Revived

by Cat Patrick

  I’m frozen solid.

  “What did you do?” Mason snaps. I recoil. He’s never talked to me like this before.

  Strangely, Cassie is the one who rushes to my side. “Daisy, as you know, time is of the essence here,” she says calmly. “We can talk about this later,” she continues, shooting Mason a look. “But if we need three vials right now, which part of the storage box should we take them from?”

  I point to the leftmost row, and the row on the bottom.

  “You’re sure there’s nothing wrong with those?” Cassie says as Mason starts grabbing vials.

  I nod, not wanting to betray myself by speaking. In truth, I’m only pretty sure. Not a hundred percent sure. Not bet-my-life-on-it sure.

  Bet someone else’s?

  “Go upstairs,” Mason says flatly as he closes the travel container. He doesn’t meet my eyes when he moves past. I listen to him storm out to the car. Silently, Cassie goes, too.

  thirty-three

  A few hours later, I walk through the doors to Victory High a completely different person than I was just a few weeks ago. I haven’t showered, and I’m wearing the T-shirt I slept in. My untamed dishwater curls are wrapped into a knot. I don’t have on any makeup, not because I might cry and wash it away, but because it takes too much energy to put it on in the first place. I had three bites of a banana and a Coke for breakfast. I can’t remember whether I brushed my teeth.

  Inside school, it’s too loud. Too bright. People are staring at me, whispering behind my back. They look like the unfocused background in a photograph: They’re there to show contrast, but for nothing more.

  I walk up the flight of stairs to the second level and work my way to my locker. Some girls are chatting at the locker next to mine. They stop talking when I approach and step aside so I can get through.

  “Hi, Daisy,” one of them says quietly.

  “Hi,” I say. I don’t know her name.

  I swap out my books and try very hard not to look at Audrey’s locker as I walk away, but it doesn’t work. I see it, and I imagine her standing there, smiling at me on the first day of school. Complimenting my shoes. Asking me to lunch.

  Breathing.

  Living.

  As if I have emotional food poisoning, all of my tears and snot and even a shrill scream come out of me at once. Everyone in the hallway stops and stares. I run to the nurse’s office and get excused from school.

  The hall pass reads, “Distressed.”

  I block out the world for two days, or at least I think I do. When Mason’s had enough, he picks the lock on my bedroom door.

  “You have a visitor,” he says. I have a pillow over my face so I can’t see him or anyone else.

  “Tell whoever it is to go away.”

  “You’ll have to do that yourself,” Mason says. I hear him leave the room. Someone else comes in. Whoever it is sits on the end of my bed but doesn’t say anything. I don’t move the pillow: I breathe into it and wait. The moisture of my breath, trapped between me and the fabric, makes me feel like I’m in a sauna, but I don’t move. And still, silence. Eventually, I start to get perturbed. Why come into my room and just sit there? Frustrated, I toss aside the pillow. And then I see someone I never thought I’d see again.

  “Sydney?”

  “Hi, sweetie,” she says in the voice that always made everything better. “I hear you’re having a tough time.”

  The acknowledgment of my pain brings it all out again; I begin to sob. Sydney moves closer—right next to me—and wraps her arms around me. She’s wearing a gray sweater that I’m pretty sure I ruin with snot, but she doesn’t seem to mind. We sit there like that, her smoothing my ratty hair and me crying on her shoulder, until I don’t have any tears left.

  After that, we talk for hours. I tell her all about Audrey—every minute I remember. I tell her a lot, but not everything, about Matt. I share that I feel guilty for being with Megan when Audrey was dying. That I think there’s something going on with the program that’s stressing Mason out. That there’s even more that I don’t want to talk about right now.

  “You’ve got the weight of the world on your shoulders,” Sydney says. “I can see why you needed some time to yourself.”

  “I wish Mason was as understanding as you are,” I say.

  “Oh, Daisy, you need to give him a little credit,” she says. “He may not have known what to do, but he knew enough to call someone who might. And I think he’s more in tune with what you’re going through than you might think.”

  “Maybe…” I say, not really believing it. Mason’s a science guy, not a feelings guy. “I just don’t know what to do now. I don’t know how to be without Audrey. What should I do?”

  “Daisy, I wish I could fix everything for you,” Sydney says. “I’m so sorry to see you hurting. But the hard truth is that the only thing that can mend a broken heart is time.”

  I’m quiet, frowning because she sounds like a condolence card. I tell her as much.

  “Well, it’s good advice,” she says. “That’s why it’s on so many cards.”

  I half smile at her; she takes my hand.

  “There are little things you can do,” she says.

  “Like what?” I ask, craving a prescription that will cure my heartbreak.

  “Well, like first thing in the morning, when you wake up and remember that Audrey’s gone, instead of dwelling on what she won’t get the chance to do, think of something really great that she did do. Honor her a little, and then move on.”

  “Easier said than done,” I say. “What else?”

  Sydney shrugs. “Take a shower. Go to school. Pay attention. Do the things you used to like to do; eventually, they’ll get fun again. Call Megan and talk to her about your feelings. When he’s ready, try to reconnect with Matt.”

  I’m quiet, so she continues.

  “Unfortunately, there’s no formula for making the pain of death go away sooner. No matter what, you’re going to carry this with you for the rest of your life. But how you carry it is up to you. You can choose to dwell on the sadness of losing Audrey, or you can choose to celebrate the time you had with her.”

  “You sound like her,” I say.

  “She must have been a smart girl,” Sydney jokes.

  For the first time in days, a small laugh comes out of me.

  “Are you going to get in trouble for coming here?” I ask.

  “What God doesn’t know won’t hurt him,” Sydney says. “And besides, my best girl needed me. You may not know it, but I’m always here for you, Daisy.”

  Sydney leaves after dinner, and it’s like she takes some of my angst with her. By talking openly about Audrey, I feel like I’ve released a lead balloon. I’m a little bit lighter. A little bit better.

  I go to bed at nine and sleep like a baby. When I wake up in the morning, the memory of Audrey’s funeral slams into my brain. I push it aside, choosing to think instead about the time she thought she saw Jake Gyllenhaal outside Starbucks downtown. Sad and happy tears stream down my face as I laugh out loud about her reaction: She really thought it was him.

  “You’re totally Gyll-obsessed,” I say aloud to Audrey, wherever she is.

  And then, I go take a shower.

  I walk to school, hoping that the fresh air and vitamin D will help perk me up even more. On the way, I dial Megan’s number.

  “I’m sorry for not calling you,” I say.

  “Don’t apologize to me,” she says. “Your best friend just died. I’m impressed that you’re even functioning.”

  “I wasn’t there for a few days,” I say.

  “I know,” Megan says quietly. “Mason called my mom for advice.”

  “Sometimes I think they love each other,” I say, smiling.

  “Same.”

  “It’s a good thing we love each other, too,” I say. “Just in case they ever own it and get married or something.”

  “We’re already sisters, anyway,” Megan says.

  We’re quiet for
a few seconds.

  “Hey, Megs?”

  “What’s up?”

  “I feel… guilty,” I say.

  Megan is quiet, encouraging me to go on.

  “I feel like I’ve been given so many chances, and Audrey didn’t even get one,” I say. “I feel horrible about it.”

  “You have survivor’s guilt,” Megan says softly. “It’s normal.”

  “Yeah, but it’s more than that,” I say. “I feel like I should have done more for her. I feel guilty for being in Seattle when Audrey was going downhill. I feel like I abandoned her or something. I actually feel bad for being with you.”

  Megan is silent for so long I think the phone might have lost service.

  “I can see how you might feel that way,” she says finally.

  “You do?” I ask.

  “Of course,” she says. “But stop worrying about things like that. You didn’t give Audrey cancer, and you couldn’t make it go away, either. Audrey knew you loved her, and you guys were good. There’s no way you could have predicted when it would happen. It’s not your fault.”

  When Megan says those last four words, my heart implodes. Not until this moment have I realized that I’ve been blaming myself. I mean, sure, Audrey had cancer, which was totally out of my control. But in a way, I thought—I hoped—that my friendship was helping her to stay strong.

  “You’re right,” I say quietly. “It’s not my fault.”

  “I’ll tell you what is your fault, though,” Megan says, a little tinge of teasing in her voice.

  “Oh, really?” I say, okay with thinking about something besides death for a while.

  “It’s totally your fault that our blog is lopsided right now because of a serious lack of coverage out of Middle America.”

  “I might be able to solve that problem,” I say.

  “I can’t wait to see what Flower Girl has to say.”

  Feeling lighter after my call with Megan, I reach Victory with a little time to spare. As I walk through the doors, an idea pops into my head. Before classes start, I go to the computer lab and print out the lyrics to “The Way I Am.” It’s the song Audrey sang to Matt and me when she was joking around about our crush. But I realize that it sums up our friendship, too.

  With a bunch of curious students watching, I tape the lyrics to the front of Audrey’s locker, then, smiling, head to English alone. Matt’s chair is still empty, but I know he’ll come back soon.

  When I visit my locker again before lunch, there are more lyrics taped to Audrey’s. By the end of the day, her locker is completely covered by handwritten and printed scraps of songs tacked on in Audrey’s honor. As I read through the lyrics, I finally understand.

  Everyone misses Audrey; they weren’t faking it.

  I’m not alone.

  thirty-four

  A little over a week later, responding to Megan’s fantasy Grammy speech, I blog my gracious Oscar acceptance. Then, back on earth, I check Facebook. It’s not something I do a lot. Having to start a new profile every time I change my name, I never have very many friends, so there’s not much activity on my pages. When I last checked in Seattle, I only had sixteen friends, and most of them were bus kids.

  That’s why, after typing in my password and checking my notifications, I’m surprised to find thirty-two friend requests waiting for me, all from kids at Victory. Most of them are straight-up requests, but a few have sweet notes about how awesome Audrey was and how cool it was of me to start the lyric tribute.

  I accept every single one without hesitation, then check my wall for new posts. Nicole Anderson, formerly Nicole Yang, a bus kid who lives in Atlanta, posted a “positive energy” message in light of Audrey’s death. I smile about both the note and the fact that Megan’s obviously looking out for me. A girl in my history class sent me a virtual hug. I scroll down and get a jolt when I see a post from Matt.

  I miss you.

  I don’t know why, but I don’t write back right away. I’d rather call him. See him in person. Look in his eyes and really connect with him.

  For the moment, I move on.

  I notice that Megan’s online the second before she sends a friend suggestion. It’s for Nora Emerson.

  I sigh deeply, considering what to do. The night in Seattle when Megan and I found Nora feels like years ago, but two weeks have passed. So overwhelmed and exhausted by everything with Audrey, I’ve been pushing thoughts of Nora away. But it’s time to deal with this. The need to know what happened to Nora—to know for sure if she’s Case 22—overtakes me.

  I click to add her as a friend and type a cryptic personal message to her: “I want to hear your story. I’m like you.” As if she was waiting by the computer, she friends me immediately. Since she’s online, I open the messaging program.

  Nora, it’s Daisy from FH. Call me if you want to talk.

  I type in my cell number and hit return, then watch the clock. The phone rings before two minutes have passed.

  “Hello?” I say.

  “It’s Nora,” the voice on the other end of the line says. Unsure, she adds, “Emerson.” Her voice is the same as the day she brought me the birthday invitation, except she was more confident back then.

  “Nora, it’s okay,” I say. “This is Daisy. You knew me as Appleby. You probably thought I was dead until you saw me in that mall.”

  “Oh my god I thought I was going crazy!” The words tumble out of her mouth before she exhales loudly into the phone. “They showed me pictures from your autopsy.”

  “They did what?” I ask, appalled. Is this what the program is turning into—a ring of deception? Nora’s quiet, so I clarify. “I don’t know where the photos came from, but they were fake, Nora. I’m very much alive.”

  “I knew it,” she admits. “Even when they showed me the photos. I knew it was you in that mall. You look exactly the same, only… better.”

  “Thanks,” I say quietly. Neither of us speaks for a few seconds. “So, who showed you the photos?” I ask gently.

  “Two policemen,” she says. “I told my mom about seeing you, and she called the police. The next day two of them came to our house.”

  “I see.” I know that those “policemen” were agents, but somehow, even after being relocated, Nora still thinks they were cops. Is it possible she thinks that her car wreck was an accident? Is it possible that it was, and that the agents just happened to be trailing her because of me? Is it possible that they jumped on an opportunity to both save and silence Nora?

  “But like I said, I didn’t really believe them,” she continues, interrupting my jumbled thoughts. “I had this feeling. I knew it was you. I told my mom, and even though she told me that I should let it go, I talked her into promising that we’d go to the station the next day and talk to the chief. Then that night I went out with Gina, and on the way home, I got in a car accident. That sort of overshadowed everything.”

  Her voice wavers like she’s going to cry, but she sniffs loudly and holds it together. I stay still, remembering what Mason says about people being allergic to uncomfortable silences. According to him, the best way to get someone else to talk is to hold your tongue. His strategy works.

  “I woke up in this tiny town with my parents thanking God for saving my life and telling me stories of a Good Samaritan who pulled me from the car. But then they said that we had to live in Franklin and use new names and not tell anyone who we were before, and at first they wouldn’t answer any more of my questions. I thought I was going mental….”

  “Are you okay?” I ask after her words trail off. I can’t help but feel sorry for Nora. Being Revived at this point and having closed-off parents who won’t tell you anything has to feel terrible.

  “I had some bruises,” she says. “They’re healed.”

  “That’s not what I meant,” I say.

  “I know,” she says, but she doesn’t elaborate or answer my question. “It’s… I don’t know. I don’t really want to talk about the accident. It’s still too fresh.�
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  “Okay, then let’s talk about the drug,” I say.

  “What drug?” Nora asks, genuinely clueless.

  I scrunch up my face, confused. Didn’t they tell her anything? It strikes me that I might completely freak Nora out if I drop the whole Revive program in her lap at once. I decide to let her steer the conversation.

  “Um… didn’t they use some kind of a drug to save you?” I ask.

  “Huh?” Nora asks. “Oh, no, the Good Samaritan did CPR for, like, twenty minutes, until the ambulance came.”

  “Do you remember it?” I ask.

  “No,” Nora says. “I passed out when I was still in the car.”

  Or died, I think to myself, but don’t say. This is all too weird.

  “So, why do you think you’re in Franklin?” I ask.

  “Oh, I know why we’re in Franklin,” Nora says. “My parents eventually fessed up to that much.”

  “Why?” I ask.

  “Daisy, you don’t have to be embarrassed,” she says, confusing me again. “I know our dads worked with the same family back in Frozen Hills. Yours counseled their son, and mine did the accounting. Their former employer is on trial for racketeering and a bunch of worse crimes.”

  “Okay,” I say when she pauses. My mind is spinning. What the hell is she talking about? Then, without me having to ask, she fills in the blanks.

  “That’s why you said ‘we’re the same’ when you messaged me,” Nora says. “Duh, we’re both in the witness relocation program. And I’ll tell you one thing, my relocation sucks.”

  Unable to contain myself, I pretend to be called to dinner a few minutes later, promising to reconnect in the next day or two. Then I dial Megan and tell her everything that just happened, word for word.

  “What the what?” Megan says when I’m finished.

  “I know! I mean… This is so… What’s happening?”

  “Okay, so let’s think rationally here,” Megan says.

  “Okay.”

  “So Nora sees you, agents disguised as police try to deter her from telling anyone—”