A Ring of Roses

Chapter Two

"You're just like her." My mom repeats, still in shock.

"Who, mom? What are you talking about?" I reach out to her, trying to bring her back to me. She doesn't recognize my hand until it touches her shoulder. She reacts violently.

    She jolts and backs away from me quickly, almost falling over the kitchen table. "Don't touch me!" She looks at me as if she doesn't even recognize me anymore.

    What did I do? Why do I deserve this? It's almost like she doesn't see her daughter, just disease.

We hear footsteps and talking on the front porch, the rest of my family is back. If they react like my mom... I don't know if I could handle it. I turn my head towards the noise and before I can turn back, my mom is pushing me to my room as fast as she can.

    "Stay here until they come get you tomorrow, pack whatever you want. I'll have Garrett bring you your food. We don't need you infecting anybody." She grimaces as she looks me up and down.

    And I'm alone with nothing but silence to keep me company. My mind keeps going back to my mom's shocked state. The words 'You're just like her' ring in my head as I rack my brain for answers of who she could be talking about. As far as I know the only family my mom has is my stepbrother, stepdad, and me. Well, I don't know if she counts me anymore.

    I can hear my parents talking in the kitchen, but it's quiet. Not quite yelling, at least not yet. And then silence, broken only by the sound of my mom sobbing. My stepdad's murmuring reassurances to her trying to cheer her up, but it won't work. Not this time.

    A knock on the door startles me and when I open it my stepbrother, Garrett, is standing outside with a tray of food.

"Here." He mumbles under his breath and hands the tray. He turns to leave, but before he can I step forward and grab his arm.

"One question, then you can leave. Why do you hate me?" The one thing I've never understood. I wanted to have a brother, sister relationship with him or friends at least. But we never had that, and I want to know why before I leave and never see him again.

"I wanted to like you," he starts. "I tried, but I have no respect for those who cause trouble for their family. You may not have noticed, but you have been nothing but trouble for this family – my family."  He turns his back to me and walks down the hall. '

His words cut through me like a knife. He's right, I hadn't noticed how much trouble I actually caused for my family. Until now. I never did what my mom wanted, only what I wanted, what I thought was best for me.

But I still never deserved this.

I never deserved to be infected and have everything that I have ever worked for be thrown out the window. Nobody even knows what this disease is, it takes the government all of two seconds to remove anybody with it. I used to judge those who were sick. How could they be so careless and stupid? But, oh, how the tables have turned.

I have done nothing wrong. I am . . . I was the picture perfect citizen. I had hopes and dreams and now they're gone. I set my food down on the nightstand, I'm too upset to eat. Grabbing me small leather satchel I set to work looking for anything that I might be able to take with me. But I find nothing.

My room is small with a bed in the middle and a nightstand beside it. White walls surround me, locking me away from the outside world except for a curtain-covered window to the left. A dresser with a T.V. on top sits against the wall directly in front of my bed, I've never used it before, but it's mandatory that every house in the Gated Communities come with at least two T.V.s for "emergency" government broadcasts. Many houses have one in every room, but we're one short; we only have two which leaves my brother out. I guess now that I'm being taken that won't be a problem anymore.