The Rioter

Chapter 14

Jordan

I did not cry.
Not until I was alone.
I wouldn't let them see me cry.

It was intimidating, to say the very least, to see the white building of the police station pull up on the horizon. It loomed over the small car and the pit in my stomach grew to the size of a small black hole. I was insignificant.

"Right then." The policeman turned to face me once he'd parked up. "Let's get you booked in."

The police officer, who's name I did not care to know, lightly pushed me towards heavy wooden doors after he'd pulled me out the car, through to which there was a modern reception area. Only when I looked up, did I notice the large potted plant on the counter. How lovely.

I didn't feel like me anymore. My body reacted for me. I barely felt the hand on my shoulder, holding me in place, the cuffs behind my back, meant to lay heavy on my mind.
I was broken.
They'd broken me.

"Name." The lady hidden behind a computer screen asked, barely giving me a second glance.
"Jordan... Jones." I grunted, my voice rough and hoarse. I could barely speak.
"Date of birth."
"The uh eighth of July 1998."
After typing in my details, the receptionist pushed a finger-scanner towards me. "Place your left thumb on the scanner please."
The cuffs were released from my wrists but I didn't move. I was hardly there. "Left thumb please."
The police officer increased the pressure on my shoulder in warning. Without thinking, I placed my thumb on the scanner and watched as it lit up red. "Forefinger."
I was numb. My thoughts dispersed, scattered, dissolved. There was my body. But there wasn't me.

Once she'd logged my fingerprints, she typed a few sentences on the keyboard before turning to me.
"Please remove your shoes, bandana and any items you have in your possession, a phone, wallet, keys and place them in these bags. The smaller for your possessions, the larger for your shoes." I did so immediately.
"Cell zero-one-four." She directed at the police officer behind me. "Get a nurse to check his face before we take photos."

It was as if I was experiencing everything in ultra HD but I wasn't feeling anything. I saw all the blue cell doors on either side of the corridor, but I didn't feel the fear that should have sat in the pit of my stomach. I heard the loud, echoing footsteps of both the officer and I, but I couldn't feel the sadness that should have been welling up inside me. I was just... a zombie. A shell of a human being.

As the officer unlocked my cell door using a large chain of keys, he explained what would happen to me now.
"A nurse will be along soon to check out your nose and the gash on your forehead and then we will take your mugshots and ask you a few questions." He opened the door and nudged me inside, slamming the metal wall closed behind me.

I didn't even cry as I curled up in a ball on the mattress that lay in the corner of the small space. I was just numb.
And I don't know how much time passed before a police escorted nurse entered my cell- doctors bag in hand.
"Jordan? Can I look at your face?"
I looked up from the floor and silently nodded my head. I didn't trust my voice.
The nurse gently knelt in front of me and took my chin in her hand, inspecting my face. Without turning behind her,  she addressed the officer. "You can leave us be Marcus. We'll be alright."
"Clara, if he pulls anything-"
"He won't."
The police officer sighed. "I'll just be outside. Please proceed."
When we were finally alone the nurse pulled a baby wipe from the bag and started cleaning the blood off my face. I kept my eyes averted from her own and didn't say a word, even when she asked me a question.
"Look, Jordan. I know this is scary. But you're going to be okay. I've seen many people just like yourself in this position and they all make it through. I'm not going to lie to you, though, it will be very testing at times. But you're a strong man. You'll get through this." She took a breather to put a plaster on my forehead. "You're allowed a phone call. Is there anyone you want to call?"

I'd love someone to call. But I have no one. My best friend left me in the lurch and I'll never forgive him for that. I have no family and me and Evelyn had a fight this morning- he won't want to pick me up if I'm released tonight.
Evelyn, despite our fight, was my last hope. I needed him.

I nodded. "Can I call Evelyn?"
"Okay honey. I'll get that sorted for you."

Clara passed me my mobile a few minutes later and I pulled up Evelyn's contact: Cute but taken.

It only took 3 rings for him to pick up.

"Hey, Evelyn? It's Jordan. I need you to come to the police station. I've been arrested."