After the Sky Fell Down by Megan Nugen Isbell Read Free Book Online Page A

shattering into a thousand pieces among the puddle of clear liquid.  Her father grabbed her tightly as Kathryn’s fists pounded against his chest. “He’s dead !” she screamed again before giving up and collapsing in his arms.  He held her as she hung limply in defeat.  Her mother crawled out of bed and began cleaning up the mess on the floor.  Her father picked her up again and without any protest from Kathryn, placed her back in bed.
    “I’m sorry Dad,” she said quietly, but he knew he didn’t need to reply. “Can you get me those pills again?” she asked meekly a moment later, afraid to admit she wanted them, but knew she needed them.  She wanted to close her eyes and escape this hell, even if it was just for a little while. 
    He nodded and left the room, returning a few moments later with a fresh glass of water and two new pills. She sat up just far enough to swallow them down and then returned her head to the pillow, curling up in a ball, trying to push down the torture that was consuming her.  She squeezed her eyes shut tightly, willing all the images and thoughts of Ben, both good and bad, to stay away and let her be.  She wanted to forget.  She formed a black circle in her mind and focused all of her energy on concentrating on it to keep from letting any other thoughts in, but no matter how hard she tried, the visions of Ben found their way into her brain, causing the hole in her heart to grow larger with each tear and deeper with each breath.  But soon, her head began to swim and she felt her body and mind relaxing, becoming tingly and calm from head to toe.  Her thoughts all began to converge as one, meshing together until she couldn’t differentiate between one image and the next.  Ben’s face swirled in her thoughts like a kaleidoscope, colors blending and separating creating indistinguishable pictures that were soon replaced with blackness and the feeling of falling until Kathryn was finally asleep and free from her pain.
     
    ****
     
    She slept restlessly, tossing and turning and finally woke up when it was dark again.  When she opened her eyes, the lights from downstairs were traveling up to her room almost willing her to wake up.  For a split second everything seemed normal.  She had forgotten for a brief moment about what had happened to Ben before she looked around, realizing she was at home in her bedroom and not her apartment.  The reason why came flooding over her in an instant and she felt sick.  Flinging back the covers and running, she barely made it to the bathroom in time.  After vomiting, she collapsed into the corner of the bathroom and curled herself into a ball, holding her knees to her chest and burying her face in the darkness.
    “Are you okay Kathryn?” her mother’s voice called from the bathroom door.
    She looked up at her mother through swollen eyes and shook her head.  She walked over to her daughter and helped her stand up.
    “You need something to eat,” her mom said and began to lead her downstairs.  She didn’t argue this time.  She’d been sick and hadn’t eaten anything since dinner at the Bradley’s on Sunday night , when Ben was still with her.  Her stomach was aching from hunger and she knew she needed to eat. 
    Once downstairs, she saw her father sitting on the couch watching TV.  He looked up at her and she could see the pity in his eyes, not knowing what to say.  She went and sat down on the opposite end of the couch while her mother went to the kitchen.  She stared mindlessly at the screen, not paying attention to the images or noise coming from it.  She could hear plates and silverware clanking as her mother prepared her something to eat.  Then she heard a familiar beep indicating a text message on her phone, which had been tucked away in her purse and was sitting on the counter.  She hadn’t looked at her phone since Luke had called to tell her about Ben being in the hospital.  She didn’t want to deal with it, but it