Devious Things (The In-Between Trilogy Book One)

9

      I wonder how differently my life would have turned out had my parents not been lowlife junkies who cared more about their next score than my well-being. I would what it would have been like if I hadn't been abandoned at the age of eight inside of that half-demolished crackhouse the police found me in. I would if I would have become a different kind of person had they not discarded me like garbage.  

     Would I have still ended up on the streets and, if I had, would I still have been such an easy target for a person like Dave? Would I have been gullible enough to fall for every lie he spouted when he offered to take me and the others in? Would I have still ended up in a position where I was desperate enough to say 'yes' to Jeremiah's offer?

      That kind of thinking does me no good and I know this. I am where I am, who I am, and what I am today because of the poor decisions I made when I was younger. No one forced me to run away from that foster home, even though it was the tenth one I had been placed in that year. No one forced me to go with Dave or accept that car. No one forced me to keep my mouth shut when I was given a chance to rat on Dave. 

     I made those mistakes and now I am forever cursed to live out the consequences. 

    But a girl can wonder, right?

     "Miss Blythe?" Judge Ogden's voice is a knife, cutting through my thoughts and dragging me back into the present. "Miss Blythe, would you please answer the question?"

     "What? I'm sorry, can you repeat the question?"

    "How many men were in the room that you and Mr. Ragal entered last night."

      "Four; there were four men in total."

     "Yet there are only three present today. Would you care to explain how we are one man short?"

     "Of course, your Honor." I clear my throat and try to focus. "Jeremiah and I enter Lasers and Lights Nightclub last night based on an anonymous tip we had received. We entered under the impression that one of the people occupying the back room was one of the Sons of the Demon Realm, as our source stated that they frequented that nightclub. Upon entering the room we found all four men engaged in an unsanctioned game of poker in which an unconscious wood nymph was the prize. When I announced our presence and stated that we were with the DSA, the men began to fly and the jar containing the nymph was broken. She transported herself from the room before I had a chance to question her. Jeremiah chased down the two fleeing vampyres while I detained werewolf. It was during that time that the fourth managed to escape."

    "So you allowed both the witness and the suspect to get away?" the judge questions, eyeing me warily. 

    "I didn't let them get away, the four-"

     "Am I correct in my reading that, up until last week, you were a fugitive from Fulton Prison and the Department of Supernatural Affairs?" the judge cuts me off, reading from what I can only assume is a copy of my file. "It seems that you have caused your fair share of trouble in the past. Prior to enlisting in the DSA, you were arrested on multiple counts of assault and shoplifting before hitting it big and landing yourself in Uhron State Prison. Then it appears that, after working for some time with the DSA, you were found guilty of the murder of Garrett Somers and were sentenced to a lifelong sentence at Fulton. That didn't stop you though, did it? No, you broke out of prison and have spent the past two years on the run. Is this correct?"

      I grit my teeth together, steadying my hands as they begin to shake from the buildup of anger growing inside of me. Garrett is the last person I wanted to think about. "Yes, that is correct."

     "With the disregard that you have shown for the law, what is to stop me from believing that you let the suspect and witness escape as an act of rebellion? How do I now that this was not a stunt pulled to get back at the very organization you feel has wronged you? Mr. Ragal and you were the only two to witness last night's events?"