Chapter Fifty-Eight

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A few minutes later, a man in an officer uniform came to the interrogation room, handcuffed Anita and took her out of the room. He led her down many halls and through several doors. She assumed she was being taken to a jail cell now. She was wrong. Instead. she was led to a hallway with phones along the wall.

"You are allowed to make one call at this time, if you want to," said the man.

Who was she going to call? She had no one left to talk to at this point. Except for one person.

Was calling her mother a good idea? She did not think so. Her mother now likely believed she was a terrible person. A killer. However, she did want to at least apologize and despite knowing she would not believe her, tell her that she did not do it.

She picked up the phone and dialed a number. Then, she put the phone up to her ear. It rang. And rang. And rang. And then...

"Hello?"

It was not her mother. It was Steven.

"Hey, Steven. It's Anita," said Anita into the phone. "Is mom there? Can I talk to her?"

He was silent for a moment. "No. She doesn't want to talk to you."

Anita rolled her eyes. "Please. Just let me talk to her. I need to explain some things. I swear, this is all just a huge misunderstanding."

"Explain what? Explain why you killed that boy? There's nothing you need to say to her. Don't call this number again."

"Wait!" she shouted into the receiver. "Please, Steven. Just one minute. I need to talk to her. I don't have anyone left to talk to. She's all I have. Just let me talk to her. Please."

The line was quiet and for a moment, she believed he was going to hang up. But then, she heard him speak again. His voice sounded distant.

"It's Anita. She wants to talk to you."

"I don't want to," she heard her mother say in the background.

"She really wants to talk to you. Said she wants to explain something."

"I can't."

"Just for a moment. It will be okay, honey. I'll be right here with you the whole time."

The line went quiet again. A short while later, a voice spoke.

"Hello?" her mother's voice came through the phone, shaky and uncertain.

"Mom, I need to tell you something," she said, her voice catching in her throat.

There was a long pause before her mother spoke again. "I can't talk to you right now. I can't. I'm too scared."

"You don't have to be scared of me," said Anita. "Please, mom. Listen to me. I didn't do it. I know what I'm about to say will sound insane but...I didn't do it. It was...it was Loki. He framed me. You have to believe me."

"What? What are you talking about?" Her mother questioned, confused.

"He's real, mom. He's the reason I've been acting so weird lately. He's real and he's dangerous. He killed Caspian. I saw the whole thing. I couldn't stop him," Anita explained.

"Oh God," said her mother hysterically. "What is wrong with you? You're delusional. Anita, I'm terrified. I knew your dad's death had a big impact on you but I never thought it would lead to you killing someone. Maybe this is my fault. Maybe I should have gotten you more help for your mental issues. More than just a little therapy."

"This isn't about dad! I'm not crazy! Just listen to me," Anita begged. "I didn't do it. I would never hurt Caspian. He meant so much to me. Loki framed me. I can't prove that I'm innocent but I swear, he did it."

"I can't talk anymore. This is all just too much for me. This has been the worst night of my life. I need to go."

Her mother hung up the phone. Anita kept the phone to her ear for a moment before putting it back on the wall. The whole call had been pointless. She was completely alone in the world. She had no one. No one would listen to her.

The officer led her to a jail cell and locked her inside without a word. She looked around glumly at the new environment.

The cell was small and dark. The walls and floor were concrete. A small metal toilet was in a corner. Against a wall was an uncomfortable looking bed. She sat down on the bed. It was as hard as stone. There were no blankets. Just a single sheet on the mattress. No pillow.

The cell was dreadful. It was far worse than she expected. Despite the cell and all of the bad things she had been through that night, she was relieved. She was far away from Loki, for now.

The next few days, she was stuck in her cell, only being taken out to be interrogated. Twice a day, a small tray with slimy, unappetizing food on it was pushed through a small slot at the bottom of the heavy metal door into her cell. She would pick at it, only eating the pieces that were not too gross. It was not enough to satiate her hunger. Her stomach growled hungrily.

When she was stuck inside, she mostly just sat around, reflecting on everything that had happened the past few months. She of course thought about her forced slavery but she also though about her ex friend, Sophie. She wondered if she ever felt sorry for yelling at her on Christmas Eve. Admittedly, she missed having her as a friend. However, if she was truly being sent to prison, there was no point in missing her because she would never see or talk to her again.

She thought about college and how her life could have gone if everything went right and she had graduated. She could have ended up being a writer or a director for Hollywood. Or maybe create her own indie film studio. She could have been adored by many.

Of course, she thought about Caspian and how things could have gone if the whole slave situation had never happened. They could have ended up dating and maybe even get married. They could have lived a joyful, fun filled life together.

She cried quite a bit. Nothing, none of her dreams, would ever come to fruition. Not anymore. She was seen as a criminal now. A murderer. She would never be let out of prison, she knew it. If she was ever released, she would be old. Too old to do anything anymore.

She would either be executed or spend the rest of her life as a prisoner. She would never walk free again.

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