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Chapter 55: The Beginning of the End

last update Last Updated: 2024-02-06 20:59:04
Kate’s confession finally happened one night when her ma was lying on Kate’s bed; something Mrs. Lapuz had taken to doing again when the memory of the cataclysmic after-prom was still fresh in Kate’s mind, resulting in consecutive bad dreams of facing Josh and his gang and, more tragically, losing Ecto.

Kate had woken up drenched in sweat, her heart hammering in her chest, and her ma calmed her down by rubbing her back first with a towel and then with Mrs. Lapuz’s own calloused hands. Kate recalled the countless times her ma did that whenever she had a cold or a cough as a kid. The touch alone was enough to evoke in her the smell of Vicks VapoRub, another of her ma’s signature homey scents.

“Why do you keep calling out the puppy’s name in your sleep?” Mrs. Lapuz whispered when Kate had calmed down a little.

“Do I?” Kate asked innocently. “I don’t remember.”

That was only partly true. Weeks after the incident, Kate had gone back to living her normal life both at home and at school
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