Chapter 2
That night, the doctor told me I had to stay in the hospital for observation.
Summer cried the whole afternoon.
Jason went downstairs with her to grab some dinner, Ryan went to ask the doctor about what to watch out for, and Ethan just stayed in the hospital room, barely moving.
He'd never been able to sit still a day in his life.
Back in elementary school, when he'd keep me company during my IVs, he'd be in and out three times in ten minutes.
Today, though, he was strangely quiet.
After a long silence, he finally spoke. "Brooke. I'm sorry about today."
"I did end that fifth call. Summer had just gotten into the best spot, and the sun was about to come over. You'd called a few times already, so I figured you were pushing us to come back."
I turned away from him.
His eyes were bloodshot.
"I told myself I'd call you back in ten minutes. Then there were too many people, and I forgot.
"If you want to yell at me, yell. I'll take all of it.
"But don't shut me out like this. We've known each other over ten years. You used to chase me half a block for eating one of your popsicles."
I asked sofyly, "I sent a message after the fourth call. Did you see it?"
Ethan checked his phone.
The last thing in our thread was this.
[The oxygen tank's broken. I can't breathe. Can one of you come back?]
It had gone out at 5:43.
It had been seen.
His lips moved.
"I read it too fast. I thought you meant the oxygen was running low."
"Never mind. I'm tired."
He didn't move.
After a while, he got up and tucked the blanket in around me.
"Get some sleep. I'm right here. Once you're discharged we go straight back to Southbridge and cancel the rest of it."
I didn't answer.
The door opened.
Jason came in with oatmeal, and Summer followed him.
She had Jason's black film camera held against her chest.
"Brooke, Jason told me this camera was your father's. You brought it on the trip for our group shots.
"I was going through the pictures, and there's half a roll left in it. Once you're better, let's finish it together."
I looked at the camera.
After my dad passed away, he didn't leave much behind.
The camera was one of the few things he left me.
Jason had borrowed it for two weeks before graduation to get it serviced.
He'd thumped his chest and promised me, "Nobody else touches the last roll. It's for the four of us. Kindergarten through senior year. This roll gets a beginning and an ending."
I asked Jason, "How many frames are left on it?"
Jason blinked, a little surprised.
"Two, I think."
"It's a thirty-six exposure roll."
"The light up there was incredible, so I shot a few extra." Jason took the camera back fast. "Don't worry about it. The last two are all yours.
"Once you're out, I'll take you to the overlook at the base. No altitude. I'll make you look better than anybody in that frame."
I reached out.
"Give me the camera."
Jason handed it over right away.
I flipped open the back cover.
Jason's face went pale.
"Brooke, don't open it!"
But it was too late to stop it.
The back cover sprang open.
The whole roll went bare under the hospital lights.
Jason lunged over, and his hand stopped in midair, and he looked wrecked.
"What are you doing? You just ruined the whole roll!"
I snapped the camera shut and stuffed it into my bag.
"Then it's gone."
Jason's eyes went red.
"That was the last roll of our graduation trip. You've been waiting to shoot it since middle school.
"You used to lose it when anybody so much as touched this camera, and now you've wrecked the whole roll out of spite. What are you trying to do here?"
I pulled the blanket higher.
"It's my camera. I'll open it if I want to."
His chest was heaving.
Summer said it quietly. "Jason, don't come at her. Brooke went through a lot today. She has a right to be angry."
I closed my eyes.
The room fell silent again.
A few minutes later, Jason walked out of the room.
I heard him slam his fist into the wall out in the hallway.
My phone buzzed.
My homeroom teacher sent me a message.
[I pulled last year's cutoff scores for the programs at Seaside University. With your numbers, you're solid. If you've thought it through, go ahead. You have my support.]
I replied with a single word: [Okay.]