The Heartthrob Won't Leave

Chapter Twenty-Six (New Chapters)

"Blake?!" he called in surprise, and pushed past the officers, seemingly in a hurry to get to her. She didn't understand the look on his face, and the officers turned to face them too as the man grabbed her shoulders abruptly, bringing her into a tight embrace.

"What the hell happened?! He pulled away suddenly, gripping her from the shoulders and sloshing her like a play doll. "You were in bed!"

"Oh" she claimed, blinking "I went for a walk"

"At 2 AM?! You went for a walk at 2 AM?!" he asked, and she just nodded, confused as to why he looked so panicked.

"We were so worried!" he claimed, looking over Karl's shoulder, noticing the sight of the other kids by the railing on the front porch. Another officer appeared to be attempting to calm the twins. She definitely couldn't ignore the look that Jace held, his arms crossed and shaking his head, eyes slanted with disapproval. Misty just looked outright mad, her eyes red and puffy as if she had been crying.

"Mr. Smith?" Karl pulled away from her gently and turned to face the two officers with their notebooks. "Were glad that Blakelyn has returned, but I'm afraid we must continue with what we were discussing before" Blake lifted her head to see the look on Karl's uneasy face. The officer just looked at her for a few moments, and she felt unnerved.

"Blakelyn, so you claim you left of your own volition, correct?" she met Karl's eyes for just a moment before her fists tightened at her sides.

"Y-yes" she responded

"Well-" she watched as he wrote down on his pad "Because of your status as a Foster Child, it's common for them to run away when they are being mistreated in the house they have been assigned to" her eyes widened "Did you run away because you are being mistreated?"

"I didn't r-run away" she claimed "I-I had every intention of c-coming b-back" she started to panic. "Karl has n-never m-mistreated me" she could feel his hand fall on her shoulder, probably to comfort her. She wondered if he had noticed her starting to shake.

"You left the premises on your own, that's running away" he responded, his tone void of any emotion. The man just looked tired, frustrated, as if people like her just made him angry.

"Hey!" Jace's voice rang out, and she turned her head, watching him walk down the stairs in his winter coat "If that is what classifies for running away, then going to the fucking grocery store would be considered running away! Going to school!" he claimed, appearing angry.

"Jace," Karl said at her side, clearly tinted with a warning.

"You guys heard, she didn't run away, so what are you still doing here?" she couldn't believe what he was saying. It was as if he was actually...standing up for her, to her disbelief.

"Whatever she says doesn't matter" the officer responded with a sharp edge "She is a minor," she noticed when one of the officers approached her suddenly, reaching out his hands. She jumped back in surprise, but was shocked when he gripped her wrist hard enough for it to hurt, grabbing the other and holding them behind her back.

"What's going on?!" she asked in a panic, looking up at Karl with surprised features.

"The law claims that all foster children that run away are taken by the state for their own protection" he responded.

"What?!" Jace's shocked voice rung from the edge of the driveway. She couldn't believe it, feeling when the officer jerked her, painfully pulling to contain her wrists and walking her towards the police car.

"It's Ok Blake!" Karl's voice from behind her had her turning her head, to face him, stumbling on the ice on the ground. "We'll get you back! I promise!" The officer let her go, yanking off the backpack from her back, and letting it fall to the ground. She wanted to fight back, struggling in the hold, but she was in too much shock to do anything at all. The door to the police cruiser was opened and a grip on her head forced her down into the back of the car, like she was a criminal being arrested for a crime.