Mady

My headache was worse than it had been for a long time, and when I realized I was lying in my bed, I sat upright.

Memories from last night flashed through my patchy mind. Unpleasant memories.

I had listened to Miles and walked home. It had been raining, and the lanterns in our street had been broken. Probably a power cut.

I had been forced to climb through the kitchen window because Ezra had been working a night shift at Lola's Diner. In the process, I had left a mess in the kitchen.

“Shit...” Groaning, I pushed back the covers.

Ezra was going to kill me. If I was lucky, he was still asleep.

I slipped into the shower, changed into fresh clothes, and headed downstairs to tidy up. Then, I took my binders with the notes from the last Clinical Psychology lectures downstairs to sit at the dining room table and study.

It helped to somehow block out last night, even though my concentration faded at some point, and I fell asleep three times in between. Not even the coffee helped, except that it made my headache worse.

I tried to call Larissa, but she didn't answer her cell phone, which was unusual for her.

I would call her again later.

When Bayla didn't answer either, I became suspicious.

Had Grace told her something? Had she managed to make me look bad in front of my new friends, too? What if Amber was right? What if I was doomed to not make any friends in this town?

I looked at my watch. It was already two in the afternoon, and my brother was still asleep. He was a night owl and often studied until four in the morning, but he was up by ten at the latest. Like me, he had started to need more sleep, even though he wasn't taking any more medication.

I would talk to him tonight about getting a job. It couldn't go on like this, with him being the only one working, even though my studies were already overwhelming me.

My gaze slid to the large family photo on the wall, where I had been just ten years old. Our father was tousling Ezra's hair, and I was hanging on Mum's back.

We both looked like copies of our parents, and I wasn't really wrong about that. Just as Ezra looked like our father, I wore my hair like my beautiful mother and had her smile. I was reading her books, wearing her jewelry...

I often caught Ezra staring at this picture when he was studying. And it broke my heart because I knew he was doing all that work, all those long hours with his head over his medical books, all that studying, just for him.

Dad would be proud of him. And if Ezra didn't know it, I would tell him.

I smiled and let my eyes wander to the other pictures when the doorbell rang.

I reluctantly tore my gaze from the paintings and hurried across the first floor to open the door.

Confused, I looked at Mr. Bardot, Julian's father.

Had he come to confront me about Mia?

He was wearing his uniform. And standing next to him was a woman, also in uniform.

“Mr. Bardot...”

I saw his face fill with concern. He stared at me.

“I can't do this...” he finally said, turning to his colleague before turning away from me and walking into the front garden.

I stared after him in confusion.

“Are you Miss Campbell?”

“Yes?” I stuttered. “Is everything all right?”

I immediately thought of Mia. She hadn't contacted me again either.

The woman swallowed before continuing.

“I'm sorry to inform you that your brother, Ezra Campbell, was found dead in the parking lot outside Lola's Diner at seven o'clock this morning.”

My heart skipped a beat, and a shiver ran down my spine.

“An animal fatally wounded him.”

Paralyzed by the woman's words, I stared into the front yard from where Mia's father was watching me.

Why didn't he say anything?

I looked at the woman, shaking my head.

“No, he…” I stumbled back. “It must be a misunderstanding.” I looked toward the stairs. “My brother's in his bed.”

I turned around and rushed up the stairs. Every step filled me with fear, and my heartbeat returned. It was literally hammering against my chest as if it wanted to go to Ezra.

I yanked open Ezra's bedroom door.

His bed was empty.

Why was his bed empty?

“No...” I sighed breathlessly.

Why was his bed empty?!

One tear and then another.

“No!”

I lunged forward and ripped the covers off. Nothing.

More tears.

And then I screamed, “Ezra!”