Saving Grace

Chapter Thirteen: Teetering on the Edge

Charlie sat at a table in a holding room, after they'd taken his fingerprints, putting him into the same system that his older sister had already been fairly well acquainted with, and kicked his feet back and forth in silence as he waited for Gracie and Clara. Gracie had been called first, but he figured she'd find Clara and drag the woman down to the station with her.

His heart pounded well into his throat and he wanted nothing more than for the ground to open and swallow him whole so he didn't have to face Clara's wrath when she got wind that he was no better than his delinquent sister and thug brother. His palms were sweating and he wished he could turn invisible, but the feeling wasn't nearly as bad as when Clara finally did storm in like a hurricane, with Gracie and an officer following cautiously behind her.

When Clara got mad, the tiny woman put her entire body into it, her being trembled as she shouted, "Charlie! What were you thinking? I'm going to whip your behind, young man!"

"Um... Clara, I don't think you're allowed to beat kids in public anymore," Gracie stage-whispered, locking eyes with her little brother and silently asking if he was okay.

For once, someone seemed capable of understanding her telepathic messages, and he sent her a discreet nod from across the table, before turning his weary eyes to Clara. He forced himself to not look as afraid as he felt. But indifference didn't come nearly as easily to him as it did his older siblings. "I don't care what the law says. This boy is living under my roof, therefore I swear I'm going to smack him!" Taking a deep breath, she limped quickly over to the table where Charlie sat, and lowering her voice she asked, "What has my brat done, officer?" as she shot Charlie a stern glare.

The officer cleared his throat, gesturing to the chair across from the table they were sitting at. "Have a seat, Ms. Charles," he told her.

Clara grudgingly obliged, her glare never receding as she muttered, "It's Ms. Storm, actually. These children are my wards." The officer nodded coolly, not seeming to care either way.

"Yes, of course. Ma'am, are you aware what your boy has been up to?" Clara cut her icy, dagger-like gaze in Charlie's direction, before turning back to the officer.

"No. Please enlighten me."

"We found him selling Marijuana on a street corner at ten o'clock at night," the officer informed her stiffly, shooting the boy a dubious look he didn't think anyone would notice, but Gracie noticed. She tried not to let the shock and anger show on her face, but by the way Charlie coward further into his seat, she wasn't sure she actually did a good job at hiding it.

"Marijuana!?" Clara cried, turning her attention to Charlie. "Where did you get weed from? And what the hell were you doing selling it?" The disgust on her face was evident. Officer Bryans had a serious and tastefully unbiased expression adorning his decidedly square features as he folded his hands over the metal table and leaned forward.

"That's what we've been trying to find out, ma'am. But he keeps saying-"

"I'd like to hear it from the boy himself, if you don't mind," she growled, her eyes glowing with rage. For the first time that day, Charlie was glad he sat on the other side of the table, as far away from Clara as possible. The officer had to protect him if she went crazy and tried to strangle him, right? "Where did you get the pot, Murray Charles?" she repeated icily.

Gracie clenched her fists together so hard her palms would've bled if she'd had any nails as she watched her little brother sit stock still in his chair and stare right into the eyes of the woman they'd been spending far too much time with. "I found it," he answered firmly, never once looking in her direction. Relief threatened to flood Gracie's system, but they weren't quite finished with him and they both knew that.