The first thing Liam noticed when he woke up was that it had stopped raining on him for some reason. The second thing he noticed was the fact that he was actually awake. He lurched upwards into a sitting position upon the realization but wished he hadn't once he saw that there were five or six people milling around the area, one of whom was crouched right next to him.

"Woah, woah. Calm down. We're here to help," the person next to him, a paramedic by the looks of him, said. Not one to normally calm down when in the presence of people, he broke into a sweat despite the fact that he was still quite cold. He looked around, trying to get a sense of the situation. He definitely wasn't lying down where he'd fallen. Instead, he was outside again. There was an ambulance parked several feet away, casting a bright light on the area with its headlights, and several of the customers from inside had come out to take a look. The paramedics were trying to keep the crowd back, away from the scene, though. There were fewer than Liam had remembered there being. Then again, it was close to closing time. Many had probably left.

"Wh- what's going on? Is the child ok?" he asked, gleaning a grim look from the paramedic. That didn't bode well. "What happened?"

"Well… alright would be a bit of an overstatement. In fact, saying that she's alive would be quite a bit of an overstatement," came the reply. Liam froze up at the statement. Had he been too late?

"How…" Liam didn't even have the ability to finish the question by that point.

"We're guessing it was from the four or five stab wounds we found on her. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that would you?" the paramedic said, making Liam's blood run cold.

"N- no. I found her lying on the ground over near the dumpster. I didn't know she was dead, so I tried to bring her in. I mean, I could tell she wasn't breathing, but I thought there was time to save her. It was too dark to-" Liam's rambling was cut off by the paramedic.

"Don't worry. Your coworkers have assured us of your alibi. There shouldn't be much reason for the police to suspect you when they come," he assured Liam, who then nodded resigned to the fact that they would have to wait for the police to arrive. He knew that he would probably be the first person that the police questioned. Looking around him, he saw that the girl had been moved and placed on a stretcher. He himself was covered in a soft blanket and was significantly drier than when he'd been outside, which was good. Liam was probably lucky to not have gotten hypothermia or frostbite or something. Still, he was somewhat upset by the fact that he hadn't been able to do anything to help. The paramedic he talked to noticed his mood. "Hey, there's really nothing you could've done. She's been dead for hours. The wounds are clean, so she must've been out in the rain for a bit. In fact you probably helped. If you hadn't found her, then who knows how long it would've taken for someone else to do the same."

That didn't do much to help his mood, but he did latch onto a particular detail. "Her?"

"Yea. The kid you found was a girl. Probably about ten years old. Why? Did you know her?" the paramedic asked.

"I don't know…" he wondered if it would be rude to ask if he could see her.

"I can show you if you want. Identifying her as early as possible would be key," the paramedic got up and motioned to the stretcher.

"S-sure, I guess," Liam's tone remained quiet through the whole conversation. He got up and followed the paramedic's motion, but he couldn't see the girl. A sheet of some sort covered the body. The paramedic drew the sheet back, exposing the girl's face and upper body. It was the first time that day that he'd actually seen her clearly.

"Are you ok? You're a bit green," the paramedic placed a steadying hand on Liam's shoulder.

"I know her… oh god… we left her outside…" Liam was having trouble articulating himself. The girl's name was Mary, a homeless girl that the employees often let into the restaurant. They hadn't that day because of a birthday party. Alive, she had always been bright and bubbly despite living on the streets at such a young age. Now, her expression was blank, her green eyes empty and glassy. Several of the cuts made on her body were visible, a nauseating sight even with the blood washed away by the harsh rain. She didn't even look like her anymore.

"What do you mean? Explain everything you know,"

Liam took a deep breath. "Her name is Mary… she lived nearby… but I don't think she had a family… we'd let her in sometimes, but not tonight because of the party." he managed to get out the words, trying to keep the contents of his stomach where they belonged. Looking at the ground helped a bit. He wouldn't have to see what had happened to her.

"Well, at least we have a name now. Here, I'll cover her again," the paramedic drew the sheet back over Mary, and Liam chanced a look around again. The sight of Mary's lifeless body was gone, but the image remained in his head. He couldn't stop thinking about how he could've prevented this. Liam could've tried to tell the others to let her in. Deep inside, he knew he never would've done that though. He was always too scared to go against what the others decided.

"What's going to happen?" Liam asked.

"Well, the police are going to want to talk to you. Other than that, you don't need to worry about anything. We'll try to locate her family if she has any, but that's really all," the paramedic explained. He had a slightly apologetic tone, as if that wasn't everything, but he didn't want to worry Liam.

Liam nodded. "Ok…" he wasn't sure if he was allowed to wait inside, so he merely stood there awkwardly, pulling his blanket more tightly around himself. It was the most warmth he could get considering the circumstances. Slowly, more people came out of the diner, curious as to what was going on. Liam looked up to see that it was dark inside for some reason. That was also probably a part of why they were all coming out. It was much lighter and probably wouldn't be colder for long. He took another deep breath and backed into the shadows. This was going to be a very long night.