Ripple - [COMPLETED] [Undergoing Editing]

Chapter Eighteen

Linette was still numb from the memorial the day before and now here she was staring down Katie and the 11 others murdered. Their faces were displayed on large canvases in front of the school, flowers and candles covering the space between them. She saw Evan staring at Katie's picture. They hardly spoke since Katie's death, what was to say? Katie was the glue that mended the three of them together, but without her, what were they? Linette tugged her sleeves down and stepped away, a news camera right in front of her face. She jumped back, blinded by the light that camera had.

"Linette is the one responsible for tackling the shooter Christian Anderson. We're with her now. Linette can you tell us what inspired you to risk your life and tackle him as you did? What was crossing your mind at that moment?"

Linette stared at the camera. She remembered seeing him drop the gun, and recalled how she darted from the closet and jumped on him. A moment later she saw Katie's body.

"I saw him drop the gun. So, I tackled him."

"There have been reports that the shooter sent a message to one of the victims to stay in her classroom. We understand that victim, Katie Merryn was your close friend. Any idea why the victim would ask her to that and then still shoot her?"

She froze. She could feel vomit crawling up from her stomach, but she somehow resisted. She sniffed and bit her tongue trying not to cry. "He probably had strong feelings for her because she was walking him to class to avoid bullies. Though, in the process she started being bullied also. At least that's what she told me."

"Do you think the bullying is what led to the shooting?"

"Partly," Linette managed. "Also, he was obviously very sick if he did something like that and he should not have had access to that gun. Maybe she'd still be alive if he didn't." Linette felt her body start to tremble. "No more questions."

She couldn't stand being there any longer. She ran off until she was back home. Her parents called out to her, but she ignored them and ran upstairs locking herself in the bathroom. She pulled up her sleeve, revealing several bandages. Bending down, she rummaged under the sink until she found the small pouch she was searching for. She opened it and pulled out the razor blade. She held her arm and let the blade run across her skin, her breath hitching as she saw the blood start to spurt from the cut. She took a breath once releasing the blade from her skin. She grabbed a wad of toilet paper and held it there. She started to cry, all of it suddenly becoming overwhelming. Katie was the only one who took her addiction seriously, and for two years she had been clean. Up until she saw Katie's body on the ground. The image plastered into her brain. She couldn't even think of Katie without remembering that cold, still expression. She remembered making it home and throwing away the blood-soaked shirt. She remembered showering and seeing the red fall from her and down the drain, knowing that all of it was Katie's. She removed the toilet paper and placed the razor blade back to her skin. She started to run it across her skin when a knock at the door caused her to jump, and caused the blade to dig in further. She panicked and jerked her hand. She cried out and blood started spilling out from her arm.

"Linette!" Her mother's door called out from the other side. A minute later her father bust the door down. They both rushed to her seeing the blood. Her father wrapped a towel around Linette's arm and instructed her to hold it tightly. He picked her up and they rushed her to the hospital.

...

They stitched up the deeper cut and cleaned out the rest, wrapping a bandage around her entire wrist. She was placed on suicide watch. Her parents stared at her with fragile eyes. She could tell they didn't know what to do and neither did she. Without Katie how was she supposed to deal with any of this?

"We thought you were past this, Linette," her mother whispered.

"Only because of Katie," Linette returned the whisper.

"Hun, you got to be strong. Katie wouldn't want you to resort back to this," her father stated.

"Well, it doesn't matter what Katie wants because she's dead!" Linette exclaimed. She froze surprised by her own haste. She felt her body collapse into her father's arms, sobbing into his shirt. "She's dead, daddy," Linette proclaimed, the last piece of her heart cracking.