So Long Ago
Ch.5- Good-bye my friend
June 24, 1983
After that day, came more fights, more hospital trips, and more talks with Detective Mann. Sara found herself drifting away from both parents even more, not wanting to be involved in the fights.
She looked for comfort in the only places she could: at school, with Ms. Lamont, Ryan and Katie; and within Willy.
Surprisingly, the next year and a half went by fairly quickly, and Sara found herself stuck at home after finishing the seventh grade.
She woke this particular morning, with a jolt in her stomach. Today happened to be her 14th birthday. She smiled at how far she was already in life, and what she had accomplished.
Usually she would be the first one up and about, but today she allowed herself to get lost in her thoughts. Willy decided to curl up against her, wishing her a happy birthday.
"Have I told you how much you mean to me?" She asked him. He purred.
"You mean the world to me."
A door down the hall closed and Sara realized how much time had passed.
"C'mon Willy, let's go outside." Sara changed in lightning speed and opened her bedroom door. Willy followed her out.
Though the day was young, the sun beat down hard on them. Sara walked down the driveway to the mail box. Inside, was a package addressed to her. She stared at it for a second before seeing the return name: Ryan and Katie Hammond.
Excitedly, she ran to the backyard where she had set up a chair under their great oak tree. Very carefully she opened the brown wrapping and took out a small notebook and a model bug, with it's parts labeled. Enclosed also was a note and a birthday card. She read the note.
Hey Sara!
We didn't want to wait until school to give you a present, so here it is. The journal is for your deep thoughts and the bug is there just because Ryan is weird and obsessed. Have a happy, happy, birthday!
Ryan and Katie
Sara decided to take the things inside to her room. Once inside, she was startled by loud voices. She couldn't make out what was being said, but a moment later, the front door slammed shut and their loud Chevy truck started. She heard it rear back then abruptly stop. She didn't move.
The truck door opened and she heard her dad curse loudly. Sara moved to her window overlooking the driveway. She saw her mother emerge from the house and proceeded to the rear of the truck that Sara couldn't see. She felt a presentiment in the pit of her stomach, but couldn't bring herself to move anywhere.
Nervously, she glanced around her room, but was not hopeful. She knew that in her haste Willy had not followed her inside. Sara took a deep breath and walked outside with wobbly legs. When she exited her house, her parents both looked at her. Her mother never looked so sad, and her father never looked so guilty and sorry.
Her parents stood in silence as they watched their daughter walk around the truck. There came no scream, there came no cry. From Sara's position she could only see a single black paw, stuck at an odd angle.
Her dearest friend was dead, killed by a father she never loved, on her fourteenth birthday. How ironic life was.