I'll Give My Life for Her

Prequel

Part 3

A week passed and one day Remy realized that Andrea came out of her parents' bedroom. It shocked her. In a week the woman moved to them with her clothes. She took her mother's pantry and now her things were on her mother's places. This made Remy's heart sink. She went to school and tried to pass as much time there as possible. She trained a lot with her basketball team, she helped those botchers to do their homework for one reason to come home late, to tell her dad and that brown-haired bimbo she was tired and to lock up in her room. Girl's behavior bothered Andrea. She tried to speak to Jared but he said she was too solicitous and there was nothing to worry about. But the situation still bothered her. The woman was trying hard to get closer to the girl but Remy made the gap between them wider and wider.

Morning, Remy's place:

"Good morning, sweetheart," Jared kissed daughter's forehead.

"Morning, dad," Remy replied taking sandwich from a plate.

"Listen, I got a big order and I have to go for two weeks. So, you'll stay with Andy. You have to listen to her, ok? When I come back I'll take you everywhere you like."

She didn't answer just nodded and by expression on her face anyone could tell that Remy wasn't satisfied by her dad's departure.

Day after day girl came home later and later. It was 10 p.m. and Remy just opened the door to find a very pissed off Andrea starring at her.

"Do you know what time is it?" the woman shouted.

"Actually, have no idea," girl said and wanted to go in her room when Andy grabbed her by the sleeve.

"It's ten in the evening. Your school ends at 4 p.m." Andy hissed.

"I was training," she lied.

"Don't lie to me, you don't have a training today."

"I helped the desperate with homework," she lied again. She roamed along the streets doing nothing at all. She failed few test-papers and was horribly afraid when her dad would find out.

"Fine, you don't want to tell me anything. That's fine. Tomorrow I'll take you from school. If you don't be there, I'll call you father, maybe he can do anything about your behavior," she threatened the girl. Remy went to her room and slammed the door behind her.

The next day Andrea came to school after lessons but teachers said Remy wasn't attending classes today. It worried the woman. She called home, Remy wasn't there either. She came home, went to Remy's room and started searching all her note-books for friends, their phone numbers, etc.

Eilin's apartment:

Eilin wasn't Remy's best friend. She talked to her because nobody wanted to be friends with this girl. Her classmates though the girl was weird. She liked reading fantasy books, was always wearing strange clothes like Harry Potter's scarf or Galadriel's belt. The girl lived in a dream and her parents didn't do anything about it, because they were hippies and young at heart. They supported their daughter. Remy liked their apartment very much, 'cause here you could have all the toys you wanted. Doll's castles, carriages with horses, knights in shining armor. Sometimes Eilin's parents yielded to their daughter's persuasion and Remy slept in the guest room after playing the whole evening with Eilin.

Mrs. Trenton came into her daughter's room where two girls were playing and asked: "Remy, why didn't you tell your father that you're here? The police called. They'll come here to take you back home." The woman was definitely angry and upset at the same time. Remy lied them.

"My dad isn't at home. He's working in Flemington right now." Remy said honestly.

"When who's looking after you?" the woman asked.

Later Andrea pressed the door-bell button and Mrs. Trenton opened the door.

"Good evening! I'm here to take Remy home," she said to the woman.

"Who are you? Only a police officer can take the girl," Mrs. Trenton replied starring at Andrea. She showed woman the badge. "So, you're from the police. Sorry, come in, please." She let her in.

"Can you call Remy, please," Andy asked the woman looking around.

"Can we talk?"

"Yes, of course. What is it?" She was piercing the woman with her eyes.

"Maybe it would be better to notify about this accident the guardianship authorities. Who knows how many times her father left her alone," said the woman.

"You want to punish her father only because the girl lied and I think not the first time."

"She said he isn't in the town and he comes only in a week." Mrs. Trenton justified.

"He didn't leave her alone. I'm taking care of her, but she doesn't like me. I have to deal with it, that's all. You want to break the family because liars lie. Her father buried his wife five months ago, he went to raise some money to provide his daughter with anything she needs. He loves her," Andy explained.

"Why then she's at my place but not at home!" The woman deflected.

"Remy suffers a lot. Her mom died. Her dad found a new woman. Girl's world is crashing down, but he must have a life too. He does everything for his daughter. How would you behave knowing that your girl has the same disease as your wife? Doctor said if she passes thirteen without any symptoms maybe she will reach 35 or 40. The girl's dying just like her mother. He wants to raise some money to make her live better, to make her see anything in this world before her death and you want to ruin everything by notifying the guardians' board!" Andrea hissed.

"I'm sorry," woman stared at the police officer with tears in her eyes.

"May I take her home?"

"Yes, sure."

They drove home in silence. Remy didn't say anything and Andrea didn't ask her. Tomorrow the woman picked her up from school and they arrived at her office in the police department. She took Remy in her office and told her to do the homework.

A few minutes later a woman knocked at her door and Andrea went out to talk to the woman. Remy didn't hear the conversation but the woman was crying and Miss Foster tried to calm her down. It seemed to be impossible. After the woman was gone, Andrea came back at her office. She checked Remy's exercises which the girl had already done at her absence.

"Great! Don't understand how you managed to write the test-paper on a negative mark," she praised the girl.

"How'd you know?" Remy was surprised.

"Yesterday I checked everything beginning with school and friends and I finished when I'd found you."

"You should tell me that you're a cop," Remy said.

"You weren't interested. Now you would be. I talked to your teachers they said you could rewrite your test, though you have to study hard, if you don't want me to tell everything your father."

"You know how to convince people to do what you want," Remy retorted.

"Yep, but I don't want to convince you. I want to understand you."

Their conversation was interrupted by the officer.

"Miss Foster, we've found her. You need to go there." He reported.

"Ok. Frank, please, take care of Remy. Here's the money. Take her to a café or a diner, eat something. Don't take your eyes from her. This girl is sly as a fox." She winked at Remy. "I'll try to come back as quickly as possible."

Three hours passed. Frank left the girl in Andrea's office because somebody called him. Sergeant brought a pile of files and left it on Andy's table asking Remy not to touch them. The girl was getting bored, so, she looked around. It was a big office with pictures on the walls a big map and a stand with children' pictures. All of the faces looking from the pictures were missing children. She found a picture of a woman with a baby on Andy's desk. Maybe it was Andy's mother and Andrea as a baby and Remy also saw a photo of herself and her dad. They were skating and laughing in the park. She looked at the picture and smiled. She didn't see anything interesting, so she took a file from the pile and opened it. She gasped. This very moment Andrea came into the room.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked strictly.

"Nothing."

"Don't touch anything on my table!" Andrea yelled at the girl.

"I'm sorry," Remy apologized and put the file back on the pile.

"Did you look?" she asked the frightened child.

"Yes," the girl replied honestly.

Andrea sighed. She came to Remy and put her hand on girl's shoulder: "I'm sorry. I didn't want to yell at you. I just don't want you to see all this. It's not for children."

"Kids in these files, are they all dead?" Remy asked looking in Andrea's eyes.

"Yes, and if you saw the pictures, their death wasn't the easiest one. That's why, Remy, when you come home late I'm worried like hell. I want to be sure you're ok. I love you. I don't want anyone to bring me another file telling me that something wrong happened to you. Maybe you'll understand it sometime," She told the kid.

"The woman you were talking…" Remy didn't finish the sentence.

"We have found her six year-old son yesterday. Somebody threw his body into a refuse bin. How do you think I feel when I find out that you didn't come to school, you weren't at home and no one knows where you are."

"I'm sorry. I won't be late home again, I promise," girl apologized.

Andrea hugged her: "Fine, let's go home."

Usually the one who loves suffers the most...