The Seventh One

There were no words.
Only silence. The house was empty of everyone but me and Billie. We stood frozen on the wood floors of the kitchen. I gaped. The walls were all white, or had been should I rephrase. I couldn't even look at the room painted in gore and not belive it wasnt my fault. I couldn't find the correct connections, but I was reasonably sure it was all because of me.
Billie seemed to have noticed exactly how hard this was. Looking around the place I'd come to call home, it wasn't home now. It was an house that made me feel eery and chased chills up my spine. I hadn't noticed until Billie crushed my face into his dusty jacketed chest, that tears were raking silver lines down my face. I gladly excepted it, let an few of thr sobs that pressured my heart escape. Not just for the sake of the officers lives lost. But for all the pent up stress from the last two weeks. No day had gone without an thought of him since Jessie died. I thought about him so much it was unhealthy. I tried to be social with other people in the neighborhood besides the man whose chest I have my face tucked into's family and himself. I didn't deserve to have this closeness to anyone. I needed to handle my depression on my own. And I could, I was certain of that much. I looked up at him. His own eyes closed so he didn't have to see the gore around us. I caught the slightest glimpse of the shimmering red and the bodies torn beyond recognition. And an new string of tears and sobs sifted out of my chest in turn. After the second round of tears, Billie guided me out the front door while I still clung into his chest like it was a lifeline dragging me from deaths door. Honestly it was all the same. He led me to the passengers door of his expensive looking car. He paused and pulled me in for another hug. Whispering that it was going to be okay over and over again. But I believed he was more so trying to convince himself than me. He looked horrified. His eyes huge though I know he's seen an thing or two of death in his life. But hadn't seen an whole half dozen of officers be slaughtered before him. He looked sick actually. Really pale and his eyes slashed around the yard. He kept scratching the back of his neck like there was a spider there. He was becoming paranoid.
Just then, we both turned to see three ambulances flying up thr road And parking in front of my house. Racing inside without an glance in our direction. I turned to see my neighbor Sarah running toward us from her house across the street. Ab couple of cop cars showed up shortly after.
She looked almost as panicked as Billie.

“Oh my God Amy... I called them for you. I was just looking out my window when this... I don't know what it was, it was on fire. It ran up to your door with lightening speed and blew the front door to bits, ran inside and hell broke loose in there!”

I nodded softly and let her inclose my into a hug. There were no more tears to give for my mistake. I just had to take it all now. Billie hugged us both and for thr first time that day, I felt like we had nowhere to go. In a rut rocking back and fourth. Nonstop. It'd kill us all eventually right? I didn't get an good look at it, but well enough to see it's flaming back...

For the following seven hours, we stood out in the front yard. Sorting through everything with the cops, though later that evening, sheriff Briggston showed up. He took off his hat at the sight of the door. I just felt worse now... He lost someone close in there because of my carelessness of Jessie's clues.
I turned my back on him so I didn't have to listen to his quiet mourning. Flashlight beams flashed about my front yard. Maps and everyhring else spread out across the hoods of thr cop cars. The ambulances left quickly when they realized that no one was alive in there, and I stood as close to Billie as I could manage without him noticing. The cool, cloudly Californian night shadowed me and sent more chills up my spine. Like his personality, he radiated heat. And I wasn't permitted to go inside to get my jacket because it was currently a 'crime scene'
He seemed to notice me edging toward him though, and wrapped his arm over my shoulders, pulling me close to his sweet scented leather jacket. He led me to the trunk and pulled out on of what I assumed was one of Adrienne's jackets. It looked similar to Billie's just more girly looking. I pulled it on without hesitation.
I was getting too tired for questions and conversations with Sarah and the others. I'd close my eyes for a few seconds and feel my knees go week. I just wanted to go curl up in a ball and sleep. But I wasn't allowed into my house. So where would I go then?
Just then, Billie read my thoughts.

“You can crash at my place tonight.” hr smiled softly. Not looking at my eyes because he was more interested toying with an strand of my brown hair.

I smiled back up at him “Thank you.”

He smiled more and nodded, then his phone rang and he turned awkwardly to pull it from his pocket. No doubt that it was probably an very worried Adrienne. I smiled in secrecy and gave him his privacy.
It was nine. And according to Billie, he was supposed to be back by five. Haha, yeah, sure Billie.
I had ab small handful of small talk conversations with a few of the cops, but they'd just politely brush me off claiming that they had very important work to do. Treating me like and child I no longer was. I just sighed and rounded back to Billie. The few streetlights around were dimly illuminating the front yard. Billie was just asking Adrienne if I could stay over as I returned. I assumed tat he hadn't told her anything about what was going on. And it probably killed him to keep secrets from her.
He smiled enthusiastically and stowed away the phone in his back pocket again. Turning to face me.

“Your spending the night!” he laughed. I had an feeling that rather or not Adrienne would have said, he'd have snuck me a place to stay somewhere. He's secretive like that.

I hugged him again and checked around with the other cops to see if I was needed any longer, when I was confirmed to a no, I said my goodbyes to Sarah, she wished me good luck with all my bad fortune. She reminded me a lot of my mother. Shed passed away an few years ago. An year after dad.
I smiled as warmly as I could. Though I probably looked like I was high or somthing because my eyes were all red From so much crying.
Billie got into the drivers seat and backed out. Driving down the black streets for my new, temporary home.
It was quiet. He didn't talk too much except for the few questions he felt obligated to ask. Then he sunk back into his thoughts. Probably still learning to cope with the shock like I was. Do you ever get over it? Does it ever get better? No, the answer is probably no. You can never forget the thugs that make you wake up screaming in the middle of the night.