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Chapter Twenty Four: Questioning The Murderer
She thought she was ready to hear it. She had readied herself in the bathroom, looking herself in the mirror, studying her features. You can do this. Susan had all the bravery in the world in her small body… In till she opened the door.
Every feeling in her was stripped from her body expect for pity. The boy in front of her was hooked up with noisy machines, a plastic mask clamped on his face, sucking at his features like a leech. He used to be handsome but not anymore. The emotions in his gray-green eyes overwhelmed her. None of them were happy.
Susan struggled to put on her smile, the one she had practiced in the mirror. She knew how awkward she looked.
"Cody Jackson?" she asked weakly, the name wasn't bringing up the bitterness anymore. Her first confrontation with name was anything but pity. Nathan, Melissa's best friend had said that it was all this 'Jackson' guy's fault. He had put him out to be an easy hate-able person. This was… Not the person she expected.
"That's me," a soft voice. Broken. Like someone had pressed the play button on him too many times and he was starting to wear thin.
"I was…Uh… Coming to ask you something," Susan admitted, feeling suddenly ashamed. What are you doing? Bugging a sick kid for questions about your daughter?
"What?" It was a sad voice, like he knew this was coming… And he dreaded it.
"I was hoping to, uh, ask you about my daughter. All the err, survivors told me you could tell me about her." She felt dirty, cruel. Like she was kicking a baby. You have a right to know, he shouldn't be acting like this if he didn't have anything to hide! Ask!
"What do you want to know?" He asked, making his way back to his hospital bed. She didn't linger on why he wasn't in his bed.
"What happened." It was simple; she just needed to rip her heart out. She could do this.
He hung his head, as if expecting to be scolded for something. "It's a long story. You might want to sit down."
"I'll stand." She felt like that was the only thing she had control over.
"Well," He looked all over, anywhere but her face. "I don't really know where to start."
She couldn't take it anymore! "Just tell me how my daughter died!"
He looked a little surprised by her outburst but who could blame him? She had flipped out over a simple statement. Calm down. Calm down!
"She, uh, jumped off a cliff," It was quiet. Almost inaudible. But she had heard it loud and clear.
"What?" She wanted to hear it again.
"She committed suicide." Jackson hated the way it tasted in his mouth. It sounded as if she had done some kind of a crime, like stealing. Like she should be grounded for her actions. Too bad there's nothing to ground.
"H-how could t-this hap-happen?" Susan stuttered. Not Melissa! Not her! Anybody but her! She closed her eyes, seeing her bright eyes full of happiness. No! She wouldn't take her own life! "Not my daughter!"