I have to go, but . . . . A fire, it could happen. So I unplug every device. A flood, it could happen. So I switch off every valve. At the door, as I reach for the knob, I stop. Anything could happen if I leave. A crash. A mugging. An asteroid. My legs go weak, and I fall. What if something happens? What about my cats? My parents? My heart races, and I can feel the friction of the blood in my veins like sucking sand through a straw. My eyes leak. Lungs like bitty balloons. In my ears: tring, tring, tring.
Bridgett Catron is a junior and creative writing major at Columbia College of Missouri. When she isn't in school, she's with her cats.