1. The Incident

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TW: includes descriptions of blood, mild cursing and the death/murder of a loved one

Jamie's feet thundered on the tiled floor as he chased after the man. He willed his body to keep going, trying to ignore the aching in his back. He lost sight of the figure as it rounded the corner merely 6 or 7 feet ahead of him. Jamie followed suit, whipping around the corner only seconds later, and scanned the bustling party room for the man. There! A man at the same height and build was making his way through the crowd. Jamie pursued, knocking people over as he pushed closer and closer to the man. Jamie reached out his arm, only inches away from his shoulder. He was so close.

Crash! The figure fell out of view as Jamie suddenly ran into someone and fell face-first into the ground. Jamie clutched his now aching head. The chattering and squealing that filled the dining room rattled around in his head at an impossibly loud volume.

"Jamie? Jamie oh my gosh I'm so sorry, are you okay?" a familiar voice spoke. When Jamie flipped onto his back to see the voice's owner, he had to shield his eyes from the piercingly bright fluorescent lights above him. His head was pounding, and he wasn't quite sure what was going on. "Oh gosh, you look horrible!" a girl in a strawberry-print button-down shirt peered down at him, concerned. Why can't I remember your name? We're friends right? It's something with an M? No wait, K?

"Holy sh*t, Kat, I think you killed him." That's it, Kathryn! A 17 year old boy wearing a graphic tee, stained black jeans, and a brown fleece-collared bomber jacket stood next to Kathryn, bending over to help Jamie stand up. "You alright there man? You look like you're gonna fall over again," Jason asked, staring at the small gash on Jamie's forehead that was now dripping blood down the side of his face.

"Wh- what?" Jamie asked, distracted by a thought that momentarily popped in his mind.

"I said, 'Are you okay?'" he repeated.

"Oh yeah, yeah," Jamie muttered.

"Jeez...what the hell happened?" Jason exclamed, eyes glued on Jamie's shirt.

"...what?" Jamie looked down. The bottom half of his shirt was soaked in blood. He started to regain his memory now, frantically looking towards the main entrance for the man he had been chasing, but by now he was long gone.

"I need to use the phone."

Jamie stepped inside the small phone booth and closed the glass door. The pouring rain echoed as it hit the top of the booth. As he reached for the phone he noticed that his hands were shaking. He took a deep breath, trying to push back the tears welling up inside of him. He had no clue how he was going to manage telling his mother the news. Jamie plunged his hand in his pocket and grabbed a couple nickels, dropping them one at a time through the slot at the top of the phone. He clumsily dialed the number and wrapped the coil wire around his fingers while he waited for the receiver.

Not long after, Jamie was greeted by a cheerful voice on the other end saying, "Hello, this is Nabila from Presidential Typewriters, how can I help you today?"

"M-mom....something bad happened," Jamie replied.

"Oh Jamie! What's wrong, is everyone okay?"

Jamie swallowed hard, preparing himself for the next part, "It's Emmy, I think she's...someone hurt her, listen I just need you to get here as soon as you can." Jamie hung up the phone before his mother could reply with more painfully difficult questions. He then rang up the nearby police station and returned inside.

• • •

"Kid, is there anyone your mother might've brushed the wrong way?" The officer paused, readjusting the cup of coffee in his hand, "Someone who might want to hurt her or her family? Perhaps an ex or a coworker?"

"No, not that I know of. My mom's a pretty sociable person, I can't see anyone hating her," Jamie responded. He had been sitting with the officer for the past ten minutes answering his questions. The typically loud dining room was now eerily quiet, accompanied only by the sound of shuffling feet down the hall where a group of officers were taping off the safe room.

The cop began speaking again, but was cut off by the main entrance doors bursting open as Jamie's mother rushed inside. "Jamie, what's going on, where's Emmy?" she asked, speaking rapidly.

Jamie hesitated and glanced at the hallway for a moment, but before he could say anything, she was making her way past the officers and into the safe room.

Jamie dragged himself down the hall after her, freezing as the horrific sound of his mother's shrill scream shattered the quiet. He hesitantly made his way forward as the sound transformed into a series of sobs. He found his mother kneeling in the pool of blood, desperately clinging to Emmy's jacket. In that moment, the optimistic and kind mother Jamie grew up with was gone, replaced by the terrified and completely heartbroken shell of a woman. He stood in the doorway and helplessly watched her unravel.

"Ma'am, I'm gonna need you to leave the room," a nearby officer spoke in an authoritative voice and began ushering the weeping woman out. As she got to the doorway, she collapsed into Jamie's arms. He hugged her, therapeutically rubbing circles on her back, and started to feel guilty for being so stoic about this. He knew boys weren't supposed to cry, but he thought that was appropriate for losing a sibling, the very person you play and grow up with. The person he told stories to and joked with. The person he put bandaids on, and that same person who brought him chocolate when their parents fought. The person he teased countless times but cared infinitely for. That person was gone, and yet he felt numb.

Jamie walked his mother back into the dining room where two more men stood, quietly conversing. One of them, the shorter, stockier man with bright orange hair and a matching beard, Jamie recognized as the manager of the restaurant, Mr. Emily. The other was a tall and slender, pale skinned man with dark hair. When the second man turned to look at Jamie and his mother, a chill went down Jamie's spine. Mr. Emily spoke first, "Ms. Karim, James, I am so sorry for your loss, please, if there's anything I can do..." he trailed off, not particularly sure what he could say to comfort them. He couldn't even begin to understand what they were going through, he only recently learned he was going to be a father, and those parental instincts hadn't kicked in yet.

Ms. Karim nodded her head, swiping away at the tears still streaming down her face. Jamie, staring at the taller man, remained silent. He had barely even heard a word Mr. Emily had said. He couldn't pay attention to that right now when the man who killed his sister was standing right in front of him, acting oblivious, acting like he cares.

Henry, seeing the expression on Jamie's face, continued, "Oh, right, I don't think you two have met yet. This is my business partner, William." He placed a hand on his coworker's shoulder, and elaborated, "He's been on paternity leave for a while, but came in to formally offer his condolences."

"Yes, what's happened to your daughter is just horrible, Ms. Karim," William spoke, giving Jamie a quick glance that made every muscle in the boy's body go tense. "and Henry and I will do anything we can to offer you any kind of support through such trying times."

By the time William finished his disgusting speech, Jamie stormed over to the police officer that questioned him earlier. The man was now getting ready to leave, but Jamie caught up to him and spoke with conviction, "That's him right there, William, he's the man I was chasing. He killed her."

"A-are you sure kid?"

"Absolutely."

"Alright, I'll check him out tomorrow morning. Why don't you take your mother home, she looks pretty shaken up."

"Check him out? That guy killed my sister! Aren't you going to arrest him?"

"Did you actually see him attack her?"

"...no, but he was in there, I know it was him. Why would an innocent man run away from a pool of blood?"

"I don't know, but that's exactly why I need to question him. Kid, don't worry about it too much, okay? Go get some rest." Before Jamie could protest, the officer turned around and walked outside into the pouring rain.

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A/N: I hope you are enjoying it so far! If it feels like you're missing some details, don't worry, the next chapter will fill you in ;)

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