The Next Chapter (NEW VERSION)

Chapter 19

—Emily's POV—

"What?"

"I can't believe she's dead..." She continues. She's not listening to me or looking at me either.

"Is she okay?" Andrea asks.

"I want to say yes, but I have no idea." I turn to mom. "Mom?"

She snaps out of it. "I'm sorry." She says tearing up and leaving the room.

"Mom, where are you going?" I follow her to the bathroom where she leans over the toilet and throws up.

"What's going on?" Dad comes running into the bathroom and holds mom's hair up for her.

"I don't know. We were talking and all of the sudden she ran out of my room."

"What were you talking about?"

"My friend's mom. I just- I don't get it." My pulse quickens by the second.

"Thea, baby? What happened?"

"She's dead, Henry." She cries.

"What? Who?"

"Mariah." His face drops just like hers did.

"Can someone please explain?!"

"Your mom and I went to the same college as Mariah. She wasn't exactly our friend at the beginning but then your mom- Something happened, and she helped us."

"You knew my mom?" Andrea's face shows up at the door.

"Yes. But we had no idea that she moved here too." Dad says.

"We lived in the same town for a while, but when she got sick we moved here to get better help. The hospitals here were better than the ones at home."

"I'm sorry for your loss Andrea." Mom says. "I can't imagine what it would be like to lose your mother at such a young age." She pauses for a while. "Do you mind... May I ask how she passed?"

"Cancer."

"Oh my God..." Mom breathes out.

"We're really sorry for your loss Andrea." Dad says. "So it's just your dad and you? No siblings?"

"No, just us. H e was a waiter but when mom passed he had to change careers to earn more money to support us and pay for the medical stuff." Her body is heave and her eyes glossy. I'm sure she misses her mom so much. I have no idea what I'd do if mom died. Or dad or Asher. Or the baby. Even Ally. It'd break me.

"You want to go back to my room? We can see if Ally wants to come over and watch a movie?" I ask. I feel like I need to get Andrea's mind off of her mom and maybe Ally's okay now to come over. I want to give her space, but I miss hanging out with her.

"Yeah, that sounds great." She smiles. "Oh! We can watch Footloose. It was just added on Netflix."

"Footloose? Never seen it."

"What?" Mom yells. "You've never seen Footloose?"

"No."

"Dear God... I failed you." She shakes her head. I chuckle and she gives me a smile in return. It's good to see that she's in a better mood as well.

Andrea and I go back into my room and call Ally, she said that she'll be over in a few minutes. In the meantime, we get some snacks.

She arrives about fifteen minutes later and we all get on my bed and start the movie. It's actually pretty good, and I love the songs. By the end of it I realize what mom meant by her outburst.