Nan’s head whipped around. “Who’s that?” Nan asked, standing up. “Rudy? Rudy, are you there?”
I knew Clay must have been in the hall, and I knew I couldn’t let Nan see him.
“Sit down,” I told her. “I’ll go check it out.” I made my way to the hall. I could see Clay trying his hardest to hold his fists shut. He was leaning against the wall, his teeth clenched.
“Are you hurt?” I whispered.
“You need to hurry,” he replied. “I can’t go invisible, this is taking too much out of me.” He was struggling with every ounce of his will. I turned to see Nan coming towards the hall.
“Everything is fine!” I said, putting my hands up to stop her. But she was determined to see around the corner; she moved me out of the way, and that’s when my heart dropped.
Nan turned the corner, and I couldn’t see Clay’s reaction but I’ll never forget the way Nan screamed when she saw him. And I think that’s when Clay let go. Nan fell back and hit the floor. I ran over and put my hand under her head. She was shaking.
“Nan! Oh my God, Nan!”
I looked over at Clay and his face did all the talking. He was traumatized. He was slumped against the wall, completely frozen.
“Nan, stay with me,” I cried. She was still shaking. I couldn’t believe what we’d done. It was such a stupid idea, and we had caused so much damage. I rolled Nan onto her side. Then the doorbell rang.
“Anyone home?” a familiar voice called. “Anna, I seen your truck outside. How come you haven’t replied to my texts?”
Tia turned the corner, and her jaw dropped when she saw all of us.
I looked back at Clay and he looked at me.
“I’m so sorry, Anna,” he said before he faded away.
“What the fuck?” Tia shouted. “Wh—What…was that?! What…Oh my God, Tanya. Tanya! Anna, we need to take her to the hospital now!”
It felt like everything around me went silent. The only thing I could hear was my heartbeat. I couldn’t catch my breath no matter how hard I tried to chase after it. I kept blacking in and out.
Vaguely, I was aware of Tia sitting with me until Nan stopped shaking. That’s when she lifted Nan off the floor, and she pulled my arm too. Together, we carried her to the truck. Tia made sure Nan was secure in the middle seat. Then she turned to me and yelled, “What the hell was that thing?”
I didn’t reply. I kept thinking I couldn’t lose Nan. Even if a part of her was already lost.
“Anna!” Tia shouted.
“I… I….”
“Save it,” Tia said as she went to the driver’s side. “Get in.”
I got in and passed Tia the keys. She hit the gas. Nan was sitting between us, unconscious.
Clay had been right. We should’ve been more patient. No, I should have been more patient. Tia sped down the path and made a sharp turn onto the main road. She was still hitting the gas pretty hard, and I sat there dazed. I felt dizzy, and had to chase after every breath I took. I couldn’t speak because of the knot in my throat and I closed my eyes, wanting to go anywhere but there. But Clay wasn’t around. He was gone, and I was stuck in the moment. I closed my eyes and pretended I was in the dark place. I wanted to be away from all of this.
“Anna! Is she still breathing?” Tia’s voice cut into my thoughts.
I looked over to Nan sitting beside me, her eyes closed. Tia gripped the steering wheel with both hands.
I grabbed Nan’s wrist and felt for a pulse. I could feel it, thank God.
“Yeah. Yeah she has a pulse.”
Tia turned onto a small bridge and drove through an intersection. “We’re almost to the hospital.”
I didn’t say anything for the rest of the ride. I held on to Nan’s hand, wishing upon every star I could see that she would be okay.
Tia pulled up to the entrance and together we carried Nan inside. We didn’t even have to say anything. A few nurses immediately put Nan onto a bed and rolled her into an examination room, calling for a doctor. I put my head down, still chasing the breaths, tears running down my face. What had I done to her? How had I let this happen?
I looked up to see Tia looking deep into my eyes.
“Anna,” she said seriously. “What was that?”
Chapter 14
My hands couldn’t stop shaking in the waiting room. I kept thinking, how could I have hurt one of the people I loved most? Was it too selfish to want my grandmother back? I don’t know, but sitting in that waiting room, I felt helpless, and frozen. It felt like a few hours had gone by and nobody had come out to speak to us yet. Tia sat with me, rubbing my back. I was freezing, and my stomach was in a knot. The lighting was way too bright. The constant ticking of the giant clock was mind numbing. I wanted to keep my eyes closed so badly. I wanted to be anywhere but there, but I knew I was stuck in the moment.
“Do you think she’s going to be okay?” I finally asked. I hadn’t said anything since Tia and I had gotten to the hospital.
“She’s the strongest person I know,” Tia replied.
I nodded, and was silent for a few more moments. Then: “Tia?”
“Yeah?”
“You can’t tell anyone what you seen.”
I heard a sigh from Tia. She sounded frustrated. “I don’t even know what it was that I seen.”
“Please.”
She sat there, crossed her legs, and gave me a look. She always said I was a mystery. Now she had solved a part of it.
“Okay.” She let out a breath. “But you’re
