“Okay, sure.” I nodded. “Totally. I’m pretty tired myself. Maybe some other time.”
He gave me a small smile, and I took a few steps back before turning completely around. I wish I could have disappeared. Snapped my fingers and ended up in my room where it would be easier to hide my disappointment. Not that I thought he noticed…he had barely looked at me.
More heavy drops of rain fell on my head as I opened the back door to get to the kitchen. The faucet was running, but there was no one at the sink. My stomach sunk to my knees when I saw Aunt Meg crouched down on the floor over a withering Uncle Jim, one hand clutching his chest.
Her flushed face turned to me. The wisps of frizzy hair clung to her damp forehead. “I think he’s having a heart attack,” she cried.
I dropped the basket and ran upstairs to grab my cell. I was on the phone with 911 when I came back downstairs.
“What’s happening?” Kasey shrieked.
I recognized that wheeze in her breathing. That rapid rise and fall in her chest.
“Help’s coming, honey…Jim?” Aunt Meg yelled. She shook him hard. “Don’t close your eyes, please.”
“Male, seventy years old, diabetic. He’s unconscious,” I said into the phone. “Please, hurry!”
“Is he dying?” Kasey said. Her eyes were wide with panic and her small shoulders rose and fell with each shallow breath she took.
“Kasey!” I said. “Go get your inhaler!”
She shook her head. “I’m not leaving.”
“Go!” We didn’t need Uncle Jim and Kasey leaving in an ambulance.
She ran into the room and came back with her rescue inhaler at her lips.
Jacob stood in the threshold of the backdoor, his eyes wide. He ran to Aunt Meg’s side and laid his head on Uncle Jim’s chest. “He’s not breathing.”
Aunt Meg let out a cry as she held Uncle Jim’s hand and clutched it close to her.
My heart was like a battering ram. “Shit,” I yelled, feeling my own chest tighten. I forgot for a second that I was still on the phone with the 911 operator. “He’s not breathing,” I said into the phone. “Where the hell is the ambulance?”
The operator mentioned something about CPR, but Jacob already started chest compressions. He pushed for about twenty seconds, tilted back Uncle Jim’s head, pinched his nose, and blew a breath to fill his lungs. He repeated the cycle over and over. I heard the faint sound of sirens outside.
I ran out of the house and sprinted down the dirt driveway, my feet slipping in the fresh mud. Jack ran beside me. When I reached the end of the driveway, I waved my arms in the pouring rain as the dog barked. The headlights of the ambulance caught sight of me, and it zoomed past me toward the house. I summoned the energy to sprint down the driveway again. I slipped on my knees as the rain fell harder.
Back at the house, Uncle Jim was on a stretcher. His bare chest was exposed and wires and medical equipment were attached to his skin. I bit my dirty nails as the EMTs wheeled him out the door.
“Stay inside,” I said to Kasey.
She nodded and went upstairs.
Jacob was still kneeling on the floor, his chest heaving up and down. Aunt Meg grasped my hands; the creases around her eyes were wet.
Outside, Uncle Jim was already in the ambulance. One of EMTs muttered something about feeling a pulse.
She opened her mouth to talk but didn’t speak.
“Go,” I said. “It’s okay. I’ll take care of things here.”
She nodded, and one of the EMT’s helped her into the back of the ambulance.
Jacob and I didn’t move, even after they drove off. The rain had eased up. Thunder rumbled and lightening shimmered in the sky.
“What just happened?” I muttered. I could feel the mud caking on my kneecaps and in the creases of my palms. It felt like those first few moments after waking up in the middle of the night from a nightmare. The terrifying feeling still clinging to your body.
“That was intense.” Jacob stood up, his face and hair sweaty. He took a steadying breath. “I think he’ll be all right.”
“I hope so. I don’t know what Aunt Meg would do without him.” She couldn’t lose Uncle Jim. The thought made my stomach churn.
He nodded. “He’ll be all right.”
The house seemed so empty. It was still early. Even though I hadn’t slept in well over twenty-four hours, there was no way I was ready to go to sleep.
“I guess I should check on the animals before the night is over,” Jacob said.
“I’m going to make sure Kasey’s okay,” I replied. “And then I’ll come help you.”
Jacob walked off toward the barn, and I headed inside.
“Kase?” I gave her bedroom door a light knock.
“Come in.”
She was sitting cross-legged on the bed, her computer in her lap.
“Hey,” I said, walking toward her. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” She set her computer down. “Is he going to be okay?”
“Sure he will.” I hoped I wouldn’t regret saying it.
I sat down next to her and put my arm around her shoulders.
She leaned her head against the crook of my arm. “But what if he’s not? What will happen to Aunt Meg? Where will I go?”
“Don’t worry about that,” I said. “No matter what happens we’ll always have each other.”
It was why I applied to become her legal guardian. Convincing the judge that it was in Kasey’s best interest wasn’t hard, especially not after I had already been through the court system when Aunt Meg and Uncle Jim had become my legal guardians. But they had aged a lot since then. I was sure they hadn’t expected to be taking care of a soon-to-be teenager in their seventies.
She looked up at me. “Promise?”
I held up my little finger. “Pinky promise.”
* * * *
The rain had let up to a sprinkle. It took about an hour to close up the big barn and the chicken coup, and I made sure Jack was settled in
