Witness
by Peaches
A/N: Have I told you guys how much I love you? Y'all are so nice!!! Thanks for the reviews! Those of you who haven't... DO IT!!!
4. Mommy Dearest
The house was deathly quiet when I entered. I knew Ryan was gone, and mom was probably gone to bed. I didn't even bother turning any lights on as I found my way to my room.
Mom's bedroom door was slightly open when I passed it. A small strip of silvery moonlight escaped from the room. I decided to close it for her. I may have hated her sometimes, but at least I was considerate. Before closing it, I looked in. Mom was laying stomach down on her bed with her head facing the window. I sighed, knowing she had probably cried herself to sleep again.
I carefully closed the door and resumed the trek to my room. Changing into my worn flannel pyjama bottoms and an old tank top, I lay in bed for a long time before I finally found sleep.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I woke with a start at about 3 in the morning. The murky blackness of my room came into focus slowly as I gathered my bearings. What had woken me?
I gingerly stood and opened my door a crack to peak out into the hallway. I heard the front door shut and the unmistakable clomp of Ryan's boots on the stairs. Shutting the door as far as I could while still leaving a small crack to see through, I peered into the hallway with a perfect view of the bedroom my mother lay in. I saw him stand in a drunken stupor outside his room, looking at the closed door like some foreign object. I realized I hadn't heard mom get up once that night.
Holding my breath for some reason, I watched him go into the room. I had a feeling deep in the pit of my stomach that told me something was definitely wrong. I couldn't explain it, but I knew there was something peculiar about Ryan's actions. I heard a shuffling sound in the room. Scared for some odd reason, I closed my door softly and leaned against it. I didn't want to see what was happening anymore. Strangely, the bruise forming on the side of my face started to throb heavily and I had to see what was going on.
Waiting silently, I heard Ryan's footsteps exit the room, though somewhat slower then before. When I heard him walk down the stairs and hit the bottom landing, I opened my door and followed warily. I peeked around the railing at the top of the stairs and saw a clear view of the front door... but he wasn't there. I could hear his footsteps in the livingroom now, heading toward the kitchen. I cautiously made my way down the stairs, but only halfway. Where I sat on the stairs, I could see him in the kitchen, kneeling down next to the counter. I was cloaked in darkness when he stood and made his way out the back door quickly. I held my breath as I heard the back gate swing open, and I sat for a full 5 minutes before I decided he really was gone.
Curiosity being a disease in my family, I made my way into the kitchen to see what he had been doing. I was expecting what I thought was the worse... but what I found was a full 100 times more critical.
Her body was sprawled artificially on the kitchen floor next to the counter below the sink. Her head was twisted at a weird angle and her eyes stared blankly up at me in a ghostly gaze. My mother's beautiful hair, the raven locks I had inherited, and her heart shaped face were both coated with a sticky layer of half clotted blood. She was wearing the same clothes she had been wearing when I left the house earlier, her favourite jeans and a Hard Rock Café tee-shirt, which was also holding remnants of her blood.
I fell against the wall and sank to a sitting position. My mouth was agape in horror. My mother, the woman who had brought me into this world and raised me, was laying on the floor in front of me dead, and drenched in her own blood. I felt a ripping sick feeling in my stomach, but held it back desperately.
Finally, my brain restarted. 'Phone,' I thought, and crawled to the livingroom to get the cordless phone. I was barely thinking when I dialled 911.
"911," a woman's voice answered. "What is your emergency?"
"My... my mother," I choked out. "My mom is... is... I think she's dead..." It sounded so strange and foreign coming from my own mouth. I never thought I would ever have to say that.
"Miss? Can you tell me your address? Miss?" the woman said, her frantic voice cloaked with fake calm. "Miss, are you there? Can you tell me your name?"
"148 Third Street," I said, my brain hardly processing. "My name's Ashley... Ashley Spinelli." No matter how long I looked at her body, I couldn't bring myself to believe that it was my mother laying there.
"Ambulance and Police crews are on the way, Ashley. Is there anyone else I can contact for you?" The woman's voice was so full of concern, I had a hard time not crying.
"My... my dad," I croaked, feeling the tears well up in my throat. "My dad, Robert Spinelli. He's at 27 Harvester Road. His number is... it's 368-9784."
'Someone will be there shortly," she said. I could already hear sirens in the distance. The phone dropped from my ear. I swam in a soundless environment as the police and ambulance technicians came through the door. The police chief, Chief Lawson (yes, the one and only Lawson's father) someone I'd had a few encounters with, some good, some bad, was the first to find me curled up on the floor. After some persuasion, he coaxed me outdoors as I saw the white sheet go over my mother.
I don't know when dad got there, or even how long he and Vitto were standing with me before I realized they were there. My brother hugged me for the longest time, the first real contact we'd had since the last time we beat each other up when I was 10. My father stood in disbelief and shock as the police attempted to question me. I think it was Mrs Detwhieler who ended up telling them I was in no state to be questioned. She covered me with a blanket and hugged me as well.
I heard TJ's voice above everyone else. I don't know what he was saying, but I know it was the clear ring of his voice that brought me back to reality.
"Spin, are you okay? " I heard him ask. He was standing in front of me in his boxers and a jean jacket, shivering with the bite of the early fall night. I couldn't find and words to express the fact that no, I was not alright. I had just found my mother laying dead on the kitchen floor, of course I wasn't alright!
"I understand that, Lauren," I could hear Officer Lawson saying with frustration to Mrs Detwhieler. "But I need to get some information as to what Miss Spinelli saw. She is the only credible witness to a crime..."
"That girl has been through enough tonight!" Lauren was saying with anger. "Do you want to traumatize her any more?"
Before I could hear what Officer Lawson replied, I felt a pair of arms wrap around me. I sank into the hug gratefully, not having a clue who it was. I only realized it was TJ when he was pulled aside by another officer to be question. I looked at him pleadingly.
"How close are you to the witness?" the cop asked.
"I'm her best friend," he said, not taking his eyes off me.
"Just friends?" the cop asked. TJ smirked.
"What, I'm friends with a girl and I'm automatically screwing her? Is that it?"
"Just answer the question, boy," the officer growled.
"Yeah, we're just friends," TJ muttered.
"When did you last see the witness?" the cop asked.
That was the last thing I heard from that conversation. My father was talking to one of the ambulance drivers next to me.
"Why would you bring Ashley to the hospital?" he was asking.
"We're afraid she may go into shock, Mr Spinelli," the driver explained. "It's called Post Traumatic Stress. It's not uncommon for people in her situation." My father nodded.
"I'm allowed to travel with her, yes?"
"Of course you can," the driver said. "You or your son."
"I will," my dad said. "Vitto, you can take the car and meet us there, alright?" Vitto nodded and took the car keys. He gave me another hug before they made me climb into the ambulance.
I swear that somewhere in the darkness of my own imagination, I could hear Ryan laughing.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
by Peaches
A/N: Have I told you guys how much I love you? Y'all are so nice!!! Thanks for the reviews! Those of you who haven't... DO IT!!!
4. Mommy Dearest
The house was deathly quiet when I entered. I knew Ryan was gone, and mom was probably gone to bed. I didn't even bother turning any lights on as I found my way to my room.
Mom's bedroom door was slightly open when I passed it. A small strip of silvery moonlight escaped from the room. I decided to close it for her. I may have hated her sometimes, but at least I was considerate. Before closing it, I looked in. Mom was laying stomach down on her bed with her head facing the window. I sighed, knowing she had probably cried herself to sleep again.
I carefully closed the door and resumed the trek to my room. Changing into my worn flannel pyjama bottoms and an old tank top, I lay in bed for a long time before I finally found sleep.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I woke with a start at about 3 in the morning. The murky blackness of my room came into focus slowly as I gathered my bearings. What had woken me?
I gingerly stood and opened my door a crack to peak out into the hallway. I heard the front door shut and the unmistakable clomp of Ryan's boots on the stairs. Shutting the door as far as I could while still leaving a small crack to see through, I peered into the hallway with a perfect view of the bedroom my mother lay in. I saw him stand in a drunken stupor outside his room, looking at the closed door like some foreign object. I realized I hadn't heard mom get up once that night.
Holding my breath for some reason, I watched him go into the room. I had a feeling deep in the pit of my stomach that told me something was definitely wrong. I couldn't explain it, but I knew there was something peculiar about Ryan's actions. I heard a shuffling sound in the room. Scared for some odd reason, I closed my door softly and leaned against it. I didn't want to see what was happening anymore. Strangely, the bruise forming on the side of my face started to throb heavily and I had to see what was going on.
Waiting silently, I heard Ryan's footsteps exit the room, though somewhat slower then before. When I heard him walk down the stairs and hit the bottom landing, I opened my door and followed warily. I peeked around the railing at the top of the stairs and saw a clear view of the front door... but he wasn't there. I could hear his footsteps in the livingroom now, heading toward the kitchen. I cautiously made my way down the stairs, but only halfway. Where I sat on the stairs, I could see him in the kitchen, kneeling down next to the counter. I was cloaked in darkness when he stood and made his way out the back door quickly. I held my breath as I heard the back gate swing open, and I sat for a full 5 minutes before I decided he really was gone.
Curiosity being a disease in my family, I made my way into the kitchen to see what he had been doing. I was expecting what I thought was the worse... but what I found was a full 100 times more critical.
Her body was sprawled artificially on the kitchen floor next to the counter below the sink. Her head was twisted at a weird angle and her eyes stared blankly up at me in a ghostly gaze. My mother's beautiful hair, the raven locks I had inherited, and her heart shaped face were both coated with a sticky layer of half clotted blood. She was wearing the same clothes she had been wearing when I left the house earlier, her favourite jeans and a Hard Rock Café tee-shirt, which was also holding remnants of her blood.
I fell against the wall and sank to a sitting position. My mouth was agape in horror. My mother, the woman who had brought me into this world and raised me, was laying on the floor in front of me dead, and drenched in her own blood. I felt a ripping sick feeling in my stomach, but held it back desperately.
Finally, my brain restarted. 'Phone,' I thought, and crawled to the livingroom to get the cordless phone. I was barely thinking when I dialled 911.
"911," a woman's voice answered. "What is your emergency?"
"My... my mother," I choked out. "My mom is... is... I think she's dead..." It sounded so strange and foreign coming from my own mouth. I never thought I would ever have to say that.
"Miss? Can you tell me your address? Miss?" the woman said, her frantic voice cloaked with fake calm. "Miss, are you there? Can you tell me your name?"
"148 Third Street," I said, my brain hardly processing. "My name's Ashley... Ashley Spinelli." No matter how long I looked at her body, I couldn't bring myself to believe that it was my mother laying there.
"Ambulance and Police crews are on the way, Ashley. Is there anyone else I can contact for you?" The woman's voice was so full of concern, I had a hard time not crying.
"My... my dad," I croaked, feeling the tears well up in my throat. "My dad, Robert Spinelli. He's at 27 Harvester Road. His number is... it's 368-9784."
'Someone will be there shortly," she said. I could already hear sirens in the distance. The phone dropped from my ear. I swam in a soundless environment as the police and ambulance technicians came through the door. The police chief, Chief Lawson (yes, the one and only Lawson's father) someone I'd had a few encounters with, some good, some bad, was the first to find me curled up on the floor. After some persuasion, he coaxed me outdoors as I saw the white sheet go over my mother.
I don't know when dad got there, or even how long he and Vitto were standing with me before I realized they were there. My brother hugged me for the longest time, the first real contact we'd had since the last time we beat each other up when I was 10. My father stood in disbelief and shock as the police attempted to question me. I think it was Mrs Detwhieler who ended up telling them I was in no state to be questioned. She covered me with a blanket and hugged me as well.
I heard TJ's voice above everyone else. I don't know what he was saying, but I know it was the clear ring of his voice that brought me back to reality.
"Spin, are you okay? " I heard him ask. He was standing in front of me in his boxers and a jean jacket, shivering with the bite of the early fall night. I couldn't find and words to express the fact that no, I was not alright. I had just found my mother laying dead on the kitchen floor, of course I wasn't alright!
"I understand that, Lauren," I could hear Officer Lawson saying with frustration to Mrs Detwhieler. "But I need to get some information as to what Miss Spinelli saw. She is the only credible witness to a crime..."
"That girl has been through enough tonight!" Lauren was saying with anger. "Do you want to traumatize her any more?"
Before I could hear what Officer Lawson replied, I felt a pair of arms wrap around me. I sank into the hug gratefully, not having a clue who it was. I only realized it was TJ when he was pulled aside by another officer to be question. I looked at him pleadingly.
"How close are you to the witness?" the cop asked.
"I'm her best friend," he said, not taking his eyes off me.
"Just friends?" the cop asked. TJ smirked.
"What, I'm friends with a girl and I'm automatically screwing her? Is that it?"
"Just answer the question, boy," the officer growled.
"Yeah, we're just friends," TJ muttered.
"When did you last see the witness?" the cop asked.
That was the last thing I heard from that conversation. My father was talking to one of the ambulance drivers next to me.
"Why would you bring Ashley to the hospital?" he was asking.
"We're afraid she may go into shock, Mr Spinelli," the driver explained. "It's called Post Traumatic Stress. It's not uncommon for people in her situation." My father nodded.
"I'm allowed to travel with her, yes?"
"Of course you can," the driver said. "You or your son."
"I will," my dad said. "Vitto, you can take the car and meet us there, alright?" Vitto nodded and took the car keys. He gave me another hug before they made me climb into the ambulance.
I swear that somewhere in the darkness of my own imagination, I could hear Ryan laughing.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~