I could hear her opening all my drawers, moving my furniture, throwing things to the floor.
When she finally came out, the cell phone was smashed, the power cord snipped in two.
My only real link to him, to our friends. Gone.
Now I had nothing.
CHAPTER 14
Tucker
I sat in the cop car for what seemed like an eternity. I wondered what the charges would be. Trespassing. Rape. Since we hadn’t done it, maybe only attempted rape. Either way, it was true that I was eighteen, and she was not. That might be statutory rape. I wasn’t sure.
I wondered how much I’d screwed up my life. Would I go to jail? And even if I didn’t, I had this arrest on my record. Would my college even take me now?
I’d blown everything.
Eventually, the cop came back to his car. We drove in silence. The second car didn’t follow us, but peeled off in another direction.
“What’s going to happen to me?” I asked the officer.
“We’ll go downtown and notify your parents.”
Gram. I would have to tell her. How much misery could one family heap on her? A dead son. A dead grandchild. Dead daughter-in-law. Her one remaining grandson winding up in jail.
The ride to the downtown facility took about twenty minutes. I recognized the tall brick building. I’d passed iton the freeway many times, sometimes joking with Bill that one of us would end up there at some point. And here I was.
I didn’t know much about how this worked other than what I’d seen in movies. I figured I’d be fingerprinted and my mug shot taken. Big men with tattoos would push me around.
But when we entered, I was taken to a small office.
A lady was there. She didn’t look too scary. The woman and the officer spoke outside the room, and I was left alone. I guessed they didn’t see me as much of a threat.
After a minute, the woman returned.
“Let me go over your name and address and some other details, and then we’ll call your parents,” she said.
“Am I going to jail?” I asked.
“Let’s get your family on the phone. We’ll go over the situation with them.”
“I’m eighteen,” I said. “Do we have to involve them?”
She set down her pen and looked me in the eye. “Are you in high school?”
“Yes. I graduate in a few weeks.”
“Then let’s call your parents.”
“I only have a grandmother,” I said. “My parents died in a car crash when I was twelve. It was here in town. You could look it up. Melissa and James Giddings.”
She folded her hands together. “I see. And your grandmother raised you?”
“She’s lost everybody in her life but me.” I lowered my head. “And now this.”
The woman sat for long moments, looking at me. “Was that your girlfriend you were with?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
