The Supernova Effect

Chapter 20

Nova
If I had to describe the last twelve hours with one taste, it would be salt.

Salt clung to everything.

The oversized jacket I borrowed from Daisuke's closet smelled faintly like him but tasted like salt from the tears soaking into the sleeves.

My curls were damp and tangled from running my hands through them too many times.

My lips tasted salty.

My skin tasted salty.

Even the back of my throat burned with it.

I'd cried so hard my body felt hollow now.

The kind of crying that leaves headaches behind.

The kind where your chest hurts from screaming and eventually your voice gives out completely.

I sat curled into the stiff chair at the Chicago police station trying to breathe through the ache building behind my eyes.

One thought kept circling my mind over and over until it made me nauseous.

Could Daisuke have had something to do with Amir's death?

No.

No matter how many times my brain forced the question onto me, my heart rejected it immediately.

Daisuke could be angry.

Possessive.

Impulsive.

But evil?

Never.

He would never kill someone.

Especially not Amir.

"Sir, you don't understand," I rasp quietly to the officer at the front desk for what feels like the hundredth time. "They took him without even explaining anything."

The younger officer sighs sympathetically.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but there's nothing I can do. He's being held until questioning. And after that..." He hesitates slightly. "I can't guarantee they'll offer bail."

My chest tightens all over again.

I nod numbly before walking back to my seat.

This had to be at least my fifth time asking.

Fifth time getting nowhere.

The police station smelled overwhelmingly like coffee.

Not the good kind either.

Old burnt coffee.

The kind that settles into walls and clothes permanently.

At first I barely noticed it.

Now it made me sick.

I knew after tonight I'd never smell coffee again without thinking about this place.

Cigarette smoke drifted in every few minutes whenever officers stepped back inside from the entrance.

The fluorescent light above me flickered every few seconds, making my already exhausted eyes ache even worse.

Even this late at night the station buzzed constantly.

Phones ringing.

People talking.

Footsteps echoing.

Everything felt too loud for how numb I was.

The automatic doors suddenly slid open again.