the forest.

~body in the forest~

                        ~                         
   My mind went blank. I couldn't understand what I was seeing. When I came back to my senses I let out a horrified screamed that seemed to vibrate throughout the forest. Backing away from him as fast as I could. I began hyperventilating. I couldn't breath. I couldn't see.

Next thing you know I was sitting at the police station, cup in hand full of warm coffee accompanied with a quilt that failed to stop me from shaking. I forgot I even called them. The policewoman assigned to me tried to calm me down but it didn't seem to work. She questioned me, asking me questions like "What is your name?", "What was your relationship with the victim?", and "Do you know what happened?". Questions I couldn't find the words to answer, my throat feeling raw, like if I had just stabbed it with a knife multiple times. I was a mess. Filth, dirt and blood covering my face and legs where they had previously touched the floor. The floor where he was. The lady came back in, a somber look on her face. She kneeled in front of me. Her mouth moving but only some of it reached my ears.

"Patrick" I said. "My name is Patrick." She smiled at me. "May I get a last name?" "Gonzo" she nodded and left, closing the door softly behind her. I let out a tired breath and sat up straight when the lady came back. "I need you to answer these few questions before we set you free. I have contacted your parents and are coming to pick you up in a bit, if we need you for anything we will contact your residence." I nodded. "Okay I need you to tell me what your relationship with Mr. Miller is? " I opened my mouth but nothing came out."Take your time."

I took a sip from the now cold coffee, hoping it would relive the pain in my throat. "H-he was my f-friend." I mumbled out. She nodded in understanding. "What were you doing before you arrived at the scene?" "I was getting ready for bed when the Miller's called me saying Perseus was gone, so I took it upon myself to look for him. I went to the places he frequented the most like the park and the lake. The last place I checked was our t-treehouse." She signed and shook her head "That was a very dangerous move kid. What time did you receive the call?" I pulled out my phone out of my front hoodie pocket and went to my most recent phone call. "I know it was but I-i had to look for h-him. 9:25." She wrote it down on her notepad before continuing. "Last question so please bear with me. Do you remember what time you might have arrived at the scene?" "No."

She got up. "Thank you. For now we will let you go. We will make sure to kee-" "I didn't kill them. Please believe me I would never do this too him. I loved him." I looked up at her, my vision once again getting blurry. Her face went soft "We never accused you of anything. We know it wasn't you, so don't worry sweetheart." I wiped my eyes and looked away. "Stay safe out their sweety and I'm sorry for your lose." She left me alone again, the room becoming quiet once again.

It wasn't long before another officer came in. "Mr. Gonzo, your parents are here." I stiffly followed him out of the small room. I froze when I heard Mrs.Miller. She was hysterical. Covering her eyes as she sobbed, her husband not looking any better, his eyes puffy and shiny as if he was trying to hold it in.

"Mr. Gonzo, your parents are waiting. Come along." At the mention of my name Mrs. Millers' head shot up in our direction. She struggled to get up and walk but as soon as she was within reach she launched herself onto me, crying and holding me tight. We fell to the floor and I began to cry again for the fifth time tonight. "I'm sorry...I'm so sorry!" I cried and hugged her back, I was shaking. "O-oh Pat it's n-not your fault."
"H-he's gone, m-my b-best friend I-is gone!" "I-it's okay, it's o-okay we w-will g-get through this t-together. T-thank y-you for finding h-him." She pulled away from the hug, wiping my eyes for me with the sleeve of her night dress.

I felt a hand in my shoulder. "Mr. Gonzo." I stood up and helped Mrs. Miller get off the floor. I have her one last hug and told her to call me if she needed anything and turned to her husband who was watching the scene unfold. He was now fully crying. I walked up and hugged him as well which he returned. I gave them both one last look and left with the officer. When we arrived at the waiting room I was tackled by my mother and siblings, all of them crying. I looked up, my dad was sitting, shaking his head in disapproval.

We were in the car. Driving back home. My parents softly talking, my younger sibling holding my hand in an effort to comfort me while the other looked at me. We pulled up to the driveway and entered. I pulled the keys out from my front pocket and put them back on the holder.

I made my way up the stairs but was stopped by my dad. "We'll be talking about this in the morning. I expect you to be up early." I refused to meet his stare. "Do I make myself cle-" "Ya déjalo su amigo se murió. No necesita esto." My mom interrupted, anger written on her face as she scolded my dad. "Gabby, Liam, lleva a tu hermano a su cuarto y dile que se bane. Por favor." Her eyes never leaving my dads.

We entered my room to grab a fresh pair of clothes and went across the hall to the bathroom. Liam turned on the lights for me and gave me one last hug before he left me alone. I turned to look at myself, my hair was messy. Leaves and sticks sticking out, face stained with tears and blood. My pajamas in a similar condition as me. I couldn't look at myself. I looked like a mess. slip

I was a mess.

The steam quickly filled up the room. The water way too hot to touch, but I didn't mind. The sound of running water cutting the silence. I got under the showerhead, careful not to slip. I looked down at my hands, bloody and covered in dirt.

Get it off. Get it off. Please.

Grabbing the luffa, I furiously scrubbed every inch of my skin. Scrubbed until my body started to blister and I can no longer see any hints of him. I did the same to my hair. Pulling and tugging until chunks of my hair fell down and were washed away. Tears mixing with the stream of dirty, bloody water.

There was a knock. "Pat are you okay in there? " my sister meekly said. "We heard you panicking." "I-i'm fine?" I responded as I turned of the water, picking up the towel off the rack. "Okay...just let me know if you need anything. Just don't do anything stupid okay?" "Yeah o-okay, thanks Gabs. " I said as I quickly tried to change, throwing the once clean night wear into the hamper and opened the door. I looked around and saw my sister's bedroom door open, the glow of the multicolored led lights lighting up the hallway.

I walked into her room. She was sitting on the edge of her bed, her face pulled into a frown as she scanned her phone. When I fully entered she turned it off and looked at me. "Do you need anything?" She said in a soft voice, as if she was comforting a hurt animal. I awkwardly rubbed my arm. "Can I s -sleep here t-tonight?" She smiled. "Yeah that's fine, come." She shifted till she was laying correctly and patted the space next to her. I walked up and laid next to her, looking up at the ceiling. She turned off the leds, leaving the room completely dark. "Night Pat." "Night...Gabs."

I tried to close my eyes only to open them again when flashes of him appeared. My mind wide awake, thinking of who could have done this. Done something to Perseus. Was it someone I knew? Someone in town? This continued all night until finally I drifted off into a dreamless sleep. My body shutting down after a stressful day.

Why couldn't it have been me?