OMG I'M SO SORRY I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN OVER A WEEK I KNOW I PROMISED DAILY UPDATES. SCHOOL HASN'T ENDED YET AND THEY SEEM TO BE TRYING TO CRAM AS MUCH WORK DOWN OUR THROATS AS POSSIBLE. So, as compensation, here's an extra long chapter.
Daryl is sleeping.
He sleeps almost all the time now.
I have missed almost six weeks of school.
Both of my parents are out.
I hurry to Daryl's bed. I shake him.
"Daryl," I whisper. "Come on, Daryl, we're taking a trip."
He doesn't move.
I notice his skin is cool.
Oh, no.
"Daryl!" I yell. I shake his thin shoulders.
He's not breathing.
I gather up his slight body and leave the dirty apartment.
My father ripped out the phone in a drunken fury two months ago.
"Help!" I scream. "Help!"
"He's dead. I'm sorry," says the paramedic.
"Oh, no. Oh, God," I mumble, sinking to the neighbor's floor.
I stare at Daryl's pale face. His lips are blue. He isn't breathing.
My baby brother isn't breathing.
I needed to take him to a doctor.
I should've taken him to a doctor.
"Oh, God," I whisper. I watch them zip a black bag over Daryl.
I cannot do anything but curl up on the floor and cry.