𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒍𝒇 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 ➪ «𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑦𝑙 𝑑𝑖𝑥𝑜𝑛»

ch. III - 《28 days later, but 14》

oOo

Irene locked her cellphone with a huff of frustration and threw it into her handbag. She ran a hand down her weary face with a sigh and slammed the passenger's door shut before turning to her husband.

"Thirteen times. Thirteen times she called me and now no damn call is coming through." She rubbed the wrinkle between her furrowed brows and felt the guilt rise up her throat with a sickening gut feeling. "Ay Sam, what if something happened to her? What if she had an accident?" She laid her hand flat on her hurting chest.

She'd kept her phone turned off to spare battery, just in case they needed it for emergencies, and upon turning it on that morning, had found a bunch of missed calls from her sister from after they'd left, all on the same day and then nothing. And no messages to even hint as to why she'd called.

"I knew it, I knew I should've just swallowed my pride and apologized instead of leaving like that. Why am I so proud? Why couldn't I have done that? My mom's just got this way of riling me up, I don't know..."

Sam walked up behind her and kneaded the tight muscles of her shoulders. "You're making a storm in a cup outta this. It's not your fault, your mother started it all, as per fucking usual, the goddamn woman just can't keep her trap shut. If anything, it's her telling Cátia not to pick up."

"You know Cátia's not like that, she doesn't just go along with every-"

"You talked to her?" Diana asked, approaching her parents with her packed tent tucked under one arm. "'Cause you look like it and it didn't go well." She stuffed the bundle into the trunk of the jeep and leaned on the vehicle while turning to her parents.

Irene shook her head and sighed once more.

"You tried her-"

"Your mother's tried her private number, work, home, husband and even your cousins. Nothing. Fucking radio silence, no filho da puta of a call goes through," Sam said, kissed his wife's head, and finished hauling the remnants of their presence in that camping site into the jeep and shooed Diana away before closing the trunk with a careless thud.

Diana's mouth formed an 'o' in comprehension and she nodded. "So it's serious, then. So what? If we show up at her door, she's not gonna send us away. Ich meine, if not for us, then for the stuff we borrowed." Diana shrugged and sent her mom a joking grin, hoping to lighten her up.

"My problem isn't Cátia, I know I can always count on her. I just feel something's wrong."

"Some fucking excuse for a fight isn't gonna stop her from seeing us off. Cátia's impulsive, but she isn't fucking petty and she doesn't hold grudges," Sam reminded his wife and opened the passenger door for her.

"Pero mi madre sí," Irene reminded, not comforted, and climbed in.

Diana climbed in the back seat and settled between Alice and Felix. The former finished shuffling the UNO deck and dealt each their hand with a sly smirk on her full lips.

Sam started the jeep, putting the camp in the rearview mirror, and Felix breathed in relief when his mom turned on the radio. "Finally, music that's not Alice singing."

The aforementioned girl felt offended and reached around Diana to punch Felix wherever she could reach, which resulted in her brother receiving a fist to the stomach, his card spilling on his lap, and Diana getting hit by the girl's arm in the process.

She inhaled deeply and ignored it. She was not going to sit between them on the flight home, that was a given.

"Du Arschloch, my voice is a godsend and you should count yourself privileged you can listen to it live and for free!" In a whisper, Alice added, "You know I'm insecure about that."