Saving Grace

Chapter Five: Chains of Freedom

It wasn't the sirens that never seemed to stop blaring outside that woke Charlie up; it was the incessant pounding on the front door that did it. As carefully as he could manage, he climbed over Preston's hulking frame and tiptoed out into the hallway, noticing only briefly that not even the sound of stirring came from Henry's room. Gracie was nowhere in sight, but that was a fairly normal occurrence, so the boy thought nothing of it; at least not until he opened the door and came face to face with an agitated police officer.

"Um... hi?" Charlie muttered, staring wide-eyed up at the officer. A cop standing at their front door was never a welcome circumstance.

"Are your parents home?" the cop asked, craning his neck to look over Charlie's head and into the dark front room of the apartment.

"What for?" the boy asked suspiciously, getting ready to slam the door in the officer's face when Preston's voice carried from the bedroom they shared.

"Charlie, where'd you go?" he sounded groggy as his silhouette appeared in the doorway at the far end of the place. "And who's at the door?" all of a sudden his mind was alert, as his gaze found his younger brother's.

"Are you Mr. Preston Charles, sir?" the officer's voice was agitated as he read off Preston's name from the paper in his hand.

"What's this all about?" Preston answered, coming up behind Charlie and nudging him out of the way.

"Are you the legal guardian of a... Grace Charles?"

"No. My dad is, but he's sick right now. What's going on?" Upon hearing Preston's answer the officer's face turned grave and his voice was stern and unforgiving.

"You should come with me then, sir-"

"What happened to Gracie?" Charlie interrupted, glaring up at the stony-faced man.

But the man ignored him. "Sir, we really should be going. We have to meet the ambulance-"

"Whoa, hang on. Ambulance? What happened to my sister? Is she okay?"

The officer let out a stiff sigh, as if explaining what happened was such a burden to him. "Your sister is fine. She was in a minor car accident and is currently on the way to the hospital, even though-"

"Even though, what?" Preston urged icily. The officer shook his head, seeing the lethal stare in the younger man's eyes.

"Never mind that. Come on, bring the boy if you have to."

"Yes, I have to," Preston sneered, much to Charlie's relief. "Grab your coat and shoes, hurry up," he commanded, taking the few necessary steps across their living room to Henry's room. He pushed the man's door open so only a sliver of light was able to penetrate the blackness, and in what little illumination he had, he was able to make out Henry's peacefully sleeping form. No need to wake him, he reasoned, backing out and quietly shutting the door behind him.

The ride to the hospital was silent, except for Charlie's incessant drumming of his fingers against the glass. Preston had expected him to be asking question after question after question, which was what he was known for, but that time he hardly uttered a word. It bothered Preston more than if he wasn't shutting up. A silent Charlie meant he was thinking hard about something, and when Charlie was thinking hard, people tended to get swindled out of their gambles. It was a serious problem they'd been trying to curb for ages, unsuccessfully.

When they finally reached the hospital, Preston's head was pounding and no matter how positive he tried to stay, he knew nothing good was going to come of the next couple of hours. Gracie being in a car accident alone, meant bad things were just waiting to befall the Charles family once again.