Hero-cop flipped
through a notepad.
“ Caught this one and a few of her friends drinking inside
Jordan Apartments. The ol’ hot tub break in again,” Hero-cop said,
glancing at me like I was being scolded.
“ For what it’s worth, I wasn’t drinking.” I shook my head to
knock strands of hair away from my eyes.
“ We’ll see about that,” Hero-cop said. “Evan, I need to grab
the breathalyzer from your car. Be right back.”
Officer
Evan nodded. Turning to me, he asked, “So what’s your
name?”
“ Allie Collins.”
“ You have ID on you, Allie?”
“ No, I don’t.” I’d left my purse, with my wallet and phone,
inside Shane’s car. I wondered how those guys were doing, assuming
they had made their way back to the cars by now.
“ Well,” Officer Evan started.
Hero-cop
cut him off. “Guess that means you’ll be under arrest so your
parents can come and claim you from jail—if they want.”
I
suppressed the urge to retort with another rude remark. I knew at
this point I shouldn’t press my luck, even if this cop thought he
was hardcore or something. It was obviously a slow night for him if
he was willing to take the pursuit this far.
“ Breathe into this,” he instructed. I blew into the tube,
confident that this was one test I’d pass. Hero-cop seemed
disappointed with the results. Bringing me to my feet, Officer Evan
escorted me into the back of his police car. I’d never sat in one
before and, as the door slammed shut, I felt claustrophobic,
staring at the caged wall that barred me from the front
seats.
How did I get myself into this mess? I wondered, watching the two cops getting into a discussion
outside my window. As both cops situated themselves in the front
seat, Hero-cop looked peeved but didn’t say anything more to me—not
even when Officer Evan dropped him off at his car. Once we were
alone, he turned his head towards me and said, “I convinced Officer
Harmon to let me take you home. You obviously weren’t drinking.
Consider this a warning.”
I nodded
my head. “Thanks.”
He
smiled at me with one more quick wink. “No problem.
“ What were you doing breaking into an apartment complex
anyway?” Mom asked, her arms folded across her chest and her
posture rigid. She closed the door behind me.
“ There wasn’t actually any breaking…” I started to say, trying
to ease my way towards my bedroom around the corner.
“ And why would you think it’s ok to stick around while your
friends drank?” Mom’s voice rose higher with each question. At this
rate, I expected she might reach the level of “only dogs can hear
you.” I almost made a joke about that, but held my tongue. She was
most definitely not in the mood. As for my previous irritation and
conflict with Tara, the adrenaline rush from being chased and
nearly arrested had pushed those feelings aside for now.
“ About them being my friends… I’ll admit that’s a little in
question these days…” I took another side step, adding a bit of
distance between us. My friendship with Tara and the rest of them
would take a little time to figure out.
Mom
threw up her hands. “Well, that’s obvious! I can’t believe they all
ditched you and left you to take the rap.” She let out a
disgruntled sigh and then mumbled with a shake of her head, “And to
think I thought that boy was so nice…”
Thinking
about Shane and remembering the concern in his eyes as he saw me
fall, I felt like I needed to put a plug in for him. I was the one
who had told him to leave, after all. “They didn’t ditch me on
purpose. We all split up after we jumped the—” Mom’s glare made me
pause and I mumbled the last word, “—fence.”
“ Allie, it is very late—and I know your sisters are wide
awake, listening through their door.” We heard a quick thunk from
the hallway, indicating Mom’s statement was correct. I tried not to
laugh, but the sound escaped anyway. My sisters were so
nosy.
Mom
sighed. “Just
through a notepad.
“ Caught this one and a few of her friends drinking inside
Jordan Apartments. The ol’ hot tub break in again,” Hero-cop said,
glancing at me like I was being scolded.
“ For what it’s worth, I wasn’t drinking.” I shook my head to
knock strands of hair away from my eyes.
“ We’ll see about that,” Hero-cop said. “Evan, I need to grab
the breathalyzer from your car. Be right back.”
Officer
Evan nodded. Turning to me, he asked, “So what’s your
name?”
“ Allie Collins.”
“ You have ID on you, Allie?”
“ No, I don’t.” I’d left my purse, with my wallet and phone,
inside Shane’s car. I wondered how those guys were doing, assuming
they had made their way back to the cars by now.
“ Well,” Officer Evan started.
Hero-cop
cut him off. “Guess that means you’ll be under arrest so your
parents can come and claim you from jail—if they want.”
I
suppressed the urge to retort with another rude remark. I knew at
this point I shouldn’t press my luck, even if this cop thought he
was hardcore or something. It was obviously a slow night for him if
he was willing to take the pursuit this far.
“ Breathe into this,” he instructed. I blew into the tube,
confident that this was one test I’d pass. Hero-cop seemed
disappointed with the results. Bringing me to my feet, Officer Evan
escorted me into the back of his police car. I’d never sat in one
before and, as the door slammed shut, I felt claustrophobic,
staring at the caged wall that barred me from the front
seats.
How did I get myself into this mess? I wondered, watching the two cops getting into a discussion
outside my window. As both cops situated themselves in the front
seat, Hero-cop looked peeved but didn’t say anything more to me—not
even when Officer Evan dropped him off at his car. Once we were
alone, he turned his head towards me and said, “I convinced Officer
Harmon to let me take you home. You obviously weren’t drinking.
Consider this a warning.”
I nodded
my head. “Thanks.”
He
smiled at me with one more quick wink. “No problem.
“ What were you doing breaking into an apartment complex
anyway?” Mom asked, her arms folded across her chest and her
posture rigid. She closed the door behind me.
“ There wasn’t actually any breaking…” I started to say, trying
to ease my way towards my bedroom around the corner.
“ And why would you think it’s ok to stick around while your
friends drank?” Mom’s voice rose higher with each question. At this
rate, I expected she might reach the level of “only dogs can hear
you.” I almost made a joke about that, but held my tongue. She was
most definitely not in the mood. As for my previous irritation and
conflict with Tara, the adrenaline rush from being chased and
nearly arrested had pushed those feelings aside for now.
“ About them being my friends… I’ll admit that’s a little in
question these days…” I took another side step, adding a bit of
distance between us. My friendship with Tara and the rest of them
would take a little time to figure out.
Mom
threw up her hands. “Well, that’s obvious! I can’t believe they all
ditched you and left you to take the rap.” She let out a
disgruntled sigh and then mumbled with a shake of her head, “And to
think I thought that boy was so nice…”
Thinking
about Shane and remembering the concern in his eyes as he saw me
fall, I felt like I needed to put a plug in for him. I was the one
who had told him to leave, after all. “They didn’t ditch me on
purpose. We all split up after we jumped the—” Mom’s glare made me
pause and I mumbled the last word, “—fence.”
“ Allie, it is very late—and I know your sisters are wide
awake, listening through their door.” We heard a quick thunk from
the hallway, indicating Mom’s statement was correct. I tried not to
laugh, but the sound escaped anyway. My sisters were so
nosy.
Mom
sighed. “Just
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