Under Arrest

Chapter 43: Amends

       Rising from the not so cozy bench, Sharee got up as the chief’s voice stirred her from her sleep. His face was serious when she looked at him, making her forget that her back ached from lying on a hard surface all night. She didn’t know what the chief wanted with her, so she chose to remain quiet until he gave word to his purpose of coming.

       “You have a visitor,” the chief said through the vertical iron bars that robbed the freedom of anyone inside them.

       Her eyes asked who it was as he looked at the chief, but guessed right away that it couldn’t be anyone else except Darcy. It’s not Talons’ duty to tell a detainee of a waiting visitor, which surprised Sharee as to why he went to all the trouble just to notify her. Upon his signal, another cop emerged from the corner, opening the cell so that Sharee may get out. Slapping the cuffs around her wrist, the familiar cringe of the teeth that locked the bracelets in place sounded off before Sharee was led to where she thought Darcy waited.

       Instead of treading the way towards the visitation grounds, Sharee thought that the cop who escorted her was new, for he went the wrong way. Rather than finding herself talking through a screened window, she realized that she’s given the opportunity to speak with her friend without any barriers at all, for she was brought inside the questioning area.

       The visitor wasn’t the one she expected though.

       In place of what she imagined would be Darcy standing up from being seated to give her a warm, comforting hug, it was a man she thought would never talk to her ever again.

       The man’s eyes followed Sharee as she tried to settle down a chair a table away from his.

       “I won’t ask how you are because I know,” his voice was unforgiving, unnerving her right away before she could think of something to fire back.

       “I know you’re mad, but please, you don’t have to remind me.”

       Through the one-way mirror, the chief watched as Carlos got up and went over to Sharee, trapping her in an embrace in which she gladly fell for. He waited for the two to kiss, but it didn’t happen, much to his bewilderment.

       “Are you still angry with me?” Sharee posed a question to which she couldn’t be wrong on what she thought was the answer.

       “Yes,” Carlos replied, giving her what he thought she deserved as an answer. He was only being honest.

       “What can I do?”

       “Do to what?”

       “For you to forgive me?” she added some charm to it, but it didn’t seem to be as effective unlike before.

       Not much. But you can let me kill your Dante myself for a start. Carlos thought to himself.

       “Nothing, as of the moment,” Carlos finally answered after several seconds seemingly consumed for thinking of an appropriate peace offering.

       Sharee let go of him, removing her chin from being rested onto his shoulder. They were inside the room where she had interrogated a handful of suspects, getting confessions and all, but she was the meat in the grinder this time. She wasn’t being tried at all, at least not yet, but just seeing Carlos after their break-up made her want to just leave and go back to her cell right away. Sharee wasn’t that rude, and probably because she missed him, she went back to her chair when Carlos decided to sit down.

       To forgive easily was a gift, and it appeared that Carlos has lost that particular talent.

       “I just came to see how you’re doing…” the ex-boyfriend heaved an explanation even before he was asked.

       Sharee quieted.

       “…I got something for you,” Carlos unzipped what looked to be a brown lunch bag, and then took out some food she recognized right away to be the ones served at the restaurant they dined in during her last birthday.

       Carlos wasn’t good at cooking. Dante beat him on that field, but Sharee didn’t have the luxury to complain. She was at the mercy of whoever could show her such.

       The food looked delicious, but Sharee’s lips didn’t transform into an enthusiastic curve, “Foods aren’t allowed in here,” she warned, pushing away the sumptuous meal.

       “Relax, I told the chief about this,” for the first time since they split, she saw him smile, but only for a brief moment.

       Upon hearing that, Sharee unapologetically opened the box of thick, solo pizza which she munched on as Carlos watched her do so, “Hey, slow down. It’s not a race.”

       The order was good for two but Carlos didn’t show the slightest hint of hunger. He just watched as she enjoyed hers but didn’t fail to notice how different their date was. It was different in terms of the venue, where in except being in a restaurant, they faced each other across the table of an interrogation room guarded by a cop standing by the door as seen through the blinds.

       After a few bites, Sharee place what’s left of her food down and asked, “Could you…could you be the one to feed me? Like you used to?”

       Her shaky voice gave away the sadness that dwelt in her, something that would’ve drawn out sympathy from her guy, but only if she had been honest. Carlos knew exactly what she meant. She wished for him to get hold of the pizza and place it near her mouth for her to bite on, something similar to how he’d take control of the spoon carrying a serving of whatever they ate in their past dines. It was one of the sweetest things that he could do which made his style distinguishable from other guys, but his blank expression told Sharee that he had no intention of being the nice guy he once was today.

       “Do you still love him?” Carlos answered, his response being a question as well.

       Sharee felt a rope tightened around her neck. It seemed like the hardest question she’d been asked.

       There’s nothing wrong with liking two dresses at the same time. But liking two guys at once was a different case. They weren’t clothes that could be hanged inside the wardrobe to be taken out to wear on a party, but that’s exactly what Sharee realized she was treating them – two dresses bought during a sale for the price of one.

       She didn’t know what to say, as if she’d been asked both of her kidneys. Silence meant yes, but saying it out loud would not gain her anything. Besides, Carlos knew the answer already.

       He looked down as he waited for what Sharee might have to say about the thought, but both of them mulled over the silence that separated them. A few moments passed and Carlos decided to stand up, the sound of his chair grazing the floor as it moved backwards substituting the uncomfortable silence.

       “I’ll come again when I get the chance. There are a lot of things I need to attend to,” said Carlos, though his tone didn’t show desire for another visit.

       .

       .

       .

       “…When?”

       “When what?” Carlos didn’t seem to understand the question that stopped him from walking out of the room. There was some time left, Sharee guessing that they haven’t been inside the room for more than ten minutes.

       “When will you be back?”

       “I’m not sure, maybe when uh, I sort things out at the hotel,” he replied.

       With that, Carlos left for good, making Sharee expect the cop posted outside to come in and wrap the cold handcuffs once more around her wrists. She would do anything to not wear them even for a second, but the sound of the door opening took burst her bubble.

       Her eyes were down on the table when the one who entered sat down on the opposite end rather than escort her back to her lovely cell. She realized that it was the chief who came in as she raised her eyes towards him.

       “Sharee,” Talons spoke after clearing his throat, “How badly would you like to be free?”