Page 6 of Through the Flames
“Do something!” My voice broke. He didn’t move.Why wasn’t he moving?“Please!”
Mom’s fingers twitched in my hands, barely noticeable.
My eyes snapped back to hers, and I watched, horrified, as she held my gaze. Her hand squeezed mine ever so slightly.
A tear slipped out of the corner of her eye, and then something happened. Something disappeared from her eyes.
They went blank. Empty.
No!
“Mom!” I gripped her hand tighter. No reaction. Then I grabbed her shoulders and shook them, urgently. “Wake up!”
The metallic smell of blood hung heavily in the air. I couldn’t breathe.
Dad stepped over her body like she was nothing, like she was already dead.
She couldn’t be dead, right?
“Help her!” I yelled again.
He looked over his shoulder, his eyebrows raised. “Shut up, boy. She’s dead.”
The words hit me like a physical blow. While he strode over to the dining room table to pick up his phone, I was desperately trying to force air into my lungs.
My gaze was glued to her pale, unmoving face. From a distance, I heard him call the police. His voice sounded different now. Panicked and concerned. Almost devastated.
He told them she was already gone. That she hadfallendown the stairs.
Lies.
I was shaking, my knees aching from the unforgiving, freezing marble beneath me.
Everything after was a blur.
He dragged her body to the bottom of the stairs.
Arranged it just right.
Told me not to worry. He’d take care of everything.
Take care of everything? What did he mean?
My mind was spinning; I couldn’t think. Everything was cold.
I was frozen in place.
Meanwhile, Dad was crunching mints while cleaning everything up.
He swept up the broken glass, rolled the rug tight, and dragged it across the marble, then scrubbed at the spots where it had pressed down.
I could feel the traces in my foot — a few shards of glass stuck in my skin. Every step I took left a faint trail behind me.
He’d never cleaned anything before.Ever.
Dad’s eyes, dark and piercing, snapped in my direction.
“Look at this shit!” he barked, gesturing at the trail I’d left behind. I froze. My hands shook, but he shoved a towel toward me. “Clean it up. Now.”
