Discombobulate

Chapter Three

"I thought you'd own a lot more." Andy looked at the boxes she helped Denise haul inside. A stream of sweat trickled down the side of her forehead.

"I never owned a lot of things. Most of the stuff from my old house was my mom and sister's stuff. I kept a few things and gave away most of it. The rest was put in the trash."

"You're not..." Andy hesitated.

"What?" Denise raised an eyebrow.

"You're not packing all of this down internally, right? All the grief and emotions about your family. You seem like you're trying to forget about it."

"I'm not trying to bury it, I'm trying to survive. One day, my life was completely fine. The next, the only two family members I have are gone. They were murdered in my own house. Wouldn't you try to run away from it too?"

Andy shrugged, "I guess I haven't thought about it. I don't want you to bury all of it internally. You have to work through all these complicated emotions and try to mo-"

"Why do you care so much?" Denise snapped. "You've been missing for years and suddenly you pop up out of the blue. Why are you back in Michigan? You ignored all my texts and phone calls for months. Why the change of heart on your part?"

"You're doing it," Andy pointed out.

"Doing what?" Denise crossed her arms.

"You're taking out your anger on other people. You're hiding away from the world! You will sit in this secluded cabin and rot if I leave you alone. We were friends for years, I know how you work."

"People change," Denise spoke through clenched teeth.

"Some people might, but you don't." Andy stepped in front of Denise to face her. "You still like McDonald's breakfast sandwiches. You always liked to wear your hair in a messy bun. You've had that specific pair of Timberland boots for five years, am I correct?"

"Yeah," Denise's shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Not to mention, you've always wanted to live in the middle of the woods and here you are. You were exactly like this when your dad died. Angry, locked away, and ready to explode at any moment. Who was the one that helped you get through that?"

"You," Denise mumbled.

"Exactly!" Andy nodded triumphantly. "Now as for me, I do owe you an apology. I'm sorry I ignored you for so long. It wasn't on purpose! I dropped my phone in the toilet. I never saved your number and I didn't have your address."

She wrapped Denise in a tight hug. "What I did was wrong and I'm genuinely sorry. I tried to get off work to see you and my idiotic boss wouldn't let me. I was at that office more than I was at my apartment."

Denise tried to blink back her tears. Instead, the large salty drops came rolling down her face. She wiggled out of Andy's grip to hug her back.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you and got pissed. I don't know how to describe it. I'm mad at myself for not being home. I'm mad at my neighbor for not hearing anything. I feel so lost. I'm walking around completely alone on Earth right now." Denise sniffled and pulled out of Andy's grip.

"Don't you dare blame yourself for this," Andy started. "We're going to figure out who killed your family. That's what we're going to do next."

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Denise questioned her friend.

"Are you kidding me? I'm calling the police department and complaining. I want answers! Your family deserves better and I'm curious. I'd be pissed if I was stabbed to death and the person who did it never went to jail."