The Perfect Storm 3

Chapter 201

Everything is still a blur, but even if I did have a sane operating mind, I would still be confused. I hear the knock again and apparently so does Cody. 

He approaches me but then when he gets in the middle of the stairs he just stops and looks. I glance at him and then back at the door to the knocking, I don't know what to expect. My fingers reach to the door handle and then stop. 

I see the door handle pressing down a few times and then I hear a clear, "shit!" that sounds exactly like Miles. I take a shaky breath but it isn't as shaky as before. I see a faint shadow outside the door, his hands on his face as he has clearly given up on attempting to open the door himself. 

My fingers slowly reach for the door and before wI know it, my mind has convinced my body to open the door.

"Madison, I heard, I . . ." He trails off but I can't hear him, I barely hear him. How did he know? And then he spots Cody behind me.

"What the fuck is he doing here?" I almost laugh at his words.

"He was here? He comforted you?" Miles asks endless questions and then when Cody is only a few feet away from me, Miles explodes.

"Cody fucking comforted you?!" He practically screams. To my surprise, Cody steps closer and parts his lips.

"Not cool. Look at what's important, she lost her mom." Cody says calmly but firmly and as if for the first time since Miles got here, he realizes just how sad this situation is.

"Goodbye, Miles," I tell him and slowly close the door, he gives me one last look, letting me see into the hurt and pained dark hazel eyes before I close the door on them. I take a small breath and I feel exactly how steady it is. I turn to Cody and give him a small nod because a small smile is too much to squeeze out of me right now.

"Thank you." I manage in a whisper and he nods, thankful at my reaction of shutting out the guy I so clearly told him I was with. 

My fingers tremble slightly, something I know will happen for a while, I know that for a while, too, I'll find myself waking up every morning, thinking and hoping that this nightmare that is now my life, will only be that; a nightmare. 

I'll find myself realizing just how real this is each and every morning, and I know that the pain will never end. It's true what they say, you really never do know when the last time you'll see someone is. 

knock sounds at the door and Cody and I watch each other carefully, mentally tying to prepare ourselves for Miles's fight. 

I take another shaky breath and I know that by the end of the day, I'll have gone crazy with the amount of shaky and unstable things about me. 

My fingers tremble again and when I see that the shadow looks nothing like Miles, I almost collapse with the amount of trembling my whole body is doing, but Cody doesn't seem to notice and I'm oddly thankful.

"I got this," Cody says behind me and I feel his breath on me, I feel safe, as if learning that yesterday, even though his hands meant keeping me away from my mother, I know that they never meant anything but safety and now that's confirmed even more. 

Cody opens the door firmly, but only enough for him to see who's on the other side. 

I slowly try to lean to the side in order to peek but I quickly hear, "Is a young woman by the name of Madison in this residence?" And I know that this isn't Miles or an unfamiliar shadow. It's the police. Cody nods and then opens the door up fully, enough to hit the wall.

"Madison?" The officer questions and I nod.

"Can I have a moment with you please?" The young-looking officer asks and I nod again, this time slower and surprisingly steadier, knowing that he has all the information I need is keeping my veins steady; it's keeping everything steady, at least for now.

"I'M VERY SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS." The man says and I almost Schoff. 

I don't know how many times I'll hear this exact sentence but I know it will take a while both to get used to and not to get angry at. I don' say anything and then, with a hot cup of tea in his hand, he continues. 

The fine lines in his face look softened somehow as if his skin is trying to age but can't.

"But I need you to cooperate as best as you can in this situation." He says family through his puffed pink lips that seem to match my bloated eyes.

"Look, um . . ." The officer lets out a deep breath and then proceeds, "We're trying everything we can to figure out what happened to your mother but something feels like it's missing and I wanted to ask you if you know about anything she owned that could help? For example a phone, any journals she kept, or anything of that nature?" My eyes are glassy, frozen. 

I can't give him the phone I found, that's the only thing that will tell me what's happening and even if I would give them my mother's phone, they'd never update me as much as I'd like. I debate in my head until he finally questions, "Madison?"

"Yeah, um, no, I'm sorry, she didn't have anything like that, or at least, I don't know where it is." I breathe and finally manage a small smile. If they're looking for something I have that means it's valuable, I need to keep it; I need to have it.

"That's fine, I was just hoping you'd give us some clues, but I am sorry about your loss." He lets out a deep breath and I nod. He does look sorry, unlike the police officers I see on the streets who look like they don't know what emotions are.

"I noticed that the door right outside here is closed, any way I could take a look?"

"I didn't realize there was so much mystery surrounding my . . . my mother's death."

"There's not. But . . . we do want to know the cause of death and it always feels a little blurred when we find someone in your mother's situation." He explains and I nod.

"Right," I whisper.

"But I don't think I can help you, my mother never went in there and I don't even know if there is a key," I explain and he nods with a small and welcoming smile.

"Very well." He smiles and slowly rises from the couch.

"I'll see you around." He smiles and I raise a brow at him but before I can ask him about his words, the door shuts behind him.

I can only hope he won't interrogate the whole house.