No One Came Chapter 16
“Nothing.”
Mom’s voice was a raw whisper.
“I dreamed of Adriana,” Grandma said.
“She told me to tell you to live a good life. She said she’s fine where she is, and that we shouldn’t worry about her anymore.”
Mom’s tears started falling again.
“Mom, I did her so wrong.”
“It’s good that you know that.”
Grandma was silent for a long moment.
“Then you have to live,” she finally said. “If you die too, Adriana will never be at peace.”
The call ended.
Mom sat on the kitchen floor, hugged her knees to her chest, and cried for a long, long time.
Dad took Nico to another city.
He transferred to a new school and changed his name.
No one at his new school knew what he had done.
But he was a different person.
He didn’t talk much, he never laughed, and he avoided his classmates.
The school counselor said he was showing signs of post-traumatic stress and suggested therapy.
Dad took him.
The doctor said Nico was crushed by guilt.
He knew he was responsible for his sister’s death, but he didn’t know how to face it, so he just shut himself down.
He never played another prank. He never joked with anyone again.
When people spoke to him, he would just nod or shake his head, as if he’d forgotten how to speak.
Mom went to see him once.
He was sitting on the sofa. When he saw her walk in, he didn’t stand up or say hello.
He just kept staring at the floor.