Cinnamon // Sally Face

T h i r t y - E i g h t

"Should we go in?" Sal asked Larry. Violet had been in the police station for a concerning amount of time. The boys were beginning to worry. Sal even moved to the front seat to try and look through the windows without getting caught. Unfortunately, he was unsuccessful.

"If she doesn't come out in 5 minutes, I'll go in," Larry replied. "You're lucky they let you off the hook after the accident. We can't push your luck, man."

"I know, I know. I'm just worried."

"Me too."

A moment later, the front door of the police station swung open, causing both of the boys' heads to snap in its direction. Their eyes widened with both horror and rage as they saw Violet being roughly guided toward the car by a rather large cop. Her sweater was tight around her body, as most of its material was clutched in his fist against her back. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she looked at her friends, utterly defeated.

Officer Brett was quick to notice the boys moving to jump out of the car and confront him. "Do not leave the vehicle!" He bellowed.

"Screw that!" Sal hissed, going for the door handle.

Larry grabbed his wrist. "Don't! You don't know what the hell he'll do to her!"

As much as Sal hated it, he was right. His efforts to protect Violet could very well end up bringing her more harm. But that couldn't stop him from shooting the cop a venomous glare. If looks could kill, Brett would have suffered the longest, most painful death imaginable. Fury pulsed through his veins and flooded his mind. His vision was tainted with an angry red hue. In a state like this, Sal was certainly capable of causing significant harm to a person, even to the point of death. If Violet was safe in the car, he'd have put that cop 6 feet under in less than a minute.

As they grew closer to the vehicle, Brett gave Violet one final shove against the back door on the passenger's side. Her cheek was pressed against the cold window, bringing a stinging sensation to her tender skin. She heard a few clicking noises before the handcuffs released her wrists and allowed her hands to fall to her sides. 

"If you show your face here again, you will be arrested on the spot, do you understand?" The officer barked. Violet merely nodded her head as a sob escaped her lips. She remained as stiff as a board, terrified of the man's wrath. He then used a knuckle to beat on Sal's window, indicating for him to roll it down. "I better not see any of you again."

The boys glowered at him in response, causing him to snicker and turn away. He knew he won and boy, was he proud of it. 

Violet waited until he went back inside to lift her face off of the window and weakly climb into the back seat. Her entire body ached worse than ever before. With every move she made, pain rippled all the way to her fingers and toes. The violent sobs racking her body certainly weren't of any help, but she couldn't control them. 

Sal made no haste in climbing over the center console and taking the vacant spot beside her as Larry turned around in his seat. 

"What the fuck was that about?" The dark-haired boy demanded. "Why did he do that to you?"

She did her best to spit out a response, but it ended up being a series of stutters and hiccups. 

Sal, whose rage was quickly replaced with worry, let out a sigh. "Get us out of here, man, before he comes back."

> > >

Sal and Larry sent Todd an urgent text regarding Violet's situation once they arrived back at the apartments. He agreed to research the case as soon as he got home from school and invited the trio to join him. In the meantime, the boys took Violet to Sal's apartment and attempted to calm her down.