Psychics, Stones, and Haunted Homes

Maria

Being a cop for as long as I was, I learned how to distance myself from the victims that I encountered. It probably wasn't a healthy way to deal with seeing dead bodies all the time, but it was the only way I kept my sanity. It was like every time I saw a body, my mind detached itself from reality. My emotions were gone, replaced only by logic and calculation. I treated it as if it were a math problem to be solved as quickly as possible.

I didn't see Sarah's body, but knowing how she died, and knowing that we could have stopped it, but didn't is just as bad. The atmosphere in the van is like that of a crime scene. Everyone is quiet, going about their business like nothing happened, but you can feel the tension in the air.

We pick up Haylee, who pulls out a bag of food and passes it around to everyone. I think we all forgot that none of us had eaten today. It's the middle of the day, and seeing the food makes my stomach growl.

"If you don't want to make the drive back home after taking me back, you're all welcome to stay another night," Haylee says cheerily. The cheer in her voice is fake. Even for someone who is good at pretending to be happy all the time, she sounds sad. Or is she faking that, too?

My imagination takes over, a welcome distraction from reality right now. Judas and I just found out that someone close to us has passed away. Taking advantage of his grief, Helga pretends to be helpful and empathetic, but really, she is just trying to get on Judas's good side, so that she can push me out of the picture! As soon as I am gone, she will throw herself into his arms, and...

Okay, I better stop before I let my imagination get too wild. I look casually around the car to make sure no one was spying on me. Hazel is in her own little world, not paying any attention, Haylee doesn't have psychic powers, so I don't have to worry about her. My eyes land on Toby, who is looking at me curiously.

"What?" I snap.

He holds up his hands, as if he's innocent. "Nothing, I was just looking at you! Jeez! Sorry!" He looks away and instead stares at Hazel. Good. He better be sorry.

The rest of the drive is long and quiet. I swear no one says a single word. When we finally get to Haylee's, she offers again to let us stay, but Hazel declines.

"I think we all just want to go home and sleep in our own beds tonight," she says. I agree. I never minded traveling, but it's been a really crappy week. I just want to go home and lay in my own bed and read romance novels.

"Yeah, I get it. I totally understand that," Haylee replies. She shrugs, like she doesn't know what else to say. "Well, drive safe then."

It's dark by the time we pull into our driveway, exhausted both mentally and physically. We don't even bother unpacking, instead leaving our stuff in the unlocked, bashed up van. I don't even care if someone decides to steal it. I'm so done with this job. I never thought that I would miss being a cop, but it was a million times better than this. At least I never knew the victims before they were murdered. It's strange to think that one minute someone can be alive, full of life and laughter, and then the next, they are dead. A little girl, dead before she could ever fall in love, get married, have kids, get a job... She had her livelihood robbed of her.

When we get inside, Toby plops down on the couch with a loud sigh. Jude grabs the nearest bottle of alcohol and disappears into his room. I raise an eyebrow at Hazel who just shakes her head and goes into her room, slamming the door behind her. Toby runs a hand over his face and curses quietly.

"Hell of a day, huh?" Toby says so quietly that I barely hear him.

I forget sometimes that we're the oldest ones here. Toby certainly doesn't act like it most of the time. We also have the most normal family backgrounds and are more well-equipped to deal with traumatic events.