THE HEATER HUMMED, NESTLED IN THE UPPER CORNER OF THE PRIVATE ROOM, and yet samantha couldn’t shake herself of the cold that had settled on her skin. even after her hurried attempt at cleaning herself up, faint streaks of blood painted the length of her arms. she shrugged her jacket over her shoulders in an attempt to cover up the unsightly reminders of the night they had just had. nurses milled around the room, and sam is grateful for their attentiveness. she only wished they would stop peering in to get a peak of the girls who had become woodsboro’s latest media sensation. with a shaky sigh, she dropped her head into her hands, and stared at the spotless tiles under her. with every blink of her eyes, another scene from the bloody night flashed before her and the tension that had knotted in her stomach grew tighter and tighter. she lifted her head when she heard the rustle of her sisters blankets, and pulled the chair closer to the edge of her bed. ❝ hey, ❞ she rested a gentle hand on tara’s arm, surprised to find her fingers meeting skin as cold as her own.
with a mild furrow of her brows, she carefully pulled the hospital blanket higher up. it felt foreign, caring for her sibling. it had been years since she had last seen her, and a mass murder spree wasn’t exactly the reunion she had anticipated after five long years. seating herself back into the stiff chair, her leg bounced rhythmically. despite the doctors advice to rest, the adrenaline rushing through her kept her wide awake and on her toes. where there should have been a sense of relief, there was nothing but a build up of emotions that she erected her walls up around. a dam that was cracking at its seams the further the night dragged on. she swallowed hard, another brick to the wall that kept her feelings in check, and turned her undivided attention back to her sister. every now and then her eyes would flicker to any motion near the door, only to spot the tan brown of a cop’s uniform passing by. ❝ we don’t have to do this now, but I just wanted you to know that i’m here. ❞ she said the words with a finality she hoped felt as heavy as it did on her tongue. ❝ i’m here to talk if you need to. ❞ finally here for you, tara.
it’s the continuous beeping of your heart monitor and the sterile smell that tells you where you are when you wake : not that you couldn’t have immediately guessed. and you hate it. you hate it here - this bed, this hospital, woodsboro. you hate it something violent as you reluctantly open your eyes, squinting at the brightness of the lights above you. turn them off, you think, but you can’t quite figure out how to speak yet. fuck those lights. you stare at them as you shift, hospital blankets tucking you in tightly, suffocating you. you hate them too. and you hate these drugs, and you hate that you need them, and you hate that you’re tired even though you just woke up. what the fuck is with that ? you blink at that, “hey,” - head lulling towards the pillow to see your sister at your side. de ja fucking vu. brows pinch as frown forms, and you muster a croaky ❝ hey, ❞ back.
your eyes turn down to the blankets she pulls up, and you almost shake your head. you fidget a little, as best you can with your injuries. you don’t want them. they’re too tight. maybe yeah, you’re cold. but you can’t fucking breathe. still, you say nothing. your eyes drift up to sam, so focused on taking care of you, that you don’t bother to stop her. whatever. they’re just blankets. instead, you lay there watching your sister : you are blessedly dosed on some serious pain killers, high as a fucking kite. you hate that too. you meet sam’s eyes with your own, following them as they drift towards the door, and you tense before you realise it’s just a cop. ironic. just a cop isn’t always a good thing. you are still staring at the door when sam speaks, and your eyes turn back to her. i’m here, she says. you offer a small smile. ❝ yeah- ❞ you whisper, before you nod. ❝ i know. ❞ still, there is a part of you that can’t help but wonder ... for how long ? it runs in the family. running, that is. their ... your dad, ran. sam ran. even your mother left you. and you always stay. you shrug. ❝ not now, ❞ you agree, then silence, before you stare back up at the lights you hate. ❝ ... i killed my best friend. ❞