Page 59 of Anytime I Want

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 thefloor. 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.

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