Melodies

On December 26th, at 1:18 a.m., the door downstairs opened and someone struggled to get inside.

At 1:20, Momma had all her bags inside and shut the door again.

At 1:26, Momma opened and shut the door to her bedroom. The house was quiet again.

At 2:13, the door just down the hall from mine creaked open and Jamie carefully walked past my room and downstairs, light as air and dead silent.

At 2:14, Jamie knocked on Momma's door.

"Willa?"

At 2:14 and a matter of seconds, Momma opened her door and asked him what was wrong. He told her his heart felt weird.

At 2:15, Momma came upstairs to get shoes and a jacket from Jamie's room for him to wear on the way to the emergency room.

She walked past my door without checking on me, quickly making her way downstairs and helping him bundle up so that he wouldn't freeze on the way to the car.

At 2:17, Momma's car pulled out of the driveway with Jamie in the passenger seat, huddled up in a pathetic attempt to keep warm and to somehow comfort himself.

At 2:24, I sat up in bed and tried to understand that what had just happened wasn't just a dream.

At 2:27, I felt like I was either going to suffocate or explode.

At 2:31, I reached with an unsteady hand to find my cellphone in the dark, and I dialed Sydney's number.