Lost Heart √

Twenty

Skylar's POV

"I don't know," I whispered. Then I shook my head and whispered again, "I don't know."

The officer sitting right in front of me exhaled shortly and linked his hands together, his steely gaze still fixated on me. It made my hands shake.

"Ms. Anderson, your neighbor heard you screaming and when she checked up on you, you had a box opened in front of you." He stated it like I hadn't already been there. "A box that contained remains of a deceased person."

Remains. I clenched my fists in a way that hurt.

"What you're saying is that you have no idea where that box and its contents came from."

I shook my head again, this time sliding my hands beneath my thighs. There was this lump in my throat and I was afraid I would throw up if I were to say anything right now.

The officer was growing impatient, I could see that. He stood up, his chair scraping against the floor, and I flinched a little.

"It-It was a parcel." I blurted out. "It was on my doorstep when I arrived back from my classes."

And oh god, my eyes stung. Because I could see it again. I could see the thing that had been inside that box all over again, and I wanted to heave.

"All right." Perhaps he must've finally seen the poor way I was currently handling myself. "The watch guard who was on duty during the day is going to be questioned in a minute. You can head out to the waiting area until you're cleared."

"What about the...the box? Where is it now?"

"It's with the forensics. You'll be notified when the reports come up, Ms. Anderson."

And that was it. He didn't say anything more. He didn't say that it could belong to Mrs. Marshall--whatever that had been inside that box. He didn't really say anything even remotely related to Mrs. Marshall.

But I knew. I knew enough. Mrs. Marshall was dead. And bits of her dead brain was delivered to my apartment doorstep.

My fucking doorstep.

I stood up from my chair and rushed outside, nearly stumbling into two officers who were in the way as I headed for the waiting area.

Alex met me halfway there.

"Sky! Jesus." He instantly pulled me into a hug and I couldn't quite comprehend why I stiffened. Soon, Alex was pulling away with his hands on my shoulders. "What in the world happened? Are you all right?"

No, I wanted to say. God, no.

"I'm...I'm fine. It's just..." I trailed off and looked at him helplessly.

"You're shaking, Sky." He rubbed my arms, the furrow in between his brows deepening. "Come on. Let's sit you down somewhere."

Once I was seated on one of the empty chairs, Alex kneeled down in front of me, grabbing both of my hands in his. His were warm. I felt cold. As cold as that--

"It was her brain, Alex." A whisper escaped my lips. I swallowed and the knots in my stomach tightened a bit more. "There were...pieces."

Alex's expression, I suppose, matched my own on the levels of horror and disbelief.

"What?" He asked loudly, then lowered his voice. "Her? Who the hell are you talking about?"

I didn't want to repeat the whole scene to him, not when I'd already done exactly that with three separate police officers. But Alex hadn't been there. He'd only barely seen me getting escorted inside a police cab when he'd reached my apartment.