Rescue me

15

Morning came much too quickly, and I woke up alone. I sat up, stretching and rubbing the sleep from my eyes, still not ready to leave the bed. I sat up against the headboard, trying to force myself to get up when Eddie came back.

“Morning beautiful, you sleep ok?” he asked, sitting down next to me on the bed. He must have been up for a while already, he was dressed in black jeans and a white tank top and carrying his jacket in one hand and a coffee in the other.

“Better than I have in a while, thank you. Are you heading out?” I asked, scooting closer to him, wrapping my arms around his waist, taking in his warmth. 

“Yea, gotta get back to work. Missed a few days already. You gonna be ok here?” he asked, arms across my shoulders, kissing my forehead.

“I should be. I have to find a way to get my car, talk to dad about getting my things from the store. Not sure if it’s still a crime scene or not.” I said, a sigh leaving my body.

“Well, I can drop you off by Hop before I get to work if you want?” Eddie said, moving my hair behind my ear.

“That would actually be great, thank you.” I said, giving him a quick peck on the lips and getting up to get dressed. I settled on keeping Eddie’s shirt on and slipping on some leggings, sliding on a pair of sneakers. I threw my hair into a messy bun and walked into the kitchen, grabbing a travel mug of coffee and following Eddie to his van.

“You look beautiful today babe.” Eddie said, taking the hand he was holding and bringing it to his lips. I felt my whole face flush, still not used to the compliments.

“Thank you Eds, you look pretty good today too.” I said back, sipping my coffee and looking over my cup at him. Eddie took his eyes off the road for just a second to look at me, that beautiful smile finding his face. We pulled up in front of the Sheriff's station and I could see my dad through his office window talking to Joyce.

“Well, here we are love. I work until 5, but if you need anything before that, just call or come down, ok?” Eddie said making sure I knew he was still accessible if I needed him.

“Of course Eds, I should be ok though. Have fun at work.” I said, leaning over to kiss him.

“Hmm, only if I can have more of that when I get home.” Eddie said, smiling.

“Of course you can honey. Now go or you’ll be late.” I said, getting out and closing the door. I waved as he pulled away, already feeling a bit alone. I walked in and waved at Mary, Dad’s secretary and she waved me in. I knocked a bit and opened the door a little, making sure it was ok to come in.

“Hey squish.” Dad said as he got up to hug me. “What brings you down here? Eddie with you?”

“I wanted to know if you still had my spare car key. Mine’s in my purse, still at the store and I want to get my car. Eddie dropped me off before work.” I said. Joyce stood up and pulled me into a hug once she saw me.

“How are you sweetie? Are you feeling ok? I know those are kinda loaded questions, I’ve just been worried sick.” Joyce said, letting me go but looking me over.

“I’m ok ma, I’m feeling better today. How’re the kids?” I asked, sitting down with her. I started calling her ma long before her and my dad started dating. She was the group mother to the littles, which I babysat for frequently. She was like another mom to me and never minded that I called her that.

“Oh they’re great. Jonathan’s back at the paper, Will is going into his junior year this year and El, well she’s El.” Joyce replied with a laugh.

“That’s great ma. Can’t believe those kiddos are going to be juniors already. Seems like just yesterday I was babysitting. I think I should visit them soon. I do miss them.”

“Oh they would love that! They miss you so much.” She said, patting my hand.

“Well squish, I do have your spare, but it’s at home. The store isn’t a crime scene anymore, so if you want to grab your things, you can do that.” Dad said, leaning over his desk.

“Yeah, I should. Will you come with me?” I asked him. I was terrified to go alone. Not only because of what happened to me, but because of Kyle. I still felt so much guilt for his death, no matter how many people told me it wasn’t my fault.

“Of course squish, let’s go and get this over with.” he said, standing up and following me out, Joyce not far behind. It wasn’t that far of a walk, and once we got there we noticed someone was in there. I stepped in quietly, not wanting to startle whoever it was. When they stood up and turned, tears filled my eyes.