Stolen Innocence (Evergreen) [Student/Teacher Love Story]

forty four

"Can you state your full name for the record?"

"Iris Marie Lund," I glance up at the two detectives, this time, one of them a woman. Her name: Martha. The man is one of the same guys from before, the bald one. My eyes narrow slightly at him, I wish it were the other, kinder-eyed one here instead. But alas.

"Alright, Iris, and why are you here today?" I stare at baldie blankly as he's the one who asked this.

"You asked me to come back in and talk to you guys," He nods at this, scribbling down something in his notebook and I glance up to see the woman staring at me with clear pity in her eyes. I struggle against rolling my eyes.

"Perfect. So, what can you tell us about the nature of your relationship with Michael Ryder?" Once again, hearing his name runs a chill down my spine. How the hell am I gonna go to trial tomorrow?

"We were..." I reconnect my gaze with the woman and she cuts in.

"How about we start with something a little easier?" She side eyes baldie (Mike?) and he leans back in his seat.

"Last time we left off...Detective Watts had been asking what changed in your relationship that you started seeing Michael again?" I gulp at this, reminded of that first meeting, how nervous I was, how much I needed to vomit.

I no longer feel the need to puke, but I think I know why. So much has changed since we last spoke.

"Yeah...that night...Michael came over. He was drunk. He told me he...he loved me..." I glance up at Martha, "How much do you want to know?"

"As much as you're willing to share," She starts to reach for me but seems to think better of it and pulls away. I glance over at Mike to see him jotting everything down. Sighing, I roll my shoulders back and try to press on.

"So, he told you he loved you? What happened after that?"

"He kissed me," I breathe the words out in one long raspy breath, the memory of his lips on mine as fresh as the day it happened. I can taste the whiskey on his breath and feel his stubble on my lips, on my neck. Shaking my head, I try to bring myself back to the present.

"And then...we went upstairs and he...we, um..." At this, Martha holds my hand and as much as I feel like I should pull away, I decide against it, wanting the comfort she provides, regardless of how feeble it may be.

"We just kept kissing. That's it," I say, my head now in my hands as I can't make eye contact with either of them. Martha's hand slowly lets go of mine and I feel a pang in my chest at this.

"Okay, Iris. Are you...are you sure that's all you have to tell us about that night?" I nod.

"Look, we're not the bad guys here, hun. We're here to help you get justice," Martha chimes in and as sweet as she sounds and as convincing as the smile on her face is, I can't help but disagree.

"Sure. What else can I help you with?"

We talk for a while more about the events that transpired after that night. I'm honest with them for the most part while leaving out any mention of us having sex. Their questions mostly pertain to my distancing from my friends and Ethan, how that made me feel, if I felt Michael was forcing me to, etc.

They never bring up Fiona and that crowd, and I fail to either.

"There are some reports that put you and Michael at a dive bar in early December. Do you remember that night?" Mike asks, glancing up at me and I look to the floor, remembering that night almost as if it were yesterday.

"Yes, I do,"

"Do you remember the bouncer who let you in?" My eyes shoot up to them, and, as convincingly as I can, shake my head.