Mirror in the Forest: Book One (11 page)

“We’ll clean it up Mandy,” Danny answered, trying to block her way into the room.  

Jessica could only flinch as Mandy marched into the room pushing Danny aside.

Mandy ignored Danny’s protests and turned to Jessica, and Jessica cringed seeing the look on Mandy’s face.  

“What did you do to my Dad’s bed you bitch?” She demanded, slurring her words.

Jessica felt the tears threaten as Mandy’s friends started to snicker behind her.

“I’m sorry, Mandy. I didn’t mean to. I’ll clean it up,” Jessica answered, trying to hold back a sob.

“Yes, you will, but it’s an antique. It can’t be replaced,” she replied. Her green eyes took on an icy glare as she stared at Jessica.  

“We said we’ll clean it up Mandy,” Danny said, getting angry, and trying to step in between Mandy and Jessica again.

“No! I am going to make this bitch lick it up,” Mandy answered, turning her glare towards him.

Finally, Jessica couldn’t hold back any longer, and she began to sob. “I’m sorry, it was an accident!”

Jessica spotted a few other people looking through the door, and she tried to hide behind Danny.

“Get the fuck out of my house!” Mandy yelled, turning back to Jessica.

“Leave her alone,” Danny said, putting up an arm to block Mandy’s path to Jessica.

Mandy turned her ire back to Danny and pointed at him. “No, you stay and clean up your mess. I want this fat whore out of my house!”

Jessica started to button her blouse, but Mandy stomped over to her grabbing her wrist in a death grip, making Jessica cry out a little.

“Go now,” she hissed, making Jessica cringe.

Danny tried to step in again, and said, “I said leave her alone.”

“Keep saying that Danny, and I’ll tell my Dad not to sponsor you,” Mandy threatened.

Jessica was finally able to pull her hand away, and stood almost sobbing uncontrollably now.

There was nothing else left for Jessica to do. She ran out of the room as quickly as she could, but not before hearing the echoes of Mandy’s and her friends’ laughter behind her.

Jessica held her blouse together as she ran through the groups of kids that were still partying. She could barely see through the blur of tears.  

She thought she heard Tessa call for her, but she ignored it, running out of the door, and into the cool night air.

She had never been demeaned, and so ashamed in her entire life, even though she had taken a lot of bullying over the years.  

She knew now it was a huge mistake to come to this party, and to meet up with Danny. He was probably high fiving his friends, and laughing right along with Mandy.

She just wanted everyone to leave her alone. She just wanted to go home and go to her room and lock her door for the rest of her life.

She continued to cry as she ran down the street, and stopped at Tessa’s car to catch her breath.

She didn’t want to wait for Tessa; she just wanted to get out of there.

She thought she heard some people call her name, but she just ignored them. Why couldn’t they just leave her alone? She thought bitterly.

She turned to run again when she bumped into someone. She hadn’t even noticed anyone else had been outside besides whoever was trying to get her attention.

She stopped and cried out as arms wrapped around her to steady her so she wouldn’t fall.

She looked up to focus and found she was looking into the eyes of Sheriff McKenzie.

Just as Mark had predicted, Mandy Cooper’s annual party had gotten out of hand, and the deputies were called in.

All kinds of complaints from the neighborhood were flooding the phones, and Marge was doing her best to calm angry people from that neighborhood. Marge was getting angry, snapping at them over the radio, while she tried to field calls from angry neighbors.

Mark sighed as he pulled up in the cruiser with Hal next to him, and Bill and Paul were in the other cruisers waiting on him.

State Troopers, and Deputies from neighboring counties were on call in case they needed any backup.

“Looks like a fun party,” Hal said, chuckling as a kid began to vomit a few cars down.

Mark shook his head in amusement, and said, “Looks like Mandy outdid herself this year.”

Mark suddenly wondered if Jessica Winters was in there, and hoped she wasn’t.

Mark put on his Sheriff’s hat, and turned to Hal.

“Ready?”

“Yep,” Hal said, putting on his deputy hat, then adjusted his belt.

“Weren’t we young and carefree once?” Hal asked, as they exited the cruiser.

“Yep, and now we’re responsible adults,” Mark answered his uncle wearily.

Hal laughed. “Make sure you tell Ginny that the next time you see her.”

Hal walked away to fetch Paul and Bill.

As Mark waited, his gaze set upon a figure running towards them from the darkness.

His hand instinctively went to his gun in its holster, but he just held it lightly.

He tried to focus in the dark, and realized it was a female, because he could hear a light voice. It sounded like she was crying.

He turned and the rest of the deputies were getting ready to join him.

The figure running didn’t seem to see them, and then some headlights turned on letting him see who was running towards him.

Mark was surprised to see the crying girl was none other than Jessica Winters. Her blouse was half open, and looked like it was stained with something. He could hear her breathless sobs as she ran closer to him.

Something happened to her at this party, and it wasn’t pleasant. Mark didn’t know why, but he felt a sudden rage burst inside of him, but knew duty came first. He had to will himself to keep calm.

Mark knew she still had not seen him, and he finally stepped in front of her path, and put his arms out grabbing her shoulders.

She almost knocked him down, but he had a firm grip on her and kept her steady so she wouldn’t fall and take him with her.

She cried out, and looked up stunned to see him.

“Hey, hey, hey. What’s wrong?” Mark asked, while he tried to get her to meet his eyes.

Jessica then began struggling in his grip. “Let me go!” She screamed.

He tried to soothe her for a second, because she was practically hysterical.

The other deputies walked up, confused as to what was happening with the distraught girl now in their Sheriff’s arms.

“Not until you tell me what happened to you, ” he said sternly to her, making his grip even stronger.

Then the smell of vomit hit his nostrils, and realized that was the stain on her shirt.

Mark turned to the other deputies as he tried to get Jessica to calm down.

“Guys, go start breaking this up,” he ordered, then turned back to Jessica.

The deputies nodded and began to walk towards the party quietly.

Jessica continued to sob, and pleaded, “Please just let me go.”

Mark ignored her and asked, “Are you hurt? Did someone hurt you?”

Jessica shook her head, still trying to struggle out of his grip.

“No,” she said shakily, looking around as a small crowd began to gather around them.

“Jessica, I need you to calm down and explain to me what happened to you,” Mark commanded.

“Let me go! I can’t……I just can’t” She cried in anger and frustration. Mark could tell she was embarrassed to tell him.

Mark did as he was told, but he didn’t like it. He let go of her shoulders and she ran off into the night. He knew she would be back, because she would need to get home somehow. He knew it was better to leave her alone to get her bearings together.

He let out a frustrated breath as she ran into the darkness.  

Then he turned and heard a male and female voice calling her name.

“Jessica!”

“Jessica!”

Mark turned to see Jessica’s pale friend, and another boy almost run past him as they tried to catch up to Jessica.

“Hey! The two of you, come here,” he ordered stopping them cold in their tracks.

Tessa seemed surprised to see him, and said, “Hi Sheriff.”

“What the hell just happened to her?” Mark asked the two of them.

The boy turned and shifted on his uncomfortably, and Tessa was still looking into the dark looking for her friend. Mark noticed she was holding two purses; one of them must have been Jessica’s.

Tessa and the other boy exchanged looks and Tessa finally said, “She had a little accident and Mandy began to yell at her in front of everyone.”

Mark could tell her friend was upset for Jessica, because she was practically in tears.

“Are you a friend of hers too?” Mark asked the boy. It did not get past Mark the boy smelled like vomit, liquor, and had stains on his t-shirt.

The boy nodded, but didn’t say anything.

“Did Mandy hurt her?” Mark asked, as he almost glared at the duo for not answering his questions with the truth.  

The boy shook his head, and then looked into the distance.

Mark turned as Tessa looked behind him to see Jessica walking back to the group.

“Are you alright?” He asked, wanting her attention.

She ignored him, and just looked at Tessa. “Can you take me home now?”

Tessa looked between her and Mark, and Mark nodded slowly. He had really wanted Jessica to tell him what happened to her.

The boy moved forward and said, “Jessica, I’m sorry.”

Jessica didn’t say anything as Tessa wrapped her arms around her upset friend and they walked off to a car parked near Mark.  

Mark turned to the boy and asked, “What’s your name?”

“Danny,” he answered, his eyes widening.

“What happened to her?” Mark asked, ignoring the boy’s guilt.

Danny looked at him for a moment and he knew he was wondering if he should answer.

“Just tell me, we are breaking up this party anyway,” Mark said, annoyed.

“She drank too much and got sick from one of the drinks,” Danny responded. “Mandy got pissed and yelled at her.”

Mark nodded, pleased that their stories matched.

“All right, you better get your stuff and go home, this party is over,” Mark said.

Danny nodded and walked quickly off into the night.   

Mark then adjusted his hat, and his holster, and began to walk towards the Cooper residence.

….

Mark was exhausted the next day, but he still had morning duty.

It took them almost three hours of getting the kids out of the home, calling parents, and making a couple of arrests for disorderly conduct, and drug possession.

He only arrested them if they gave him any trouble, and there were a few, but most were released right away to their parent or guardian.

Mandy Cooper was cited for underage drinking, among other things, and told them to fuck off, but bristled after she was threatened with arrest.

“My father will get me out of this,” she said still drunk, and waving the citations in Mark’s face.

“Good for you,” Mark said as he walked away from the house after it had emptied.

Hal was sitting in the cruiser almost dozing off.

“Why don’t I drop you off, and you can get some sleep,” Mark suggested.

Hal looked over and Mark with a guilty face, and said, “I am getting too old for this shit.”

Mark chuckled. “I’ll drop you off. I got everything.”

“Are you sure?” Hal asked, yawning, and leaning his head and back and covering his face with his hat.

“Yeah, I’ll cover for you,” Mark answered.  

“Thanks. Bill and Paul should be there soon if you need them,” Hal said.

Mark shrugged. “Nah, I got it.”

Mark dropped Hal off at home, and decided to check up on one Miss Jessica Winters. He couldn’t stop worrying about her the whole night after they broke up the party.

He knew he should head back to the station and do some paperwork while things were quiet, but he wanted to see about Jessica’s well being first.  

He was also curious about the whole story of what Mandy Cooper had done to her.

He pulled up to her house, and noticed only one car in the driveway. It wasn’t the pickup that Jessica was driving last week.

Putting his hat on he looked up and thought he noticed Jessica gazing at him through the second story window. He nodded to her, but she didn’t seem to acknowledge him right away.

He climbed the wooden stairs to the porch, and rang the doorbell.

Jessica’s mother, Mary Winters answered the door. He knew who Jessica’s parents were now. He remembered seeing their picture plastered everywhere in high school. The high school was big on tradition, and apparently they had been a huge part of it.

Mark thought Mary still looked young for being in her forties now.

She was holding a cigarette and looked surprised to see him.

“Hi Sheriff. Can I help you?” She asked cheerfully, but her eyes kept darting around.

She was wearing shorts, and a tank top despite the cooler weather, and they hugged her curves.

“Hello Mrs. Winters. I didn’t come on official business. I just wanted to check up on your daughter,” he said politely.

Mary looked relieved, and then took a drag of her cigarette. “She’s not in trouble?”

Mark smiled reassuringly. “No, no. We just sent most of the kids home last night. No big deal.”

Mary laughed uncomfortably. “That’s a relief. How did you know what happened?”

“When I pulled up, your daughter was coming out of the house very upset, and she was just too upset to talk about it at the time,” he explained. “May I speak with her?”

Mary looked up the stairs near the door, then came outside, making Mark step back, and closing the door behind her.

“She’s fine. I did finally get her to go to sleep,” Mary explained, taking another drag of her cigarette.

“Did she tell you what happened?” Mark was trying to hide his concern, but it was getting harder and harder.