Page 3 of Breakout
“Are you ready for some popcorn, ice cream, andMulan?” Marcy asks.
“I’m ready!”
A pounding on the door wakes me up, making me frown as I sit up. Did I fall asleep while watching a movie again?
“Dad, someone’s here, can you come over?” I hear Marcy say quietly in the kitchen.
“Police!” someone yells before pounding on the door.
Oh no, is someone in trouble? The police come only when something bad happens.
“Marcy…what’s going on?” I say, voice shaking.
“Hey you.” She smiles, but it doesn’t look quite right. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m sure it’s okay.”
“Marcy, sweetheart, open up,” her dad says through the door.
Marcy walks over to the front door, and I trail behind her. When she opens the door, I see her mom and dad standing there in their robes along with two men in blue uniforms.
“Can you tell us what’s going on?” her dad demands.
“Is this the home of John and Stella Anderson?” one of the men asks.
“It is, now tell us what’s going on?” Marcy’s mom says, her voice sounding weird.
“We’re sorry to inform you, but John and Stella were in an accident. They passed away,” one of the officers says.
Marcy and her mom start to cry while I stand there confused.
Accidents happen sometimes, what’s the big deal? If they are hurt, all they need is the hospital to get better, right?
Marcy’s mom walks over to me and kneels in front of me. She reaches out and runs her hands along my arms.
“Peyton, honey…” she says as tears run down her face.
“Are we going to the hospital to see my mommy and daddy?”
Marcy’s mom sobs and shakes her head.
I wait for her to respond, but instead the answer comes from Marcy’s dad. “No, sweetheart, we won’t. Your parents went to heaven to be with the angels.”
“No, they went to dinner,” I correct him.
I know you shouldn’t correct adults, but he’s wrong.
“They won’t be coming home, Peyton, they are gone,” Marcy’s mom says softly.
They are wrong. I know they are. Mommy and Daddy would never leave me.
Marcy’s mom is bawling, and I don’t understand why. People flutter around us as Marcy’s parents call people. They ask me about family members, but all I have are Mommy and Daddy.
They will come home. I know they will.
I wait and wait. They will walk through the door and tell the adults it’s been a big misunderstanding. I keep waiting when a nice lady comes and tells me to go to my new home. I don’t want to go to a new home. If I leave, how will my mommy and daddy find me? No, I need to stay here.
That’s when the tears start to fall. I cry and scream as they remove me from my home. They tell me they will find someone to take me in. A family member, but until then, I have to stay with a stranger.
I hate it. I want to go home.
