Page 31

Chapter 31

Julia

Nathan and my parents jump on the stage, smothering me in a group hug.

“J! I am so proud of you!” Nathan yells in my ear.

Everyone is acting as if this is Madison Square Garden, not the activity room at the Cactus Hills fifty-five plus community, but I love it.

After a few minutes of celebrating with my family, I see Graham standing back, patiently waiting for his turn. He is laughing with Josie and Chloe, and I take a second to watch him. I couldn’t have done this without him .

“Earth to Julia.” Chloe waves her hand in my face. I hadn’t even noticed her walking toward me. “I already told Graham, but we get you tonight. Me, you, and Josie are going to get ice cream and watch chick flicks. Say goodbye to your man; you can see him tomorrow.” She pushes me toward Graham, and it’s all the prompting I need. I jump into his arms, and he lifts me up and spins me around.

“You were amazing,” he whispers in my ear before planting a kiss on my cheek.

“Thank you. It was because of you. You saved me. Thank you.” I kiss him hard, and it takes him a second to respond.

“Ew. Enough,” Nathan says. “Graham, let’s go. I want to get burgers first.”

Graham gives me one more quick kiss before setting me down and walking toward Nathan. “Tomorrow. You and me, all day.” Graham points at me and I feel my face flush.

“All day,” I agree.

“Another toothache. Man alive,” Chloe says, holding her cheeks. “Let’s go.” She links her arms through mine and Josie’s, pulling us to the parking lot. “Bye, ‘rents.” Chloe waves over her shoulder.

“Rents?” Josie asks, confused.

“Yeah, ‘rents. Like parents. I heard it in a show.” Chloe keeps explaining early 2000s slang to Josie as I look around, trying to find Mabel.

“Hey, did any of you see Mabel?”

“Nope, I didn’t. Maybe she had to watch at home?” Josie shrugs.

“Why? I saw her yesterday, and she was fine. She told me she’d see me at the performance, but she didn’t want to make me more nervous with last-minute tips so she was going to talk to me after the show. Can we go check out her house before we leave?”

“Josie, do you care? Your car.”

“No problem.” Josie shrugs. “It’ll take a while. This show was packed, but we can make our way over there.”

I check the line of cars in the parking lot, my eyes blinded by all the brake lights. “Maybe I’ll walk. Why don’t you go to the car and meet me there?”

“It’s all the way across the community. Are you sure?” Chloe asks. “It’s dark, and there are a lot of cars.”

“Yeah, it’ll be faster. I’ll be careful. I just want to say hi and thank you.” I head toward Mabel’s house, dodging cars and people, trying to stay on the sidewalk as much as possible. A shuttle bus is driving slowly through the community, letting people off one or two at a time in front of each house, making it impossible to use the street to pass people on the sidewalk.

It takes a while, but I eventually make it to Mabel’s house. The light over the front door is off, but I can see the kitchen light through the front window. I can hear the faint scratch of her record player, the sound it makes when the record is over, but no one stops it. I knock before trying to let myself in. Her door is locked. I yell her name, starting to feel worried. I don’t hear any response, and I pull out my phone, immediately pulling up Graham’s contact information.

But what is he going to do? He is probably stuck in that traffic jam leaving the neighborhood. I turn on my flashlight and start looking for a hidden key. There are a few fake rocks, but they are all empty. I run my hand over the top of the door frame but again, no luck. I head around the side of the house, trying to find something that could be hiding a key. I’m not even sure she has a hide-a-key but I don’t know what else to do. I end up back at the front door, still no key, and my eyes catch on a small sign above the doorbell. It’s maybe four-by-four inches and half-an inch deep. It used to be white with a few black music notes on it, with the words Sing Out Loud underneath. I try to grab it off the wall, but it won’t come. I tug a few times before my phone starts to vibrate. I see Chloe’s name flash on the screen.

“Hey! Where are you?” I ask.

“Hey girl, sorry. We are stuck behind the shuttle bus, and it’s driving down the middle of the road so they can drop people off on either side.”

“She isn’t answering her door. I can hear her record player; she left it on. I need to get inside.” I can hear the panic in my voice, and that just makes me panic more.

“Julia, it’s okay. Josie is going to let me out. I’m coming.” I hear the car door open and Chloe starts running. “Stay on the line. I’m almost there.”

I stand there, helplessly tugging on the small sign, waiting for Chloe to get here. I hear her footsteps behind me and drop my phone. I use both hands to pull on the sign, but I slip on the front step. When I slip, my hand turns, and the sign turns with it. It twists off the wall into my hand, and on the back, a key is stuck with yellowing tape.

“It’s been a while since someone used that,” Chloe says. “How did you know it was there?”

“I didn’t.” I fumble the key, and Chloe catches it. She gently pushes me aside and unlocks the door. I run inside, yelling Mabel's name. I make it to the kitchen and see her lying on the floor. Her eyes are closed, and for a second, I worry she’s dead. I rush to check her pulse, but I don’t have any first aid training, only what I’ve seen on television.

“Call 911!” I yell before realizing that Chloe is already on the phone.

“Yes, her name is Mabel Campos. She lives in Cactus Hills. I don’t know what happened. We got here and she was on the floor. Does she have a pulse?” Chloe has to repeat herself twice before I realize she’s asking me.

“I, uh, I’m not sure. How do I know?” I put my ear to her chest and before I can hear a heartbeat, I feel her chest move. “She’s breathing!” I yell.

Chloe repeats it to the operator before rushing to the front door to tell them her house number. I sit on the floor, holding her hand, not hearing anything Chloe is saying while I wait for the ambulance. After a few minutes or possibly an hour, I’m not sure, two paramedics rush into the house and push me out of the way. Chloe grabs me and holds me tight while the tears flow freely and sobs wrack my body.

The paramedics are loading her into the ambulance, and Chloe asks where they are taking her. The paramedics exchange a look before saying they can’t tell non-family members.

“I’m her granddaughter.” The lie slips out before I can think about it.

The paramedics exchange a doubtful look. “Okay. To the Desert General. Just a few blocks from here.”

“Thanks!” Chloe drags me to the car at the curb where Josie is waiting.

“What happened?” Josie asks, clearly freaking out a little.

“I don’t know. We found her on the floor, unconscious, but she was breathing. Go to Desert General. I’ll try and find Ginger’s number so we can tell Mabel’s family.” I lean my head against the window, grateful for the unusually cool night. The cool window grounds me, and I pull out my phone, opening the family group chat.

Me

Hey, we are headed to Desert General. Something happened to Mabel.

Nathan

What? On my way

Mom

Me and Dad will be there as soon as we can. We just have to turn around. Be safe.

I send a heart emoji and turn off my phone, focusing on the street lights flying by.

The next half an hour passes in a blur. My parents arrive shortly at Desert General shortly after we do. Chloe is convinced she has to find Ginger’s number, but my parents are trying to explain to her that the hospital will have contact information. She won’t listen, and I ignore the situation, since it’s clear to me that she needs something to focus on. Josie is sitting on a chair in the waiting room, gnawing on her thumb nail, staring at the floor. The doors slide open, letting Nathan and Graham rush in. Graham comes straight to me and wraps me up in a big hug. I cling to him and let the tears fall again.

“Do we know anything?” Nathan asks my parents.

My parents shake their heads and explain that they can’t tell us anything. We need to wait for Mabel’s family to get here.

Graham pulls his phone from his pocket and passes it to Nathan. “You can text Ginger.”

Nathan sends a quick text, like it’s not a big deal that Graham has Ginger’s number. Is it a big deal? My brain is having a hard time processing this information. I take a step back from Graham, and he gives me a quick look. It’s just a phone number , I repeat over and over. When Nathan passes the phone back, I catch a glimpse of the screen. It’s full of text messages, back and forth. I grab the phone and scroll up. There are so many. I look up at Graham, my heart hurting.

“You text her?”

Graham looks at me and at the phone, then back again. “Well, yeah. We have some classes together, and we hung out a few times last year.”

“What classes?”

“I don’t know. English, maybe? Does it matter? She asks me for notes sometimes.”

“Notes,” I repeat. I try to focus my eyes on the screen, but I can’t. I feel an arm on my shoulder and smell my mom.

“Julia, honey. You are getting a little loud. This probably isn’t the time.” She pulls me away from Graham and takes the phone from my fingers, handing it back to Graham. She leads me to the chair next to Josie. I grip the armrests and stare at the floor.

I don’t know how much time has passed, but I do know that Nathan and Chloe have both tried to talk to me. My mind is flipping between Mabel and Graham. Is she dead? What if she died? Why does he text her back? I should’ve checked on her before the show. Does he flirt with her? Is that why she’s always pushing so hard?

He’s encouraging her.

I need Mabel to be okay.

I look up when I hear footsteps running into the hospital. It’s Ginger and her dad, and I would guess, her mom. They look stricken, and Ginger runs right into Graham’s arms. Graham wraps his arms around her and holds her while she cries. I feel my heart breaking while I try to convince myself that he’s just being a good guy.

I love that he’s a good guy. Remember that.

Nathan walks over and puts his arm around me, pulling me close. I rest my head on his shoulder and let the tears I didn’t know I still had fall again.