Page 24 of Apathy
“No, you can’t…” I paused. “Or maybe you can, I don’t know.”
“Still…” he paused. “I am sorry. I have a daughter that’s a few years younger than you, and I hope that she never has to encounter such a thing.”
“I hope so too,” I replied, staring at the badge on his chest.
“I do need to ask you a few questions.” He crouched in front of me until his face was leveled with my knees. Lauren kept staring at the spot on the ground, quiet, in shock. Shortly after we called the police, the sky opened up, washing away the sins on the ground. It felt as if the sky cried for the young life that would never walk this earth again, and the rain that felt soft in the beginning, gradually increased, hitting my face with a punishing strength.
Was I to be punished for a crime I had no part of?
“Did you know her?”
I gripped the blanket tighter, as the shivers wrecked me. My teeth chattered, causing additional turmoil in my head. I couldn’t escape the noise—the sirens of the ambulance, police cars, radios, and the white noise buzzing in my ear.
I couldn’t escape the pitiful stares from the officers and paramedics that came to the scene.
“I did,” I answered. “Well, we were in some of the same classes, but we weren’t friends, if that’s what you’re asking.”
Another sob lodged itself in my throat, but I wasn’t going to cry. I wasn’t the one whose soul was now restlessly looking for absolution, traveling far away from her family and friends. I wasn’t the one that was violated so badly, that even the officers who have seen terrible things in their lives had to turn away before continuing to mark the crime scene.
They ripped her body in half, leaving her disposed as if she never meant anything. They left her there so that the wolves roaming these woods would find her and finish the job. I wasn’t sure if they expected anyone to find her, but they must have known that leaving her body so close to the trail meant that somebody would.
“Have you seen anything suspicious?” he questioned, and I almost laughed at the absurdity of it.
“You mean, apart from the whole corpse in the woods?” I asked, blinking slowly. “What else would there be?”
“I mean,” he cleared his throat, “did you see anybody else there?”
“No, Officer. It was only Lauren and me. Well, it was only me at first, but you get what I’m trying to say.”
“How did you end up down there?”
“I fell. We were going down to the cabin next to the river. Once we reached that clearing before heading down the path, I fell.”
“And you’re sure you don’t know anything about this?”
“I knew she went missing. I was at school that day, but that’s all I know.”
“It’s just weird.” He started scratching his beard. “You two went to the same school, and now we find her here with your name carved into her chest.”
“Officer, are you accusing me of something?” I narrowed my eyes at him, disbelief passing over my face.
“No, not at all.” He smirked. “We just have to remove all the possibilities.”
“Listen. I don’t socialize with a lot of people at school. You can ask anyone, and they’ll tell you the same thing. I don’t go out unless it’s with our group of friends. That’s all. My life is extremely boring, Officer,” I squinted at his badge, “Parsons. Do you really think that I would carve my own name on a person I killed?”
“So, you did think about killing somebody before?”
“I’m seventeen!” I roared. “Why in the ever-loving fuck would I want to kill somebody? Who does that kind of thing?”
He seemed like he wanted to ask something else, but when a shadow fell over us, the relief washed over me and the officer stood up, coming face-to-face with my brother.
“I believe you’re done here.”
The cold expression he reserved only for those he didn’t like was now directed at Officer Dick, and if his annoyed scowl was anything to go by, he didn’t expect to see him here.
Dylan and I looked so much alike that some people believed we were twins. In reality, he was four years older than me, and the only person I could turn to when I needed help.
He kissed my boo-boos and wrapped my hand when I cut myself. He was the one that explained to me how my body was going to work once I entered puberty, because our mother was too busy ignoring me.
