Truth-
I slowly opened my eyes and took in the blurry surroundings. I tried to rub my eyes but found that my hand couldn’t go far, as if it were restrained. My vision cleared a bit and my eyes focused. I was handcuffed to a hospital bed.
I was trying to remember what had happened before I fell asleep, but couldn’t recall anything.
I heard someone clear their throat next to me and I turned my head and laid eyes on William, who was sitting next to my bed.
Suddenly a rush of memories hit me. Angelina, Thomas, William, my wound, his insistence on my friend betraying me.
“You,” I said with my voice cracking. “You irresponsible jerk. You selfish coward. You– you scruffy-looking nerf herder!” William looked startled that I had called him that. To be fair, I made it up as I went along but I thought it fitting, now that I think about it. “I don't want to see your stupid face again,” I said angrily.
He just sat there, wringing his hands, unable to meet my eyes. Finally, he said, “Look, Maddi, I didn’t mean to upset you, I only had to drug you because–”
“You drugged me?!”
He was looking so uncomfortable. He must have thought I had already known, but he just made himself look worse.
“Y–yes,” he stuttered. ‘But I had to, I swear that I would never have done it unless I had to, I promise!”
“Where on earth did you get the idea that that was okay?!”
“Maddi, I swear that I didn’t want to!”
“But you did!”
“Maddi–”
“No!” I interrupt. “If you didn’t want to do it then why did you?!”
“Maddi–”
“Of all the lame excuses you could come up with, which one is it this time?”
“Mad–”
“You’ve been hiding something ever since we met!”
“Maddi, I–”
“WELL?!”
He took a deep breath and said, “Madison, I truly and deeply apologize. I don’t expect you to forgive me or even accept what I’m about to say, but I hope you will at least listen to what I have to say.”
I lay there with tears in my eyes, so angry, waiting for him to continue.
“I’m a secret agent.”
Now I scoffed. “If you were so ‘secret’,” I said snarkily. “Then why are you telling me?”
“I’ve been allowed to tell you. You can’t tell anyone, and I’m trusting you with that secret. I’m a secret agent–it’s true, don't give me that look– and my latest mission was to retrieve the brooch that was in your possession. I was partnered with Angelina, who was working undercover with Thomas. I must admit that I didn’t trust her at first, but I continued to work with her. Angelina had been an agent for ten years and was perfect for the job because she was close to you,”
“We used Cafe Rose as our base and made it look as normal as possible. We started hiring, and Thomas came right into our midst–an opportunity to perfect to miss– and he dropped information on accident which led us to suspect him,”
“He was, but we hadn’t confirmed it yet. When we found the brooch, it was in the hands of the enemy. I thought our mission was a waste, especially since we had lost a great agent and almost lost you, but then you pulled out that brooch. Even though she died, she still managed to complete her mission, a mark of a fine agent.”
“That’s all you have to say about her?!” I yelled, angry tears starting to pour. “She’s more than a ‘fine agent’ you idiot! She was my best friend!” I was sobbing at this point.
William still looked so uncomfortable. It almost looked as if he had started to cry too. “Oh Madison, I didn’t mean that. She was more than a good agent. She was a wonderful person and I can see that she was a great friend. She meant so much to you, I know. She saved your life; I can’t help but be grateful to her,” he said.
I didn’t want to hear anymore. I hated William. I hated his face, the way he talked, everything about him. “Get out of my sight! I don’t care what else you have to say, I hate you! It’s your fault she’s gone! I’ll always hate you!” Then I broke down sobbing.
“Just one tiny thing, please,” William begged in a small voice. Before I could say anything, he stood up, holding a letter. “This is from Angelina. She wrote it a while ago, in case anything went wrong.” He placed the envelope on the table near the bed and left the room. Once he was gone I struggled against the restraint to get it. Then I read the letter:
Dear friend, Madison;
If you are reading this, I’ve already left; or dead. But please don’t be sad. I knew what I was getting myself into when I took on this assignment. William, my partner, and you have grown extremely close. It doesn’t matter if I am there or not, but I know you’ll both be happy together if you choose to.
Even if you decide he’s not right for you, I implore you to find someone or something to take your mind off of everything. This mission was to get your brooch, I won’t deny that, but I promise that I will do anything to replace it if I can. Please don’t be mad, but you were in danger with it in your possession.
Finally, I learned a lesson shortly before writing this. I learned that you have and will stick by my side through thick and thin, no matter what. I’m so thankful that I had you through everything. I’m sorry that I’ve let you, or died, whichever happens at the time you received this letter, but I thank you for all these bright happy years of friendship. I hope we will meet again, even if it takes a thousand years. I’m so sorry I couldn’t say goodbye then, but I shall say it now.
Goodbye my dear friend,
I’m sorry that this is the end.
The bluebirds in the sky
Will continue to fly,
The squirrels still collect their food
And from that we conclude
That time still passes
Like the ever-growing grasses.
My dear friend,
This is the end.
Goodbye with lots of love,
Angelina ❤️
As I read the tears came harder. How selfish I had been. Will was only helping. I realized that yes, he deserved some–well most of–what I had said, but I was pretty rude. I was going to wait until he came back (assuming he would) and try to work things out. But for now, I was still handcuffed to this hospital bed.
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