tension all through his body.
Suddenly hot, shredded metal was searing into him.
Trey woke up standing next to the bed, sucking air and shaking. It’d felt real—with real shrapnel suddenly hitting him out of nowhere. It wasn’t like a dream with any context, just a vivid, horrifying experience.
He sat on the edge of the bed, catching his breath, just then noticing that Hope had slept through it. Somehow he hadn’t screamed this time.
Turning, he could see the shape of Rosette lying on her side. Maybe he’d gotten lucky and hadn’t awakened her either. He lay down again and stared up into the darkness, wanting to reach over and touch his wife.
~ ~ ~
The food had poured into their house over the last few days. Alex knew the routine from Ricky’s death. He met people, took their casserole, and tried to fit it into the fridge. If it came in a disposable dish, he stuck it in the freezer. Other people brought groceries that could go into the cupboards. He had just put one of the casseroles in the oven now so he could feed Candice and Jake lunch in an hour.
He grabbed another plate, rinsed it, and stuck it in the dishwasher. It made a rhythm. Grab, rinse, place. Grab, rinse…
He didn’t mind doing the housework. It took less thinking than doing make-up work from school. He’d missed the entire week, but no one said a word about it or told him he should have gone. Mr. Craven had brought all his work over two hours ago, promptly at nine a.m. as promised, and said Alex would get full credit if he turned everything in after spring break. That gave him the weekend and an entire week to do it. Maybe after the weekend he would be able to think about it.
A weak moment came and went with just one shaky breath. Spring break. His sixteenth birthday. He’d been counting it down for months, and now it was shot all to hell.
He poured in the dishwasher soap and snapped the door shut. It didn’t bother him to help out. But it felt like things could fall apart at any moment.
The kids were upstairs for now, and Trey and Rosette were in the living room with Summer and Angel. Summer was mostly hanging around without saying much. There’d been other people too, but they left just a few minutes ago. It looked like Trey was doing okay with everyone coming and going. Actually, that usually didn’t bother him much. It was seeing blood and hurt people, so Alex had no idea why Trey still worked as an EMT. It was the exact thing that triggered his flashbacks—if he had to respond to an accident and people were bleeding. Then he’d take a few days or a week off and close himself in his room, or go for walks on the beach for hours at a time.
What would have happened if Trey had been working that night and had responded to Amanda’s wreck?
Alex looked out the window and saw Leena coming over from next door, a tray of food in her hands. The kitchen had two sets of big French doors, one that opened to the side of the house where Leena approached, and the other leading to the backyard. The back French doors had always been there, but Rosette had Trey add the second set. She loved light and said she needed a lot of brightness coming in to combat the rainy weather.
He opened the side doors for Leena. The tray held cookies.
“They’re still warm. I thought you and the kids might like them. Plus they’re Trey’s favorite kind.”
“Thanks. I’ll let them have a couple after they eat.” The timer went off as he spoke. He set the cookies on the counter and took the green bean casserole out of the oven.
“How’s everyone handling this?” She leaned against the counter. “It’s gotta be so hard, after everything. I wish I could do more.”
“Thanks.” He liked how Leena talked to him like they were peers. Sometimes she even flirted with him. She’d moved into the house next door with a boyfriend, but they split up about six months later. Leena didn’t move out after that. The place had to expensive to rent, but
Suddenly hot, shredded metal was searing into him.
Trey woke up standing next to the bed, sucking air and shaking. It’d felt real—with real shrapnel suddenly hitting him out of nowhere. It wasn’t like a dream with any context, just a vivid, horrifying experience.
He sat on the edge of the bed, catching his breath, just then noticing that Hope had slept through it. Somehow he hadn’t screamed this time.
Turning, he could see the shape of Rosette lying on her side. Maybe he’d gotten lucky and hadn’t awakened her either. He lay down again and stared up into the darkness, wanting to reach over and touch his wife.
~ ~ ~
The food had poured into their house over the last few days. Alex knew the routine from Ricky’s death. He met people, took their casserole, and tried to fit it into the fridge. If it came in a disposable dish, he stuck it in the freezer. Other people brought groceries that could go into the cupboards. He had just put one of the casseroles in the oven now so he could feed Candice and Jake lunch in an hour.
He grabbed another plate, rinsed it, and stuck it in the dishwasher. It made a rhythm. Grab, rinse, place. Grab, rinse…
He didn’t mind doing the housework. It took less thinking than doing make-up work from school. He’d missed the entire week, but no one said a word about it or told him he should have gone. Mr. Craven had brought all his work over two hours ago, promptly at nine a.m. as promised, and said Alex would get full credit if he turned everything in after spring break. That gave him the weekend and an entire week to do it. Maybe after the weekend he would be able to think about it.
A weak moment came and went with just one shaky breath. Spring break. His sixteenth birthday. He’d been counting it down for months, and now it was shot all to hell.
He poured in the dishwasher soap and snapped the door shut. It didn’t bother him to help out. But it felt like things could fall apart at any moment.
The kids were upstairs for now, and Trey and Rosette were in the living room with Summer and Angel. Summer was mostly hanging around without saying much. There’d been other people too, but they left just a few minutes ago. It looked like Trey was doing okay with everyone coming and going. Actually, that usually didn’t bother him much. It was seeing blood and hurt people, so Alex had no idea why Trey still worked as an EMT. It was the exact thing that triggered his flashbacks—if he had to respond to an accident and people were bleeding. Then he’d take a few days or a week off and close himself in his room, or go for walks on the beach for hours at a time.
What would have happened if Trey had been working that night and had responded to Amanda’s wreck?
Alex looked out the window and saw Leena coming over from next door, a tray of food in her hands. The kitchen had two sets of big French doors, one that opened to the side of the house where Leena approached, and the other leading to the backyard. The back French doors had always been there, but Rosette had Trey add the second set. She loved light and said she needed a lot of brightness coming in to combat the rainy weather.
He opened the side doors for Leena. The tray held cookies.
“They’re still warm. I thought you and the kids might like them. Plus they’re Trey’s favorite kind.”
“Thanks. I’ll let them have a couple after they eat.” The timer went off as he spoke. He set the cookies on the counter and took the green bean casserole out of the oven.
“How’s everyone handling this?” She leaned against the counter. “It’s gotta be so hard, after everything. I wish I could do more.”
“Thanks.” He liked how Leena talked to him like they were peers. Sometimes she even flirted with him. She’d moved into the house next door with a boyfriend, but they split up about six months later. Leena didn’t move out after that. The place had to expensive to rent, but
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