Unlike You

Twenty Eight

I have always heard people say that patience is key. I don't know if that's true because the more I wait, the more sanity is leaving me. My leg bounces with anticipation. I peak in the rear view mirror to catch a glimpse of my neck and all I see are the bruises of where Sam had his despicable hands on me. My throat feels closed off, like I have a traffic jam in my esophagus.

Lawrence and I stare out of our separate windows, waiting for Sharon to get on her break. Oddly enough, Sam hasn't sent out any officers to find me. I guess he's still in shock of the whole situation.

Yes, pun intended.

"Aren't you just glad you love me?" I whisper. I don't want to talk loud and have to take breaths in between, so whispering it is.

I don't look at Lawrence, but I see him turn towards me in my peripheral. I can't see the exact face he's making, and I don't really want to. I dragged him deeper into this shit show where as he was already ten feet into it. If I were in his position, I would have been gone by the time I opened my damn mouth.

"Hell yeah I am."

"Why? I dragged you into this mess. It's my screwed up life, my screwed up problems. You're just unlucky enough to be along for the ride."

"Unlucky? Are you kidding?" Lawrence sounds angry, like I'm accusing him of something. "Ser, I knew I needed to meet you the night Amy passed. I saw you... and that was it. You didn't need to say anything because you were the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. When I saw you sitting outside of the support group, I couldn't breath when you looked at me. Your eyes. They looked broken. It pained me to my core. You were this beautiful person, shattered. You were a clear piece of glass that people treated like trash. Even if I wanted to, I-I could never stop loving you..."

"You were kind of an asshole when I first met you. Not gonna lie."

"I didn't know what else to do. I was beyond nervous and I didn't know how to approach you without saying everthing. I wouldn't have forgave myself if I scared you away."

I gaze at him, a smile pulling at my cheeks. "I don't deserve you..."

"I think other wise."

Suddenly, I am being captured in a kiss. Lawrence's lips melt together with mine and we become one. Each of us shattered pieces of glass, coming together to make a beautiful mosaic. The picture is a bit out of the ordinary, but it's art nonetheless.

His lips... they flood my mind and quickly I'm gone. Lost in a world of just Lawrence. He's every breath I take in and let out. He's the dreams that chase away the nightmares. He's a wonderful thing that is continuously overlooked.

As Lawrence's mouth traces my jaw, I find myself twining my fingers through his.

"I'll never let go if you don't," I breath.

"Never."

~*~

My head rests in Lawrence's lap as we continue to wait for Sharon's lunch break. It's been ten minutes since we had our heated make out session which ended all too soon. Sharon should be out any minute now.

"Are you surprised about what Sam told you about Amy's dad?" Lawrence asks.

"Yeah, I mean, I've known him for as long as I can remember. Finding out that he's a drug dealer is just bizzare."

"No kidding."

Tap, tap, tap.

I lift my head from Lawrence's lap to see Sharon outside of the driver side door. She is fumbling with her keys until she finds the right one. Once she's seated in the front seat, she turns to me with a look I can't explain.

"You're insane, girl."

"What did I do?"

"What did you do? You tased the crap out of my boss! That's what! Man is on a rampage. We need to get you to the station before he notices I'm gone."

I shoot Lawrence a sideways glance and I sit back in my seat. As we drive off, I ponder on what I'm going to do when we get there. Am I just gonna walk in and ask to see Amy's case file? I have evidence, that's a fact, but what if they ask how I got it? I was recording the whole incident. Even when I tased Sam. That's basically assult.

I don't know. I'll wing it.

We arrive at the station and I walk inside with Lawrence and Sharon trailing behind me. People in handcuffs and police officers populate the lobby. I get blank stares from the officers as I rush past them to the front desk.

"I need to see the case file for Amy Birch," I demand. I'm surprised that my voice is louder that it was earlier and I sound more confident than I recently anticipated.

The lady behind the desk peers up at me from behind her thick rimmed glasses with a bored look.

"That's case has been closed off for over a year. They already know who did it."

"No, they don't. I was wrongly convicted of her murder, but I have evidence that Raymond Middleton, the man you have running the juvenile detention center that I was assigned to not far from here, isn't even Raymond Middleton. His name is Samuel Fredrick and he killed Amy Birch last summer."

"Why would I believe you?"

"Get me the file, and I can explain everything." The lady sighs, clearly annoyed. I don't care. Justice is just in my reach and I won't stop until it's successfully in my hands. She removes herself from her black office chair and she leaves to go find me the file.

I rotate on my foot to face Sharon and Lawrence. They both appear to be in distress; anticipation clawing at them. I know what I'm doing... hopefully.

Minutes of silence later, and the lady comes back with a manilla folder in her hands. She rests it on the counter in front of me and flips it open. I scan through it, looking for the evidence page. Once I spot the word 'weapon' on the page, I stop.

Victim was stabbed with a five inch knife in her chest and stomach area.

"In any other murder case file, this page would contain the fingerprints on the weapon. They never did a scan because they assumed it was me. But, I got it tested. The fingerprints match up to Samuel Fredrick. Not only that, his nephew, Lawrence Eastwood, witnessed the whole thing. I also have a recording of Samuel admitting that he was the one who killed her."

I reach forthe box in my waistband and slide it over to the lady. She presses the button and the conversation starts. Once she listens to the whole thing, the fighting and Mr. Birch selling drugs part included, she slides it back to me.

"Let me get the chief."

Seconds after the lady leaves, a man walks out, who claims a very tall stature, dark skin, and a thick mustache. He is intimidating to say the least. He looks annoyed and seemingly impatient, but he's going to have to deal with it. He watches me with cautious eyes.

"Sir, I have information that you would like to hear."

"What is it and don't waste my time."

"Amy Birch, the teen girl that was murdered last year, I found her killer. I found her killer after you neglected to do so and I was released from being wrongly convicted for her murder."

"And who is the real murderer?"

"Samuel Fredrick. Or you may know him as Raymond Middleton."