page27 (1/2)

But Keith hadn’t died

He’d fallen and yelled that he’d broken his butt or so up his swi for hi Cody there

And inon the dock, talking to another guy I’d watched hi soon, sohim

I wanted to change what I did that night I wanted to look away from him I wanted to watch Phillip and Chris I wanted to turn an I wished I’d listenedon about, because now I couldn’t re

And when she got up to join Phillip by the lake’s edge, I wanted to call her back And I wanted to follow the side by side, but I didn’t I stayed where I hile someone across the lake let off fireworks

I tried to change my memory

But then there had been Sebastian As the sky lit up and the air echoed, he’d draped his arm over my shoulders Another firework had shot into the air on a sht red sparks The entire right side of ainst Sebastian I’d rested my cheek in the crook of his shoulder as the sky flashed, because there was nothing aard between us then, and I re thatthat life couldn’t be any better than right then, that moment

And I had no idea how right I’d been

WednesdayMom broke the news “Your father is on his way”

“Why?” I asked, staring at the ceiling

“He’s your father,” she responded, sounding tired

That wasn’t much of an explanation He wasWhy start now?

A horrible thought forht, in the ICU, and it was now Wednesday, was he just now on his way?

Sounded so h but couldn’t

“He’s driving fro I had “You kno he is Refuses to fly He should be here tonight, to by the latest”

I didn’t know ht now I really didn’t have the brain space to figure him out I didn’t want to see hi to really say about it

I just wanted to be left alone with ed I didn’t want these new

Mo with me One would drive the forty-sorab fresh clothes The other stayed Mo up e’d talked about with the cops

During one of Mom’s trips home, Lori told me that the accident happened just three miles frohhich was a twisted blessing The curvy road leading to the far to Keith’s house If we’d gotten on the highe could’ve hit someone else

Killed more people

Killed people other than ourselves

In those hours, when Lori oruys consuh I tried to shut it all down I wanted to ask questions Hoas Abbi doing? Had someone called Dary or had she come home Sunday to this? What did Sebastian think? Hoas Coach Hoas Coach handling the loss of Megan? I was replaceable on the teaan wasn’t School had started the day I woke up Hoas everyone else doing?

In the ICU, they allowed only fae once I was moved into recovery Fro policy People could corateful it was only Lori and Mom

Seeing my friends would make me think about what had happened, beyond the surface level And I couldn’t Doing so would make it all too real, too painful, and while I was in the hospital, away fro other than the reason I was

“Mr Miller has been a while Mom was in the cafeteria, wherever that was located Mr Miller was Moave her this week and next off withouther use her vacation He rolled over all her unused sick time”