Omission by Taryn Plendl Page A

brother?” I stopped and looked at Lucas.
    “Oh shit ,” he mumbled. I could tell he regretted asking.
    “I didn’t know he had a brother.” In fact, we hadn’t even talked at all about either of our families since that night at my house when he’d asked about mine.
    “Payton, I probably shou ldn’t have mentioned anything. I guess I just assumed that you knew why he went up North.” 
    “Is his brother okay?” Lucas looked at me. I could tell he was trying to decide what to say, and I hated that I felt like manipulating him into telling me more. There was obviously a reason Garrett hadn’t mentioned his family either.
    Lucas sighed and started walking again. “His brothe r is dealing with some issues. He’s going to be okay, though. He’s got a brother that loves him and will stand by him.”
    “Are his parents up N orth, too?”
    Lucas shook his head. “No parents.” 
    I felt a knot in my stom ach, and I decided to drop it. I knew how I would feel if someone was fishing for information about me, so I didn’t want to be that person doing it to Garrett. Lucas had already told me more than he should have. I tilted my head back, closed my eyes and filled my lungs with frigid air. It felt good—cleansing. I felt comfortable and free for the first time in as long as I could remember.
    We walked the rest of the way in si lence. I didn’t ask any more questions, and he didn’t offer any more information. It was better that way. When we reached my steps, I thanked Lucas and headed inside.
    I sent a quick text to Garrett letting him know I was home and went to take a shower before climbing in bed, snuggling up in my covers and falling asleep.
    ***
    “Mom?” I could hear the motor running from the kitchen. Setting my backpack down on the table, I moved slowly toward the door to the garage. “Mom?” I called out. Still no answer.
    The empty bottle sat on its side next to the sink. She had long since stopped using a glass. Why worry about formalities when your ultimate goal was to just forget?
    She had been unconscious again this morning when I left for school. I checked to make sure she was breathing and then rolled her to her side in case she vomited. She obviously got up for another drink sometime after I left.
    My hands shook as I reached for the door. I knew in my gut what I would find. The exhaust smell was overpowering, and I quickly opened up the garage door to let some fresh air in. “Mom?” I shuffled slowly to the side of the car and reached through the window, removing the keys from the ignition.
    I dropped the keys to the floor, jumping at the sound, escalated by the intense silence now that the car was off.
    I closed the garage door and moved back through the kitchen, picking up the phone. “Nine-one-one, what is your emergency?”
    My voice sounded stronger than I felt. “Um, my mom is dead.” I slid down to the floor, resting my head on my knees. Now I was completely alone.

Chapter 12
     
    The drive home seemed to take forever. The day had been very overwhelming, to say the least; but all in all, Jackson was doing well. He seemed to be making progress through the program, and he was excited to get back to the way he was before the accident—at least regarding the addiction.
    The tension was palpable when I arrived. We had made small talk at first, neither of us sure what to say. The last time I’d seen him was when I brought him up there, and without a doubt we were both slightly emotional. He was a broken mess, and I wasn’t much better.
    “Hey , Jackson, let me ask you something about that night.” I sat back and watched him as I spoke.
    “Yeah, what?” He seemed a bit nervous about where I was going with all of this. Hell, I was a little nervous about where I was going with this, too.
    “Did yo u know the girl you attacked?” My heart was beating so hard, I was sure he could hear it, too.
    “No, I didn’t know her.” He shook his head and looked down. “I hadn’t seen