Bridge Jump (rewrite)

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Police Report

Austin sat trembling on the step of the ambulance. He felt like he wasn't blinking, his wet hair stuck to his forehead, the cold evening wind freezing him to the bone. He winced at the light shined into his eyes by the paramedics. His felt hypersensitive to everything, the red, white, and blue flashing lights. The many officers chittering and chattering, the flash of cameras, the bustling of the news reporters trying to get to him. He watched the firefighter's in their scuba gear make their way to the water, in search for Lindsey's body. He overheard someone say if they didn't find her soon she'd be swept out to the ocean by the morning. His head snapped to the direction of the officer approaching him. It was a short blond woman, she looked young. He watched her tap her pen against her notepad repeatedly as she walked. She was a rookie.

"Mr. Houston?" She asked

"Yes?" Austin spoke for what felt like the first time in forever. His icy stare obviously made her uncomfortable as she shuffled and looked over her notepad refusing to make eye contact with him.

"I have a few questions for you, they're all preliminary and we ask everyone this in these type of situations." She stumbled over her words slightly as she spoke. "Just to help us with out official report."

"Go ahead, ask away."

"Was there any previous cases where Mrs.Jinger had tried something like this? Is there anything abnormal or different that might have pushed her to jump?" Austin simply stared at the woman before him, he thought back to the first time she had tried to jump.  All the fucked up shit he's said to her, done to her.

"Yes, once before that I know of. About a 6months ago. Um... she was assaulted about a month ago, and um...we had a pretty nasty break." Austin replied rubbing the heels of his palms against his eyes harshly in an attempt of stopping the tears. "FUCK!" He screamed.

He couldn't hold back the tears as he began to violently sob. He could've saved her, he saw it coming, why hadn't he moved. Lindsey's words echoing around his head 'some stories are just supposed to end sad.' He couldn't do this, not now, not ever. He pushed the people trying to console him away. He couldn't handle this. He couldn't believe this.

It had been two days, Austin stood a bit away from the rest of those attending the funeral. He held a cancer stick  between his lips. His eyes were raw and itchy, he couldn't tell how many boxes of cigarettes he'd blown threw. He watched Lindsey's mother loudly cry, cursing god for 'taking her princess too soon'. His eyes traveled to his sister, who had her arms wrapped around Zander, both comforting each other. He looked at the sky, the clear bright blue, the birds singing and swooping through the sky. He stuck around as everyone else left. His sister and Zander came up to him. he sent his sister a sad smile, wrapping her in a tight hug. He pressed a kiss to his forehead.

"Are you going to be okay?" Dahlia asked him, settling back to Zander's side. Resting her hand on her now heavily protruding stomach.

"When am I not okay, patatina?" He asked her, putting that fake smile on his face that he perfected so well. "And Zander, I'm so sorry."

Zander just looked at him for a while, a unspoken conversation going on between them. Finally Zander spoke, "don't beat yourself up. At least you jumped in, that's more than what most people would've done."

Once everyone was gone, Austin stood before the grave, looking down at the casket. He glanced up at the guys, waiting on their heavy machinery to cover Her with dirt. Austin dropped the bouquet of dried roses into the grave. It was the bouquet he'd gotten her the day his father assisted her, they were her favorite. Pink roses and babies breath. He then reached into his pocket pulling out a gold chain that read "AMORE", his grandfather gave it to him telling him to only give it to someone special. Austin watched as clouds rolled in and the heavens poured.

"Gil angeli piangono per la morte della sorella." Austin whispered as he walked away bringing a new cigarette to his lips and raising the lighter to it.