A flashlight in the shadows.

Chapter 12: To walk a mile.

"Give it to us straight, doctor," my dad said, concern mixed with tears in his eyes. He nodded and sighed.
"I have both good and bad news." We both nodded at the same time. He took off his gloves and rubbed his hands together.
"The good news, she'll pull through." We both sighed in relief. I nodded,
"And the bad news?" He sighed and looked down.
"Well, the robbers were armed with knives. She managed to get away, but not before they severed several tendons in both her knee caps and her shins. This means she'll need rehibilitation, but even then..." He stopped, staring at us. Dad nodded and said,
"Which means?"
"Sir, I apologize being the one to bring bad news, but she may never walk again." I felt my breath stop. We nodded and I leaned against him. The doctor nodded,
"Would you like to see her?"
"Yes," I sighed. He took us up stairs into her small room. She was still asleep from all the drugs, but she had on two leg casts. Dad looked at me.
"I'm going to stay with her tonight, here, I want you to go home and take care of yourself, ok?" He handed me his keys and I nodded, tears in my eyes. I kissed her forehead and left, driving to my house. When I got there, I saw police everywhere. I frowned and walked up to the house where I saw sheriff Leroy standing on the front porch. He stopped me when I was about halfway up the steps.
"Hello, Sarah."
"Hi," I said, frowning.
"Why're you here?" He asked. I frowned and gestured to the house.
"Uh, I live here?"
"You can't stay here tonight, police protocol."
"Where am I suppose to go?!"
"Is there anywhere that you can stay for the night?" He asked. I shook my head,
"No there's no-"
"Yes," I heard a voice call. I turned around to see Bennett's mom walking towards us. "She can stay with us for the night,"
"Thank you ma'am. Bye Sarah." I didn't have time to reply while Bennett's mom pulled me behind her. She brought me inside and led me to the couch.
"Bennett told us your sister was hurt," she stated, sitting next to me and patting my hand. I nodded,
"Yeah, they said..." I trailed off, tears sliding down my face. She got up to get me some tissues. Bennett came and sat by me, rubbing my back.
"What happened, Sarah?" I took a deep breath and told him what happened. When I finished, he nodded and patted my back.
"Everything's going to be ok. We'll figure out who did this, ok?"
"I don't care about them, I care about jane. What if she never does walk again?" I asked. He was about to reply when cc came around the corner.
"Are you spending the night, Sarah?" I nodded and smiled.
"Yes, I am." She smiled wide and went off to get something. Bennett's mom invited me to the kitchen to help with supper. I smiled and said,
"Thank you, for letting me stay here tonight."
"No problem, I enjoy having you over, and so does Bennett." He looked up from the living room, gesturing her to be quiet. She shrugged at him and sighed.
"I swear, he never tells anyone when he likes them. His last girlfriend in France broke up with him because he wouldn't open up to her. My poor Bennett, broke his little 14 year old heart." She shook her head and handed me what looked like a big zip lock bag with gigantic wet beans inside. I frowned and said,
"What're we making?"
"Veal kidneys with mustard, it's a tradition in my family." My eyes widened as I looked at the bag of kidneys she'd handed me. She looked up and frowned. "Haven't you ever had veal kidneys before?" I shook my head.
"I've never had any kind of kidneys before." She smiled,
"Well, it should be a treat for you, then." She set the kidneys on the counter and showed me how to clean them.
"Ok, so you take the knife and peel away that membrane like you would peel the skin of a potatoe." I did as she asked. It made a sticky sound as it was peeled away from the kidney. "Ok, now remove those tubes, and this membrane, and it's done!" I finished butchering the kidney, glad it was over. I could never be a doctor because I'd hate dealing with body parts. We then diced up the kidneys and added them to a large sauce pan, stirring for about 4 minutes. Once we'd finished cooking the kidneys, she smiled at me and sighed.
"Ok, now for dessert."
"Which is?" I asked, smiling.
"Chocolate soufflés." I smiled and we made the dessert, smiling. Once finished, I sighed and looked back at my house. She looked at me and smiled.
"I'm sure your sister will be just fine." I nodded. Chestnut came up and rubbed my legs, pushing his head against them. I pet him on the back, making him purr. Bennett's dad, or should I say stepdad, came in and said something to her. She excused herself and they went to the back porch to talk. I shrugged and went upstairs to Bennett's room. He was writing something down in his notebook, but stopped when I came in.
"Hey."
"Hi, what're you writing?" I asked, smirking. He shrugged.
"Nothing much."
"Can I read it?" He looked up and shook his head.
"No, it's really bad."
"I don't care, let me read." I walked over and took it from his hands. He got up and followed me around the room.
"Hey! Give it back!" I sat down on his bed and read it. He sighed and tried again. "I'm telling you, it sucks, just put it down." I shook my head and read on;

'Silence is not a prison.
It is a beckoning of salvation, a light in a dark world.
Silence is what defines us, for we show our true colors when it is silent.
The words of a million men,
Of a thousand kings,
Carry nothing, compared to the sound, of silence.'

I smiled and looked back at him.
"This is amazing, I couldn't write like this!" He blushed and rubbed his arm with his hand.
"Well...it's not as good as the one my grandma helped me with."
"Can I read it?" I asked. He thought for a minute, then turned to the third page of the book.
"There, we wrote it together." I began reading;

'A smile can bring many things.
From love, to hope.
From friends to family.
It can change someone's day, or it can mean the end of sorrow.
So smile for me today,
And I'll have a better tomorrow.'

I smiled and giggled a little. He scratched the back of his head and said,
"I know it's kinda cheesy, but it's my favorite one. My grandmas the reason I started writing poetry. She used to tell me that if she'd known better, she would've become a poet." He chuckled a little at the memory. Then he stopped, sighing.
"She died two years ago." I bit my lip and replied,
"I'm sorry. This poem is beautiful." He smiled. I looked over in the corner to see the painting he had. There was a sun in the corner now. I set down the book and walked over to it, smiling.
"What is it going to turn out as?" I asked. He got up and stood next to me, looking at it.
"I don't know yet. I was going for a sea monster theme, but then I wanted a calming scene. What do you think it should be?" He asked, looking at me. I brushed my fingers over it and sighed.
"Maybe...a fisherman. Yeah, he meets a fish from the water." He stared at it for a moment, then smiled.
"That's not a bad idea."
"Course it's not, I got a good brain," I smiled and pushed him playfully. We walked down the stairs to eat dinner. His dad talked about his business trip that he was taking this spring. I listened quietly because it didn't know what else to do. When it was time for bed, I walked up the stairs to Bennett's room. He handed me a pair of sweat pants and a T-shirt. I smiled and said,
"I didn't know you owned a T-shirt." He rolled his eyes and said,
"You gonna change or what?" I nodded and went to the bathroom, smirking as I shut the door. I threw on the clothes and went back out to the room. When Bennett went to change, I picked up the binoculars from his night stand and looked over to my room. The lights were on, but no one was in there. I saw something sitting on my desk next to my computer that wasn't there before. I leaned forward a bit to read what it said. It was a little slip of paper, but it only had 3 words on it; 'I warned you.' My heart stopped and I gasped. Bennett walked out of the bathroom in a long sleeve sweater and sweatpants. He frowned and asked,
"What?"
"I know who hurt jane," I stated, tears stinging my eyes. He frowned and sat by me.
"Who?" I looked over at him, still unbelieving.
"Carson."

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Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thanks everyone, enjoy the next chapter, bye! ;)