Run, Girl (If You Can)

Sophie Quinn was making her way home from school when she got a text from her mother asking her to pick up some milk. She needed it for the recipe she was making for dinner and they were out.

She rolled her eyes. How come she was always the one stuck with these sorts of chores? Just because she was the oldest child still living at home? Aiden was lucky—he escaped the Quinn family's apartment and was living on his own so he didn't have to deal with this anymore.

She felt a bit of sympathy for him. He probably used to have to do this all the time since he was the oldest. 

Annoyed, Sophie kicked a bottle cap lying on the sidewalk. It ricocheted off a brick wall before hitting a dark shape lying on the ground in the alley. Was that a person?!

"Hey, are you okay?" she cried in alarm as she stepped closer.

She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw all of the blood. A piercing scream escaped her throat, causing a few passersby to come running. All she could do was point at the body in mute horror.

Somebody called 911 right as Sophie fainted.

===

When her eyes fluttered open, she saw three orange heads swimming in her vision. As it focused, she recognized her family's worried faces.

"Mom," she croaked. "I'm sorry I couldn't get the milk."

Ava Reilly (formerly Quinn) shook her head and clasped her daughter's hands tightly in her own. "Please don't apologize baby, you wouldn't have even been there if I hadn't asked that of you! I'm the one who's sorry."

"What happened to Sophie, Mommy?" Jack, her three-year-old half-brother asked.

Aiden and Ava exchanged a worried glance. They didn't want to talk about a corpse in front of the baby. 

"I wasn't feeling well so I passed out," Sophie lied.

She didn't want to spoil Jack's innocence either. It was obvious that the older members of her family already knew. She suppressed a shudder as she thought about those lifeless sea green eyes.

"All better now?" he persisted with a worried look on his face.

She nodded around the lump in her throat, touched by his concern. Normally she didn't have much affection for Jack because she resented having to be a babysitter constantly. She certainly hadn't asked for her mom to get remarried and have a baby when she was already a teenager. 

"I feel much better. Thanks, buddy."

A nurse came in and whispered something to Ava, who nodded her head at her oldest child as she took a reluctant Jack away. He didn't want to leave his sister but she told him she needed help making Sophie's favorite cookies to cheer her up. That perked him right up.

Aiden sat down in the chair next to the hospital bed with a creased brow. It was strange seeing him look so worried since he was normally such a goofball.

"Mom's taking him home because the police want to talk to you. They're waiting downstairs," he said grimly. "I'll be right here though so don't be nervous. You're a minor; you're allowed to have an adult with you."

Normally Sophie would scoff at the idea that her video game addict brother was a real adult but she had to admit he looked awfully serious right now. She was glad to have him here with her.

She buried her face in her hands. The sight of that dead woman had been horrible. She was going to have nightmares for weeks.

"Sophie Quinn?" a gentle female voice asked from the doorway. The voice didn't match the owner's appearance at all; this was one tough looking woman.

"That's me," she said dully.

"I'm sorry for what happened to you today. How are you feeling?"

"Freaked out. At least my head doesn't hurt. My mom said somebody caught me before I hit the ground."

The woman smiled. "That's perfectly understandable, all things considering. I'm Detective Flynn; can my partner Detective Ruano and I ask you a few questions?"

Sophie nodded, twisting the somewhat scratchy bedsheets in her hands nervously. Aiden placed a protective hand on her shoulder to let her know he had her back. There probably wasn't a time she had ever appreciated her lazy big brother more.

The detectives sat down in chairs at the end of the bed. Detective Flynn began the questioning.

"Start from the beginning. Try to include as many details, such as times, as possible," she said soothingly. "It will help us with our investigation."

Taking a deep breath, Sophie told her story. "I got out of school at 2:45 PM. I was on my way home when I got a text from my mom asking me to get some milk for her. She sent the text at…"

She checked her phone for the timestamp to make sure she had it right. "…3:02 PM. I was walking for about five minutes before I kicked a bottle cap on the ground and it hit the body. That's how I found her. Um…who was she? Or can you not tell me?"

Detective Ruano spoke up for the first time. "I'm afraid we don't know that yet. There wasn't any identification found at the scene."

Sophie wasn't sure whether or not that was good news for her peace of mind. Would it be better or worse to know whose cold corpse she had found on the way home from school? Knowing a name would make it seem a lot more real. But not knowing…it might haunt her for the rest of her life.

"Could you possibly tell me once you've figured it out? Just so…" she couldn't adequately explain her muddled thoughts.

"Of course we can. Your peace of mind is important. I would recommend seeing a therapist for a while to help you cope."

She frowned. Her mom definitely could not afford a therapist. "I don't think I can—"

"I'll cover you," Aiden said firmly. "I have a good job, I can afford it."

Her mouth rounded into an 'o' of surprise. Since when had he been able to afford anything? He lived in a crappy apartment in Washington Heights and worked in IT.

Although…come to think of it, he didn't have any roommates and owned a car. Both of those things were practically unheard of for people in their early twenties living in Manhattan. How much did he make at his job anyway?

"May we have your contact information Miss Quinn? So we can contact you with any further questions or to let you know what we find about the victim's identity," Detective Flynn explained.

Sophie rattled off her cell phone number and address for them before accepting the detective's business card. She never thought she would be involved in a murder case. Now she was a witness at the tender age of seventeen. Unbelievable.