June 12, 1996

Please God help me. I don't know what I'm going to do. This cannot be my life. It can't be real. He's gone. He's really gone.

"Alright then, let storytime begin," Cameron said from the backseat. Melanie rolled her eyes but smiled despite herself. Gazing off into the distance she took a moment to gather her thoughts before beginning.

"I guess the thing to understand here is that Savannah's home life was different than what most of us were accustomed to. Savannah's parents never had a lot of time for her. She acted like it didn't bother her but those of us who were close to Savannah knew different. Both of her parents maintained extremely demanding careers. Donald was busy with his patients. He would leave early and come in late. As the only doctor in a small town practice, he was always on call."

"Gloria wasn't much different. The bulk of her work was done on the road. Much of her time was spent out of town at business conferences or meeting with clients. When Savannah was young Gloria had repurposed one of their guest rooms into a library/office. She would work from there in between trips locking herself in for hours some days."

Andra was reminded of the conversation she'd had with her mother a few mornings before. "My mom went to school at Inglewood High and she more or less confirmed what you're saying. She said Savannah's parents didn't even bother to show up for her first exhibition game."

"Wait. Your mom played at Inglewood? Savannah and I started the same year. Who is your mom?"

"Denise Morris. It would have been Benson back then."

"Your mom is Denise? She was amazing. They won three of their state championships while she was playing. All of the rookies adored her. She treated us like we mattered and it wasn't unusual for her to stay after practice to help the kids who needed it." Melanie looked over at Andra taking her in as if she were seeing her for the first time. "I can't believe you're Denise's daughter. How crazy is this?"

"Definitely crazy." Andra agreed. The coincidences kept piling up and Andra once again had the unsettling feeling that she was trapped on a runaway train.

Melanie shook her head in disbelief. "Denise Benson's daughter," she muttered quietly under her breath. Andra could see that this new revelation had distracted her and quickly attempted to redirect Melanie with another question.

"So you're saying she didn't have a good relationship with her parents?"

"No. Not exactly," Melanie answered slowly still considering the twist of fate that had brought them to this point. "Savannah's relationship with her dad was good, if not a little distant, but she and Gloria were a different story. There was always friction there. They never saw eye to eye on anything. I think Gloria had always dreamt of a little girl to follow in her footsteps. Someone who loved clothes, spa days, and shopping sprees in the city every bit as much as she did. Instead, she got Savannah." Melanie said a mischievous little grin crossing her lips as she spoke of her friend.

"Savannah wasn't like that then?" Andra asked.

"Not even close," Melanie said laughing. "They used to fight over it. Gloria had specific ideas about how a teenage girl should conduct herself. Especially when that teenage girl happened to be her daughter. Savannah was outspoken and loud. She preferred t-shirts and blue jeans to designer clothes and rock music to the classical stuff that Gloria loved so much. She was athletic and competitive so it was no surprise to anyone except her mother when she started showing an interest in sports."

"Gloria had always envisioned her daughter in tutus and ball gowns. The idea of Savannah participating in anything more competitive than cheerleading had never crossed her mind until Savannah made the volleyball team. I think that was when they started drifting apart. Gloria didn't understand her daughter at all. It's really kind of sad too because Savannah had a way about her. Everyone loved her. You see Savannah was one of those rare people who was comfortable in her own skin. She knew who she was and what she wanted. Or at least it seemed that way until those last few months."

"So how did Gloria end up hospitalized?" Cameron asked.

"The details on that are a little less clear although I think I'm starting to understand it better now. I went to check in on Gloria shortly after Savannah died. She was doing about as well as could be expected under the circumstances."

" As long as I had known Gloria she had always been so well put together. She was ready to entertain visitors at a moment's notice. Savannah used to joke that the woman slept in makeup and heels. When I went to see her that day though she answered the door in sweat pants and a t-shirt with no makeup and her hair hanging loose. It was the middle of the afternoon but she looked as if she had just rolled out of bed and I'm not sure she hadn't. She looked twenty years older than her actual age."

"She talked a lot about Savannah that afternoon. We both did. Not unusual I guess considering what we'd been through. It was just that when Gloria talked about her she spoke in the present tense. She acted as if Savannah could have walked into the room at any minute. At the time I chalked it up to her grief but now I'm just not sure."

"Do you think it's possible that Gloria was seeing Savannah too?" Cameron asked.

"Yes. I think it's highly likely. If all of us had seen her, it seems plausible that she would have visited her mother. I just wish she had confided in me. Maybe things wouldn't have gotten as bad as they did."

Melanie paused for a moment before speaking again. Glancing over Andra noticed the odd shine in her eyes and the nervous way she chewed at her bottom lip. Proof of just how hard Melanie was struggling to keep her emotions in check. Reliving things that she had kept so well hidden was beginning to take a serious toll on her. Andra just hoped she'd be able to recover from it a second time.

"I spent the entire afternoon with her." Melanie continued. "I left before dark so I wasn't there for what happened later that night. Now, this part I gathered secondhand from her neighbors and the hospital staff. You've been out to the house so you know that her nearest neighbors weren't just right down the road."

"No." Cameron piped up from the backseat. "The nearest house is probably a mile out give or take."

"Exactly," Melanie said. "The Stanley's used to live there. Their oldest son Ryan used to hang out with us some. According to Ryan he and his parents were woken a little after one in the morning to screams coming from outside. His dad ran onto the front porch to see what was going on directing his wife to call the police on the way out the door. When he got out there the only thing he found was Gloria. She was in a thin nightgown running down the center of the street barefoot and screaming at the top of her lungs. He managed to get her inside and calmed down to an extent. She had quit screaming anyway but she was completely detached from reality. She wasn't answering questions or acknowledging anyone else in the room. From the time they got her inside until the cops arrived fifteen minutes later, she only said one word. Savannah. She repeated it over a half dozen times before the ambulance arrived to take her away."

"She remained hospitalized for a few weeks but never really came around. Her extended family made the trip in from out of town. Gloria's parents had been gone for a long time but she had a sister and aunt who showed up. They were fairly wealthy themselves. When it became obvious that Gloria wasn't going to pull out of it they had her moved to the facility she's in now. From what the staff at the hospital told me the family established a large trust for her. Its sole purpose is to ensure that Gloria's medical care is paid for. They haven't been back to visit her."

"Not at all?" Andra asked in surprise.

"Not at all." Melanie echoed. "I visit her once or twice a month. I'm the only visitor she ever has."

"That's so sad," Andra said. "Why would they just leave her like that?"

"I'm not sure," Melanie answered. "I think maybe Gloria's upbringing might have mirrored Savannah's in a lot of ways. I don't know that she was ever really close with any of her relatives. They take care of her bills because they feel obligated to but they don't feel the same obligation to visit." A disgusted look crossed Melanie's face but was gone as quickly as it appeared.

"So is that who owns the house now?" Cameron asked.

"Yep," Melanie replied. "They attempted to sell it forever ago but it didn't go well. The family that moved in didn't stay long. A couple of months or something like that. Someone told me they bailed in the middle of the night."

Andra threw Cameron a knowing look over the top of the seat. This story they had heard too.

"So there's been no change at all since then?" Andra asked

"I wouldn't say that," Melanie replied. "It's just that mentally her reality doesn't always match up with ours. You'll understand soon enough." She said turning the car off the highway into a large paved parking area. "I hope you two are ready because we're here."