In Search of Tomorrow ✓

Thirty-Four

When I checked the clock on the wall, I saw that it was past eleven at night. I wondered if Katie was still downstairs near the front desk or if she'd gone home.

Another half hour passed. I was dozing on and off in my chair when someone cleared her throat, and when I looked up I saw a solemn-looking nurse standing before me.

I leapt to my feet, unsteady, my heart racing. "Is she okay?" I demanded.

The nurse had dark circles under her eyes, but her voice was soothing. "She's still in surgery," she said. "We won't know anything until morning. You should probably go home and get some sleep, honey. Being exhausted isn't going to help your sister."

She was right. I took a few steps towards the direction of the elevator, my mind fuzzy from both my sleep and my worry, but my gaze was flicking towards Clare's room. I thought about my sister—how sweet and adventurous she was, how she had known what I'd done wrong before I'd even seen it myself.

When I had finally made my way down to the lobby, I saw Katie sitting in one of the chairs, half-asleep. Her eyelids flickered tiredly when I neared her and she sat up slowly.

"How's Clare?" she asked.

I shrugged, too run-down for words, and she wrapped her arm around my shoulders before leading me out into the parking lot. I wondered if it registered how heavily I leaned on her as she guided me home.

~*~*~

When I got back to my bedroom at Sara's, Maddie was already asleep. I collapsed on the bed beside her without bothering to change clothes and feel asleep instantly despite all of my worries. In the morning, I awoke still feeling exhausted, haunted by nightmares that had chased my thoughts all night.

I rolled over and checked my phone to see I had three texts. One was from Cameron, one from Ashley, and the other Katie.

Instantly, I opened Katie's text. Clare is back in her room. The surgery was successful, but she's still in a coma. Try not to worry about her, okay?

I knew she expected me to go to school and act like it was a normal day, but the last thing I wanted to do was wake up pretend like everything was okay. How could I go to prom this weekend when I knew my little sister's life was in danger?

Cameron's text asked me about my prom dress, and even though I knew he had no way of knowing what had happened with Clare, it still made me mad that he could still talk about such trivial things. I got dressed quickly, not even bothering to do anything to my hair except brush it, and left the house without breakfast.

Cameron's SUV was parked out on the curb, and I climbed into the passenger seat and sat my backpack at my feet without a word.

"You okay, Evelyn?" Cameron asked, his forehead wrinkled. "Did you get my text?"

"My prom dress is pink," I said with a clenched jaw, staring at the road in front of me and not blinking. "And it's also white."

I could see him frowning out of my peripheral vision, but he guided the car out on the main road anyway. "Are you sure you're all right?"

For some reason, I didn't feel like telling him everything that was going wrong with Clare. I just nodded, forcing myself not to speak and knowing I would cry if I even looked at him.

The drive was silent and tense. When we got to school, I opened my door and went to get out onto the grass, but someone grabbed my arms and pinned me against the car.