The next few hours went by in a blur. Someone called the cops, Samantha was taken to the police station. There, she sat, eyes glazed over as she tried to process. In one night, half of her world broke off and shattered. She stared down at her hands as the officers bustled around her. Her Grandmother... the woman who cared for her... was stabbed three times. Once in the chest, another in the arm, then the stomach. Samantha bit her lip as tears gathered in her eyes.
“Samantha Rivens?” A cop walked up to her. Samantha looked up, her gaze distant. “I would like to ask you a few questions, are you up for it?” The cop inquired. Samantha nodded, looking back at her feet.
“Alright, come with me.” She heard the cop say, leading her to a separate room. Samantha sat down in a chair, while the cop sat down across from her. A table was between them, with a water by Samantha. She didn’t touch it.
“My name is Officer Norman, but you can call me Lydia, and I-“
“Am I a suspect?” Samantha’s voice trembled as she looked up, meeting Lydia’s eyes. Lydia hesitated, eyes flickering away from Samantha’s.
“Of course not,” she decided to say. No emotion showed on Samantha’s face- none that Lydia saw. Samantha nodded, looking back down at her lap. She knew Lydia was lying. Someone suspected her. Bile rose up in her throat at the thought of killing anyone.
“Samantha, I want you to know I'm going to do everything in my power to find whoever did this to your Grandmother, ok?” Lydia reached over and clasped Samantha’s shoulder. Samantha pulled back, her eyes full of fear as she looked into Lydia’s. Only then did she see their dark brown color.
“Don’t touch me.” Samantha rasped, voice tight with held back pain. Lydia was taken back, eyes wide with alarm.
“I’m sorry, I understand this is a hard time. You need to answer my questions, ok?” Lydia whispered comfortingly. Samantha’s eyes flickered to the wall behind Lydia. She nodded.
Lydia opened the door and let Samantha out. A man began to talk to Lydia, words blurred like she was under water. Samantha stared at the frames on the walls. She couldn’t breathe. What would happen now? Grandma Mae was almost her whole world. Now, here she was, her heart aching like an open sore- yet a thousand times worse. Her chest was hollow and her eyes stung from the number of tears she cried. And now, she felt nothing. Numbness had taken over.
Samantha was led to the front of the building. Her mother and father were waiting there for her. A burst of hate hit her to the point that the floor swayed under her.
“Samantha, baby girl, come here,” Her mother said, tears in her eyes. Samantha stood, rooted to the spot. Then she took a step and walked to her parents, embracing them a little too tightly. Oddly enough, despite the fact that they were so distant, hugging them made her feel grounded. Like everything wasn’t going to be so bad...
Samantha sat on her bed, staring at the wall. There were boxes of her things from Grandma Mae’s house all around her. Her parents were doing something, probably dealing with funeral arrangements. They were so busy with their own things, but they were still paying more attention to her than normal. It wasn’t much, but they were making sure she ateShe told herself that she didn’t mind, that she couldn’t care less if they were only paying little amounts of attention to her, when really she longed for them to hold her. She didn’t go to school that day, the day that she found Grandma Mae. It had been three days, and she hadn’t left her house. Aberham came by, but she sent him away. She needed time alone, she told herself. She was tired, but she didn’t want to sleep. It felt like whenever she slept she’d see Grandma Mae, broken and bloody. It wasn’t fair.
Now, she knew that the bell was ringing at school. Aberham was walking out and talking with someone. Normally Aberham would be teasing her, and she him. Samantha leaned over, holding herself as she felt tears fill her eyes. Why? She couldn’t figure out what she did to deserve this, this pain and anguish. She pulled her knees to her chest. After a moment, she decided it was best to go back to school. She couldn’t stay out too long. Grandma Mae wouldn’t want that, she told herself. Despite it being five in the afternoon, Samantha felt her eyelids grow heavy. She leaned against the wall and drifted off into a fitful sleep
The next morning, Samantha woke at seven. It was the day of the funeral. She hadn’t been called in for questioning regarding the case, but at the same time they hadn’t told her of any updates. The house was silent, her parents were probably asleep at the moment. Her arms and legs felt like they were made out of lead. She looked at her desk, at the framed photo of her, Grandma Mae, and Aberham.
Suddenly fresh tears fell even more, shaking her shoulders. She cried until there were no more tears. Eventually, she got up and showered.
At noon, she sat in the car, driving to the funeral home. She looked down at her black dress and tried to smooth it out. She did her hair in a way Grandma Mae taught her, and it made her tear up to think about it.
When they arrived, she got out, refusing to speak to her parents as she walked in. Time blurred past. She walked in a fog, barely recognizing to people who told her they were sorry for her loss, that her grandma would be missed. A bitter taste formed in her mouth. What did they know? They didn’t understand or even begin to know her pain and-
“Samantha!” Aberham called out, rushing to her and wrapping her into a hug. “I’m so...so sorry that we’re here...” he murmured. Samantha could hear the tears in his voice. She nodded and hugged him back, standing with him to the side before the service began.
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