Read When You Go Away for Free Online Page A

ahead.  He sat down by her bed and lifted the washcloth.  "She's on fire."
         "I gave her some Tylenol.  In the peg."
         "It's not working now.  Where's the thermometer?"
         Carly handed it to him, and he stared at it.  "How do you use this thing?"
         "Here."  Carly grabbed it and moved in front of him, placing it in Brooke's ear.  She didn't want to look.  She didn't want to see, but then it beeped and she had to, for Brooke.  "One hundred and three."
         "That's not that bad.  Can't it like get higher before . . .?”
         "Before what, Ryan?  She like totally dies?"
         "What's the highest it can go?"
         "I don't know.  Like 106 or something.  But your brain fries."
         They were both silent, staring down at Brooke, her skin and hair almost matching.  Outside, cars drove in and out of the parking lot, and Carly wondered if one of them might be their mother's.  Peri would come home, bringing medicine and doctors and lots of money.  "There is that pink shit in the refrigerator," Ryan said.  "It's still there. Almost half a bottle or something."
         "I don't know.  I think we should call 911."
         Ryan shook his head.  "Mom. She'll be like in total shit."
         "I know.  But she's not here.  She--she left us.  And Brooke is bad now.  I can't do it anymore ."
         "I say we give her the medicine.  You can do it.  In the peg."
         "No.  I've been doing stuff all day.  What if the medicine's old?  We can't wait any more.  She might stop breathing all together.  She . . . " Her sister moaned, and Carly stopped talking.  Brooke was listening to them, even in the burn of her fever.
         "But if we call 911, they'll wonder where Mom is.  And she'll be screwed.  We can't call Grandma Mackenzie either.  Or Grandpa," Ryan said, whispering now.
         "I don't even have their numbers.  I looked today all over the apartment.  Mom took them."
         “We could go to Oakland on BART. I bet I could find Grandpa’s.”
         “What?” Carly shook her head.  He didn’t know anything.  “And leave her?  Alone?  And I don’t want to stay by myself anymore .”
         “Fine.  Okay.”   Ryan sat down on Brooke's bed, pulling the sheet away to expose her   legs.  "What are those red spots?"
         "I don't know.  I only noticed them today."
         He tucked the sheet around her body and clenched his hands between his thighs.  "So, what?  What should we do?"
         "There is someone.  You know.  Mrs. Candelero.  She's a nurse."
         "That old lady?  Why would we bring her up here?  She'll be talking about it for the rest of her life."
         Carly grabbed his arm, and hissed, "If not her, 911.  I'm not going to stay with Brooke like this one more minute.  You've just like totally bailed on me.  I've been with her for two whole days.  You go off with Quinn, and I have to feed her, I have to worry.  And it's not like it's been normal with Mom for weeks and weeks.  So I don't even care what you say.  I’m going down to Mrs. Candelero's now."
         She said all this, but she didn't move, her hand still tight on his bicep.  Ryan didn't pull away, but touched her hand, softly rubbing it.  "Okay.  Okay.  Jeez.  I'll stay with Brooke and you go get Mrs. Candelero."
         Letting go, she backed away, looking at Brooke, glad that in less than five minutes things would be better.  "Her name is Rosie.  Don't call her Mrs. Candelero.  She doesn’t like it."
     
         "If you call, I'm out of here," Ryan said, his hands on his hips, standing over Rosie, who knelt beside the bathtub holding Brooke up in the cold water.  "There's going to be cops, and I don't want any part of it."
         "Well, you better get your ass gone because I’m calling in about five minutes.  Once I get this fever manageable, I’m all over my phone, so pack your