A Hard Lesson

Part 7

I got startled by the sound of the footsteps behind the door, but when I learned that they belonged Brendon, I relaxed a bit. He had been gone for more than half an hour and it made me wonder, what did they really wish to hear from him? I mean, it was an accident... No matter how much I cared about Erin, it still was just an accident.

"Hey, Ruby," Mr. Urie greeted me as soon as he came into the office, "How are you doing?"

I shook my head, I was still quite scared. I had never talked to the police... Like never! I wasn't the trouble maker, my bother was, but even he never got in this kind of trouble.

He closed the door and came closer. I was siting by the table, pulling on the strap of my bag nervously. I didn't even notice how I had chipped my fingernails in the process. My nerves felt so tense that it hurt.

Mr. Urie seemed to notice it, because he knelt in front of me and touched my hands. I glanced at him, but my eyes didn't seem to acknowledge his presence, since my mind was very far away from the place where my body was.

"Calm down." He spoke with a soothing voice as he struggled to get my bag away from me. When he finally succeeded he tossed it on the floor and took my hands in his. "Ruby," His voice felt distant, even if he was sitting in front of me. "Ruby, for God's sake, look at me!" Suddenly he became demanding and I forced myself to look at him. "Good. Now, how are you doing?"

I opened my mouth, but I had nothing to say to him at first. However, he did not try to rush me. Instead he staid still, waiting for my response patiently.

"I am scared..." I whispered eventually.

"Your reaction is irrational, you did not do anything wrong." Brendon spoke calmly and confidently as usually.

"But what if I did?" I tried to argue him.

"Did you know that Erin might die?" Even though his question did give a sense of intolerance, it was in place.

"No." I replied to him, and I felt certain about this answer.

"Then why are you afraid?"

"I don't know." I admitted, "I don't really remember everything. Do you know what exactly happened? Because I remember that how she collapsed and then I found myself in the hospital."

Mr. Urie averted my gaze. He looked at the floor, biting his lower lip, as if he was hiding something.

"Why do you need to know? It will cause only affliction." he finally spoke again, while standing up; he went to his table, where he opened one of the cupboard and took the bottle of water out of it.

"I..." it felt almost cautious, but the words just rolled out of my mouth by themselves. "I just need to know."

He opened the bottle as I spoke, and then looked directly at me. I don't know, but there was something quizzical about his gaze... No, he did not smile, and it didn't feel like he was about to tell a joke, but for some reason I had a feeling that my request amused him.

"Okay..." he spoke as he got a glass from the same cupboard and filled it with water. He gave it to me and filled another one for himself. "I had to perform CPR, since her heart had stopped." Brendon spoke quietly, but his voice was calm. "It took a lot more time, when it should. I think that she recovered only after two or three minutes."

"She recovered?" I asked him nervously.

Brendon nodded. He then put the bottle away and sat in the large chair, which stood across from me, and was most definitely meant for the owner of the office.