KILLED

Chapter Twelve

Later that night, I lie awake in the guest bed, thinking about the case that I am so determined to resolve.
I'm not a detective; I'm not in any way qualified to help. But I want to.
Finally, I get up and limp over to the light switch, then hobble back to pick up the pill I had pretended to take earlier and glass of water off of the bedside table.
I place the tablet on my tounge and swallow it with a sip of water. I quickly turn off the light again and climb back onto the mattress.
My eyes close the second my head hits the pillow, and everthing fades out of my mind.
»»»»----------»
"Tess. Tess, wake up", a woman's voice says gently in my ear. "Tess."
My eyelids snap open, and I sit up quickly.
It takes me a second to remember where I am and what happened yesterday. What I caused yesterday, as well as what I'm doing today.
"Morning", Sofia says brightly, pulling up the shades so that bright light shines in through the window. "I thought I'd let you sleep in a little."
"Thanks", I grunt sleepily. "What time is it?"
"Eleven- twenty six", she answers. "I made eggs and bacon for breakfast."
"Not hungry. Thanks though." I grab my crutch, about to get up when the woman takes it out of my hand.
"Remember our deal?", she asks. "You eat, and you get to see your mother. You don't-"
"Okay. I remember. I don't, you call dear old daddy." I rub my eyes, flopping back down.
"Right. So, how hungry are you?"
"I'm never really hungry in the morning", I admit. "You can call the hospital and ask my mom if you don't believe me."
"I'm going to, believe me", she says. "You get dressed while I do that so that afterwards we can leave shortly after."
"Deal." The woman leaves the room and I get up, picking my backpack off of the floor and pulling some clothes out of the largest pocket.
I change quickly, hobbling out of the room as soon as I'm finished, just in time to see Sofia hang up on her cell phone.
"I could have talked to her", I say. "Does she know we're coming?"
"Yes. I thought you had a phone."
"Tyler took it."
"Ah. That makes more sense. You ready to go?"
I nod, following her out of the house and to the car, still blinking off sleep when something occurs to me.
"I thought you were gonna make me eat breakfast."
"Your mother told me there is no point in  getting you to eat in the morning."
"All I'm willing to take in is coffee or tea", I confess, opening the passenger door, setting the crutch carefully inside before climbing in. I buckle my seatbelt and shut the door, closing my eyes as I rest my head back against the seat.
"Are you feeling okay?", Sofia asks, starting the car. "You seem a little out of it."
"I'm fine", I assure her. "I'm just a little tired. That's all."
»»»»--------------»
When we get inside the hospital, we find a bustle of activity already going on.
"Hi. We're here to see Chloe Furlen", Sofia says to the woman at the front desk.
The woman looks up from her computer and says, shaking her head, "I'm sorry, but Ms. Furlen isn't available for visitation until the evening. Are you family?"
"I'm her daughter", I speak up. "Why can't we see her?"
"I'm sorry young lady, but after running some tests, we found that there's still shrapnel inside her chest. Near her lung, to be exact. So she went under not long ago for surgery to get it out."
I grab the edge of the counter to steady myself as I ask, "Has any other family member been here?"
"Yes, in fact", the woman answers. "He's over there." She points to the waiting room, where I can see my father, reading the newspaper in one of the chairs.
"That him?", Sofia mutters in my ear. I nod. "Looks like an a**hole."
"That's because he is", I say, breathing heavily, trying to calm myself down. I do not need a panic attack right now on top of everything else. "Oh god."
"Tess, you need to calm down", she whispers in my ear. "Because he's coming this way right now."
I look up to see him walking towards us and I murmur, "I'm gonna have a panic attack at this rate."
"After this, we are definitely getting coffee", the woman says back, setting a hand on my shoulder. "Just breathe. In and out, over and over again."
I'm leaning my elbows on the counter, full on panting now as my dad reaches us.
"Will Furlen", he says, holding out aa hand. "Tess's father."
"Sofia Patrick", she says. "And I know who you are. And I have instructions not to let Tess be near you right now."
"I don't think she's going anywhere."