First Death

She nodded into my chest. I had to guide her out of the house; I grabbed her purse and keys, told Dad where I was going as he started a movie with the girls.

Janie sat in the passenger's seat; her sobs had stopped but tears were still coming down her face, no doubt they would be for a while. I got into her car and as we pulled out of the driveway it started raining. The drive took about five minutes as they didn't live very far from Dad's.

Her mom was already asleep in the guest room when we arrived. I set her purse on the hall tree but she just stood in the foyer in a trance of depression and sorrow. I knew how much I hurt now that Teddy was gone, I couldn't even imagine what she was going through. I reached out and held her hand, leading her up the stairs to her bedroom. After I turned on the lamp by their bedside, she deflated onto the bed, still fully clothed and wet from tears and rain.

My heart ached seeing her like this, knowing that there was nothing I could do. I crouched down and took her heels off, setting them in the closet. I found her night shirt and handed it to her; she looked up at me for a moment as if remembering where she was. When she got up I unzipped the back of her dress before turning around so she could change.

When I saw her black dress get tossed into the hamper I glanced over my shoulder, seeing my sister in law in her pajamas. She looked so broken, so worn out. I pulled back the covers and insisted she get in. It wasn't until I pulled the blanket up over her that she grabbed my hand. My eyes met hers; she was crying again. She reached up and pulled me down, forcing my lips to crash into hers. It was a desperate kiss; she was so empty, so in need of affection that she was frantically clutching onto me.

It caught me off guard; Janie had been with my brother since they were in high school, I was like six years old when they started dating. I always saw her as a sister not as a woman who I would be attracted to. I had to put my hand on her shoulder to pull away. It must have been visible in my face because she started to sob immediately before I spoke, "We can't do this, Janie."

She rolled away from me and curled into a ball, crying hard. I knew that she was hurting, that she just wanted some comfort so I gave what I could. I kicked my shoes off, flicking the switch on the lamp. I climbed into the bed, still in my slacks and shirt and pressed my body up against her back. I wrapped my arm over her side, pulling her close and held her as she cried herself to sleep.

It didn't take her long, maybe less than five minutes before she was out, but I stayed there a little longer, holding her. Eventually, I got up slowly so I wouldn't disturb her and I mounded pillows against her back so the removal of my warm body wouldn't cause her to wake up. I pulled my shoes on and crept down stairs. The rain had stopped so I decided to walk back to Dad's.

It was humid in the quiet neighborhood; the motion sensing light came on when I pulled the locked door shut behind me. I thought enough ahead to take one of the fleeces from the hall tree but it must have been Teddy's because I was swimming in it. When I zipped up to the collar and I inhaled deeply it still smelled like his cologne.

I headed down the street towards the large park that spanned several blocks, the other end just a few houses away from Dad's. I had walked through it many times at night, coming back from Teddy's after playing poker with him and his friends though this night it seemed especially eerie. The sky was dark, clouds still covering the moon and stars and though the street lamps were lit, they casted a yellow shadow that barely penetrated the dark shrubbery. I walked swiftly, not surprised that it was vacant considering the weather.

About half way through it, there was a woman sitting alone on a bench. It didn't seem like she was dressed warm enough for the cool night; she might have been a vagrant, her bright pink hair was disheveled and she had a tank top on over a plaid skirt, holey black stockings and large black rubber boots. Her leg was shaking, like a nervous tick. When she looked up and saw me, she smiled sloppily, a slight accent in her tone though I couldn't place it, "Hey man, can I bum a cigarette?"

I didn't stop walking, my eyes barely grazing her so as to avoid extended conversation. "Sorry, I don't smoke," I said, as I passed her but I immediately stopped in my tracks. In front of me stood a short, thick man; his bald head shined a little in the dim yellow light, his clothes dingy and barely big enough to cover his body. When he started towards me I began stepping backwards. I quickly turned around and hastened my pace, almost jogging away but I heard them running after me.

I ducked into the tunnel under the bridge that spanned the park; there were a couple of lights out but it wasn't until I was half way down that I saw the outline of a woman in front of me. Her small figure, her unimposing posture with her hands in her jacket pockets as she casually walked towards me made me worry.

I glanced over my shoulder, seeing the two vagrants reaching the end of the tunnel. When I turned around I almost crashed into the woman; I barely had time to look at her, warning, "Don't go that way!" I tried to reach for her arm to pull her back out with me but she easily side stepped me.

Her cold voice didn't tell me, it commanded me, "Go home." As she passed, I watched her pull a hand from her pocket, flicking her wrist to extend an asp with the sound of metal sliding against metal. Her voice was harsh when she spoke to the approaching duo, "You're in the wrong territory, dogs."

The dirty punk girl let out a laugh, stopping a few feet in front of her along with the man. He spoke, his voice a growl, "Two for one, sounds like a good night to me."

I skid to a halt, my heart pounding. I was no match for either of them—I had never fought a day in my life aside from when Teddy would wrestle me as a kid and I always got my ass beat. I knew I should just get out of there but I couldn't leave that woman behind to get mugged, or worse, raped and killed. I pulled out my phone and dialed 911.

Before the call could connect, it was smacked out of my hand by the dirty punk girl. I looked up, shocked; she was growling at me and though she was half my size I was terrified—I backed away from her. I couldn't see the other two, I just heard what sounded like grunts and punches being thrown. I saw my phone on the ground and made a dive for it but slipped on the wet cement and smacked my head on the ground. Everything went black.

...

My head hurt when I came to. It was dark and humid out, I could hear and smell the cold rain as it hit the grass. My eyes were slow to open; I felt the world swaying below me but when they focused I realized I was laying down on the porch swing in front of Dad's house. I sat up a little and saw the woman sitting on the other end, slowly rocking the swing back and forth.

It was so dark I couldn't make out much of her face. Her skin seemed ghastly white, her hair was a mound of dark curls cascading past her shoulders. She sat calmly, with her hands in her pockets, looking out over the street.

"What happened?" I grumbled, not bothering to sit up anymore as I had a pounding headache.

She barely tilted her head towards me, glancing over from the side of her eyes, "You slipped and fell while walking home. I found you on the ground and managed to get you back here. I hope your ID is right because this was the address on it."

I closed my eyes—that wasn't right. "There were two people, a man and a woman," I struggled to remember over my aching head.

"There was no one else in the park," she said firmly. "You're lucky I found you or you'd still be there."

"I was being followed, there were two people." I slowly sat up, looking at her more carefully.

She got to her feet and looked down at me; her blue eyes almost glowed in the darkness, "There was no one else there. Take some aspirin and get some sleep, maybe you'll remember better in the morning."

As she started to move across the porch I said, "I don't know your name."

"No, you don't." In a matter of moments she walked down the sidewalk and disappeared.