The Boy She Illegally Brought To The Lavender Field (bwwm)

Page 74

"I'll miss you." Annie smiled.
Daniel was dropping her off back to her home.
"Will you really?" He smiled back.
"Always."
"Don't say that, you'll make me blush."
Annie giggled fondly.

The two looked up and saw Sirius's car in the driveway.

"Strange." Annie muttered.
"Is that him?" Daniel questioned.
"Yea." She stood in front facing him. "I guess we'll cut this even shorter."
"It'll be some time before I can see you again."
"I know. You're a working man, I can't be too surprised." She straightened out his shirt then let her hand gently hold his cheek before she took it back.
"I love you." Daniel stated.
"I love you."

The two backed away from each other, eye in eye, before they turned to walk their opposite directions.

Annie walked into her home and saw her father sitting on the couch with his eyes closed.

"Daddy?" she called.
"Hm?" He answered with eyes still shut and his head still back against the couch.
"You're home early, what happened?"
"Explosion at the mill. Can't be at work for a bit 'til it's fixed."
"Oh."
"Mhm..."

Annie could tell her father was tired so instead she walked into the kitchen to see what her mama was making.

"Hi, mama." Annie greeted.
"Hey, honey. How was it?"
"Great." Annie smiled. "What're you making?"
"Just some-..."

Diana was interrupted by harsh banging on the front door.

"What in God's name...?" she questioned and wiped her hands.

Both she and her daughter watched Sirius groan and stretch off of the couch before heading to the door. The guest continued to bang loudly.

"Hold on na!" Sirius shouted.

He reached for the door handle as they banged again.

He opened it.

Officers rushed inside and grabbed onto Sirius.

"What the hell?!" Sirius shouted.

"Excuse me?!" Diana yelled and rushed into the living room. "What do you think you're doing?!"
Annie watched frozen in fear and confusion.

Sirius tried pulling out of the officers' grips until he was slammed to the floor for resisting.
"STAND DOWN!"
"What'd I do?!" Sirius shouted.
"Let him go! He ain't do nothin'!" Diana yelled and tried to get one of the officers to free her husband.
He roughly shoved her off and she almost fell back.

Sirius was picked up off of the floor in handcuffs.

"Why are you doin' this?! You let him go!" Diana yelled.
"You shut the hell up before we take your ass too!" said one officer harshly to Diana. "You're under arrest for assault against two gentlemen."
"WHAT?!" Diana shouted.
The statement made Annie's eyes widen.
"Now hold on! I ain't assault nobody!"
"For the assault of the mayor's brothers. Get ready to tell it to a judge."
Sirius was pulled out of the house harshly enough that he almost fell over the step from his porch.

Diana ran to the door and Annie followed behind her. Both women watched him be forced into the back of the patrol car.

"Wha-..." Diana turned and fidgeted every which way, not knowing what to do next aside from letting the tears in her eyes fall.

Annie had the same mind.

Diana rushed to the phone.

Annie watched and shut the front door as her mother began to dial.

Stephen left his office and answered the phone against the wall.

"Hello?"
"Stephen." Diana stated.
"Diana? Are you alright?" he asked after hearing her shaky voice.
"You tell them to let him free right now. Right now!"
"Wait, slow down. Do what? Tell who to let who free?"
"My husband! You tell those cops to let Sirius free! They took him and said he beat up your brothers!"
"Sweetheart, I'm an only child so that's not possible. I don't have brothers."
"STEPHEN, I DON'T GIVE A DAMN WHAT YOU GOT, YOU TELL THEM TO LET HIM GO!"
"Diana, I can't do that, sweetheart. I don't know why he's in there and I don't have that kind of power anymore."
Diana let her tears free and covered her mouth with her hand to keep quiet.

"Diana..." Stephen called.
She hung up.

"What happened?" Annie asked softly.
Diana walked off towards her bedroom.

Annie stood there, wondering what to do.

Diana sat on her bed and sobbed.

Her husband was taken and she didn't know what to do. She certainly couldn't walk into the police station as a colored woman and demand him back. They'd laugh in her face if they didn't just hit her.

She cried enough to make her eyes swell.

Annie went to the phone and dialed.
It rang for a few seconds.

"Hello?" Stephen answered.

"Hi, Mr. Ross. Can I speak to Daniel?"
"Hey, sweetheart. I think Daniel's at work right now. He hasn't come home."
"Dang. I was hoping I'd catch him before he headed over there." Annie frowned.
"Do you want me to relay a message?"
"No, I was just a bit upset. I don't really know what to do..."
"About your father?"
"We don't know why they took him but you should've seen the way they treated him. He was thrown to the ground, Mr. Ross. My daddy ain't young and he's tired."
"I'm sorry to hear that, darling. Your mother told me about it but I'm not in charge anymore so there's nothing I can do."
Annie sighed.
"If you two need anything else, you let me know. You understand?"
"Yes, sir. I'll do that." she accepted.
"Alright. I'll talk to you later."
"Goodbye."
"Bye."
The two hung up.

Annie walked to the back of the house and stood in front of her mother's door to knock.

She heard crying behind it but didn't know what to say to make her feel better. So she put her hand down and walked into her own bedroom.

Like her mother, Annie crawled into bed and laid down with an overwhelming feeling of defeat and despair.

It was one thing for Sirius to work long shifts. At least they knew he'd come home. But what were they to think now?