Tuesday, March 12, 2013

trauma - 1.0


Buzz. Buzz.

Tyler pulled out his phone, glancing quickly at the clock. 9:19pm. No one should be calling him at this time.

Perplexed, he picked up his cell phone. “Hello?”

A strained, but familiar voice answered him. “Is this Tyler Ricks? It's Mrs. Coughlin, Natalie’s mom.”

Natalie? The name of his childhood babysitter surprised him. In the days when she would corral him and his brother to bed, he used to follow her around at county fairs or sit on the curb eating the ice cream she had bought for him. But he hadn’t seen her since he went off to college.

He suddenly realized that there had been a long pause on the phone. He heard hesitant breathing.

Softly, she continued. “Natalie is in the hospital right now, dearie. Some fool was driving too fast tonight. She would very much like to see you – and well… it’s pretty serious.”

Her voice choked.

“I’ll be there as soon as I can, Mrs. Coughlin.”

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