Wallflower stretched as she exited the exam room. That was two down, three more to go. Though, these had been easy. The ones she dreaded were soon to come.
But first, some lunch and some last-minute cramming.
She pulled out her phone and checked her notifications. To her surprise, she'd missed a call from her grandmother. She didn't talk with her grandmother often, but they did talk the weekend before and Wallflower had let her know that she would be busy with exams.
“Maybe she wants to wish me luck,” Wallflower thought as she opened her voicemail.
“Wallflower, please call when you get this message. Love you. Bye.”
Wallflower frowned, “Odd...”
---
She put the key in the lock and turned it, opening the door to an empty apartment. Sunset wouldn't be returning home for a few hours yet.
Wallflower rummaged through the refrigerator for dinner and a well-deserved soda. She would make sure to have something for Sunset as well. Though, she imagined she would be eating at work.
Usually, Wallflower didn't like it when Sunset worked late. But, in this instance, it provided her with a time of quiet study.
She set her stuff on the coffee table and settled down on the couch.
She was pulled out of her studying by the click of the lock. Wallflower quickly looked up to see Sunset had come home.
“Ah,” she smiled, “late night study session, I see.”
Wallflower looked at the mess around her. “Heh. Yeah.”
“How were your other exams?”
“Pretty good I guess....” Wallflower shrugged.
“I suppose you'll be here all night.”
“Hope not. Would like to get some rest. Dinner's in the fridge, if you're hungry.”
“No, I grabbed something from work. Let me grab us a snack, though and I'll help you study.”
Wallflower liked the sound of that. She'd just about reached the end of her mental capabilities.
“On second thought,” Sunset continued, “let me change clothes, then grab us a snack.”
Wallflower gave a thumbs-up as Sunset disappeared into the bedroom, returning a little bit later.
“Carrot sticks and celery good with you?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Wallflower replied absentmindedly.
Suddenly, a little voice reminded her of something. She smacked her forehead, reaching for her phone. “Oh, dang!”
“Hm?” Sunset said.
Wallflower pulled up her grandmother's number. “I forgot to call my grandmother back.”
“You really need to do that tonight? It's already pretty late.”
Wallflower placed the phone to her ear. “It sounded really urgent.”
The phone rung for a little bit then a click! and a: “Hello?”
“Hey, Grandma.”
“Wallflower, honey, it's late. Where have you been all day?”
“Sorry," Wallflower winced," In the middle of finals. Got caught up studying. What's up?”
“Are you at a place where you can talk?” The old woman sounded a bit hesitant.
“Yeah, I'm home,” Wallflower became concerned, “What's going on?”
More hesitation. “Your mother was found dead this morning.”
Wallflower's world stood still. “W-what...” She didn't hear the rest of what her grandmother had to say, but she did pick up on the words “alcohol” and “poisoning”.
“Wallflower? Wallflower, are you still there?”
Wallflower jolted slightly. “Y-yeah...”
“Do you want me to write a letter to your school?”
“N-no. I'll be fine. I really need to get back to my studying.”
“Oh... Okay... Call me if you need anything. I'll try to keep you updated.”
“Yeah... that sounds fine.”
She ended the call with a deep breath. She'd always known she'd get this call. With her mother's drinking habits, she had grown to anticipate it. What she hadn't anticipated was how she would feel.
With anticipated deaths, one already has a plan on how they would react. Surprise deaths just punch you in the gut.
Wallflower hadn't expected the wind to be knocked out of her. She hadn't thought she would feel any sort of shock or grief.
“Wallflower?”
Wallflower turned to see Sunset seated next to her. She looked concerned. “Is everything okay?”
That did it. Wallflower choked down her tears before she collapsed into Sunset's arms and wept.