Remembering Taylor Mason (Rewritten, 2020)

Chapter Ten: Samara

TRIGGER WARNING **
"SAMARA JACOBS, GET IN HERE AND RELIVE ME OF MY CHILD-CARING DUTIES!" Evangeline yells as soon as I get in the door.

"I-I'm sorry Evie, I was with a friend and lost track of time and-"

"Oh my gosh Sami chill, I'm kidding," Evie laughs. "It's only 4 now."

"Oh, haha yeah, ok," I say, throwing my cardigan on the chair beside me.

"Hey," Evie says gently. "You ok sis?"

"Yeah," I smile. "Yeah, where are the kiddos?"

"Philly and Zeke are playing video games, I told them they only have half an hour left, then they can switch to doing their summer reading. Sarah and Bethel are in their room playing Barbies and Ursula is asleep in her play pen," she informs me.

"Okay, well I'd better go. Lydia and I have a date in The City tonight, and if I'm late again, she'll flip," Evie says as she grabs her black high heels and rushes out the door, slamming it shut behind her.

My sister is nothing if not dramatic.

--

It takes me half an hour to get Ursula fed and to sleep, but after a few laps of her bedroom in my arms, she's finally drifted off. Carefully, I place her into her crib and kiss her black curls, gently backing out and into the hallway.

I head to the next bedroom to check on Sarah and Bethel who  are still playing with their Barbies peacefully; I smile to myself. Sarah and Bethel remind me so much of Evie and me at those ages. I hope they always stay close like we have; sometimes, a sibling understands you better than anyone.

"Half an hour left to play, girls," I tell them.

"Yeah yeah, whatever," Sarah replies, waving her hand for me to go away. She's the sassiest nine year old I know.

--

Next, I go to Zeke and Philly's room to discover they aren't there. I'm not too concerned; Philly is eleven and Zeke is ten. They know enough to not need constant supervision.

But as  I roam the halls calling their names, I still don't get a response.

Finally, I pass the open window.

"Philly, Philly, over here come on, pass!" I hear Zeke yell. The two of them are outside in the front yard, playing basketball.   Zeke jumps on Philly's back, causing him to jerk around and drop the ball, which promptly rolls onto the road.

"Sarah! Listen for Ursula, I'm headed outside for a second," I call down the hall.

"Does this mean I get babysitting money?" she asks.

"There's a $10 in it for you," I say, absently.

"Yes!"

"Hold on boys, I'll get the b-" Before I can finish my sentence, Zeke sprints across the street and retrieves the ball. He doesn't even look for cars.

I march out of the house as fast as I've ever gone, grab Zeke and Philly by the hands, and walk them to the porch.  They look at each other, dumbfounded as I instruct them to sit down.

"Do you guys know why I'm not happy with you right now?"

"Is it because I was fighting with Philly?" Zeke offers. "Cause that was just play fighting."

"No bud, I know," I reassure, sitting down beside them. "Do you guys remember my friend,  Taylor?"

"Is he the one who played the guitar for us when you guys looked after us?" Philly guesses.

"Yeah," I confirm warmly. "Yeah, yeah he is-- was. But a couple weeks ago,  he was with me and a couple of our other friends and we were playing baseball, a-and..." My voice begins to break, and tears form. I take a few deep breaths. "And I hit the ball so far that it rolled onto the road like your basketball just did now-"

"Nice going, Sam!" Zeke cuts me off. I can see the pride gleaming in his green eyes, but it only makes me want to cry more.

"Thanks buddy," I say. "But what happened, was my friend Taylor ran across the road without looking, to get the ball... and he-he got hit by a car, and n-now he's in Heaven with Grandma and Grandpa Jacobs,"  I explain, barely keeping it together. "So it really scared me when you ran across the street without looking, Zeke. Because I love you, and I need you to be safe, and look both ways next time. And Philly, please watch out for your brother, ok? You could save a life. Do you boys understand?"

"Yeah, we're really sorry, Sam. We weren't trying to make you scared," Philly says.

"Yeah, I promise to look both ways from now on," Zeke says.

"Good. Come here you guys," I say, as I engulf them in a hug. "I love you."

"We love you too, Sami!" they say in unison.

---

Two hours later, I get out of the shower and put on my pjs. Exhausted, I throw myself onto my bed, taking a long breath and staring up at the ceiling.  I'm just about to pull the covers back when I hear a knock at my door.  When I open it, I find Zeke standing  across from me.

"I'm sorry Sami," he says.

"I know buddy, it's okay. You know what to do for next time."

"No, I mean, I'm sorry that your friend Taylor went to Heaven so soon."

When I hear the words coming out of his mouth and see the sad way his eyes are watching me, I have to cling to the wall to keep from falling down.

"T-thanks buddy," I stutter, pulling him in for another hug.

---

I don't know where Taylor is, but I hope wherever he is, he's happy.