Page 115 of Sergeant O'
The video kept looping in my head—Sylvia’s voice, the reporter’s question, the silence that followed. His silence. Then the look in his eyes outside my door, the one that almost made me open it again. Almost.
Every time I thought I was out of tears, more came anyway.
I dragged the comforter over my head, hoping that would block out my thoughts.
It didn’t.
Penny Lane kneaded against my stomach, a small, steady reminder that I wasn’t completely alone. I managed a whisper. “Guess it’s just us again.”
~~~~
“Jade!” I heard Lainey’s voice call from the front of the house.
Instead of answering her, I rolled over and buried my head deeper under the covers.
The echo of her footsteps grew louder as she came down the hall, and when she said my name again, I could tell she was standing in the doorway.
“Jade?”
I still didn’t answer.
The next thing I knew, my little warm cocoon was ripped away, and cold air nipped at my skin.
“Hey!” I protested as I tried to grab the covers back.
“Oh good, you’re alive,” Lainey replied, moving the blankets to the foot of the bed.
I snatched them back and wrapped them around me.
“I’m alive,” I grumbled. “Why are you here?”
“Wow, good to see you, too.”
With a guilt-ridden sigh, I sat up and looked over at her sheepishly.
“You’re right. I’m sorry. I’m just not having a good morning.”
She glanced at her watch and retorted, “Well, since it’s one in the afternoon…”
One in the afternoon?
Groaning, I dropped to the side and flopped back onto the bed.
“What day is it?”
“Wednesday. Why? How long have you been in bed?”
With another sigh, I sat up. “Since Monday.”
Lainey sat down on the bed and stroked my ratty hair. “Yeah, that makes sense. That’s probably when you saw the video of Brian and Sylvia.”
I nodded, picking at a loose thread on my blanket. “I should’ve turned it off when it started playing, but I just… kept watching. Like maybe if I listened long enough, it would make sense.”
Lainey’s voice softened. “It’s not going to make sense. I don’t think it makes sense even for him.”
My gaze snapped to meet hers. “What makes you say that?”
“He came by.”
