All My Broken Pieces (FindingLight #2)

Chapter 24

Arriana

“So, this is fun.” I chuckle. “You guys ever take these out for a joyride?” I twist my body to indicate the handcuffs on my wrists, wriggling my eyebrows at the rearview mirror.

“Quiet.” The woman officer snaps, keeping her eyes on the road.

I snicker, turning my gaze to the back of the other cop. “Well, Tight Knot, is obviously no fun in bed. What about you, Scruffy? Got a kinky side to ya?” His jaw works as he tries to ignore me, but that’s enough of an answer. “Oh yeah, freaky man you are. You know what the real question is though, Scruffy?” I pause, waiting for him to ask me. When he doesn’t, I sigh heavily. “ The question is , are you the big man officer in your role play or are you the prisoner?”

His shoulders tense and Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows at my question. I chuckle, clapping my hands together the best I can with them cuffed behind my back. “Good for you, little role reversal.”

“Enough.” Tight Knot barks, smacking her hand on the divider.

I sigh, slumping back into the bench seat. “Fine, just thought we could make some conversation.”

Neither respond, and the rest of the ride to the police station is silent.

Really, I had an alternate reason behind my attempt at engaging the stiffs in a conversation. Every moment of silence gives my mind the space to replay Fallon dropping to her knees. The sight of her reaching for me helplessly.

My teeth set on edge at the memory, a nearly uncontrollable rage building at the pain of my baby at the hands of these two officers.

The sound of the door yanking open pulls me from my thoughts. “Let’s go.” Scruffy grunts, reaching in and dragging me out by the arm. His grip tightens as he leads me into the station.

I scan the lot, looking for an escape, but come up empty. My shoulders slump as I resign myself to my fate.

You better get me out of this, Andrew.

“So, what are you in for?” I ask, sinking onto the hard bench beside one of the several women sharing the small cell space with me.

She glances at me, her eyes glassy.

“Shit.” I curse, leaping out of the way just in time before chunks spew from her mouth. “Going to go with public intoxication.” I cringe at the smell of vomit, only making this situation that much worse.

Closing my eyes, I try to imagine the scent of roses, clinging to the hope of getting out of here and back to my baby. Despite my efforts to hold onto the promise of freedom, my mind wanders back to another time, another night I had spent locked up in a cell similar to this one.

“I didn’t do anything!” I snap, yanking against the officer’s hold.

He tightens his grip, dragging me down the hall toward the holding cell.

Each step that brings us closer to the confines only serves to fuel my anger. “Come on, man. Just let me go.” He still doesn’t respond, simply unlocking the door and sliding it open just to shove me inside.

“Fucking bullshit.” I grumble, rubbing the sore spot on my arm from his bruising grip. Sighing heavily, I look around the small space for somewhere to wait out the time until I’m released. I spot an empty corner and settle onto the hard bench seat, pulling my feet up to rest my chin on my bent knees.

After several hours of torturous lockup, I hear a familiar voice echo down the hall. “I’m so sorry, Officer. I just don’t know what has gotten into her.”

My teeth set on edge at the sound of my adoptive mother’s apologies. It’s not like she’s a terrible person, but somehow that makes it worse. I wish she was an awful human because it would make hating her that much easier.

“Arriana.” She sighs as her and the cop from earlier come to a stop on the other side of the bars. The door clangs open and I push to my feet, making my way quickly out of the cell.

The walk out of the police station is full of stilted silence, only serving to make me angrier. She should be furious at me, having to come down to bail me out in the middle of the night. But, instead, Linda doesn’t say a word.

It’s not until we pull up to our house that she speaks.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Linda turns toward me, her face exhausted. “Why do you keep doing this?” She watches me, pleading for an answer I can’t give her.

Shrugging my shoulders, I pick at the skin along my nails. “I didn’t do anything she didn’t deserve.” I mumble.

“Deserve?” Linda echoes.

I bob my head, refusing to look up at her.

She lets out an exasperated noise, her voice laced with the same exhaustion as her expression had. “You’re telling me that sweet girl deserved to have her arm broken? In what possible world would anyone deserve that, Arriana?” Linda doesn’t give me a chance to respond, opening her door and climbing out of the vehicle.

I watch after her, replaying the words that Suzie Crawford had said to me, the same ones she has tormented me with for years now.

“Oh, hey, it’s the psycho freak . Why don’t you just go back to Mexico where you belong, or better yet, why don’t you just join your mother?”

My teeth set on edge, the sound of her snickering filling my ears as she repeatedly poked fun at my late mom. As my mind replays the years of torment, I find I wish I had done more than break her stupid little arm.

Exiting the car, I slam the door shut and stomp inside. I’m greeted by the sounds of a heated discussion as I enter the house I’ve been forced to call home.

“What are we going to do about this, Henry?” Linda asks her husband. His reply is too quiet to hear, but I can only guess it would be something I don’t want to hear anyway.

Turning away from their voices, I walk to my room and nearly run into Spencer as he exits his own. “Nice going.” He scoffs, crossing his arms and blocking my path. “Do you have any idea what this is going to do to my reputation? It’s already bad enough that I’m saddled with Cooper and his awkwardness, and now I’ve got to deal with this.” He waves his hand up and down the length of my body. “I’m officially going to be branded as the brother of the girl who got the cops called on a party. Who’s going to invite me out again with that hanging over my head, huh?”

I roll my eyes, pushing past him. “Not everything is about you, Spencer.” I snap, ignoring his continued complaints.

Stalking into my room, I slam the door shut and lean back against it, closing my eyes and trying to calm my breathing. No matter how badly I tried to fit in, I just can’t seem to make it work. Always too different to blend into the crowd.

Mamá used to praise those differences, whispering how much she loved all the things that made me me as she would gently stroke back my hair.

Now I have no one who loves me, no one to offer comfort when my world starts to fall apart.

All I have is a family that’s not my own, and now a rap sheet to show just how fucked up my future promises to be.

A quiet knock sounds on the door and I release a heavy sigh. Pushing upright, I crack it open, peeking through the small opening to see who’s on the other side.

“Hey, Arri.” Cooper smiles softly. “Can I come in?”

I debate saying no, but find the ache for someone, anyone to be on my side is too great.

Without a word, I swing open the door and cross the room. Climbing onto my bed, I cross my legs and lean my head back against the headboard.

Cooper slips inside, shutting the door behind him and taking his spot beside me. We sit in silence for a long time, something we’ve done on many occasions now. Often just seeking comfort in the presence of each other without the need for words.

A quiet laugh sounds beside me, and I slowly turn my head to look at him. “What’s so funny?” I demand, my eyes narrowing as his laughter increases.

Cooper chuckles, nudging me with his shoulder. “She totally deserved it.”

A smile pulls up the corner of my lips as I’m reminded that I’m not alone. Not entirely.

“She did, right?” My own quiet giggles join in with his, and I can feel some of the heaviness lift from my chest with it.

“ Lo siento. ” Cooper murmurs as our laughter dies off. “I should have stood up for you.”

Shaking my head, I pull my knees up to my chest. “Naw, hermano . It’ll just make life worse for you. Puedo manejarlo. ” I lift my shoulders in a small shrug, wishing more than anything I didn’t have to.

Cooper’s hand covers my knee. Squeezing his fingers, he ducks his head to meet my gaze. “Sure, you can, but you don’t have to.”

A loud clanging noise gets my attention and I blink my eyes open. “Arriana Beckett?” Another one of the uniformed officers calls out.

“That’s me.” I singsong, a grin spreading across my face as I cross the holding cell.

The officer grunts, sliding open the barred door. “You’re free to go.”

My eyebrows shoot up in surprise. Catching myself, I roll back my shoulders and saunter out, following behind him after he locks back up the cell.

We round the corner into the main area of the police station and I let out a sigh of relief as I find Andrew waiting for me on the other side of the room. I pass by Scruffy on my way out, throwing him a wink. “Stay freaky, Officer.” His face reddens and he clears his throat as he quickly turns away from me.

Chuckling, I take my personal effects and head toward Andrew. “Hey, Drewbie! I knew you could do it.” I praise, nudging him with my shoulder.

Andrew smirks at me, shaking his head. “You have no idea what I had to do to get you out of here.” Gesturing toward the door, he follows behind me.

Once outside, I spin in a circle and wrap my arms around him. “Thank you.” I whisper, dropping the usual carefree front I put on.

Andrew hesitates before hugging me back. “Anything for you, Ree. You’re family, you know.”

“I know, I just…I wouldn’t have survived in there without her.” I admit, extracting myself from his embrace.

The silence in response is almost deafening.

Taking a step back, I shift my gaze to his face, finding his eyes averted. “What? What is it you’re not telling me?” I demand, growing uneasy at his continued silence.

Gulping, he runs a hand down the back of his head. “The charges were brought from Fallon’s sister, Scarlett Jennings. Something about you breaking her nose?” He finally looks at me, raising an eyebrow.

I snort, shrugging my shoulders. “She insulted my girl.”

Andrew shakes his head, trying to hide his own grin. “Well, those were easy enough to get dropped, but…” My stomach drops at the look on his face. “Your mugshot got flagged. I had to pull in every favor I had and grease a lot of palms to get you released before formal charges were filed because, Arriana, they’ve linked you to the murder.”

Shit.

“Shit.” I mumble, echoing my thought out loud.

“Yeah, shit.” He agrees, gesturing toward his newly acquired truck. “We gotta go, like now.”

I follow behind him without another word, climbing inside the vehicle. Once we’re settled in, I turn toward him. “Now what?”

Shifting the truck into reverse, Andrew glances at me before backing out. “Now we hide you.”