KILLED

Chapter Eight

"It's going to be okay", Tyler says gently into my ear. "She'll be okay."
"You don't know that", I sob. "She was shot in the chest."
"Tyler", Detective Patrick's voice says quietly. "Tyler, what happened?"
I suddenly shove the analyst away from me, landing flat on my back on the floor.
And I don't care about  the shocked look on my friend's face.
"Tess..."
"You can't be near me", I whisper. "Look at what's happened; everyone who gets close to me either leaves, or dies. I don't want that to happen to you."
"Tess, you need to snap out of this funk", he snaps, making me jump. "We are doing everything we can to resolve this. But you acting like a child is going to solve nothing."
"My mom is all I have!", I explode. "My dad left us. He abandoned us and disappeared! If she dies, then I lose everything! I'm only fifteen; I'm not the mature adult that everyone seems to think I am!"
"Your father didn't disappear", Tyler says after a minute of silence. "And just like Sara's mom, he was traceable."
"What do you mean 'was'?"
The female officer steps forward and says, "There's a man here claiming to be her father."
I drag myself to the nearest wall, using it to help as I rise to my feet.
"You called him", I say, pointing a finger at the forensic analyst. "Why?"
"He's your dad. And to be honest, he was overjoyed to come." To the officer, he says, "You can let him in."
I turn away from Tyler, resting my forehead against the cool wall.
"Tess?", a man's smooth tenor voice says from behind me.
I turn around to stare at the dark haired, violet-blue eyed man. He looks back into my face with a hopeful glint written all over his semi-familiar face.
I stay silent as he walks forward, opening his arms, and I know he expects me to run into them.
Not going to happen.
"I'm not going to hug you, you know", I say, crossing my arms. "Not after you left without saying goodbye. You never came back to visit, you never called, and now you're expecting me to run into your arms, crying?"
"Tess, you know I love you."
"No, I don't", I say. "You came back at such horrible timing, Dad. My best friend was murdered a few days ago, and now my mom has been shot in the chest. I haven't seen you since I was six. You don't know me, and I don't know you."
"That was my fault", my father replies earnestly, dropping to one knee. "I shouldn't have done what I did-"
"YOU F*CKING CHEATED ON MOM!", I scream. "YOU F*CKING D*CKHEAD!"
"Tess!" I fall silent, watching him pace back and forth in front of me. "I know I've made some mistakes, but I've changed, and I'm ready to be back in your life."
"Well, I don't want you in it."
I turn and limp towards the stairs, leaving everyone staring at my back.
>>>>------->
Sometime later, I end up at the hospital with my father, the detectives, and Tyler.
After a while, the forensic analyst comes over to me, where I'm stretched out on the cushions, listening to music on my phone while reading a book. He taps my leg, and I lift up one side of my headphones, waiting for him to speak.
He holds out a bottle of Pepsi and says, "Peace offering?"
"You're forgiven", I say immediately, taking the drink. "Thanks."
"Want to talk?"
I take a sip of soda, considering.
"Sure." I sit up and move over, pausing my music and pulling my headphones down to my neck. Tyler sits down beside me and opens up his bottle of root beer, taking a swig.
"When you were high on pain meds, you mentioned your father", he begins. "You were calling for him."
I wince. "I remember", I say quietly. 
"Want to talk about it?"
I stay quiet for a moment, and then I open my mouth, about to say no, but thee words burst out of my mouth.
"I was six", I say quickly. "I came home one day with Mom from school early, just in time to see my dad kissing a woman on the lips on the front porch. He hadn't expected either of us to be home early, but I had thrown up after lunch.
"My parents yelled at each other, all night long. I was so scared, because that was actually one of the only times my mom ever raised her voice in front of me." My voice breaks when I talk about my mother. "The next day, when I woke up, he was gone, and my mother was crying on the couch."
I draw in a shaky breath, tears filling my eyes, slipping down my cheeks silently. Tyler glances around and wraps me up in a hug, not saying anything, just lets me sob quietly for a minute.
"Your mother will be okay", he says hoarsely into my ear. "I may not have known her for a long time, but I do know she's a fighter. She'll survive."
"She has to", I choke on my words. "I don't want to be with him."
Now it isn't just Sara I'm going to avenge.