Playing Favorites

Sky

⚠WARNING⚠ This chapter talks about suicide and kidnapping

I start to wake up as soon as I hear Sarah sniffling. My head is against her chest, our bodies pressed together, and her fingers running through my knotted hair.

"Sarah?" I pull away so i can wipe her tears. "Babe are you okay?"

She only nods her head in response and moves to cover her face with her hands. I pull her head to my chest and play with her hair until she calms down a bit. I kiss the crown of her head a few times and hold her tighter.

"Baby?" I don't call her that often but I can't help it. She's vulnerable right now so I guess I'm trying to give her a sense of feeling protected?

"Yes baby girl. I'm okay." She finally says, sitting up.

She stays quiet for a minute. Not knowing what else to do I rub her back and hope this will make her feel better in some way. After a bit she grabs my other hand and brings it to her lips to kiss.

"Growing up," she clears her throat "I had a best friend named Amanda. She was my other half, we'd do everything together, lived together during college.." Her voice fades trying to hold back another sob. "We were 25, still new to teaching and everything.. She got pregnant and named the baby Sky Catherine, after me." She smiles but it doesn't last long. "I- I had never love anyone as much as I loved that little girl.. and she loved her Auntie Sarah."

Her voice cracks and my tears finally spill. I hate seeing her so broken. Her grip on my hand tightens and I wrap my leg around her so I can be closer. Sarah is between my legs, my left arm wraped around her, my right in hers, and I lay my head on her shoulder. I'm terrified of the story I'm about to hear.

"She was six, so excited to finally be in first grade." She nods and I watch her face tense up. "45 kids on a playground and one person watching them.. One fucking person in charge of 45 six and seven year-olds." She spats. "She didnt even see her walk off."

My heart drops and my grip on her tightens.

"She was missing for four days before they found her. Amanda couldn't go alone and for some reason I still thought, 'It can't possibly be her.' But we got there and they opened those stupid curtains!" Her voice got quiet again. "My little Sky, on this.. cold medal table I felt like I was going to be sick."

Her face falls to her hands again and I run to the bathroom to grab a rag. I run it under some cold water before I bring it back to Sarah. She lets me wipe her face then I fold it up and lay it on her forehead.

"Amanda stayed with me for two days, we had a small memorial, then Amanda went home and shot herself." She moves herself to rest on my chest again. "I lost my best friend and my niece in the span of 6 days.. Two weeks later I quit my job and moved to Chicago because I just couldn't stay here."

We stay up the rest of the night talking, crying. After a bit I'm finally able to put the whole story together. Sky was abducted at school after she walked off the playground and was murdered two days later by her abductor, her neck was broken. Her body was found in a ditch next to the school playground. Her body was dumped there in the middle of the night, they never caught the guy.

"I'm sorry." I finally whisper.

She just nods and kisses me on the head. "I get so scared and I know sometimes Chicago isnt the safest place but at least it isn't where it happened. I didnt have the constant reminders of them everywhere so it was just easier."

"It must be hard to come home."

"Yeah, a short visit is fine but after that I start to feel like I'm reliving it. I go completely out of the way to avoid that school when i go anywhere because I can't look at it without falling apart." She sighs.

I didn't realize it before but this is why she's so scared whenever I have my meltdowns. This why she wouldn't yell at me after I said horrible things in class... This is why-

"Is that the reason you drove me home the first day of school? And insisted on giving me rides?"

She clasps our hands together and brings them to her chest. "The second I saw you I knew you were going to be an important part of my life.. I wasn't willing to let you be taken away from me before I found out. I cant lose you too."

"You won't, I promise."