A notification flashes across the screen. I have a voicemail. I smack my forehead. Of course I do. She called earlier and left me a message. I enter my pin and wait for the message to start.
“Hey, sweetheart. I just wanted to check in on my girl. Hope you’re having fun. I’ll call yo—” her voice cuts off. There’s the sound of tires squealing in the background. A shrill scream. The crunch of metal.
Oh my God!“Mom!” No. No. No. She has to be okay. She— Dominique reaches out, but I slap his hand away. I need to find my brother. I need… I drop my phone and shove past him. “Kasey, stop.”
I don’t. I move for my car, but strong arms band around me, turning me until we’re face to face. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know how else to tell you.”
I shove against his chest, but he doesn’t budge. Instead, he holds me tighter against his chest, one hand cupping the back of my head. “I’m sorry, baby girl. I’m so fucking sorry.”
I shake my head. “No!” My vision blurs, but I blink back the tears. “Never let them see you cry, sweetheart.”Mom’s words echo in my head.
I sniff and pull away. This time, he lets me go. “She’s fine though, right? She’s at a hospital or whatever? She’s getting treatment?” I rub my eyes with the backs of my hands.
He doesn’t say anything. He just stands there looking at me with eyes full of what ...regret?
“Well?” I shout. “You can talk now. That’s why you’re here, right? Is she going to be okay?” I need to talk to my teachers. If Mom is hurt she’ll need someone to look after her. At least until she’s back on her feet. I don’t know how much time I can miss from school, but I’ll figure that out later. Aaron will—shit.I need to talk to my brother. Does he know Mom was in an accident?
“Where’s Aaron?”
“He’s at home.”
I frown. “Does he know Mom was hurt? I have to call him.”
“He knows,” Dominique says. “The hospital called him.”
Okay. Good. She’s at a hospital. That’s good. But, “Why isn’t he here? Why are you here telling me about my mom instead of him?” Anger floods my system and I latch onto it.
A tormented look flashes across his face. “He’s having a hard time with the news. I don’t...” he takes a deep breath, “He didn’t know how to tell you.”
“Is he packing at least?” I run through my mental to-do list. Pack some clothes. Notify my teachers that I have a family emergency. Book a flight to Florida. Shit.I don’t even have the new address.
I’ll figure that out once I talk to Aaron. I whirl around to go back inside. “Where are you going?”
“I need to pack.”
“Kasey!”
“Dominique. I don’t have time. If Mom is hurt, I need—”
“She didn’t make it.”
Something squeezes my chest and all the air whooshes out of my lungs. “W…what?”
My knees shake and everything suddenly sounds far away.
Dominique steps toward me, but it’s almost like he’s out of focus. My vision is dark along the edges.
“What do you mean, she didn’t make it?” My voice is quiet, almost like if I say the words too loud it will make them real. But they can’t be real. Mom is fine. She has to be fine.
“I’m so sorry,” he tells me. This time, I believe him.
“No.” I press the palm of my hand to my chest. “She can’t … no. She has to be okay. My mom,” I choke back a sob. “No. She has to be okay!”
Dominique steps closer, his hands reaching out almost like I’m a wild animal he’s afraid to spook.
“It’s going to be okay.”
“No, it’s not. It is not going to be okay. This is not okay!”
