Savannah sat down gently next to her childhood friend and cradled her.
"Natalie, even if you had of been sleeping walking, you didn't kill Joe. I've known you all my life. You're too good of a person to do something so evil." Savannah shook her head in disbelief envisioning her childhood friend murdering her husband.
"But I hated what he did to me. I resented him for lying, cheating, and beating me. What if all that anger, that was buried deep down, surfaced after I blacked out that night?" Natalie sobbed onto Savannah's shoulder.
"Natalie, let the doctors analyze your mental stability. I refuse to believe my around-the -way home-girl would do something like this. You've got a hectic day tomorrow and you have been through a traumatic experience. We are not going to dwell on that idiotic notion any more tonight." Savannah hugged Natalie tightly.
"I-I just don't know any more Savannah about anything. I feel like I am losing my mind! My world is collapsing around me and I am so confused." Natalie sobbed.
Savannah pulled the blanket out of the floor next to the chaise where Brant slept. He had kicked it off of himself prior as he twisted and turned for comfort on the suede upholstery. She guided the plush blanket over her and Natalie as they fell asleep into each other's arms.
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Morning came quickly with the sweet aroma of bacon and eggs. Natalie awakened at the other end of the sofa. She glanced around and noticed Savannah slumped over on the other side of the plush couch. Natalie smiled to herself. Savannah was always in her corner and by her side when she needed her. She had always resented Joseph for alienating her from her family and friends. If she had not been so afraid of him, she would have linked up with her childhood buddies years ago. Brant and Savannah would have given her the courage to leave. They would have reminded her of who she used to be.
Natalie eased her glare away from Savannah and peered into the kitchen. Brant was dressed in a long red silk robe holding a spatula in one hand and a cell phone in the other. Swinging her legs gently off the couch, Natalie sat still and placed her head into her palms. She waited for an ache or throb to beat mercilessly against her temples, but it never came.
"That smells good Brant," Savannah said as she slowly sat up and stared into the kitchen.
"I have been trying to wake yall' up for the past fifteen minutes. I knew the smell of food would shake you heffas' from your sleep." Brant chirped while scraping bacon from the pan onto to a plate.
"What time is it?" Savannah yawned and stretched.
"Time for you to get up before you are late for work and Natalie you know you got to meet with Leeland in the next hour." Brant scolded as he walked over to the couch.
"Yes, my Jewish mother!" Natalie bellowed.
"What were you guys doing last night while I was passed out?" Brant raised his eyebrow and frowned as he grabbed the dish detergent off the coffee table. "I am not even going to ask about this." Brant sneered as he walked over to the small dining room.
"Natalie thinks she may have been sleepwalking and possibly washed your dishes during an episode" Savannah stood up from the couch and stretched again before joining Natalie and Brant at the table.
"It's a possibility. Something has been a little off with me lately." Natalie shrugged as she walked over to the table to eat.
"So, big deal. I had a cousin in Missouri that used to sleepwalk and eat raw meat out of the refrigerator. My aunt had to wait until he left for school in the morning before she could thaw it" Brant sat across from Natalie and began to eat.
"Okay...It's official, your family is weird! And Natalie thinks that she may have killed her husband while sleepwalking." Savannah bit a couple of pieces of bacon before taking a seat beside Brant.
"Oh, no Natty Bug! You didn't do that. That's not your character." Brant reached for another piece of bacon.
"Brant, you cannot say that! You don't know that. I have never fainted the way that I have been fainting also my migraines have gotten worse. I'm tired of everyone telling me what I am and what I am not capable of," Natalie yelled causing her two friends to look at her strangely.
"It's okay Natalie. Once you go to the doctor's, you will have a clear answer as to what's going on with you." Savannah looked over at Brant and smiled slightly.
"Calm down. I guess you're right Natalie. Maybe you did kill the bastard. I mean it's not like the fat fuck didn't deserve it." Brant grinned without looking up at his two friends and continued eating.
Savannah bit her lip seethingly at Brant. He always had a carefree way of saying whatever came to his mind. It didn't matter the situation or the relative seriousness of it, Brant was going to say whatever was swirling around in his throat and allow it to glide effortlessly off of his tongue.
Savannah wanted to tell him that his comment was inappropriate, she wanted to smack the eggs out of his mouth, but when she saw Natalie grin slightly, she couldn't do anything but laugh. Suddenly, the three friends began to erupt in laughter.
"You have a sick sense of humor Brant. I cannot believe that I just smiled at what you said. See, I told you guys that I am losing my marbles." Natalie smirked.
"Well, I was only reinstating what you were implying Natty Bug. And there is nothing wrong with laughing through your pain." Brant continued to laugh.
Their laughter was interrupted by Natalie's phone buzzing on the coffee table. Natalie walked over and grabbed it.
"Hello Sugar Plum, how are you doing? I wanted to make sure you were doing well. Did you make it to the police station?" Mrs. Pritchard asked.
"Yes, ma'am. I did." Natalie said.
"Great, great. Your father just left here. You know darling, he is a very handsome man. Your mother is a lucky woman." Mrs. Pritchard beamed.
"Thank you, Mrs. Pritchard. I appreciate your concern and your compliment about my daddy." Natalie heckled.
"Listen, honey, I'm a little bit concerned about something I saw earlier today.", Mrs. Pritchard's tone of voice reminded Natalie of an old school teacher concerned over declining math grades.
"Oh really, what's that?" Natalie frowned her face.
"Early this morning, as I was walking Kingsley, I saw a woman walking around your house. I thought it was that aggressive cop lady with the red lipstick but this woman was much taller and slender. She didn't go inside but it looked as though she was looking for something or someone." Mrs. Pritchard responded.
Natalie raised her eyebrows. "Did you call the police?"
"No love, I sure didn't. I thought maybe it might have been reporters. They've been coming by lately doing their little news skits out front and around the house. I have seen them walk around the property on several occasions"
"Was she black, white, Hispanic,?" Natalie asked.
"Well, I don't think that she was white and she certainly didn't look black. She may have been Hispanic. Should there be a concern over this?" Mrs. Pritchard held the phone close to her ear waiting for Natalie's reply.
"I don't know yet, there's a possibility. Did she see you, Mrs. Pritchard?" Natalie looked over at her friends at the kitchen table. Brant and Savannah had put down their utensils and were listening intensely to Natalie's conversation.
"I called out to her. She looked at me, nodded, and smiled before walking down the street. She could have been a nosy relative of one of the neighbors. Do you know that they still have police tape surrounding your residence darling?"
"She didn't have a car? She just came onto private property while traveling on foot?" Natalie asked ignoring the question.
"Yes dear. She walked down the street without saying a word after I spoke to her. I tried to follow her but she cut through some bushes near Edison's pool house and flower garden and disappeared. It could have been a reporter or neighbor. Should I call the police?" Victoria asked.
"Thank you for calling me and telling me this Mrs. Pritchard. I will call the police. I just need you to be ready with your statement of what you saw." Natalie exhaled.
"Oh honey, why don't you call me Victoria? Mrs. Pritchard makes me sound so old and boring." Victoria pouted.
"I'm sorry. It's my manners. Thank you, Victoria. I will be contacting the police about this and calling you back." Natalie answered.
"Okay, darling."
Natalie hung up the phone and looked over at Brant and Savannah who had taken a seat on the couch facing her.
"Somebody was around your house?" Savannah questioned.
"Apparently someone was snooping. Victoria's thinks it may have been a neighbor or a reporter. Either or, the situation is strange." Natalie began to twist the diamond on her finger.
"You think they knew Joseph?" Brant asked.
"I don't know Brant. I'm going to get dressed so I can talk to Leeland about the funeral and get to this doctor's appointment. Maybe I can get one of the detectives to meet me at Leeland's church." Natalie headed down the hallway and jumped in the shower.
"What do you think about that Brant?" Savannah folded her arms and looked over at Brant.
"I think Natalie needs to gather her things, sell that house, and get the fuck out of Bethesda. Too much weird stuff is happening. Her husband is murdered in the same house as she and her son also, she kept secrets from us about him hitting her. We could have been saved her from this situation years ago, and now some lady is walking around her house? " Brant winced.
"The only reason that she didn't tell us, Brant, is because she was ashamed." Savannah shrugged.
"Ashamed of what? Brant rose from the couch and began to wash the dishes in the sink.
"You know, typical things that people are ashamed of when they have secrets. Like, ridicule, laughter, humiliation, and all the other bullshit that comes with it." Savannah shook her head.
"I don't know about all of that. My main concern right now is trying to figure out who the hell would be walking around someone's house that early in the morning peeking inside. This whole situation is not making any sense to me." Brant raised his voice over the running water of the sink.
"It isn't making sense to me either. I'm going to get dressed for work and drop Natalie off at Leeland's church. Will you be able to pick her up?" Savannah asked.
"Of course I can. And I have plans on taking her to Magnolia Lane." Brant continued to wash dishes.
"No. It's too soon for her to go there, Brant." Savannah pleaded.
"I'm just driving by the house. I'm not getting out of the car nor is she. She has to learn to deal with this head-on little by little." Brant dried his hands on a dishtowel and turned to Savannah.
"Yeah. I guess. I hope you know what you're doing." Savannah said.
"Trust me. We will have our girl back in no time." Brant smiled.