KILLED

Chapter Six

"Tess, you fell asleep." Mom's voice says through darkness. "Tess, honey, wake up."
I groan quietly and turn my head to the side, blinking open bleary, sleepy eyes.
"I was tired", I moan softly, her face coming into focus. "Can I have some pain killers, please?"
"Of course, darling. And, um, there is... someone here to see you."
I prop myself up on my elbow, my mind now full on awake.
"Who is it?", I ask. "And why did you hesitate?"
"Take the pill, and you'll find out", she replies, handing me the glass and the tablet. I take the medicine, then hand back the now quarter-full cup.
"Now tell me."
My mother takes a deep breath, then sighs, "Sara's mother is here, and she wants to talk to you."
I widen my eyes, lunging off the mattress and landing on my feet on the floor.
Holy. Shit. It hurts.
I manage to keep my mouth shut as I whimper at the burn, but my mother grabs my arm and pulls me back up.
"You need to stop doing that", my mom says. "Or you'll never heal."
"Why is Sara's mother here?", I hiss through my teeth, the pain starting to ebb a little. "And when did she get here?"
"Kaitlin got here three hours ago, and she is devastated about her daughter's death. She simply wants to talk to you. Be polite and actually talk to her. And since, you're stuck in bed, you can't go anywhere."
I flop back down onto my pillow. "You've really thought this through, haven't you."
"I've had three hours. Now, let's get you under the covers. The medicine will kick in kind of quickly."
Mom pulls the covers up to my chin and kisses my temple and gets up, saying, "I'll be right back."
"You're mean!", I call after her when the door gets shut. I sigh and half sit up, grabbing my phone from the nightstand and typing in my password.
I sigh, and send a text to Tyler.

Me: Please help me get out of this.

Tyler: No.

Me: Are you even still here?

Tyler: What do you think?

Me: Then get back to the police lab and figure out who killed my best friend.

Tyler: Kiddo, I'm doing everything I can. And I'm getting information. Now stop acting like a child and start being the mature person I know you are.

"Tess?"
I look up from my phone and stare the brown haired, blue-eyed woman with light freckles straight in the eye.
"Ms. Fredrickson."
"You know you can still call me Kaitlin", Sara's mother says warmly, stepping into my bedroom. "Mr. Roberts tracked me down and told me what happened. I wish- I.." She trails off, covering her mouth with one hand, choking back a sob.
As sorry as I feel for her, it doesn't excuse the fact that I'm mad at her.
"My mom said you wanted to talk to me, so get on with it", is what bursts out of my mouth.
"Tess, I don't know why you're mad at me, but-"
"You left her. You left your daughter, and your husband became an alcoholic because he was so heartbroken. And then, apparently, Sara turned to drugs. And now she's dead because she did."
The woman looks down at her feet for a moment, then meets my eyes dead on, fire burning in their icy depths.
"I left because I was threatened", she says. "And you are right in the words that I know are in your genius mind. It is all my fault."
"I'm not a genius", I mumble, starting to feel groggy. "I'm a f*cking idiot. I tried to go undercover and I got shot at."
"I'm sorry about what happened", Kaitlin Fredrickson says. "We can talk later. I can tell you're medicated."
She turns away, but I'm not finished yet.
"Wait." Sara's mother turns back to face me. "Thank you. For coming. I'm sorry I yelled."
"I deserved it", she answers. "You should get some sleep. I can explain everything the next time you wake up."
I watch her go, turning my phone off and setting my head back on the pillow, staring up at the ceiling as my eyelids slowly start to close.
>>>>------->
Food. I'm hungry. I didn't know that pineapples could fly.
"Mooom. Mooom. Mooom!", I call sleepily. "Mommy!"
My mother pokes her head in the doorway, her red hair hanging into her eyes. "Yes?"
"I'm hungry." I half lift up my head and point to the ceiling. "Pineapples are on the ceiling."
"Honey, do you even know what you're saying?"
"Nahhhhhh." I flop down on the pillow again and out of the corner of my eye, I can see Mom stroll inside and sit down on the edge of the mattress, brushing a stray lock of hair out of my eye.
"So... you want pineapples?", she asks.
I pound on the mattress with my fists and cry out, "No! I want food,  not pineapples!"
She laughs at me, covering her mouth with her right hand.
"What kind of food?", Mom asks, reaching into her pocket and pulling out her phone.
She holds it up, pointing the camera at me as I say, "Food. Yummy, yummy in my tummy." I giggle hysterically and roll onto my stomach, laughing into my fuzzy pillow.
"Hey Tyler!", My mother calls. "I think I need some help here!"
"What're yah doin'?", I slur. "I'm hungry, and I want food."
"What do you need?", Tyler asks.
"Hungry!", I yell, pounding on the bed again. "Hungry!"
"I have no idea what you mean!", Mom groans. "Just tell me what you want!"
"Chloe, why don't you go downstairs and make a sandwich or something easy to eat", he suggests. "I'll take your phone, and I'll stay with Tess."