Chapter 4 Dearly Departed

I woke up around 8:00 in the morning and looked around my room. The empty walls stared back at me. With sinking dread, I realized I’d have to tell Dorris’s mom about what happened. 

As I walked unsteadily toward my bathroom, I kept having a recollection of the face Dorris made when she fell over the ledge of the bridge. I shook it off and got in the shower to prepare for the task ahead. The warm water felt so relaxing, my mind wandered again. I just don’t get it; all of this happened so fast. If only I weren’t so curious about Mr. Johnson having an affair with another woman, I chastised myself. None of this would’ve happened. And if that guy hadn’t shown up, it definitely wouldn’t have happened. 

Out of the shower, I threw on my shirt and pants. I couldn’t find my shoes until I remembered Dorris had one of them when she fell over.  I’ll just throw on a pair of my high-top converses. I saw a note on the kitchen counter when I walked to the kitchen. It said ‘Vanessa, you left your car on and your keys in the ignition, so the battery died. I had a mechanic come pick it up.

You can borrow my car. I got a ride from Sarah next door. Have a good day at work. I’ll call you when I get a chance.’ 

Childhood Memories

 Mrs.Delagarza lived down the street from me. When getting in the car, I remember hearing those voices before getting on the bridge, Don’t do it, you will regret it. When starting the car, I made my way toward Mrs. Delagarza’s house, trying to keep calm, wondering how I was going to go about telling Mrs.Delagarza what happened yesterday night with Dorris and me. When pulling up into her driveway, I remember when Dorris and I used to rollerblade the driveway down the street, we were trying to see who could make it into the road first. I missed those days when we were so little getting ice cream when the ice cream truck would go up and down the road. Dorris liked Chocolate, and I liked Vanilla. We sometimes switched ice cream to have a lick of each other ice cream cone. Making my way up to the porch, I knocked on the door and took a deep breath. The door opened.

 “Hey Vanessa, how are you?”

“I want to let you know something bad happened yesterday.”

“Okay…”

Truth Be Told

“Dorris and I went to a bridge to see if we could know if Mr.Johnson is having an affair with one of his co-workers. This guy said if we want to know something about anything, we could get our answers from the bridge, but we have to offer something meaningful. Well, I asked Dorris for one of her earrings, and I dropped it over the bridge, and then I asked her if she had anything else. She said no. She said why don’t you offer up those shoes I’ve been dying to wear. I’m so sorry, Mrs.Delagarza. It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have ever gotten your daughter involved in this. She walked over to me and pulled off one of my shoes. She went to the next she tugged on the shoe so hard that she fell over the bridge.”

“What do you mean, Vanessa”?

“Dorris is dead Mrs.Delagarza”

“Who is Dorris? I don’t have a daughter named Dorris, nor do I have a daughter.”

“Huh, Mrs.Delagarza, you do have a daughter named Dorris. You have pictures of her everywhere in the living room.”

“No, I don’t, Vanessa. Are you okay?”

“Mrs.Delagarza, can I get a glass of water, please?”

“Sure, come on in.” 

 I walked into the house toward the living room and saw no photos of Dorris on the walls. My stomach completely dropped in fear as if I was on a rollercoaster.  

“Vanessa, as you can see, there aren’t any photos of this Dorris person you speak of.” 

“I see that now.”  

“Well, I’m on my way to pick up a friend. We are getting away for the weekend.”

“Sorry to bother you, Mrs.Delagarza, I’ll be on my way now.” 

“Okay, Vanessa, drive safe.”