Free Flesh and Feathers by Danielle Hylton, April Fifer Page B

disbelief.
    When the police arrived, I gave my statement and watched the coroner haul Mr. Parker out in a black body bag. I felt dizzy and everything seemed so surreal. Hearing my name called over and over brought me out of my reverie. Jen came rushing through a crowd of people that were wearing uniforms. She grabbed me, hugging me tightly, but I couldn’t quite return the embrace.
    “Oh my gosh, Az, are you okay?” She brushed her hand repeatedly over my face, wiping away tears and make-up that had painted it. “What happened?”
    I was so lost. I had no idea what had happened and didn’t know how to explain it to her. “I’m… I’m… not sure.”
    “I heard someone had passed away in your apartment building and rushed over here. Who was it?” Her voice sounded like she was relieved it wasn’t me.
    “Mr. Parker..., he was my friend. I found him lying on the floor holding the phone,” I said, glancing down at my hands while they shook in my lap. I looked up at her with tears streaming down my face where she had just wiped clean. “He had no family. There’s no one to notify.” When I said it, I realized how sad it sounded or how sad it really was for that matter.  
    “Az, come stay with me tonight. You shouldn’t be alone.” She stroked my hair from my face while more tears fell to the ground, soaking in the dirt and disappearing.
    “Okay, just let me grab a few things.” I said.
    Once we made it to Jen’s place, I all but passed out on the couch. Lying there with my eyes closed and my head throbbing, I was on the verge of incoherence. I could hear Jen moving about the apartment, and then I heard her go back to her bedroom and shut the door. My throat was dry and constricted, so I pulled myself up and went to the kitchen to find something to drink. Opening the refrigerator door, I was not surprised by the organization of it. Bottles of water were neatly lined on the bottom shelf, all with their labels facing the same direction. I just shook my head in amusement, grabbing one of the bottles and twisting the cap. I had tilted it back to take a sip when I heard Jen talking in a hushed voice. I moved slowly down the hall trying to hear better. Then I realized that she was on the phone. I pressed my ear against the door, and I heard her say, “Yeah, she’s with me…. No, no everything is fine…. I know that…. I will get her to stay here for a couple of days until he can get settled in…. Wait… I think I hear something.” That was my queue to get my ass back in the living room. I tip toed down the hall in a hurry and slipped into the bathroom just seconds before she opened the door. When I heard the door shut again, I rushed over to the couch and lay down. It wasn’t long before the effects of the evening had taken their toll on me, and I fell asleep.  
    The next morning I awoke to the warm smell of coffee. Jen was sitting at the kitchen table reading the newspaper. I really didn’t see Jen as a newspaper kind of girl–I thought of her as more of a Cosmopolitan kind of girl.
    “How are you feeling this morning?” she asked.
    Rubbing my eyes I replied, “I’m okay, I guess.”
    “You’ve had a rough night.”
    “Do think I could stay here for a few days? I just can’t bear to go home.” The fact was–it was the truth.
    She smiled at me. “Of course, you can stay as long as you’d like.”
    I stayed with her for almost a week, not wanting to leave. Jen kept me busy, which helped me keep my mind off of things. Finally, when the time came to return home, I was reluctant to say the least.  
    Placing my key in the lock, I felt a sudden overwhelming sadness. After opening the door I stood there, looking inside. A small gust of air came from down the hall, bringing with it an all too familiar scent. Mr. Parker’s apartment carried the fragrance of jasmine down the hall. It was almost like he wasn’t really gone. A loud noise of something breaking made me jump. I looked down towards his