It was almost time for her to pick me up so we could head out. She had a habit of arriving a few minutes late, and it wouldn't surprise me if it happened again. Sighing, I leaned against the windowsil. I would have been sitting outside on the porch with my suitcase, but it was a dreary, rainy day, much too cold and wet for being outdoors. The clock in the kitchen chimed twice. Two o' clock. I glanced towards the road, but there wasn't a vehicle in sight. If she had listened to me and left earlier, she would have been here by now, and we could have been on our way. But no, I thought, listening is too hard for her.
We had another fight a couple days ago, and I hadn't talked to her since. I realized that she might still be mad at me about it, and could be taking extra long just to get on my nerves. I sighed again. If my roommate was going to be this difficult, maybe it was time for a change. Something more than just rearranging the furniture.
A couple robins in the yard caught my attention. They were fluttering their wings, trying to keep dry. Go inside a tree, you stupid birds. Or at least under the porch, or something. Gosh, you're about as intelligent as... I kept myself from finishing the thought. She was my friend, and I trusted her with a lot of things... it was just really easy for us to get into silly squabbles. The clock chimed again, signaling that it was a quarter after the hour. "Fifteen minutes already?!" I pawed angrily through my purse. This time she had gone too far. I didn't usually mind a couple minutes late, but fifteen? Finding my phone, I flipped it open to ask her why she was taking so long. The little cat charm was staring at me in an unusual manner. Usually it was turned around funny, and I had to fix the clasp so it would face foreward. Whatever. I was ready to go and she should have been here by now.
I heard the ringer go on and on. She didn't have voicemail set up, so I couldn't leave a message. I didn't want to leave a message, I wanted to tell her to get her sorry behind over here NOW. I dialed again and again, and still nothing. Why wasn't she answering? Oh, I get it. She's just trying to piss me off. I looked out towards the street again. I bet she's just around the corner, driving as slowly as she can. I tried dialing a couple more times, figuring if she wasn't answering then at least I was adding to the missed calls she would have to delete. Revenge wasn't really my kind of thing, but I was sick of waiting.
I suddenly got the bright idea to call her house. At least someone there could tell me if she had left or not.
The phone rang, and it eventually got to the answering machine. What the hell? Was no one home? I dialed again. After the fourth ring, someone answered. Finally. "Hey," I said, trying not to sound too annoyed, "has Amelia left yet, or is she still there, or what? I'm kind of tired of waiting for her." There was a rather long pause on the other end, but the person spoke before I could say anything else.
"She's in the hospital. Mom found her on the floor this morning, and… she… wasn't breathing." The person on the other end was trying to stifle a sob. I said the only thing I could think of.
"Oh."