The Blame Game

Three

He looked back at me, thinking for a moment. "Where did you say you fell asleep?"

"Under a tree."

"Where was the tree? Did anybody see you?"

I thought about this for a moment. "It was near, uhm..." My voice trailed off as I tried to remember the name of the neighbor. "Hold on, let me retrace my steps: I walked around the entire neighborhood. W-When I stopped then fell asleep, I had already started walking back. The tree was next to...the...the...the Larsons' house, I believe," I told Mr. Chambers.

"Did anyone see you?"

I closed my eyes, mentally going back to last night. I lay down, and after a few minutes, I heard...

"A car," I said out loud. "A car pulled into the Larsons' driveway after I sat down."

"Around what time was that?"

"When I checked my phone before sitting under the tree, I think it was only a few minutes after 11pm."

Mr. Chambers' eyes lit up.

"What?" I asked him.

"That was the approximate time of Miss Harrison's death," he answered.

"So you believe me?"

He nodded. "I do. All we have to do is find out who drove that car and ask if they saw you. Then, maybe we'll be able to get a judge to believe you, too." Mr. Chambers said this with a smile.

"Thank you!" I exclaimed, now returning the smile.

*************************

Soon, I was dragged over to a holding cell. I had been taken into custody. I decided I was not going to resist, that I would be mature and well-behaved to show them who I was and that I was innocent.

They asked me if I wanted anything to eat, but I passed. I had no appetite. I just wanted to go home.

I was able to call my mom. I knew it wouldn't do any good, though. She was probably out at a bar, selling herself to the first guy she met. Of course, she didn't answer her phone.

I was being a good girl and lying on the pathetic excuse for a bed that was placed in my cell. By now it was about 3AM. I tried to sleep, but I couldn't. My mind was full.

All of a sudden, there was a loud bang. The wall behind me came crashing down, revealing the dark world outside.

With wide eyes, I stared across the room. I was able to escape. I wanted to, but wouldn't that have made me look even more guilty?

My inner conflict was interrupted when the smoke from the collapse of the wall cleared, revealing a black van.

Oh, shit.

I heard yelling from down the hall. I knew officers would start racing over soon to figure out what had happened.

A boy with dark brown hair covered by a black beanie and chocolate brown eyes emerged from the side door of the van. He came over to me. I just stared at him, trying to comprehend what was going on. I couldn't help but notice how gorgeous he was.

The boy reached out his hand to me. I shook my head. I was afraid. I resisted him.

Big mistake.

Footsteps raced down the hall towards my cell, and the yells grew louder. But the noise faded away as a cloth covered my mouth and nose.

Then everything went black.

**********************

I woke up in the backseat of a car. My eyes carefully opened, and I took in the scene in front of me. There was a man driving the car dressed in dark clothes. He looked African-American and had dreads that went down to his shoulders. There was a second man next to him with blonde hair, freckles, and green eyes, also dressed in dark clothing. I could tell the car was big as my eyes wandered around the car. Soon I looked next to me, and there was a familiar figure sitting in the seat beside mine. He was awfully close to me. I recognized him as the boy I saw the previous night when the incident in my cell happened.