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Imogen Halstead (age 16)
Word count: 1491
Imogen's POV
"This doesn't look very promising, Alyssa" I sigh as my friend and I watch some sort of deal go down in front of our eyes. I snuck out to go to a party, and now I'm watching a drug deal go down... my dads gonna kill me...
"Calm down immy, it's probably nothing..." she's cut off by the sound of the front door being busted down. I don't notice what happens but the next thing I know is someone shoving something heavy into my hands, I turn around to see where he's headed however I'm soon shaking in my boots when I notice a police badge right in front of my face. I look down to see that the man had dumped a brick of dope into my hands, "wh-no, no this isn't mine. I swear..." I begin although the second I'm slammed into the wall with my hands behind my back, I know it's bad... jeez, that hurt.
~
I keep my arms wrapped around my body as I focus on the floor below me, "she's in 12, sir" I hear one of the officers announce. Shit! I look up to see a very familiar figure approaching, oh no...
"Get out, now" my dad warns me through gritted teeth. I sigh and accept my fate, I'm gonna die today. He leads me out of the cell and towards the door where he grabs his things from the officer, signing something on his way out, "get in the car and don't say a word" his voice is clipped and his tone is eerily calm...
~
"Staying silent is digging yourself a deeper hole, Imogen Halstead. Now open your mouth before I believe everything the officer told me" I wince as my dad slams his fist onto the table. I look around the interrogation room as hank stands in the corner, "if your friends were involved, you need to tell us" hank speaks up. I notice my dad hunching over the table to glare at me, "I'm super pissed at you right now, and if you don't start talking you'll be staying at wills house for a month never mind a week" he snaps, his tone rising. I look down and wipe my tears away, god he's scary when he's angry...
"Jay, a word outside" hank speaks up. My dad looks over his shoulder yet ignores his boss and goes back to burning holes in the top of my head, "now" hank warns. Within ten seconds, I'm left on my own in a world of silence. I rest my head on the table and look down at the handcuffs my dad refuses to remove. If you want to act like a criminal, then you'll be treated as one; I've never shivered at my dads words so much in my life.
Jays POV
"Take five" Voight leads me into the viewing room as we watch my teenage daughter through the glass. I scoff, "I'm good" I shake my head. Voight blocks my way out, "jay, I'm telling you to take five. You're scaring her, and she clearly isn't guilty of doing whatever you think shes done. So take five and go back in there as her father, not a detective" he points a finger in my face. I sigh before turning to watch Imogen again, this kid never seizes to confuse me.
After ten minutes, I enter the room feeling a lot calmer, "you need to talk to me, Imogen. This isn't looking good right now" I sit down opposite her. She looks up at me, "please can you take these off?" She puts her arms on the table, "they're hurting" her voice breaks as I notice the tears in her eyes. I sigh as I grab the keys and unlock the cuffs, she rubs her wrists and pulls them down into her lap again.
"I snuck out to go to Joshua's party. I'm sorry..." she admits and looks down. I let out a disappointed huff but nod for her to carry on, "I didn't drink at all, I promise. But Alyssa and I noticed some of the older guys doing something a bit dodgy. I told her we should go, but she didn't want to. Then the door flew open and some guy barged past me. He dumped the drugs into my hands, I swear! I'd never do drugs, dad. You know I wouldn't..." her voice trails off as the waterworks begin. I see the truth in her eyes, but I'm still mega pissed at her.
"You have to believe me..." she sobs. I sigh and move so I'm sat next to her, I rub her back, "I didn't mean for this to happen..." she sniffles. I look at the glass, "I know, but you know why I don't let you go to these parties. You just proved my point, Imogen. I'm very disappointed in you" I sigh. She wipes her tears away and I notice the hand prints on her arms, "what happened?" I pull her arm towards me. She shrugs, "annoyed cops aren't gentle" she keeps her eyes away from me. I feel my blood heat up a little, "go wait in the break room, we'll talk more at home" I wave her off. She nods before silently standing up to leave the room.
Imogen's POV
"He hates me" I wipe my tears away as hailey sits on a chair in front of me, "no he doesn't, he just expects more from you. But you have to understand why he feels the way he does, and I'm not saying that he approached this the right way, but I understand why he did it the way he did. You're his world, immy, and if anything was to happen to you it would destroy him" she holds my hands. I sigh heavily, "I get it, and I feel horrible. But he has to know I had nothing to do with the drugs" I look her in the eyes. She smiles sadly, "he already knows honey, we all do" she nods. I look down, "looks like I'm living with Will for a while" I shrug. Hailey plants a kiss onto my forehead before leaving me so she can do her work.
I stare at the wall for a while, bouncing my leg up and down as I start to believe that my dad really will kick me out. I mean, he has every reason to do so... Who would want a criminal as a daughter? Well, technically I'm not a criminal because my dad bailed me out, and I have proven my innocence. But I know he's angry, disappointed and maybe even ashamed?
~
I don't even know how long I've been staring into space, "Imogen..." I hear someone call out but I don't know if it's in my head. So I simply ignore it, "Imogen!" I hear them yell again. I snap my head towards the door to see my dad standing in the doorway, "oh, uh yeah I'm coming" I stand up and grab my jacket.
~
"Got anything you wanna say?" My dad paces in front of me as I sit on the couch in front of him. I nod, "I'm sorry, for everything. I uh, I just wanted to be with my friends. I knew you wouldn't let me go, so I snuck out. I know it was wrong, and I'm really sorry dad" I sniffle. He stops pacing, "do you know how incredibly stupid that was? Anything could've happened to you. Jesus Christ Imogen, I thought I taught you better than this. How was I supposed to help you if I didn't know where you were? As far as I knew, you were in your bedroom doing homework" he shakes his head and shoves his hands in his pockets.
I shudder at the sound of his tone, "I know you had nothing to do with the drugs, but what if I wasn't a cop? What if I couldn't have gotten you out of this? You need to start thinking responsibly immy, I won't always be there to help you out" he sighs and moves to sit next to me. I keep my head down, "I'm sorry..." I can't keep my sobs in. He wraps his arms around me and pulls me into his chest, "I know, but you understand why I'm angry right?" He embraces me into a hug. I nod, "yeah" I mumble. He sighs, "you're grounded for a month" he admits. I smile weakly, "do I still have to stay with Will for a week?" I enquire. He chuckles weakly, "you really think he'd put up with you for that long?" He plants a kiss on my forehead.
I manage to laugh too, "I love you" I sigh. He runs his fingers through my hair, "love you too, kiddo" he replies. Sorry for scaring the shit out of you...
