Try Not to Breathe by David Bell

Author:David Bell [Bell, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2023-06-27T00:00:00+00:00

49

Avery knocked on the door, and a muffled voice from the other side asked, “Who is it?”

The person sounded shaky and uncertain, like they thought that whoever was knocking intended to burst through and do them harm.

“Rachel? This is Avery Rogers. Anna’s sister. You remember me, right?”

A chain rattled, and then the lock was unlatched. The door swung in with a squeak, and a woman in her early twenties stood there, her red hair pulled back off her face, an oversized sweater covering her body. She held a phone in her hand, no doubt ready to dial the police if Avery turned out to be some iteration of the boogeyman.

“Oh, hi, Avery.”

“Can I come in?”

“Sure.” Rachel stepped out of the way, and Avery followed her inside. Before Avery could say anything or even attempt to ask a question, Rachel started explaining. “Look, Avery. I don’t know what’s going on with Anna. And I don’t know why she’s doing what she’s doing. She’s acting really weird, and she won’t accept any help from me or Eric.”

“Eric’s here?”

“He’s at his place. We were all together this morning. At the march. I really didn’t want to go. Neither of us did. But Anna wanted to, so we went along with her. She’s pretty upset about her roommate.”

“Sure, I understand. Where is Anna now? She isn’t here?”

“No, she left. And I couldn’t stop her.”

Rachel sounded defensive, like she thought Avery had shown up looking for someone to blame. And the blame was going to land on her.

“Do you want to sit down?” Avery asked.

“Oh, yeah. Sure. Sorry.” Rachel sat on the end of the couch. She wore fuzzy slippers that made her look younger than she was.

Avery sat in an upholstered chair that looked like it had come from Rachel’s grandmother’s house.

“Rachel, I saw Anna today at the park, before the cops started hauling people away.”

“Yeah, she told me. Did you really get arrested?”

“I got taken in. Not arrested. There’s a difference.”

“Two people got shot. One’s in critical condition. It’s on Twitter.”

“I didn’t know that.” The news made Avery nauseated. A peaceful protest, and people end up hurt. “I was in the jail for almost three hours.”

“I’m sorry.” Rachel seemed to have settled down. She showed that by remembering her manners. “Would you like something? I can make some tea or whatever. I know your family, especially Alisha, thinks I just drink all the time. But I don’t.”

“It’s okay, Rachel. I don’t want to bother you. I just want to know where Anna is. I thought she might be here. Is she with Eric?”

Rachel shook her head. “No. That’s what I’m saying. We don’t know what’s going on with her. Eric’s really worried.”

“Well, he’s been in love with her since they were kids.”

“I know. It’s kind of sweet. And kind of sad. Anna kind of uses him. Whenever she’s in town to see me, she sees Eric. You know. Sees him. But that’s about all she does. It’s been that way since she broke up with Trevor.

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