Page 55 of Reckless
The past was water under the bridge…as much as a still-unsolved murder could be water under the bridge.
Mom was relieved I was home at a reasonable hour—just after midnight. She’d stayed up to wait for me, though Ollie had gone to bed. Jacob had gone home already, right after Archer had dropped me off.
Honestly, tonight went better than I thought it would. I’d been expecting something horrible to happen, more shit to hit the fan. It seemed Midpark had a never-ending supply of shit, constantly loading it on a slingshot and flung right at me. I was tired of it, but I was glad Archer realized it, too.
Sleep took me almost immediately, the very same moment my head hit the pillow, and I was out. A dreamless sleep took me over, the warm hug of unconsciousness a sweet one. No nightmares, no anxieties. Just the calm sleep of a girl who’d had a great night, a girl who, for the first time in a while, had a hope that the future would get better.
Silly, silly me.
I was woken up early the next morning, the beginning hints of daylight streaming through my window. Just before six A.M., and both my mom and Ollie stood in my room. My mom wore her pajamas still, while Ollie wore a freshly-pressed suit, his cell phone in his hand.
Eyebrows creasing, I was slow to sit up as I yawned. “What’s going on?” I asked, though the words came out jumbled since I was so tired, my voice a little raspy.
“What party were you at last night?” Mom asked. Her arms were over her chest, but that didn’t stop me from noticing how she was shaking. Her blonde hair was in a messy bun on top of her head, heavy bags under her eyes. Normally she’d be up and about by now, but since she stayed up late for me, it looked like she’d been woken out of a slumber, too.
Ollie was the only one in the entire room that was awake and fully alert.
“Um…” I thought hard.
“Was it at the Taylor residence?” Ollie asked, his watery blue eyes on me, zeroed in like I’d done something. Like, after all, that party had been a mistake, just as we all knew it would be.
But…no. Nothing happened at the party. I mean, I made out with Archer for a while, but that was it. I certainly didn’t think making out with Archer Vega merited a talk this early in the morning. Sure, it might be best to lay low where he and I were concerned, especially if whoever killed Brittany was still watching, but last night my hormones had taken control. What could I say? I’d had a weakness for Archer, even after I’d found out he’d lied to me. That blonde had me.
“That sounds familiar,” I said, running a hand through my hair. Knotty and unkempt, because I didn’t brush it after the party. I’d just shed my hoodie, my jacket, and my pants and crawled into bed. Which meant I couldn’t get out of this bed until Ollie left the room.
“Detective Wilde called me,” he went on, frowning slightly. “Something happened at that party, but he won’t tell me what it is. He’d like for you to come in for questioning. Get ready. He wants us there as soon as possible.” Saying nothing else, Ollie turned on his heel and walked out, leaving me alone with my mom.
My mom, who currently stared at me with the hardest I told you so glare I’d ever been witness to. And then she thought to say it aloud, too: “Honey, I told you you shouldn’t have gone. Now…” Her eyes blinked, and suddenly they were so water-filled a tear fell down her cheek. She came to my bedside and sat down. “I don’t want to lose you.” She reached for me, and I let her hug me.
What was I supposed to do? If something happened…God, if more students wound up dead, I’d be fucked.
“I didn’t do anything at the party,” I said, meaning it. Mom was unhurried in letting me go, but I knew she didn’t believe me. “I swear. This all has to be some kind of misunderstanding.”
“Well, you should shower and get dressed. Oliver’s raring to go. I’m going with you two, for support.” She scrunched her nose. “I don’t think they’ll let me in the room, but I can at least wait in the lobby for you two.” She hugged me one more time, this time a quick little thing, before leaving my room.
Once I was alone, I got up and got dressed. My anxiety, which had vanished after being with Archer for hours and reacquainting myself with his wonderful lips, returned full force, making my stomach feel queasy and my heart beat faster than it should’ve.
Shit. What now? It was all I could think on repeat, even after getting dressed and fixing myself up so it didn’t look like I’d just gone to a party the night before.
Me and parties around here really didn’t get along. Granted, they were pretty much the only parties I’d ever been to, but that was beside the point. Maybe I should take a hint and stop going to them, regardless of who was asking me to go.
An hour later I was in Ollie’s car in the backseat, silent as a mouse as we drove to the police station. Mom sat in the front, wearing her nicest clothes and some makeup to hide the small wrinkles that had started to form in the corners of her eyes. I swore, before Midpark, she never had those wrinkles. This place really got to you, didn’t it?
“Remember,” Ollie spoke, his eyes on me in the rearview mirror, “I’m your lawyer. I don’t know what will be asked, I don’t know what happened at that party last night, but you are not obligated to answer anything.”
I nodded, biting my lower lip. It felt like I’d either throw up or stumble over my words, a weird sense of deja vu as Ollie parked and we headed inside the station. Only the last time I’d been here, I was cuffed in an attempt to arrest me.
Hopefully this time would go differently.
I let Ollie do the talking, standing near my mom as we waited for Detective Wilde to come out and greet us. We had to sign in at the front desk, huddled around a window as the minutes wore on. Practically an eternity passed before I saw Detective Wilde turn the corner deeper into the station and come out past the metal detectors. He wore tan slacks, a dark button-down shirt, and his badge on his hip. He looked just as stern and no-nonsense as I remembered him being.
His hazel eyes—eyes that were so much like Bobbi’s—glanced between Ollie and me, slow to land on my mom beside me. “Oliver, Jazmine. Come with me.” He turned and started walking, and Ollie followed.
My mom squeezed my arm before letting me go, and as I passed beneath the metal detector, I threw a look over my shoulder at her, finding that she gave me a worried but supportive smile as I went.
Wish me luck.
Detective Wilde led us to an interrogation room, very similar to the one I’d been in before, but different. This time, Ollie sat beside me, and I could only imagine he was ready to turn toward me and inform me that I didn’t have to answer that after everything the detective said.
