Page 146 of To Ashes and Dust
I snickered, watching as she grabbed a cake from the packaging.
“How are your parents settling into their new home? Did they find the arsonist?” she asked through a mouthful of the chocolate cake.
I swallowed, shoving down the agony those words brought to the surface. My mom not knowing who I was almost too much to bear.
“They’re settling in well.” The lie slid off my tongue all too easily. Had I become so well acquainted with lying now? God, my stomach twisted at the thought. It was only temporary. Cody would tell her everything, and I could finally be open with her about it all. “I haven’t heard anything from the detectives, though. There was no evidence to point them in any direction, so they’re probably going to close the case.”
“I wonder if it’s the same one who burned down that building on Short Street,” she said as she took another bite.
I forced my face to remain unresponsive to the thought of the building I’d watched burn, the life that had been lost with it.
“What’re you making?” I asked, noticing the stove was on and eager to change the subject.
“I didn’t know you were gonna bring snacks, so I made us brownies! I need chocolate to fuel this brain.”
I chuckled as I settled into the chair and rubbed my eyes. God, I was so tired.
“You okay?” she asked, copper brows scrunching.
I forced a smile. “Just tired.”
“You look a bit pale,” she said, taking the seat next to me. When she began to scrutinize me further, narrowing her eyes as she cocked her head. She knew something was up.
I sighed. “I... had another heart attack.”
The color drained from her face, her lips parting, and the words poured from her mouth. “Oh my God. Are you okay? Are yougonnabe okay? What’re the doctors saying?”
“I—" I wanted to tell her yes, wanted to tell her I would be fine, but I couldn’t. “I don’t know.”
She swallowed.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to ruin the visit.”
“You didn’t,” she assured me, and she drew a sharp breath. “Shit. Should you have walked all the way here? You should’ve let me pick you up!”
“I needed to get out and stretch my feet. Besides, I’m only a couple miles away. I’ve been in bed most of the week, and the exercise is good for me. I might have you drive me home though. I don’t think I could make the trip back.”
“Of course!”
“So, you needed help studying, right?”
She nodded, shoving the last bite into her mouth as she stood. “Come on, I’ve got my stuff in the living room.”
My eyes fell on the flashcards scattered across the coffee table.
“I’ve got a big test tomorrow, so if you could just quiz me, that’d be great.”
I settled into the couch and began gathering the flashcards. “Alright, let’s get to work then.”
We spent the next hour and a half going over muscles, the skeletal system, and the circulatory system. I peered at Kat from behind the stack of flashcards in my hand as she sat on the nearby loveseat. God, how could there be so many different names for different sections of one vein in your body? I didn’t know how she absorbed all this. There was so much. This was the exact reason why I’d never gone into the medical field.
“Which group of muscles lift the leg at the hip?” I asked.
“Hip flexor?”
“Yep,” I said, setting the flashcard face down in the stack. Before I could ask the next question, Kat spoke.
“Cody’s been acting weird lately.”
