Murder my Care

Chapter 5

Numb. That's how I feel. I'm trapped in a painless world of grief. It's been two days, only one call from the police saying they need me to come to the station to answer questions. I'll be doing that this afternoon. It's still early morning, but it feels late, probably because I haven't slept since Josh was taken away. After the men took him, Mom brought me back to the hotel, and Dad drove Josh's car. They decided to stay another few days, and called Jenna to come to be a comfort to me. She tries to get me to eat and sleep, but I can't. I can't do much of anything now.

"Tyler, please eat something." Jenna says, kneeling in front of the chair I've been occupying for that last couple of days. She takes my face in her hands, trying to get me to look at her. I do, making her smile slightly. She leans in and gently kisses my cheek. I relax at her touch, and close my eyes.

"Come on." She pulls me out of the chair. "You should at least get some sleep."

She leads me to the bed, where I lay down and she cuddles up next to me. Her head is on my chest, my arm is around her. She plays with my hand and rubs my tattoos as I stare at the ceiling. I can't get my mind off of Josh, but I need to focus on something else. My eyes are heavy and burning from lack of sleep. I fight the urge to close them, but give in because I'll need some sleep before my interrogation.

I dream of what happened in the restaurant. The twisted nightmare version leads to Josh being beaten and dragged away, bleeding and unconscious. The feelings come on strong, and I'm jolted awake by Jenna calling me and shaking my shoulders. I'm covered in sweat and breathing heavily.

"Tyler, are you okay?" She asks, smoothing my hair and face.

"Nightmare." I reply.

"About what happened to Josh?"

I nod, and Jenna wraps her arms around me in a tight hug. She pulls away and climbs off of the bed.

"You should start getting ready for your interrogation." She says as she fixes her hair in the mirror.

"What time is it?" I ask.

"12:42."

"I don't need to be there until 3:00."

"You'll need extra time to get ready."

"Why? I could start getting ready at 2:45 and still be early."

"Okay. Can we at least go out to eat before then?"

"For you, I'd do anything." I bow my head as one would to a queen. "Where do you want to go?"

"I'm kind of in a donut mood." She says, tilting her head to the side, a begging expression on her face.

"Okay." I smile and get off of the bed.

I drive us to the nearest Dunkin' Donuts, where we buy two chocolate donuts, and one frosted.

"So, how are you holding up?" Jenna asks me when we find a table.

"Alright, I guess. Having you here is making it a lot better." I say and take her hand in mine. "It took awhile for the shock to run its course, but I'm doing better now. I just hope Josh and I have solid alibis."

"I'm sure everything will turn out alright." She says and rubs her thumb over my hand.

We eat our donuts with no conversation, and then I sit back to think things through.

"I've never been interrogated by the police before." I say. "I don't really know how it works."

"It's like the interviews you do all the time. Except no fooling around. They ask, you answer."