Burning Fury

XIV

I woke the next morning to a loud knocking on the door. I stumbled out of the tangle of blankets and ran to the door, punching in the code to the alarm before opening it. A hot burst of air came in and immediately caused sweat to spring up on my forehead. The sun was shining in my face and I had to shield my eyes with my hand. Two police officers stood on the doorstep.

"Miss Solace, we need you down at the station."

"What is this about?"

"We'll explain once there."

"Could I dress first?"

"Make it quick."

The female cop came upstairs with me and stood in my room, looking at the pictures littered all over my walls. I quickly slipped on a sundress and some sandals then followed her downstairs and out of the house. They held the back door open for me and I felt like I was in trouble. What had I done this time? When we pulled up at the courthouse, the back door was opened for me again and I followed the cops up the grand staircase to see all of my friends and their parents sitting in the waiting room again. My heart plummeted and I started sweating more despite the cool AC pumping through the building.

"What's going on?" I asked.

My brain had yet to comprehend that only five of my friends were present.

"Clover," Ryder said, choking on tears.

"No," I whispered.

"We found him this morning, in the basement," Emily said. She didn't look up from the floor.

"No."

"It was Houston this time."

I looked at Callum, the tears falling down his face.

"No." I couldn't think of anything else to say.

One by one, they took each of my friends back until it was just Ryder and I. His body was shaking with silent sobs. Finding some tiny shred of courage in my body, I sat on his lap and pulled his head to my chest. He wrapped his arms around me and continued to sob into my dress. I rested my cheek against his head and held him tightly.

"You didn't find..." I trailed off after he'd calmed down and I sat in the chair next to him.

"It wasn't me this time."

"I don't know what to say, Ryder. I'm so, so sorry."

"Why haven't we caught the person responsible yet?"

He put his head on my shoulder and I shook my head. "I don't know, Ryder. I don't have any answers."

They called Ryder back and I was alone. I hadn't grabbed my phone so I sat in silence, leaning my head back against the wall and closing my eyes, counting down the seconds, the minutes. When the door opened, I watched Ryder walk out and right past me to the door below. I listened to the door open and close and then stood when I heard my name. The interrogation room was warm, as if the AC didn't reach the room with the door closed. The lady cop that had watched me change was sitting in one of the chairs. She gestured to the chair across the table and I sat.

"All right, where were you and what were you doing last night?"

"I was at home. My father and brother had left town to visit my grandfather who is in the hospital with cancer."

"Were you there all night?"

"Yes. My dad set the alarms."

"You would've known the codes, correct?"

"Ma'am, you can check the system. I didn't put the codes in at all last night. There was no leaving my home."

"Seeing as you weren't where the crime took place and, we will be looking into the codes and your phone records, you're free to go."

"Thank you."

A cop took me home and I walked in to silence. I felt more alone than ever. I grabbed my phone from upstairs to see I had hundreds of missed calls and texts from all of my friends, all around the early hours of the morning. I bypassed it all to go to my camera roll, finding pictures of Houston and I from Griffin's birthday party. I was already seeing posts all over Instagram about his passing, so I figured it was okay and uploaded one of me on his shoulders that I don't remember taking. Condolences from all of my friends in Florida rolled in, but it was too difficult to see. It also reminded me that it was real.

I didn't tell my dad. He'd find out soon enough, but I didn't want him worrying about me when he was visiting his dad. It was later in the afternoon when the doorbell rang. Worrying it was the cops again, I quickly punched in the alarm code and opened the door. Ryder fell into my arms, sobbing once more.

"Ry, are you okay?"

"I can't be alone. My parents are still gone and I have no one."

"Hey, it's okay. I'm here. You always have someone as long as I'm here."

"Me too?"

I looked up to see Griffin walking up the front steps.

"Of course. Come in, I'll make some supper."

They watched TV in the living room while I cooked some food. I brought a couple plates in to them and we ate in silence. None of us ate much.

"How are you dealing, Clover? You saw Gavin, how do you get that out of your head?" Griffin asked.

"You don't, unfortunately. I still wake up from nightmares."

"Can we stay here tonight?" Ryder asked.

"Yes. My house is your house."

We watched movies and I held Griffin's hand, knowing how he must be feeling. His grip didn't loosen the whole time. After a few movies, I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore.

"Guys, I'm going to bed. I can give you some blankets and you can sleep on the couch. Or take my dad's or brother's bed. Whatever you'd prefer."

"I can't be alone tonight, Clover. Can I sleep with you?" Griffin asked, not meeting my eye.

"Yeah," I said, surprised. "I wish I would've had someone with me the first night."

"I offered," Ryder said, trying for a smile but failing.

"I know. I didn't realize I needed someone. You both can sleep with me. Let's go."

I turned off the TV and made sure the alarms were set, then we headed upstairs. I kicked some clothes under my bed and went to the bathroom to dress in something more comfortable. When I came back, they were each on opposite sides of the bed with an empty spot in the middle for me. I crawled in, slipping under the blanket and Ryder reached over to turn off my lamp.

"Just so you know, I move a lot in my sleep so if both of you end up on the floor by morning, you were warned."

"I move too," Griffin said.

"If you wake up and need anything, please wake me up."

"Good night Clover," Ryder said.

"Night, guys."