Let's Play a Game

Let's Play a Game (23)

“Ogre’s in trouble, ogre’s in trouble,” Ethan chanted under his breath as I stared at my father. I glared down at him for only a moment before turning toward my father and waiting for him to say something else to me. I didn’t want to deal with Ethan’s taunts right then.

“You should get downstairs,” was all my dad said to me, moving out of the way and nodding toward the stairs. “It’d be best not to keep them waiting.”

I gulped, nodding at my father before quickly making my way out of my room and down the stairs, toward the front door. I knew what they were here for, and I was sure everyone else knew what they were here for as well. I just didn’t know how I was supposed to deal with all of this.

“Officer Lopez, Officer Black,” I greeted once I got downstairs. “What a surprise it is to see the two of you here again.”

They had told me that they were going to come back for me, but I didn’t expect it to be so soon. I was still twitching from my meltdown from Johnny, and I didn’t think I’d be able to think straight for a while.

“Sorry, Maxynn, but we need to take you down to the station for some questioning,” Officer Lopez informed me, and I tried to let no emotions cross my face, as hard as that really was.

“I told you,” I couldn’t help but snap, not wanting to have another emotional breakdown. “I didn’t kill my mother. Just because my father’s here now doesn’t mean that you can--”

“Don’t you get it? You’re not a minor anymore, so we don’t need your father at all,” Officer Black informed me, grabbing onto my arm and yanking me forward. “The only person we need to take down to the station with us is you.”

This made me feel sick to my stomach. I was a legal adult now, so my father wasn’t needed any longer. It meant that I was all on my own and there was nothing I could do about it.

I left with them without a fight, knowing that there was nothing I could do to stop them from taking me. I’d rather go without a fight than fight with them and then actually go to jail…

When we got to the police station, I was almost immediately locked up into a tiny room with both Officer Lopez and Officer Black. I didn’t think I had ever been this uncomfortable in my life, and I had been living with Zachary Deveraux for months.

“Well, Maxynn,” Officer Black started, and he pronounced my name like Maxine instead of how it was supposed to be. “We know why you’re here. Do you know why you’re here?”

“You think I killed my mother,” I spat, unable to keep the nasty tone from my voice.

“Right,” he nodded, and his tone made me want to kick him or something. “You set that fire and killed your mother.”

“I didn’t kill my mother,” I snapped, not knowing what else I was supposed to say to get it through their thick skulls. “Just because I was the only other person in the house doesn’t mean that I’m the one that had to do it.”

Officer Black crossed his arms over his chest, obviously not believing me. Did I really look like I was some kind of crazy killer? I was barely even eighteen years old! I could barely kill a bug without feeling bad about it!

“There was no trace of anyone else in the house but you,” Officer Black continued now, and I only sat there and pretended that what he was saying didn’t bother me at all. “You were the only one there, Maxynn. You were the only one that could have done it.”

I glared up at him. “My name is not Maxine; it’s Maxynn. So start pronouncing it the right way or I’ll stop talking to you completely.”

Officer Black gave me a sickly sweet smile. “Whatever you say, Maxynn.”