Chapter Eighteen: Diane

Aww, Mariah has a turtle. Tina used to have one when she- Oh Lord, Tina.

I start crying at the thought of my deceased friend in the other part of the plane. Steven looks over at me.

"Diane, is it?" I nod. "Are you okay?" His voice sounds a little hoarse. I nod again, a little too quickly.

"Yes Steven, I'm fine. I- uh, just got caught in a memory." I feel his forehead. It's burning. "Mariah?" The taller of the girls comes over. "He has a fever." Mariah checks.

"Get him a blanket." I get up and retrieve one of the dry towels. I hand it to her and get the washcloth wet. I take her place beside him. As I dab his forehead with the cool cloth, my vision turns blurry. I'm still crying. He places his also burning hand lightly on my thigh.

"Wanna talk about it?" he asks. I wipe my eyes and nod. I need to tell someone.

"I was going to Paris with my two best friends." I start. "T-Tina and-" I sob and someone pats my shoulder encouragingly, "We were going for a friend's retreat. W-We didn't want to cra-. . . and I looked up and saw all the b-lood on them and T-..Tina wasn't breathing. . . and-"

"It's okay, it's over. You're safe." Tyler tells me. The others had gathered around me. I shake my head.

"But they aren't. They're- they're-"

"You don't have to say it." Mariah says. I nod, thankful.

"I thought of Tina because she had a little sea turtle in her room. She loved sea animals." I explain. Mariah looks at the stuffed animal.

"Do you want it? To remember her?" She offers. I shake my head.

"No, it's yours. But- could I hold it?" She smiles and hands it to me. She helps me up and wraps me in a plane blanket.

"I think a nap with help. Don't you?" She asks me. I nod faintly and find an empty, non bloody chair to recline in.

Author's Note

I wrote this.