Jon stood in the doorway to Zoe's room, unable to move or speak. He had no idea things would get this out of hand.
Zoe turned back to face him, obviously trying to hold back tears. "God, I hate her so much, Jon. I wish she'd fucking die," she said before she started openly sobbing. Jon stepped into her room and hugged her. At that moment he felt like the biggest piece of shit on the planet. Sure, he and his sister had never gotten along, but he didn't want this for her. And now he had condemned her to hell for a week. After another minute, Zoe looked up at Jon. "Thanks, Jon," she said, trying to smile through the tears. Jon just gave her a weak smile back. "It'll get better soon," he said.
Zoe backed away from him and wiped her eyes on her sleeve. Her heavy eye makeup ran, but the effect hardly detracted from her look. "Yeah, I know."
Jon turned and walked back to his room, feeling sullen. He felt terrible. And he was angry. The past evening had made him feel closer to his sister than ever, and he was furious at their mom and at Sarah for hurting her like that. He sat down on his bed and held the rock, turning it over in his hands. Part of him wanted revenge and part of him wanted to fix this and part of him wanted to just wait the wish out and not make things worse.
He sat there seething for a few more minutes before he made up his mind.
