misconceptions

misintention

The angry confusion I felt for my mother and that stupid letter only grew throughout the day. By the time I stepped into my car to drive home at the end of the day, I was steaming mad.

My phone buzzed, pulling me out of my frustrated thoughts. It was a text from Pike.

What was today all about?

I sighed, debating on whether or not to tell the truth. It couldn't hurt, and I was still fuming at my mother.

I got a letter with no name or return address, only our address, but my mother wouldn't let me see it. She tried to pull it off like it was spam or something, but she held it like it was a bomb.

My finger only hovered over 'send' for a moment. Sighing, I turned the key on my car and rumbled out of the lot.

Pike texted me back at a red light, so I figured it wasn't illegal to reply.

That's weird. Do you know where she put it?

My blood boiled at the thought of my mother keeping it and still not telling me about it. Now that I think about it, it probably had something to do with me.

The light turned green, and the line of cars slowly began to move. I continued to text Pike back and drive at the same time, though.

Idk exactly, but we got a second-

That's as far as I got before I heard the sirens behind me. "Damn it, Indie. You've done it this time," I mumbled to myself. With a huff, I pulled my car over to the shoulder and waited.

The police officer tapped on my window with his knuckle, and I put on the sweetest, most innocent face I could muster. "License and registration, please," he asked.

I figured the best way to pull this off was to make it seem like no big deal. "Oh! Yeah, okay," I replied, chuckling slightly. I handed it to him with a big smile.

The look in his eye made it obvious he had no idea what I was trying to pull. That means it's working, I thought to myself. He looked at my papers briefly before handing them back. "Do you know why I pulled you over?" The police officer asked, resting his forearm on the door of the car. His close proximity made my stomach lurch.

Laughing again, I replied, "Oh, for the texting? Come on, it was only one text to my mom." A lie, but I wasn't going to tell him I was having a conversation about a mysterious letter. What he said next made my stomach-- which was already in knots-- twist even further.

"Ma'am, I'm going to need to see your phone," he said gruffly, holding out his hand. I couldn't exactly deny an officer, so I had no choice but to give it to him with a sigh. It was still open on the conversation with Pike.

He scrolled through a couple messages, then his face went ashen. "Oh, um, sorry ma'am. There seems to be a misunderstanding. You're off the hook," he remarked, his voice shaky. He handed me back my phone then quickly walked away.

Why did was he so spooked by my messages? I scrolled through them, searching for something that might have disturbed him. The only thing that caught my eye was the text when I first brought up the letter. Was the letter from the police? That still didn't make sense; why would a police officer be scared of something that his coworkers sent. It must be from someone with more power than the police, someone he feared.

A headache was steadily building in my temples. The best thing for me to do would be to go home. Sighing, I started my car again and began to drive home.

The police officer's reaction to the letter was pure fright, and I was determined to figure out why.
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author's note

what do you think is going to happen next? I love hearing predictions and feedback, so tell me what you think in the comments below! this update is a little late, but it will always get here eventually! expect another update sunday if you pray hard enough.

-alfie