usually bought groceries on the weekend and the
people who came over for the party Friday night basically ate
everything they had in the house. She sighed and grabbed an apple
from the bottom drawer.
Maybe she should order
pizza or something, but she’d already eaten a ton of junk food
the last few days. With summer right around the corner, she couldn’t
afford to gain any weight. She was going to have to find her mom’s
credit card and go grocery shopping later.
Her phone buzzed
against the top of the counter. Karmen grabbed jar of peanut butter
from the pantry and a knife from the drawer, then checked the message
as she cut the apple into small slices. She dipped the first piece
into the jar, coating it with peanut butter.
My dad and sister
are really sick. Can’t leave them. Have u talked 2 Kate?
That was from Melody.
Karmen sighed. Too sick for her to leave and come hang out with a
friend?
No, why? Everything
okay?
The phone buzzed again.
Mark died this
morning.
Karmen had to read it
three times before the words sunk in. Mark was Kate’s little
brother. He was only two years old.
She set her half-eaten
apple slice on the counter and slid down onto the cold tile floor.
What the hell was happening? She’d spent the last couple of
days chilling out on the couch, watching marathons of Vampire
Diaries. Had the world completely changed in just two days? Was
everyone sick?
She dialed Aaron’s
number, her stomach suddenly queasy. He was supposed to come over
last night and watch a movie, but had totally bailed on her. Usually
he would at least call or something, but she’d never heard from
him. She’d been too pissed to call him earlier, but now, her
hands were trembling as she placed the phone to her ear and waited
for him to pick up.
The call went to
voicemail.
She tried him again,
this time calling his home phone instead of his cell.
On the fourth ring, his
mother picked up. “Hello?”
Her voice was strange
and tight.
“Hi Mrs. Goldman.
It’s Karmen. Can I talk to Aaron?”
Aaron’s mom
sobbed into the phone and Karmen’s heart went still. She
waited, not knowing what to say.
“Oh Karmen,
honey, I’m sorry, I should have called you,” Mrs. Goldman
said. Someone was coughing in the background. “It just happened
so fast, I didn’t even know what to think or who to call.”
“What happened?”
Karmen asked. “Is Aaron okay?”
“He’s been
sick since Sunday night.” His mom’s voice cracked as she
answered. “Karmen, Aaron passed away this morning.”
The phone dropped from
Karmen’s hand and the screen cracked as it hit the floor. She
stared straight ahead, unable to move or cry or even breathe.
How could Aaron be
dead? She’d just seen him on Friday night. She’d kissed
him. He hadn’t even been sick at all. Not even a cough or a
fever or anything. How had he gotten sick and died all in just the
last couple of days?
She pulled her knees
tight to her chest and lay her head against them. It was long past
midnight before she finally got up from the floor and made her way to
bed.
Parrish
The neighborhood was
eerie and silent. The only time she remembered it being so quiet was
one morning after a particularly heavy snowfall. She had woken up
super early and taken a walk in the powdery white morning. But there
was no snow this time. It was sunny and hot and beautiful. The
flowers were blooming and the birds were still singing. Everything
looked normal for summer, except that there should have been children
playing in the yards and dads mowing lawns. People should be swimming
in their pools and heading out to the lake or the grocery store or
the mall.
Was anyone even going
to work anymore? Parrish couldn’t be sure.
Not one person had even
come over to check on her after her mother died. She was sure someone
had to know by now. But no one had come to see if she was doing okay
here by herself.
She hadn’t been
able to reach her aunt Stacey, her mom’s sister. She was
supposed
people who came over for the party Friday night basically ate
everything they had in the house. She sighed and grabbed an apple
from the bottom drawer.
Maybe she should order
pizza or something, but she’d already eaten a ton of junk food
the last few days. With summer right around the corner, she couldn’t
afford to gain any weight. She was going to have to find her mom’s
credit card and go grocery shopping later.
Her phone buzzed
against the top of the counter. Karmen grabbed jar of peanut butter
from the pantry and a knife from the drawer, then checked the message
as she cut the apple into small slices. She dipped the first piece
into the jar, coating it with peanut butter.
My dad and sister
are really sick. Can’t leave them. Have u talked 2 Kate?
That was from Melody.
Karmen sighed. Too sick for her to leave and come hang out with a
friend?
No, why? Everything
okay?
The phone buzzed again.
Mark died this
morning.
Karmen had to read it
three times before the words sunk in. Mark was Kate’s little
brother. He was only two years old.
She set her half-eaten
apple slice on the counter and slid down onto the cold tile floor.
What the hell was happening? She’d spent the last couple of
days chilling out on the couch, watching marathons of Vampire
Diaries. Had the world completely changed in just two days? Was
everyone sick?
She dialed Aaron’s
number, her stomach suddenly queasy. He was supposed to come over
last night and watch a movie, but had totally bailed on her. Usually
he would at least call or something, but she’d never heard from
him. She’d been too pissed to call him earlier, but now, her
hands were trembling as she placed the phone to her ear and waited
for him to pick up.
The call went to
voicemail.
She tried him again,
this time calling his home phone instead of his cell.
On the fourth ring, his
mother picked up. “Hello?”
Her voice was strange
and tight.
“Hi Mrs. Goldman.
It’s Karmen. Can I talk to Aaron?”
Aaron’s mom
sobbed into the phone and Karmen’s heart went still. She
waited, not knowing what to say.
“Oh Karmen,
honey, I’m sorry, I should have called you,” Mrs. Goldman
said. Someone was coughing in the background. “It just happened
so fast, I didn’t even know what to think or who to call.”
“What happened?”
Karmen asked. “Is Aaron okay?”
“He’s been
sick since Sunday night.” His mom’s voice cracked as she
answered. “Karmen, Aaron passed away this morning.”
The phone dropped from
Karmen’s hand and the screen cracked as it hit the floor. She
stared straight ahead, unable to move or cry or even breathe.
How could Aaron be
dead? She’d just seen him on Friday night. She’d kissed
him. He hadn’t even been sick at all. Not even a cough or a
fever or anything. How had he gotten sick and died all in just the
last couple of days?
She pulled her knees
tight to her chest and lay her head against them. It was long past
midnight before she finally got up from the floor and made her way to
bed.
Parrish
The neighborhood was
eerie and silent. The only time she remembered it being so quiet was
one morning after a particularly heavy snowfall. She had woken up
super early and taken a walk in the powdery white morning. But there
was no snow this time. It was sunny and hot and beautiful. The
flowers were blooming and the birds were still singing. Everything
looked normal for summer, except that there should have been children
playing in the yards and dads mowing lawns. People should be swimming
in their pools and heading out to the lake or the grocery store or
the mall.
Was anyone even going
to work anymore? Parrish couldn’t be sure.
Not one person had even
come over to check on her after her mother died. She was sure someone
had to know by now. But no one had come to see if she was doing okay
here by herself.
She hadn’t been
able to reach her aunt Stacey, her mom’s sister. She was
supposed
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