Jodi Ellis

My hands were clenched in front of me, my fingernails digging into my palm. I didn’t know what to do. My eyes twitched as I watched the headlights of cars dance along the wall. I had to keep my mind away from the dead girl, keep myself occupied. But then I realised the blood was still on my skin, under my fingernails that I was forcing into my palm. I panicked. My heartbeat echoed in my ears, my breathing becoming faster. My mouth opened, releasing a scream that I had been holding in for far too long. My hands covered my eyes, trying to push the memory out of my mind.

A hand touched my arm, trying to shake me from my hysteria. The screams had turned into wails, incoherent words left my mouth as the soothing voice tried to calm me down. It wasn’t working. “You’re safe here, Jodi, I’ll keep you safe here,” he was saying to me, his arm wrapped around my body, rocking me back and forth gently. “You need to get some rest. In the morning, I’ll call someone to help figure out what happened, okay?”

Everything stopped. The wails, the rocking, my breathing, everything. He was going to call the police and I would be arrested. But I didn’t do anything.