Katie's POV
"Are we there yet?"
"No."
"Are we there yet?"
"No."
"Are we there yet?"
"No."
"Are we-"
"When we get there, I am sure mom will tell us in the meantime just choke on some Cheetos or something!?" I yelled at my sister in retaliation for my mom who has been saying no for the past three hours.
I received a glare from my mom through eh mirror with a smug grin, "No choking and yes, Cassy, Katie is right when we get there I'll tell you."
"I still don't get why we had to move to Arizona though. I mean, can't Grandpa Julian take care of Grandma Pearl?"
"Yes but... If Grandma dies tomorrow, how'd you feel knowing that you could have spent your last moments with her but didn't because you were concerned about friends?" my mom asked.
Cassy looked as though she was deep in thought, I added looking up from my book saying, "Plus, dad would have wanted us to be there with his parents."
The silence upon the mention of my dad brought about an uncomfortable silence and a strange feeling. As my mom pulled into a street surrounded by trees, I immediately felt the urge to just jump out and let nature be my guide as an imaginary gravitational pull tugged at my body. I stiffened and looked out the window and rubbed my eyes. I could have sworn I saw two icy azure eyes looking at me but maybe it was just my obsession with animals and wildlife.
My mom gave us both a hopeful smile before telling us that we'd arrived. "Finally!" Cassy muttered. I tapped her on the forehead and helped mom with the luggage so we could enter the old farmhouse.
"Oh! Look at how big you've gotten!" my grandad commented pinching both Cassy and I's cheeks. We both winced in discomfort as I plastered a fake smile on my face clutching my book under my arm and carrying two suitcases with my hands.
My family followed close behind as we entered. The house smelled like sh*t, the wall paint was peeled off and the dishrack was filled as no one had done the dishes. My mom sensing the mutual displeasure told us to go to our rooms, unpack, change and return to see Grandma Pearl.
I looked at Cassidy and Cassidy looked at me. We darted up the staircase and knowing the house like the palm of my hand, I easily found the master bedroom. "Dibs!" I screeched feeling super accomplished. She groaned, "I hate you!"
"Hey! remember you wouldn't be here if I hadn't asked for your sorry butt. So watch your mouth." I swear, the kids of this new generation are so unappreciative.
I unpacked my aesthetic posters and put them on the walls. Fortunately, the master bedroom was in much better condition than the rooms downstairs. I replaced the sheets and put up a few decorations along with a photo of me and dad on the first day of high school.
He had died in a car crash on his way home when his car flipped over a bridge. The cops never found his body but suspected that it could have been pushed by the currents in multiple other directions. For a while, I used to believe that he was alive. I'd skip class and go to the bridge with binoculars and stare down at the large body of water below. Just to see if I saw something. But I found nothing. It was hard but I had to get over it but I had to be there for Cassidy and mom.
I pushed aside my feelings of grief and walked down to my Grandma's room. Hushed conversations were heard as I entered the room. "Katie, dear!" she called out. My grandad and mom instantly turned to face me and gave me a sad smile. They left the room and soon it was just me and old Granny Pearl. In an awkward silence...
"So, what is your latest book genre obsession?" she asked chuckling a bit to her discomfort breaking the silence.
"Um... Black Leopard Red Wolf. I think I really like wolves. They're interesting. Everyone makes them out to be savage and while they can be, I just think that if we weren't so concerned with getting their fur and giving them things to fear, they can be tamed."
"Well, you're in luck!"
"And why is that?" I enquired becoming intrigued.
"Because... I've seen one." she coughed.
"Where, where did you see them?!" I shook her.
"In the backy-"
Beep! Beep! Beep!
"What happened?" my mom and grandad dashed into the room with Cassidy trailing along behind.
"She's going into Cardiac Arrest! Julian call 911 and I'll do CPR! Go!"
Cassidy and I stood there not knowing what to do and I couldn't have felt guiltier. If I didn't push her, this would have never happened. I felt tears sliding down my cheeks and my nose getting stuffier by the second.
"Pearl, stay with me, okay, they're-" she stopped.
"Mom, why did you stop?" Cassidy and I cried.
"Because she's dead girls!"
🅂🄾... 🄳🄴🄰🅃🄷🄷🄷🄷🄷🄷🄷🄷🄷-