Read Online Pandemic by Yvonne Ventresca - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Yvonne Ventresca
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me. Maybe a taxi would be faster?
“No. My mom said . . . if I’m contagious . . .”
“I should be there with you. If you’re contagious I’ve already been exposed.”
The coffee shop got quiet. People stared in accusing silence. Apparently I wasn’t the only one worried about the mysterious disease.
“Sorry,” I mouthed to Jay before going outside.
“Lil, are you there?”
“Yes, I’m here.” I leaned against the brick wall, away from the door.
“I’m going to hang up and send a text, OK?” she said.
“Sure.”
Megs:
don’t want Mom 2 hear.
Me:
got it.
Megs:
i feel awful. and scared.
Me:
wish i was there.
Megs:
me 2. i’ve never felt this sick b4.
Me:
doctors will help u.
Please. Please let the doctors be able to help. If Dad’s assistant had gone into a coma . . . but she was pregnant. This was different. This had to be different.
Megs:
if something happens 2 me
Me:
shut up!
Megs:
i mean it. if something happens ur the best bff. 4 the record i’m pissed 2 die a virgin.
Me:
ur not dying. or i will kill u!!!
Megs:
lol. seriously, u can have my necklace. the 1 with blue pearl dad gave me.
Oh God, oh God, Megs please don’t be that sick.
Me:
ur scaring me. u will be fine.
Megs:
where r u?
Me:
@ coffee shop. with ur mystery guy.
Megs:
!!! we r @ hospital. have 2 go. I <3 u.
Please let Megs be OK. Please.
I forgot about everything else, absorbed in a walking-home prayer for Megs. I was considering more effective bargains I could make with the universe when Jay caught up to me, flustered and annoyed.
“You didn’t say good-bye.”
“Megs is sick. Like, hospitalization-sick.” The words sounded robotic, detached. This cannot be happening .
“Oh.” The annoyance faded from his face. “Mind if I walk with you?”
I shrugged. He held out a cigarette and I took it. We paused for a second to light them. The simple act calmed me a little.
My phone pinged with a text. “Ugh,” I mumbled. “It’s Ethan.” I was going to be even later than I thought. But I couldn’t deal with texting him now.
“I thought the two of you were over,” Jay said. “Or I wouldn’t have met you tonight.”
“We are over, sort of, I guess, but Ethan isn’t the point. It’s Megs. She really likes you. I chatted with you that one night, when we were about to watch the movie. And she joked about pessimism being a weakness, since it’s clearly mine. But otherwise, your relationship was with her.” I inhaled, then exhaled, watching the smoke drift into the air and disappear. “I’m sorry if we misled you. When Megs got sick, she begged me to come to the coffee shop to see who would show. She’s at the emergency room now.”
“You must be worried.”
“She’s been my best friend since we were five.” My voice hitched in my throat and I willed myself not to cry. We walked in silence for a couple of blocks. I was grateful for the quiet.
“Maybe you should text her,” I said, “and make plans for another day? It might cheer her up.”
He shook his head. “It’s you I’ve been thinking about.”
My head spun. Megs was being treated at Morristown General for a potentially fatal disease, to which I may have been exposed. Her dream guy was crushing on me like a scene from a bad romantic comedy. Ethan would have a fit when I canceled tonight. And all I wanted was to go back in time, to be walking to school this morning with my happy, healthy best friend.
I dropped my cigarette butt, smushing it with my foot. “I don’t think . . . look, you’re a nice guy, but you don’t know me that well. I’m not really girlfriend material.”
“What does that mean, ‘not girlfriend material’?”
I needed to stop this whole disaster before it got worse. “It means I don’t want someone texting me and touching me and invading my emotional life. Besides, Megs likes you. You should get to know her better.”
I expected an argument. Ethan would have argued. Like a starved pit bull with a bone, he
“No. My mom said . . . if I’m contagious . . .”
“I should be there with you. If you’re contagious I’ve already been exposed.”
The coffee shop got quiet. People stared in accusing silence. Apparently I wasn’t the only one worried about the mysterious disease.
“Sorry,” I mouthed to Jay before going outside.
“Lil, are you there?”
“Yes, I’m here.” I leaned against the brick wall, away from the door.
“I’m going to hang up and send a text, OK?” she said.
“Sure.”
Megs:
don’t want Mom 2 hear.
Me:
got it.
Megs:
i feel awful. and scared.
Me:
wish i was there.
Megs:
me 2. i’ve never felt this sick b4.
Me:
doctors will help u.
Please. Please let the doctors be able to help. If Dad’s assistant had gone into a coma . . . but she was pregnant. This was different. This had to be different.
Megs:
if something happens 2 me
Me:
shut up!
Megs:
i mean it. if something happens ur the best bff. 4 the record i’m pissed 2 die a virgin.
Me:
ur not dying. or i will kill u!!!
Megs:
lol. seriously, u can have my necklace. the 1 with blue pearl dad gave me.
Oh God, oh God, Megs please don’t be that sick.
Me:
ur scaring me. u will be fine.
Megs:
where r u?
Me:
@ coffee shop. with ur mystery guy.
Megs:
!!! we r @ hospital. have 2 go. I <3 u.
Please let Megs be OK. Please.
I forgot about everything else, absorbed in a walking-home prayer for Megs. I was considering more effective bargains I could make with the universe when Jay caught up to me, flustered and annoyed.
“You didn’t say good-bye.”
“Megs is sick. Like, hospitalization-sick.” The words sounded robotic, detached. This cannot be happening .
“Oh.” The annoyance faded from his face. “Mind if I walk with you?”
I shrugged. He held out a cigarette and I took it. We paused for a second to light them. The simple act calmed me a little.
My phone pinged with a text. “Ugh,” I mumbled. “It’s Ethan.” I was going to be even later than I thought. But I couldn’t deal with texting him now.
“I thought the two of you were over,” Jay said. “Or I wouldn’t have met you tonight.”
“We are over, sort of, I guess, but Ethan isn’t the point. It’s Megs. She really likes you. I chatted with you that one night, when we were about to watch the movie. And she joked about pessimism being a weakness, since it’s clearly mine. But otherwise, your relationship was with her.” I inhaled, then exhaled, watching the smoke drift into the air and disappear. “I’m sorry if we misled you. When Megs got sick, she begged me to come to the coffee shop to see who would show. She’s at the emergency room now.”
“You must be worried.”
“She’s been my best friend since we were five.” My voice hitched in my throat and I willed myself not to cry. We walked in silence for a couple of blocks. I was grateful for the quiet.
“Maybe you should text her,” I said, “and make plans for another day? It might cheer her up.”
He shook his head. “It’s you I’ve been thinking about.”
My head spun. Megs was being treated at Morristown General for a potentially fatal disease, to which I may have been exposed. Her dream guy was crushing on me like a scene from a bad romantic comedy. Ethan would have a fit when I canceled tonight. And all I wanted was to go back in time, to be walking to school this morning with my happy, healthy best friend.
I dropped my cigarette butt, smushing it with my foot. “I don’t think . . . look, you’re a nice guy, but you don’t know me that well. I’m not really girlfriend material.”
“What does that mean, ‘not girlfriend material’?”
I needed to stop this whole disaster before it got worse. “It means I don’t want someone texting me and touching me and invading my emotional life. Besides, Megs likes you. You should get to know her better.”
I expected an argument. Ethan would have argued. Like a starved pit bull with a bone, he
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