could listen to Zoe forever, but the doorbell suddenly interrupted their chatter. Zoe got up to answer the door, leaving the two girls wondering who could possibly be visiting at eleven-thirty p.m.
The girls could hear Zoe’s voice getting progressively louder as the conversation with the unexpected visitor drew on. Assuming it was one of the neighbors, Alessa and Rhonda went out into the living room. An unknown woman stood at the front door, her right foot propped on the threshold. Her right hand was splayed across the door jamb, preventing Zoe from shutting the door. Rhonda’s mother was telling the visitor she was sorry, that she hadn’t known “he” was married. This must be the wife of one of her men friends, Alessa decided.
The girls had just come up behind Zoe when, without warning, the stranger pulled out a gun and shot a bullet off in her direction. It zinged past Zoe, grazing her right forearm. Before any of them could react, Rhonda was lying on the floor, with blood oozing out of the left side of her chest.
Zoe lunged forward, grabbed hold of the gun in the woman’s hand and used it to maneuver her arm so that it was pointing down. She struggled to subdue the visitor, but when the gun went off a second time, its muzzle was pointing down at Rhonda. The bullet pierced the girl’s stomach. Screaming with anguish and terror, Alessa tried to pull her friend away from the madwoman.
By now, the visitor had realized what she had done and gazed down at her victim with a stunned expression; instead of Zoe, she had wounded a young girl who now lay on the floor, her life bleeding away. Zoe seized the opportunity. With one fist to the face, she knocked out the woman who now lay unconscious on the porch. Then she quickly shut and locked the door and rushed over to her daughter. Zoe put her arms around Rhonda and held her as tight as she could. She rocked her back and forth in her arms, trying to awaken her. Then she felt something cold crawling down her skin and stared at it; her daughter’s blood was streaming down her arm and seeping into her shirt. Alessa got up and dialed 911, but it was already too late. When the first ambulance arrived with a team of paramedics, Rhonda was pronounced dead. The first bullet had penetrated her heart, killing her instantly. Alessa stood there in a state of shock, not knowing what to do next. There was only one thing she was certain of: she wanted Rhonda back.
Another ambulance arrived to take Zoe and Alessa to the hospital. While Zoe’s injury was serious, it wasn’t life-threatening. Alessa sat in the emergency room, overcome by a sense of loneliness she hadn’t felt in years. Caterina showed up soon after. From the way she plowed through the emergency-room doors, Alessa could tell she was angry as hell. The minute she laid eyes on her daughter, Caterina demanded to know what kind of trouble she had gotten herself into.
“I shouldn’t have let you hang around with her!” she thundered. “Someone told me Rhonda’s mother was a whore and now look what you have got yourself into! Do you have any idea how upset you’ve made me? You are such a disappointment! You better hope you’re not in trouble with the police. They’ll lock you up forever, if you are involved with a murder!”
As Caterina went on in this vein, Alessa couldn’t help thinking what a truly ugly person her mother was. Here she was, grieving over the loss of her only friend in the world, and all her mother could rant about was the possibility of her being in trouble with the police! Alessa’s sorrow began to boil over into rage. Just at the moment she feared she’d explode, if her mother uttered one more word, a nurse walked in to quiet Caterina. Of course, the attempt to silence her only enraged her further.
She stepped up to the bed where Alessa lay and yelled, “When I get you home, you are going to be so sorry! And stop that crying! I really don’t understand why you always have to be so
The girls could hear Zoe’s voice getting progressively louder as the conversation with the unexpected visitor drew on. Assuming it was one of the neighbors, Alessa and Rhonda went out into the living room. An unknown woman stood at the front door, her right foot propped on the threshold. Her right hand was splayed across the door jamb, preventing Zoe from shutting the door. Rhonda’s mother was telling the visitor she was sorry, that she hadn’t known “he” was married. This must be the wife of one of her men friends, Alessa decided.
The girls had just come up behind Zoe when, without warning, the stranger pulled out a gun and shot a bullet off in her direction. It zinged past Zoe, grazing her right forearm. Before any of them could react, Rhonda was lying on the floor, with blood oozing out of the left side of her chest.
Zoe lunged forward, grabbed hold of the gun in the woman’s hand and used it to maneuver her arm so that it was pointing down. She struggled to subdue the visitor, but when the gun went off a second time, its muzzle was pointing down at Rhonda. The bullet pierced the girl’s stomach. Screaming with anguish and terror, Alessa tried to pull her friend away from the madwoman.
By now, the visitor had realized what she had done and gazed down at her victim with a stunned expression; instead of Zoe, she had wounded a young girl who now lay on the floor, her life bleeding away. Zoe seized the opportunity. With one fist to the face, she knocked out the woman who now lay unconscious on the porch. Then she quickly shut and locked the door and rushed over to her daughter. Zoe put her arms around Rhonda and held her as tight as she could. She rocked her back and forth in her arms, trying to awaken her. Then she felt something cold crawling down her skin and stared at it; her daughter’s blood was streaming down her arm and seeping into her shirt. Alessa got up and dialed 911, but it was already too late. When the first ambulance arrived with a team of paramedics, Rhonda was pronounced dead. The first bullet had penetrated her heart, killing her instantly. Alessa stood there in a state of shock, not knowing what to do next. There was only one thing she was certain of: she wanted Rhonda back.
Another ambulance arrived to take Zoe and Alessa to the hospital. While Zoe’s injury was serious, it wasn’t life-threatening. Alessa sat in the emergency room, overcome by a sense of loneliness she hadn’t felt in years. Caterina showed up soon after. From the way she plowed through the emergency-room doors, Alessa could tell she was angry as hell. The minute she laid eyes on her daughter, Caterina demanded to know what kind of trouble she had gotten herself into.
“I shouldn’t have let you hang around with her!” she thundered. “Someone told me Rhonda’s mother was a whore and now look what you have got yourself into! Do you have any idea how upset you’ve made me? You are such a disappointment! You better hope you’re not in trouble with the police. They’ll lock you up forever, if you are involved with a murder!”
As Caterina went on in this vein, Alessa couldn’t help thinking what a truly ugly person her mother was. Here she was, grieving over the loss of her only friend in the world, and all her mother could rant about was the possibility of her being in trouble with the police! Alessa’s sorrow began to boil over into rage. Just at the moment she feared she’d explode, if her mother uttered one more word, a nurse walked in to quiet Caterina. Of course, the attempt to silence her only enraged her further.
She stepped up to the bed where Alessa lay and yelled, “When I get you home, you are going to be so sorry! And stop that crying! I really don’t understand why you always have to be so
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