A Summer To Remember

Chapter Ten

The cops came a few minutes later. Its car lights illuminated everything around us. All that time, Chloe could not stop crying. Cameron didn't speak a word. I could hardly stand.

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The rest of that night was a blur. A cop drove us all home and made sure to drop our bikes back at the campsite, We all slept in Cameron's camper not wanting to be with our haunting thoughts alone. Too shocked to do anything we all went to bed in silence with our day clothes still on.

All I could think about was that poor girl. What had happened to her? Why did she have that bruise? Thoughts raced through my mind like horses, unable to keep one for too long. I finally drifted into a deep endless sleep after my brain had been too tired to ponder the continuous thoughts I had.

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"Good morning," Jake whispered, seeing as I slowly woke. I fluttered my eyes open to see him sitting in the same spot he had slept, his hands resting on his chin.

"Good morning... so it wasn't a dream was it?" I asked, horrified by the remembrance of last night. He stayed quiet which was a clear sign it was true. I was hoping it had all been a groggy dream.

"What time is it?" I asked, wiping the sleep from my eyes.

"Um..." he checked his phone next to him, "7."

Starting to stretch my limbs, I climbed out of bed and made my way over by Jake. Without having to say a word, he moved over to make space. We sat there in each other's embrace too shocked still to say anything.

Chloe then came out of the back room where she and Cameron had slept together. She looked miserable like she hadn't gotten any sleep. Walking to the coffee pot and starting to brew some, she made no effort to look shocked at me and Jake together. Maybe she didn't care.

"How did you guys sleep?" she asked already knowing the answer.

"Fine," Jake answered blankly, "I was going to go down to the police station to see what's going on. Does anyone want to come?"

"Jake I don't think..." Chloe started but got interrupted.

"Chloe, I'm going."

"I'll go." Jake looked at me surprised.

"Then let's go." he got up, fluffed his hair in his hand, and made his way to the door.

"I'll call you when we hear some news," I reassured Chloe on my wait out. She hesitated but thought better of protesting and slowly nodded.

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Jake and I drove in silence during the ride to the station. The silence seemed too substantial to break, delicate and bitter.

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"Come in, come in." An officer motioned for us to come through the small concrete door into a small room. I noticed a trash can on one side and a mini fridge on the other. The room was occupied by a meager desk in the center and three chairs.

I sat down across from the officer, and Jake followed in next to me. I notice the officer's name tag, Hendricks. Hendricks cleared his throat and quick but swiftly shuffled his copious amount of papers.

"Before we start, do you guys need anything to drink?" he motioned to the mini fridge, but both of us shook our heads.

"So it is my understanding that you both found the body of that girl last night?" Hendricks questioned, getting right to business. I wondered how many times he had had to do this kind of thing before.

"Us and two of our friends yes," Jake answered, sitting up a little straighter. Despite what was happening, I admired the way he could become so serious and respectable.

"Yes, yes..." Hendricks scratched something on a piece of notebook paper and looked up, clearly wanting us to continue.

"We were out biking for the day. Leah and I had gone back to our campsite to hang out," he cleared his throat nervously, "and Chloe and Cameron had rushed back to tell us. They seemed scared but couldn't get the words out so we followed them and...."

"You found the body." Hendricks finished.

"We found the body." Jake shook his head, still in awe of the situation.

"Did you recognize the girl?"

"Okay, okay." Hendricks thought of a next question, still writing things down as we spoke, "and were you surprised she was found dead."

"I mean... yeah. Murders never happen around here. Especially ones this twisted."

"So you believe she was murdered? You don't believe it was an act of suicide?" he asked thoughtfully. Under the table, Jake reached and grabbed my hand. It gave me a sense of relief and power which I truly needed.

I pondered his question. Maybe it had been suicide. However, for some reason, I felt certain. She had been murdered.