Jae climbed out of his car, locking it behind him.
He walked down the concrete and crossed the street. A tall building loomed before him. From the row of windows, he could tell it had about 3 floors. A white archway had been sculpted around its entrance. The color complimented the dark blue walls around it.
A few vehicles lined up one side of the available parking. They had the same blue and white color like the building. On top of their roofs, flat led lights rested across the center. The sides and doors of the vehicles had the word, ‘Police’, painted in bold letters.
Jae found himself in the lobby. A tall desk stood at the back wall, in between two passageways. A number of doors could be found at the sides and led to several rooms. Various people strolled around the place. Some sat by in waiting chairs. No one seemed to take notice of him so he headed for the desk.
“Excuse me,” he began to say, “I’m here for a Skye Williams that was taken in a few moments ago.”
A middle aged man looked up from his paperwork. His tired eyes scrutinized the teenager up and down. He frowned, “What business do you have here, youngster? Does this look like a playground to you?”
“Absolutely not, sir” Jae immediately denied, “I’m unsure if a report came from Woodlands Academy about a public disturbance. I’m a student there and—”
“Jaelin Parker” a throaty voice called out.
Jae flinched at the sound of his whole name. Turning his head, he strived to maintain a good composure. On the inside, he let out a series of swear words. He loved his parents a lot but things hadn’t been the easiest when it came to his first name. He always wondered how they became satisfied with it.
“Officer Williams” he greeted.
Lauren’s father walked up to him. Age lines covered most areas of his face. He had his dark brown hair gelled upwards and to the back. A bushy mustache framed the top of his lips. He wore the standard uniform. A light blue button shirt and black trousers. He had his hands tucked into his black belt, a gun hanging on the side.
Both males stood at the same height.
“Been a while since I’ve seen you.”
Jae gave a tight smile, “Indeed it has.”
“Lauren phoned earlier about you on a car chase” the Officer scowled, “Young man, I strongly suggest that you don’t ever do that again. If the other party had a gun, you could have been done for.”
“I made sure to be careful, Officer Williams.”
A grunt vibrated at Officer’s throat. He flickered his attention towards the desk, “I’ll be taking over from here, Jack.”
“No worries, Will.”
Jae held back a snort. A pair of blue eyes squinted at him. He covered his reaction with a cough. He had almost forgotten about that. Officer Will Williams, as Lauren once said before. She had told them to keep it a secret since her father didn’t appreciate any jokes about it.
“We have the suspect in the observation room,” Officer Williams explained. He spun on his heel and led Jae towards a passageway, “Lauren called just in time. A staff member had also informed us about the incident but they couldn’t provide the plate number right away. Lauren was able to provide it just in time. Or else, the vehicle would have left town premises.”
They passed by a narrow hallway. People walked and ran around. One person carried a stack of folders and struggled to unlock a door. Screams came out from another room. Jae avoided any contact as much as possible. His feet did their best to keep up with Lauren’s father.
“When the school told us how a person had violated a restraining order, I gotta tell you, we never expected it to be a teenage girl. Not to mention her police records” Officer Williams continued, shaking his head. He made a right turn at the end of the corridor.
“What will happen with her now?” Jae couldn’t help but ask.
“Well, she is still a minor. That explains how she had the tenacity to do what she did. It would be up to the court and the lawyers. I reckon it will take quite a while if she had good backing—unless they reached an agreement.”
Will turned the knob of a metal door. It opened to a tight room. It had dim lights and a dark carpet. A large glass pane covered one wall. Dark gray clouded over it. Jae gulped, stepping inside. He had seen it in photos and films but this was the first time he saw it up close.
He heard a light switch being flicked.
The window flashed with luminosity. A teenage girl sat on one side of a desk. Nostrils flared, her black eyes seemed hollow. Her wrists were handcuffed and tied to the table. Her hands clenched into fists, lifting her arms up. The chain rattled. She gnashed her teeth at the sound of it.
Then, she closed her eyes and relaxed in her seat. The harsh lines on her face smoothened. Her brows unknitted themselves. She leaned back with her chin tucked in.
She gave the impression of someone sleeping.
“Do you have any idea why this girl is the way she is?” Officer Williams suddenly asked.
Jae blinked out of his daze. He shifted his attention towards the other person in the room, “We are also unsure, Officer. We just know that she and another student in our school had a history of bad blood. We could only conclude that it’s revenge.”
Will squinted through the window. He watched Skye’s face carefully. The panic and fear she previously wore when they caught up to the car had disappeared. Since bringing her in, that was the first time he saw her react that way.
“Her guardian would have a lot of explaining to do” he sighed dejectedly, “For most of these cases, we’d review the suspect’s situation. Investigate about her home life, school life… everything that could affect her upbringing. I would have thought the trauma from her previous arrest would have kept her from more trouble.”
“Like, I said, Officer,” Jae exhaled sharply, “We also don’t know what the hell happened, why things even happened…”
Officer Williams took off his eyes from the suspect and patted Jae’s shoulder, “Whatever it is. We’ll find out. Then, things will be calm again.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“By the way…” Will dropped his hand and cleared his throat. His gaze went to the floor, “How’s Lauren doing in school?”
Jae raised his eyebrows. His mind came up blank. Lauren’s family situation was a touchy subject. He wasn’t sure how much to say. His friend liked to keep her privacy. She also liked to be the one to decide what to reveal about her life.
“I’d say she’s doing good” he decided to say, “She has friends around, a good head on her shoulders… she’s never gotten into trouble. Hell, she even helps stop them if she could.”
Officer Williams nodded at each point, “Thanks for telling me.”
The door of the entrance opened, hinges creaking. It revealed another police officer. Both Jae and Will snapped their heads towards him. He bowed his head in greeting and stepped aside. Two females entered the room. Their footsteps lightly tapped on the carpet.
Jae recognized both of their faces.
“Aunt Lilly…” he breathed out. Then, he shifted the direction of his eyes, “Alex.”
Alex smiled awkwardly at the room’s occupants. She still wore her usual black hoodie and straight cut jeans. Her hair had taken a different style. The fringes had been tucked behind her ears. It gave a better view of her face, exposing more of her femininity.
Lilly acknowledged Jae for a second. Then, she proceeded to talk with Officer Williams.
“Good day, Officer. I’m Atty. Lillian Greenwood” her aunt introduced with a handshake, “I’m the one who pressed the charges against Ms. Skye Winters.”
She whirled her head to the left. An indifferent expression on her face, she gazed through the window. It seemed like the little girl from before had grown into a stunning young lady. It was unfortunate that her personality and attitude had taken the opposite direction. Lilly couldn’t help but shake her head.
“Did she resist arrest?”
“Well…” Will gulped, “I wouldn’t say she fought back but her resistance was somewhat expected—especially for youngsters.”
Sharp gray eyes pierced at him, “Will she be staying here until the proceedings are over?”
“I—I, uh…” Officer Williams blinked. Had he ever seen this woman before? Her name rang a bell but he couldn’t put his finger on it.
“Can I talk to her?” Alex spoke up, standing behind her aunt. She looked at Skye. A sense of deja vu washed over her. Her heart hammer inside her chest. The sensation from before creeped up in her mind.
Who knew that she’d find herself in a police station again?
Lilly glared in her direction, “I forbid it, Alex. You already had your chance before. You are not even supposed to be here. I only agreed for you to come since you said you’d only observe.”
“She’s handcuffed to the table—plus! I’m sure they’ve unarmed her if she had any weapons. It’s the safest place for me to talk to her” her niece pointed out.
Lilly’s face remained the same.
She continued to stare, hoping that it would pierce some sense into her niece.
Alex didn’t avoid it. She planted her feet on the ground and stood firmly.
The temperature in the room dropped a few degrees. The air had closed in, seeming to suffocate around them. Electric currents whizzed in between both sets of gray eyes. Storm against storm fought an invisible battle.
“I can go inside with her” Jae perked up. His hands raised up in surrender when the glare redirected towards him, “I am only saying this in her best intentions. I’m sure Alex just wants some closure.”
Lilly darted her gaze between the two teenagers. Doubt still etched in her expression.
“I can also accompany them,” Officer Williams offered, “I’ll make sure nothing wrong happens.”
“Three against one, huh?” She scoffed softly, “Of course, you’d team up against me. Well, if you’re all going in, I’d like to stay here with another officer.”
