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I looked athelpless “What happened?” I asked hazily

“You were in an accident, honey,” my mother answered My fatherthis show

My thoughts swam An accident When?

“Is the other driver—” I started, but couldn’t finish

“Not a car accident, Mara” My ist voice, I realized “What’s the last thing you remember?”

More than waking up in a hospital roo else—that question unnerved me I stared at her closely for the first time Her eyes were shadowed, and her nails, usually perfectly ed

“What day is it?” I asked quietly

“What day do you think it is?” Myquestions with questions

I rubbed my hands over my face My skin seemed to whisper on contact “Wednesday?”

My mother looked at me carefully “Sunday”

Sunday I looked away fro the hospital room instead I hadn’t noticed the flowers before, but they were everywhere A vase of yellow roses were right beside s from the house sat in a chair next to the bed; an old cloth doll ed inside, resting its limp arm around the rim

“What do you remember, Mara?”

“I had a history test Wednesday I drove home from school and…”

I rifled througha cereal bar fro toout Sophocles’ Three Theban Plays Writing Then drawing in

A slow, creeping fear wound its way aroundup at her face

A muscle above my mother’s eyelid twitched “You were at The Tamerlane—” she started

Oh, God

“The building collapsed Someone reported it at about three am Thursday When the police arrived, they heard you”

My father cleared his throat “You were screa”

Myback tofell, you were buried in a pocket of air, in the baseht have fainted fro fell and knocked you out You do have a few bruises,” she said, pushing aside my hair

I looked past her, and saw her torso reflected in a mirror above the sink I wondered what “a few bruises” looked like when a building fell on your head

I pusheduards

My joints protested as I craned my head over the bed rails to see My ht; a bluish shadow blossoht cheekbone I pushed my dark hair back to see the extent of it, but that was it Otherwise I looked—noraze shifted to my mother We were so different I had none of her exquisite Indian features; not her perfect oval face or her lacquer-black hair Instead, my father’s patrician nose and jaere reflected in my own And except for the one bruise, I did not look like a building had collapsed on me at all I narrowed ainst the pillows and stared at the ceiling

“The doctors said you’re going to be fine” My ht, even, if you feel well enough”

I lowered aze to the nurses “Why are they here?” I askedme out

“They’ve been taking care of you since Wednesday,” she said She nodded at the nurse with the welt on her cheek “This is Carmella,” she said, then indicated the other nurse “And this is Linda”

Carmella, the nurse with the welt on her cheek, sht hook”

My forehead crumpled I looked at my mother

“You panicked when you woke up before, and they had to be here when you woke up just in case you were…still disoriented”

“Happens all the ti like yourself noe can go”

I nodded, my throat dry “Thank you I’m sorry”

“No problem, sweetie,” she said Her words sounded fake Linda hadn’t said a word the whole time

“Let us know if you need anything” They turned and walked synchronously out of the roo me and my family alone

I was glad they were gone And then I realized that my reaction to the else My eyes swept the room, and finally landed on the bedside table, on the roses They were fresh, unwilted I wondered when Rachel brought them

“Did she visit?”

My mother’s face darkened “Who?”

“Rachel”

My father e noise and even my mother, my practiced, perfect mother, looked uncomfortable

“No,” my mother said “Those are from her parents”

So about the way she said it made me shiver “So she didn’t visit,” I said softly

“No”

I was cold, so cold, but I had started to sweat “Did she call?”

“No, Mara”

Her answer made me want to scream I held out my arm instead “Give me your phone I want to call her”

My mother tried to smile and failed miserably “Let’s talk about this later, okay? You need to rest”

“I want to call her now” My voice was close to cracking I was close to cracking

My father could tell “She ith you, Mara Claire and Jude, too,” he said

No

Sohtened around my chest and I could barely find the breath to speak “Are they in the hospital?” I asked, because I had to, even though I knew the answer just looking at my parents’ faces

“They didn’t make it,” my mother said slowly

This wasn’t happening It couldn’t be happening Soan to rise in my throat

“Ho did they die?” I ed to ask

“The building collapsed,” my mother said calmly

“How?”

“It was an old building, Mara You know that”