Storm Warning

Cold Reception

            A soft gasp announced that Maddie had found me. I look up at her through the sheet of rain still falling and my own blurry vision, I say what plagued me since she first told me she was coming... the reason I didn't call the cops myself. “I didn’t… I wouldn’t. She was my family, Maddie.”

            In a rush, Maddie comes to me and kneels in the mud and blood at my feet. “Oh honey. I know you didn’t. I know you didn’t. Come with me.” She brushes the hair out of my face and tugs my hand until I am standing. We walk in silence as Maddie struggles to maintain her grip on the umbrella while also using all of her strength to keep me upright and moving forward. We remained that way until we reach the car. I feel her slightly tugging me as I appear to be moving in slow motion. I am exhausted – mentally, physically, emotionally. Maddie must be able to tell. I see her look at me every few seconds out of the corner of my eye; yet, she says nothing.

            As we reach the car, Maddie helps me into the passenger seat. Maddie then proceeds to swaddle me in two large fleece blankets. “You’re freezing.” Her words were only supported as a giant shiver wracked my body. She quickly ran to the other side and got in. Almost immediately, she had the dials turned up and a brilliant blast of hot air greeted me. Shortly after, I look out the window to see the rain had stopped even though the sky was still a dark mass of gray clouds.

           Within minutes, the car was a blissful sauna, and Maddie pulled out of the park. The rest of the ride passed in a blur as my eyes finally drifted shut of their own accord.

           Thirty minutes later, Maddie was shaking me awake in Derek’s driveway. Startled, I look to Maddie in panic. “I can’t be here. I broke up with him last night.”

            She nods. “I know. He told me, but he was worried and wanted to know when I found you. Besides, the cops are looking for you. They know I am your best friend. They might be watching my place to see if you show up, but since you broke up with Derek, we both thought the cops might not be concerned about you coming here. After all, what normal person hides at an ex-boyfriend’s house when they broke up not even 8 hours ago.”

            I nod, not knowing what else to say. Derek was always a sweet guy, but to do this for me… “Also, his parents are on a second honeymoon; so, no one will be here to bother us or call the cops.”

            Pulling the blanket closer around my shoulders, I step out of the car. With a thud, the door swings open and Derek barrels down the drive. “What happened?” I see the panic and confusion swirling in his eyes and open my mouth to provide an explanation when I’m interrupted by Maddie pushing him back. I knew his train of thought. This was his fault because he left me to walk home instead of giving me a ride, but I couldn't find the strength to console him. I had to face my own demons first.

            "Not now. Look at her. She is freezing, and her lips are turning blue. She’ll tell us later. For now, we need to get her out of these clothes, get her something to eat, and let her sleep.” She wraps an arm around my shoulders as she guides me to and through the door. As we reach the door, she turns to Derek. “Grab the bags from the back seat.” I see him nod before Maddie shuts the door and guides me up the stairs.

           As Maddie moves me into the hall bathroom, Derek catches up to us with two big suitcases. “Geez Maddie. Did you need all this stuff?”

           She sighs. “Stop being such a boy. Girls need choices, and they’re not for me.” She nods her head toward me in an effort to avoid voicing something.

           Unable to ignore it, I ask in a small voice. “Are these my things from home?”

            Startled, Derek and Maddie look at me like they had hoped I would not have noticed the unspoken. Maddie walks over to me and kneels on the floor on front of me. “Yes.”

            Shaking but having to know, I ask, “What was it like? Wa…” I stutter as another shiver goes through me. This one was not from the cold though. Those stopped about 15 minutes ago. This was from pain and horror. Trying again, I force myself to talk past the shiver and the lump in my throat. “Was Sarah still on the floor in the kitchen?”

            Patting the hand resting on my knee, she sighs. “Much the same as you left it that I am guessing. There was a coroner. There were a bunch of cops. However, the cop stayed with me the whole time to stop me from seeing anything I shouldn’t. I never made it to the kitchen; since, I went in through the front door.” I nod slightly. “Let’s not talk about it now. We need to get you out of these clothes. There was a lot of options left in your room. Whoever did this destroyed most of your things.” I nod and try to take my jacket it off. I was not shivering, but I was still numb. I fumbled the buttons at least three times with my fingers just grazing the buttons but unable to grasp it. Seeing my shaking hands, Maddie hides the “feel bad for you” expression on her face and the tears that blur her vision as her eyes go glassy. Taking deep breaths, she helps me shrug out of the jacket.

            Afterward, she goes to the tub and begins to fill it with hot water. As the tub fills with water, Maddie returns and begins to pull up the hem of my dress, but changes her mind mid-way.

            Maddie starts pulling the bottom of the sleeves until my arms are resting against my bare skin, and the sleeves are empty. Since the dress was already ruined, she pulls the neckline of the dress down as my body stretches the fabric of the dress, first down past my shoulders. She continues to pull it past the b*a line of my strapless and down to my waist until it is was sitting firmly around my waist as I sit on the toilet. This way seems easier because with a gentle tug, it will fall to the floor as I stand. Maddie recognized asking me to stand up multiple times would not work in my current state. A soft gasp turns into a cough. We turn toward the noise to see Derek standing with a cup of steaming liquid. “Uh. I thought she could use something to warm her up.”

            Maddie nods. “That’s a good idea.” She walks over and takes the chipped blue cup. Not trusting my hands, Maddie kneels and helps me to drink the steamy cup of hot chocolate. So engrossed in the hot chocolate, I could almost ignore the looks of pity on Maddie and Derek’s face. Still, there was more to their expressions that pity as Derek’s eyes flash and Maddie grinds her teeth, but I could not quite understand the underlying emotion.

           Tired of being treated as an invalid, I stand and shed the clinging dress, b*a, and panties from my damp skin, and without a look at those behind me, step into the scalding water with a soft but pained gasp. With quick, jerky movements, Maddie pushes Derek out of the bathroom and shuts the door in his face, but not before I saw the shock on his face.

            After a long hour in the heated bath water, I felt almost normal again. Maddie sits on the closed toilet lid and is silent for probably the first time in her life. She is worried and states she just wants to be sure I don’t drown myself in this tub. As for as I know, her concern was founded in my numbed-out state and not any potential for committing suicide… though with such a shock, I wouldn’t be surprised if that was a fear of hers too. Not that I showed any signs of suicidal ideation in any of my 18 years.

            Sighing, I unplug the tub and stand. Maddie jumps up to grab me if I stumble, but I push her hands away. With determination, I stagger out of the tub and grab a towel from where it was hung on the towel rack. With slow, stiff movements, I dry myself and dress in blue flannel pajamas that Maddie held out to me.

            Maddie stays close to me as I stand in front of the mirror. As I comb out my hair, I stare at myself in the mirror. My eyes are puffy from the crying, and there are small black semi-circles under my eyes. The eyes are shimmering with unshed tears.

            Unable to look at myself any longer, I stumble out of the bathroom and into the nearest bedroom, which just happened to be the guest bedroom across the hall. I slowly lower myself to the edge of the bed. As I sit, I find myself moving into the middle of the bed. I lay down on top of the covers with my head on the pillow and my eyes watching the circular motion of the fan. I never heard Maddie move, but suddenly the light was being turned off and the door creaked as it closed. The sight of the spinning fan is the last thing I see and the twirling of the fan is the last thing I hear before my eyes close of their own accord.