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Sicily. I just wanted to protect Sicily.
Chapter Eight
Sicily
As soon as the meeting ended I made a beeline for the elevator. A couple of people had asked if I was okay, but the rest were just quietly eyeing me as I walked past. It felt like everyone was watching me, waiting for me to fall apart like a broken porcelain doll. Even Daniel looked at me like he couldn’t exert enough pity in my direction. Meanwhile, I was doing my best to not actually fall apart like a broken porcelain doll. I kept my arms wrapped around me the whole time, and I couldn’t seem to get warm.
Everytime I shut my eyes for even a second, I could see that poor maintenance guy laying on the ground. I could feel the way the blood felt oozing down between my fingers. I had scrubbed my hands raw in the office bathroom sink but there were still remnants on the edges of my fingernails. I just kept my hands clenched into balls, wrapped against my sides.
That dark and dank room covered in dust was like a horror house in my mind. I still couldn’t even fully wrap my head around what had happened. Everything stopped for me when I sat down in that room with the police. Everyone was moving around me, talking, doing things, and I was stuck in that moment. Even standing with my team, covered in my boss’s windbreaker to not freak people out from the blood smeared across my top, I felt like the room was moving around me and I was stuck there in the shock and horror of it all.
I walked out of the building and through the garage, getting into my car without looking up one time at the people passing by me. There was security everywhere, but I didn’t want to see another side glance from another person I barely knew. The only eyes that had calmed me that day had been Daniel’s. But they were torn from my gaze as fast as they had been put there. I was pretty sure him walking into that room when he did had saved me from going completely into shock.
Then again, I felt like I just might still be there.
When I got into the car, I put the key in the ignition but I didn’t start it. I just sat there, holding on to the steering wheel, staring blankly into the distance. I felt so uncomfortable. All I wanted to do was shower, put on some pj’s, make some tea, and wrap myself in my comforter, but that wasn’t in the cards. I had to pick up Harper because Josie had somewhere to be, I had to come back for the following up meeting to the ten thousand interviews I had that day, and I had to try to get through the day without falling apart.
But none of that was really on my mind. Nothing seemed to be on my mind. I stared into the garage, but didn’t see any of it. Flashes of finding the body went through my mind. My hands. The blood. The body. The blood.
Suddenly, my phone rang, startling me out of my trance. I picked it up without even looking at the screen. “Hello?”
Why did my voice sound like it was in a tunnel?
“Sicily!” Amber’s voice rang out from the other end, anchoring me back in the present. “Oh my God. I’ve been trying to get ahold of you for hours. I saw on the news. Isn’t that where you work? Are you okay? What is going on?”
I cleared my throat. “I’m okay. I…I am leaving work now. Um…”
“Why do you sound like that? Are you okay?”
I looked down at my shaking hand. “I’m okay. I was the one who found the body.”
Amber gasped. “Okay, this is ridiculous. I know that you’re in a big city but its barely been a week. What can I do? What do you need?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. I don’t really feel anything right now. I’m just trying to get through the day.”
“Of course,” she sighed. “You’re in shock. I mean, who wouldn’t be. It’s okay. You don’t have to talk about it right now. I just wanted to know you were okay.”
Shaking my head, I sat up straight and started the car. “Yes, I’m okay. I’m sorry. I wasn’t allowed to have my phone on during the questioning and I just got the chance to check it. I don’t even remember turning the ringer back on.”
“Do you have to go back to work tomorrow?”
I shook my head. “I think so. I don’t know. I have a meeting with HR at four my time. And the office doesn’t open again until maybe tomorrow at noon. There’s a lot of security here though. The police are here, the regular security, and they hired another firm to come out and be here too. It’s very Fort Knox in here.”
“Good,” Amber replied. “Well, I just can’t even imagine. Do you want me to catch a flight out there? I can come keep you company, and play with the kiddo so you can relax.”
I smiled, thankful that I had her. “No, you have that big event this weekend. I’m fine, really. I think the best thing for me is just to get through the next couple of days and get back to work. There are counselors available so if I need to talk to someone, I can. And I’m sure Josie will watch Harper if I need her to, extra time I mean. But its all very surreal.”
“I bet,” Amber replied. “Well, you let me know. Charity event be damned. I’ll walk out mid speech in my gown and jump in daddy’s plane. I don’t care. You just say the word.”
“I appreciate it,” I chuckled. “Your dad might care though.”
“Pfft,” she laughed. “Old fogey. I’m still his princess.”
“Always,” I replied snarkily, looking at the time. “Shit. I just realized I only have about an hour and a half until I have to be back here and I still have to pick the kiddo up.”
“Did Daniel say anything to you?”
“Leave it to you,” I chuckled, putting the car in drive. “A man is murdered and you’re thinking about my love life.”
