My younger brother, Nico, always said I was the most boring person in our family.
Because every time he wanted to “play” with me, I was the one who ended up crying.
He pressed chewed gum into my hair, and I cried.
He yanked my chair out from under me as I was about to sit down, and I cried then too.
That time, I landed hard on my tailbone and had to sleep on my stomach for two months.
Mom and Dad just said he was messing around. That I was too sensitive.
That since I was the older sister, I shouldn’t hold it against him.
After a while, I learned not to cry.
When Nico scooped a spoonful of sauce onto my pasta, I even managed a smile.
It had peanuts in it.
The second I shut the door to my room, my throat started to close.
I couldn’t breathe.
Hives bloomed across my skin.
I collapsed onto my bed, my iPhone screen still lit.
My Google search history was frozen on my last entry:
“can a peanut allergy kill you”
My consciousness started to fray.
Next door, Nico was laughing his head off, headset on, playing Call of Duty.
In the living room, Mom and Dad were watching football.
In this house, no one paid any attention to me once my door was closed.
And no one knew their daughter was dying.
If I got a next time, I didn’t want to be the butt of someone else’s joke.
I just wanted to be treated like a person.
Even just once.
No One Came Chapter 09 The color drained from Dad’s face. His legs trembled. His lips quivered. “How could… wasn’t she just throwing a tantrum…” Mom pulled my medical records from her purse. One page stated it clearly: “Severe peanut allergy. History of anaphylactic shock. Recommended to carry an EpiPen at all times.” She had
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No One Came Chapter 08 “She had no vital signs on arrival, and livor mortis was present. We estimate the time of death was between six and eight p.m. last night.” “If she had been brought in earlier, we might have had a chance. But now… there’s nothing we can do.” “Between six and eight
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No One Came Chapter 07 Then why didn’t you just walk in and look at me yesterday? One look was all it would have taken. One look and you would have known something was wrong. But you didn’t. You stood in the doorway for a few seconds, and then you left. The ambulance arrived quickly.
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No One Came Chapter 06 My clothes hadn’t been changed. The swelling on my face had subsided a little, but my lips were an even darker shade of purple. “Adriana?” Mom’s voice changed. She finally sensed that something was wrong. I never skipped school. Not even when I was furious. Because I knew skipping school
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No One Came Chapter 05 She sent another. “Adriana, don’t push me.” Still not read. She set her phone down on the table. “She drives me crazy.” Then she gathered her things and left for work. The house fell silent. Only I was left, along with the body in my room that was already cold.
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No One Came Chapter 04 Some people said three days. Some said a week. Others said it depended on when the neighbors smelled something and called the police. At the time, I’d thought that would never happen to me. I had parents. I had a younger brother. No matter what, they would find me. Now
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No One Came Chapter 03 “Mom, what if something really happened to her?” Nico’s voice was suddenly small. “What could have happened?” Mom was washing dishes in the kitchen. The sound of the running water nearly drowned her out. “She’s been like this since she was little. The smallest thing happens and she lies there
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No One Came Chapter 02 The pain, the suffocation—it was all gone. I floated beneath the ceiling, looking down at myself on the bed. My head was tilted to one side. My face was horribly swollen. My lips had turned purple. My arms were covered in red hives. My phone had fallen onto the carpet,
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No One Came Chapter 01 My younger brother, Nico, always said I was the most boring person in our family. Because every time he wanted to “play” with me, I was the one who ended up crying. He pressed chewed gum into my hair, and I cried. He yanked my chair out from under me
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