Sameen opened the door to the car and looked up at Root's house. It felt odd to back in Bishop after so long. It was nice, though. In the past when Sameen had gone away, she'd never had somewhere to go back to. Bishop was her home now and that made her feel stable.

Root sighed as she walked around the car. She stopped next to Sameen, her keys in her hand. Sameen reached out to pat her shoulder.

"You ok?" she asked.

Root nodded. "Yeah, I am. Just annoyed to be back."

Sameen chuckled. "I was thinking the opposite. It's nice to have a permanent home."

Root smiled at her. "Sorry. I hadn't thought about it like that. I'm so ready to never come back and you're happy to be home."

"It's alright," Sameen shrugged. "Different experiences. Besides, home is where you are."

Root's mouth dropped open and she grinned. "Sameen! That's so romantic!"

"It's the truth," she said, flushing. "I wasn't homesick once this whole trip. You just kept bugging me and it felt safe."

"Well," Root blushed, punching Sameen in the arm, "back at you. You make this place sort of ok."

"Oh, thanks," Sameen rolled her eyes. "Enough of this. Go inside."

Root nodded, her smile dropping, and took a deep breath. "Ok."

She started down the path to her house, running a hand through her hair. Sameen pulled her phone out to call Mrs. Reese and tell her they were back in town. She pulled up her contact and hit the call button.

Sameen turned around as the phone rang, looking up and down the street. She felt…different, like she knew too much. The town hadn't changed at all and that seemed wrong somehow. The early-August sun was bright and washed the color from the buildings.

"Sameen!" Mrs. Reese's voiced cheered. "Hello!"

"Hey!" Sameen said, smiling. "We're in town."

"Great! Are you at Root's now?"

"Yeah, we're just going to check on her mom and then we'll be over."

"Sameen?" Root called from the front door. "Something's wrong."

"One second," Sameen said to Mrs. Reese. She pressed the phone to her chest and turned around. "What is it?"

Root gently pushed the door to her house open. "The door was open and the window is smashed."

Sameen hurried to the porch, hoping up. The small, frosted window in door was gone, the glass shattered in the entranceway. She put the phone to her ear again as Root walked inside.

"Can you come over? It looks like someone broke into Root's home."

"Oh," there was a rustling sound, "of course. I'll bring John."

"Thanks. Can you call Sheriff Carter? Just in case," Sameen said. She took a step into the house, glass crunching beneath her sneakers. "We're going to check it out."

"No," Mrs. Reese said, "stay out. I don't want you two getting hurt."

"Well, Root's already inside. I'll get her and we'll wait in the yard."

"Alright, be careful. I love you."

"You, too," Sameen said, hanging up the phone.

She put it in her pocket and walked further into the house. The small shoe rack that sat by the door had been splintered, like someone had shoved their foot through the top. Sameen turned right into the living room and raised her eyebrows.

The small TV in the corner was destroyed. Root had said it didn't work anymore, but now the glass had been broken and the wooden frame demolished. She stepped further into the room and looked at the couch. It was torn as if someone had slashed it open with a knife. Sameen winced at the smell, like vomit and old cigarettes.

She'd never spent much time in Root's house, Root didn't want her to see it and Sameen didn't really care. She could guess, though, that this is not how it had looked when they'd left.

She crossed the scraped wooden floors and walked into the dining room. The table had been pulled apart and the center leaf was gone. It was covered in something sticky and Sameen reached out to touch it with her fingertip. She sniffed it. It smelled like old soda and something sharp.

Sameen shuddered and wiped her finger on her jeans. She wondered what had happened. Had Root's mom done this?

She stepped back into the hall and headed for the kitchen. "Root?"

"I'm here," Root replied, coming into view as Sameen stepped onto the tile.

Sameen almost slipped and had to hold onto the doorframe to catch herself. She looked down. The kitchen floor was wet, but she couldn't tell with what. She walked carefully to the island to stand next to Root.

"Look at this," Root said, sounding defeated. She pointed into the fridge.

Every jar and canister was open, the contents spilled into the fridge. There were Ziplocs that had been tore open at the sides and the meat inside left to rot. Sameen covered her nose. The whole house smelled like decay.

"That's the meal prep I made," Root said, sighing. "She didn't make any of it. Do you think she did this right away? Or she waited? I talked to her a couple weeks ago. She sounded fine."

"Maybe it wasn't her?" Sameen offered, trying to breathe through her mouth. "Why aren't you dying? It smells so bad."

"This was her," Root turned and walked to the microwave, shattered on the ground. "I know what this smell is."

Sameen didn't know what to say. If Root's mom had done this, where was she? Had she been living in this mess? She watched Root walk out of the kitchen and followed her upstairs. Root had locked her door before they left, so hopefully her things were fine.

The smell of decay was worse upstairs. Once, when she was young, Sameen had found a dead cat near their house. She didn't remember how she felt, but she remembered the smell. It smelled like this, like warm death.

The door to Root's room had been attacked. The door handle was gone and the wood around it pulverized. Sameen bent forward, looking at it. It was definitely a hammer that had done this. Did Root's mom even own a hammer?

Thankfully, Root's chain had held and no one had gotten in. All the things on her dresser had been knocked off, as if whoever had done this had shoved their arm inside and destroyed what they could reach. Root sighed loudly and turned away.

Sameen followed her to the bathroom, but couldn't make it to the door. The smell was worse in here and Sameen had to pull her shirt over her nose. Root finally seemed affected and she covered her mouth. From what Sameen could see, there was a layer of water on the floor, cloudy and grey.

Root didn't stay long. She moved back to the hall and stared at the last door. She closed her eyes for a moment.

"Is that your mom's room?" Sameen asked quietly, her voice muffled by her shirt. "You don't have to go in. We can wait for Mrs. Reese."

"No," Root said through clenched teeth. "This is my fault. My responsibility."

"Root-"

Sameen reached for her, but Root stepped away. She walked to her mother's room, pushing the door open. It was immediately obvious that this was where the smell was coming from, the disgusting stench rushing out of the room and down the hall. Sameen coughed, feeling like she'd never be clean again.

She trailed after Root as they entered the room. Every piece of furniture had been knocked over and the carpet was damp. Sameen counted four bottles of whiskey scattered around and she realized that Mrs. Groves might be dead. She looked at Root.

Root was frozen next to the bed, white as a sheet. Mrs. Groves was on her back, on hand loosely holding a wooden mallet. Sameen sighed. It was her that did all of this. Something must have triggered her while they were gone. Root was probably devastated.

Sameen turned to her. "Root-"

Root's mom flew out of the bed, screaming bloody murder. Her face twisted into a mask of hatred and she swung the mallet over her head. Sameen launched forward, grabbing Root's hand and pulling her out of the room.

They raced down the hall, Mrs. Groves on their heels. Sameen couldn't make out what she was screaming, but she knew it wasn't anything good. Mrs. Groves was mostly alcohol right now and Sameen didn't think she'd hesitate to hit children. She pushed Root in front of her and they pounded down the stairs and out the door to the yard.

Sameen spun around, keeping Root behind her. Her heart was pounding in her ears as she watched Mrs. Groves stagger out the front door and stand on the porch. Sameen would protect Root no matter what, but she had to admit she felt fear. Mrs. Groves bloodshot eyes glared at them with malice.

"Mom," Root said from behind Sameen, "put that down. Just…put the hammer down."

Mrs. Groves moved forward on the porch steps. They collapsed beneath her and she fell to the ground with a scream, her face smashing into the concrete. Root jumped forward, pushing passed Sameen and kneeling at her mother's side. She helped her mom sit up.

"Mom?" Root asked, gently pushing hair from her mother's face. "Are you ok?"

Sameen watched them closely, ready to intervene. Mrs. Groves' nose had broken in the fall and blood poured down her face. She looked at Root, confused and disoriented. Her fingers twitched around the splintered mallet, but she didn't pick it up.

Root smiled at her mother and helped her to her feet. Sameen took a breath. It looked like the fall and the pain had grounded Mrs. Groves a little. When Mrs. Reese got here, they could take her to the emergency room.

Loud sirens came into hearing and the Sheriff's car sped around the corner, Mrs. Reese's close behind. The noise startled Mrs. Groves and whatever calm have overcome her left. She swung the mallet around, hitting Root in the head and knocking her to the ground, unconscious.

Sameen started to run forward, but strong arms wrapped around her keeping her in place.

"Let me go!" she growled, struggling to get free. "I have to help Root."

The sheriff ran past her and grabbed Mrs. Groves, his deputy taking the hammer out if her hands. When she was far enough away, the arms around Sameen let go and she raced to Root's side. Slowly, carefully, she put her hand on Root's shoulder and rolled her onto her back.

Sameen pushed the hair from her face and looked at the right side of her head, where she'd been struck. Root's ear was bloody, a shard of wood stuck was buried in the blood and Sameen was afraid to touch it.

Sameen sensed someone kneeling next to her and wrapped her arms around Root. She was scared, she could admit that, she could feel it. If anything happened to Root…Sameen didn't know what she'd do. Root had taken over her life, made her enjoy herself. How could she stay in Bishop if Root was Bishop for her?

Mrs. Reese appeared next to her, her face creased with worry. She placed a hand on Sameen's back.

"Are you ok?"

Sameen nodded. "I'm fine, but Root…We need to go to the hospital."

"An ambulance is coming," Mrs. Reese assured her. "We weren't expecting trouble, but we heard a scream."

"Mrs. Groves," Sameen clenched her eyes shut. "I hate her so much."

"I know, Sweetie," Mrs. Reese rubbed Sameen's back. "She's gone now. Root will come stay with us until we figure out what to do."

Sameen looked down at Root. Root was going to be so angry that Sameen had brought the police into it. Maybe she wouldn't be. After all, Mrs. Groves could have killed her. Sameen bent forward and put her ear to Root's chest. The sound of Root's heartbeat soothed her.

Root was going to be fine. She'd recover and they'd be back to school in no time. They'd have their six-month talk and nothing had to change. It would be fine, Sameen told herself.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Root slowly regained consciousness, her head swimming. What happened? She tried to open her eyes, but the bright light blinded her.

"Root?" Sameen's voice asked to her left. "Are you awake?"

Root groaned and tried to sit up, but her head hurt so much. She dropped back down.

"Where am I?" she asked, her voice loud. "Am I yelling?"

There was a weight next to her and she tried to open her eyes, blinking against the lights. Root looked around, confused. She was in a hospital.

"You, um," Sameen licked her lips, "your mother hit you pretty hard with the mallet. You..Uh…"

"Just tell me," Root frowned. "What is it?"

"You're deaf. In your right ear."

Root shook her head, wincing against the pain. She reached up to touch her ear, but felt a bandage instead. A large bandage covered her ear and went back to cover some of her neck as well. She tapped on the bandage, but didn't hear a thing.

"I'm deaf?" she asked, shocked. "What…From the hit?"

Sameen nodded. "It burst your eardrum and a large piece of wood shattered your cochlear. The doctors said they might be able to give you some sort of aid, but you'll never have full hearing again."

Root stared up at the ceiling. What did this mean for her future? Could she still do Science Bowl? Could she still work for NASA? What if she couldn't hear music in the same way?

She started to panic, her breath quickening. Root closed her eyes, tears escaping and running down her face. She felt Sameen reach up and wipe her face. At least she had Sameen.

"What about my mom?" Root whispered, opening her eyes. "Didn't she hit her head?"

Sameen swallowed, her face guilty. "She...Sheriff Carter took her. She's probably going to prison."

"What?" Root struggled to sit up. Sameen tried to keep her down, but she pushed her hands away. "The police came?"

"Yes," Sameen said, scooting back on the bed to give Root room. "I know you didn't want them involved, but your mom could have killed you."

"I could have handled it!" Root hissed, her voice strange in her ears. "I would have been fine! You shouldn't have brought them."

Sameen slid off the bed, frowning. "Root, you could have died. At least you're alright."

"I'm not alright!" Root cried, trying to ignore the hot tears on her face. "I'm deaf and I don't have a place to live. I'm going to be put in the system and taken away."

"No, you're not," Sameen shook her head. "Mrs. Reese has temporary custody of you. You can be emancipated or we'll find someone in Bishop to adopt you."

"I don't want anyone in this shithole of a town to adopt me," she growled. "I was so close to getting out." Root dropped her head into her hands. "We shouldn't have gone away. I shouldn't have been so irresponsible."

"Root, you're allowed to do things." Sameen stepped towards her. "You're allowed to want things."

Root looked up at her, her teeth clenched. "Get out. I can't look at you right now. I'm so mad at you."

"Mad?" Sameen sighed. "Root, I know you're upset about what happened, but it'll be ok!"

"No," Root put a hand on her bandaged ear, "I don't know that it will be. I don't know anything right now, but I know that I don't want to be near you. I just…Just leave. I can't look at you."

Sameen stood still for a moment. Root expected her face to drop into neutral, but it didn't. Sameen was looking at her, eyes full of worry, and Root wanted to vomit. So much had changed in so little time and it felt like the ground was spinning out from under her.

She needed space, actual space, not quiet with Sameen. Maybe Sameen would still be there when Root was ready to talk again, maybe she wouldn't be, but right now, Root needed to be alone.

"Are you sure?" Sameen asked, her voice small. "You really want me gone?"

Root swallowed hard and nodded. "Yes."

Sameen turned on her heel and left the hospital room. Then, Root was alone.