Unreachable

2. The Heart Stabbing news

I need to think. Where do I hide her? I can't lose her. She's a part of my family. I leaned left to right on my tip toes, I was swinging impatiently. Perfect! I found an old abandoned shack a while from where I live. It was at least 7 Laines away, my legs hurt. Then I shut the door, I'll bring her something to eat in the morning. I really need to get home. I pressed my hands against the cold worn down shed door and leaned my head on the door.

"Hush Ginger, you can't let them find you." It's almost as if she understood me. I heard her movement quiet down, I could faintly hear her licking her leg. "Bye Ginger, I'll see you tomorrow," then under my breath I muttered, "Hopefully". I turned the lock on the door. It would be easy for someone to open the shed, but hard for them to find it. Thats where I went wrong.

I was surprised the door wasn't too rusty to lock, but I needed to hurry. I ran home, it will take a while, the shed is 30 minutes away from my house. I didn't want my parents asking me where I was. I was already in too deep. I got home, walked inside and quietly shut the door, man, my sneakers are muddy. I wiped them on the torn apart door mat, pondering the fact that we actually had enough money for one.

"Dad, Mom. I'm home" I yelled. They are probably upstairs, I thought. Might as well check, I walked upstairs, listening for every sound I could make out. Dad? Mom? I opened the door, I saw them sitting on the couch, Dad quickly shut off the tv. Mom was crying. Mom? Why are you crying? I sat next to her wondering what would cause Dad's concern and Mom's tears.

"Um, honey," Mom said about to cry again. "Something has happened to Aunt Cali," She said wiping tears from her eyes. I could see Dad was about to cry. "What do you mean SOMETHING?" I asked hoping for more information than just "Something". Aunt Cali was our only family relative left besides our family, and I loved her. She visited us every weekend to spend time with us and help us by bringing us food, water, and money.

"Mom?! What happened!!!?" I raised my voice, then lowered it, my eyes were tearing up. I can't let this hurt me. I have to be strong I thought. "Aunt Cali, has been infected with a disease that makes you lose your memory. In the second stage, your skin starts to bleed. She's been infected with," my mom started crying again, " it's called the Faroile disease," she attempted to be strong.

Dad opened his mouth and started to say something but mom cut him off like she was trying to keep something secret. "I'm sorry honey," said Mom. I couldn't be strong either, the one thing my mom and I have in common. The family is our weak spot.

I ran downstairs into my room and slammed the door, laying on my bed bawling, I could hear my brother through the door asking me what was wrong. I guess he didn't get the heart stabbing news.

"Mae? Are you alright? My mom asked through my door. "No. Why her?" I demanded to know. "She was only 30! She didn't even live a full life!" I screamed into my pillow, my screaming was muffled by my tears. "Honey. She was an amazing woman. She means a lot to us. We love her. But there is nothing we can do. Can I come in?" she asked.

I opened the door to let my Mom in. Her face still bright red from crying. "When did you find out Mom?" I asked, my throat sore from yelling. I was curious, but I didn't want to know the answer. As they say, curiosity killed the cat.

"She passed 3 days ago but we just found out a half hour ago, you know how hard it is to contact people around here." My mom said shaking her head, listening to herself speak. "But, how did she get the disease. She's a germaphobe. She would never make physical contact with anyone", I was shocked. "Honey, she was bitten by a dog, those filthy animals carry the disease. Why do you think we let our puppies go?,"

Oh my gosh, dogs are being killed and they can't help it. "How did you find out? I asked wondering why the news was so late. "A doctor in South Carolina called this morning, they laid it down slowly. We never found out many details, we couldn't listen anymore."

No, that's impossible I thought. I quickly ran downstairs checking for the phone. I found it where it always was. I picked up the phone and tried to turn it on. Just like I thought, the phone was still broken, from that baseball I may or may not have thrown in the house. I was suspicious. I walked upstairs back to my room, my mom was holding a picture of Aunt Cali that used to lay smack in the middle of my dusty dresser.

"Mom, did you receive the news from OUR phone?" I slowly asked. " Yes Hun," she said still looking at the picture. "The home phone? The one downstairs?" I asked confused. "Yes. The only phone we have" she answered assuring me.

Ok, mom, what are you hiding?