The Victim (Book #1)

Chapter 32

I kept my face blank as he walked in and took the chair across from me.

"Maya Rogers." He said with a sigh. "You have not been an easy girl to track."

I smiled back angelically, as Asher's eyes narrowed. He knew my last name was a lie now.

"Excuse me, officer? I'm sure you have some very important questions for me that I am eager to hear, but is it necessary that your son stay in the room with us?" I knew better than to sass an officer, but my voice dripped with sarcasm regardless.

He looked up at his son in surprise, as if he forgot he was there.

"Oh, right. Leave the room, Asher. You can wait outside if you want." He said gruffly, nodding at the door. His son nodded ever so politely and slipped out, the door closing imperceptibly behind him.

"Alright, Maya. I've got some questions for you. I don't know how to tell you this..." his face tightened, and he cleared his throat roughly. "We had your uncle in custody, and he got away. We don't know if it was an inside job or negligence from one of our officers, but we're looking into it."

I couldn't feel my toes, and it sort of felt like I was drifting away, hovering above my body. I couldn't feel anything except a strange and unpleasant fuzziness inside.

I hadn't asked any questions about my uncle from day one. I thought I didn't have to, because everything seemed to be settled and okay. Charlotte wouldn't lie to me. Why hadn't she told me?

I was still floating. The girl below me, who looked just like me and sat across from the officer, answered. "Where is he?"

He cleared his throat once more, although I was sure he didn't need to.

"Well, that's the thing Miss Rogers. We were wondering if you knew." He looked up at me stiffly, and his eyes crinkled around the edges in anticipation of my response. He must have known what it was going to be before I said it.

"I don't know where he is." I said dully.

"We have to ask to make sure you're not being threatened in any way. Or, if he has given you his location but you feel like you need to protect him because he's family, I can understand-"

I interrupted him in the same lifeless intonation, with the same dead eyes.

"I don't know where he is." I repeated. I could've repeated it again and again and again. At this point, it was probably the only thing I could say. My body felt heavy and stuck and immovable. My mind was shut down.

He looked me deep in the eyes for a moment, as if he were sizing me up. He thought I was lying to him.

"Alright." He finally said, although he didn't sound appeased. "I'm sending in another officer to speak with you, if that's alright."

I nodded vaguely. I didn't know how to tell him I had left my body and I was no longer here. It didn't matter who came to see me. Everything was gone.

He left the room and I fell back into myself all at once as the door slammed shut. I tried to distract my mind, wondering why the door hadn't been loud before at all.

Understanding brightened my eyes. Asher hadn't shut it all the way, before. He knew everything his father had said to me.

My train of thought was interrupted as a woman walked into the room. She pulled the thick door shut with a click. She had long dark hair and misty colored eyes that seemed gentle. If they were doing good cop/bad cop, I had a very clear idea of who the good cop would be.

"Miss Rogers." She said, as she sat across from me. I scanned her professional-looking blazer and formal pants. I thought cops were tough and messy, but she seemed to reject this. There was nothing askew about her. She gave me a half-smile that I registered as genuine and then began to speak.

"I'm here to talk to you about the disappearance of your uncle." She said to clarify. I appreciated that she did it that way, instead of dropping a bomb on me and then accusing me of helping a criminal.

"Okay," I said, although it came out like a whisper. "Okay." I repeated in a clear voice.

I willed myself to stay here, in this chair, and not disappear into my own head.

"Can you tell me about your experience at home before you and your uncle were separated, Maya?" she asked.

"Ummm..." I didn't know what to say. I had always thought I would never tell about my abuse, but suddenly I wanted to. I wanted him held accountable. I wanted him to be caught and put away and out of my life forever. The darker part of my mind replied, 'you cannot outrun him and what you did'.

What do I do? What do I do?

Suddenly the door burst open and in came a fiery Charlotte Anders, looking about as angry as I'd ever seen her.

"How dare you." She said, glaring at the woman as if she was a demon sent from hell.

She grabbed my hand then and lifted me from the chair, while the woman stood up in protest. "What are you doing?"

"I'm taking my daught-Maya, out of here!" she shot me an apologetic glance, though I didn't know what she was apologizing for.

The woman began to protest but Charlotte spun back and said "You cannot question her without an attorney if requested and we're requesting one. She knows nothing about the whereabouts of her uncle, and she is currently under my care so if you wish to talk to her you can contact me about it FIRST." She said imperiously.

The woman seemed to be holding in a breath, but nodded, accepting these terms. She ripped me out of the interrogation room and past Asher, who was sitting on the floor next to the room. He made a motion to jump up, but she glared down furiously, so he stayed put. I struggled to keep up with her pace as we shot out of the office and past the metal detectors.

She knew they were searching for my uncle? An attorney? Why did they think I would know? They seemed to know he was a bad guy, and I wondered how. I hadn't told anyone anything besides Charlotte, and our sessions were confidential.

My mind flittered from subject to subject until we were outside, and the sun shone, and the birds chirped and all I could think was 'He's gone, He's gone, He's gone...'

The boys stood up from the edge of the curb and joined us next to Charlotte's black car. Even Dominic was there, and he pulled me into a hug immediately, until the others followed suit. My arms stayed at my side in my confusion.

The air became too stiff and the sun too warm and the people so close to me were absolutely overwhelming. As they backed away and began questioning me, I felt my eyelids droop and my body sway.

"My?" Brooklyn asked. "You don't look so good."

Caleb staring at me with concerned eyes was the last thing I saw before I fell to the pavement, my head swinging closely to the ground as someone caught half my body and yanked me up.

And then it was black.