Daphne was baking pancakes for Alexia. She shot constant looks at the clock, causing the pancake to burn.
“Damn it” she cursed. She threw the pancake in the garbage can and poured in new dough.
“Aunty Daphne? Where’s mommy?” Alexia asked.
“I don’t know” Daphne alisema nervous. Zoey had been gone all night and wouldn’t pick up her phone. Daphne wasn’t used to babysitting Alexia for that long and fact was that she wasn’t good at it. It was a good thing Alexia was very independent for her age.
The door opened and Daphne looked up. Zoey appeared in the doorway and she looked both exhausted and devastated.
“Where were you?” Daphne asked insisting. “I was worried sick. I thought something happened to you. I seriously considered calling the police and the hospitals”
Zoey nodded and looked at Alexia. “Sweetie, why don’t wewe go outside and pick some flowers? Mommy needs to talk to aunty Daphne”
Alexia felt something bad had happened, but she did what her mother told her. Zoey waited until Alexia had closed the door and then turned to Daphne.
“Gerard committed suicide last night” Zoey said. “I found him hanging in our bedroom”
Daphne covered her mouth. “Oh my God, that’s…awful” she said. She pulled Zoey closer and tried to console her. Zoey pushed her away softly. “I need to tell Alex” She walked outside and called Alexia.
She had left her handbag on the dresser. It was open and Gerard’s letter stuck out. Daphne’s curiosity was stronger than her morality and she pulled the envelope out of the bag. She opened the letter and read. Her eyes grew big and she gasped. When she finished she rushed outside to find Zoey.
“Where wewe going to tell me this?” Daphne cried hysterical, waving the letter.
“You weren’t supposed to see that” Zoey said.
“It’s my fault!” Daphne screamed. “People are dying and it’s my fault! I killed Martin and I got Gerard to kill himself. wewe have to go, before I get wewe killed too”
Zoey grabbed Daphne’s arms. “Will wewe calm down? It’s not your fault. Gerard just wrote that so I wouldn’t feel guilty. But I still do. I need wewe to keep it together for a change. Could wewe do that for me?”
Daphne stared at her with wet eyes and nodded slowly. She understood she had to be there for her sister and she would do everything she could to support her.