Alone again
Today, October the third, is a day that no one in the little town of
Smithers, just West of the Rockies, will ever forget. It is nine
o’clock p.m.
In the backyard, Jodi, 15, and Cath, 14, are playing catch in the
dark. Jodi’s long brown hair is a mess. Cath’s blonde hair is neatly
tied back in a pony-tail and her blue eyes shine in the darkness like
those of a cat. Both of their blue jeans are torn at the knees, but
they don’t care because it’s the style today.
"Cath, don’t throw the ball too high, like last time, when you
broke Andrew’s car window!" Yelled Jodi, remembering when she
had to use a whole week’s allowance to help Cath pay for the damage.
"I won’t, Jodi, and it’s not my fault that you can’t catch!"
"I can too catch! You just, like, throw too high!" Screamed
Jodi.
"Throw too high? Like, whatever!" Cath yelled back, trying
her best to sound cool. She got a good grip on the ball and threw it
high into the air. It landed in the woods behind the next-door
neighbor’s house.
"Cath! Go and get it now!" Yelled Jodi. "Darn it, Cath,
why can’t you throw?"
"It’s too dark and freaky back there, send the dog instead!"
Yelled Cath.
"Alright, alright, stop yelling," sighed Jodi. She mumbled
something about having to spend the whole weekend with Cath because
she was grounded and could not go anywhere with her friends.
"Brownie, go get the ball. Brownie, the ball!" Jodi called
to the little brown collie that was wagging his tail frantically.
Jodi motioned her arm towards the woods and the little dog took off.
"Cath, Jodi! Come inside, it’s getting late," Yelled Mary
Heards, the mother of the two teens. "But Mom…" Cath
protested.
"Cath, I am sick and tired of repeating myself like this! Get
inside, now!"
"We’re coming mom," Said Jodi. The two girls walked around
the front of the house. "Don’t worry, Cath, Brownie will get the
ball and bark at the door when he wants to be let in."
"I know that, but it’s like so dark and everything…"
"He’ll be fine, Cath. He’s done it before," Jodi reassured
her. "I don’t know what your problem is."
"Well it’s just dark, and he’s out there alone…" her voice
trailed off as they reached the front of the house. That’s when they
heard the terrifying yelp from behind the house. It was Brownie. The
two girls ran blindly in the dark into the backyard. As they started
into the woods, Cath fell and tried to scramble back onto her feet.
Then she saw what she had tripped over. It was Brownie, lying there
with a knife in his back. Jodi turned and gasped while Cath, too
shocked to move, layed there and cried. Jodi turned away because she
couldn’t stand the sight. When she looked back, Cath had a knife
through her heart.
Alone Again II
Kristy couldn’t believe it as she walked into Jodi’s house. There were
police running about the place frantically searching for some clues as
to why Cath would kill herself like that. Yes, you heard that right.
They believe that Cath killed herself with the knife from Brownie’s
back. Kristy Stevens believed that seeing your dog lying there with a
knife through it’s back was enough of a reason to do so. As she
walked up to Jodi, she detoured quickly to the washroom to pull her
long brown hair back in a ponytail. Her green eyes looked back at her
in the mirror.
"Kristy," a voice behind her said. Kristy jumped and turned
around really fast. "It’s me, Jodi, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to
scare you."
"It’s alright," Kristy said. Thinking about someone killing
a dog like that sure was getting to her.
"The person would have killed Cath if she had gone into the woods
first. I could have saved the dog’s life, and I almost saved Cath’s
but she died anyway," Jodi said. Her voice sounded tense. She
had hardly gotten any sleep since the police had been searching the
place from top to bottom, over and over again.
"Jodi, the dog’s death wasn’t your fault. Neither was
Cath’s," Kristy comforted her. They had been best friends for
about seven years, and they had talked about everything together, but
this was one thing Kristy really didn’t want to talk about.
Just then a tall dark-haired policeman walked in and immediately
started asking questions about everything that happened. Then Jodi
did something that Kristy had never, in her fifteen years of life, had
seen anyone do before. Jodi just completely blew up.
"Don’t any of you care? You shouldn’t be in here asking the same
questions over and over again! What kind of lazy good-for-nothing
fools are you? I don’t care why Cath killed herself
because I already know! Just find the person that’s responsible for
Brownie’s murder, for Cath’s suicide and for the destruction of my
whole life! I’ll never be the same again!" She ran out of the
house, down the front steps, and all the way to the end of the
walkway. Then she dropped to her knees, screaming the most
high-pitched terror filled scream Kristy had ever heard. Jodi was
screaming in pain.
Alone Again III
"Jodi!" Kristy yelled, as she and the others ran outside.
Kristy got to Jodi first, and asked if she needed and ambulance.
"No, I’m fine," She replied faintly. Everyone started
asking questions about what had happened and soon there was a big
crowd of people around Jodi.
"Give her some freaking space, God! Can’t you people see that
she just lost her sister? She doesn’t need you people crowding around
her like this right now! Get back into the house, all of you!"
Kristy screamed. Slowly, the people turned around and marched back
into the house. They looked as if they were in the army right now.
"Thanks, Kristy. You’re the only one that seems to know what I’m
going through right now. They thought I was hurt when I screamed like
that. I was only screaming because Cath is gone and she’s not coming
back,"
"I know, Jodi, I went through the same thing when my brother,
Frank, died of leukemia last year. I know how it feels to lose
someone," Kristy said, giving Jodi a hug. "Now let’s get
back inside, Alex is supposed to come over in half an hour. You can
relax a little with him, you look like you can use some rest."
For a minute, Jodi smiled, then the two girls walked back into the
house.
As they walked in the front door, policemen stopped looking around the
house, detective stopped asking questions and the parents, Mary and
Juan Heard, stopped crying. They all looked at the girls. Kristy
looked up for a second and saw all the eyes on Jodi. Then they kept
walking up the soft, carpeted stairs, past the master bedroom, down
the hallway, and into the family room.
"Jodi, Alex withh be here in about fifteen minutes, I promise,
hon," Kristy said gently.
"I know, Kris, thanks for being here for me,"
"Jodi, that’s what friends do. Why don’t you take a nap and I’ll
wake you up when Alex get’s here?"
"Good idea, I’m not sure if I can sleep right now but I’ll
try," Jodi said, yawning.
"Ok, g’night Jodi," Kristy said, leaving the room. Jodi
closed her eyes, and heard the door hit softly against the door frame.
* * *
"Jodi, wake up hun. Alex is here," Kristy whispered.
"I’m awake, Kris, I couldn’t fall asleep. Send him in
please," Jodi whispered, as if there was someone else in the
room sleeping. Alex walked into the room and Kristy left, closing the
door. Alex walked over to the black couch where Jodi sat. He looked
incredibly handsome in blue jeans and his white t-shirt.
"Are you ok? I mean, with everything…" Alex started.
"I’m ok, I guess, but it’s really hard and I don’t know what to
do anymore. Thanks for coming, Alex. I really need you right now. I
never really said this before, but I love you."
"I love you too, Jodi," Alex said, moving closer to Jodi on
the couch. He put his hand on her cheek, moving it slowly downwards
onto her neck. Then he moved in to kiss her. Jodi felt better now in
his arms but she didn’t want to go any further than this, and Alex
seemed to thin she did as he started to unbutton her light blue shirt.
"Alex," Jodi started, trying to catch her breath.
"Stop it please, c’mon! Now is like kinda not the time… have you
forgotten that Cath just died? I love you, but my sister just
died."
Alone Again
