I Remember It Like It Was Yesterday
"Tell them Sara. Tell them all where you come from. From a Druggie Daddy and an Alchie Mommy. Tell them how you testified against me. How you sent me to prison. Tell all your cop friends that your Mother is a murderer."
Silence reigned for a moment. Everyone was too shocked to speak. Then Sara sucked in a deep breath. You killed him when I was thirteen; you stabbed Dad in the chest sixteen times with your favorite knife. You were supposed to be in jail for life."
Laura laughed, "Twenty-five to life, Sara. I was paroled for good behavior. I thought I would look up my darling little girl." The woman's voice took on a lilting, saccharinely sweet tone and Sara flinched. "Aren't you going to ask me how I've been, Sara?"
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Catherine had heard enough. "That's it. Call Security." Another voice spoke up, "That won't be necessary." Sofia stepped forward, "You're trespassing on Government Property. I'll show you to the door or a cell, your choice." Laura laughed, "I'll take the door." She brushed past them and patted Sara's cheek. Sara jerked away, as if scalded. "I'll see you around, Sara." She walked out of the room. Sofia shot a look to Warrick, Nick and Greg, "Make sure she leaves." She didn't have to tell them twice.
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Sara couldn't breathe. Her vision was going gray. Her mother was out of prison. Her mother was in Vegas. They all knew. They all knew. She felt her knees shaking beneath her. Strong arms held her on her feet. "Deep breaths, Sara. Let's get you sat down." She found herself being placed on the couch and being handed a cup of water.
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Catherine kneeled down in front of her. "Sara? Sara, are you okay?" Sofia took her hand, "Sara, Sweetheart, talk to us."
Kneeling, her weight back on her heels, Catherine cursed Laura Sidle. She damned her to the hottest part of Hell. Sara was not responding, she was shattered and Catherine had no idea how to put her back together again. But she had a good idea who might. She stood. "Sara, I'll be right back." She looked at Sofia. "Stay with her." The blonde detective nodded. Catherine knew that the order was moot, wild horses probably couldn't have dragged Sofia away from Sara now.
Catherine all but ran to Grissom's office. Not to get the man. Heaven forbid Gilbert Grissom try to feel his way around this emotional hurricane. No, she threw open his door, scaring all of his creepy-crawlies in the process and hit the light. Gil was at a conference in Topeka, Kansas, but his files were not. It took a few minutes to actually find Sara's personal file in the pit that Grissom considered a filing cabinet, but she found it. She opened the file and flipped to the page she needed, Sara's emergency contact information.
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Sofia wanted to take Sara in her arms and not let go. She wanted to protect her from the world, and especially from the monster that was her mother. She did not, though. She sat there, holding on to Sara's limp hand, not saying a word. She was a coward.
Sofia almost jumped when Sara started speaking again.
"I remember it like it was yesterday. My childhood wasn't exactly happy. I never realized that anything was wrong though. I thought every family had screaming matches and fist fights. It never occurred to me that lying to a doctor in the ER was wrong. If I was bad, they smacked me around. If there was a choice between beer and food, my parents stayed drunk and I went hungry. It was just how things were.
October 1977
Tamales BayShe hadn't meant to make them mad. The smells in the kitchen had made her sick, though. She had thrown up all over the living room carpet. Her tummy and head hurt and she started to cry. She'd run into their bedroom, looking for her Mommy. Her Daddy was aying on the bed and when she came in he started to yell.
"LAURA GET THIS GOD DAMN BRAT OUTTA MY HAIR! OH FOR FUCKS SAKE SHE UPCHUCKED FUCKING EVERYWHERE!"
Her Mommy came in and Sara ran to her. She threw her arms around the woman's legs, crying. Instead of a hug, she got a hard slap that sent her sprawling to the floor. "STOP CRYING AND CLEAN UP YOUR DAMN MESS!"
The bad kitchen smell started to come into the bedroom and her Daddy sat up. "YOU FUCKING WHORE, YOU'RE BURNING OUR SHIT!" They both ran into the kitchen, her mess momentarily forgotten and they screamed for a while. The smell got stinkier and it made her head hurt even worse. Tired now, she went to the hallway and went to her 'Naughty' closet. She pulled on a cleaner shirt and wiped her mouth and hair off and threw the smelly shirt she'd gotten dirty in the corner. She curled up in a ball on the little foam mattress in the corner and slept.
Someone, probably her Daddy, had closed the door while she was asleep, because when she woke up it was dark and she couldn't get out. She stayed in the closet for three days before they remembered her that time.
Sara looked up, her eyes shadowed, "That was my life. I was five or so. I think."
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Sofia covered her mouth with her free hand and squeezed Sara's tight with the other.
Author's Note: Sigh There aren't enough words to convey how much I dislike Laura Sidle. It's rare that I truely hate one of my own charecters, even the psychopath killers. I hate writing her, I hate reading what I wrote for her. I hate using language like she uses. Ugh.
On an equally ugh note, the smells that were making Sara sick, were fumes from a kitchen meth lab, which are quite dangerous and even deadly. Gotta love those Sidles.