Teach Me

Chapter Thirty-Six: Starting Over

ALANA POV

"Chris, are you ready to go?" I asked as I walked into the dining room to see him sitting in a chair and staring blankly at the table.

"U-Uh, yeah sorry. I was just thinking." He muttered, shaking his head and sighing as he got up and grabbed his keys. "Did your mom already leave?" He asked, obviously changing the subject as we walked towards the door.

"Yeah, probably." I replied, glancing at the clock just to be sure. She was most likely already on her way to the police station to meet up with us. Chris took my hand and led me out the door and into his car. I watched him intently as he started the car, and I noticed that his thoughts seemed to be elsewhere. He didn't look too upset, so I decided not to question him on the matter. He'd tell me when he was ready if it was anything important. I trusted him enough to do that.

"So how long is all of this gonna take?" Chris asked a few minutes later, breaking the slightly awkward silence. I shrugged.

"I don't know, you tell me. You're probably more informed on this stuff than I am." I reminded him. He chuckled and smiled slightly as he continued to drive.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" He questioned in a slightly teasing tone. I rolled my eyes.

"Just that I have no knowledge on these things at all and I was guessing you did since you're coming with me." I said pointedly. He shrugged.

"I just wanna see Blake get punished for what he did. As long as that happens I'm all good." He said, and I saw a brief flicker of hatred in his eyes before he blinked and it was gone. I looked out the window as he drove, focusing on the colors that blurred by as he sped down the highway. I wondered where I would be about two years from now. Would I still be living with Chris in his house, trying to find a job to help make money? Or would Chris become successful in his singing career? I hoped he was successful, but I couldn't shake the feeling that he was worrying about that very thing at the moment. And he wasn't telling me about it. I wonder if I should ask him? Or maybe I should let him have his peace. He kind of deserved that after what he'd been through. First with the school, and then with me when he had tried to explain his past. I drifted off into my thoughts and jumped suddenly when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned my head to see Chris staring at me.

"So... Are you gonna get out of the car?" He asked, his eyebrows furrowing in concern when I just stared at him wordlessly, my brain trying to comprehend his words. But I felt slow today, like I'd rather be zoned out in my thoughts than be in the present where I had to struggle to understand everything going on around me.

"Oh... Yeah. Sorry, I was just out of it." I said, reaching out and opening the door as I got out of his car. I noticed my mom's car parked in the lot as we got closer to the building, and I absentmindedly reached down and took Chris' hand in mine. I was feeling oddly strange today. I had no clue what was going on. Maybe it was just stress, but I felt like without Chris here, I might go insane. Blake was a problem in my life right now that I really didn't want to deal with. I'd rather not even press charges against him, I just wanted to move far away from him and never see him again. Maybe it would lessen my headache. But nevertheless, here we were, walking into the police station where my mother was waiting for us by the front desk. She was handed a clipboard and a pen, and I took a deep breath as the doors slid shut behind me.

"Sorry we're a little late." I said, reluctantly releasing Chris' hand from my grasp as I walked over to her.

"No problem. I just got this clipboard, and if you answer the questions I can fill out the forms." She said, her eyes scanning over the papers. She didn't even look up to greet me or Chris, she was too focused on the paper. I looked up at Chris and motioned for us to sit down in a few of the plastic folding chairs by the window. My mom followed us and uncapped the pen, but I still felt like all of this was a dream. I was feeling unusually faint today.