Despair and Tribulation {PSYCH}

Reunion

1991

"Mom?" She called out. "Dad?" Blake's voice began to waver as the gears in her head begin to churn. She checked the kitchen and backyard before moving. She finally made it all the way up when she saw pink-tinted water flowing from under the bathroom door, staining the carpet. The girl's heart stopped.

She didn't want to know what was in there. Henry was the first person to pop into her head. She sprinted over to the phone that dangled near the floor and dialed him faster than she had ever done anything.

"H-Henry," Blake struggled to get the words out through her sobs. "The water, it-it's..." The Detective on the line was distraught at the sound. She threw the phone down before he could ask her what was wrong.

Tears flowed down her cheeks, her heart swelling with grief. She rushed over to the door and tried pushing it open but it wouldn't budge. Blake shook the handle frustrated, frantically looking around to find another way. The athlete finally ran to the wall opposite of the door and sprinted full force towards it, dropping her shoulder a second before slamming into it.

The hinges tore off the wall and it fell with a splash. Sharp pains shot through her shoulder. Splinters from the wooden door broke through her skin.

What she saw ruined her.

Blake stumbled backward and fell into the water at the sight. She let out a blood-curdling scream; it could be heard from all corners of her neighborhood. She backed up further and further till she couldn't anymore, gasping for air and clawing at her chest, unable to breathe. Adrenaline coursed through her veins yet she was still unable to do anything. All she heard was static, she could barely think.

She watched as Henry frenetically rushed up the stairs and to her side, cradling Blake in his arms. His mouth moved as if he were talking but Blake heard nothing.

Henry turned around to see the open door. He covered his mouth and he began to shake. Blake felt Henry's strong arms scoop her up and carry her down the stairs. She went limp as her adrenaline drained out of her system.

Henry seemed to have called the police beforehand because as he placed her into his truck, the authorities were just then arriving. Blake's body shook rapidly. After Henry kissed her forehead and held her close, she grabbed her arms and cried. Within a few hours, her life had gone to shit, and she had no clue as to why. There was nothing she could have done to save them...

===

Silence.

The sound in the air rang in Blake's ear as she stared at the empty seat across from her. It was Joshua's seat.

Blake sat here every morning for 5 years and did the same thing. She talked to her baby, sobbed to herself, and then moved on. It was a tradition that she has been following since the light of her life was murdered.

Everyone at the El Segundo Police Department back at home said that this was simply a tragic accident. A pure and simple hit and run. Blake knew that this was the same person that killed her parents. She felt it in her bones.

Blake stayed in Santa Barbara after Joshua's death. To keep herself busy, she secured a full-time job at a restaurant downtown which she now owns and runs. Sadly, after all her hard years of work, Blake rejected the job at the S.B.P.D. that had made her move to Santa Barbara in the first place.

She was once so excited to meet up with her old friends again. Of course, that was when Joshua was alive. Now, she did almost anything to avoid them.

Blake slammed her fist on the table. "Baby, I swear on my life that I will find who did this to you," she sobbed. "It will all start today." Blake pushed her seat back and stood up.