Connection | 18+

Chapter Eight

OLIVIA:

My head hurts.

   The harsh overhead lights stab at my eyes as I blink awake. My head throbs and it takes a moment for the room to come into focus.

   The cold, hard bench beneath me feels unforgiving, and the sterile smell of the place makes my stomach turn.

   Slowly, reality sinks in—I’m in a police station.

   I push myself up, feeling the ache in my muscles. My body feels heavy, weighed down by the remnants of the high and the crash that followed.

   Didn't I flee away?

   I don't remember what happened afterward.

   I look around, confused and disoriented. The small holding cell is stark, the walls bare, and the metal door in front of me feels more like a prison than a barrier could ever be.

   A deep breath. Then another.

   The panic begins to creep in, like a slow burn. What happened last night? Was it last night? Or the evening? My head is too disoriented. The pieces are blurry—driving too fast, the crash, the police lights in my rearview mirror, fleeing. But beyond that, everything is a fog. I can’t remember what I said or what I did.

   I glance down at my hands, shaking slightly, the cuffs leaving red marks on my wrists. The metal was cold, biting into my skin. There were shards of glass stuck in my arm, my whole body numb to the pain.

   The sound of a door creaking open pulls me from my thoughts. A police officer walks toward the bars, clipboard in hand. His expression is neutral, but the weight of his gaze feels like judgment.

   “You’re awake,” he says, voice flat. “Do you know where you are?”

  I nod slowly, though my throat feels tight. “Police station?” I managed to croak.

   He studies me for a second, then continues. “You were found at the scene of an accident. You crashed the car twice and you fled from an active scene, in front of a police officer. You attacked two of our officers. We did a swab test, you were under the influence of drugs.”

   I tried to be calm and composed. I know how it works.

   Just a few words and it’ll do the magic, I've heard a million times before.

   A lump forms in my throat, making it hard to swallow as I lie through my teeth.

   “What? I was under the influence of drugs?” I gasp as my hands tremble. “Officer…I don't know what happened. I was driving when I felt a wave of drowsiness and then I woke up here. I don't remember. I...”

   The officer in front of me frowns before he writes something on his clipboard.

   “I’ll be asking you some questions and I need you to answer me truthfully, okay?”

   I nod and then the questionnaire starts.

   I answered the basic information about myself before it moved to where was I before the accident and with whom.

   “I was at the café with my friend—the café I work at,” I say, my voice shaking. “We were just hanging out, nothing out of the ordinary. Then I got into my car and drove off.”

   The officer raises an eyebrow, jotting down notes. “And you didn’t notice anything unusual before you left? Did your friend see you leave?”

   I take a deep breath, making sure that I seem confused and worried.