' there are two kinds of secrets:

those we hide from others

and those we hide from ourselves.  '

THE SIRENS were the only thing that anchored Faye to reality. Incredulity consumed her whole as she watched Erica's chest rise an fall. Faye's fingers trembled against her knee as she looked up to see Scott conversing with two paramedics. His chocolate brown eyes fixated on her as his lips moved, but Faye couldn't hear any sound come out. Scott uncrossed his arms and excused himself from the conversation with the medical technicians. He walked towards Faye, determination outlined on his bronze skin.

Faye stood up as he approached, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I told them you were the one who found her," He said in a low voice.

"That's not true. You-"

"It's better that the paramedics think you found her before she started climbing the wall."

Faye turned away from the boy, exasperation clouding her thoughts. "Go," Scott said. "She'll want to see you." The blonde let out a silent breath and advanced towards Erica, who was now sitting up in the stretcher and drinking from a water bottle.

"How are you feeling?" She inquired.

Erica swallowed and gave a weak smile. "A bit better. Turns out I forgot to take my pills this morning." She let out a strained laugh, then began to cough. "The paramedics are going to take me to the hospital so I can get a check-up. You're more then welcome to come, but I'm afraid it won't be much fun."

Faye smiled at her friend and moved aside as the paramedics hoisted Erica up into the back of the ambulance. "I'd love to." Grabbing the metal handle, the blonde pulled herself up and took a seat beside a female paramedic. The woman glanced at her, but then altered her distant gaze back to Erica. Faye looked up from Erica and saw a man with black hair and a younger boy with bronze tousled hair. Both produced a serpentine smile, just as the ambulance doors were slammed shut.

THE HOSPITAL smelled of death. The stench of despair and hopelessness combined with the unpleasant odor of chemicals and rubber gloves. Faye crinkled her nose as she walked in from the doors of the elevator, Erica being pushed in beside her. The blonde watched her friend get pushed away, wishing she could go in while they gave Erica a check up. Scanning her surroundings, Faye made her way to the waiting room and sat herself down.

The uncomfortable chair dug into her back and her ankles hit the wooden legs of the chair as she tried to make herself comfortable. She could feel unwanted stares hit her from all corners of the hospital. Faye shuddered and directed her gaze to the floor, counting the tiles until she was interrupted.

"Excuse me?"

The blonde looked up to see a woman with dark curly hair standing in front of her. A stethoscope was twisted around her neck and she wore blue scrubs. Her brown eyes reminded Faye of someone she knew. She could see the compassion melted in her eyes along with Faye's reflection. The woman gave a warm smile which made Faye's heart flutter.

"Are you waiting for Erica Reyes?"

Faye pursed her lips and brushed a strand of hair off her shoulder. "Yes," she said, which came out as a croak. Embarrassed, Faye's face grew hotter and she quickly diverted her face to her hands.

"The doctor says she's going to be awhile. I'm about to head to my lunch break; would you like a ride home?" The nurse smiled as she slid on her coat.

Faye smiled politely and shook her head. "I want to wait for Erica. Thank you though Nurse-" she trailed off, not remembering if the nurse had said her name or not.

"McCall." The woman sauntered away, leaving Faye alone with her thoughts. Racking through her brain, she tried to recall where she had heard that last name before. She pondered on the thought, and didn't figure it out until she remembered Nurse McCall's eyes.

They matched the eyes of the boy at her school. What was his name again? Faye sucked on her bottom lip as she once again tried to remember. It took her a few minutes, but when she figured it out, she said it in an inaudible whisper. "Scott."

She heard the quiet ding of the elevator and looked up to see Scott McCall walking in with his mom, holding a bag of Chinese food his left hand. His eyes wandered over to her, but made no effort to approach Faye. He quickly kissed his mom and the cheek and then went to the elevator. Scott stared at Faye as she fumbled for a magazine to hide behind. The elevator doors closed just as Faye picked up a People Magazine.

Relieved, she flipped open the magazine and stared at the pictures, hoping Erica was alright. A buzz came from her back pocket and Faye scrambled to scavenge it from the depths of her jeans. After the fifth buzz, she unlocked the screen and put it up to her ear.

"Where are you?" her mother asked, worry masking her voice.

"I'm at the hospital," Faye said and she began to explain the day's events in a quiet voice.

"That poor girl," her mother said after Faye had finished. "Do you want me to come pick you up?"

The blonde picked fluff off of her jeans as she debated her mother's offer. "No thank you," She said. "I want to make sure Erica's okay. I can just walk home."

Her mother sighed into the phone. "Alright. Try to be home around 6:30. And, please call me right away if you change your mind. I love you."

Faye mumbled back the three words and shoved her phone into her coat pocket. What time was it? The blonde studied the plain walls of the waiting room and finally found a clock. It was already 5:00. Had she really been here for almost two hours? The notion struck her, and she realized she hadn't been informed about Erica's well being.

Standing up, she walked to the front desk in hopes of finding Nurse McCall. No one was there. Unsuccessful with her search, she began to trudge down the hallway closest to her. Her eyes followed the string of clipboards assigned to every door, hoping to find Erica's name. She came close to finding it, but instead of Erica, it was a middle aged man named Eric.

Faye grimaced and looked down at her feet. Not paying attention, she bumped into a nurse carrying a jug of water. The water splashed towards Faye's shirt and the fabric began to cling to her stomach. The nurse apologized repeatedly but Faye just smiled and told her it was not a big deal.

"Do you know where Erica Reyes is located?" Faye asked, hoping the nurse would cut her some slack. The nurse pointed to her left.

"Twelfth door on the left."

"Thank you."

Avoiding the nurse's curious glances, Faye strolled down the hall towards the door. Her heart thumped against her chest, as if it was a giant drum. Pulling her hair back, she approached the room only to find it empty. Confusion flooded through her mind. Where was Erica?

Without thinking, Faye pivoted on her heels and began to walk further down the hallway. After making a few turns, the hairs on her arm stood up and her walking pace slowed as she came to the end of a hallway. Where was she? She had been so distracted by Erica's whereabouts that she had walked to an empty wing of the hospital. Looking at the sign on the door, she realized why it was empty.

It was the morgue.

The overwhelming smell of old flesh and medicine burned in Faye's nose, making it hard to get closer to the room. Voices reverberated in her ears and then abruptly stopped as soon as she pt her hand on the door handle. The blonde heard a shuffling and stepped back, just as the door swung open to reveal Erica and the man she had seen on the school grounds before.

His jaw was covered with black stubble and he had luminescent gray eyes. His raven hair looked like it was naturally pushed up, which added perfectly to his features. The man scanned Faye and she swallowed, unsure of what to expect from a man coming from the morgue.

Finally, after moments of silence, he leaned in close and pointed to the water splash on her t-shirt. "You have something on your shirt," he stated, his voice becoming rough. She could feel his breath on her face and the best reaction Faye could think of was to stand absolutely still. Her glasses fogged up and she had trouble seeing his face through them. When he perceived that she wasn't going to say anything back, he flashed a brilliant smile and strutted away.

Faye shivered and hesitated before walking into the morgue to see Erica, lying on her stretcher. "What's going on?" she asked, her voice getting caught in her throat.

Erica gave a faint smile. "Don't worry Faye. He was just a friend."

"A friend who brings you to the morgue?"

She shrugged. "Don't worry about it Faye," she repeated. "I'm fine." Her voice became more impatient and Faye knew she had overstepped her boundaries.

Grabbing Erica's stretcher, she quickly wheeled her back to her room. She stood there for a few moments before she said "I should get going." Erica nodded, but didn't say anything. More moments of silence passed before Faye realized that she really should be going. It was almost 6 o'clock and it would take her awhile to get home.

Leaving Erica felt wrong. Guilt pooled in her stomach as she walked out of the hospital, making her clench her fingers into the palm of her hand. The day's events came rushing back to her, and it left her with the same questions she had had earlier that day.

Why did Scott lie to the paramedics? Who was that man Erica was with? And most of all, what was going on with her?

A chill creeped up her spine and tears formed in her eyes. She wanted to fight the possibility that she was seeing things; that everything she was doing was an illusion. Maybe this mirage helped her cope with the reality of what had happened at the school. Or maybe she had hit her head and had not healed yet. Faye came up with a list of possibilities of what could be going on and she started to believe it. But the voice in the back of her mind was saying something else.

Stop lying to yourself.

HOME WAS a good place to be. As soon as Faye had walked through the doors, she was greeted by her mom and her dad. They began to bombard her with questions.

"How was your first day?"

"Did you make any friends?"

"Do you like your teachers?"

"What do you think of beacon Hills?"

Faye smiled through it and answered their questions as best as she could. Yes, her day was good. Yes, she made a friend. Yes, she liked her teachers. As for the last question, she didn't answer because she didn't know if she liked it or not. She felt foreign to the town and didn't like the people that constantly stared at her.

Dinner quickly passed, which meant it was time for homework. Faye said goodnight to her parents and ran up to her unpacked room, dropping her bag on the floor. The night sky flowed into her room like a dark river, and she was drowning inside of it. Faye savored the darkness and decided that she would enjoy it more at her window.

Standing on her mattress, the blonde opened the screen and let a fresh breeze drift into the room. Faye pulled out her history homework and frowned and the questions.

"Why would someone want to know if Hitler was right handed or left handed?" she huffed, annoyed at the stupidity that her teacher had. "He could write with his foot and I still wouldn't care!"

It was an hour later when Faye's eyes began to droop. Even though she wasn't done her homework, she decided that she needed the sleep. After taking off her glasses and turning off her lamp, Faye closed her eyes and let out a shaky breath. Sleep consumed her and before she knew it, she was dreaming about the burning tree.

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yikes, sorry for all the filler guys.

dedicated to all my readers xx