A kiss for Ree

Chapter 26: Back in Hell

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I woke up the next morning still running on zero percent Ree Ree energy. Was I spiraling into depression? Was I becoming one of those teens who fell apart after losing someone? Maybe I was. Maybe I needed help. Losing my best friend was clearly doing a number on me. She's not even dead, we just hate each other now.

While I sluggishly got ready for school, my ringtone pierced through the silence like a blade, startling me. I ignored it. Probably Ashley again. She had called nonstop yesterday, even when I didn’t answer. I wasn’t ready for another close friend. Not yet.

A heavy weight sat at the back of my mind like a stone. An oppressive sense of dread I couldn’t shake. Something was coming. Something bad.

But what?

Was Imade planning something? Or was it something entirely different? I couldn’t tell. I just kept dressing, slow and mechanical.

"Akorede!" Omar burst into my room, nearly tripping over nothing as he stumbled to a stop in front of me.

I was too drained to be angry about him not knocking. “What is it?” I asked flatly, just as my phone rang again. I glanced at the screen, ready to switch it off if it was Ashley.

But it wasn’t. It was ‘Hammed Adeshina.’ My mom’s lawyer.

Before I could process that, Omar’s breath came out in a gasp. “There are police officers here!”

My hand froze, still hovering over my phone.

I turned to look at him, searching his face for any sign this was one of his dumb pranks. His wide, panicked eyes said this was real.

“For what?” I asked, my voice barely a whisper.

“I don’t know. They’re downstairs. Lila’s talking to them…” His voice trailed off as both our heads turned toward the door, drawn to the sudden weight of a presence standing there.

Levi's voice carried a sharp edge that sent panic shooting through my chest.
"You two school come downstairs right now," he said, then disappeared without another word.

Omar and I locked eyes, and in a split second, we bolted out of my room, him slightly ahead. But nothing could have prepared me for what I saw when we reached the living room.

Six police officers, dressed in black, stood like shadows around the room. They were armed and silent.

Levi was by Lila’s side, but she wasn’t even resisting. Just standing there. They couldn’t just arrest her, she didn’t do anything wrong!

"Miss Lila, you are under arrest for custodial interference and the unlawful removal of minors from their legal guardian. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law…” one of the officers said, his voice cold as he locked her hands behind her back with cuffs.

The words floated around me like fog, heavy and confusing.

Custodial interference?

Unlawful removal of minors from their legal guardian?

“What the heck is going on?!” I shouted, my voice cutting through the tension like glass. The strange unreadable eyes of the police officers turned to me.

One of the officers started walking toward me. Omar stepped back instinctively, hiding behind me. In that instant, something flared in me, an urgent need to protect him, no matter what.

"Are you Rihanna Akorede Bolade? And is that Omar Kolawole?"

I was frozen. I couldn’t lie to a police officer, but I didn’t even understand what was happening. My brain scrambled to find the beginning or end of this nightmare.