216 |𝐛.𝐚| (hiatus)

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GENEVIEVE CARR walked in the interrogation room. She was the last one to go and everyone else was waiting downstairs for her. Genevieve sat down in the metal chair farthest from the door and waited for Joe to sit as well.

"You know, Aspen sat on the table instead of the chairs," Joe informed Genevieve as he sat down. Genevieve chuckled, Aspen was always the more rambunctious one, like a tiny Peter Kingsley.

Genevieve shrugged, "Wouldn't be the first time. Or the last."

Joe smiled and opened the blonde girl's file, "So I see that you have a court date in two months. Care to elaborate?"

Genevieve nodded solemnly, "Yeah, I'm testifying against my birth father so Lucy can have complete custody and fully adopt me. Right now, she's just giving me a place to stay until the results of the trial."

"And what was wrong with your previous living space?" Joe asked, looking at the various pictures of her last address. It was filthy, dirty, broken, and run down. How a kid could be raised in the space was beyond Joe's imagination. In the background, Joe could see various mysterious powders, mold, cigarette buds, and empty bottles of alcohol. And she lived in this space until she was ten. Disgusting.

Genevieve scrunched her nose in disgust, "It was terrible. My father didn't clean at all, he mostly was drunk or high most of the time and I learned to care for myself at a very young age. Lucy found me on the streets about six years ago? She took me in and has taken care of me ever since. Then she took in Aspen, Peter, and Penny as well."

"What happened to your mother?"

Genevieve looked out the window, "She died in childbirth. The autopsy said she overdosed. I guess she was taking drugs when she was pregnant with me and combined with the pain medication they gave her at the hospital made her overdose. And that's why I've never touched that stuff."

"Have you seen or heard from your uncle, Hartley Rathaway, since he attacked Harrison Wells?" Joe asked.

"No," Genevieve responded shaking her head, "I've known him for a long time, and I know there is no way he would come to his big sister for help. He has too much pride to do so."

"Uh," Joe started, "What happened at Central City Park today?"

"There was this guy wanting the swings we were on. I offered mine, but he wanted Penny's or Aspen's. He was for sure drunk, then he started cursing at us and Penny started crying. She's extremely sensitive to loud noises, cursing, yelling, and shouting. Then Peter tried to get the guy to go away and the man shoved him, Peter shoved him back and they started fighting."

Joe looked at the girl, "And what about the lightning?"

Genevieve's eyes lit up, "Oh, yeah! The clouds started getting darker and darker and then there was a storm, but no rain or anything. Just lightning and it struck right near us. But, we were all fine and nobody was harmed. Penny and Aspen were a little scared, but everyone was fine. Then we walked back home."

"What happened to the drunk man?"

"He ran off after the lightning."

"And why did you go back home?"

Genevieve shrugged, "We were afraid it was going to rain and so we went back home."

"Several neighbors recall seeing you helping Peter who was limping and Penny crying when you walked back home." Joe stated, "Can you explain?"

Genevieve nodded, "When Peter was distracted by the lightning, the man hit Peter in the leg so he was limping a little bit. Lucy made him put ice on it when we got home. Penny was still crying from the yelling and loud noises at the park."

"How is it living with Lucy with so long?"

Genevieve smiled, "It's like she's a mom to me. I never really had one and my father blames me for my birth mom's death. Lucy's kind and sweet and caring and smart and exactly what I thought a mom was supposed to be like. I love her and she loves me."

"So after the trial, assuming Derek Carr is proved unfit and goes to jail for drug use, you would want to live with Lucy?" Joe questioned.

"Yeah," Genevieve responded nodding her head, "I mean, I know it would only be for about two years that I would stay with her legally, but then when I'm in college I would have a place to go home to during the holidays and when school's out."

"Like Penelope, Peter, and Aspen, do you just call Ms. Rathaway, Lucy?"

Genevieve nodded her head again, "Yeah, when she found me I was kinda too old to get into the habit of calling her mom so I just call her Lucy. It kinda makes it easier on Peter, Aspen, and Penny. Mostly Aspen and Penny though."

Joe closed the manilla folder, "Okay, that is it and you are free to go and find Ms. Rathaway."

Genevieve smiled at the detective and stood up from her seat and walked over to the door, opened it and walked out. She walked through the polished hallway and went down the stairs to meet up with Lucy.

As she walked into the front offices, Lucy, Aspen, Peter, and Penny came into her sight.

Lucy stood up seeing Genevieve while holding Penny's hand while Aspen and Peter played rock-paper-scissors, "Hey, are you good?"

Genevieve nodded and all the visible tension in Lucy's shoulders went away. Joe came up to the family from the tall staircase.

He smiled, "You are free to go now. Sorry about the inconvenience and please let us know if you ever hear from Hartley."

Lucy returned the smile, "Sure thing." Penny offered Bolt's leash out to Joe, who took it after sending Penny a warm, gentle smile.

Joe watched as the family walked over to the elevator leading down into the busy streets of Central City. He stood there as the elevator went down, it was one of his better interrogation experiences in his whole time at the CCPD.

He suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder, he looked to his right to see a brown-haired lanky tall, guy.

"Who was that, Joe?" The man asked.

Joe shrugged, "Just some nice family. The investigation's closed, no need to check out the weather satellites anymore."

"You sure?" The man asked with a cocked eyebrow.

Joe nodded, "Yeah, Barry."

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Sorry if you don't like the short parts, but that's actually what makes updates so quick. I know I said that I don't have a schedule and I don't, but weirdly I've been posting on Mondays and Wednesdays... so let's keep it going for now.

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