“Meredith.” Our heads swivel toward the door at the sound of Luke’s voice.
“What’s up?” I grin at Mark’s handsome older brother, but I feel the smile fall from my face when I see the look on his. “What happened?”
“Jax,” he begins without breaking eye contact with me. “I need you to take care of things here. There’s been a car accident.”
I gasp and feel my heart speed up as my entire body breaks out in cold sweat.
“What?” My voice is a low whisper.
“There’s been a car accident, Mer. Mark’s on his way to the hospital.”
I blink frantically as Luke and Jax continue to talk, but I can’t hear what they’re saying. My ears are buzzing. Or is that my head? Someone takes my hand and pulls me out of the chair.
“Meredith,” Jax says sternly, making me meet his gaze. “Breathe, baby. You go with Luke. I’ll take care of this last class and meet you at the hospital later.”
I nod automatically as Jax passes my hand to Luke and he leads me out of the studio to his SUV, but I can’t even feel my feet. I’m just following automatically. My face suddenly feels wet.
“Is it raining?” Is that my voice? Soft and hoarse and weak?
“Yes, sweetheart. Come on, get in my car.”
Luke is talking, but I don’t hear him. I lean my forehead against the cool glass of the passenger window, and I’m suddenly thirteen years old, sitting in Mrs. Yakamura’s classroom.
“Meredith?”
Oh geez, did I do that bad on the stupid math test? Mrs. Yakamura is staring at me with really serious eyes, like I’m in trouble or something. I didn’t do anything I can think of. I mean, she wouldn’t know that I stole Tiff’s favorite barrette this morning and put it in my hair after I got to school.
“Yes, ma’am?”
“I need you to go down to the principal’s office, please.”
The kids around me snicker and my tummy tightens with nerves. “What did I do?”
“You’re not in trouble, but they do need you down at the office, sweetie.”
“I’m not in trouble?” Why else would I be sent down there? This is the weirdest day ever!
“No. But grab your things. You won’t be coming back to class today.”
“She’s suspended?” My best friend, Amanda, asks with wide eyes.
“No. They’ll explain when you get down there.” I grab my backpack and coat and shrug at Amanda when she does the what the heck is going on look. When I move to pass by Mrs. Yakamura, she pulls me in for a strong hug, surprising me.
“I’m so sorry, Meredith.”
I must be in trouble. Why else would she be sorry? Oh my gosh, if my dad finds out that I got suspended from school, he’ll be beyond mad. He might even take my dance lessons away, and that would suck the worst. He’s always lecturing me and Tiff about being responsible and taking school seriously, and that it’s okay to have hobbies but we need to be focused.
Blah, blah, blah.
I’m only thirteen, for gosh sakes. It’s not like I’m going to college next year. Maybe I won’t go to college at all. Maybe I’ll just be a dancer. I’ll be a dancer and fall in love with a handsome musician and he’ll write me love songs and tell me how pretty I am.
Daddy tells me I’m pretty, but he’s my daddy. He’s supposed to say that.
Happy with my decision to marry a musician, I execute a perfect pirouette down the empty hallway on my way to the office. When I go inside, I’m surprised to see my mom and the counselor, Mr. Pritchett, waiting for me.
“Mom?” Her eyes are red and blotchy. Mine get the same way when I’ve been crying for a long time. “Mommy?”
“Oh, baby girl.” She yanks me into her arms and smothers me against her breasts, holding onto me so tight I can barely breathe, and cries hard. She’s shaking and sobbing against me.
Why is she crying? She only ever cries when she watches sad movies or when Grandma died. I start to cry too because she’s scaring me.
“Come on, Addie,” Mr. Pritchett says, pulling us toward his office. “Let’s sit down for a minute.”
“The police officer is waiting outside to take us back,” she sobs.
Police officer?
“Am I going to jail?” I cry.
“No, baby, no. Of course not.” Mom sniffs and wipes her cheeks dry, then pushes my hair back over my shoulders. Her lips are trembling. “Sweetie, there was a car accident today. Daddy’s at the hospital now, but we have to get back as soon as possible because they don’t think…” She can’t finish the sentence.
“They don’t think what?”
“You need to go see your dad, Meredith,” Mr. Pritchett says quietly.
“Where is Tiff? Is she at the hospital too?”
Another sob escapes Mom’s lips, but she firms her chin and swallows hard. “No, honey. Tiff isn’t at the h-h-hospital.”
“Where is she?” I whisper.
Mom shakes her head, takes my hand in hers and kisses it. “She didn’t make it, baby.”
I wrinkle my forehead in confusion. “Didn’t make what?”
“Tiffany was killed in the accident, Meredith,” Mr. Pritchett says. His eyes are full of tears too.
“What?” I pull away from Mom, yank my hand out of hers and bump into a chair. “What?”
“Come on,” Mom says. “We have to get back now.”
“I don’t understand.” I can’t stop crying now. My whole body feels hot, like it does when you stand in the bathroom with the shower running hot on a summer day. I can’t breathe. “I want Tiff! I want Daddy!”
“We’re going to see Daddy right now,” Mom says and pulls me out of the office, through the front doors of the school to the police car out front.
I want to ask why the police are here, but I can’t talk. This can’t be happening. What in the hell is happening?