The camping

Chapter 15

She put her backpack on her shoulder when she entered the hospital. She felt tired and anxious, but she wanted to do this. She had to do it before she left town. She took the stairs and went to the floor where Kristine was. She went to the nurses' station to find out the room number. Once the information was received, she slowly moved to the room. As she approached the room, she heard two separate voices talking. She hesitated a moment. Kristine was not alone. The girl didn't want to interrupt a visit. Her presence was not of real importance. She approached the door to take a peek. Kristine was lying on a bed in a double room, but she was the only occupant. Suzie was sitting by the bed, holding her hand. She beckoned Judith to come in. Suzie was about to move away when Kristine told her it wasn't necessary because Judith knew what was going on.

"I'm glab you're here."

The girl slowly entered in the room.

"I will not stay long," she said, moving her backpack again. "I'm leaving soon."

"You're leaving town?"

Judith nodded, a faint smile on her lips.

"The furniture must arrive tomorrow morning."

"Did your parents help you find the apartment?"

"Yes. Very surprising, I know!"

"And you're going to get a job?"

"I start in two days. I... I took your advice and I went to the little café."

Kristine smiled at her, nodding.

"Did you receive the call from de DA?"

Judith replied by shaking her head. She suspected that it was only a matter of days before receiving it. She was only a witness, not a victim like Kristine. She had heard Annie's confession. The details she gave her were far too precise to be unreal. The police officers who had taken her statement had quickly made contact with the prosecutor. He had her number. So Judith wasn't worried. As soon as he needed her, she would come back to testify. She was very anxious about it. Annie wasn't supposed to get away with it. She had murdered her entire family and her former boyfriend, tried to kill Judith's ex-boyfriend and let a guy met a guy met a few days earlier die.

"And the funeral?" Kristine asked. "Did you go?"

"Yes. I didn't feel very comfortable, but I owed him that."

"His parents weren't wondering why you were there?"

"His mother cried in my arms. She apologized to me I don't know how many times. She told me that it was not his fault."

"She was aware of the rumors?"

Judith shook her head. Frederick was talking to her about it. The girl felt a little foolish to have no suspicious at the time. Frederick's parents had never interfered with their quarrels. They didn't congratulate him when he was arrested for beating her.

"She would have wanted to see me again in other circumstances."

"For what he did that night..." Kristine sighed. "His mother certainly didn't want you to keep bad memories of him."

"She hoped to see us again form a couple again."

"Were you still mad at him?"

"No. Not anymore. I understand better what happened."

"I didn't hear what Annie was telling you. I wish I had."

"I can't tell you that you missed a great story."

Kristine had a faint smile. She beckoned Suzie to help her reposition. The deep wound on her back made her suffer, but the psychological part would take a lot longer to heal. Each blow carried by Annie had sunk deeply, including one that had damaged important nerves and two vertebrae. No more sensations underneath the hips. After two surgeries, she still had a  bad back. The surgeon didn't believe he could restore the use of her legs. Kristine was trying to keep her spirits up, but Judith suspected that it was very hard for her to do so. She who was unable to stay in place very long.

"Don't look at me like that, please," Kristine asked. "She could have done a lot more damage."

"I'm sorry..."

"For what? You couldn't have known. Maybe we should have noticed something."

Suzie's hand tightened her grip on Kristine's. Judith sighed, looking at them. After everything that has happened, this is by far the best news. Kristine tried to take a light tone to tell them that she would at least have the chance to try new sports with a wheelchair as an accessory. Suzie didn't really seem to share her joke, but she didn't add anything.

"I'm the one in that situation," Kristine replied, "so I have the right to say every comments."

Judith and Suzie exchanged a quick glance while keeping quiet. They couldn't object to that. Kristine sniffed and thought for a short while before apologizing. Judith didn't understand why. Kristine explained that not all of the conversations they had had were reported to Annie. And she didn't do that to be mean. As Annie was often absent - because she worked all the time, a detail that was ignored until recently - she thought she was doing well by telling her what was going on.

"She asked me all the time what she had missed..."

Judith shook her head.

"Don't worry about it."

She looked at Suzie.

"How's Jonathan?"

"He recovers quietly. Etienne's parents will surely attend the trial. I know they want to see who killed their son."

"She lied to us so much," Kristine replied. "How do we know she was telling the truth?"

"You think he didn't slip?"

Kristine shrugged.

"I don't know. Just as I don't understand how she could miss... Fred..."

"Wound not deep enough," Judith said. "That's what I heard the paramedics say. But the fall."

"He broke his neck?"

The girl shook her head.

"What would have happened if you had told us your idea a few days ago?"

Judith preerred not to think too much about it. She felt guilty that she hadn't done it before. Maybe Annie could have been standing up for herself to her parents for the first time and really leaving the house. But Frederick was already involved in her initial plan. The lie was an integral part of her life. What was true? Judith thought Annie was planning to kill Frederick from the beginning. She wanted to play with Judith's guilty feeling to justify herself. It didn't matter what Judith could have told them. Annie wanted Frederick dead. But her family might still be alive. When the police went to the family home, several went out to vomit. Judith had heard several police officers describe what they had seen. All the rage Annie felt for her family reflected in the crime scene.

"I'm glad she didn't die," Kristine started. "She deserves to rot in prison for the rest of her pathetic little life."

"Broken legs," Suzie added, "that's not enough."

"It's still the last thing Fred did. I thank him for that."

"He prevented her from escaping the numerous charges against her."

Judith shook her head. He sacrificed himself for me. It was getting late. She had to leave. The apartment was ready to receive her. She greeted the two girls, promising them to come and see them as soon as she could. But Kristine knew it wasn't going to happen very often. Their paths had separated forever. Seeing each other again would not allow them to move on quickly. And I intend to do so. She left the room and went out of the hospital without turning back once.

THE END