Ghost Bird Fanfiction: Sang's Lyric, The Story of Sang Sorenson's Mother

Released

Taylor watched Constance pace and I watched Taylor watch Constance.

"How did someone get into the safe?" she asked, stopping in front of James.

He put his hands up. "I don't know Constance," he answered. "Your cameras blinked out at twenty to ten and a minute later the lock was de-activated." 

Constance pulled her hair over her shoulder and started twisting it in her fingers. Her face was pale, the freckles standing out against her skin.

"Why didn't it alert?" she asked. "That's what's supposed to happen. Everything was contaminated, James."

I felt the baby roll in my stomach and I covered her with my hand. I tried to calm the anxiety building in my body as I thought about Garret being released from the hospital and then being free to go wherever he wanted.

The clothes that the girls from Sheltering Arms had sealed into a bag were ruined. When Constance had passed the clothes onto the police, hoping to use them as proof of Garret's assault against me, they had been sent to the police lab. The lab then informed her that all the clothes appeared to have been exposed to some type of chemical substance. There was no evidence left for them to use, no material proof of his assault, though they were still examining each piece individually. The pictures that the doctor had taken had been sent to the police as well. They had passed the case onto the District Attorney, who would be the one to decide whether there was enough evidence to prosecute Garret.

The police here were very kind, very understanding, but honest. They weren't hopeful that the case would go forward. The most they could do, at this point, was ticket Garret for trespassing, and talk the ADA into not prosecuting Taylor for assault. They felt very sure that Taylor would be in the clear, but it was nothing when weighed against Garret getting away with rape.

I had never seen Constance so angry. She'd called Liam Anderson to be with us when the detectives had come to speak with us, but he didn't really need to be there. She seemed to have a clear grasp of the law, and had laid out the case against Garret. I couldn't help but feel grateful that she was in my corner.

Still, there was nothing she could do for us.

Kell wrapped his hand around mine, his palm warm against my belly. Another hand covered ours and I saw Taylor smiling down at us.

"She's busy today."

The baby rolled again, and then elbowed me, or kneed me. It was hard to tell what part of her body it was, but it was pointy.

He knelt in front of me. "What do you want to do, Crash?"

That was easy.

"I want him gone," I said quickly. "I want him to leave us alone forever. And he can never, ever know about my baby."

I looked over at James, who came over to us quickly. "We'll figure it out. This may have been enough of a scare to send him back to Illinois forever."

Taylor raised an eyebrow and looked over at him. "I am happy to make it clear. I feel like I haven't spent enough time with Garret."

"Enough, Taylor," Constance cut him off. "I didn't recruit you to the Academy so I could visit you in prison."

I felt the blood leave my head and I swayed.

He clenched his jaw, the muscle ticking. "I won't make promises I have no intention of keeping. If he threatens my family again, I'll kill him. He's lucky I didn't kill him this time."

Constance's face got red and she looked at me. "He won't listen to me anymore," she said, a little accusingly. "Maybe you can talk some sense into him."

"Constance," Kell growled.

She threw her hands up in the air. "I need to go anyway. Taylor?"

"I'm not leaving," he said. "Not until he's left town."

"Tay..."

"Connie..."

She tried to keep the angry look on her face, but failed. I knew the feeling. It was impossible to stay angry at Taylor when he turned on the charm.

She smiled at him indulgently. "Fine."

She looked at me. "I'll let you know when he's gone. Y'all staying in?"

The guys made noises of affirmation.

"Okay," she said. "I'll see you later then."

Taylor got up and walked Constance to the door.

"Does she seem weird to you?" Kell asked when Taylor got back.

"She's just stressed out," Taylor answered. "She's been worried about Lyric and she's embarrassed and upset about the clothes."

I leaned my head on Kell's shoulder. "Do you think Garret will leave?"

"Yes," Kell answered, "I think that he's been sufficiently frightened and he'll go back to Illinois."

"But will he stay there?" I asked.

Kell sighed. "I hope so."