aftereffect | THE HANGOVER | p. w

| chapter fourteen |

"Oh great, he's coming over. Isn't that nice, Lexi?" Stu begins to panic as the dark-skinned officer leaves the room and glances around hesitantly before coming toward us.

Glancing up at the tall, stoic-looking man, I blinked as he eyed me, paying no heed to Stu, who gave him a polite smile, Alan's silent gawking, and Phil's worried expression as he tried to continue talking to Tracy.

"What was that you were shouting at me?".

Stu made an audible gulp next to me as he began to stutter an answer for me that went ignored.

"Sorry, officer-" Glancing down at his name tag, "Holt. I asked if you could turn it up, I couldn't hear if Isabela went back to Renaldo after he cheats on her with her twin sister Gabriela".

The man's eyebrows shot up at my answer, and his stern expression faltered. "Detective Holt." He corrected before narrowing his eyes at me. "You understood that?" I was guessing he was asking if I understood Spanish.

"Si," I answered with an innocent smile.

Holt cleared his throat as he leaned down and undid my cuff. "Right, come this way for your questioning" his voice was a little theatrical, but I followed him either way.

Sticking my tongue out with a cocky smile wasn't the nicest thing to do, but the dumbfounded expression on Stu's face was worth it.

The tall man shut the door behind him before turning to me, his face still hard until the click of the door sounded and his expression melted away. "Alright, sit down, catch up time."

Sitting on one of the chairs in front of the tv, I got comfy as Holt explained what had happened so far. "Okay, so Isabela, good twin, Gabriela evil twin got it."

The small room was filled with our gasps and ahh's as the two of us watched the screen animatedly. It had been years since I saw a Telenovela. My grandma used to make me watch them with her all the time when I was a child.

Mostly because my parents would leave me with her so they could go out.

I felt Holt shifting beside me before he held out a Tupperware box, his eyes not moving from the screen as he offered me what he was holding. "Cookie?".

Glancing down, I saw the baked goods that looked and smelled mouth-watering. Happily taking one, I bit into it and felt like I had been transported to paradise. "Did you make these? They're so good".

The black man nodded as he ate one too. "Don't lie to me, blondie. Tell me the truth because I've been working on this recipe for a long time".

Narrowing my eyes at him, I continued to snack on the cookie. "I don't lie about food, Holt. If it wasn't as heavenly as it is, I would tell you. I wish I could eat these forever, but that could also be the hangover".

I glanced over my shoulder and noticed that the guys were gone. Shrugging, I returned to the Telenovela. They must be getting interviewed for real. Hopefully, Phil can charm us out of this situation.

"Isabela, please, it wasn't me. It was my evil cousin Rodrigo" Holt, and I gasped, seeing Renaldo's identical cousin barge through the door with an evil smirk on his face.

"I knew it" The tall man exclaimed, pointing at the screen with a laugh of disbelief. The next few scenes had us huddled up together, gasping as slaps were given and hair was pulled.

And that was just from the male cousins.

Phil sat with Stu and Alan, who was still complaining about the tight handcuffs. The blue-eyed male worried for Lexi; he had no idea where she was being taken and couldn't stop it because he was busy lying to Tracey.

Stu told him that she got the attention of an officer, and he had taken her to a small office, but knowing Lexi, she was probably sassing her way through any conversation she was having.

"Gentlemen," The police officer that stormed Jade's apartment greeted them as he walked into the room with a file, they had been sitting in silence opposite a female cop since they were put in the room, but she wouldn't talk or answer any of their questions.

"Hey, where's our friend? One of your co-workers took her, and we just want to make sure she's okay," Stu started as Phil nodded along with him. They both knew the mischief Lexi could get up to when she tried.

The man flipped open the file and quickly scanned it. "Yes, a Melissa Harris. Pretty little thing she is" Stu choked hearing his girlfriend's name. She'd kill them both if she ever found out that Lexi used her name after being arrested. "She's currently being questioned by another detective right now."

Phil gritted his teeth at the man's words, it wasn't unusual for people to comment on Lexi's looks, but that didn't mean he liked it. He never liked it, but it was such a common occurrence he grew to live with it.

"Anyway, We've got some good news, and we've got some bad news-."

Holt and I were getting on like a house on fire, we had so much and yet so little in common, but the conversation was flowing like a good scotch.

He'd opened up about his personal life, and I had given advice that might bite him on the ass, but I also told him to live with no regrets, so hopefully, he won't be mad if my advice goes wrong.

Hearing yelling in real life, three familiar men caught my eye as I stood and pulled open the door to see an angry Stu and Phil carrying a semi-unconscious Alan between them.

The three of them looked roughed up and disheveled as Stu furiously shouted at the police officers trailing behind them about police brutality. "Escandalo," I gasped to myself.

Phil's eyes widen in relief when he sees me in the office's doorway as the outro to the Telenovela plays. He silently takes my hand and gently tugs me towards the exit.

Waving bye to the tall stoic 'but friendly when you got to know him' man, smiling happily that I had made a friend in the weirdest of places. "I'll call you!".