No One Came Chapter 11
Mom’s voice was very soft.
“Do you know that joke killed your sister?”
Nico’s expression froze.
“What… what do you mean?”
“Your sister is dead. She died last night. From the peanut allergy. She suffocated. They couldn’t save her.”
Nico just stood there, his mouth opening and closing as if he couldn’t process the words.
“No… that’s impossible… she was just allergic… I’ve done it before, and she was fine every time…”
“Before?”
Mom’s eyes widened.
“You’ve done this before?”
Nico realized his mistake and took a step back.
“I… just once or twice… I didn’t think it was that serious…”
Mom stood and walked toward him, one slow step at a time.
“How many times?”
“Two… maybe three times… I don’t remember…”
“Did she ever tell you she felt sick?”
“Yeah… but she always got better after a little while… I thought this time would be the same…”
Mom raised her hand and slapped Nico hard across the face.
It rained on the day of the funeral.
Just like the forecast had predicted.
I couldn’t hear the rain anymore, but I could see the sea of black umbrellas and the faces of the people who came.
There weren’t many of them.
Mom stood in the front row.
She wore black, and streaks of white had appeared in her hair.
Grandma was there, and my uncle, a few aunts, the school counselor, and a handful of classmates.