Living through Death
Chapter 7: The Note Home
A/N: Ok, this is a review reply to FudgeBrownie. You are very smart. A bump doesn't always necessarily mean a car collision or a literal bump on the head. He might've been sick, but again, I won't say, except this; how the hell did you know that? Smart genius I'm dealing with here, I ought to be more secretive next time. As for Cody communicating, you got it wrong. They are not talking to each other, or Zack wouldn't be as depressed. This kind of thing occurs even in reality when grieving for someone lost. I remember grieving for a lost uncle of mine, and I could almost see and hear him talking to me, telling me it'll be ok. It's basically Zack's mind that's telling him all these things. It's Zack's conscience speaking in Cody's voice. It's Zack's mind telling him it'll be ok.
Dear Ms. Martin,
I am writing to you about your son, Zack, who though I understand his reasons, is not being attentive in class. He is usually more attentive than this, and that's saying something. I have been very concerned about his attention. He'd talk to his friends, but ended up yelling at me when I tried talking. I think you should meet me at the school; we'll have lunch at the school cafeteria and talk over what we should do with him. I am considering moving him out of school until he's ready.
His teacher,
Mrs. Green
Zack looked over the note at his mom, who was frowning, "Zack, I know Cody's death has been hard on you, but the last thing we need now is for you to be a typical High School dropout."
"I don't care," Zack mumbled, turning to his room.
"Zack, what would Cody have thought?" Carey called after him.
Even though Zack appeared to have ignored it, it got him thinking. What would Cody have said about a dropout? He would've yelled at Zack. He would never have forgiven him. Zack hated school, but he didn't want to make Cody upset. Then again, how would he know? He was gone.
Zack lay on his back, tears spilling out of his eyes thinking about Cody. He just wanted his brother back. He'd do anything. He'd give anything to relive the life he used to live. Not for the first time, he found himself saying, "Come back Cody. Come back and I'll be your slave if I have to. I'll help you with your homework."
Zack fell asleep thinking that exact line, resulting in a dream of Cody and Zack together again, pulling pranks like they used to. They couldn't do that anymore. It was finished. It was over. As Cody would've said, everything has an end. The end however, came too soon for Zack. Why did it have to be so soon? Why couldn't he have died first? Why did Cody go? If Zack had known Cody wasn't as healthy as originally thought, he would've never treated Cody the way he did. Now, it was too late.