Charming In Handcuffs

Chapter 7: Not Exactly Friends

Monday morning, Jack was on the news again. Except this time the news vans were lined up outside. I watched the chaos unfold from my bedroom. They weren't even home, but I guess they're waiting for his arrival. He was at the courthouse this morning from what the news said and what they showed.

            I had my TV on, showing all of it. His parents shielded him while the reporters shoved recorders and microphones in their face. Eventually the lawyer got through and attempted to push them aside. "No comment!" He proceeded to get the family through and into the waiting vehicle. Whether Jack did it or not, he didn't really deserve to be hounded. It's bad enough he has me to deal with.

            The reporter on the scene started talking about the case from the beginning. Stating who had been killed and talked about the suspects. Three pictures lined up on the screen, one of them being Jack's. The other two suspects looked too old to be friends with Jack, so I ruled that out. I just can't wrap my head around the fact that Jack doesn't even know.

            Or how do I even know he's telling the truth?

            I have no reason to trust Jack, but for some odd reason, I believe him.

            Moments later, a car comes down the street and people in the news vans come pouring out like ants. Another car followed behind them. Jack was the first one to get out and run inside as fast as he could. The people in the car behind them got out and ushered the news people back. One was the lawyer and I wasn't sure who the woman was.

            His parents rushed inside with Anna following behind. After they got the crowd to calm down, he stepped forward and was surrounded by microphones. "The McKinnon family is in desperate need of privacy. I would appreciate it you would step back—"

            "We need a little something!" I heard one guy yell.

The lawyer shook his head. "No comment." He then turned around and walked inside with the woman in front of him.

            The news vans didn't leave. They stayed parked, thinking they might actually get a story. Well I have bad news for them.

            Jack appeared in his room and I took the opportunity. I pushed my window open and waved my hand to get his attention. He did a double take, but walked to the window and opened it. He lifted his phone up and pointed to it before pointing to me. Jack conveniently had my number programmed in his phone after our last tutoring session. Never leaving my phone unsupervised again.

A few seconds later, my phone was vibrating next to me. I answered it quickly. "Are you okay?" I asked.

I watched him nod. "For the most part anyway."

            "Hopefully they leave soon," I mumbled.

He poked his head out of his window, trying to get a good look at the lineup. "I think there's more than there was before."

I took the chance to take a look and noticed a few new vans. "There are only so many news channels near us," I assured him.

            "Since they're not on our property, there's nothing we can do about it."

I opened my mouth to apologize, but Jack spoke again. "What are you doing today?"

The question kind of shocked me, so it took me a moment to answer. "Um, I have to go to work in a hour..." I trailed off. "Why?"

            "No reason," He answered quickly. "I gotta go, I'll see you tomorrow." He sent me a small wave and closed his window. He hung up before I even got another word out. I was left there, curiosity eating away at me. Why Jack asked me what I was doing today is beyond me.