I did what I promised myself after school and called the police. I had to sneek away from Sandeul though, he wouldn't get off my back all day. I know he cares, but I think that this should be handled differently. 

Now, I'm just sitting in the back of this car waiting for someone to tell me something. 

I stared out the window for a very long time before the detective got into the front seat of the car and turned to me. He smiled his best. 

"Hello."

"Hi," I mumbled back. 

"I'm Detective Lee." 

"I'm Christina, but most call me Chris."

"Well, Chris, was your mom not tied up when you found her?"

"She was."

"Why was she untied?"

I my lips. 

"Okay, Chris, no one is going to hurt you and no one has to know, it can be a secret between you and me. What happened?"

I in some air through my nose and took a moment to think about the past events. "She had a client last night, it was 11 when he showed up. I was already in my bedroom, and I waited until they got into her bedroom and left for work."

"Work?"

"The nearby farm, the one up the road."

"Okay, what else happened?"

"I worked all night, then I came home early. I got ready for school, and I happen to pass her room. Usually when she has a client, she closes the door, but this morning the door was opened. That's when I found her, and I-I-I-" I let out some tears. "I know she wasn't the best mom, but no one deserves to die like that! I found her tied up to the headboard, and was slit."

"Chris, calm down and take deep breaths," he paused. "Wait, you saw the body?"

I nodded.

"Chris, when did you see the body?"

"This morning."

"Why didn't you call then?"

"Be-because I needed some time to breath."

He looked away and rubbed the bottom of his chin. "That means someone was at the crime scene other than you."

The detective turned back around to me. "Alright, Chris, I have a son about your age. What school do you go to?"

"The singing school."

"Arianna's school for the arts?"

I nodded. 

The detective smiled. "I think you and my son will get along then." 

~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>

I guess I dozed off when the detective showed up at his house because I woke up on some couch in his house. Then again, I could hear some yelling as well.

"What do you mean she might know our son?You shouldn't bring in people that you can't fully trust, what if she is the killer?"

"She isn't the killer, if she was, she wouldn't had gone to work. The body was killed while she was working."

"And how do you know she was working?"

"I called the work place she works at, and they comfirmed that she worked from midnight to 6 o'clock in the morning."

I slowly got off the couch and crept to where the yelling was. Of course it was in the stupid kitchen. I slowly opened the door to find detective Lee and his wife argue. 

Both of them were looking at me. 

"Chris?"

"Hi, Mrs. Lee."

Mrs. Lee gave out a sigh of relief. "I thought you brought home a complete stranger, not one of Sandeul's friends. I thought you said there was a murder victim's daughter was staying here!"

The Detective his lips and let out a sigh. His hands were on his hips and he didn't have his coat on. "She is the murder victim's daughter."

Mrs. Lee looked at me and then back at her husband. "What? This sweet little girl," she turned to me and gave me a quick hug, "you poor baby." She cupped the sides of my cheeks and smiled. "You can stay as long as you need to, okay?"

"Thank you, Mrs. Lee."

"Here, why don't we clean you up? I'll get a warm bath started and you can wear one Sandeul's old shirts."

She hobbled off. 

_______________________________________

Other POV~

“I’ve heard a lot about you from Sandeul, you’ve left quite the impression on the kid.” Mr.Lee remarked. You just nodded shyly. You had been over to Sandeul’s house before, but you had never met his dad. You didn’t know he was taking you here.

“Sandeul’s not home is he?” You asked, hoping he wasn’t.

“Not yet, he says he lost his songbook, so he’s looking around the campus for it.” Mr.Lee said, watching you closely.

“Oh, I have it. I should’ve returned it by now, I’m sorry.” You handed him the book from your backpack. He nodded, and took it from your hand.

“Then I’ll call Sandeul and let him know it’s here.” He said, starting for his cell phone.

“Wait!” You called out.

“Yes?” He asked, surprised by your action.

“Can you not mention that I’m here? I didn’t tell him about my mom…” You trailed off.

“I understand, but this is his house, and you will be in his bathtub… and then wearing his shirt… and then sleeping next to his room.” Mr.Lee explained. You cringed.

“I just feel bad not telling him about my mom. He’s my best friend, and I lied to him… but I didn’t know what to do… She.. We never got along, but that doesn’t mean… I didn’t want her dead!” You started to cry again.

“I’m sure Sandeul will understand, but I’ll let you tell him since it means so much to you. Now run off and take your bath.” He motioned out the door, and he started to call Sandeul. You followed where Mrs. Lee had been to the bathroom, and you could faintly hear behind you.

“Sandeul, go ahead and come home your songbook is here… yes…. well, we have a guest…. this person had it with them… No, you’ll see them when you get here…” His voice got faint.

“Bath’s all ready!” Mrs. Lee said. She kissed your forehead.

“I’m so sorry about everything you’ve been through. You’re such a tough child, I had no idea your home life was so hard.” She gave you a sad sympathetic look that only mothers can give. You just tilted your head, and slipped into the bathroom.

“Is there a towel and clothes? Or should I get those myself?” You asked politely. She gave you another saddened smile.

“I left those on the counter. Take as long as you’d like, okay? Holler if you need me.” She left you in peace, and you heard her sigh sympathetically as she went back to her husband. You closed the door, and looked at yourself in the mirror.

You were a bit of a wreck. Your hair was a mess. Sandeul was right. Something looked wrong with you. You had dirt all over from the manual labor you did, and blood dotted your shirt underneath Sandeul’s jacket. You slipped off the jacket and hung it on a hook.

You tested the water with a foot and it felt perfect, so you undressed yourself. You couldn’t remember the last time you took a bath. When it came to personal grooming, you did the bare minimum. You sometimes would take a shower if work was light, and you tried to at least brush your teeth every day.

You slipped into the bath and heard the front door slam. You immediately tensed up, thinking of your mother’s clients, but it was only Sandeul, and you knew that. You started to cry again at the thought of you mother. All you wanted was for your mother to come in and be back to normal, tell you to pay the bills, or tell you to cook food, or remind you how you ‘stole’ her client that one time. You just wanted her back. You didn’t care if she came back any nicer, or loving, you just wanted her back. You continued to cry, but every so often you let out a yawn, you had hardly slept for the past couple of weeks because work had been picking up.

You washed your hair quickly with the soap, and even went so far as to shave with the mother’s razor, you cleaned it well though so she wouldn’t notice. After draining the tub, you felt ready for bed, but a yawn reminded you that you needed to work. You slipped on the clothes Mrs. Lee had laid out, and then prayed you wouldn’t run into Sandeul. He had yet to learn who the guest was. You saw the family eating dinner together at their table. You wished you could join, but you weren’t a part of their family.. You wished your mom had sat down to eat with you once in awhile, just to catch up or something. They all suddenly laughed at some joke. You wanted to laugh with them, but you couldn’t. You weren’t a part of the family. You sighed, and snuck towards the door. You opened it quietly, using your years of sneaking out as practice. You hopped onto Sandeul’s bike and pedaled to your workplace.

“Sorry! I had quite an eventful day boss, I didn’t even think I’d be able to come!” You said upon arriving. He gave you his normal look, which you appreciated because he was always reliably the same, uncaring about your personal life, or who you are, he just was there to help you out, get some help around, and pay cheap for it.

“I got a new shipment in, if you’ll unload it, it’s not much, so after sweeping the shop, you can leave.” He said. You nodded.

“And the pay?” You asked.

“I’ll give you 5 dollars for sweeping, and 4 dollars per crate you unload.” He said, you nodded and got to work, forgetting about your mother, and the Lee’s all at once.

The Lee’s hadn’t forgotten you though, and once they realized you weren’t in the tub they began a frantic search to find you. Mr. Lee had an idea though. He checked the garage for bikes.

“I know where our guest is, Sandeul, come with me in the car and we’ll go get our guest.” He said, opening the car door.