Shards

The digital clock read 5:30 am. As if on queue, as soon as the clock changed to 5:31 the black droid 3 next to it rang.
Tiredly reaching next to him, the man lying in the black sheet covered bed picked up the phone, accidently knocking over the glasses on his night stand.
“Hello?” he answered tiredly after cursing under his breath. He listened to the person on the other end intently before slowly sitting up in his bed, all the exhaustion he was feeling suddenly disappearing. He was silent and sadness began to paint his face. Finally, since he hadn’t said a word yet, he spoke.
“Yes…I heard you. I’ll be on scene in 20…well that’s the best I can do right now. Yes, chief…okay…bye”
With that said he hung up his phone and swung his legs around to the side of the bed. Once again he was silent, left in the pure darkness of the room with nothing more than the time to process the news he had just gotten. He gave his nightstand one last look, but more specifically at the picture that stood on his nightstand. Two little boys, each with an arm draped over the others shoulder. Both of those boys were best friends. One of them being Will Pearson, the other John Ryder. Looking at the picture, John held onto that image of his best friend knowing that in the next 20 minutes when he would view Pearson…it would haunt him for the rest of his life.
*~*~*~*
John arrived on scene in 20 minutes as promised, which was on 5th avenue, Brooklyn. Of course the streets were swarmed with people trying to get a good look at the mutilated body, which he had yet to reach. He kept a cool demeanor as he approached the yellow crime scene tape separating him from the gruesome scene ahead. His mind was set on the condition his best friend was in slowly beginning to see the blood stained street then the broken glass and finally, as he made his way under the tape, his best friends torn to pieces. Literally. Will Pearson’s body parts were scattered this way and that and John couldn’t help but feel his throat tighten and his stomach churn.
The other investigators around fell silent, looking at John as he fixed his black square framed glasses. Everyone knew John and Will were beyond close friends, but more like brothers. They grew up together in the same orphanage and were best friends since. Looking at him now no one would be able to recognize the short light brown haired male with a neatly trimmed mustache and jaw line as the cheerful John Ryder they were so used to.
“John” he heard someone say and looked to his side seeing the chief detective, Brain walking toward him.
“Cheif” he said plainly and a little confused seeing the other investigators already there
“I know I should’ve told you other investigators were handling the situation but…I was afraid you wouldn’t come down here if I told you the truth” the chief sighed and could see the irritation in John’s face.
“So what am I down here for Chief?” john said calmly, but with irritation in his tone as he threw down the metal case holding all his equipment on the ground “you’re wasting my time and God knows me…being here…seeing Pearson scattered around on the streets like…fuckin confetti is the last thing I want to see!”
“I know that, John” the chief said lowly with sympathy as he held his hands up “but we needed you down here for a more important matter”
“A more important matter?...really?” john said almost amused by the chief’s words “this I have to hear”
“John…you and I know Will’s wife, Alexis died the day their daughter was born…now Pearson is dead-”
“Get to the point, Brain” John interrupted impatiently putting both his hands on his sides
“John…you grew up with Will and Alexis in the orphanage. Both of them are dead and now…that leaves their daughter Abbie without parent” the chief paused and sighed “Pearson wrote on his will, that if anything happened to him…he wanted you to take Abbie”
John’s tension faded a little, but only to be replaced with worry instead. John never had intensions of being a father, nor did he even know where to begin on how to be one. Will knew this, so why would he leave Abbie in his care of all people? ‘Because you were his most trusted friend idiot’ he thought to himself. He remembered seeing Abbie only once in his life. She was three years old and wore hearing aids. Abbie was practically deaf. She could hear, but barely. He remembered seeing Will having to communicate with sign language as he spoke to her, which led to his next problem He didn’t know how to communicate with her. He didn’t know sign language. How could he raise a now nine year old girl without knowing absolutely anything he needed to know to raise her?
“John!” the chief said for the third time, snapping him out of his thoughts.
“Your Abbie Pearson’s legal guardian now…you need to go pick her up. She’s at a sitter’s apartment that’s supposed to drop her off and pick her up from school. Here’s the address. The sitter is aware of the situation…as I’m sure you figured…Abbie isn’t going to school today” the chief said holding out a paper to John.
He took the paper from the chief and opened it staring at the paper for a good minute before closing it again and slipping it into his pocket.
“Thanks” John just muttered before turning around and picking up his case and getting ready to leave. He stopped midway, seeing the silver pentagram necklace Pearson had picked up only inches away from the car. He quickly glanced around, checking to see if the chief was looking and then reached into his case pulling out a glove. H picked it up and slipped it into a baggy and into his pocket before leaving the crime scene with a piece of evidence in his pocket.