RAINDROPS

Chapter 18

The file scatters over the table and onto the floor as I put up my hands. From the corner of my eye I see Jack do the same. We both have a gun pointed at us. I can feel my heartbeat fasten, we've been caught...

'Don't move!' the officer yells again. What happens now? We didn't think this through at all. The panic slowly increases as I'm waiting for the next thing the cops say.

Both of them come towards either one of us. The officer is coming my way, his gun still in his hand.

'You're under arrest for trespassing.' he starts. 'You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you...'

He continues reading my rights, but I can't hear it anymore. It's like all sound stopped and I'm just not here.

I can feel the cold steel of the handcuffs around my wrists. Jack has to be somewhere behind me, but I can't see or hear him.

'Jack?' I call out to him.

'Don't tell them anything.' he urges me. I nod my head and decide I won't. No matter what or how they ask, I won't tell them anything. I keep my head down, my mouth is in one line. I'm trying my best not to show the emotions I'm feeling right now. On the inside I'm panicking like crazy, I want nothing more than to feel the soft consoling of raindrops falling onto my skin.

The officer leads me towards what I think to be his desk. This makes me feel slightly better, because it doesn't seem like they're taking it too seriously. 'I'm going to need coffee before processing you, so you better sit tight.' he tells me. That was not at all what I was hoping for. 

After handcuffing me to the desk, he walks away from me to a kitchenette on the other side of the room. This gives me a change to look around. There's more police officers who are either looking at me cautiously or just continuing their work. They must encounter this every day. 

I don't see Jack anywhere.  They probably wanted to keep us separated, which makes sense. We might be teenagers, but we also broke into a police  station. Uggh I sigh to myself. Why did I have to listen to Jack and his idea? This sucks.

The officer comes back and grabs a piece of paper. Then he just looks at me all serious. His eyes are so focused on mine it's kind of creeping me out. If anything it is working to make me more nervous.

'So... Let's start with a simple question.' he tells me. 'What is your name?' I stubbornly stare ahead, determined not to tell him anything. In response to this the guy just sighs.

'Look. It's already been a long day for me, so why don't you just help me and answer my question. It'd make it easier for the both of us.' he tells me in attempt to make me feel sorry for him. I am sorry that we did it. Well actually I don't think I am. I'm just sorry we weren't smarter about it. I had to know what that file said. Yet I once again don't answer him.

'Okay. I guess if this is how it's going to go.' he says. 'I heard your partner telling you not to say anything, but staying silent may not be the smartest thing to do. For one thing, you wouldn't be able to get a lawyer.' Well no shit. That seems kind of obvious. I trust Jack, he must have a plan of some kind. Maybe his dad can help?

'Do you really think Jack over there is as stubborn as you?' he continues. 'You already told us his name. What should stop him from telling us yours?' I scoff at the suggestion.

'Jack is definitely more stubborn than me. He's my friend, he wouldn't betray me.' I tell him confidently. 

'Are you sure about that?' he asks, his eyes piercing mine again.

You can't trust him.

My moms words flash through my mind. I can feel doubt starting to form, making me insecure. Like clouds moving in front of the sun just before rain starts dripping down. THe officer must have noticed a change in my appearance somehow. Because he continues pressing on even more.