The Sound of Friday Night

3:59am
she noticed officer Walsh look at her partner across the front seat
they spoke a few words which were too quiet to hear
she counted the seconds between wiper passes
it was raining now

she looked in the rearview mirror and saw a look in Officer Walsh's eyes that seemed to say, "it's going to be alright"

3:39am
she was awakened by a woman with a gun and a badge
there was another, a man, close by
she said softly "my name is officer Walsh"
"we need you to help us answer a few questions"

she noticed that the her badge number was 71792... Tracy's birthday

1:25am
as the tears finally came, she laid next to the stonethe grass was wet and the dirt stuck to her faceshe said "I love you Tracy" over and over"it's gonna be ok now, I promise, I promise..."

she didn't mean to fall asleep

1:05am
17 blocks... she had never counted them before
from the place she lived to the place her sister slept
the cold shiny stone spoke her name to any who would listen
"Tracy Leigh Cullen, 1992-2003"

she suddenly remembered that her sister's initials were TLC and smiled weakly

12:27am
she walked down the stairs, instead of taking the elevator
each step echoing in time with the heart beat in her head
as she reached the street, the ambulance pulled up
and two paramedics, a man and a woman, ran by

they didn't see the sad girl walking by

12:14am
she sat down on the table next to them for a moment
and every dark memory ran through her mind
as if fleeing finally after being trapped for years
finally able to breathe, finally able to see

she didn't hear the sirens in the distance

12:13am
her mother sat in the blood, unable to move or speak
they exchanged glances, but only for a moment
this was one of those moments when the lines between good and evil
sometimes were hard to distinguish

she didn't see the tear in her mother's eye roll down a bruised cheek

12:12am
"c'mon now you crazy... what do you think........."
then incredible sound....... then nothing
she walked over and noticed the blood draining from the hole in his chest
into the cracks in the hardwood floor

she didn't feel any remorse....... at all

12:11am
he said "put down that thing"
"you're gonna do something you regret"
she thought "the only thing going down tonight is you"
"and all that you've done, I intend to never forget"

he never saw the "hard as steel" resolve in her eyes

12:10am
he turned around and glared at her with "those eyes"
she remembered the look, from once before
"not again" she said
"not this time, you son of a bitch"

she couldn't feel the fear anymore

12:05am
she looked around the corner
and saw his shape, and wanted to puke
the steel in her hand felt cold
like the heart that raced furiously in her chest

she didn't notice the trembling of her hand

12:03am
the gun was heavy in her hand
but she felt unusually strong tonight
she walked out of her room
then she slowly closed the door behind her forever

she didn't notice the sound of a bone breaking in the other room

12:01am
she awoke to the sound of Friday night
she heard her mother crying as knuckles crushed skin
his screaming only confirmed what she already knew
she wondered if this was the night......
as she walked pensively across a dirty floor

he never heard the sound of one drawer creaking slowly

May 29, 2005