I Wish You Never Met Me

06

CHAPTER 6

In the span of ten seconds, my face went from shocked to sorrow mixed with anger. I wasn't surprised at the fact that he remembered me—recognized me. Because we've seen each other before. A year ago, I was the girl wearing a cute cheerleader's uniform, gold and white, with blonde hair. I was the preppy girl. I was the girl with the so-called perfect life—perfect grades, perfect boyfriend, perfect team leader.

"Ex-girlfriend," my eyes peeled away from him. I didn't want to feel embarrassed, but I am. Embarrassed that I even dated him for as long as I did. I spent sophomore year and almost my entire junior year with him. I got expelled right before winter break and sent to juvie the week after.

"Sorry, I didn't mean—"

"No, it's fine," I immediately reassured him. "It doesn't really matter anymore. I appreciate the sentiment, but you don't have to care for me."

"You deserve to be cared for, sweetheart," the words, they were tender, sweet. I hid my face underneath my hoodie sleeve, my cheeks burning. "It's always the ones that gives their all to others getting hurt the most. You deserve way better."

Did he really mean that?

Without saying anything else to drag the conversation further, I decided to continue with working on our project. Yet, I couldn't shake his words off my mind. Did he really mean what he said? Was it just to pity me? Was he saying that just because? Was it true?

Girls like me—juvie rats—we didn't deserve better. We deserve all the punishment we got. Working and getting homeschooled through our sentence. We were just delinquents, right? Just a set of bad kids who made a grave mistake in their life. A waste of space, right? A disappointment. The one who stopped their parents from achieving their dreams.

As the bell signaled for class to end, I got up, grabbing my bag and notebook. I was heading toward the door when I felt something on my wrist whilst the other students walked by—some even lingering to look on. I hope a certain someone doesn't see or hear about this.

"You deserve the world, partner. I hope you know that." his breath fanned my ear, and his body close to mine. It sent my heart into a frenzy, but there was no way he was going to know that. I let out a sigh.

"Thanks, but I don't need the pity right now. I suggest you go before word gets out that Lucas Matthews is hanging around a juvie rat," I smiled to myself, bitterly. It was the truth. He was the popular guy. I wasn't about to be the cause of his reputation getting ruined. "Bye."

***

I hate coming to this place. The police station. I've been coming here for at least a month and a half. And every time, it's the same thing. Same questions. Same Answers. Same Discussion. Same news. Same spot. Nothing moves from where it's placed. Yet, the goal post always moves. And here I was again, meeting with the same detectives followed by the private investigator that's been following me everywhere I went besides school.

I had been bottling this pain, keeping it from showing on my face but it was getting difficult. The more I moved, the more it hurt. I'm just hoping nothing was cut and nothing is broken. It felt like fire was burning me from the inside as I moved, limping to Detective Anderson's office.

"Are you alright, Meghan?" my mother's PI voice rang through the atmosphere, bringing the attention I didn't ask for to me.

"I'm fine, Janice. Don't worry about me," I wasn't trying to be rude. But I guess it came out that way, by how she was looking at me.

"If something's going on at home, you—"

"Janice, I appreciate your concern, but my parents hired you to stalk me and tell them about everything I do, right?" my tone was cold, void of any other emotion that wasn't anger and frustration. I didn't care about the officers that were listening. She worked with them. They already knew about her since they were the ones that gave my parents the bright idea to give me a curfew and have a PI stalk me all day long. I'm lucky on the weekends since she doesn't work on those times, but I do.

When we arrived at the office, detective Anderson didn't bother to acknowledge me considering he probably heard us outside his office. But my limping didn't pass him either.

"What's up with the limping? You alright?"

"Fell down the stairs at home," I sat in front of him slowly to relive the pain I was feeling in my ribs. I spent an entire school day, pretending not to be in pain whilst my body was yelling at me from the inside.

But I deserve it, right?

I tried to ruin someone else's life. I served my time and yet I still think I deserved everything that came to me. Maybe I should just close the case and move on. I don't think my mind can take anymore turmoil and pain.

"That doesn't look like you fell anywhere, Meghan. Listen, you can trust me. I'm here to help you."

I don't know what was happening with my hormones, but I was almost brought to tears. However, there was no way that I was going to sit here in a police station and cry. He wouldn't understand—no one does. "Well, maybe you shouldn't."

Detective Anderson had confusion written all over his face. "What? What do you mean?"

"Look, I came to tell you to close the case," I sighed as it was my mother's PI's turn to be inquisitive.

"Meghan, why do you want to close the case? Don't you want to clear your name?" Janice asked. "Why are you giving up when you just started? Don't you want to be a normal teenager again?"

I gave Janice a bitter, yet solemn smile. "I just don't have the energy to go around in circles and fight this anymore. They paid the LAPD to bar you guys from getting the laptop. There's no other way you can solve this without it. Besides, I already serve the time. I need to go to work, okay?"

I was about to leave the office when I felt Anderson hand on my wrist. "So, you're okay with being treated like a servant in your own house?"

I wasn't surprised that he knew. Janice was required to have a report of everything that went on with me. She was required to keep record of everything I was doing. How my grades were, who I was talking to, where I was working. Just so that my parents would know. Hence why my body feels like it was hit by a train filled with zoo animals and then the lion tried to maul me afterwards.

I didn't speak. It wasn't because I didn't want to. It was because I knew that this was an argument I didn't want to have. I didn't want to say something that'll hurt his feelings and his ego in one shot. But I wasn't going to let him challenge me in front of her. I don't care if you're older than me. You don't get to spout nonsense and disrespect my character then try to get away with it. However, I knew to choose my battles wisely considering I don't have power—he does; he has the badge.

"Are you okay with having stupid cops that are trigger happy when they see a black guy walking home whilst wearing a hoodie in your unit, Anderson?" It was a sample question and yet the color in his face almost drained completely. "I'm only tolerating it because I have nowhere else to go. If I leave, we lose the house, understood, Mr. Anderson?"

"But are you sure you want to close the case, Meghan?" Janice asked once more. "Are you sure you don't want your freedom back?"

I chuckled bitterly. "Not when the Runnels family has their hands in almost every law firm in Los Angeles and parts of San Diego. It's pointless fighting them."

"Why give up when you haven't started yet?"

A/N

Game set! Who's ready?