Chapter 6 #2
The officer that spoke outside sits down on the leather chair I have next to the couch and across from the saucer chair while his partner stands behind him, his arms crossed in front of his chest. Something about his demeanor causes me to raise a brow.
He doesn’t look like he’s here to deliver bad news. That’s got to be good, right?
“Ms. Reyes, there’s no easy way for me to tell you this,” he says, the sadness that laces his voice causing tears to spring to my eyes as my spine stiffens. “But your father and sister were in a car crash last night. I regret to inform you that they didn’t make it.”
I hear Blue take in a sharp breath as her hands tighten around mine. I subconsciously nod, trying to wrap my head around what he had just told me.
“Okay,” I say after a minute of silence while all three of them stare at me. “So, when can I go see them?”
“Mar,” Blue whispers, squeezing my hands to bring my focus to her, but I keep my eyes on the officer.
“Ms. Reyes, they didn’t make it,” he repeats as the other officer takes a small step forward, his arms falling to his sides.
I scoff as I shake my head, abruptly leaping to my feet and catching everyone off guard. “My dad is coming to take my sister and I to lunch soon, so I better go get ready. I’d appreciate it if you’d leave.”
I turn on my heel and walk down the hallway, heading straight for Neve’s room. Stopping outside her door, I knock twice and wait a few seconds as only silence greets me.
“Neve, come on, wake up,” I say as I open the door. I glance up once I’m inside and notice that her bed is empty, still made, showing no signs that someone had slept in it last night.
I slowly back up, my eyebrows furrowed together as I quietly close the door as if I am afraid of waking someone up.
Making my way back into the living room, I notice Blue standing by the couch.
She slowly makes her way over to me, her hands slightly extended as if I’m a wild, cornered animal.
She puts a hand on my arm, her other hand gripping my own as she tries to lead me back to the couch, but I stay rooted to the spot, unmoving.
“She must have stayed with a friend last night,” I say to no one in particular, my eyes finding a clump of dog hair on the rug. I stare at it, using it as a lifeline, my mind unable to stay on one train of thought for over two seconds. “But I still need to get ready.”
“Marlowe,” Blue pleads, tugging gently on my arm. When I look up at her, I see the silent tears streaming down her face.
I stop fighting her for a moment, feeling as if I’m finally coming back into my own body. Blue puts her hands on my shoulders, shaking her head as she wraps her arms around me, holding on tightly as she whispers into my ear.
“I’m so sorry, baby.”
And just like that, everything comes crashing down on me in full force.
Without warning, a sob escapes me and my knees give out.
Blue and I collapse onto the floor in a heap, her arms still wrapped tightly around me as she holds on for dear life.
I roughly fist her sweatshirt in my hands as I let out a scream, the tears pouring down my face with no sign of stopping.
It seems like an hour has passed before Blue gets me off the ground and back onto the couch. She refuses to let me go, one arm around my shoulders and the other holding my hand.
Blue is my lifeline, my best friend, and now the only person I have left besides my daughter.
Oh, god, I think, my eyes closing tightly as a fresh round of tears surface. What am I going to tell Claire?
“I’m very sorry for your loss, Ms. Reyes,” the officer says softly, breaking the silence and putting a brief pause on the mess that is running through my head.
“I’m going to leave you my card for whenever you’re ready to come to the station and collect their things.
We’re also going to need you to come down to the coroner’s office and identify their bodies. ”
“Are you kidding me?” Blue snaps as I close my eyes tightly, covering my face with my hands as more tears escape and a sob shudders through me. She rubs small circles on my back before running her hand down my hair. “You couldn’t have waited and told me that on your way out the door?”
I can hear the police officer sigh, but I refuse to look up as I try my best to hide my tears. “My condolences. You call if you need anything, okay?”
I hear footsteps retreating followed by the front door closing. Blue wraps both arms around me and brings my face to her chest, hugging me tightly as sobs tear through me once more.
I don’t know how long I cry in my friend’s arms before I fall asleep, but the sleep doesn’t last long as images of Neve and my father flash through my mind at an unbelievably painful speed.
My eyes shoot open as I abruptly sit up, startling Blue out of her own slumber.
I had fallen asleep with my head in her lap.
“Can’t sleep?” She asks softly, a hand resting on my thigh as I let my elbows rest on my knees and bury my hands into my knotted hair.
“What am I going to do?” I choke out in a painful whisper. “Tell me what I’m supposed to do.”
I can feel Blue staring at the side of my face before she sighs gently.
“You cry. You scream and you spend a few days mourning. Take the time you need until you’re ready to tell Claire.
I’ll take her in the meantime. I’ll call Kirstin and let her know what’s going on.
And then you be the mother you’ve always been. ”
“I can’t—” a sob forces itself out of me. “I can’t tell her, I can’t, Blue. How am I supposed to look my little girl in the eye and tell her the two most important people to her are gone? How am I supposed to destroy her entire world?”
“Hey,” Blue says sharply, tearing my hands away from my face and forcing me to look at her.
“Don’t. Don’t you dare do that to yourself.
Is it going to be hell for a while? Absolutely.
Is this going to crush her? Without a doubt.
But she is going to realize the same way that you are that you both have a shit ton of family left.
You both have so many people that love you, and we will not hesitate to step in picking up what Neve and your father left behind.
You and Claire have a lot of world left, and we won’t let you go through this alone. ”