I sat there for a long while as my report was taken and filed. Knowing that Mother will never come to get me this late at night as I watch people being brought in and out. There was no way that I was going home as she was at the bar getting drunk. The only way back home would be to walk. If I was lucky with her being gone for most of the night.
"Ma'am," a voice called out.
"Yeah?" I replied, turning to a female officer.
"You're free to go," she smiled, but I didn't want to be at home with the possibility of the mother being there. So, I took in a breath and walked out towards the cool air. I was Lucky that James left me his hoodie, but still want to give it back to him. He seems nice, but it feels wrong for me to have it, so it seemed to be the best to give it back. I don't think he would mind that I used it to get home. But the hoodie had small details from being worn down over the years, but still vibrant as the school colors of maroon and white. The only thing that caught my eye was his football number that was stained a bit from the grass outside. It was strange to see all these stains from playing games and having fun over our years of high school.
The thought of being friends with him seemed dangerous with my mother being around. She always called me names and the beating for nothing I have done wrong messed with me. I'm afraid to make him a friend and then be scared off by her. I only had two friends in my lift, and I made sure that they never met her or let them know about the abuse.
As I walked around in the dark with lights of the street-lit my path home. But something felt off as I walked towards the train tracks again. The police were standing there with cameras and outlines of the bodies together. I wonder who such a thing would do to kill and dump the bodies when they are almost completely decomposed. There was nothing much with the bodies, but one of their heads was crushed by something. But I know that I couldn't look at the body to find out what happened. As I walked around outside with my thoughts, but the sound of footsteps came from behind me. I didn't pay any mind, but it made me feel unsettled.
"Tick…tock…" a voice called out from behind me. My heart stopped as I walked faster towards the bridge to go across the train tracks. The voice wasn't in my head, but it was right behind me as I heard them walk and breathe heavily. I didn't turn around as I walked to a group of houses in the distance, but I couldn't see my own. My house was falling apart with paint chipping and the windows were covered with wooden planks. We are lucky to even have a place to stay with power and heat, but mother didn't care. She was arrested many times over her getting drunk outside of town or annoying the locals.
I never thought that maybe after school I could leave, but I still cared about my mother in some form. She was awful towards me, but it would be a mistake to let her in. But home wasn't far as I heard the voice follow me. It kept saying tick…tock as I walked, but I still didn't turn around. As I came to the door that was chipped and covered with strange stains as I opened the door. Mother was passed out on the couch with bottles of beer around her. I was surprised how she didn't have alcohol poisoning, but she seemed to take it just fine.
But before I have gotten into the house as I turned towards the road. Seeing nothing but the mailbox is open. The idea of it being open made my skin shiver as a step towards it. I have gotten closer to the mailbox lid and looked inside at a piece of paper with the words "Your Next" on it. I didn't understand why someone would write this to me, but all I could do was go back inside lock my door and windows in my room. The feeling of fear and being alone was a lot for me to take, so I took it out on my wrist.
The pain was all I felt, but now I had a bit of light there. I wanted to figure out what I should do and how am I going to keep going. But there was one thing that had to be done. The killer had to be caught, but I didn't have jurisdiction to do so. The only thing I had was a note from someone. The only this was to keep it away from anyone else and try to figure it out myself.
My room was a mess and it seemed like mother went through it again. She was hunting for any sort of money I would have for her addiction to beer and whisky. The time was slowly becoming a day as I realized that she might wake up anytime soon. Picking up my room and forcing myself to leave the house was going to be hard. Knowing that she'll never leave the house, but only for her freedom and my pain. Waiting for the scream for me to leave the house or even the word slut. It never came as I hear crying as she woke up in the other room.
I wanted to see what was wrong, but it made me feel uneasy. Every step I have gotten closer to the room as she sat there as her eyes were lifeless. The creaking of the floor made her smile as she looked up at me. Acting like she won a lottery of some kind as she stood up. Fear ran into my heart as my feet stepped back away from her. She had something in mind, and it didn't seem good as a bottle was in her hand.
Turning back to and hoped that she would stop, but it didn't seem to happen. The feeling of fear felt like knives as they stabbed into my heart. The thought of a mother's love was forever gone in my eyes, but she saw me as nothing. The feeling of the hard ground was under me as I tripped to the ground. She was walking very slowly at me, a smile that I'll never forget. It was call and had no life inside anymore. The bottle she had in her hand raised up into the air. Trying to cover my face was all I could do, but it failed as she screamed and laughed.
Blood dripped down my arm as my hand was bleeding with no stop. She never cared about me, but I just sat there. Waiting for her to stop. When she did, it ended with her cussing slut at me. Her smile was pure evil as I have gotten up and grabbed James' hoodie and my school bag. I would rather wait for school to start than deal with her. The sky was still dark, and it made me feel uneasy as the note came to mind. "You Next" rang across my mind as I walked towards the school. But there was no way I was planning on letting my hand bleed all day. The only thing I had was a school shirt in my bag, but it would do for the day. I stayed at the school for hours, till school started at 8 A.M.