Mental Fiction Follows Me

Syd’s POV

I wrapped my arms around my raised knees and lifted my face towards the night sky. The stars shined brilliantly against the velvet sky, and I smiled at the beauty of it all. This had always been my favorite thing to do in the service. I loved looking up at the stars. Usually song lyrics come to me, sometimes from bands and sometimes from my own demented mind. This time was no different.

“Seize the day or die regretting the time you lost. It’s empty and cold without you here, too many people to ache over. Trials in life, questions of us existing here, don’t wanna die alone without you here. Please tell me what we have is real…”

“You have a beautiful voice.” I turned my head to see Julie sitting next to me, and I smiled over at her.

“You should hear the person who really sings it. For a man, he has a damn beautiful voice.”

“Are we talking about your cousin’s band?”

“Yeah. They make some wonderful music. The lyrics are real.” I briefly thought of Danny’s song and smiled to myself.

“The song was beautiful.”

“Yeah, it is. Do you know what today is?” I suddenly asked. I hadn’t exactly been keeping track of the days.

“February tenth. Why?” This time my smile was wide as I looked up at the stars.

“Did I ever tell you my cousin was gay?”

“No, I don’t think so. You did tell me he was in a happy relationship though.”

“He is. I paid for them to go on a Valentine’s Day cruise to the Bahamas. They were supposed to leave today.”

“Really? That’s very nice of you.”

“I told him I would, but I don’t think he believed me. I wonder how he reacted when he found out?” I mumbled to myself.

“You mean you didn’t tell him?” I looked over at Julie with a small smile and shook my head.

“I wanted it to be a surprise.”

“Let me get this straight, you paid for him to go on a surprise cruise, right?”

“Right.”

“So he thinks you’re dead, and then he gets papers saying you’re sending him on a surprise cruise?”

“Pretty much.”

“That’s crazy.”

“Tell me about it. He’s going to kill me when I get home.” Julie lightly nudged my shoulder with her own, and I smiled back over at her.

“Julie?”

“Yeah, Syd?”

“What if they all forget about me?” I heard the strain in my voice, and Julie must have too because she wrapped her arms around my shoulders and pulled me closer to her. I dropped my head to her shoulder and wrapped my arms around her small waist.

“They won’t forget about you, Sydney. How could they?” Julie whispered in my ear.

“I was only with them for a few months. I didn’t even see my own family for ten years. How hard can it be to forget about me?” I asked as the first tears fell from my eyes. More quickly followed, and I held onto Julie as the first sobs wracked my body. After my sobs were under control and my crying was more quiet, Julie softly whispered in my ear.

“I’ve only known you for a few days, and I would remember you until the day I died if you left today.” I clung to her tighter and prayed everyone back home was the same as her.

Jimmy’s POV

I walked into the police department, and then I went straight past the front desk. The guys there basically knew me by now, so they just let me go. I walked into a small office and saw two people. Officer Henderson was in his thirties and bigger than Matt. He had dark brown that had a little gray in it, and his eyes were so dark they looked black. Sitting across from him was a woman that I had only met once before, but I was sure I’d recognize her anywhere. She was pushing fifty, but there wasn’t a streak of gray in her blonde hair. Her blue eyes were calm and gentle, and she was almost as tall and skinny as me.

“Mrs. Marshal, Officer Henderson,” I said and stopped to smile at the old woman.

“Mr. Sullivan, please, have a seat,” Officer Henderson said. He was a hardass, there was no doubt about that, but he had a soft side. I sat down in the chair next to Mrs. Marshal.

“So, what’s going on? I left Devin at home with a friend of mine and came straight here.” I had been surprised when Officer Henderson had asked me to come to the station alone, but I had done what he asked. Devin liked spending time with Aiden and Nikki, and they loved him.

Brian and Zacky had left this morning, and I had picked up Pinkly and Ichabod as promised. Devin had been with me for the past three days. The cops allowed him to come home with me the first night, and Aunt Jan (as we all called her) had given me some old clothes of Brent’s for Devin. The second day Mrs. Marshal had tried to take Devin with her, and he screamed bloody murder and wouldn’t let go of my neck. So, they let him stay with me last night too.

“We were able to contact his grandmother, on his mother’s side,” Mrs. Marshal said.

“What’d she say?”

“The father is completely out of the picture. He signed all right’s away before Devin was even one. As for the mother’s side of the family, the grandmother is all that’s left. She doesn’t want him.”

“What’s that mean? That he has to go into some kind of foster system?” Mrs. Marshal laid her folder down and turned to look at me.

“Well, there would be no need for a foster system if he already had a home,” Mrs. Marshal said and smiled at me.

“You mean, I can adopt him?”

“Yes, you can.”

“What if his mother comes back for him?”

“It’s very doubtful, but if she does, I don’t think she’d be able to get him back. She left him in a grocery store where just anyone could pick him up. I don’t think you have anything to worry about.” Mrs. Marshal was still smiling, so I took that as a good sign.

“So, I can adopt him, right now?” I asked.

“Right now,” Mrs. Marshal said and started pulling papers out.

“I’m just here as a witness,” Officer Henderson said. I looked over to see that he was smiling too, and I finally let myself smile.