𝐟𝙪𝐥𝐥 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙜𝙚 ┃ 𝐥𝙪𝒌𝙚 𝐩𝙖𝒕𝒕𝙚𝙧𝙨𝞸𝙣

Chapter 6

Luke's Point of View:
I was so angry, I yanked the rug out from under the jerk face.
I physically knocked him over.

After he got put in handcuffs, which I stared him down as they did so, I headed out to the ambulance where they were checking Anne and her mom. I noticed Mac there, a hand on her moms knee, not talking so that it doesn't seem like anyone is there. Anne is in the other ambulance. I climb in next to her, quietly sharing a glance with Alex, whose sitting in there too.

"How are you feeling?" The EMT asks her. He's no older than 19, and he's totally checking her out. Gross.

"I'm ok, can I see my brothers?" She asks. She looks at me with those big blue eyes and my heart skips. (Metaphorically I mean).

"Of course yeah." He steps out of the ambulance, before speaking to one of the officers before he comes back.

"They're on their way." He informs her. I reach out and put a hand on her knee, like I saw Mac doing. She never even flinches, she even lays her hand right over mine on her leg. I know she can't feel my hand but I think just the concept brings both of us a calm feeling.

"Hey." Kota says, turning the corner. He sees me and Alex, noticing the hand on her leg, but doesn't even give me another look. Instead he's eyeing up the EMT.

"How much longer till she's out?" He asks.

"Only a little bit longer until your mom can decide what she wants to do. We can bring her in for overnight just to monitor her, which I think is best, or your mom can sign the papers and she won't come in." He says. We all tense. Overnight?

"Mom signed the paperwork, you are free to go kiddo." Another EMT comes around the corner, interrupting.

Anne silently does a happy dance and grins at me and Kota.

"Don't gotta be so happy about it." The EMT mumbles. I scoff at him. He's got no chance with the cutie climbing out of the back of the ambulance. Wait, did I actually think that? Aw crap.

"Mom!" She runs over to the other ambulance where their mom is climbing out of, Mac standing there waiting for her.

"Hey kiddo." She hugs her, and I can see the stress rolling off of Anne.

"Told you they needed us." Alex says, appearing next to me. I jump at the sudden voice.

"Yeah." I mumble, tossing a hand through my hair.

"What do you wanna do? Stay or find somewhere else to kick it?" Alex asks. I aggressively shake my head.

"We aren't going anywhere. This family needs us." I blurt out. Mac turns and smiles at me with a knowing look on his face. Looks like we aren't going anywhere, and neither is he.

"Luke!" Reggie comes running from behind me. "We have a problem!"

"What?" I ask, grabbing his shoulders because by his body language his head is going a mile a minute.

"Ben can't find his blanket, he had it and now it's gone." He panics. I stifle a laugh. He's this worked up about a blanket?

"His blanket, Ben won't be able to find his blanket!" Anne reacts, while also covering the fact that she can see and hear us. She breaks out of her moms arms, and starts jogging back into the house. I can now hear Ben screaming. Uh oh. I run after her, Alex hot on my heels.

"Ben!" She works her way through two cops, and towards the kiddo on the ground. A cop is sitting there trying to calm him and it's going horribly.

"My blanket!" He grabs onto Anne. She nods. "Let's go find it!" She grabs his hand and they head upstairs, and start shuffling with all his stuff.

"Blanket?" I ask.

"It's his comfort item. It's made of dads old shirts." She mumbles quietly me. Ohhhhh now that makes sense.

"What colors is it?" Alex asks.

"Green, yellow, and red." Ben sniffles.

"Green, yellow, red, right?" Anne repeats. That's when I notice the shadow of someone walking towards the door in the hallway and I grab Alex and shaky my head so he doesn't move objects and freak them out. She glances over her shoulder and nods to me. She knows.

"Yeah." Ben sniffles.

"Where did you have it last?" She asks.

"In my hand when you threw me your phone, and I called the cops, and then I panicked and ran downstairs and now I can't find it." He sits down discouraged.

"Maybe I can help?" Someone enters the room. A cop, maybe in her 30's. Something doesn't feel right about this. I shoot Anne a warning glance and she glances back, noting my look.

"Uh, yeah, it's red, yellow, and green, it's made of old shirts and it's about yay big." She gives the cop a rough size estimate with her hands. After about two minutes of looking, the cop speaks up.

"If your mom is hurting you guys, you can tell us, you know that right?" Anne freezes. She's got fire in her eyes.

"Mom would never hurt us. He was the only one who would." Ben speaks up. The cop raises her eyebrows, and goes to speak again.

"Does your mom ever yell at you?" She pushes.

"I have a right to remain silent, I want Mom in the room." Ben says, slightly shaking.

"Why?" The cop takes a step forwards.

"MOM!" Ben screams out, and I see the flash of fear in his eyes at being approached by a woman he doesn't know.

I hear footsteps charging up the stairs, and their mom flies through the door, noticing the cop cornering her youngest son.

"I have a right to remain silent!" Ben pleads again. Just then the police Sargent turns the corner, followed by another cop.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Her mom yells, running around the lady to get to Ben.

"Trying to get answers!" The cop shoots back.

"He's a child! You can't do that!" Anne kicks in.

"Yes I can!" She presses.

"No, you can't! I specifically told your command that you could not question Ben! Question Anne or Kota all you want, Ben's been traumatized enough!" Her mom spits out, venom in her tone.

"She did request that we not question the youngest." The Sargent adds. "Let's head out and give them some space." The police leave, and we all are exhausted.

"One room?" Anne asks Kota, who nods.

"My blankie!" Ben gasps, before I hear a poof behind me.

"I FOUND IT!" Reggie exclaims. Wait, where?!

"It was in the bathroom downstairs." He explains.

And with that, all pile into Kota's room. We end up sleeping every other with the siblings, me back to back with Anne. Slowly, she falls asleep, and I refuse to move, because believe me or not, I swear I can feel her breathing against my back.