What happened to Grace Sinclair? (Friday Barnes)

~9~

                           ~The bad news~

"No, I know that he has full custody of her but I'm saying he shouldn't." Friday said, rubbing a hand over her face.

It felt like she had said the same thing 100 times and the operator wasn't listening.

"No, look. Kirsten is only 3, she won't be able to tell you if she's being abused!" She said. "She's 3, her biggest word is Banana."

The operator wasn't listening, just kept going on about how they couldn't do anything as Kirsten hadn't brought up any reason for them too.

Friday sighed in annoyance. "Look. Is there anyone competent I can talk to? Anybody who knows what they're doing?"

She eventually got through to someone who said that they would do an examination of the Sinclair house.

Friday put the phone down and rested her head on the table.

Then the phone rang.

The contact name appeared on the screen. 'Ian.'

She picked it up. "Hello" she muttered.

"Wow. You sound tired. Did you get any sleep?"

Friday shook her head, forgetting he couldn't see her.

'I can't see you if you shake your head.'

"Oh, uh, no. Not really." She said. "Also, I need you to go camp out at the Sinclair house to make sure CPS goes and checks it out because I don't think they will."

'Yeah, ok. Also, I have some bad news. It's actually the reason I called.'

Friday sat up, her stomach sinking. "What is it?"

There was silence from the other end before,

'Grace died last night. Nobody knows what happened. She was responding to Eden and her other co-workers but after they left she died. They don't know why." He said

Friday said nothing, just pulled out the note again. Butt out Barnes, or Grace dies.

Was this...her fault?

She hadn't stopped trying to save Grace, and on top of that she had told Eden about how strange Mr Sinclair had been acting.

'Friday? You ok?'

"Oh, uh, yeah. I just can't believe she's dead." Friday said, scrunching up the note.

'Yeah. It's horrible.'

They talked for a while longer, then, after they hung up, she tore the note apart and threw the pieces into the bin.

She walked back up to the room, unable to shake the feeling that she could have stopped this.

Was she in over her head?

When she got to the room she saw Olive, and her stomach churned even more.

How would she tell Olive?

Elliot shot her a nasty look from the table when she walked in and Alice noticed how she was holding herself.

"She's dead, isn't she?" She asked, more of a statement than a question.

Friday nodded, putting the phone on the table and sitting in the middle of the floor.

Elliot put his hand on her head. "I'm so sorry."

Friday looked at him. "Was this my fault?"

She was referring to the note.

Elliot shook his head, forgetting all about his anger. "No. Absolutely not. You did the right thing. All we can do now is wait and see what happens."

~*~                             ~*~                                   ~*~

Melanie had called Friday and demanded that they get together to do something 'fun' to take their minds off of Grace.

So, Friday had gotten dressed and walked the 2 hours to met Melanie and Ian at the closes shopping complex.

Shopping. Fun.

She was not looking forward to this. But it was better than sitting around all day letting her thoughts drive her deeper into despair.

"Hey." Melanie said, pulling Friday into a hug.

Friday hugged her back. It felt so safe hugging her best friend.

"Ooooh, let me in on that." Ian said, walking out of a shop.

Melanie let go of Friday and pushed Ian towards her.

Ian gave her a look. "How bad are they?" He asked, referring to her thoughts.

"Driving me insane." She said, letting him put his arms around her.

Friday and Ian let Melanie drag them around the complex.

The only thing Friday bought was a phone case, because she had already dropped the phone a large number of times and it was only one drop away from smashing completely.

They walked past a fire exit.

Ian nudged her with his hip. "Wanna sneak away?"

She frowned. "And do what?"

Ian shrugged. "Make-out?"

Friday looked at him, eyebrows raised. "What do you think Mel will do when she realises we aren't behind her anymore?"

Ian put his arm around her playfully. "She's our number 1 fan. She'll probably just figure out what we're doing and keep shopping."

Friday laughed. "We can't, it's mean."

Ian pouted, but mumbled, "I'll just kidnap you later."

Friday laughed again.

Then she sneezed.

Ian looked at her.

"I think you're sick." He said. "You've been sneezing all day."

Friday shook her head. "I don't get sick."

Ian frowned. "What? Everyone gets sick."

"Not me. I can't remember the last time I was sick." She said.

She didn't even feel sick.

Ian looked sceptical. "Just take it easy. Because I can almost guarantee you'll feel worse tomorrow."

"Good thing you didn't kiss me then." She said.

Ian shrugged. "Would have been worth it."