I Just Saw her

TWO

I drove home slowly, taking side streets where I could. I circled past my house and back to the school, making the drive again to kill time. My finger stabbed the power button of the radio, hoping for something to distract me. The noise only made it worse.

My parents were sitting at the kitchen table waiting for me. The first thing I noticed was my cell phone in front of my mother. I sat across from them and waited for them to start.

"Patrick," my mother began quietly, "honey, I'm so sorry about Casey and her parents."

My head snapped up. "Her parents are dead. Casey's not," I said, my voice hard and insistent.

"Of course," she said quickly. She exchanged looks with my father. "Patrick, do you know anyone who would want to hurt Casey and her family?"

I motioned towards my phone. "Did you look through that?" I wanted the answer to be yes, just so I wouldn't have to explain everything I knew.

"Should we?" my father asked. "Is there something on it we should know?"

I thought about it, and reached out for my phone. I slowly slid it towards me. The battery was dead. "What do you mean?" I asked lamely.

They looked at each other again. Their expressions were starting to piss me off. "We know you are very close with Casey. We just want to know if there is something you might know that would help the police."

"When do I have to talk to them?"

"Tomorrow. Dad's going to take you in the morning."

"Why does dad have to take me?"

"You're only seventeen. You have to have a parent there when police ask questions."

"So, do they think I know something?"

"Do you know something?"

My answer was cut short by the doorbell. "It's probably Alex and Joel," I said, standing up. I stopped in the doorway. "Did the police say anything to you when you talked to them?"

"No. They called your mother at work and set up the time for tomorrow." My father studied my face closely. "Patrick, if there's something going on with you or with Casey, or anything your friends might know, you have to tell us. This is serious."

I nodded and left. Joel and Alex were both at the front door. We nodded a greeting and settled in the living room. A few minutes later, Bree arrived, followed by Heather. Bree had a stack of pizza boxes, Heather a bag full of sodas and snacks. They went to the kitchen to get plates and napkins. I heard my parents greet the girls, express their worry and sorrow over the Rose family, and go upstairs.

We ate mindlessly, the sounds of chewing almost as loud as the silence. I felt nauseated with every greasy mouthful I choked down, but continued just to fill the time.

Alex and Joel played Call of Duty, the only sound the clicking of the controller buttons. I sat on the far end of the couch, closest to the window, chewing the skin by my thumbnail. When I finally saw headlights in the driveway, I squinted hard into the dark rain. "Hey," I mumbled to my friends. "Dez is here."

I watched Dez exit the driver's side door and sprint towards the house, holding her bag over her head. I met her at my front door before she could ring the bell. She smiled gratefully, her eyes red rimmed and strained. I motioned for her to follow me into the living room.

Alex and Joel had put down the controllers and shut off the television. Heather and Bree came from the kitchen at the same time, both with wide, worried eyes. We waited until Dez had sat down and wiped the rain from her face before asking the question.