Left Unexplained

Chapter 28~

His gaze swept over me. "Heh, you look like you're coming straight from a homecoming dance."

Right, I was still in my suit. I cleared my throat. "Uhh, no. I'm coming from Richard's funeral. You know that he died, right?"

"Of course," he muttered. "That's all I'm being told since last night, and that my sentence got longer. Those guards are so depressed they humour themselves by rubbing it in our faces."

He got up from the single stool in the room and spread his arms apart before letting them drop, as if telling me to check him out. "Pathetic, right? Just three days and this is how I end up looking like. Imagine me after twenty one years."

I swallowed hard. 'Twenty one years huh? That would've happened if I hadn't walked in on grandpa like that.'

Shit, Xave's life would've been done for. Twenty one fucking years?!

"Hey, I came to tell you something."

He held up a hand. "I don't want to know. If you tell me about the outside, it'll make me miss it even more. The only news we get around here is the date, if it's morning or night, and what crap is on the lunch menu. So thanks, but no thanks, I'll pass on your news report."

The door creaked loudly as it opened behind me. The officer from the desk walked in.

"He's still got like forty minutes left! What do you fucking want?" Xavier growled at him.

"Simmer down, son," the officer smiled.

I raised an eyebrow. What amused him in this shitty place?

"Your innocence has been proven. The real murderer of Richard Murray has been caught and is being hauled over as we speak."

What?!

I whipped my head in Xavier's way. He stood there dumbfounded, his expression filled with disbelief.

'Grandpa turned himself in?!' He must've; I didn't report him yet.

"D-does that m-mean...am I-" Xavier stuttered.

"Son, you're free."

"S-so you mean, I can step through that door...and you won't stop me?" he pointed a shaky finger at the heavy metal door.

He nodded. "Your sentence is cancelled and your record is clean. And the real killer will be charged extra for falsely framing you."

Xavier laughed disbelievingly. He glanced around at me and the officer and noticed we weren't joining him.

Then the realisation dawned on him. "Oh my God. I'm free. I'm fucking free."

Xavier grabbed my shoulders and shook me. "Dude, that's what you were trying to tell me, that you caught the fucker and you've pulled my ass out of here!"

In his ecstatic hyper session, he didn't give me a chance to tell him it wasn't me who did it.

"Dude, I could fucking hug you right now!" And that he did, the most painful grip I've ever been caught in.

"Xavier, I came-"

"You came in here to pick me up so I can go see Hanna? Bro, that's a great idea, what're we waiting for? Let's go!" he ran out through the room's door.

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair before jogging up behind him.

"Anderson?" we both stopped and turned around. The officer called me. "We're going to need you here for further questioning."

"Ah that's right! You need more details from Cameron," Xavier exclaimed. "And I look like shit right now, so I'll just go home."

He gave me a pat on my shoulder. "Hey Cameron," he had a little bit of disbelief still left in his tone when he said with a smile, "I'm going home."