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This is where I shall post the story. I'll admit, as every writer should, I get writers block. There may not be a new post for awhile, but I assure you, when the new post is up, you will like it. biggrin Enjoy!

“Zoë, I’m sorry to tell you this, but your mother is in the hospital,” Mrs. Reid said to me. She had taken me into the hallway during class after she had received a phone call.
“W-what?” I asked, my voice trembling, “What happened?” I was scared. A lump formed in my throat and tears welled up in my eyes.
“She was at work and she collapsed. The doctors say she’s really sick,” she replied.
“W-well, what does she have?” I asked, trying to calm down.
“The doctors diagnosed her with a disease called Ebola.”
“What is that?”
“It’s a very fatal disease. I don’t know all the details, but your father is coming to get you so you can go to the hospital.” As she said this, her words cracked and her voice became a loud whisper. Tears started forming in my eyes and in Mrs. Reid’s. She gave me a hug and I stained her shirt with my tears. I grasped on to her and cried.

I started to sniffle, and just when I thought I couldn’t cry anymore, tears started to roll down my cheeks.
“Hey, don’t cry. Just tell me what happened,” Maxx said in a soft voice. Everyone stared at us, just standing there at the front of the class. Maxx ran to his desk, grabbed his stuff, and walked back to me “Come on,”
He pulled me gently into the hall. Mrs. Reid didn’t stop us or say anything, she just let us go. We stopped right outside the door.
“M-my mom, she’s in the hospital.” My knees started to shake and I couldn’t stand. Just as I was going down, Maxx caught me and held me tight.
“Oh, Zoë, I’m so sorry. “
“Stan is coming to pick me up. We’re gonna go see her. C-can you come with?” I stopped crying and once again wiped my tears on my shirt sleeve. I pulled away and looked up at Maxx.

“Zoë! What are you doing here? Is Maxxie with you?” She had a smile so bright it lit up the room. Maxx walked up behind me and leaned over me so he could see Jazmine.
“Get off me, you dork.” The three of us laughed. The kids that were around Jazmine had scattered and we were left alone.
“Hey Jazzy, I’m not gonna be here after school today. I can’t walk home with you,” Maxx said.
“But, why not?” Jazmine asked.
“I’m gonna go to the Hospital with Zoë. Sorry.”
She sighed and frowned. “Alright. I’ll see you later.”
“I’ll get back as soon as I can. Mom will be at work, so you’ll be alone for awhile.” He smiled apologetically.
“Ok.” She smiled back and looked down at her drawing. “Here Zo, you can have it.”

“It’s a tie, Maxx whispered to me, smiling.
I giggled and looked around the office. There he was: Stan. He was sitting in one of the uncomfortable green, plastic chairs. He saw Maxx and me and got up out of the seat.
He walked over to us and Maxx shook his hand. “I’m sorry about your wife Mr. Marcott,”
Stan smiled half heartedly. “Thank you Maxx,”
He then looked at me. “How are you doing? Are you alright?”
I tried to smile, but I couldn’t. I wasn’t alright, I wasn’t doing well. I wouldn’t be good for awhile. I couldn’t even cry anymore. All I could do was frown. Stan frowned to and wrapped his arms around me.
“Is she ok?” I asked quietly.
“I, I don’t know,” he replied.
I pulled away from someone for the third time that day. “Can we go see her now?”
“Sure we can.”
“Is it alright if Maxx comes with? I asked him if he could come.”
“Yeah, Maxx can come with. Let’s go.” He turned and led us out the door. We left the school and climbed into his bright blue pick-up truck. I sat in the back with Maxx while Stan drove. We rode in utter silence. The whole way there, I thought about my mom. Is she going to be ok? This is terrible. How couldn’t I have noticed she was getting sick?

“Hi mom,” I said quietly.
“Zoë, hello. Here, sit down. Hello Maxx.” she replied, smiling like there was nothing wrong.
“Hello Mrs. Marcott.” Maxx said as we both sat down in the squishy teal chairs.
“Maxx, how many times do I have to tell you to call me Artemis?”
“As many times as I forget. Old habits die hard.” He smiled and my mom laughed, then she began to cough. I stood up, but she motioned me to sit back down.
“It’s alright, I’m fine.” She assured me.
“I’m sorry mom. If I would have noticed it earlier, we wouldn’t be here now,” I answered apologetically.
“Zoë, it’s not your fault. There was nothing you could have done. I didn’t even know I was getting sick.”
“It is my fault. I saw you coughing, but I never thought twice about it. You could have been better by now.”
“Zoë, the Gods have done this for a reason. My time has come; I am to reside in the Heavens.”
“Mom, don’t say that. You’re staying here. You’re only 31 years old. It’s not time for you to leave yet. You have so many more years to live.” My face was hot and my eyes burned. Tears cascaded down my face like a waterfall. My heart was beating fast and I thought I would pass out from my brain over-heating. I tried to calm myself down, but I was frustrated.
“Zoë, I--” She started coughing uncontrollably and wouldn’t stop. She clutched her stomach and keeled over in the bed. Blood splattered all over the floor and the blanket. Nurses flooded into the room. I reached over and grabbed Maxx’s hand. He pulled me out of my seat and out of the way of the nurses. Everyone started yelling at once. They talked about my mom’s heart rate and other medical terms I didn’t know. Stan rushed into the room to see what was going on. After awhile of watching the nurses run around in chaos, there was a flat ringing noise. My eyes opened wide and my jaw dropped.
“Mom! Somebody, help her!” I screamed. The nurses and doctors tried resuscitate her, but it was no use, she was gone. I put my hands to my face and dropped to the cold, hard floor. My whole body shook as I balled my eyes out. Maxx knelt at my side, holding onto me. He stood me up and pulled me out of the room. He hugged me and I cried on his shoulder, staining his shirt with mascara and tears. I became delirious. I didn’t know what was going on around me. I walked wherever Maxx led me and I cried the entire time. All I remember was being pulled around, put into pajamas, and laid in my bed. When I woke up, there were drawings all over my walls and spread across the floor. Jazmine was sitting at my desk, scribbling away at a piece of paper. There were textbooks and papers spread out all around her.
“What are you doing?” I asked, wiping my sore, puffy eyes.
“I’m doing Zoë’s home…” Jazmine turned and looked at me. She practically flew from her chair to my bed. If I had been standing, I would have been tackled to the ground.
“Oh Zoë! You’re finally awake. How do you feel?”
“I would feel a lot better if you stopped sitting on my stomach.” I gasped.
“Oops. Sorry bout that.” She smiled wide.
“Now, what were you so aggressively doing over there?”
“I was doing your homework. Maxx had to go home for a bit, so I decided to take over your work while he was gone.”
“Oh, you guys didn’t have to do that. Hey, is mom still in the hospital?” I asked, oblivious to what actually happened.
“Uhm, Zoë,” Jazmine said. She looked worried. I knew she had something to say, but I couldn’t even guess what that might be. “Zoë, your mom, she…uhm…”

“Alright, if you’re going to school tomorrow, then I believe a shopping trip is in order, to take your mind off things for awhile.” Jazmine stated happily.
“Sounds good to me, but who’s going to drive us?” I asked.
“I know,” Maxx said, pulling his phone out of his pocket. “Paige would drive us.”
“Alright, I’m gonna get ready. Maxx, I think you might want to change too.” I said, smiling at his weird outfit. I walked to my room and closed the door. After a few seconds I heard Maxx and Jazmine leave. I really didn’t feel like getting dressed up, so I put on a pair of black jeans and a red Escape the Fate T-shirt. I put on my socks and shoes and walked back to the bathroom. I tried to fix my hair after taking out the rubber band, but it looked like a giant frizz ball. I plugged in my straightener and when it heated up I fixed my hair. Just as I was finishing up, I heard the front door slam and footsteps on the wood stairs. I put down my straightener and turned to see Stan staggering down the hall. He looked mad and I could tell he was drunk.
“Where do you think your going?” he asked as he tripped into the the bathroom.
“I was gonna go out with Maxx and Jazmine.” I said.
“No your not.” He grabbed my arm with one hand and my straightener with the other. He twisted my wrist and put the searing hot metal against my skin and I screamed. He left it there for what seemed like an eternity. Then he dropped the straightener and my arm. I turned on the faucet and let the cool water run over the burn. It hurt really badly, but the water made it feel a bit better. Stan staggered back down the hall and into his room. I took the First Aid kit out from under the sink. I gently spread Neosporin on my arm and wrapped it in gauze. After attending to my arm, I cleaned up the bathroom and half ran, half walked back to my room. I shut and locked the door. I grabbed my jacket, and at the same time, knocked my clock off my desk. I picked it up and looked at the time. It’s already 4:30? It’s late. How long was I asleep? I thought. I set my clock on my desk and walked to my window. I opened it and let the cool breeze into my warm room. I climbed out the window and down the ladder that we kept on the side of the house. Before continuing down, I shut my window until there was an opening big enough to open it again. I climbed the rest of the way down and jumped off the ladder onto the semi-frozen ground. I sprinted down the street to Maxx and Jazzy’s house. When I got close I slowed down.

“It’s our lucky day.” Maxx said, walking into the store. I walked in with Jazmine following. We browsed the store for a half an hour. I looked up. There was a gorgeous dress hanging on the wall. I looked a little lower and saw a sign that said it was $150 for the dress. I frowned and walked away.
“Hey, why so glum chum?” Maxx asked, hoping to make me laugh.
“I really like that dress over there on the wall. It’s $150. I have enough money, but I don’t want to spend that much on a dress.” When I finished my sentence, Jazzy called me over to the dressing room. I walked over to her. She had on a pair of Tripps. There was red stitching and black lace running down each leg.
“What do you think?” Jazmine asked.
“I think those pants look awesome on you.” I looked around. Then I saw something that caught my eye. It was a white, short sleeve, button down shirt with a huge red heart on the back and black X’s on the sleeves. “I also think this shirt would look amazing with those pants.” I said as I grabbed the shirt off the rack.
“I agree. I’ll try it on.”
I turned around and bumped into Maxx. He grinned from ear to ear.
“Do you remember what tomorrow is?” he asked.
“Is it the anniversary of the day we met?”
“No, that’s next month.”
“Uh, is it, your mom’s birthday?”
“No, but you’re right about it being a birthday.”
“What’s the date today?” I asked, completely confused.
“It is June 2nd.” He said, getting excited. Then I remembered.
“Oh, it’s my birthday.” I said, trying not to think of what had happened the day before.
“What’s wrong? I thought you would be happy.” Maxx sad, frowning.
“I know, it’s just, yesterday…” I trailed off.
“Oh, right. I have something that might cheer you up. I couldn’t wait till tomorrow to give it to you. I bought it last week. I hope you like it.” He smiled and handed me a purple gift bag.
I opened the bag and pulled out a pair of black diamond earrings. My mouth dropped open. He motioned me to keep going. Jazmine, who was suddenly standing beside me, took the earrings from my hand. I pulled out something soft wrapped in tissues paper. I ripped off the paper, and unfolded the dress I had just been admiring not to long ago. I gasped.
“Oh Maxxie, this is amazing. It’s the best gift I have ever gotten. I love it!” I hugged Maxx and kissed him on the cheek. He blushed.
“Hey Zo, don’t forget about me. I have a present for you too.” Jazmine said. She handed me a red gift bag and took out my present. It was also soft and wrapped in tissue paper. I un-wrapped the pants and shirt Jazmine was wearing. I hugged her.
“You guys know me too well. I love my gifts. You guys are the best ever!” I smiled and put away my gifts. Jazzy went in the dressing room and came back out in her original clothes. I looked at my watch.
“Hey guys, we have five minutes to get to the lobby and meet Paige. It’s been two hours already.”
“Let’s go then.” Maxx said. We walked out of the store and to the lobby. Paige was standing, looking at her watch. We ran to her and she jumped.
“We’re here. How much time is left?” Jazmine asked.
“You have two minutes left over.” Paige said.
“Good, we made it just in time.” I replied.
“Yeah, you did. Now let’s go. I’ve got a date tonight and I have to go get ready.”
We all laughed and walked outside. Maxx and I ran around like maniacs trying to find the car. I found it first and after putting my stuff in the front, we piled into the back. On the way home, we listened to Owl City. We turned up the volume as loud as it would go and sang along to every song we knew. When we got back, it was already 7:00. Paige dropped me off at my house and I snuck back in through the window. I went and hid my new gifts in the bottom drawer of my dresser. I finished the rest of my homework, which thanks to Maxxie and Jazmine, wasn’t much.