Chapter 20

The sisters waited for Mila to lose consciousness again, then eyed her with caution.

“He—she—needs a doctor,” Bo said to her sister.

“How? Shall we call the mother?”

Bo shrugged. “I guess we don’t have a choice. We’ll take the car, and we will simply return her home.”

“No, no,” Mila said from the bed, shivering and shaking with cold and fear. “No, no… Mama…”

The twins couldn’t tell if she were awake or dreaming, but either way, her plea fell on deaf ears.

“I’ll get the car,” Bo said. Her sister nodded. They dragged the half-delirious Mila down the back hall to the garage. They loaded her body into the backseat and backed the car out of the drive.

The rain was pouring down with equal parts of thunder and lightning when they rolled down the long driveway.

“I hate this weather,” Bo complained as she steered the sedan onto the highway. She drove slowly, peering through the foggy windshield as the wipers blasted water from the glass. Cars passed them, creating waves that washed over the windows, periodically drenching the car in muddy sheets.

“Careful,” her sister intoned ominously.

A loud clap of thunder followed by a brilliant flash of lightning startled them both, and woke their unwitting prisoner. Mila popped up from the back seat and reached across to grab the wheel.

“I won’t go back! I won’t! I won’t!” she screamed, twisting to get her way.

The twins shrieked as the car spun out of control on the road, sliding into a muddy ditch before coming to a stop. Mila yanked open the car door and got out, running back toward the road. The sisters watched her go, doing nothing whatsoever to stop her.

“That boy is crazy,” Bo finally declared.

Her sister had to agree. They waited another half hour in the rain before the got out and pushed the car from the puddle. They drove home in silence.

One of the downfalls of living alone, Peggy would discover, was that there was no one to share things with. No one to mutually admire a sunset or a well-made bed. No one to bring you an aspirin or blanket if you felt ill. And certainly, however unfortunate, no one to notice when you had a stroke.

Unable to reach the phone, one side of her body completely immobilized, Peggy slumped in her chair, fear in her eyes as one by one her organs shut down. She suddenly regretted her situation and wondered if she could have done something differently to prevent this outcome.

Sadly, she could not think of a thing.