED TO THE BRIGHTNESS OF THE ROOM. Her body felt numb, she didn't even know if she was alive. She was shot, stabbed, kicked, and stepped on. There was no way she was alive. With all the injuries she sustained, no one had expected the girl to wake up, especially after she hadn't for two days.

Lottie had slept peacefully; the doctors had explained that she might not wake up; her injuries were extensive, and if she was left at the house any longer, it would've been certain that she wouldn't wake up. Next to Lottie's bed lay her mother, Nichole; the woman was fast asleep, and on the other side sat Samantha Carpenter, who held onto Lottie's non-injured hand.

The woman was wide awake; she didn't want to miss the moment when Lottie woke up; she had missed when Chad woke up, and she felt so guilty. Sam wasn't at fault for anything that happened, though still she kept telling herself she was. Maybe if she wasn't related to Billy Loomis, this wouldn't have happened. Maybe if she had been more open about it, this wouldn't have happened. "Char." Sam let out as she noticed Charlotte blinking her eyes.

The room was brightly lit; the windows were opened as the sun shone through (Nicole stated that's what it was like when she woke up years ago, she insisted that they let the light in) along with that, the lights were on. The last time Lottie was awake was at the Freeman household; it was almost midnight, and the house was always darkly lit. "Sam," Lottie replied; her throat was dry and her voice sounded hoarse, as if she hadn't drank water in over a week. The girl tried to move her neck to view Samatha, though the tightness and pain from the stitches kept her neck in place.

Sam leant forward to get closer to the girl; she placed her hand on Lottie's head and stroked the ginger hair carefully. "Yeah, it's me; don't move; your bandages were only changed an hour ago," Sam spoke. The woman felt her eyes sting and her throat become dry; she didn't even know why she was so upset, over the past two days the guilt had built up so much. "I'm so sorry. I tried so hard to protect you, but I just couldn't," she cried as the tears rushed down her cheeks. Sam looked down at the girl's other hand; it was covered in bandages to the point you couldn't even see the skin on her hand. "We have all been so worried about you."

"Sam, it's okay." Lottie comforted her, squeezing the woman's hand. Lottie's voice was still croaky as she spoke. Charlotte looked down to observe the rest of the injuries; she was back in a hospital robe, though she could tell her whole abdomen was wrapped in bandages; her leg was propped up over the covers, on top of a pillow. It was freshly wrapped. The girl was no longer covered in blood (like she was a few days ago). "It's not your fault; you don't get to choose who your father was." She added.

"Lottie" Sam spoke; she didn't know where to start; so much had happened from the time the Becker girl had passed out. Lottie turned her neck slightly, feeling it sting, though she didn't care; she wanted to see Sam. "Amber and Richie are gone; there's nothing to be worried about; we are safe; Woodsboro is safe." Sam explained, readjusting her grip on Lottie, to comfort the girl.

"Good," Lottie croaked. Amber and Richie deserved to go to hell after everything they had put the group through, for the people they had killed.

Sam took a deep breath. "I killed Richie; I stabbed him who knows how many times; I slit his throat and shot him in the head," he admitted. Lottie had to stop herself from letting out a laugh; he got what he deserved; he was a crazy psycho who died a similar way to Abigail Becker (who didn't deserve to die). "Gale and Sidney tried to kill Amber; they literally burned her alive though somehow she lived; lucky enough, Tara managed to get ahold of a gun and shot the girl." She added.

This time Lottie did smile slightly, "Good on Tara for getting her revenge; honestly, I would have done the same after the hell she put me through." Lottie remarked, squeezing her friend's hand.

"What was the last thing you remember?" Sam questioned the girl. Lottie tried to recall what happened, only remembering how she ended up in this condition; it played through her mind clearly, like it happened only moments before.

Lottie explained all that she could remember; she remembered the way she screamed and how much it had hurt; she remembered everyone's gasps and Richie's chuckles. She could remember the taste of blood in her mouth and how she lay on the floor, unable to do anything but tremble from the pain. Lottie felt her throat begin to go drier and her eyes sing. Water started to collect at the bottom of her eyelids, though they started to repeat the same words over and over, just like she did before things went to chaos. Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry.

Sam looked at her in worry; she grabbed the cup from the bedside table and brought it to her mouth. Lottie didn't have to do anything but open her mouth, allowing Sam to pour the water into it. "It seems as though you remembered the worst of it" Lottie swallowed the water as she listened to her best-friend's sister speak. "Amber ended up kicking you in the head, and she knocked you out; I truly thought you were gone." Sam explained, causing Lottie to let out a small sob.

"After you got knocked out, everything went to chaos. Amber went searching for Tara, and they ended up having a fight. I fought Richie though I was almost done for, but luckily enough I got hold of a knife and killed him. I'm glad it's all over, and god, I'm so relieved you woke up; I wouldn't be able to live with myself if you didn't." Sam rambled, placing her hand back onto Charlotte's. "I don't know if you can remember, but Mindy was stabbed in the shoulder; she is basically fine now; Chad was attacked and stabbed heaps; we also almost lost him, but he is alright; he woke up a few hours ago and can still barley move," Sam explained.

Lottie froze in place; she had completely forgotten about Chad; things were starting to come back to her as she remembered searching for her deceased cousin, finding Tara and Amber, then Mindy was attacked. She was too distracted to focus on Chad; she should have gone with him; maybe he wouldn't have ended like he did. "I totally forgot about them; oh my gosh, Chad's definitely alright?" Lottie confirmed.

Sam nodded her head, "he's fine, as I said he can barely move, though he has been asking to see you, the doctors said most likely until tomorrow, if you woke up." She replied with a slight smile. Almost as soon as Chad woke up, he was busting to visit the girl; he even tried to get out of bed, though he was too much in pain, so he ended up lying back down.

Charlotte opened her mouth to speak, though she got interrupted by the door slowly clicking open. First, Gale Weathers and Sidney Prescott walked into the room; they were the originals. They made it their responsibility to check on everyone: Sam, Lottie, Chad, Mindy, and Tara. They wanted to make sure each and every one of them was okay. Mindy followed behind, wheeling Tara into the room.

"Lottie, oh my gosh, I was so scared you weren't going to wake up." Tara burst out as Mindy wheeled the girl beside her sister, taking hold of Lottie's hand as Sam removed her grip.

Lottie let out a smile, gripping the girl's hand. "Well, I'm here; you can't ever get rid of me." She joked, looking at the smile Tara had on her face. Even after being to hell and back, Tara's smile just made everything feel so much better. Charlotte felt warm and happy when she was around Tara, and she didn't know what she would do without the girl. "I'm glad you're okay too; Sam told me what happened, and I'm so proud of you, T." Lottie spoke.

Tara's smile dropped slightly as she looked back at Sam (who had stood up to talk to Gale and Sidney). Sidney looked to Gale and then to the injured girl, "I hope you can all agree that we should put this in the past. I believe it's best for everyone to get out of Woodsboro. In the past, that's what I did, and it was the best decision I had made. This place is cursed." She spoke up, watching as everyone nodded their heads. "I live in Seattle, and I've been safe there, and Gale has been safe in New York." She added.

The group all nodded their heads; no one had discussed it, but no one wanted to stay in Woodsboro for any longer than they had to.

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IT HAD BEEN TWO MONTHS— EXACTLY TWO MONTHS. Everyone had expected it to be easy to move on; Chad and Mindy seemed normal, though every night they woke up with constant nightmares. Lottie would wake up early every morning in her cousin's bedroom; she imagined the ways Abigail had died. She couldn't control it; every time she woke up, the girl would burst into tears. Tara had become distant and reckless; she stayed home with her sister most of the time, not wanting to hang out. Sam was persistent in getting the girl to therapy, but Tara refused; they were all 18, they could make their own decisions.

The group had all agreed that moving to New York would be the best idea. They planned to get out as soon as possible, but they had memorials to go to, apartments to buy, schools to apply to, and much more to do. It had bern four weeks, they all had to stay in Woodsboro, reliving the moments they wanted to forget.

The police had begun an investigation; it had been confirmed that Amber Freeman and Richie Kirsch were the killers, no one would get charged for their deaths, though they wanted to find out what had happened. The investigation had lasted a month and was finally closed after causing the group to relive everything. Lottie was questioned three times, one on each of her attacks and one on her cousin's. She was shown a picture of Abigail's body, which caused her nightmares to get worse.

After 6 weeks since the initial attack, the Becker family (Nicole and Charlotte) had decided to sell their house. Lottie would force herself to stay awake just so she didn't wake up in her cousin's room. Tara and Sam decided to drop contact with their mother. The group stayed at the Meeks Martin household while they sorted out the final details of their move. In just those two weeks, the whole group's mental health had gotten better. Chad and Lottie had grown closer as they comforted each other every time there was a nightmare. Lottie no longer woke up in another room. They had started to feel more safe; they had found family with each other.

It had been 2 months and the group were in New York; they had all gotten into Blackmore University; Sam, Tara, and Mindy had gotten an apartment with this girl named Quinn Bailey; Chad applied for a dorm near both the apartment building and the school, being matched with a boy named Ethan Landry. In the same street as their dorm, Lottie and her mother had gotten a small apartment, which they lived in together.

   Lottie had just finished her first day at Blackmore University; she had arrived home to discover her mother was making her bolognaise, her favourite! "I am so happy we moved here; I mean, I'm no longer known as the crazy girl, my leg is getting better, and I might be able to join the soccer team!" Lottie exclaimed as a smile appeared on Nichole's face. Nichole had decided to stop drinking; it was what was best for her daughter's mental health and safety.

"That's great." Nichole replied as she stirred the pasta, "Are you feeling okay?" She questioned. Lottie rolled her eyes; she absolutely loved that her mother had stopped drinking; Tara loved it too; she had finally found a mother figure in her life. The only problem was that Nichole found it necessary to check in with them every 5 minutes. Charlotte appreciated that Nichole cared, though she didn't want to be checked in with; she wanted to start fresh, not being worried about 24/7.

   "I'm fine, mom." Lottie replied as her mother put the lid on the pasta. "I'm just really glad I get to start fresh; I think I literally would have gone insane if I stayed in Woodsboro any longer." She admitted.

   Nichole's smile dropped as she grabbed plates from the shelf. "You know I was attacked three times, two of them being in Woodsboro. Though I had lost my younger sister due to ghost face, I couldn't leave the town; even after my other sister died. I wanted to raise you and Abigail in the town, especially because she lost her mother. Though I wished I didn't, I wished I could have moved you guys out and spared you all this pain and suffering." Nichole spoke, bringing silence over the two. All that could be heard were the noises of the loud and busy city.

   "I'm glad we stayed; as much trauma and pain I got from it doesn't compare to Tara's; she's my best friend, and honestly, she needs me, and Chad, I think I might like him." Lottie confessed. Her and Chad had gotten really close through their recovery; they had similar injuries and went to physical therapy. Charlotte believed she might actually like him; though the boy had lost his girlfriend, she wouldn't dare make a move until he had grieved properly.

   The mother and daughter continued talking through the night. Things were finally feeling normal, better than they had been for years. Lottie finally had a mother and friends she could rely on.

— MAEVE YAPS!
AHHH LAST CHAPTER LEFT!! (UDATE.... So I added one more) I am so happy that I finished volume one and I can't wait to write volume two. Scream v and vi are my favourite so I love this story line so so much. (UPDATE: Chad and Lottie didn't have much time together this chapter (or act really), though I promise next chapter will be all about them and how they realise they like each other and then it'll be act two, for those who have read it already (before I took it down), they are so cute!!!)

Thank you all for all the support in this book it means the world to me. I love you all so so much and I'm so thankful for everything (UPDATE: and I know by the time this is published i would of hit it ages ago but thank you SO SO SO SO much for 7k reads and 600 followers AHHH I appreciate it so much!!).

Anyways, I know the injuries Lottie has sustained are quite severe and unrealistic but scream is quite unrealistic and severe like come on, how the hell has Chad and Dewey lived so long? (UPDATE: not that Dewey is alive anymore....)

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gif by amazing @/softbows <33

BLEED FOR YOU / Maeve
last updated: August 31st