Socially Awkward

Chapter 29:

I quickly rise from my chair, "I don't want to deal with this."

"Luna, please-"

"No, you don't get to drop this on me when my life is finally getting better!" I shout at them.

They hold me down as I burst into shouts and try to push them off of me.

"Listen to me." My father crouches down in front of me and looks me in the eye. "You want this guy locked up for what he did right?"

A tear falls down my cheek as I nod my head.

"The only thing keeping that from happening right now is you. They need you to come in for questioning and then they'll have a trial which we'll obviously win and then it'll all be over."

As I begin to relax, my breathing calms and I settle back into my chair.

"What's going on?" Rosie asks, as she walks into the scene.

"Nothing, sweetie." My mom lies to her.

"The Robinson's next door are going to keep an eye on you. We have to go somewhere with Luna." My dad tells her.

She gives us a weird look before shrugging her shoulders and going along with the situation, "Alright. Well if you need me, I'll be in my room."

She walks back upstairs and that's the last I see of her.

"So are we going now?" I ask my parents.

They both nod their heads.

I sigh and say, "Then let's do this."

The drive there is silent. This silence feels all too familiar and reoccurring. It's depressing, closed, and cold---everything that I am.

When we arrive at the police station, my parents stand at either side of me.

We stop in front of an officer sitting at his desk.

"This is my daughter, Luna Barbosa." My dad introduces me.

The officer nods his head and points down the hallway.

I begin to lose my breath again and my heart beats in fear.

"Luna Barbosa?" A man dressed in a suit approaches me.

I innocently nod my head.

He smiles at me and shakes my hand, "Hi I'm Detective Larson. I'm just going to ask you a few questions and then I'm going to need you to identify the criminal."

It's crazy how those words can leave his thin lips so easily and smoothly. While I, on the hand, am freaking out so much I can barely let out a whisper.

"Please follow me." He says.

My parents try to come with me, but I stop them. "I need to do this alone."

They each give me hugs and sit down on nearby chairs to wait for me.

I feel extremely uncomfortable as Detective Larson and I enter deeper into the police station.

He shows me into a small room with a table and two chairs opposite of it.

After we each take a seat, he gives me another friendly smile, and says, "Don't be nervous Luna. I just want to talk."

. . .

I'm relieved as soon as the questioning is over.

I can't help, but feel as though I've messed up.

I was under so much pressure and I was thinking one thing, but said another. The hope I have is solely based on luck.

When we re-enter the part where my parents are waiting for me, I see that my dad is sitting alone.

Detective Larson and my father shake hands and exchange a few words that I'm not paying attention to.

I desperately look around for my mom.

When my father stops speaking to the detective, I ask him where she is.

"She was feeling tires so she drove home." He tells me.

I raise an eyebrow at him, "So how are we getting home?"

"An officer offered us a ride." He replies.

Great I'm getting a ride home in a police car, I think to myself.

"So let's go h-"

I'm cut off by my father's phone ringing.

He fishes his pocket and answers it just before it's too late. "Hello. Yes, that's me."

His face falls immediately, "Where is she?"

"Dad what's wrong?" I question.

"We have to go." He tells me.

He taps an officer's shoulder, "Excuse me, I need you to bring me to St. John's hospital."

The officer nods his head and my dad literally drags me behind him.

I repeatedly ask him what' s going on, but my dad continues to ignore me until we finally pull up into the hospital parking lot.

"It's your mother." He says.

He runs into the hospital and says, "I'm looking for my wife, Ashley Barbosa!"

The lady at the front desk quickly looks through her computer and says, "Room 309."

I nearly sprint to keep up with my father.

When we get to the room, the doctor is just stepping out of it.

His face doesn't look promising.

"You must be Mr. Barbosa." He says.

My dad nods his head slightly.

"I'm so sorry. We did all that we could. She didn't make it."

I feel my heart stop. I drop to the floor and yell. I scream to the skies, to the heavens, and anywhere higher.

"No! I won't believe it!" I sob now and my father wraps his arms around me.

We mourn for my mother together.

He helps me sit down as I sob even louder.

"I don't have a mom anymore."

Later that night, the reminder that she's gone hits me further . I continue to weep into my pillow and clutch my sheets tightly.

I don't have a mom anymore, my mind repeats over and over and over . . .

A/N: One more chapter until the end of this book!