Hannah's Rainbow: Every Color Beautiful

Chapter Eighteen

The incessant ticking of the clock in the adjacent living room was the only indication that time hadn't stopped. Hannah stared at her sobbing mother and then at her grim father. Pa's words echoed through her mind like a bell tolling doom.

"Dead?" she whispered hollowly. "But- but I don't understand. Are you sure?"

Pa nodded. "Get some sleep in your own bed, Hannah. It's been an incredibly long night for all of us, and it won't do you any good to be exhausted on top of everything."

"I don't think I could sleep if I was drugged," Hannah said, shaking her head as tears prickled at the corners of her eyes. "Kat and I- we fought earlier this week at work. We never made amends, and now it's too late. And Harry... Pa, he's going to be devastated. I think he loved her."

"There's a time to talk about these things, but not now," Pa said firmly. "Harry may have been awake when we saw him, but he doesn't yet know the full implications of what happened."

Hannah went upstairs to her room, only to find Irma sitting up in bed.

"I heard you all talking downstairs," the girl said. "Is it true? Was Harry really in an accident?"

Hannah joined her little sister and nodded. "I'm afraid so. What did you hear?"

"I couldn't pick up everything, but I heard he was at the hospital."

Hannah nodded.

"Maybe you should talk to Pa," Hannah said. "I didn't get much sleep last night. I'm going to try now."

Irma swung her skinny legs over the side of the bed and stood. Before she sauntered off, she hugged Hannah and kissed her on the cheek.

"It's going to be all right," Irma said, offering a small smile.

Hannah returned the smile, feebly. While Hannah's mind kept replaying her last conversation with Kat and her own concerns over Harry's behavior these past several months, sleep somehow claimed her.

She awakened some time after noon to find Ma standing in the doorway.

"You have a phone call. I believe it's Will."

Hannah sat up, her clothes from the evening before rumpled and her hair a mess.

Anxious to speak with Will, Hannah also dreaded the impending conversation. She sighed and found her way to the dining room, clutching the phone with both hands, afraid she might drop it.

"Hi, Will."

"Listen, Hannah. We need to talk. Can I come over? Meet me outside in fifteen minutes."

"All right."

Hannah hung up. She didn't know what to expect, but Will's voice hadn't sounded promising. She quickly changed clothes, ran a brush through her hair, and slowly opened the front door to find Will, who stared at her somberly, like his whole world had been shattered, and he was trying to put the pieces back together.

"Let's walk," Will said, making no move to take her hand.

"All right."

They strode down the tree-lined Madison Avenue in silence. Several houses crept past them, and when Hannah couldn't take another moment of this deafening quiet, she said, "Tell me already."

"You know she's gone, right?"

"Yes. I'm sorry, Will... so sorry."

"Kat was always on the wild side. I knew they would go drinking. Hell, I've had a few drinks myself, but this- this whole thing. I never expected-"