aloud, too: “Honey, I told you you shouldn’t have gone. Now…” Her eyes blinked, and suddenly they were so water-filled a tear fell down her cheek. She came to my bedside and sat down. “I don’t want to lose you.” She reached for me, and I let her hug me.
What was I supposed to do? If something happened…God, if more students wound up dead, I’d be fucked.
“I didn’t do anything at the party,” I said, meaning it. Mom was unhurried in letting me go, but I knew she didn’t believe me. “I swear. This all has to be some kind of misunderstanding.”
“Well, you should shower and get dressed. Oliver’s raring to go. I’m going with you two, for support.” She scrunched her nose. “I don’t think they’ll let me in the room, but I can at least wait in the lobby for you two.” She hugged me one more time, this time a quick little thing, before leaving my room.
Once I was alone, I got up and got dressed. My anxiety, which had vanished after being with Archer for hours and reacquainting myself with his wonderful lips, returned full force, making my stomach feel queasy and my heart beat faster than it should’ve.
Shit. What now? It was all I could think on repeat, even after getting dressed and fixing myself up so it didn’t look like I’d just gone to a party the night before.
Me and parties around here really didn’t get along. Granted, they were pretty much the only parties I’d ever been to, but that was beside the point. Maybe I should take a hint and stop going to them, regardless of who was asking me to go.
An hour later I was in Ollie’s car in the backseat, silent as a mouse as we drove to the police station. Mom sat in the front, wearing her nicest clothes and some makeup to hide the small wrinkles that had started to form in the corners of her eyes. I swore, before Midpark, she never had those wrinkles. This place really got to you, didn’t it?
“Remember,” Ollie spoke, his eyes on me in the rearview mirror, “I’m your lawyer. I don’t know what will be asked, I don’t know what happened at that party last night, but you are not obligated to answer anything.”
I nodded, biting my lower lip. It felt like I’d either throw up or stumble over my words, a weird sense of deja vu as Ollie parked and we headed inside the station. Only the last time I’d been here, I was cuffed in an attempt to arrest me.
Hopefully this time would go differently.
I let Ollie do the talking, standing near my mom as we waited for Detective Wilde to come out and greet us. We had to sign in at the front desk, huddled around a window as the minutes wore on. Practically an eternity passed before I saw Detective Wilde turn the corner deeper into the station and come out past the metal detectors. He wore tan slacks, a dark button-down shirt, and his badge on his hip. He looked just as stern and no-nonsense as I remembered him being.
His hazel eyes—eyes that were so much like Bobbi’s—glanced between Ollie and me, slow to land on my mom beside me. “Oliver, Jazmine. Come with me.” He turned and started walking, and Ollie followed.
My mom squeezed my arm before letting me go, and as I passed beneath the metal detector, I threw a look over my shoulder at her, finding that she gave me a worried but supportive smile as I went.
Wish me luck.
Detective Wilde led us to an interrogation room, very similar to the one I’d been in before, but different. This time, Ollie sat beside me, and I could only imagine he was ready to turn toward me and inform me that I didn’t have to answer that after everything the detective said.
Bobbi’s dad looked so tired. I’d thought my mom looked exhausted when she busted into my room earlier with Ollie, but her expression was no comparison to the face he wore. If I had to guess, I’d say this man was bone-tired, like he’d been through hell and gazed into the face of the devil himself and still knew there was a shit ton of work to do.
“Do either of you want any coffee?” Detective Wilde asked. “Or water?”
I shook my head, and Ollie spoke, “No, thank you.”
The detective stood. “I’ll be right back, then. Need to get myself some.” He said