Being Wrong | ✓

Part 14

"Police! Drop the knife and turn around!"

Charlie uncovered his eyes. There were two police officers, a man and a woman, standing with guns pointed at his dad. The knife hit the ground as his dad turned to face them.

"I wasn't going to hurt him!" Charlie's dad kept his feet planted where they were and his hands up, but he twisted his head around to look back at Charlie. "I wasn't actually going to hurt you."

Charlie didn't know if it was important to his dad that he know that or if he just wanted to be sure the police did. He believed it either way. Or at least that his dad wouldn't have hurt him much.

The police told Charlie's dad to lay down on the ground and he obeyed. The male police officer pinned him down with his knee and cuffed his hands behind his back. Charlie felt numb and distant as he watched.

Charlie jerked away sharply when someone touched him. He hadn't even seen the female police officer approach. His eyes had been firmly fixed on his dad.

"Are you hurt?" she asked him.

Charlie twisted his feet to look at the bottoms of them. He'd scraped one of them up on something he'd stepped on, but not badly.

"Did he cut you anywhere?"

Oh. She probably didn't care about scrapes and bruises. Charlie shook his head. The male police officer hauled Charlie's dad to his feet.

"I'm Officer Delaney," the female police officer told Charlie. She had a gentle voice. "What do you need?"

Charlie realised he'd crammed his knuckles in his mouth and had been staring blankly straight ahead as his dad was led away. He knew how he must look. He made an effort to look at her, to show her he was still present inside his mind. What did he need? "Travis."

"Travis," she echoed, confused for a moment, then understanding fell over her face. "The boy who called us for you?"

Charlie nodded. "I want to go home."

His voice cracked on the last word, and then he was crying, all the tension that had built up inside him releasing all at once. He wanted to be back with Travis so badly, but he was hours away. He buried his face in his knees and wrapped his arms around the back of his head.

He expected Officer Delaney to make him get up, or to try to hug him, or something, but she didn't. She waited until Charlie had cried himself into an exhausted calm, then she stood and offered him a hand up. He let her help him to his feet, then they made their way together back to the road.

Charlie's dad had been taken away, but there were still two police cars parked along the road and a few police officers standing around talking. Officer Delaney waved to them as she led Charlie to one of the cars and sat him down on the hood.

"Let's take a look at this foot of yours, shall we?" she asked in a forced-cheerful voice. "Is this the only place you're hurt?"

Charlie nodded. He probably had some bruises in other places, but her poking at those wouldn't help either of them.

Officer Delaney got a first aid kit from the car and started cleaning the cut on Charlie's foot. It stung and it tickled and it was probably unnecessary, but somehow it was also reassuring. If she cared enough about a little scrape on his foot to clean it up - and now carefully bandage it - then he could trust her to look after him.

"Wait here," she told Charlie, then went to talk to the other police officers for a few minutes. When she was done, the other officers left together. Officer Delaney returned to Charlie and guided him into the passenger seat of the police car. He would rather have sat in the back, but he didn't have the energy to object.