resplendent *gawsten* ✓

Chapter Nine

1.18.18
edit: 8.23.20
tw; a character throws up & mention of sexual assault
1,332 words

awsten p.o.v

my boys and i checked ourselves out of school early to go over to the police station. geoff sat in otto's backseat with me to hold and soothe me.

"otto will be in there with you the entire time," he reassured me. "there'll be a lot of cops too, and a window between you two, so he can't even touch you."

touch me?

but he has already.

i nodded and took another deep breath with geoff. 

"this is your chance to show him that you're better than him." otto said as we arrived at the station. "talk all that you possibly can." i nodded to his words. geoff and i took a few more breaths together before the three of us went in. i held geoff's hand tightly as he and otto led the way up to the familiar officer's desk. 

he greeted otto and geoff, shaking their hands. he only nodded curtly at me, and i returned the gesture. "sorry for the scare last week," he apologized to me. i nodded and whispered, "'kay."

"he mentioned to me that he was glad for your talking improvement." geoff told me. i offered the officer a small smile. "thanks..."

"no problem, kid." he gestured to a door at the end of a semi-hidden hallway. "shall we?" i reluctantly let go of geoff's hand and instantly latched onto otto's. i watched geoff over my shoulder as he sat down in a chair.

otto, the officer and i went through the doors. inside the room there was a table with a glass pane in the middle of it. the glass touched the ceiling, being more of a window than just a glass pane. there were four chairs on our side, and three on the other. 

another officer was on our side of it. a single woman was standing in the corner, crying into a tissue. there were also a mother and two boys. no one was on the other side.

"'kay, no one huh-here, less' go." i rushed to say. i went to leave, but otto pulled me back.

"not so fast, buddy." he laughed uneasily.

six officers walked into the room on the other side of the window, leading three inmates. i recognised the second man.

"less' go." i repeated, pulling harder on otto's arm. "wanna g-go home now."

otto ignored me and pulled me over to the two middle chairs. the single woman sat to my left, and the mother sat to otto's right. her two boys stood together to her right. i put my hand on otto's knee and started squeezing it.

he smirked at me. "so, how ya been, son?"

"don't cah-call me that." i muttered with a glare. his sneer slipped a little, but then it grew.

"why not? look, i know we have had...differences and difficulties... but that's no reason to give your old man the cold shoulder! by the way, nice work with the speech. it isn't so hard now, is it?"

"you-you hurt me." i said plainly.

he rolled his eyes. "hurt? you think i hurt ya? aws, i was just teaching you a lesson."