Kat watched as the lamp posts on the sidewalk passed, Natalya's car going through the city. Every one passed as the sisters got closer and closer to their brother's house. Closer and closer to where it happened.
"Do you think we should... I don't know... clean up the area?" Kat asked, breaking the silence. Natalya watched the road in front of her, her face unbroken. Her deep thought face. Or just her neutral face. Kat couldn't tell. "Do you think you'll be okay going up there again?" Natalya asked, eyes not breaking from the road.
Kat pondered this idea. "No." The car returned to silence. The next few minutes passed slower then they should have, though they were still passing. They were still getting closer to Ivan's house. They were going to make it there, whether Kat liked it or not. "Do you still have his house key?" Natalya asked, breaking the silence again. Kat reached into her pocket, struggling with the space limitations. "I'm going to do this. You've gone through enough today." Natalya said, taking the key from her sister.
Kat wasn't about to argue. She definitely didn't want to, though it had to be done. The car had also just turned on Ivan's street.
Kat watched the house get closer, her heart beat rising. 'Only anxiety...' she assured herself 'I can do this...' The car stopped behind Kat's. A few feet from where the ambulance had been parked. "I'll only be a few minutes." Natalya said, getting out of the car. 'A few minutes... what's she me-'
She watched Natalya venture into the house. Kat simply looked in aw. Had she really just done that? Gone in to see where her brother nearly died? Kat thought about the scene again: Ivan laying there, a pool of water and blood. Glass everywhere. She had to stop herself before she started crying again.
A minute passed. Or at least 10:57 became 10:58. Kat had already gotten lost in her thoughts and forgotten how long Natalya had been in there.
The time was 10:59 for a bit before Natalya came back out, locking the door behind her and hurrying to her driver's seat. Kat looked at her awkwardly for a few seconds, awaiting a reaction. There was nothing but silence between them.
The time became 11:01.
"I had to check if anyone had broken in." Natalya started. "Either just for items or for a place to sleep. Naturally I had to check all the rooms." Natalya stopped. Kat sat there, mentally analyzing her words. Natalya had seen all the destruction around their brother's house. She had seen the consequences of his breakdown. She had seen what Kat could barely handle.
"Are you going to go back to the hospital?" Natalya asked, her tone different at the word 'hospital'. "I think so. I'll have to call into work to say I'm not coming in tomorrow." Kat paused. "I'll want to be there when Ivan wakes up. Give him something nice to look at. Something comforting." Natalya simply nodded with these ideas. "I'll go with you. I don't have class tomorrow anyway."
Kat nodded, and reached to get out of the car. "Wait!" Natalya exclaimed. "You deserve to know." Kat looked at her sister, curious. She rarely raised her voice, however today, it'd been happening a lot. "Ivan's bathroom. He wasn't in a pool of water." Kat eyed her sister, even curiouser. 'Of course it had been water, clear, diluted blood... What else could it be?'
"It was vodka."
Kat froze in her seat. It all made sense. Everything. The glass, his attire... his eyes... 'Oh, his eyes...' Kat couldn't stand to think about it. 'He was drunk...' Kat stepped out of the car, getting her keys out of her bag. "I'll meet you there?" Kat asked through the still open door. "Yeah. Don't get lost." Kat closed the door, moving between the cars to her own.
Her own car felt different, though she couldn't put her finger on it. She checked around the car for reassurance. Nothing had been moved. Nothing had been misplaced. No one was hiding in the back seat. Nothing was different.
'Hm.' Kat thought to herself. 'Maybe the car just felt like it had to be different too.' She inserted her key into the ignition and turned, hearing the motor run. 'At least that hasn't changed.' Kat thought, as she pulled out into the street.