Chelsea

Blood and Toothpaste

Ian Drake sits hunched over on a cell bed. This isn't where he'll be staying but until he goes on trial, he will have to stay here. He doesn't understand why they need a trial for something he obviously did. He just wants to get this over with. Despite his change of clothes and quick shower in the small bathroom he's been provided with, there is still blood under his fingernails. Hell, there's blood everywhere the shower couldn't reach except for his mouth which was currently screaming at him because of the horribly flavored toothpaste. He wasn't complaining though. He did something horrible and he deserved a lot more than crappy toothpaste if you asked him. Speaking of what he did, he doesn't know why he did it. He doesn't know why he let that voice win. He doesn't know why that voice was there in the first place. Why was it there again? He's afraid of never knowing that answer.

The trial is quick. Painful, but quick. He had never imagined having to look at his family and the five year old he just orphaned would be so damn hard because it makes him want to trade places with the Ross girl's parents. Oh, he wishes he could. But he can't, and never will.

When the trial is over Grace Ross stays in her nice outfit, there is another trial for custody although she doesn't understand why. Her mom and dad were alive somewhere right? Why was she being sent away to live with her aunt and uncle? It's not that she doesn't like them. She loves her Aunt Dina and her Uncle Richard, she just wonders why she can't live with her parents anymore. She's starting to miss her parents. Her dad always made vegetables taste good with magic, she wonders if Uncle Richard has magic too...

Her second trial of the day is fairly quick as well. Dina and Richard Rondhouse are well above income level (being dentists and all) and able to raise and support a child, they pass the background check with ease, and also happen to be the ones her parents named in the will should they pass away suddenly.

Later that night Grace is in the bathroom, brushing her teeth after an afternoon of setting up a makeshift room until the movers get her things. Aunt Dina walks in with a small box. "Hi Aunt Dina" Grace smiles, her mouth foaming at the brim with blue toothpaste. "Hi honey, I brought you a dental hygiene kit! I thought it would be a nice welcome present" replies the tall woman with a sad smile. Grace tilts her head in comfusion, wondering what a 'dent-all hyena' is. Aunt Dina gives a small laugh, "its for cleaning your mouth, silly". She bends down and tells Grace to 'open wide' as she applies a strong mint flavored toothpaste and starts to brush Grace's teeth. Grace squints and closes her mouth down hard on her Aunt Grace's index finger- Aunt Grace reeling back and clutching her finger. "Woah kiddo, calm down" she says, slightly laughing. Most kids at her office have this reaction to toothpaste this strong too. The next step is of course to floss, this will be the first time Grace is introduced to flossing seeing as she's five so this will be quite the awkward experience.

Grace has the taste of blood in her mouth from all the flossing, lying down in a comfortable bed with her aunt and uncle reading her a bedtime story with tears in their eyes. This isn't right. None of it is. Sylvia and Mathew should still be alive but they aren't, how are they supposed to explain that to Grace?

Penelope should, in theory, also be in bed having just brushed her teeth however this is not the case. She's in her closet, surrounded by stuffed animals as per usual. She can't exactly go outside because of all the police tape- not like she would want to anyways. There's only night out there now. She would rather be in her closet drawing pictures with old crayons she got last year- and still hasn't gone through yet. They were a birthday present from her dad. Speaking of her dad, Penelope misses him too. She draws him to pretend like he's there, along with her mom, herself, and an orange dog named Patrick she always imagined having. Maybe she would have an orange dog named Patrick one day- she sure hoped so. Her family just wouldn't be complete without him. Just as she finishes drawing Patrick, she dozes off to sleep thinking of the taste of mint toothpaste and blood from flossing in her mouth.