by Hart, Rebel
The officer stepped up to the table. “Can you point to it?”
I pressed down onto the picture. “That one. That’s the car that ran me off the road.”
The officer nodded. “And you’re sure of this?”
Rae snapped her eyes up. “I’ll never forget what that car looked like.”
I shook my head. “Neither will I. That’s the car. Both of us are sure.”
The officer grinned. “All right. Follow me. Time for the lineup before we ask you both some questions.”
Rae clung to me as we were ushered into another room. Beside us was the officer who greeted us in the first room. And on the other side of us was a man who looked like a detective. We stood in front of a window that peered into a room, with something that looked like a height chart plastered onto the back wall.
I snickered. “Wow. It really does look like the TV shows.”
And when Rae let out the softest giggle, it spread a wide smile across my face.
There she is.
The detective turned to us. “All right. It’s simple. Some men will file in, and you two will point out the guys you recognize.”
Rae finally spoke. “How many men are there going to be?”
The detective shook his head. “I’m not at liberty to discuss that. All you two have to do is point out the four boys from that night. Okay?”
I nodded. “Got it.”
The first line of guys filed in, and I recognized none of them. I looked down at Rae to see if she had any opinions, but she shook her head, too. None of them looked familiar and I felt my stomach drop. Until another line of guys filtered in.
Rae perked up. “The one on the far right.”
The officer nodded. “Number?”
I licked my lips. “Number One. Definitely. He was the one calling the shots that night. The one driving.”
Rae scoffed. “He’s the one that kept making the sexual jeers at me all night. He’s one of those boys.”
The detective sighed. “Any other ones look familiar?”
And when we both shook our heads, they sent the guys away.
We looked at five lines of guys before pointing out the four boys that had attacked us that night. I was confident in every single one we picked out. Rae was right there with me, too. Backing me up and even explaining what their roles had been. The leader. The driver. The one feeding everyone else opened beers. She even explained my relation to two of them, outlining the fight that had taken place at school. Her memory was fucking dead-on, and it was impressive.
But I knew it’d lead to a lot of uncomfortable questions with the officer later.
Anger radiated off her. With every line of guys that trudged in, she squeezed my hand harder. Her face grew redder. Seeing their faces brought back memories I wanted to forget. But Rae looked like she could practically kill over them. I smoothed my thumb over her knuckles as I pulled her close, trying to calm her down as much as I could.
Then, as we were ushered into a room for questioning, Rae turned around.
“What happens now?”
The detective cleared his throat. “Well, there are some questions the police will want to ask. All you have to do is answer them as honestly as you can. If you don’t remember, say you don’t. And whatever you do, don’t lie. They’ll write down your testimony, you’ll sign it, and that’ll be admitted into evidence when these boys go on trial. If they go on trial.”
Rae bristled. “What do you mean ‘if’?”
I sighed. “I have to press charges.”
She paused. “Wait, you haven’t done that already?”
The officer slipped into the room. “We haven’t gotten to that point yet. But once you answer my questions, we can go over his options.”
The detective nodded. “You’re in good hands. Just answer the questions honestly, then we can go over what to charge these boys with. If you want to press them.”
Rae scoffed. “Of course he’s pressing charges. Right?”
She looked up at me, searching for an answer. But I didn’t know what to say.
“Right. Clint?”
I sucked air through my teeth. “What would I even charge them with?”
The officer put a hand on my shoulder. “Once we get your signed testimony, we’ll get you linked up with a lawyer. Because you’re going to want to talk to one, kid.”
Rae looked up at me. “You’ll talk to one at least, right?”
I nodded. “Of course. Yeah.”
But, deep down, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to.
I mean, yeah. I’d almost died. But I’d had a hand in how this played out, too. The fight on the football field. And I didn’t have the cleanest record with the police department in the first place. They’d broken up way too many parties I’d attended over the years. I’d gotten myself into plenty of trouble, speeding around on my bike and defacing public property with spray paint because I’d been an asshole as a freshman. Did a guy like me really stand a chance in court with something like this?
I wasn't sure. And Rae didn’t like that.
“You have to press charges, Clint.”
I sighed. “Let’s get these questions answered first. One step at a time, okay?”
“Why in the world wouldn't you?”
The officer interrupted us. “If the two of you would take a seat, we don’t have a lot of time.”
The detective nodded. “Go on. I’ll be in the hallway once you’re done.”
“Clint?”
The helplessness in Rae’s voice punched me in the gut. I led her over to the table, trying my best to rip her away from the topic of conversation. My mind swirled with too many things, and it made it hard to concentrate. One step at a time. All I wanted to do was take it one step at a time. And after this sworn testimony or whatever the hell it was came to a close, we could discuss the next steps. Talk about what came after this.
Preferably with Cecilia.
31
Raelynn
I sat at the table. “Thanks for having me over for dinner. I really appreciate it.”
Allison’s mom smiled at me. “You know you’re always welcome, Rae. Anytime.”
Allison’s father nodded. “Especially after the day you had yesterday.”
I peeked over at Allison. “My day.”
My best friend nodded. “I told them about you and Clint heading to the police station. I hope that’s okay.”
I nodded slowly. “Yeah, yeah. That’s fine.”
Her mom slid the biscuits to me. “You know if you want to talk about it, we’re here.”
Her dad spooned me up some mashed potatoes. “Do you know if he’s going to press charges at all?”
Allison scoffed. “I think he should, at least. Those boys need to get what’s coming to them.”
My eyebrows rose. “Wow. Harsh language coming from you.”
Her mom murmured. “Well, it’s true. The whole town is abuzz with it. Apparently, they almost killed him. Doesn’t matter their age, they deserve to pay for their actions.”
Her father grunted in approval. “And maybe their parents will learn a thing or two about actually keeping tabs on their kids from now on.”
I didn’t want to talk about it. Especially with her parents. But it was nice to know they were on my side. Especially since it took so much to convince Clint to press charges. I still didn’t know why. I still didn’t know why it had taken a lengthy conversation in the back of his stepmother’s car in order to convince him to press charges against these assholes. I mean, they’d do so much to us that, apparently, I had a right to press charges as well.
I promised Clint that if I didn’t press charges, he would.
Allison’s mom filled my lemonade up and her father kept spooning food onto my plate. I loved coming over to eat with them. More because I enjoyed the family dynamic. They treated me like their own daughter, wanting to know about my life and giving me advice. Her father always stuffed me full of food, too. Which was outstanding, because he w
as an incredible cook.
I hummed. “This meatloaf is fantastic, Mr. Denver.”
He smiled. “I’m glad you like it. I tried something a bit different with the spices and everything. Wasn’t sure how it would turn out.”
Allison’s mom smiled. “It’s great, honey. Really.”
Allison piped up. “Does this mean Mom cooked dessert?”
I grinned. “Oh, was there a tag-team situation in the kitchen tonight?”
Her mom giggled. “I got the cobbler in the oven a bit late. So, dessert won’t be for another hour or so. But, yes. There’s cobbler in the oven cooking and fresh vanilla ice cream in the freezer.”
I groaned. “You guys spoil me way too much.”
Her dad chuckled. “And we’ll make sure to send you home with some leftovers for you and your mom later on in the week.”
I stuffed myself stupid before we were excused from the table. Which resulted in Allison and me lumbering up the stairs. I always ate too much whenever I came over for dinner. It just happened that way. We fell onto her bed and stared up at her ceiling fan, watching it go around and around and around. And as her door slowly shut itself because once the air conditioning kicked on, she rolled toward me.
“All right, Rae. Are we talking about the police station first, or my date?”
My eyes bulged. “Holy shit, your date!”
“Don’t tell me you forgot.”
“I didn’t forget. I just… temporarily forgot it existed?”
She pursed her lips. “I’ll forgive you this time, but only because I love you.”
I lobbed my head over to see her. “How was the movie?”
“It. Was. Phenomenal! I met him there and he had the tickets and snacks already bought. Got my favorite, too. A small Dr. Pepper with those little crunch bite things, as well as some popcorn for us to split.”
“Sounds like your kind of movie night.”
“And guess what?”
I paused. “What?”
Allison scooted up to my ear. “He held my hand during the movie.”
My jaw dropped open. “Allison! You scandalous little thing, you.”
She playfully swatted at me. “Hey, now. Not all of us can have the hoppin’ sex life you have.”
“And it is hoppin’.”
She giggled. “You’re insane, you know that?”
I rolled over onto my stomach. “Okay, tell me. How did he do it, how far into the movie did he do it, and did you like it?”
“Okay. So, we weren’t that far into the movie. I mean, maybe fifteen minutes before he tried. And he tried three times before he succeeded.”
“Why? Did you keep pulling away or something?”
Her face flushed red. “I kept reaching for popcorn and things without paying attention to what he was doing.”
“Allison!”
“I know! I know! It was terrible. I felt awful. But he did succeed.”
“So… did you like it?”
She sighed. “I mean, it was a bit awkward at first. I’ve known Michael for years. It kind of felt like I was holding my brother’s hand or something at first?”
“That’s not good.”
“No, no. It didn’t feel like that the entire time. I think maybe he was nervous because he tried twice before and I moved and all that stuff. But once I relaxed into it and kind of leaned against him, it felt nice. You know, not completely awkward.”
I nodded. “You think you’d do it again? Holding his hand?”
She paused. “I think I definitely would.”
The two of us squealed together before we buried our faces into pillows. I was happy for her because I knew how much she wanted this. I knew how long she’d been crushing on Michael, and it was nice that the two of them were finally opening up that door between them. A door that practically everyone had seen, but no one was willing to admit existed.
Then Allison sighed. “All right. Your turn.”
I groaned. “Do I have to?”
“Why don’t we start with Clint pressing charges. You said he was?”
I nodded, tilting my head to the side. “Yeah, he is.”
“How do you feel about that?”
I shrugged. “I don’t like the fact that it took him so long to make that decision.”
“What do you mean?”
“The entire police thing was just a mess. I mean, we picked out the car, picked those boys out of a lineup, then answered a barrage of questions that ended up being some written testimony we had to sign.”
“Sounds pretty standard, actually.”
I shrugged. “We talked in the back of his stepmom’s car about the pros and cons of pressing charges. Pros and cons, Allison. Like he was planning to move into a home. Or changing up his wardrobe. Or choosing what college to apply for.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. It was frustrating as hell, too. Apparently, I had the option to press charges, and when I blurted out that I’d be pressing charges, Clint changed his tune. Said if I didn’t press charges, he promised he would.”
“So he didn’t really make the decision to press them.”
“Nope. He did it so I wouldn’t. And I still don’t know why.”
She furrowed her brow. “That’s insane. He was severely injured.”
I shrugged. “I know. Trust me, I get it. It boggles my mind, too. I’m just glad he’s pressing them, one way or another. He needs to. Those boys need to rot.”
“Do you know when he’s talking to a lawyer?”
“Tomorrow, actually. After school. To see what steps he needs to take next.”
“Do you know what they’re going to charge those boys with?”
I sighed. “I don’t have a clue.”
“Do you want my opinion?”
“I’d love anything you’ve got for me right now.”
Allison sat up. “Okay. Objectively speaking, here’s what you’ve got. They approached you in the parking lot, right?”
“Right.”
“And they said all this stuff to you before Clint distracted them, right?”
“Uh huh.”
“Then, Clint drove off and they followed him. Pursued him, right?”
I nodded. “Yep.”
“And even though Clint tried shaking them, they kept following him. Until they ran him off the road.”
I swallowed hard. “Yeah.”
“In my eyes? The only thing Clint has accountability for is getting their focus off you. That was his fault, and it had good intentions. Good motives. Everything else was spurred on by those boys. From pulling up to you guys in the first place to chasing him down, no matter what. To me? The charge should be attempted murder.”
And after a brief pause, I nodded.
“You make a very good point about that.”
Allison scoffed. “There’s no point about it. Drunk or not, those boys knew what they were doing. If they had enough sense to keep in control of that car long enough to be able to ram Clint over the edge of that bridge, then they had enough sense to choose not to.”
I grinned. “You sure you don’t want to be a lawyer or something?”
She giggled. “Nah. I’m just really good at arguing. Dad hates it.”
“Let me guess. You get it from your mother.”
“We’ve chased Dad out of the house a few times. No joke.”
The two of us fell apart in laughter, and it felt good to be laughing again. Especially with the whirlwind this weekend had been. Between listening to D.J. and my mother literally fight all Friday night to the police trip with Clint Saturday morning, I was exhausted. Deep in my bones. I was frustrated, I felt numb to the world, and all I wanted to do was crawl underneath a rock and stay there.
Yet, somehow, Allison had me laughing.
“You two ready for dessert?”
Her mother’s voice filtered up the stairs and we scrambled off the bed. We raced back down the stairs, flopping onto the couch as her mother divvied out massive bowls of cobbler and ice
cream. We all sat together, with Allison and me between her parents while we watched a movie and ate our fill. I laughed with them. I sniffled with them. We watched the sweetest little comedy that had us all roaring with laughter and holding back tears.
But all too soon, it was time to go.
“Here, there’s plenty of leftovers. Take some to your mother.”
“And some cobbler, too. We’ll never eat all this I made.”
“Want some lemonade?”
“I could pack some of this ice cream on ice for the trip back.”
I snickered, holding the bags full of tupperware. “I promise, you guys, this is more than enough. Thank you. I really appreciate it.”
After handing me one last bag of food, Allison got the keys to the car from her father. She drove me home, and I sat there for a second gathering the mental energy to walk into the house. I didn’t see D.J.’s car, which was a massive relief. But something in the pit of my gut told me I was still walking into something bad.
Allison put her hand on my shoulder. “You okay?”
I nodded. “Yeah. I’m good. See you tomorrow morning?”
“See you then.”
I pressed out of the car and made my way for the front door. And when I found it unlocked, my stomach dropped. Mom always locked the door. Even when she was home. Which meant someone had left and she hadn’t bothered to lock it. The second I heard her sniffling, I knew. I knew exactly what had happened tonight.
“Rae? Is that you?”
I closed the door behind me. “Yeah, Mom. I’m home.”
“What’s that smell?”’
“Cobbler and dinner from the Denvers’ house.”
“Can you bring it into the kitchen, please?”
I sighed as I made my way down the hallway. Shadows flashed across the walls as Allison backed out of the driveway, and I wanted nothing more than to chase her down. My home had become a living hell, and I didn’t want to be here anymore. Especially when I saw my mother wiping at her eyes.
Because of fucking D.J.
“You hungry?”
She shook her head. “Just put it in the fridge.”
I did as she asked, then walked over and put a hand on her shoulder. I squeezed it softly as I gazed blankly at the wall, wondering if it would ever stop. If my mother would ever notice her worth. If she’d ever pull herself out of this hole and move on with her life.
