In the Lack of a Heart Beat

Three Years Later

 I slam my bedroom door, in anger while the front door slams shut from my sister storming outside. After I cool off I holler out to Tanisha, but she doesn't answer me. I go out to the pasture too look for her but I can't find her.

"Tanisha!" I holler . . . nothing. " have you seen her?" I ask my horse even though I know he can't answer me. I start crying because of how I made her mad. I go up to my Meme and Pepe's house to see if she happens in there, and she isn't. I see my Pepe sitting in his chair, relaxing after his long day of working on a roof. My Pepe and I have always been close, my Meme spoils my sister because she feels responsible for her accident, so my Pepe took me under his wing.

I go over to him and sit on his lap while I tell him everything that happened.

"She'll come around" he tells me, "She just needs some time." I lay on his chest and smell his unique sent, wood shavings and moose.

"Okay" I say and not long after I see Tanisha coming into the house.

"I'm sorry" she tells me.

"No, I'm sorry, I don't know why I said that." I tell her. My Pepe rubs my hair. I look at my Pepe as a thought runs through my head, "Go FISH!" I scream and jump up to get the cards. Half way through the game Pepe gets a call from his son Mark, I can vaguely hear the conversation.

"Put the tractor under my name in your will, before you die."

"Mark, HOW DARE YOU!" my Pepe screams, scaring me a bit. He hangs up the phone and says, "I'm just done" to my Meme who sits at her computer. Pepe returns to the game and acts as though nothing ever happened.

"hey how about tomorrow after school we have lasagna, come strait here after school ok?" he tells us

"okay" it's getting dark out and Tanisha and I need to go up to the house so we can go to bed, I give him a hug and pause, my throat clenches and my stomach turns as I say, "I love you" I don't know why it is so hard to say, I've said thoughts words many times before. I almost didn't want to say it, but I just felt compelled to.