Page 66 of Lilies from Hell

“You’re so clumsy!” she manages to say with infectious laughter.

We stop laughing when we see some men dressed as police officers, one of them separating the other men while the other seems to be talking about something. Grace decides to take off her shoes and leave them there for some reason I don’t know.

“Hey, did someone hire strippers?” she asks with an amused smile as one of them approaches us. “Are you going to dance for us?”

I can definitely tell by their unfriendly faces they are not here to dance.

23

“You are under arrest for disturbing the peace and disorderly conduct,” says one of them, placing handcuffs around my wrists.

“What?” I mutter, my lips parting in disbelief. Then I am pushed out of the place by the police officer.

“But we haven’t done anything! Let me go! Help, someone!” Grace says beside me, struggling in the officer’s arms.

“God! Calm her down!” says the officer behind me.

“We really didn’t do anything, officer, we were just dancing,” I try to explain, but no one makes any move to listen to me.

“That’s not what the others are saying. Now get in the car, we don’t have all night here,” murmurs the man behind Grace when we reach a patrol car.

“Fucking snitches,” Grace mutters under her breath as she gets into the car with a pout on her lips.

I manage to sit down in the car despite my still blurred vision and the handcuffs. The car starts up quickly without giving us any time to get comfortable.

“Okay, I admit we were a little loud, but nothing like disorderly conduct. I’m sure we can work something out,” I say.

“We’ll see about that when we get to the police station,” I snort and look away through the window.

“We’ll be out of there in less than the blink of an eye. You’re just wasting your time. And gas,” I say mockingly.

“You’re talking to the city authorities, show some respect, girl,” retorts the other man with a dirty look that only makes me laugh.

“Hasn’t anyone ever told you that you’re like Shrek and Donkey? One is an idiot and the other is big and ugly, like an ogre,” I scoff.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see the driver clenching his hands on the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles turn white. His companion next to him looks at me with annoyance. When I have a few drinks I’m the most honest person in the world. Add to that the fact I laugh at everything, and it won’t be a good combination for sure.

“Hey, when you release us, can we keep the handcuffs? It’s for a class assignment,” Grace murmurs in a mocking tone, now a little more sober and relaxed than before. It seems that the situation sobered her up a bit.

“That’s right,” I say with a smile, extending my hand to them. “Lena Easton, future lawyer.” I pull my hand away with a grimace when I see that they have no intention of shaking it. Rude.

As the police officer who is about to respond glances at us, I see a black van pull up in front of the car. I open my eyes wider than usual, fearing we might have an accident, but luckily the officer notices and brakes in time, letting out a curse. More cars pull up around us after. Thinking it might be my father, my face turns totally pale.

“What the hell!?” screams the man in the passenger seat.

“Don’t move,” warns his partner as they get out of the car.

I try to see through the windows, but the officers’ bodies block our view of the other person they are talking to.

“This thing doesn’t even have the lock on!” Grace scoffs as she opens the door. I get out of the car too, but I don’t watch my step and trip as I get out.

“Ouch, my ankle!” I yelp with a pained grimace, attracting the attention of a few people. Among them is him. His blue eyes looking at me in an indescribable way. With the door still open, I sit in the car rubbing my ankle outside my shoe.

“You should take your shoes off too, it’s much more comfortable to walk that way,” says Grace at my side, helping me get rid of my heels.

“What the hell are you doing? Get back in the car!” We both ignore the police officer’s demands without even bothering to look at them.

“Done,” Grace murmurs, throwing the shoes aside.