Chapter 26. Leaving

Five days went by rather quickly for Carla, Aria's presence and steady supporter one of the main reasons for it.

Taking care of Mark had become a ritual for her, one she refused to let anyone else get in the way of, stubbornly refusing when Aria or Matilda offered to take over.

Mark being comatose became the new norm and as the days crawled by she grew scared that it would be that way for a very long time.

"He's being nice and it's ten times scarier than when he's mean to me," Aria confided as they plucked the weeds out of the softened soil, sweat dripping down their faces and soaking into their clothes.

"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth," Carla muttered as she yanked at a particularly stubborn weed and was sent flying backwards when it came loose.

Aria burst into laughter and Carla felt herself chuckling along as she got up from the dirt and flung the offending weed into the pile they had made.

The sun was hot, almost unbearably so, consideri