Page 2

Bhodi

You should have answered the call.

You should have answered the call.

You should have answered the call.

Fuck….

I can’t hear myself think. Callaghan is driving towards Summer’s apartment, but I can’t speak, I can feel my body shutting down, trembling with unanswered questions. He’s talking to me, checking on me but his words are lost in the sea of my drowning soul. Once the building comes into view and nears, I spot Jimmy behind the police tape. The thick black smoke seeping from the windows and billowing into the air.

Fire engines parked haphazardly along the street with the firefighters running to and from the building, pulling people through the doors. I hold my breath, hoping to see Summer but as I approach, she’s nowhere to be seen.

Throwing the door open, I dive out and head towards him. I can hear Callaghan’s protests from the car window, but right now, fuck him. Jimmy’s solemn face turns to mine and instantly, I feel my heart wrenched from my chest.

Still speaking to the patrol officer, Jimmy wipes the tears from his eyes. As the officer looks between us both, Jimmy speaks.

“Detective Grey is a friend, I called him when the security system alerted me about the fire.”

“Sorry, detective, I can’t allow you past the tape if you knew the victim.”

The officer speaks matter of factly, almost callous as though uniform has gotten one over on the gold shield.

“Knew?”

Rolling my bottom lip between my teeth, I feel the rage descend at the officer’s careless words to me.

Reaching for his shirt, I pull him close. The material fisted in my hands, my white knuckles threatening to burst. Speaking through gritted teeth my eyes burn into his. The fear taking over him, when he tries to pull himself away.

“What the fuck did you just say?”

“I…I…I didn’t mean...like that...”

He fumbles and stutters over his words, the confidence falling away completely.

Feeling a hand pulling and shrugging, I’m forcibly pulled away from the young officer who scrambles off, and eventually disappears amongst the chaos.

“We don’t know anything yet, Bhodi! He’s just a kid trying to do his job.”

Jimmy tries to remain calm, but the tears welling in his eyes hurts my soul. Even right now, he’s trying to be reasonable and diplomatic to those around us, but I just want to rip every cunt’s head off and watch them bleed out.

Running a hand through my hair, I glance around the busy street, the blaring sirens making it impossible to think clearly. Shaking my head, I glance to the onlookers, but nothing stands out, I don’t recognise any faces, everyone is paying too much eager attention, like this is some kind of sick fucking entertainment. Phones are out recording the whole thing; some are live streaming.

Live fucking streaming…Jesus Christ when did the world turn so fucking morbid?

Then again, public executions used to be seen as a family day out. I guess it’s no different and also…. who the hell am I to judge someone’s morbid tendencies?

I take a couple steps towards them but feel the strong hand around my arm holding me back. Jimmy shoots me a warning look and I must acknowledge it, I have to stay calm, somehow stay positive that at any moment Summer will be walked out of there and will be fine.

Spotting detective Callaghan approaching, I can see him muttering something to himself and shaking his head. More than likely pissed off I ditched him in the street, but I couldn’t give a fuck right now.

“The Medical Examiner is on their way now.”

He speaks quietly, glancing around to make sure people aren’t listening in.

“How do you know?” I snap.

“My old captain is here, I asked what happened.”

Callaghan shifts uncomfortably and gestures to the top-floor window. “They found a body up there on the top floor; whoever it was they didn’t make it.”

“We don’t know it’s her, Bhodi.”

Jimmy squeezes my shoulder, but his words are shaking with uncertainty.

I shrug him off, his words are still full of hope but mine is all lost.

Callaghan looks between us, whilst he’s younger than me and very new to this, I see a flicker of realisation in his eyes. He already knows without Jimmy or I saying a word that Summer was far more to me than a witness, but for now he doesn’t say anything.

Looking up towards the window, the smell of burning fills the air. When my eyes flutter closed, I can feel the tears needing to fall, my body shaking with questions and my soul screaming to be with her. When my eyes open, it lands on all the broken glass from the top floors of the building, wherever the fire started, the pressure must have become too much and the windows shattered.

Who the fuck would do this? And why? I can feel my mind begin to spiral down a dark hole, where you have nothing but questions and no answers for all of this. No idea why someone would do something so cruel, so spiteful and so terrifying. Each question offers no answer, just another question for me to lose myself in.

My mind flashes with scenarios, the fear crawling over my body that Summer was trapped, the fire filling the room, choking on smoke, no way of escape, backing into a corner but the flames approach fast. I run a hand over my face, trying to wipe those horrifying images from my mind.

The cameras.

Flashing Jimmy a look, I begin to move along the sidewalk and out of the way of prying eyes. Pulling out my phone, I get nothing but a black screen for the cameras, which makes sense. They’ve been damaged now so nothing will be recording.

Tapping the rewind button, I zoom into the hallway. A couple hours ago it recorded Summer making coffee, her beautiful face lost in thought, whilst she sits at the breakfast bar. I let out a heavy sigh, watching as she gently runs her fingers through her loose waves, before propping her chin under her hand, her soulful eyes gazing off into space.

I watch as she moves towards Michael’s bedroom door, something she has done a couple times before but eventually she seems to shake herself off and moves away. After a moment of contemplating, she nudges the door open and eventually steps inside.

“Fuck sake.”

I mutter, Michael never wanted cameras set up there.

Even though it was understandable at the time, right now, I really need to know what she was doing in there. Tapping fast forward, a couple minutes pass before she flies from the room and heads towards hers, I watch as she grabs her phone, and I feel my heart sink as she holds the phone to her ear, panicked, and I don’t pick up.

A chill runs over my body, pulling the phone closer to my face, she drops to the ground within seconds. Switching to the camera in the hall, I see the two masked men armed with pistols, eventually make their way in.

I find myself muttering to the screen, my teeth clenched, willing for Summer to get to her feet and hide, but the blood pooling down her side slows her down.

A single tear slides down my cheek, watching with a broken heart as she scrambles to the bathroom, clutching onto her arm.

She doesn’t realise she’s been shot yet.

The thought is chilling. Crippling even. I hold my breath, watching intently as she makes her way into the bathroom, after a couple seconds the door is opened but the signal dies.

“FUCK!”

I shake the phone in my hand, clutching onto it tight as the screen goes black.

When my back hits the wall, the overwhelming thoughts rush over me, the fear I’ll be given the news that I’m dreading.

She can’t be dead, she just can’t.

I see Jimmy cautiously approach me from the corner of my eye, I can hear him speaking but his words aren’t registering, they don’t make sense and I just turn to him and stare. I feel like I’m stuck in a tunnel, everyone’s words seem to echo, yet they feel so distant and far away.

I swallow hard, trying to focus on Jimmy and Callaghan but I can’t. I feel cloaked in a heavy black cloud, an unbearable sadness consumes me when I turn to finally spot the black body bag being wheeled out from the building.

My knees give way, my palms fall against the concrete hard, the waves of nausea crash over me, but I can’t pull my eyes away from the coroner as they wheel the gurney towards the van, I continually shake my head, I feel Jimmy try to pull me back to the present but he’s failing, my soul continues to fall.