With Me (2) Chris Sturniolo

2.

Forever passed until Brian came back out, alone and sat with Nate and I. We were here for hours, now it was passed midnight. I was tired and paranoid every time a police officer walked past and my ass my numb from the chair.

"What's going on?" Nate asked him. "Where's Chris?"

"It's a lot more complicated than we thought" Brian told us and we shared a look. More complicated.

"When Chris was arrested, they contacted his legal guardian" Brian continued. "Which is Jim's wife, Mary, who told them she hasn't seen Chris in a long time and she doesn't want anything to do with him. She painted an awful picture of him, saying he stole from her and ran away from home with his brothers"

Liar. Sure, she wants nothing to do with him, but she absolutely wants something to do with the government cheque.

"That led to questions on where his brothers were, and he refused to answer"

And risk them being taken? I don't blame him. Every minute that went by meant we're closer to the police calling social services.

"Not only did my friend Liam have to get him off with a murder charge, but a kidnapping charge too"

Nate and I gave each other a panicked look when Brian added, "don't worry! Chris has been cleared of murder"

I sigh in relief for the first time all night. The weight on my shoulders since Chris was arrested was lifted. He's not going to jail!

Brian didn't want to bombard us with questions, but he started explaining. "His alibi checks out. He's with Liam signing release papers"

"What about the kidnap charge?"

"Liam talked Mary into relinquishing custody, something about her being charged with child endangerment for not reporting the twins missing. I agreed to be their guardian until Chris turns eighteen and can file for guardianship over them"

Nate threw himself on his father and wrapped his arms around him. "Dad, you're the best!"

Brian patted Nate's back, before pulling away. "I wish Chris hadn't felt the need to shoulder this alone. If I knew about this sooner, Jerry and I would've stepped in sooner"

Nate and Mike's dad were such cool people. It made me wonder what my dad would've done in this situation if he didn't die.

"How long will the paperwork take? Is he almost done?"

Brian didn't answer me because Nate quickly stood up, with a big smile on his face.

I jump out of my chair and rushed with Nate. Chris was being led towards us with an officer and his lawyer, Liam. Even though he spent most of the night here, he still looked good. They stopped behind the reception desk, where the officer said something to Chris, who didn't break eye contact with me.

Chris took a few steps towards us and rubbed his wrists where the handcuffs were before, before I launched myself at him. He didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around me, pulling me close.

"Are you okay?" I asked him

He let me go and tucked hair behind my ear. "Of course I am. Why are you still here? I told you all to go home"

Chris and Nate did their bro hug. "We couldn't leave you here, dude" Nate told him. "Everyone was waiting too, but they were forced to go home"

"No one needs to worry about me"

This must be weird for Chris. He's the one there for everyone, making sure they're taken care of. He's the strong one and having people care about him, was something he wasn't used to.