When the Stars Fall (Stardew Valley Fanfic)

Racked

"What do you remember from that last time the police questioned you," Sebastian asked himself while waiting in the interrogation room.

"Did you ever consider the fact your daughter simply ran away?"

"Maru isn't that type of girl," Sebastian remembered Demetrius say, but at the time he thought Demetrius thought running away was completely possible for Sebastian, almost as if the man wanted such a thing. Yet, despite the fact he suspected Demetrius might still think he might run away, there was the feeling Sebastian had that Demetrius would care if Sebastian ended up in the streets.

"Well, you can never really know that, right?"

"I think we know our daughter," his mother stated firmly.

"This isn't what I'm supposed to be remembering in this situation though," Sebastian thought to himself. "It didn't even happen in an interrogation room, but the front room where I sat there waiting."

"So, do you remember the last time we questioned you about your sister's disappearance?"

Sebastian refused to look the man in the eye, didn't want to given the fact they'd done nothing it seemed to find his sister. He didn't answer.

"I asked you a question. You're supposed to answer my questions. You have to answer my questions."

Sebastian looked up, but not at the officer's eyes. Instead, he looked at the man's hands. It was no wonder he didn't recognize any of the officers as he'd not looked him in the eye. "You didn't care."

This of course brought quite the silence from the officer. "That's not true."

"To you, Maru was just another Black girl."

"That's not true, and you're not answering my question. I told you that you have to answer my question."

"That's not right."

"What did you say?"

Sebastian realized he'd said that out loud, but he looked up at the officer, his eyes narrowing. "I remember now. I remember what I was supposed to remember when you brought me in."

"And what would that be."

"I remember what Demetrius told you."

"Do you now?"

"He said I don't have to come in for questioning unless a judge orders him to do so, that I was not in any state for you to question me and that he requested I have an appropriate advocate present."

"He's not correct."

"Sorry, but I believe my step-father more than I believe you right now, particularly when I remember you telling my mother and step-father that Maru simply ran away and that they really didn't know her."

"You said that online to someone else you know. We have your online messages after all. Let me quote, 'Then you didn't really know Maru, did you. She's not the perfect little angel everyone makes her out to be.' You hate your sister, don't you."

"No, I don't. I told you that I'm not answering your questions."

"You said that she wasn't a, and a I quote, 'a perfect little angel everyone makes her out to be.'"

"Stop putting words into my mouth."

"It's right here, isn't it?" the officer pushed the words forward, and Sebastian looked down at the piece of paper, the conversation with Ardyce there.

"You're putting words into my mouth."

"It's clearly written there."

"So was my comment about nobody being perfect, but I already asked you to stop. Demetrius said I don't have to answer your questions."

"No, you have to answer my questions."

Sebastian swallowed, unsure of which answer was right. He looked at his fingers. "I'd like someone else to verify that please."

"I'll have another officer come in and tell you, you have to answer our questions."

Sebastian sucked in his breath. "Now that doesn't sound right. It sounds like you're trying to get me to confess I killed my sister or something."

"Nothing of the sort, though you are acting a bit guilty. Not looking us in the eye, fidgeting as you did."

"I'm..." Sebastian shook his head, pressing his lips together. "I want Demetrius."

"We can't have him in here influencing your answers."

"Why, because you think he's guilty? My dad wouldn't kill my sister."

"Your dad now. You don't look anything like him."

Sebastian's breath sucked in, his head darting up so he looked the man in the eye. His lips pushed together, his eyes blinking frantically. "I know I don't look like him. You don't have to rub it in, bastard." The minute the last word left his lips he regretted it. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

His head ducked down, but his mouth clamped shut. More questions came and he simply shook his head, missing when the officer changed the question from "Did you kill your sister?" to "So you didn't kill your sister?" just as the door opened.

"Lawyers here."

"He didn't ask for a lawyer." The cop turned towards Sebastian. "If you lawyer up, it makes you look guilty, but you also confessed on tape."

"Except I saw exactly what you did and would argue that said confession wasn't a confession and isn't admissible in court. It's rather obvious that my client is agitated."

Sebastian lifted his head and looked at the man, slightly confused. "Who are you?"

"I'm your lawyer," the man said. "I'm also your uncle."

"Demetrius?" Sebastian asked, suspecting the man to be Demetrius' brother.

"Yeah. He called, but I could get here quicker."

"I told them what Demetrius told me."

"And that would be?"

"I'm not forced to answer questions unless a judge says so, I'm not in a state to answer questions and I need an advocate if I am answering questions."

"That is true."

"They said that it wasn't." He watched the man sigh.

"Seriously?"

"He's acting guilty, not looking us in the eye."

"Demetrius told me that he and his wife told you that his son was on the spectrum. That he's autistic, but if you knew anything about that, you would know such individuals struggle with looking people in the eye, particularly when they're agitated."

"I'm not his son," Sebastian muttered. "They said so."

"Good grief. Sebastian, let's leave. They can't keep you here for questioning, but I'll wait in the lobby with you for Demetrius to get here, alright?"

"Yes." Sebastian stood up. The officer made to protest, but the lawyer, Demetrius' brother, shot him a glare. He followed after the man, still feeling guilty despite not having done anything wrong let alone feeling as if he'd managed to yet again be a disappointment.