Somewhere far away he heard Maria press three buttons on her cell phone. She was talking, but he couldn’t make out the words.

Something wrapped around his palm. His left one, the one that could still feel. A warm hand squeezed his. Brandon tried to squeeze back, but he was too tired.

He went to sleep.

“Shut up!” Maria screamed. “Shut up, shut up, shut up!”

Felicia wasn’t saying anything. She was just sitting there, crying and holding Brandon’s hand like an idiot.

Maria was the one doing all the work. Calling the ambulance. Texting everyone she could think of to get someone down here from the house. The dorm monitors, the faculty, their friends—someone. Anyone.

Anyone who could fix this. Make Brandon get back up.

The birds were back, twittering away as though the whole world wasn’t falling apart.

Do you understand what you’re asking? the words in the mirror had asked her.

Had she understood?

Was this what Maria had asked for?

“No!” she screamed. Her cry sent a flurry of birds squawking out of the tree above.

Maria tried to remember what she’d said into the mirror last night. Her memory was foggy.

She’d wanted Brandon to forget about what he’d said. To leave her alone. She’d asked Altagracia to help her.

And Altagracia had.

Maria’s knees gave way. She broke her fall with her hands, slamming them into the dirt path so hard her teeth dug into her lower lip, drawing blood.

“I don’t think he’s breathing,” Felicia whispered.

“Shut up!” Maria shouted. “He’s fine!”

Felicia only cried harder. She was still gripping Brandon’s hand. He hadn’t moved in a long time. Maria wanted to throw up.

“I saw him fall,” Felicia whispered. “It looked like something ran into him. Did you see it?”

“Shut up!” Maria snapped. “There’s no one out here but us! Where the hell is the ambulance?”

Maria looked down at her useless phone and threw it on the grass.

The doctors were supposed to be here by now. No one was doing anything right.

“Why are you here, anyway?” Felicia said. “No one else is even awake yet.”

“Shut up!” Maria screamed for the last time.

She turned toward the house. Someone was running down the hill, finally. Far behind, another, slower figure was moving toward them. Maria could tell by her uneven gait that it was Lily.

Maria didn’t want to see her. She didn’t want to see anyone.

She wanted only Brandon.

Ross hurried around the bend toward them. Maria ran to meet him.

“Hurry up!” she screamed. “Where the hell is the ambulance?”

“It’ll be here,” Ross said. “I called too.”

He fell onto his knees and put his hand on Brandon’s neck.

“Stop that!” Maria bent over and knocked his arm away. “You don’t need to check his pulse. He’s alive, okay?”