What We Once Were

Chapter 1.

4 1/2 Years Later...

Bridget glanced back in the rear view mirror from the driver's seat. They were almost to Woodland, driving there from Manhattan took almost six hours and after four cups of coffee, Bridget was still half asleep at the wheel.

In the backseat, sitting in her grey and pink car seat was Bridget's four and a half year old daughter Juliet. In her little arms she clutched her Nancy Drew book Bridget had gotten for her on her last birthday. Her little head leaned against the window as she slept soundly as they rolled down the highway.

Juliet's head of raven black hair was tied back into a high ponytail and she wore pull up kids blue jeans, pink and white Velcro shoes that lit up when she walked and she wore her Empire State Building t-shirt.

Bridget gave her daughter a loving smile and refocused on the road, enjoying the sounds of Juliet's steady breathing and the calming music from the radio. Bridget's eyes fell on her messenger bag in the passenger seat. Reminding her of why she was being "forced" to return to her hometown. If it had been up to her, Bridget never would have come back to Woodland. But of course, her boss had different ideas.

Bridget was the best investigative journalist the Times had seen in years. In her three years since she'd worked there, she'd uncovered and exposed some of the biggest murder and homicide cases the paper was to report on. Bridget's knack for sticking her nose where it doesn't belong with no fear of the consequences had been a huge asset in her career. She wouldn't stop working until she'd reached the bottom of a problem and gotten all the loose ends tied up before closing a case and starting a new one. Bridget loved her job and she was proud of the work she did, and the best part was that Juliet was proud of her mom too.

It never got old when Bridget would pick her daughter up from preschool and Juliet's smiling face would brighten her day as she ran to hug her mom. Bridget also loved that Julet would introduce her to her friends at school and Juliet would proudly say, "That's my mommy. She solves mysteries like Scooby Doo and Nancy Drew."

Bridget smiled at the thought, Juliet was the light of her life. The center of her world and Bridget orbited around her like the planets do to the Sun. Her love for her daughter intensified even more when she'd learned that for career day, Juliet had announced that she wanted to be just like Bridget. When the teacher had told her this, Bridget had never known what an overwhelming sense of pride felt like until that moment.

However, Bridget wasn't exactly looking forward to this assignment. In the last three weeks, Woodland had made national news again for the first time in almost five years. Two girls had turned up in the woods with multiple stab wounds and strange markings on their bodies, there were no signs of rape or sexual abuse either which was strange. The same thing happened to another sixteen year old girl a few days ago. Bridget's boss had called her in and because of her upbringing in this town, he deemed her best suited for the task.

After a brief overview, he sent her out to team up with Woodland's best investigative journalist to solve the case. Bridget hadn't gotten the name of the person she was working with, she'd been too busy at work wrapping up an assignment, packing (both at work and at home), dealing with Juliet and contacting her mom about staying with her for the summer. Bridget hoped that she would figure this case out by the end of the summer. She wasn't sure how long she would be able to stand being back in her hometown since she knew everything she'd run away from was there waiting for her.
But of course it was Woodland, and nothing ever seems to go as planned in that town.

Bridget shuddered at the thought and just as they took the exit off the highway. Juliet stirred and yawned, her deep blue eyes fluttered open and met Bridget's green ones. "Did you have a good nap Jules?"