Young Writers Society

Sunny

"What are you majoring in?" I asked. "Or are you out of college?"

Rose sipped her coffe uncomfortably. I kept a straight face, but in my mind, I was backtracking frantically. No, Sunny! Didn't she say she didn't want to talk about that?

"Oh, that's right," I finally fudged. "You said you went to New York. Right." I took a sip of my coffee, so I wouldn't have to look Rose in the eye.

Rose

I didn't want to make things awkward. I had to tell somebody. I took a deep breath. "Sunny," I said. "I ram away from home when we graduated."

Sunny

"Oh!" I exclaimed. Well. That explained why she didn't want to talk about it. ...Jeez, what was I supposed to say to that?

"It's OK," I said to Rose, giving her a little shake. "My family's messed up, too. It's gonna be OK." I bit my lip. Thinking about Dad still made me choke up.

Rose

I kept tears from escaping, but just barely.
"You explain first," I said with a little laugh. We must have looked like total idiots sitting in a booth, crying all over each other.

Sunny

"Well," I began, smearing my eyeliner as I wiped my eyes, "for starters, my mom left when I was a little kid. That wasn't too bad, actually; I didn't really know her." I paused, steeling myself for what I was about to say. "But then Dad and my little sister Iona...well, Dad was a chemist; he had his own lab, and everything...he and Iona died in a lab fire while I was at college." I wiped my eyes again. "And then there was that whole thing in Europe...that was just nuts..." I trailed off, sparing Rose all the convoluted details.

Rose

My tears stood stock still on my cheeks. I held Sunny for a second before beginning my explanation.
"Remember Andy? Andy Paxton?" Sunny sniffled.
"Yeah," she said. "He was so funny."
The tears rained down when I opened my mouth.
"Sunny...he's dead," I said. "He was in a car accident...and he donated his heart...to me..." Hopefully Sunny remembered about my heart condition. My voice started to run ragged as I continued, "he left me a note...saying...'It was always yours'!" And then we both started sobbing.

Sunny

I gave up trying to hold my tears back, and started sobbing into Rose's shoulder. Dad, Iona, and now Andy, too? And the note...God, I thought my life was bad. At least I still had most of my friends...

I tried to think of something to say, but it was like my brain had blown a fuse. I didn't know what to think. One part of my mind was still trying to process Rose's story about Andy, but another part was in full panic mode. What would happen if I lost Ferdinand? We had dragged each other through that mess in Europe. Would I give him my heart if I died in a car crash? I think I would.

"Rose," I started. "I...crap." I trailed off into more sobs.

Rose

Sunny started to say something but her voice was drowned out by a torrential downpour on her face.
"What is it, Sunny?" I asked softly.

Sunny

I sniffled a little, trying to get my breathing under control. "I haven't seen him in three years," I explained, my voice wavering. "We got separated in Europe, and I don't know--" I broke off. "Oh, man, I sound so whiny! Here you are, telling me your stories; I'm not supposed to start complaining to you..."

Rose

"Oh no, no, no, Sunny!" I said. "I want to know what happened! You lost someone you loved dearly. It's only right for you to talk about it. Believe me, it helps."

Sunny

"Okay," I sighed. Get ready for a ridiculous story, Rose.

"This is going to sound like it came straight out of a horror movie," I began. "But I swear, this is exactly how it happened. My friend Megan--Megan Andrews? Remember her? --she was on vacation in Europe, and I and a few other friends decided to fly over there and surprise her. But when we got there...I don't even know how this started, but she'd gotten tangled up with these awful people...and then I met Ferdinand, and he said he could help us...and then things just got crazy..."

Rose

Sunny might as well have been speaking Greek.
"Hold on, just start over," I said, holding her shoulders. This story was beginning to sound all too familiar. Little did Sunny know that Ferdinand was the name of my long-lost brother. And Megan Andrews...I remember her being a weird kid but that's about it.

Sunny

"Sorry," I muttered. I had suspected I was going too fast. "So Megan was on vacation in Europe, and a few friends and I decided to surprise her by flying over there and joining her. But she had gotten involved with...I guess you'd call it the mob...something like that. And then...a lot of what happened next was my fault. I was being stubborn--I didn't know how crazy these people were; I thought we could get her back...but we were in way over our heads. There was this mess in Spain...and that was where I met Ferdinand. He's actually Portuguese, but he was in Spain for something. And he said he could help us..."

Rose

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "What happened after that, Sunny?"

Sunny

"Well..." I began, trying to sort out the story in my mind. Even I got a little confused at this point. "I think Ferdinand had something to do with those people, too. He didn't like to talk about it. But he knew all sorts of things about them--who they were, where they were from, all that stuff. He helped us find Megan. And we saved her, but..." I took a deep breath. "But then everything went nuts. The guys who took Megan had something against Ferdinand, and we got separated when they came after us. That was the last time I saw him."