The Rule of Three

Chapter 13

Copeland and Patterson climb out of the back of their Aunt Kerry's car. They look up at their house; what once was home now looks foreign and strange. Neither of them had been home since the accident or whatever it was. Kerry and their grandmother had cleaned the house once the police were done looking for evidence. There is no clues, no finger prints, nothing except the foot prints leading out of the house. The police determine that they are men's boot prints. That is the only clue they have to find who attacked Gaillard. The doctor's believe that she was beaten with an object similar to a baseball bat, but there is no way to be positive.

Patterson's eyes tear up as she relives the horrific experience in her head. Copeland grabs her hand and squeezes it; Patterson wipes away a tear and squeezes her sister's hand for support. "Come on girls," Kerry smiles as she opens the door and stands out of the way so the girls can enter. They walk into the house in silence. Patterson walks straight to the kitchen where she had found Gaillard just two days before. She stands in the doorway in a daze, numbly looking around the clean room, remembering the horror she had seen. Kerry stands behind her looking into the kitchen; she then places her hands on Patterson's shoulders careful not to disturb her stitches. "Let's get you to bed," she says gently; she slowly and gently turns Patterson around guiding her to the stairs and her room. They make it upstairs and begin walking down the hall way to get to Patterson's room, which is the last one at the end of the hall. When they get to an open door halfway down the hallway, Patterson stops walking and looks into the room, Gaillard's room. She always kept her room very neat; looking at it now made Patterson feel uneasy because it looked as if no one lived in there. "Come on," Kerry continued leading her down the hallway. They walk into Patterson's room and to the double bed in the corner of the room. Kerry helps Patterson sit down on the bed; Patterson slightly winces in pain as the movement causes tension in her skin around the stitches. "There we go," Kerry says as she kneels beside the bed in front of Patterson. "Do you want to lay down? The doctor said the medication would make you sleepy for a few hours," Kerry asks while she tucks some of Patterson's hair behind her ear. Patterson shakes her head, and Kerry lets out a down-hearted sigh. "Ok sweet heart," she cups Patterson's cheeks with her hands. "I'm going to go downstairs; if you need anything, just call for me," she smiles and kisses Patterson on the forehead. Patterson hasn't spoken much since the accident; everyone knows she feels responsible, but no one knows how to help her. Once she got downstairs, Kerry pulls out her phone. She has an idea of how to cheer up her nieces.

The next day, Patterson is sitting on the edge of her bed again. Kerry and Grandma Mary peek through the door, "She's been sitting like that since she woke up. She won't eat, hardly talks," Kerry whispers. For a moment, the two watch as Patterson stares blankly straightforward at the wall.

Grandma Mary walks through the door drawing Patterson's attention. "I have someone who really wants to see you," she smiles. Patterson notices she is holding a rope that leads out the door. All of a sudden, Samson trots in from the hallway. He trots straight to Patterson and stands in front of her wagging his tail violently.

Patterson smiles slightly as she pets her dog, "Grandma Mary, you don't like Samson."

Her great-grandmother sits on the bed next to her, "You know I would do anything for you girls." She kisses the top of Patterson's head and wraps her arm around her. Patterson leans her head on Grandma Mary's shoulder. "Even taking care of a hyper, smelly dog," she laughs. A door opens down the hall, and Samson runs to investigate. Grandma Mary looks at Patterson who is suddenly on the verge of tears. "Honey," she sighs as she gently wipes a tear away from Patterson's face. "Everything is going to be ok," she takes both of Patterson's hands in hers.

"You don't know that," Patterson cries. "Gaillard is lying in the hospital in a coma," she cries again. She takes a few deep breaths, "It should have been me." Grandma Mary shakes her head and starts to object but she is interrupted, "I went on a run. If I had stayed, I would have been the one who was attacked, not Gaillard," she pauses as she tries to catch her now shallow breath. "If I had been here, I could have protected her," Patterson buries her head in her hands, not caring about the pain that causes to her back.

Grandma Mary takes Patterson's hands in hers again, "Hey, look at me." She waits till she finally has Patterson looking at her. "You couldn't have known," she wipes the tears from her face. "If you had been here, your mother would have two daughters in the hospital," Patterson just shakes her head, not believing what her great-grandmother is telling her. She cups Patterson's cheeks with her hands, "If you had been here and been attacked too, no one would have called 911," she says in a low voice. "And your mother and Copeland would have found you two many hours later. It could have been too late for both of you," she finally has Patterson's attention. "You saved Gaillard's life; you were meant to come back when you did," she wipes the tears from Patterson's cheeks. "Come here sweet heart," Grandma Mary wraps her arm around Patterson again. Patterson cries lightly on her shoulder. They remain like this for several minutes. Patterson thinks to herself how lucky she is to be so close to her Grandma Mary. The two always had a very special bond, much like Anna and Grandma Mary.

Suddenly there is a knock on the door; the two sitting on the bed look up to see Murphy standing in the doorway. Murphy had class, so she was unable to come home immediately when she heard the news."Hey Pat-Pat," she smiles as she walks through the room and kneels in front of the bed. "What's this I hear about you climbing 8 foot fences?" she jokes receiving a small smile from Patterson. "Did you go and turn into a ninja or something? Next thing we know you're going to be scaling the side of buildings," she smiles as she holds her little sister's hand.

"Have you seen your mother yet?" Grandma Mary asks.

"Not yet, I'm about to go and bring her some lunch," Murphy smiles, "I wanted to drop off my bags," she pauses as she smiles to Patterson, "check on the girls and grab some things for mom." She checks her watch, "I need to leave soon, she is waiting on me." Murphy kisses Patterson's head, "I love you, kiddo." Patterson slightly smiles and nods.

Grandma Mary stands up as well, "I'm going down stairs to eat lunch; Patterson would you like to join me?" Patterson smiles and lightly shakes her head no. "Alright, I'll bring you up a sandwich," she leans down and kisses Patterson's head. "If you need anything, just holler," she smiles as she and Murphy leave Patterson's room. When they get to the doorway, Murphy turns around and blows her a kiss.

Patterson, now left alone in her room, resumes staring at the wall.