Spoilers: Lady Heathers Box.
Disclaimers: I don't own them, they're just cohabiting in a corner of my mind space. I'm not even charging them rent.
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A waft of shampoo and the rustle of cloth tells me she has entered the room. Without looking up I tense and wait for the ritual of her words.
"That pink haired bitch gets out of jail tomorrow." The rest is left unsaid yet it's acid burns and echoes through us both. 'My daughter is still having nightmares and she's too scared of water to bathe alone, yet thanks to you, the bitch that left her to drown gets out tomorrow.'
I feel her watch me for any sign of reaction, but months of practice leaves my face blank and my body still. I hear her turn and leave, I wait long enough to ensure she really is gone, then the tears begin.
At first when she told me of Lindsay's nightmares I'd let her see me cry, I'd apologise until I was hoarse, promise her anything for her forgiveness, but I'd failed at that too. The only thing she ever asked for was the one thing I couldn't give her, Justice. Justice for her, for Lindsay and for Eddie.
For a while I tried to avoid her, came to work later and hid in obscure places. When I had to see her I made sure I had one of the guys there for protection. It didn't help, she'd still find a way to me. She found all my hiding places and if the guys were there she'd still comment on Lindsay's nightmares and I'd be forced to watch her accept their sympathy, their apologies and their suggestions in the way she would never accept mine. And if, somehow, I'd manage to avoid her all day, she'd fill my answering machine with her hatred and in my guilt I would listen to it all. I had spent years waiting for her to call, and now I wish to God she never had.
Until now. Today's message brings a change. Today is the last time she'll speak to me like that, the last time she'll have to ask for justice. I have a plan. The drug dealer has been out for a month, I know where he lives, and now the singer will be out too.
It would be easier if I knew which one had killed Eddie, knew which one to blame, but the evidence is still silent and the verdict unknown, so instead they will both have to pay, and I will be a murderer. Then I will have to pay and it will finally be over.
It's not exactly justice, but Cat I did my best.