"Last Friday. They took him out in handcuffs."
I slowly walk away from them, my eyes glued to the screen. The video shows Braden running into the living room, screaming something at Brock. It looks like Brock's trying to calm him down but can't. Braden's pacing the room, tossing his hands up, his face getting red.
Turning the volume all the way up, I start the video again, walking away from Jackson and Mick so I can hear above their talking.
I see Braden racing into the living room.
"Holy shit!" he says. "What the fuck just happened?"
"Braden, what is it?" Brock says, getting up from the couch. "What's wrong?"
"Something happened. At the party." He's breathing hard, making him hard to understand. "Andrea."
"Andrea? Your ex?"
"She fell."
"Fell?" Brock says, sounding confused.
"She fell off the railing."
"Where? What railing?"
"At the party. We were fighting. She was drunk. I told her to go. I told her a million fucking times to go but she wouldn't. She kept saying she was going to tell people."
"Tell them what?"
"That I raped her. And beat her. She was going to tell the cops."
"Braden, why would she say those things?"
"Because she's a fucking bitch! She wants to ruin me!"
"So you never hit her," Brock confirms. "She was lying."
"I hit her but only when she deserved it. She hit me too! The bitch hit me all the fucking time!"
"And what about the rape? Was she lying about that?"
"She was my fucking girlfriend. It's not rape if she's my girlfriend."
"Did she tell you to stop?"
"Who the fuck cares? Why are you taking her side?"
"I'm not taking anyone's side. I'm trying to figure out what happened. You said she fell off a railing?"
"At the back of the house. I went outside to see if she left and found her at the railing. It's a long ways down. Nothing but rocks."
"And what happened?" Brock asks.
"She was sitting on the edge, saying she was gonna tell the cops. Saying I was going to jail. I yelled at her to stop but she wouldn't. She just kept taunting me, telling me my life was over. I shoved her and she fell." He pauses to breathe, thick heavy breaths. "She fell over the edge."
"You pushed her," Brock says in a quiet voice.
"She fell!" Braden yells. "It's her own damn fault! Why the fuck was she sitting on the edge?" He pounds his fist on the wall. "How the fuck did this happen?"
"Braden, where is she? Did you call an ambulance?"
