It was essential on the job to keep the person on the other end of the line calm. Protocol was broken when recognizable cries were heard in the background.

911 Dispatcher:
Is this Mickey? Where is Adny?

M
ickey dropped the house phone with such force, the battery popped out. His hands trembled as he placed the ice-filled rag on Adny’s forehead. Looking into Adny’s wide eyes, he was unsure if she was searching his soul for answers or for help. He placed his hand on top of her stomach, hoping her uncontrollable shaking would subside. Her heavy breathing became distorted rhythms of pain ringing in his ears as he leaned down close to her.

The text in view from her blinking cell phone caught his attention. He reached over the other side of Adny and read the text.

You should kill yourself already. No one wants you. No one cares about you.

He got up, turned back toward Adny on the floor and muttered, “I’m sorry,” as if those words would fix the broken situation. He ran downstairs to her stepfather’s office to wipe the revolver clean from fingerprints. The fingerprints were gone, but the guilt remained. His turn was next. The silver bullet was waiting for him.

Sirens roaring from the outside disrupted the quiet neighborhood that summer morning. Curious neighbors peeked through their windows at the commotion. The ambulance and police cars pulled up in front of the brick house.

As he left the through the back door, he could hear the paramedics rummaging through the house, heading upstairs. He ran to the beach and watched the huge waves roll up against the sand. He buried the two dice as deep as he could. One yellow and one blue represented dark memories he hoped the warm ocean waters would wash away forever.

He sat for a few minutes tugging at the tight brown curls in his hair, unable to recognize his own reflection glistening in the water. He was a stranger—an outcast in his own mind. The longer he sat, the more he drifted away from reality. The guilt bound him by chains too strong to break.

A
dny’s mother, Michelle, pulled up in front of the house. She stood inside the ambulance truck for a moment, wanting one last look. As the paramedics tried to sustain her daughter’s life, a single tear sat frozen on Adny’s cold, lifeless face. She figured Adny was still trying to make sense of the world in their last moments together. After she wiped the tear away, the ambulance drove off into the distance.

While Darla, Adny’s younger sister, asked a million questions, the 9-1-1 call reverberated in the back of her mind. Mickey’s voice etched in her recent memory caused her to ignore all of Darla’s questions.

The call, a broken record unable to be stopped, haunted her mind. It was a call she would never forget. It was a call she wish she had never heard. She repeatedly relived the moments leading up to the call.

7:30a.m.

She remembered Adny was acting a little out of the ordinary, but didn’t pay much attention. Her motherly instincts failed to kick in because she was running late for work. It was already 7:30, and Adny was still asleep. Darla had missed the bus. Usually Adny woke Darla up in time to catch the bus to the local middle school each morning.

She walked into Adny’s room. The bright light from the hallway caused Adny to turn toward the wall.

“Adny, it is time to get up.”

Adny placed the pillow over her head mumbling, “Mom, I’m getting up now.”

8:15a.m.

Michelle cooked breakfast every morning—eggs, toast, bacon, and a side of oatmeal. Looking down at Adny’s plate, she noticed the eggs had started to harden. She sent Darla to wake her immediately. Darla slowly opened the door to Adny’s usual morning wrath.

“Mom said to get up now. Your food is getting cold.”

“Get out, Darla!”

Darla hastily slammed the door. Adny took a pillow and threw it, hitting the closing door. Burying her head under the covers, she mumbled, “I’m about to get up now, jeez. I can’t get a break with you people.”

8:30a.m.

Michelle still noticed she was missing from the breakfast table. The kitchen clock showed she was thirty minutes late for work. She worked at the emergency dispatch office for the city of Wilmington, NC. The job didn’t pay much, but she made enough to supplement her husband’s income. She went back to Adny’s room for the last time and told Darla to get into the car.

Michelle pulled the pillow off Adny and opened the curtains behind the bed. The bright sun shone through the tiny window causing Adny to turn in the opposite direction. She kissed Adny on the forehead. “I’m running late for work. Your sister missed the bus, so I’m going to take her. You need to be gone when I get back.”

Not knowing it would be the last time she would see or hear her daughter, she closed the door.

Tears streamed down Michelle’s tired face because the broken record was on constant repeat. With each passing moment, the memory grew darker and louder, intertwining deep within her subconscious. She pressed her fingers against the sides of her forehead, trying to subdue the headache forming from the loud ringing alarm upstairs.

Walking up the creaking staircase became increasingly difficult the closer she got to Adny’s door. Her grip remained on the door handle because her eyes were glued on the alarm clock ringing loudly beside the bed. It was stuck on 8:30. Tiny, prickly hairs stood up on her arms when she realized 8:30 was the last time she spoke with Adny. She peered through the closing gaps of the door, hoping the situation was all a dream—hoping Adny would be back in her bed again.

W
hile Adny’s family waited anxiously at the emergency room, the late bell for first period rang. Junior, Adny’s best friend, sat waiting for her in the overcrowded trigonometry classroom. Valley High School was nestled amongst the upper class neighborhood. District placement allowed working class families who lived on the outskirts, such as Adny’s family, access to better education.

Junior lived with her family since elementary school, and they’d never missed a day together. Adny always sat in front of Junior in every period. Each day since freshman year, if one of them got in class before the other, they left a note in each other’s seat as an inside joke. He left a note in her seat that morning, knowing she would laugh so hard when she saw it.

Junior listened as Miss Nora called Adny Storm twice for attendance. No response was received. Junior felt his phone vibrate and immediately left the classroom. Pressing his ear against the speaker, he heard Michelle’s voice on the other end.

“Junior, she is still alive. The doctors are doing everything within their power to save her. Please come as soon as you can.”

Junior kicked his foot hard against the rusted locker as he talked. When he hung up the phone, he pounded his hand against the metal locks, before finally leaning on the lockers, when all desires to puke had diminished. He could feel his body reach a calm state while leaning down onto the cold floor to read the text Adny sent an hour prior.

Smrtgirl57, Kandy21. I will miss you. Love you forever, best friend.

He shuffled the phone back and forth between his fingers, responding, “And always.” They said the same phrase since they were younger. She would say, “Love you forever,” and he would reply with, “And always.” They completed each other. They both were there for the hardships in life, no matter how much they fought or disagreed.

He hesitantly walked back into the classroom, dragging his feet across the floor. When he walked in, Miss Nora stopped the lecture, looking in his direction. He took the note he left on Adny’s desk and ripped it up. Everyone watched while he grabbed his book bag, but no one moved or said a word. As soon as Junior got into the hallway, he banged his head repeatedly into the lockers. Unable to concentrate, he collapsed as he felt Miss Nora’s arms wrap around him. His eyelids immediately filled with unshed tears.

“Junior, what’s wrong with you today?”

He pushed himself up, leaning his head on her shoulder. “Miss Nora, something bad happened to Adny. Her mother told me she was in the hospital. No one knows what happened.”

She walked with him to the front office to help him check out for the day. “Take all the time you need. Do
not
worry about the homework.”

“Thanks Miss Nora. I’m so lucky to have you as my teacher.” He quickly flew out of the double front doors to drive himself to the hospital.

When Junior arrived at the hospital he found Darla, Michelle, and Adny’s stepfather in the waiting room. Her stepsister, Terry, was nowhere to be found.

Walking in, his eyes immediately fell upon Darla crying in a corner. When he leaned in closer she said, “Mom says Adny is sick. Is she going to get better soon?”

He pulled out a teddy bear from his backpack and ruffled it against his nose. Her slight chuckle changed his mood for the better. The bear was kept in his care for ten years. Adny gave it to him one day on the bus to comfort him after a bullying incident during elementary school. It was named Sunshine and always reminded him of her bravery. Sunshine was placed close to Darla’s chest when he said, “I hope so little buddy.”

He leaned over to give Darla a comforting hug, and felt her arms wrap tightly around his shoulders. She leaned in closer to his ear and whispered, “Junior, I can’t lose you either ‘cause you’re the best brother I ever had.”

He whispered back with a smile, “Little buddy, you won’t. I promise.”

BOOK: I Rize

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