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She tries to grab the phone from him, but he takes a step back.
“I’m still waiting for our foster parents to get back to me. Just wait. They’ll have the bail money for sure, there’s no need to call him.”
Craig looks at her with a sorry face, he doesn’t look so happy himself. He stops dialing and puts the phone down. “I’ll wait another thirty minutes.”
“Really?” Her tone turns manipulative as I can see that look in her eyes. The same she uses to get out of trouble at school or when she tries to get out of a red card during a lacrosse game. “It’s three am. Do you really want to wake him up at this time? It’s a forty-minute drive from D.C. You wake him up now, that’s his whole night ruined–”
“Rose, I’m going to have to call him for Nathan anyway,” he cuts her off.
Her jaw ticks and the dead stare she throws his way is anything but reassuring.
“As I said, thirty minutes,” he concludes.
She throws her head back in a groan before walking back to her seat.
I observe officer Miller for a few more seconds. He’s young, young enough that my dad would have never met him. His bushy black single brow raises in question as he looks at me. The uniform doesn’t suit him, there’s something not reassuring about him although he seemed to retreat when Samuel was talking to him. I turn around and walk back to my seat.
“What was that about?” I ask as soon as I’ve settled next to Rose again.
“Huh?” she looks at me like she completely forgot I was even in the room.
“You and this…this officer. Craig. Rose, give me something. What is all of this about?”
Her eyes lock with mine and the plethora of emotions is almost making me dizzy. There is a storm raging in her deep blue eyes. A fight of titans between fear and pride, confidence and uncertainty. She wants to win a battle she’s doomed to lose and she’s fighting herself to not ask for help. Why would she not? Is the Whites’ pride really that damn stubborn?
“Why didn’t you want to call the cops, Rose?”
For a second, I truly believe she’s going to tell me. Here and now, she’s going to open up to me so I can help, so we can sort this out together. So we can stay side by side, sharing our mutual love for Jake.
But she doesn’t.
“I need a fucking smoke,” she drops.
Of course she doesn’t. Because why would she open up to her twin’s brand-new girlfriend that insisted on hiding their relationship until tonight when she never even opened up to Rachel, whom she’s presumably in love with.
She grabs a pack of cigarettes out of her purse, throws the bag back on her seat, and storms out of the station, her silk dress wrapping around her long legs.
I look around in a sigh. My body is exhausted, but my mind is working overtime. What if Jake goes to juvie? His whole future will be compromised. He’s smart enough to get into an Ivy League college, he codes better than a professional. The potential he has at finally getting the life he deserves could be destroyed by a stupid fight. Over what? Pride? Resentment for his brother? Me? I would never forgive myself. Why did I engage with Nathan? Why didn’t I keep walking? I should have just kept walking.
Another half-hour of Rose fidgeting and checking her phone next to me, of me asking officer Craig Miller if there is any news and being told the same response: they’re being interrogated. Another half-hour. 4 am. Both I and Rose have sunk deep into our seats. Craig looks at the time, shakes his head, and walks over to us. Well, to Rose exactly.
“Anything?” he asks.
“Yes, Craig, I got ahold of them an hour ago, but I just love spending my nights here, so I didn’t say anything.”
He shakes his head again. His hands are in his uniform pants, but I can still make out that he’s moving his fingers in an anxious gesture.
“I waited a whole hour. I’m calling.” He sounds like he would rather jump from the silver falls than make this call.
“Sam is right, you’re so fucking weak,” she seethes.
He doesn’t say anything and just goes back behind his counter as Rose tries her best to kill him with her look. She doesn’t insist though, resolved.
“Who is he calling?” I try again. Maybe after the tenth time she’ll give in.
“No one,” she growls.
“Would they be able to help?”
