I Fall Apart

Lin

           

The next morning I was inundated with phone calls, one after the other.  Before I knew it, it was past noon and I was starving.  I managed to step away from my phone for fifteen minutes to make myself a sandwich.  It felt good to have a few quiet moments to myself.  Almost as soon as I was finished, though, the phone started ringing again.  The caller ID said NYPD.  I panicked, immediately thinking of my family.  Had something happened?  I picked up immediately.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Miranda?"

"Yes, is there a problem?"

He sighed.  "Are you acquainted with a Miss Laura Thomas?"

"Yes, she's an ex-girlfriend," I said.  "Is everything okay?"

"I'm afraid not, Mr. Miranda," he said, and I sat down, feeling a horrible knot in my gut.  "Her husband found her dead in her home earlier this morning."

I opened my mouth to talk but nothing came out.

"Mr. Miranda, are you there?"

"Y-yeah," I stumbled.  "I'm sorry, can you repeat that?"

"Laura Thomas was found dead in her home this morning around 9 o'clock.  Drug overdose."

I sighed and rested my head in my hand.  She'd finally done it.  She'd finally gone too far.

"Are you sure it's her?" I asked stupidly.  Of course they were sure.

"Yes, her husband found her and identified her," he went on.

"Where is she now?" I asked.

"She's at the coroner's office.   They'll be doing an autopsy this afternoon."

I cleared my throat, feeling my heart pounding.  This was going to absolutely crush Nora.  She and her mother had a difficult relationship, but they were very close.  How the hell was I going to break this to her?

"Thank you for calling," I told him.  "I'll get in contact with her husband."

I hung up and just let my phone rest in my hand as I hung my head.  Laura had had a rough life and she didn't deserve this.  She was, of course, responsible for her own actions but I know she'd turned to drugs and alcohol because of all the difficulties in her life.  Should I have tried to help her more?  She was the mother of my child after all.

After a few minutes I dialed Vanessa's number and she picked up, cheery.

"Hey, V," I said, my voice obviously showing I was upset.

"What's wrong, Lin?"

"I just got a call from NYPD.  Laura's dead."

"What?!" She asked in surprise.

"Steve found her this morning around 9.  Drug overdose," I laid back on the couch and rubbed at my eyes.

"Oh my God," Vanessa said.  "How are we going to tell Nora?"

"I don't know," I said honestly.  "I don't know how to tell her.  Should I go pick her up from school?"

She sighed and I doubted she knew any better than I did on how to handle this.  "No, let her finish the school day.  She doesn't have anything after school today."

I nodded and rubbed at my forehead.  "This is going to crush her, V."

"I know," she said softly.  "But we're here for her."

"Yeah," I whispered, feeling myself tear up.

"Lin, I'm sorry.  I've gotta go," she told me.  "I've got a meeting.  Do you want me to come home early to be there when she gets home?"