~4~
I wake up in the middle of the night to the sound of a loud POW. For a minute I think that maybe my mom dropped another plate, and then I remember the conversation of the previous night. The sobbing, the hugging, the drama. What if someone happened to be listening? What if we weren’t acting well enough?
Before I can think about it, I race down the hall that connects my room to our large living space and call out,”Mom! Where are you? Are you okay?” With my heart pounding and my legs flying, I finally get to the living space. When I do, I see my mom, lying in the middle of the floor between our tan couch and glass coffee table.
My first thought is that she fell asleep on the couch and accidently rolled onto the floor. But then I see it.
She’s lying in a pool of blood.
I run toward her as fast as my legs will carry me, my vision blurred from tears. When I reach her I kneel down and search her body for the wound, but it isn’t hard. There is a bullet wound on her left thigh.
A bullet.
She was shot. Who would do such a thing? I almost jump up and run toward the front door, hoping the culprit is still outside, but I know my mother won’t last much longer. I shake her gently and hope that she isn’t gone yet.
“Mom? Mom, are okay? Answer me! Mom! Please,” I cry. Then she looks up at me, her face pale and eyes weak.
“Rose,” she says weakly, “listen to me. I am alright. I knew this was going to happen.”
“What are you talking about?” I practically yell. “You were shot! Someone wants you dead!”
“I know. They got what they want.”
Tears come faster, “You know?”
She closes her eyes and doesn’t answer and, for a minute, I think she’s gone. But then she signs In the closet. Before that moment I forgot about our Pods, and for once, I actually hoped they were tuning in. Maybe they heard the gunshot.
Then her breathing gets really rapid and I cry out, “Mom! No! Please don’t leave me.”
But then it stops completely.
YOU ARE READING
Fallen
Teen FictionDetermined to avenge her mother's death and find out the story behind her father, Rose Daunt sets out on an exciting adventure. However, along the way she meets up with an unlikely ally who might be too good to be true.
