Shock

-16-

Paisley Carter.
The definition of a 'popular girl'. Went to all the parties, got all the boys' attention...
We'd been friends, once upon a time. Until we'd reached that wonderful age of pre-teens in grade seven. From then on, what had previously been 'fun', got marked as 'dorky' and 'stupid'. Boys and parties became the number one topic for conversation, replacing Harry Potter and National Geographic. And me. I wasn't cool enough to hang out with anymore, and so quickly, I got replaced with other girls just like Paisley.
Now I know saying this makes me sound like a snob. I don't mean it like that. I didn't mind talking about boys occasionally. But between the gossiping and the judging... They also started shutting me out.
So imagine my surprise when the girl I hadn't talked to for over six years appeared in an abandoned building during an earthquake, talking to my brother and his friend.
"Hi..." She spoke, her hand offering a hesitating wave.
I opened my mouth to reply, when footsteps sounded behind me.
"What's taking so long? Are they in there, or-"
We all turned our heads to see Nathan, eyes wide-open, eyebrows raised, skidding to a stop in the open space we were standing in.
His jaw dropped when he saw Paisley.
"Oh."
I rolled my eyes and tilted my head. Boys always had this reaction to her. I understood why. With her smooth, honey colored hair, piercing green eyes and heart shaped face, she was objectively beautiful. But understanding didn't mean I had to like it.
I motioned to one and then the other.
"Nathan, Paisley. Paisley, Nathan."
"Uhm, hi," Nathan said.
"Hi," Paisley flashed her perfect 'Miss Universe' smile.
Enough introductions, let's get to the point.
I turned back to Paisley.
"Not... To sound rude or anything, but... Why are you here?"
The smile vanished and she looked down.
"I've been here for hours. I didn't know where else to go..." Her voice trailed off as she looked around her. I suddenly noticed that the music I'd heard outside was still playing.
"Yeah, I get that, but how did you get here in the first place? Why?"
She returned her gaze to meet mine, and at once there were tears in her eyes.
"There was a party... Downtown. We were gonna have a few drinks before we left, but then..."
She bit her lip and looked down. When she'd slightly composed herself, she continued her story.
"Emmet found this building. His, uhm, his dad is a construction worker? He said they were gonna take it down anyway, so we might as well have a little fun while it's still here, right?" Her voice was getting higher by the second, and it seemed like she was on the verge of breaking down.
Without thinking, I took a few steps in her direction and noticed she was emitting a vague odor of liquor and smoke.
"Where is he now?"
Paisley let out a sniffle.
"Paisley, where is Emmet?" I repeated in a manner I hoped came across as calm and collected.
She just shook her head in response. I took another step forward and put my hand on her shoulder.
"Paisley..."
Her reply came out as one, large sob.
"He's dead!"

I swallowed a lump in my throat and tried to maintain eye contact.
"Dead?" My voice was trembling now.
"What do you mean, you said he was here with you, right?"
The sobbing had gotten worse now, as if she'd been keeping it in for hours. I guess that was probably the case.
I halted the interrogation and put my arms around her, pulling her into a bear hug, the way we used to do when we were younger.
"It's okay," I said, "Let it out."
We stood there for a few minutes, while Nathan and the kids stayed frozen in their spots.
After a while, Paisley freed herself from my embrace and wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand.
"The roof... Fell down. And Emmet and Jackson... Actually I don't know where Jackson is. He left before..."
Once again, her voice faltered before she could finish her sentence. I let her gather her thoughts and she continued.
"They, uhm, the roof fell on him. I was standing in the right place I guess. So I was left. Alone. And I've been alone for hours and he's been dead for hours and I can't turn that bloody music off and it's making me crazy!"
Her voice got louder and louder as her story progressed, up until the part where she was nearly screaming that last bit.
I heard some movement behind me as the rest stepped closer.
I looked around and saw Nathan was jogging the other way. I wondered what he-
"Do you know where Dexter is?"
Peter asked hesitatingly. Dexter was Paisley's brother and one of Peter's -and Haley's- classmates.
Paisley's gaze flicked towards him and she nodded.
"He's at home. I'm pretty sure he's safe. We have a underground shelter. Mum and dad are with him, so they're probably all in there."
A smile broke through her tears and I felt a pang of jealousy. Not because of the attention or the nice clothes, those things had never mattered to me all that much. But to know your family was safe? That was a luxury I cherished now more than ever.
The kids seemed to think the same thing, because they both dropped their heads.
I crouched down in front of them and tried to reassure them, though I didn't know if I wasn't actually reassuring myself.
"...but what if mum really never wakes up?" Haley asked.
I didn't know what to say, so I was glad to be saved by Nathan's voice, coming from deeper inside the building.
"Found it!" He yelled, and the music stopped abruptly.
Two seconds later he came out of the darkness holding a cell phone and speakers.
"Finally!" Paisley exclaimed, and with a sigh, she collapsed to the ground.
Peter quickly joined her, eager to let his battered feet rest, then so did Haley. Lastly, Nathan and I sat down, and now we were forming a circle on the ground, as if we were about to play duck, duck, goose.
Peter and Haley started telling Paisley about our experiences during the earthquake, and Nathan leaned in to whisper in my ear.
"How's your hand?"
I lifted it to look at the wound and saw that it had gotten even worse in the past twenty to thirty minutes, which I hadn't even thought would be possible.
Nathan took my hand and studied it closely. I was quite surprised how he wasn't repulsed by it. The cut had turned so many different colors now it was starting to resemble extraterrestrial life.
"We really gotta find some alcohol to disinfect it. Just leaving it like this is the worst thing we can do right now."
I was about to utter my agreement, when Paisley interrupted us.
"That's so gross! What is that?"
Immediately, I was transported back to middle school days. I was about to yell at her to shut up, but calmed down when I reminded myself she was just talking about the wound.
"I... Cut myself. With a knife. By accident."
"Oh. Why is it yellow?"
"It's infected. I would disinfect it but..."
"We don't have any alcohol." Nathan added.
Paisley's eyes widened.
"But I do!"

Five minutes later, Nathan and I were sitting in front of the most impressive lineup of liquor I'd ever seen.
"Okay, which one of these has the highest alcohol percentage?" I asked. We skimmed all the labels, tossing ones with 40% or less and putting the rest in a pile. We were left with four bottles with over 70% alcohol in them.
"So... Any preferences?" Nathan asked, half joking.
I smiled. "I think the Bacardi has 75%. That seems about right, doesn't it?"
Nathan nodded and took the bottle in one hand, my injured one in the other.
"Just... Squeeze my arm if it hurts."
I put my good hand on his forearm and prepared myself for the pain.

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