Chapter 2b: Panic
706 Sears Road
~Chrome Valley East~
Dolph’s father, Abe, sat upright in bed in a featureless but cozy-looking bedroom. Plastic tubes ran from a breathing machine at the side of the bed, up his abdomen, past his chest, and attached to his nose and mouth.
He coughed as he continued talking on his cell phone. “I’m sure she just forgot. She was on-call today. They called her in.”
Dolph’s voice came through the speaker phone. “I know, Dad. I was there when she got the call.”
“Are you coming back to Nanna’s? There’s a curfew on.”
“Yeah, dad. Me and Dean Brayker are coming back. Is that okay?”
“I guess so.”
Abe lowered the phone and cleared his throat—an otherwise simple action for most but, for Abe, a hell of an ordeal to recover from when taking a call.
“Listen, the
