When he hesitates and seconds turn to minutes, a knot forms in my belly. I can read him like an open book. "What is it?" I croak.
He closes the door and walks toward me without a word. Echo jumps off the couch to greet him, but he just absently pats her head. Clue number two: Kiwi would never not give my dog the attention she demands unless—
He holds out my phone, and I slowly lift my hand to take it. Dread builds in my core and spreads through every limb. My fingers tremble as I close them around the device. I hold Kiwi's stare as I pull my hand back and turn the screen toward me. It instantly lights up, and my eyes fly back to my best friend's. My free arm wraps around my stomach in an attempt to contain the dizziness—it's of no use.
Echo nudges me with her nose, whimpering. She senses when I'm upset.
"What does that mean?" I ask in a hushed tone more to myself. Kiwi wouldn't know the answer any more than I would.
"Roe-Roe, let's sit down." He's come closer, and I jump at his sudden nearness. I am too preoccupied with the letters taunting me from the screen.
I let him guide me to the couch, and I drop onto the cushion, unable to avert my eyes from the one name I haven't seen in years: Rae.
The last time I spoke to my sister was when Mom died. She refused to come to the funeral. It was a miracle she even answered my call.
Remembering, my heart rate speeds up, and my body tenses.
I still hear the conversation in my head like it was yesterday and not four years ago.
"What do you want, Roe?"
I was crying so hard it took minutes to get the words out. "M-mom is d-dead."
There was a brief silence on her end. "What do you want me to do about that?" Her tone was like ice. I finally understood why Mom and Rae didn't get along, but she had still raised and cared for her. How could she not care?
"C-can you come t-to the funeral? It's this weekend." I wanted my sister there. I wanted my last living family member by my side.
"No. Don't call me again." She hung up.
I had tried contactingher a few times since, especially when I couldn't pay the mortgage because all my money went toward the hospital bills Mom left behind. Rae never picked up again.
"Do you want me to read it?" Kiwi's question snaps me out of my catatonic state.
How long have I been sitting here?
I shake my head and take a deep breath, holding it as I swipe open the message.
Rae: Roe, he knows where you are. He's coming to get you. You should've kept moving.
I read the text twice, and with every word, my breathing increases until I can't get the air in fast enough. Black spots appear in my vision. What's going on? How does she know about him? I only confided in Kiwi. I press my palm against my chest. Why can't I breathe?
"Roe-Roe, you need to calm down." Kiwi's voice sounds like I'm underwater.
Need. Air.
A paw touches my leg, followed by a second until Echo is fully crawling into my lap. Her warm tongue licking my chin is what snaps me out of it, and I drop my phone, not caring where it lands.
How did I survive before her? A pair of arms wraps around both of us, and Kiwi leans his cheek against my head. I keep my face burrowed in Echo's fur until I'm in control again.
This night is getting worse and worse.
The clockon the microwave shows that it's 1:32 a.m. Kiwi and I sit at the kitchen table with Echo at my feet. She hasn't left my side, always one part of her trim body pressed against me somewhere.
"I have to leave," I whisper.
I stare at my fingers threaded together with Kiwi's, unable to make eye contact with my friend.
"No, you don't," he says calmly.