Page 34 of Organized Chaos

HER

Chapter 10

Ipressed my indexand middle fingers on my wrists, counting the beats every fifteen seconds. My heartbeat had dropped from the last tally, and my extremities went numb minutes ago.

The cold was spreading, but it was crucial not to panic at the threat of hypothermia. Any form of exertion would deplete the limited oxygen. It’s something I read about.

“Repose,” I said to myself.

I read a lot, especially about Mom’s on and off depression. As of late, she barely moved from her post. Prolonged bed rest led to inflammation and body aches, something else I read about in the DSM manual.

In an attempt to Feng Shui my mother out of her room to a different locale, this morning I had proposed to stay home and binge on some good old television in the living room. I also had an ulterior motif—Brandon Cooper was supposed to appear on some boring daytime television show. It was meant to be good exposure for his company, and I was excited to see Brandon shine during his big moment.

However, Raven and Reid had put a stop to my pleas to skip one lousy day of eighth grade. I was twelve and the baby of the family. It was customary that the ideas of the youngest member be ignored by default.

I wasn’t ready to give up so easily. When their faces disappeared from my line of vision on the way to school, I turned around and returned home. The only person aware that I had skipped school today was Mom. She was excited to have the company and said it could be our little secret.