All We Know is Falling
"Di, I'm home!" Dan yells as he walks through the front door. He expects a happy greeting from an over-active Diana, or at least a sad 'hello' if she's depressed.
He doesn't get any answer.
At first, he isn't worried. This has happened before. Sometimes Diana will have stolen Natalie's iPod and turned up the volume so loud that she can't hear him. Other times, he's found a note informing him that she's gone for a jog around the neighborhood.
But the kitchen contains no note, and he doesn't hear Diana humming along to some song she's just heard for the first time like she usually does when listening to music.
"Di?" Dan calls again, louder this time. He begins running to every room of the house.
Not in the family room.
Not in the living room.
Not in the study.
Not in the dining room.
Not in Natalie's, Gabe's, or his and Diana's bedroom.
The bathroom is the last place he gets to. Diana is lying there, limp and covered in blood.
"Oh, God, Diana," Dan whispers. "Don't do this to me. Why do you do this to me…to Natalie…to yourself?"
He bends down to her, praying that she's still alive. He relaxes as he finds that she still has a pulse, but is still worried. Diana's losing blood fast, and he doesn't want her to get worse. Dan knows he should call Dr. Madden, but he can't bring himself to do it. He needs to stay with Diana.
Five minutes—or maybe five hours, Dan isn't sure—later, Natalie finds them there, announcing her presence with a "What the—"
"Call Dr. Madden," Dan interrupts bitterly.
"Dad, you haven't done that already? I mean—"
"Just call him!" he snaps, holding Diana closer to him. "And please hurry."
Natalie sighs and dials the phone number, which she's already memorized.
Gabe watches all of this with dismay. They've yet again managed to keep his mom from him. All he wanted was to be with her.