"Meri are you here?" Michelle asks, as she enters her house. All the lights were out in the house, and it was quiet. The only sound was of Fear's whimpering from the back of the house. She wanders through the house, and sees Fear staring out the glass door at the patio.
"What's wrong baby?" She asks, as she pets his fur. She follows his gaze to see Meri on the ground, laying in a thick pool of her own blood. Michelle screamed, and could no longer stand. She crawled over to the phone to dial 911. Fear sat next to her, no longer watching over the body now that she was there. After speaking to the operator she put her face into the dogs fur and started to cry.
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Rachel had settled down into a good sleeping position when the phone rang. She could hear Jeff answer it in the other room. The conversation was short, she thought.
"Adam?" Jeff says, as he enters Adam and Rachel's bedroom.
"Who was it on the phone?" Rachel asks yawning. "It's almost two in the morning." She says as she looks at the clock next to the bed.
"It was Rich, um I mean Josephine."Jeff says, shaking his head in confusion. "He said Meri has had an accident, and Adam should come right over. I couldn't understand what all he said, he was babbling really fast." Jeff said, as Adam starts to get dressed.
"I should go." Rachel says, throwing the covers off of her.
"No, Rach, the stress...." Adam starts, but Rachel cuts him off.
"I'll really be stressed if I don't know what's going on. Meri is my friend, Adam." She says, as Amy walks in the room.
"Are you ready?" Amy asks.
"Fine, get dressed." Adam says as he puts on his shoes.
They arrive at Michelle's house, not really knowing what to expect. All they knew is that Meri had had an accident. They find Michelle and Josephine sitting on her couch with an empty box of Kleenex beside them.
"This house is cursed." Michelle says, as she blows her nose.
"What happened?" Amy asks, as she kneels in front of Michelle.
"Meri fell and hit her head. It took one nasty bump, and she was gone." Josephine says, staring at Rachel.
"What? Rachel asks.
"Rach, Meri is dead. There is no other way to say it than that." Michelle says, as she too looks at Rachel.
Rachel put a hand over her mouth. She wasn't going to cry, she was having a hard time breathing. She felt as if she were being squeezed. She rant to the bathroom, with Adam behind her. She began to vomit as soon as the toilet was in front of her. Adam sat beside her and held her hair back.
"Are you OK?" Adam asks, as he puts a cold cloth on her neck.
"No, yes." Rachel says, as she lays back in his arms. "I don't know."
"Should we call everyone?" Adam asks.
"No, let everyone sleep. There is nothing anyone can do really." Rachel says to Adam, as she gets up to wash out her mouth. "Maybe call Jeff since he already knows something is up."
He leaves to go call Jeff and Josephine enters the room. Rachel flushes the toilet and closes the lid to sit on it.
"How are you holding up?"Rachel asks her, as she sits on the floor in front of Rachel.
'Really. I am wondering if I should have come back at all." Josephine says, as they both start to cry.
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Sarah comforted Chris when he found out about Meri's death. Meri had been a real ditz, but she was his friend. He was going to miss her, he thought. He sat on the porch and watched the sun rise and wondered when the funeral was going to be. Poor Michelle, he thought. He was beginning to think the house was cursed.
"Chris would you like some hot tea?" Sarah asked, as she walked out onto the porch.
Tears streaked down his face, and twinkled in the morning sun. She touched his cheek with her fingertips, wiping away the tears. He held onto her hand, and kissed her fingers. He closed his eyes and breathed, as if breathing her in. He kissed her wrist, and she pulled away. He opened his eyes to see her running quietly back into the house. He runs back into the house to follow her, and sees her rushing back to her bedroom.
"Sarah, wait." He says, as she starts to close her door.
She stops with the door only inches open. He takes her hand and kisses it as he had before, all the while looking into her eyes. She looks away from him, and pulls away. She shuts the door without a word.
"Sarah?" He asks, hoping she is listening to him.
She opens the door again, wondering what he wants to ask.
"Will you go with me to Meri's funeral?" He asks, hoping her answer would be yes.
She smiles at him, and nods yes. "Yes Chris." She replies. Damn her cousin for trying to set her up with him.
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Rachel hated funerals. She always tried to disconnect herself from the world at any she had to attend. She stood at the grave sight and watched all her friends appear one by one. Chris had made it to the funeral with a friend by his side. Her name was Sarah, Rachel thought. The baby kicked, and Rachel almost laughed.
Rachel had also noticed Beth, looking pale and sick. Rachel had talked to her for a few moments, and Beth said being sick was something she could handle. Jeff so wanted to talk to her, but she ignored him. It was almost as if she were afraid to even speak to him. Rachel sighed as Adam put an arm around her, and onto her swollen belly. She placed his hand on where the baby still kicked.
The sermon was short and sweet, as if Rachel noticed any difference. Instead of listening to the sad words of the preacher, she had been watching everyone's faces. Richard had come to pay his respects to Meri. Josephine was now nothing but a memory. He was leaving after the funeral, this time he was going to tell everyone good-bye. Was there really such a thing as a good good-bye, Rachel wondered?
Rachel walked away from the coffin and her friends, to walked up a small hill. She turned around and looked at her friends that socialized and visited with Meri's parents. There was a deep sadness among them all, and it wasn't over just Meri. There was more on their minds, Meri was just the icing on the cake.
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Michelle stood next to Amy as they watched Chris and the woman he was with. They were holding hands, Michelle noticed.
"Did Chris find him a new woman?" Amy asks Michelle.
The woman looks at Michelle and smiles.
"The nerve." Michelle says, with tears in her eyes. They watch as Chris and the woman walk hand in hand to Chris' car and leave. Chris had not even said one word to her the whole time he had been there. What was she going to have to do to make him see her again, she wondered?
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Jeff watched Beth leave with Michelle. They had barely even said hello to each other. She looked sick, and it hurt him to see her that way. If she needed doctors attention, he would help her find it. Beth couldn't even look him in the eye, did she hate him that much, he wondered?
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Jay walked up to Rachel and put a rose in her hair.
"Where is Denise?" Rachel asks, as she looks that the small crowd of people still lingering.
"I guess back in Germany. We broke up a few days ago. The distance was getting to us, and she found someone else over there." Jay said, as he put another flower in Rachel's hair.
"Oh. Sorry." Rachel says, blushing.
Adam walks up with Amy at his side. Jay looks at Amy, and puts a flower in her hair too. They link arms, and walk away speaking to each other quietly.
"Ready to go?" Adam asks, as he watched Amy and Jay walk away.
"Yes." Rachel says, as she links her arm in Adams, just as Amy had with Jay.
The day was almost over, and all Rachel wanted to do was sleep.
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Jeff stood on the back porch and listened to the thunder. It was going to be a hell of a storm, he thought. He pulled out his cell phone, and dialed Michelle's number to see if Beth would talk to him.
"Hi." Michelle said, as she answered the phone.
"Is Beth there??" Jeff asks, as he watches lightning light up the sky off in the distance.
"She's asleep. Do you want me to tell her you called?" She asks.
"Please. Just tell her I am worried about her. She looked like she wasn't feeling well." Jeff says, as he hangs up.
He sat on the steps lost in thought, as the first rain drop fell on his hand.
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Beth lay on Michelle's couch, as Michelle stared at her with curiosity.
"OK, spill it! What the hell is wrong with you?" Michelle asks, as she sits in a chair that doesn't face the back patio.
Beth sighs and starts to laugh. "I guess I should let you in on my little secret. Drum roll please!!! I'm pregnant!" Beth says, as she sits up.
"What?? Are you sure? Is it Jeff's? When are you due? I am so excited!!" Michelle yells and jumps out of her seat.
"Wait, sit down. I haven't even decided if I am going to keep it or not." Beth tells Michelle.
"You haven't told Jeff, have you." Michelle says, as she sits again. She couldn't believe her friend was actually thinking about abortion.
"I haven't been to the doctor yet, but my body knows." Beth says to Michelle.
"So you could possibly not be pregnant." Michelle says, as she looks at a home finder magazine.
"Could twenty home pregnancy tests be wrong?" Beth asks with a small laugh.
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"Matt, I love you." Lily whispers into Matt's ear as he slept. she put an arm across his chest, and he rolls away from her. She moves her arm and stares at the back of his head. "Damn Matt." She says, and gets out of bed. She pulls on her clothes and leaves the room.
--
Matt lay awake, and listened as Lily left the room. He liked her, but there was something about her that irritated him. Maybe it was her strong dislike for Amy, he thought. Amy. He had watched her walk away with Jay, and it hurt him. Did he have more feelings for her than he thought he had, he wondered? Or was it that she was just happy now in someone else's company?? He sighed, and tried to fall back to sleep.
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Chris lay in bed with Sarah next to him. They had fallen asleep talking, and he dare not disturb her to bring her into her own room. He lay there thinking about how much the last year had changed. He and Sarah had exchanged relationship horror stories, and he had begun to think that she had had it worse then he did. All his stories were of his confusion.
Maybe they would be good for each other, he thought. He wouldn't rush things, moving too fast always ruined things. With Sarah he would take things nice and slow.
His final thought of the night was of Michelle. He didn't see Kurt at the funeral, Michelle had been alone. He hoped she was OK, and that she was happy in her relationship with Kurt again.
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