The Blame Game pt. 2


“Trish.” It’s Mr. Keely this time. I really really don’t want to talk to anybody, but Mr. Keely is nice and I know he’s just trying to help. So, slowly, I pull the covers off my face and sit up, propping myself up with my elbow. 

“Yeah?”
“How are you doing?” he asks, slowly crossing the room to my bed. Mr. Keely is about sixty-something years old. He has a little bit of dementia, but he’s nice. He remembers I like to be called Trish. 

“Okay,” I reply, “Just trying not to think too much.” He nods. 
“Yes, the first year is always the hardest.” He reaches the bed and sits on the edge, looking at me. “It gets better over time though, easier.” 
I tilt my head at him, and my eyebrows scrunch together making my forehead wrinkle a little bit. This is my confused face. I don’t really like it, but I can’t help it. Peter loved it. He would always smooth the wrinkles in my forehead while he explained whatever I was confused about. I hardly ever understood what he was saying but it was sweet, the way he worried when I worried. 
“Our daughter died a few years ago,” Mr. Keely says in response to my wrinkled forehead.
 “June never got over it.” June, Mrs. Keely.
 “Now she tries to pretend it never happened. Sometimes she’ll find a letter from Kelsey, or she’ll get a phone call from her. 'She just got back from visiting August, he’s doing wonderful. He’s engaged.' She acts like we didn’t get the phone call the day before.” Mr. Keely shakes his head. 
“Whatever you do,” he says to me, “don’t ever let that happen to you. Let the dead stay dead, and the alive stay alive. Don’t get the two mixed up.”
 “Okay,” I say, although I don’t fully understand.
 “Another thing,” Mr. Keely looks at me, his eyes serious, “never ever blame yourself. You can’t control everything. Do you understand?” I shake my head not meeting his eyes. 
“No,” I say, “I don’t understand, I don’t understand anything anymore.” I stand and walk towards the door. 
“Trish?” “I’m fine,” I say, “I’m gonna go eat breakfast.” I walk out of the room before he can say another word.

 Hope you like it!
-Daughter

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