Beware of Darkness

Seeing Katie being escorted form the hallway.
The balcony door wide open.
Her grandmother with her head on the table with a police officer, her husband, and then a slew of EMT’s coming in through the door
And Skylar nowhere to be be found made me feel that either she had ran away—which if it was the case, I would have searched all over Baldwin county to find her. The other thought that she was hiding form Katie in one of the rooms and everything just got out of hand and the neighbors called the police because of the disturbance.
Maybe Skylar had seriously bruised brushed her sister, but in locations that were not visible with Katie wearing clothes at the time. She had on jeans, a t-shirt and a loose blouse. She also had a silver bracelet on her right arm that clacked against the handcuff,
“Why do you have that?” I asked her.
Katie didn’t reply so I got up in her face—I maybe had a second before an officer could bum rush me to the floor,
“Where. Did . You. Get This!” I screamed as I grabbed arm. “Take it off!”
“I can’t,” Katie replied,
“Where is she?”
Katie nodded her head to the balcony door and I ran out the front door, to the stairwell, and ran down the stairs so fast that I should have been dizzy upon exiting the door on the ground floor. I wasn’t dizzy, but everything had a tunnel vision look to me as I ran down the hallway leading to the outdoor pool and the beach. There was a crowd of people held back by tape and police. I bolted by them and jumped down the stairs past the police to look at the pool area.
The concrete near the shallow end of the pool was blood-stained. I ran down the other side of the pool—with the police right behind me—to see something surrounded by officials and covered in a shroud. I looked up to the ninth floor—the sun now shining in my eyes, I winced to try and get a clear view.
I felt a hand grabbed my shoulder and I turned to see the officer screaming at me but I couldn’t hear a word he said as I could only hear my heartbeat. Was it form running down the stairs or was I finally admitting to what I didn’t want to know: that Skylar was under that plastic shroud and that her sister had killed her.
“Why?” I whispered as the officer continued to scream and forced me to my knees.
I wanted to get up and go to her. Maybe she was alive. Perhaps, they were simply keeping her out fo the rain, but were waiting to stabilize her before doing anything.
The most unnerving moment in my life occurred right there.
While the sun shined and soon everyone would come out to enjoy the beach, I felt like dying too. Yes, I had thought about it earlier in the week and maybe if I had gotten up earlier or if I had walked over and just stayed the night then things would have been different.
The officer had walked away from me and I never noticed until he lifted me back up and asked if I was alright. I guess someone had radioed him from the condo.
I only shook my head and walked away from the pool and to the elevators.
Her grandfather stood in the front of the hallway and motioned for me to come over him.
He held his hand out to reveal the silver bracelet. It was slightly bent.
I took it without a word and we walked into the elevator.

My family arrived after I never answered my phone. They sat on the couch and chairs in the living room as I sat next to the grandparents. No one said anything for an eternity.
“I’ve called my daughter and son-in-law.” He spoke very quietly as he hugged his wife. “They’re coming down. Katie’s been, been taking to the station and…and Skylar is in Gulf Shores.”
My parents looked a bit uncomfortable as they were unsure about what to do. I didn’t blame them as I didn’t know what to do either. I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry, grieve, cower and maybe laugh. Laugh from sorrow but also from how happy I had felt the past few days, from the happiness of the things I wanted to have happen, one day, perhaps.
To drive down an open road with just the two of us.
To allow her to be whoever she wanted to be—It wouldn’t have bothered me at all.
But I also felt rage: the black darkness of how if I ever saw Katie again I would have thrown her off an even taller building. They would have to build something taller than the Burj Khalifa in order for my bloodlust to be satisfied. I had pocketed the bracelet but then placed it on the table.
“Can she wear it for forever?” I asked her grandmother.
“We couldn’t have it any other way, Spencer”