In 27 Days 1 by Gervais Alison

Author:Gervais, Alison [Gervais, Alison]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Young Adult Fiction, Social Themes, Suicide, Romance, Contemporary, Science Fiction, Time Travel, Death; Grief; Bereavement
ISBN: 9780310759058
Google: 32h7DQAAQBAJ
Amazon: 0310759056
Publisher: Blink
Published: 2017-07-25T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 18

You Don’t Understand

We ended up keeping the kids entertained with games of tag and hide-and-seek for more than hour, and by the time their parents came back downstairs to cart them home, almost all of them were half asleep. I helped as best I could, rounding the kids up to get them into their jackets. While it would’ve been an exaggeration to say it was a tearful farewell, I felt a little sad, saying good-bye to all of Archer’s extended family. I wasn’t sure if I would ever see them again, and that was a depressing thought. Literally everything depended on how the next twelve days went.

I didn’t want to go home without having at least one small scrap of reassurance that Regina was okay, so, looking for any excuse to stick around, I headed to the kitchen to start cleaning. Ignoring the perfectly functioning dishwashers, I cleared out one of the sinks, filled it with hot, soapy water, and got to work on the dishes. As I cleaned, my mind kept wandering back to that scene I would never forget in my entire life, no matter how long I lived.

Despite my best efforts, I could not comprehend what happened. One sophomore psychology class did not make me an expert on mental health. I knew psychological disorders were generally unpleasant. But Regina had been somewhere else entirely—a dark, frightening place that only she knew about. It was locked away in her own mind, and when it made itself known, it became reality to her. I couldn’t help but wonder if Archer felt the same way. He had been there that night. He had seen everything, things no eleven-year-old ever should.

Because of that night, he’d spent so long pushing everyone away outside his family—and even then I suspected he was never entirely upfront with his relatives about how he was feeling. Why would he be, when he clearly thought they mattered more than he did? Archer wouldn’t want anything to happen to his family, not like what happened to Chris, so he put them in front of himself. That kind of self-sacrifice was amazing to me, but I knew it also had to be so hard on Archer.

“What are you still doing here?”

I let out a shriek at the unexpected sound of Archer’s voice behind me, and spun on my heel, splashing soapy water everywhere. “Archer!” I gasped, clutching at the counter behind me, my heart racing a mile a minute. “I swear you should carry a bell with you or something. Don’t you make noise when you move?”

Archer ignored me as he glanced around, leaning up against the doorjamb. “Why are you still here?” he repeated. “I heard everyone leave a while ago.”

“Uh, yeah,” I said awkwardly. I bit my lip, turning back to the pile of dirty plates and cups still stacked on the counter beside the sink. “I just, um, wanted to help out with the dishes since there’s so many, and . . . uh . .

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.