Love You Forever (2013 Wattys Finalist)

Chapter 10 - No Laughing Matter

Robert and Joey reached the house they were working at and got out of the car. All the blokes were standing outside, most of them smoking their last cigarettes of the morning before the work day started. When they saw Robert, there was a loud commotion of greetings combined with a lot of slapping on the back and hand clasping. He was happy to see the old blokes again. When things died down a bit, they started in on him.

"You gonna do a runner today, Robbie?"

"I hope you make it to the end of the week before you run away again."

"It's a good thing you drove him here, Joey. He might've scarpered if you hadn't."

He knew they'd take the mickey out of him for the lie he'd told. He stood there and took it good naturedly. The fact they were treating it so casually made him realize that Joey had never let on to the blokes how traumatic his disappearance had truly been, or how hard it had been on his family, and he was deeply grateful. If they knew how much his family had suffered, they'd probably be treating him a lot more like his sisters had, or perhaps like the police. They certainly hadn't thought it was something to laugh about.

---Then---

When Robert and his dad were alone in the kitchen, his dad rang the lead detective on Robert's case to let him know Robert had returned. After a brief conversation, his dad covered the mouthpiece, looking deeply worried.

"The detective wants you to come in for an interview," he said quietly.

Robert was immediately worried too. The last thing he wanted to do was to lie to a detective about why he'd been missing for two months. But what choice did he have? He shrugged his shoulders and his dad set the appointment for a few days later.

The night before the interview, while he and Georgie were in bed, he talked to her about it, walking her through what was going to happen. He wanted to make sure she had plenty of time to prepare for him leaving without her. He didn't want a repeat of what had happened the other day when he'd gone to see his band mates. Especially because this time there was no question she had to stay home. It was far too dangerous to allow her to come with him to the station. He couldn't take a chance the detective would decide to talk to her. He wasn't sure she'd be able to stick to the story he was going to tell, and if she didn't, the consequences could be disastrous.

While they talked about it, her body was tense next to his, but to his surprise she wasn't upset at the thought of him leaving her. It was something else that worried her.

"I don't want you to go to the police station, Robert," she cried.

"Why not? What d'you think is going to happen?"

"They might arrest you," she said quietly, and it startled him. For a brief second he wondered if they would actually do that, but then decided it was unlikely. He'd certainly never heard of them doing that to someone who'd disappeared and then come back.

"That's not going to happen, alright? They just want to ask me some questions. That's all," he said gently.

"But you get in trouble with the police when you run away from home," she said plaintively.

"No, I won't. I'm an adult, yeah? I'm allowed to go anywhere I want."

"I - guess so," she said hesitantly. "I'm just worried they'll be mad at you." He couldn't help laughing a little.

"Georgie, the police don't get mad at people. They're professionals, yeah? They just do their job. Don't worry about this, alright? I'll be fine," he said gently.

"I'm afraid they're going to take you away from me. I don't want to lose you," she said quietly, her voice breaking as she snuggled closer to him.

He sighed deeply and rolled over so he could hold her tight against his chest. She adjusted to the new position, tucking her head under his chin and hugging him tight. He could feel her tears on his chest as she cried quietly.