Petrichor (Book One)

Eight

"I've lost heart. The forest's scarred. I hear no birds, just TVs and cars."

It had been seven weeks. She knew because she counted. She counted like she was a prisoner waiting for their release day. She counted like she was a seven year old tallying sheep in their head to help them fall asleep.

She counted seven weeks, two days, 5 hours, 37 minutes, and twelve...thirteen...fourteen seconds since she last spoke to either of them.

Well, face to face she should say.

Kelley spoke to her once a week out of obligation. Only to organize days that Kayla hung out with Abigail.

Christen would respond to her texts occasionally. Probably when she felt a bit too bad for not answering her calls.

Somehow, in the middle of all that. Kayla had managed to finish her 3rd year of grad. She's not sure how. She'd been working on autopilot.

She was tired. Exhausted even. And she's not even sure why.

Her phone rung. She'd hate to admit that she had hoped it was one of them. Luckily, she doesn't have to as her hopes were admittedly dashed upon looking at her caller id.

It's her father.

"Hey, Kiddo." Kayla decided not to overthink the dejection in his voice. He better choose his next words carefully because Kayla doesn't think she can take much more of anything really.

"Hey, dad. What's up?"

"You mind coming down to Mount Sinai? It's your mom."

Kayla must have murdered someone really important in a past life. Surely, that is the only explanation for why sue would deserve any of this.

The rest of her afternoon is performed using the ever allusive autopilot feature of her brain.

She stared at her phone for a few minutes after getting dressed. She can't quite remember if she used it. She doesn't feel any worse than she did before so she assmumed she didn't.

Kayla navigated the streets of New York and then the hospital quickly. She had been here a couple of times before.

She caught up with her father and younger brother. Her father doesn't look as concerned as he probably could, and that served to make both siblings feel better.

Kameron, Kayla's younger brother, looked about the same as when Kayla saw him last. Which was 2 years ago. He was in his third year of undergraduate at Yale, and rarely left campus. Kayla wondered when he would have found the time to come back up from Connecticut.

"They just took Maria back to emergency surgery. There were a lot of big words that I honestly think the doctor made up but what I think he was saying it was her kidney's again." George shrugged helplessly.

Kayla just nodded.

"Hey, are you okay? What's going on?"

Kayla turned around with a raised eyebrow.

"What are you doing here?"

"You asked me to come."

☆☆☆☆

Can you come meet me at Mount Sinai? It's my mom.