Kisses on the Rooftop

"Mum!"

I could still hear Ronan's scream from that night when Florian was sleeping over. I could see the way he had run downstairs, his eyes wide with fear. I had been downstairs with mum setting the dining table for Thanksgiving. It was the first Thanksgiving after Florian lost his parents, and my parents had offered to have him stay with us for the week so he would feel less alone.

"What happened?" Mum had echoed my thoughts back then, and I had never seen Ronan so scared.

"Something is happening to Florian. He... he is swollen."

I remember the rush that had happened after that. Everyone ran upstairs to the room, where Florian was lying on the floor. He was unconscious, his hair all over the floor, his lips parted. He was an ungodly red, his face twice the normal size, his body spasming every now and then.

I remember just how traumatic it had been, as Ronan admitted that the stray cat my mum had adopted just that morning before Florian came had been hiding out in the bedroom, and h