Shoupe closed the door behind him, gesturing towards the chair on the other side of his desk. The girl was staring at him in confusion, wondering why she wasn't in handcuffs and being sent to jail right now.
"Why are you not arresting me?" June asked him, her look of disbelief making him sigh again. He walked to the other side of his desk, his hands going to his hips as he looked at her.
"First off we thought you were dead. If you're back, does that mean John B is here too?" Shoupe asked, his eyes wide as he watched her face. June swallowed the lump in her throat, shaking her head as she looked at the desk in front of her.
"No. No John Bs not here. That's why I'm turning myself in." June said, lying through her teeth.
"Well it's a little late for that. You're not wanted anymore." Shoupe said, pulling his chair out and taking a seat. His words shocked her, the girls mouth dropping open as she looked at him, waiting for an explanation.
"But Ward and Ra-"
"Rafe Cameron recanted his statement." Shoupe revealed, June gasping. Her hands flew to her head, her fingers pulling at the hair on the top of her head as she groaned.
"What did he say?" She asked, biting her lip as Shoupe began to speak.
"Rafe said that yes, you were there, but now that he looked at it from a different perspective he realized you didn't do anything. He cleared your name." Shoupe told her, the teen biting at her fingernails as she shook her head at the man.
"You know he did it right? You know that! You gotta know. It's so ridiculously obvious." June argued, her voice raising as she looked at him. "I'm back! I was there. I'll testify against him Shoupe." June said, pointing to herself as he sighed again.
"Don't bite the hand that feeds you June. I already had Plumb call your parents. They're on their way." His comment made her lip curl in disgust, her eyes wide as she realized how crooked he was.
"You didn't care about her. If you did you would put the real killers away. You'd put her killers behind bars instead of chasing innocent people!" June yelled, Shoupe looking at her as she argued. He knew she was right, he just couldn't say it.
"Stay put kid." He said, leaving her in his office as he headed towards the front desk. He let out a deep breath, grabbing at the phone in the front and dialing a number.
"June March is back. We have a witness that was on the tarmac." Shoupe quickly hung up after that, looking towards the door to see the March family busting through the door. Mrs. March entered first, her eyes wide as she scanned the department for her daughter. Finally she spotted her in Shoupes office, her eyes widening as she let out a gasp. She ran to the door, pulling it open, June's head turning as she heard the door open.
"My baby!" Her mother cried, June standing and falling into her mothers arms. This is what she needed, her family. Her mother cried into her shoulder, June feeling another pair of arms wrapping around her, her eyes catching sight of her dad.
"Dad!" She cried, tears springing to her eyes as she pushed an arm around him. The parents gripped their daughter for a good long few minutes, June's eyes opening and catching a glimpse of Adam March, leaning against the door frame. His eyes were wide and filled with tears, a relieved smile on his face as he looked at his little sister, alive and well.
She pulled back from her parents arm, a watery smile crossing her lips as she jumped into her brothers arms.
"I thought you were dead." He whispered as he tangled his fingers in her hair, the tears spilling on his face as he felt his body relax. She just hugged him tighter, letting out a sigh as she opened her mouth to speak.
"It was Rafe. Rafe did it." She whispered, her brother pausing.
"I- I know. I know." He said, the hurt in his eyes making her sigh. She remembered what JJ said, Adam having been the one to tell him about her and Rafe. She pulled back from the embrace, looking between her family and then giving them a small smile.
"Let's go home."
:::
The car ride home was completely silent, June not sure what to say to her parents, her parents not sure what to say to her. They wanted to scold her, they wanted to tell her how much they missed her, they wanted to lecture her, and they wanted to ask her what had happened, but instead they all just sat in silence.
June's head was leaned against the window, the silence giving her mind the chance to let the thought of JJ in. She scrunched her nose up as she thought of what he had said to her, how wrong it was that he had forced her to tell him what she had done.
You'll never be a Pogue.
The words bounced around in her head, her heart aching as she realized that everything she had done to get back was for nothing. She wondered what she had done to deserve his hatred, his betrayal, and all she could think of was Rafe. She couldn't help the way she felt about him, Rafe had been her first love. In all of her thinking she forgot the fact that she was officially free, officially off the hook.
Finally she pondered on why exactly Rafe had recanted his statement , wondering how it would benefit him in the long run. She couldn't think of anything though, there was no benefit. She swallowed a lump in her throat as she realized why he had done it. He had done it for her. She felt her heartbeat quicken in her chest, her eyebrows furrowing as she thought of the predicament she was in. If Rafe truly did have feelings for her, she was in a lot of trouble.
The car came to a stop, Mr. March making his way around the side of the car and helping his daughter out. He was afraid to let her out of his sight. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they walked up the driveway, June sucking in a breath as she got closer to her home. This is what she had wanted right?
After not many words they all went their separate ways, June's mother offering to sleep in the bedroom with her but June insisting that she was fine. She opened the door to her bedroom, her lips parting as she looked at the all too familiar room that she had grown up in . Something about it was so unsatisfying, so dull that she felt anger towards herself for not enjoying being home like she thought she would.
She collapsed onto her bed, pushing her shoes off and laying down on the soft mattress. She closed her eyes, wishing desperately that she was staring up at stars instead of her white ceiling. She wished that she was feeling a cool breeze in her hair, or the sound of waves crashing, or the subtle rocking of a boat but she felt no such thing. Instead she was laying in her plush bed, looking up at her starless ceiling, the air still and complete silence filling the room.
Maybe she wasn't so sure where home was anymore.
