Daydreamer Page 6

  “Katarina, I’ve missed you.” He says slowly. “You look like . . .”

  “I know, dad. I know.” I said, stopping him from saying her name.

  “How is she?” I asked nodding towards mom.

  “She’s stable for now; all we can do is . . .wait.” This is what I was afraid of. Waiting must be the most painful game yet. The anticipation and worry, all stirred up into one.

  Soon after we all sat down, Clef and David came in, sending their regards to my dad. I got up and pulled David aside.

  “She was shot in the leg oddly enough, how could you guys not know about this?” I asked. He didn’t have an explanation, he just looked terribly sorry. The look on his face was sincere, but I still feel like there’s something he’s hiding.

  “I’m staying the night, so is my dad. Make sure Chelsea gets home safe, will you?” I asked him. He grabbed my hand and squeezed for a few seconds.

  “Of course, but someone must stay and watch you, stand outside the door . . . something. Something, to ensure your safety,” David half demanded this, and half pleaded, he was going soft.

  “Then Clef will stay; follow Chelsea to my house, I’ll see you tomorrow.” I told him, going back into the room.

  Clef didn’t stay in the room with my dad and I. Him, standing there looking down on us while we try and have a family moment was uncalled for. So, Clef stood guard outside of the door, I could see him through the glass, solid as a toy soldier.

  “You look good dad,” I stated while taking the seat next to my mother’s bed.

  He smiled, taking the compliment. “I’ve been in recovery, trying to get better, so your mom could come back home.”

  “Because you’ve missed the fact that she brought you sandwiches?” I tease, and for once in a long time, he laughs.

  He nods in agreement, “. . . and because I don’t know the first thing about cooking.” He admitted. I imagined him living on nothing but fast food, and it bought a little light into the situation. I thought about how it was before, and how he would never get up to do anything. Back to when Marie was alive, I guess I classify that as the ‘normal’ dad. My smile vanished, when I realized something.

  “I’ve been getting better too; in case you’ve been wondering. I would have thought you lost my number.” I said, staring into his soul. “I’m not sick, or an addict, but I’ve been going through the same lost as you two.” I said pointing at him and then at my mom. “Feeling it weigh on my heart when I wake up scared, every day. I guess I wouldn’t call that getting better.” He continued to stare at me, so I continued to talk.

  “Radio silence is popular now, now that everything has changed. Will that change dad? Will you acknowledge my existence now that you’re better?” I asked, air quoting ‘better’ with my fingers.

  He didn’t answer, either because he didn’t have an answer or because my mom woke up.

  “Katarina, my betee,” she smiled, grabbing my hand. Her voice was raspy, and her accent was somehow heavier than before. She scanned the room and saw my dad, she choked. Not literally, but on her words. She didn’t know what to say.

  “Thomas?” she croaked, reaching her other hand in the air. Her reaching made me picture someone falling off a cliff, and she was trying to save them, but failed. When he finally gets up and grabs her hand, a tear fell down his cheek. Then, he grabbed my hand and we all stood there, holding hands, groping each other like we were our only last hope.

  Clef comes in the room in the middle of the night, shaking me awake. When I can finally see him clearly, I see he has his finger over his mouth, signaling for me to be quiet. He grabs my hand and ushers me outside.

  “Kate, I uh, I, my son is here, in the hospital, and I just want to sneak away to see if he’s okay just for a second.” He pleaded. He knew that if David were here, he’d tell him to call someone else for me, but that wasn’t necessary.

  “Your son?” I asked. Clef looked so young, spends all his time with us, and he has a family at home?

  “Yeah, my girlfriend called and said he had a fever or something.” He stumbled.

  “At least it wasn’t anything major . . . can I go with you?” I asked. That way, he wasn’t abandoning his charge.

  He thought about it for a while, biting his lip, until finally he nodded, and we strode down the faintly lit hallway. “How old is he?” I asked, looking over at Clef.

  “He’ll be six next month.” He said, looking for his son’s room. I nod and follow behind him. When we got there, and his son got first whiff of Clef, he jumped upright like a rabbit. Clef sat next to him on the bed and grabbed his hand. I hung out in the corner, watching as Clef kissed his son on the forehead.

  “Hey buddy,” Clef smiles. They smiled the same, touching their ears.

  “Where’s your mom?” He asked, looking past me and out of the room. The little boy shrugged and looked out of the door as well. But unlike his father, his eyes landed on me, and I knew he wondered who I was.

  Clef noticed where his son’s sight landed and cleared his throat. “Nathan this is Kate, Kate, this is my son, Nathan.” He introduced. Nathan smiled up at me, followed by a cough.

  “Nice to meet you,” I said, walking towards him slowly.

  “Mucho gusto, Kate,” He spoke. He surprised me a bit, because he was only five.

  “¿Tú hablas español? Impresionante!” I replied, followed by a slight bow. He giggled in the most beautiful way imaginable, and then the moment was put on pause. His mom comes in with a coffee.

  “He goes to a bilingual school,” Clef said, looking up at his girlfriend. I noticed she was Latina, which explained it as well.

  “It was nothing life threatening, he just had a fever above one hundred and three degrees, I just wanted to know he was . . . going to be okay.” She said, walking in. She still had an accent, but her voice was smooth and confident. She didn’t notice me when she walked past me, but she doubled back and smiled at me. Her smile scared me, it came out of nowhere, but it felt genuine.

  “I’m Melina, and you are . . .” she asked, looking from me to Clef.

  “I’m Kate,” I said as if I were asking a question. I didn’t know if Clef wanted her to know that I was a random girl from his case. I know if I had a boyfriend who was never home; while I take care of his kid, I would be going crazy. And on top of that they can’t even have a family moment without him being on duty.

  “I can, I can stand outside, if you guys want.” I said, pointing at the door.

  “No!” Nathan exclaimed. “Eres mi amigo,” He smiled. I liked Nathan; if I knew him better, I would flop down on his bed and read him stories. Maybe tell him about my heritage and ask him what he knows about his. Another time, though.

  I nodded and stepped further into the room; a bit closer to Nathan. Clef got up and pulled Melina aside, they were talking about Nathan. Looking at the two of them whisper about Nathan’s health made me smile. I looked at Nathan, they love you so much, I mouthed.

  I used to be loved like that, the center of my parents’ universe. Anyone else would say all that ended after they had another sibling, but all of that ended when mine left.

  Clef came back over and kissed Nathan on the forehead. “I’m going to go now bud, okay? If you need anything, I’m around the corner,” He said. I felt bad as I saw Nathan nod, while watching his father leave the room yet again. I could empathize with that little dude, but he probably doesn’t feel how I feel, because he doesn’t know any different. This is normal to Nathan, seeing his dad every other day, only for a few hours. Clef is doing the best to provide for them and that’s brave.

  Once we were out of earshot I said, “Once all of this is over, I would love to babysit Nathan. He’s a good kid.” I playfully punched Clef, smiling. “Good job.”

  Chapter 12

  I stayed the rest of the night with my mom, and when the morning came, I kissed her goodbye. My dad was still sleeping, and I didn’t wake him, on purpose.

  Clef stopped by Nathan’s room
to find they’d already checked out. He drove me home and didn’t say a word. I kept looking at his face, trying to figure him out, but he didn’t have an expression. He just . . .existed. Something I admired and wanted to master because if I looked at you, you knew if I wanted to kill you or if I didn’t.

  When we pulled up at my apartment, he told me he had to go back to the station, so I went in alone. There were cop cars already in front of the place, and I saw David’s car here. He usually doesn’t spend the night.

  Going in felt normal . . . well, in anyone else’s situation; I smelled coffee, and the faint smell of soap from Chelsea’s shower. David turned around and asked if he could make me a cup. He’s not our maid and I didn’t need a babysitter.

  “No thanks I, I can get it.” I said, setting my keys down on the counter. “Did you, uh, did you spend the night?” I asked, sounding like I didn’t care. Which I didn’t, I didn’t mind in the slightest.

  He shook his head and laughed. That just might be a first time since we’ve “known” each other. “I got here about an hour ago.” He replied.

  I poured my coffee into my mug and added my sugar. David just stared, sipping his coffee. “What?” I asked, “This is the healthy way of drinking coffee.” I said, walking over to my couch to put feet up on the coffee table.

  “I’m not judging, I added nine sugars. Oh, and this might be my second cup.” He admitted.

  “Nice to see you’re making yourself at home,” I laughed. Did cops do this to all their charges? Spend the night and drink all their coffee? Probably not, but I didn’t mind the company. “Hey, are you okay? You seem a little more like Clef than David. And now that I think about it, Clef seemed more like you today.” I continued, sipping my very warm and delicious beverage. Today was a rare day, not just for them, but for everyone. It was peaceful around here, for once in a long time.

  Before he could respond, Chelsea came out of the bathroom with a sassy red dress on and her hair dripping wet. She didn’t have on shoes or any makeup. Why was she wearing the dress? No clue.

  “Oh coffee, don’t mind if I do.” She chirped. She made her coffee and joined me on the couch. David didn’t have a chance to answer my question before Chelsea got started. “So, how’d it go? Did you kick your father’s ass?” She asked. I shook my head, although that sounded like something Katarina would do, but Kate? Kate wouldn’t. Now that I compare how I act now to how I acted before this blackmailing, or whatever you want to call it happened, I was fierce. Katarina didn’t care what people thought about her, because the only person’s opinion she cared about was gone. But Kate is constantly scared that the next stranger she comes across will knock her on her ass.

  “I told him, respectfully, well at least I thought I was respectful, how I’ve been doing since everything happened. Did you know he lost weight and apparently, he’s sober?” I asked, putting my coffee down, I turned towards Chelsea, supporting my head with my hand. Was I . . . gossiping?

  She smiled and said, “No way, I would never have thought.” We smiled at each other. This felt right, but also felt like I was betraying my emotions for being so happy in the most difficult time of my life.

  Later, Clef came, and he and David started to discuss what was going on. They didn’t find any fingerprints, no articulates, nothing. This guy got in, and out of my car with no trace; he’s good.

  “Listen,” Clef comes up to me. “This is still mine and David’s case, but you’re going to start seeing a lot less of us. There will still be officers patrolling outside, though.” I nodded. Seemed simple enough. I can’t say that Chelsea and I won’t miss the company, but they were bound to leave sometime.

  “Can I use my car now?” I asked. He sighed, and then nodded.

  He and David leave and I walk to the threshold of the bathroom, watching Chelsea finish her look. Her hair was dry now, and tied up, so she could do her makeup.

  “Where are you going?” I asked, lingering helplessly in the bathroom doorway.

  “A banquette my dad’s making me go to.” Chelsea sighed, simultaneously blowing a stray piece of hair from her face.

  Chelsea leaves, and I flop down on the couch. I stare at the jar on the cocktail table labeled: NEW HOUSE. I realized I hadn’t put a single penny into that jar since things went awry. Nothing is in it right now; the savings I have so far are put away under lock and key.

  During my train of thought I hear a knock erupt from the door. I jump up, thinking that an officer was coming to warn me about a change in shift, but when I look through the peephole, I see an unfamiliar face.

  He was tall with chiseled features. He had dark blonde hair that stopped at his ears. He waited patiently, as I stared at him through the hole. At last, I open it.

  “Excuse me, Hi, I’m Chris. I just moved in down the hall.” He pointed. “I was wondering if I could barrow some flour, my mom’s coming over for dinner tonight—” Before he could continue, I extended my door to him.

  “Um, yeah, sure. I don’t see why not. And, I’m Kate.” I smile, slowly walking over to my kitchen and grabbing the flour from the cabinet. That small moment, when we exchanged the flour, his eyes did not leave mine, which was weird. I flash an awkward, nervous smile and wave him away.

  Chapter 13

  That day I pretty much did nothing. I watched TV, stared out of the window for a minute, and checked my phone a few times. Today was the most uneventful day I’ve had in a while, and that’s not a bad thing.

  I never asked about Bridget. They asked her a few questions, but since David never said anything, I thought she was basically a waste of time. I don’t know how her hair got in my brush, but at this point that is the least of my worries.

  Chelsea came in late last night and sat right next me on the couch. She didn’t say anything, but I did.

  “I met a guy earlier. Plus, I feel great for once in a long time.” I said this very flat, as if the word ‘great’ wasn’t the best of words. I shrug, finally looking over at her.

  “You met someone!” She exclaimed.

  “Not really, he just moved in down the hall. He asked me for some flour. But I felt, weird about him, I, I don’t know.” I confessed.

  “Maybe that’s a good thing.” Chelsea teases. I shake my head.

  “No, it wasn’t.” I stretch out on the couch and sigh.

  The rest of the night we didn’t speak, we just sat there, which is one of the things I’m grateful for. Chelsea and I can go a whole day without talking, because we don’t need words. We know how each other feels, and sometimes she even knows what I’m thinking.

  The next morning, I wake up and Chelsea is gone. I get in the shower and brush my hair into a ponytail. When I come back out into the living area, there’s a note with fancy font on my kitchen counter.

  Follow your heart and you will soon find it

  - Your Admirer

  I look around the room, confused and scared as always. The feeling was beginning to feel like my name. It was new once, and then you get so used to it, that you answer out of instinct.

  Something caught my eye in my peripheral vision. It was a white rose, sticking out through the bottom of my door, as if to tease me. I open the door and pick it up, like I hadn’t walked into enough traps.

  Immediately, I see a trail of roses, leading to the elevator. Once I’m in the elevator, there is a small, neatly drawn heart on the button for the first floor. Once the elevator opens, the trail continues. I see the receptionist in the main lobby.

  “Excuse me miss, did you happen to see anyone put these roses down?” I asked her. She looked up at me; she looked as if she had just woken up from a bad dream.

  “My shift just started.” she moans. I take the hint and continue to pick up the roses leading me to my “heart”. They lead outside. At this point, I’ve managed to carry thirty roses without dropping one. Though, I did feel the thorns tearing away at my skin.

  Luckily, there was a garbage can at my disposal. This guy is playing a game, and I’m th
e pawn. I see that in this situation, now, more than ever. But I keep going, despite every single nerve in my body urging me to turn around.

  I continue to pick up the roses, trailing up the sidewalk. Every time my arms got full enough to itch, I derailed off my journey, found a trash and kept going. I walked for about a good ten minutes. The roses lead me to a church. The doors are wide open, but it’s vacant. I walk in slowly, not sure what I’m walking in to.

  The roses continue down the aisle and I begin to feel chills even more than I did when I was outside. There was a weird draft in here, an uneasy one. They lead to a laptop, sitting on a podium. It was Marie’s laptop—my laptop. There was a video displayed on it, and a note taped to the keyboard: Press the space bar to play 

  I look around me, and I stare at the exit, debating on whether I should push play or make a run for it. Against my better judgment, I push play. I inhale and exhale, slowly, like I was getting ready to dive into water. When the video starts, there’s just a door, with my room number on it.

  Whoever is recording knocks in a sequence, twice—pause, and then two more times. When the door opens, it’s Katarina, smiling and laughing. Her face falls when she sees the man was wearing a mask. He pushes me—her back forcibly, by jabbing her in the neck—which stopped her from any future screaming. She stumbles back, while holding her neck. She breaks into a sob, backing up simultaneously. Marie jumps up from the couch, putting down the very laptop I’m watching this video on.

  “Marie, run!” I—she screams. When I see Marie take off into a sprint, emotions that I didn’t even know I could feel at the same time came flinging back at me, hitting me in the face. Marie runs and hides in the closet. Katarina charged towards the strange man, knocking him down. He’s quick to fix his mask, as Katarina crawls away from him and disappears.