BLOODSPORT
CHAPTER NINE !

   THE BLINDING WHITE LIGHTS of a hospital room was the first thing that Pauline Summers saw when she regained consciousness. Her face scrunched up as she squinted at the attacking fluorescents that burned at her retinas. On instinct, she shuffled in the bed she lay in which caused immediate regret as a red hot pain shot through her lower back.

   Memories of her getting stabbed, of her laying helpless on that floor filled her mind. She couldn't help but wonder how much time had passed. Who had found her? Had Amber attacked anyone else or worse, killed someone? The thought of losing another friend after Wes was almost too much for her to handle.

She wondered what she had done to deserve the attack. Had Amber hated her all along? Had their entire friendship been a lie?

As the injured Summers girl started to drift off into the barrage of questions that traversed her mind, the door of the room creaked open causing her gaze to shoot over in the sounds direction. In walked her mother grasping a paper cup of bad hospital coffee.

"Mom!" Pauline cried out.

"Baobèi! You're awake!" Jaqueline Summers almost immediately began to cry as she rushed over to her daughters bed. Her coffee cup was left forgotten on the bedside table. "How are you? Are you in pain? I'll get the nurse."

Pauline attempted to laugh at her mothers fussing though it came out in a series of coughs that sent a sharp pain up her back. "Mom, stop. I'm okay, really. Don't call for a nurse." She begged from her mom. She didn't want a nurse, all she wanted was her mom.

Though she still felt like her daughter needed a nurse, Jaqueline chose to sit down. "I was fucking terrified for you. When I heard you'd been attacked, it felt like the world stop." As she perched herself upon the lone chair next to the bed, the woman wiped away the tears that had fallen.

A slight grimace appeared on Pauline's face at this news. "I'm sorry for scaring you, Mom. Please tell me everyone is okay." She desperately needed to know if her friends were okay. If they weren't, if they had been...murdered, Pauline didn't know how she would cope.

Her mom smiled endearingly down at her. "All of your friends are okay. They all suffered their own injuries at their hands but they're doing just fine." She reassured Pauline, lightly brushing her thumb over the expanse of her daughters hand.

"Their?" The young brunette questioned in confusion. "It wasn't just Amber?"

   "Samantha's boyfriend was a cohort of hers the entire time." A  bitter taste was left in Jaqueline mouth as she uttered these words. At the hands of two sick and twisted individuals, her daughter had nearly been taken from her. It made her ill just thinking about the fear Pauline had felt that night.

Pauline's brows furrowed. Surely not. That bumbling fool had been apart of it? "Richie? Jesus Christ. He seemed so useless, didn't think he had it in him." She commented in surprise having never believed it possible.

Jaqueline slowly shook her head. "You should never underestimate someone."

   The mother and daughter sat for the next few hours just chatting, joyously celebrating that Pauline had survived until visiting hours had reached its end which meant Jaqueline had to head home for the day. After assuring her mom that she'd be okay alone, the woman finally left with a promise to bring Pauline some comforts from home the next day.

   Pauline remained laying in that bed for the remainder of the day and night, only moving to eat or go to the bathroom with the help of a nurse. It would be a long road ahead to her recovery, that was for sure.

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AS THE SUN PEEKED in through the blinds, cascading across Pauline's face, she slowly awoke. During the night, a nurse had replaced her IV which allowed the young girl to sleep throughout the night without waking due to excruciating pain.

   While she was still incredibly uncomfortable and it did hurt to move any more than she had to, she was feeling much better than the day before which she was thankful.

   Before she was able to fully wake herself up, the door to her room opened. Her initial assumption was that it was either her mom or a nurse though she was quickly proven wrong when in walked Mindy Meeks-Martin donning a sling and a relieved grin.

"Hi." Pauline meekly greeted with a small grin of her own.

   "Are you okay?" Despite her smile, Mindy looked worried. Out of all their friends, Pauline had been in the hospital the longest. Even Tara, who had gained more injuries during the altercation that night, had been discharged.

   When Pauline had been rushed to the hospital, she had lost so much blood that many believed she wouldn't make it. Mindy blamed herself. She'd spent so much time watching that stupid movie, getting lost in the plot that she'd never even noticed how long Pauline had actually been gone.

   "I've been better, that's for sure." An amused half smile grew on Pauline's lips as she kept her gaze locked upon the Meeks-Martin girl. She was unable to tear her eyes away from the sling. "What happened to you?"

Mindy playfully scoffed as she moved to sit down in the chair next to the bed. "Got stabbed in the shoulder."

"By Amber or Richie?"

   "I actually am not sure. Whoever it was wore the Ghostface costume. Which one got you?" She inquired with a nod of the head towards the Summers girl.

   "Amber." Pauline replied, fighting back the urge to snarl out the girls name. Rage at Amber's actions had been building within her since the day prior. "Richie was downstairs with you at the time. Fuckin' bitch got me when my back was turned."

   "Sam found you, you know?" Mindy reached out and grabbed hold of Pauline's hand, gripping it tightly. She was afraid to let go for fear of losing the girl. She'd already been through that fear once and Mindy never planned on going through it again. "Said you looked dead at the time."

Pauline could only imagine the sight. Her dress she wore that night, which had been bagged up in a plastic bag labelled 'personal affects', had been absolutely drenched in blood. Barely any of the original colour remained, instead replaced by a deep crimson.

"Well, I'm not." Pauline said with what she hoped was a reassuring smile while gently squeezing Mindy's hand. "Quick question, probably not the most appropriate time to bring this up but I just have to."

   "You're beginning to ramble. What's up?" A playful smirk graced Mindy's lips. She knew exactly what Pauline was about to ask. She had been thinking the very same thing herself. It was the first thing on her mind once she learned that Pauline had awoke.

Nerves began to settle deep within her stomach. After taking a breath, Pauline then asked, "Are we, you know, okay?"

   "You mean, do I still find you very attractive and want you as more than a best friend?" Mindy feigned boredom as she spoke though internally she jumped up and down. "Yes, Lina. We're okay."

   A genuine sigh of relief fell from Pauline's lips. "I'm glad. I was afraid my stab wound would have turned you off. I know how superficial you can be." She cheekily commented, sending a little wink in Mindy's direction.

"Shut up!"

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jamielee's thoughts.
chapter nine. not proofread.
so this is the last chapter of scream five. I hope you've enjoyed the fic as much as I did writing it. I dislike scream 6 so i will not be writing for that film so this is where pauline and mindy's relationship ends, on a happy note :) anyways hope you enjoyed :)