The Ice Cream Man

The Crux of Light

Hey guys! Yes I am in fact alive. It took me a long time to finish this. I rewrote this chapter so many times I'm dizzy, but I finally feel great about it so here it is! 

The Crux of Light

Robin POV

"Let's go over this one more time just to get all the details straight." I sigh in frustration folding my arms and glaring at the cop sitting in the chair across from me and Bobby's parents. I guess I can't blame the guy this is his first time talking to us. It was a different cop before. He flips through a file he has briefly going to a page in the front. "Your son is Bobby Lee correct?" He questions sliding a school picture of Bobby from junior year across the table. His smile is bright and carefree in the photo and I have to bite my lips to keep myself from bursting into tears again. He's wearing one of his favorite sweaters a black and grey one with a weird graphic design on the front. He basically shoved that thing in my face the day he got it, boasting about how cool it was. I wonder if he's okay. I didn't know what to do when I saw him being dragged away. I tried to get to him in time to do anything...something but that man was too fast. He had him wrapped up and stowed away in that car within seconds. No doubt he saw me screaming and running towards him as he drove off.

At first I just stood there in shock and then I was swearing cursing and looking around like someone would tell me what to do. They don't teach you how to handle this shit in high school. There's no handbook for what to do if your best friend is abducted by a stranger right in front of you.

"That's correct." Bobby's dad answers and I can tell that he is just as exasperated as I am. This is the third time we've explained this. Once to the officers who arrived on scene and then to file the report and for the third time to these investigators. "He's seventeen years old."

The man nods. His hair is dark and a little unruly but his eyes are a focused hazel that stares right into me as he looks in my direction. "You were the one who made the call to dispatch?"

I nod. "My name is Robin Brenner."

"Yes. Could you please go over what happened that night one more time for me Ms. Brenner?" He questions. His partner who is standing next to the table scoffs. He's an older man maybe in his late fifties and he seems to be the cynical type. I don't think he's took a word I said seriously during this whole process.

"It was early on May 10th. Bobby called around 12:30 in the morning. He was freaking out and he kept saying that I needed to get help and go to his house as soon as I could. He said that the ice cream man was there and then the call disconnected. I was confused and worried but I also thought that he could be playing a joke on me so I called him back. He was screaming for help and I could hear him running like there was a struggle. I didn't know what to do I mean I didn't know if what was happening was real because me and Bobby always like to joke around with each other I still thought it could be some kind of prank you know? That's when he yelled for me to look outside. I didn't even question it I ran to my window and there he was. He looked like he was only in his underwear and I knew that wasn't right. I mean I was so unsure I was looking everywhere in the dark to see what was happening and immediately I caught sight of a man running out of the house behind him coming for him. I screamed at Bobby to run and I didn't wait even a second to get outside. To help him. To do something." I shake my head and cringe as Bobby's mother sobs into her hands. "He didn't make it. I didn't fucking make it. It's all my fault. I didn't believe anything he said about the ice cream man."

"What did he say about the ice cream man?"

I laugh wryly and stare down at the table. "He was always afraid of him. No not just afraid he was terrified. He told me that the ice cream man first showed up five or so years ago at a family reunion. He said that he was staring at him weird and kept touching his hands, I mean even as a twelve year old sometimes you know when someone is creeping on you and Bobby knew. He came by every year after that and each time Bobby would complain to me about it. I didn't believe him. I should've believed him."