“Your mother is dead?” I asked Leena gently for clarification. She nodded and sighed heavily between sobs, her breath ragged and broken. “Oh, hun…” I held onto her tighter, the sobs wracking her body harder.
We sat there for some time. How long exactly, I couldn’t tell you. No words were said while Leena let the tears fall, soaking my shirt in the process. The poor girl was so devastated over the news. I couldn’t imagine losing my own mother. She was my hero, my role model. For the majority of my life, it was only us against the world. I wonder if Leena was that close to her mother.
I was brought back to my senses as Leena’s sobs quieted down. Her labored breathing filled the new found silence, sniffling here and there. Slowly, she began to sit up, wiping her nose and tears with her sleeve. I looked at her and took some deep breaths. She nodded and followed along with my breathing for the next minute or two. My breath returned back to normal, but she inhaled once more, holding it in longer than we had during our session.
“I’m sorry,” she mumbled quietly, looking down at the floor. My head just shook back and forth in response.
“There’s no need to be sorry. It’s never easy to hear about the passing of someone dear.”
Her head snapped up, fear in her eyes as she met my gaze. “I d-didn’t hear about it… I’m the one w-who found her.”
I nearly choked on my own spit as the words came out of her mouth. “What?”
Leena let out a weak, humorless laugh and nodded. “I hadn’t heard from her in a couple days,” she started out softly. “I thought I would stop by to see if she were home, to talk to her... see if she was okay.” Her voice sounded strained now. I could see her bottom lip quivering. “I knocked at the door, but nothing happened… S-so I kept knocking. Still nothing.”
She was starting to fall apart again. I rubbed my hand up and down her back softly, offering quiet comfort as she continued to struggle through her story. “I remembered I had her spare key, so I grabbed it a-and…” She paused, placing her hands over her mouth, holding back a sob. She shook her arms and head, as if she were suddenly covered in bugs and took a deep breath.
“I walked in. Her living room was a mess, so unlike my mother. Furniture was thrown everywhere, her beautiful antique mirror was shattered. It-“ she swallowed. “ It was a hard sight to see. I followed the mess upstairs. Pieces of torn cloth were scattered on the steps. When I got to the landing and turned to go up the other set of stairs…” Leena bit her lip and closed her eyes, more tears rolling their way down her cheeks. “Blood. So much blood.”
At those words, my own blood ran cold. This wasn’t just something her mother did, causing an accidental death. This wasn’t a health issue and she died of natural causes. “She was…?” I started, but I couldn’t voice the rest of my thought.
Leena nodded, opening her tear-filled eyes at me. “She was murdered,” she whispered, her voice broken. I could feel the tears trying to flood my own eyes, but I held them back. Leena needed me to be strong right now. I cannot afford to break down in front of her when she’s grieving. “I found her laying in a pool of her own blood on her bedroom floor. The rug was soaked,” she sniffled, bringing her eyes back to the floor. “The blood was spilling out into the hallway.
“It was terrible, Sophie. I saw her body all bloodied, mangled.” Her tears were gathering up into a mini puddle on the hardwood. She bit her lip to stop it from trembling, her hands holding each other steady. “The killer didn’t make it a smooth death. She must have suffered terribly before she took her last breath. There were so many slashes across her body, so many deep wounds… And the smell. Nothing but copper. She suffered and no one knew, Sophie. No one fucking knew!” Leena screamed and hit the floor, the tears coming in faster, wasting no time to fall onto the floor with the rest of them.
“Shh, shh…” I sat on my knees and wrapped her up. “I’m so sorry you had to see that, Leena. I am so so sorry it had to happen to her.” I pulled back and cupped her cheeks in my hands, looking her dead straight in the eyes. “But it is not your fault. It’s not anyone’s fault besides the person her murdered her, alright? No one knew this was going to happen.” She nodded at my words and sniffed.
“It’s so hard not to blame myself though. I felt it, deep in my gut that there was something wrong.” She held onto my wrists as if it were the only thing keeping her sane. “There was a part of me that knew, and I didn’t listen to it.” Her grief was turning into frustration now. The tears were slowing, and her body was rigid. She was ready for revenge. She wanted a manhunt.
I shook my head. “You didn’t know what your gut was telling you. How would you have known you needed to go look for her?” Leena tried to open her mouth to protest, but I placed a hand over it. “You didn’t know at the time. And that’s okay. You might be in there with her right now, or worse. I know for a fact that your mother wouldn’t want that for you. You still have your whole life ahead of you. She would want you to live it out, and she will be there every step of the way.”
Leena’s body sulked forward and she nodded. Slowly, I removed my hand from her face and placed had it join the other in my lap. We sat there in more silence for a while, both of us lost in our own thoughts. Something touched my leg and I jumped slightly, coming back to the present. Leena blushed slightly, moving her foot from my knee back to her cross-legged position. “Do you mind if I stay here for a couple days?”
~
A couple days turned into a week. Leena decided to sleep on the couch while I planted myself on an air mattress in the middle of the floor. It was a full-on party in my living room. There may have been way too much booze involved during the nights, making the days suck during work and classes. By the following Wednesday, I requested the rest of the week off work due to a “family emergency.” Leena seemed to be doing a little better, but I was still afraid to leave her alone for long periods of time.
Garrett had stopped in a couple times to see me since I wasn’t very worried about catching up with my messages. I told him I had stuff I needed to focus on, and I would get back in touch with him another time. He didn’t seem happy with my response, but to my relief, left it alone. I did miss him, I’d admit that much, but Leena and I were bonding a lot during this week. She has truly become my best friend in such a short amount of time.
“Alright, Todd, I’m out of here!” I exclaimed loudly as I tossed my nametag in the drawer beneath the register. Todd came out from the office and gave me a hug.
“You take care of yourself, Darlin’. I hope your grandma heals up quickly.”
I resisted the urge to wince at the mention of my “grandma.” All my grandmothers were dead, but I needed to make up an excuse to get the time off. I felt bad for lying to someone like Todd, but I knew it was for a good cause. My friend was going through a rough time and she needed me. Besides, it’s only two days.
“Thanks, Todd. Means a lot,” I offered a smile to him and exited the building.
I walked my way a little further into town to the store, grabbing a few necessities, but mostly desirables such as ice cream and lots of toppings. We had a long weekend and I was not about to be wasting it on things that were only necessary. Once my shopping concluded, I made my way back to the apartment building. Today was a beautiful, sunny day. The air was crisp, just how I liked it. I felt no need to ride my bike into work. Walking gave me more of a chance to enjoy the weather.
I hoped Leena took the chance to get some fresh air today.
I slid the grocery bags up my arm a little more and reached into my pocket for my phone and headphones. The connector slid into my headphone jack and I cranked some tunes to blast into my ears. My upbeat, happy playlist shuffled through. Even though I probably looked like an idiot, I couldn’t help dancing my way up the sidewalk, mouthing the words. People always warned me about listening to music in public through my headphones. They’re all worried about sex trafficking, but this was a relatively safe area. I wasn’t too concerned.
It was about 5:30 when I reached the steps of the apartment building. I turned my music off and wrapped my headphones around my phone, shoving it back into my front pocket. As I climbed up the stairs, I watched the bags sway from the momentum. The movement was satisfying to me. I reached the top of the stairs and found a man standing in front of my door.
Of course he was here. I spoke too soon about him letting it go. Garrett turned to face me and grinned. “Hey there, Princess.”
I offered him a forced smile. “What are you doing here? I thought we agreed I would reach out to you when things settled back down.”
He shrugged his shoulders. “I didn’t know how long that would take, and I really missed you.” He made his way toward me and pulled my body into his. I blushed and lightly whacked him with my groceries.
“Off, Casanova. I need to get these into the fridge and freezer before they warm up more.”
Garrett chuckled and kissed my head before releasing me. I couldn’t help but give him a genuine smile from that gesture as I walked up to my door and unlocked it, pushing it open. “Hey, Leena, I’m back!”
Leena’s eyes sparkled once she saw me. “Sophie! You were gone for so long and you missed the newest episode of America’s Worst Cooks!” Her stare moved behind me, probably looking at Garrett, who most likely invited himself in. Emotion flickered on her face, almost like confusion. It faded as soon as it had come, replacing itself with a grin. “And you brought good looking company,” she gave me a wink.
My eyes rolled in response as I made my way into the kitchen. “Garrett, you better close the door behind you and behave. Leena, I grabbed some ice cream. Do you want a big bowl, and what toppings do you want?” I shouted out behind me as I dumped the bags on my countertop.
“Ice cream!” I heard Leena screech at the top of her lungs and a protest from Garrett. I couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled up as Leena came to a sliding halt in her socked feet. “Where?!”
“Here.” I set out the giant tub of ice cream and the variety of toppings, from gummy bears to full sized candy bars. Leena jumped back and forth between her feet while she dug through the candy I picked up. This was the happiest I’d seen her since our first ever sleep over.
I grabbed my oversized bowls and placed them out, allowing Leena to dish up first. While she put together her diabetes in a bowl, I made my way back into the living room to talk to Garrett. I found him lounging on the couch, looking through the TV guide for something that was interesting to him. He looked up at me as I approached him and gave me an unamused smile.
“So is this what you have going on?”
My hands slid into my pockets. “It’s a lot more complicated than it looks. She’s dealing with a loss and doesn’t want to be alone right now,” I explained quietly, trying not to go into too much detail, for Leena’s sake. It’s not my story to tell.
Garrett’s face returned to a neutral expression as he nodded a bit. “I see. I can understand that.” He sat quietly for a minute, the wheels turning in his brain. “I could help. I’m usually pretty great at cheering people up.
I almost laughed. “No, we don’t need another person involved in this process. She needs stability right now, and I don’t think adding a third person would improve things. It would probably just make it worse, considering she hardly knows you.”
The neutral expression was wiped off, getting replaced with a slight scowl. “Look, I’m just trying to make more time for us here.” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs. His eyes never left mine as they grew hard and dark. “I was hoping after the fall festival, we’d be seeing a lot more of each other, but I’m the only one making an effort right now. Why?”
I stood back, baffled. What the hell? “Excuse you? Do you not understand the meaning of I’m dealing with something right now? Do you not understand the meaning of she needs me? I am really–“
He cut me off. “She needs you? What about me, Sophie?” He practically yelled at me at this point. His hands pushed him off the couch and he walked up to me, his chest puffed out and shoulders pushed back. “Don’t you think I might need you too?”
Garrett was looking ready to fight, but I was not one to back down. I squared up with him, fury flashing in my eyes. This was bullshit, and I was not about to take it. “Get the fuck out of my apartment,” I said quietly, a sharp edge tracing my words.
He laughed humorlessly. His eyes held a dangerous gleam in them as he held my glare. “As you wish, Princess.” He hissed out the last word and shouldered passed me, knocking me off balance. I stumbled and regained my footing. Garrett flung open the door and walked out, slamming it behind him. The walls of my apartment shuddered from the force and I winced.
Leena peaked around the corner, a mouth covered in ice cream and chocolate cookie crumbs. “Did he leave already?”
~Leena’s Perspective~
Sophie and I were sitting on the couch, eating our ice cream, and watching rerun episodes of America’s Worst Cooks. I didn’t know why it was so amusing watching people fail at cooking. Maybe it’s because I couldn’t cook either. Even with all the distractions Sophie has been throwing my way, I felt gross. Ever since I found my mother dead on the floor, I hadn’t taken a shower. Some days, I barely had the energy to change my pajamas.
I’d been trying to put on a strong front for Sophie, and I guess partly for myself too. It was my fake it till I make it moment. Overall, it had been helping me. I did feel better, but I was also somewhat conflicted. I accepted my mother’s murder wasn’t my fault. Sophie was right in that perspective. I really couldn’t have known she was in trouble. The cops were doing everything they could to track down her killer. Every time they got something new to go from, they'd let me know. It’s comforting to have them keep me updated.
I think my biggest conflict was this Garrett dude. The first time I met him, he seemed fine. I was also hungover, so gosh knows I wasn’t in my right mind. I was still flying in my happy high phase. He was polite and happy about it all. He seemed really into Soph. But him coming in today, his whole vibe just felt off. Underlying the smiles and the casual talk, he was rigid. He didn't seem like the guy who really cared about the girl right in front of him.
I remembered Sophie talking about this wrong feeling in her gut when she was around him sometimes, and I think I felt it too. And the way he treated my friend toward the end of his visit was borderline abusive. Sophie doesn’t know, but I was listening to everything. He wasn’t respecting her wishes, he didn’t even care. It was all about him in that moment. He’s wrong for her. This relationship couldn’t continue. How could I tell her that though?
I glanced at Sophie through the corner of my eye. She seemed obliviously content, watching a man trying to figure out how to use a can opener. Her hair was messy, probably from the slight breeze outside when she walked back from work. She still hadn’t changed, making my insides cringe. How do you chill out in a house in jeans? I would never understand that. Sophie was such a beautiful person and I was so glad I ran into her that day. I would hate for her to be destroyed.
My biggest conflict about what just happened, though, was how Garrett seemed familiar to me. How could I know Garret though? He just walked into both of our lives, there’s no way I should be able to know him. I’d never worked in this area before either, so I wouldn’t know many faces. The feeling gnawed at my stomach, almost taking away my desire to finish my bowl of sugar.
Almost.
I shoved a big spoonful of my candy covered, frozen dessert and moaned happily at the sweetness that chased away the bitter taste in my mouth. Sophie let out a laugh and I looked over to find her watching me. I blinked a few times and swallowed. “Yes?”
“You’re such a mess,” she chuckled and shook her head, taking a small bite from her own bowl. “You remind me of a child almost.”
I scoffed playfully. “I am grieving, you cruel person. I will be a mess if I want to be a mess.” I plucked a cherry from my ice cream and tossed it into hers. “Join me, girl.”
Sophie grinned and held up her spoon. “Gladly.”
I clanked my spoon against hers with a grin of my own, and we dug in, devouring nearly every ounce of ice cream that night.
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