Despite the initial arrest and long night, I was kind of happy to be in the King County station.
I probably looked like one of those hookers that got busted when too drunk. I had cried so much- my eyes were red and puffy. My nose was swollen. I was wearing a jacket twice my size. I still had cuts and bruises from the handcuffs.
Rick arrived not long after we got there. He was dressed and ready for his shift When he walked by, I avoided eye contact by flipping the hood over my head and cowering in my seat.
I knew shit was serious when Rick and Shane went into the back office to talk. They shut the door. I could still kind of see them through the window, but when the station filled p with workers and cases for the day, it was hard to see through the crowd.
I thought about just.. leaving. They might not see me leave. I could make a break for it.
But, when Leon-Bitchass-Bassett walked by, I knew that the other officers were keeping a close eye on me while Rick and Shane came up with a plan.
It was hours. My ass was going numb from the chair. I was starving.
Then, Lori Grimes walks in the station.
Great. Just the Wicked Bitch of the South I wanted to see right now.
"Hyejin," she names, walking over to me.
You've gotta be fucking kidding me. I roll my head back to look up at her.
"Here. Rick sent me to get you some lunch. He said it's been a long night," she says and holds a bag of McDonalds out to me.
I was too hungry to care if she poisoned the food with her White Woman Tears.
"Thanks," I mumble, taking the bag.
She doesn't say anything. Instead, she sits in Rick's office chair and waits with me in silence.
I was halfway through my nuggets and fries when Shane and Rick emerged from the back.
"Thank you," Rick tells Lori, rubbing her shoulder.
"We're gonna need to take some pictures," Shane tells me.
"Of?" I ask.
"You."
I laugh once. "Yeah, no. I'm not in mugshot face right now."
"It's for evidence files."
"Evidence?" I repeat.
Shane slides another folding chair over and sits in it backwards. He looks serious. Suddenly, my appetite was gone. What the hell did he want this time?
"We need physical proof of your aunt's abuse."
I brush my hair back so he could see the skin below my ear. A giant brusie was there from a week ago's beating.
"That enough for ya?" I ask, then slump in my chair again.
"We're putting your aunt under arrest for abuse, child endangerment, and neglect."
"What about her trying to take my dad's insurance money?"
"That, too."
I shrug. My aunt was a bitch. She only stayed with me because she wanted the money. She was a bitter old hag that couldn't marry because people saw how shitty of a person she was and her hole was too worn out and loose to satisfy someone.
"Then, what? You gonna put me in state custody?"
"No," Shane denies.
"You'll be staying with us," Rick reveals.
"She's what?" Lori questions.
Rick sighs. He hadn't even taken the matter up with Lori yet. Dumbass. I couldn't help but snicker to myself.
"Lori-"
"A word?" she asks- though it sounded like a demand.
The couple step away and Shane takes his phone out.
"You wanna get the pictures over with?"
I hadn't shown anyone the scars and shit from months with the old bitch. It felt weird.
"Can I take them.." I look around the room of people. "Somewhere else?"
Shane sadly forces a smile and nods. He gets out of his chair and motions for me to follow him into the office that he and Rick were just in for hours. He closes the blinds to give me more privacy. For the first time since last night, I tug Q's jacket off. The sight of it on the desk makes me wonder where he was. If he was okay.
As Shane takes the pictures of my bruises, I keep thinking about Q.
Was Shane right?
I mean.. he summed up a lot of the intrusive thoughts I've had about me and Q.
How he didn't trust me enough. How I was immature. His co-worker he put up with. The way he didn't take me seriously most of the time.
I think about how Shane perfectly mirrored Q's own words. How he reminded me of our age gap but still.. didn't stop anything. He still let me join him. He still held my hand. Had his arm around me. Smiled at me. Kept me close.
"Hyejin?" Shane asks.
I snatch the jacket off the desk and put it back on.
I hated cop minds. It was like Shane could tell exactly what I was thinking about. Goddamn mind reader from years of police training.
We go back to Rick's desk where Rick and Lori were already waiting. Rick looked like a kicked puppy and Lori looked like the person that kicked the poor puppy.
"Listen, we uh- " Rick begins.
"It's all right," Shane cuts him off.
I sit back in my seat and pick at the zipper of Q's jacket.
"Hyejin's staying with me," Shane continues.
"Huh?" I ask.
Rick and Lori looked just as surprised.
"Yeah.. I've got a spare bedroom, anyway," Shane assures. "She can stay with me while we get things sorted."
"What things sorted?" I question. "I know you're arresting that bitch of my aunt.. what else?"
"We're filing a missing persons report on your sister, Jiwoo," Shane reveals.
"Missing persons?" I clarify as my heart speeds up.
Shane nods and I look over to Rick who repeats the motion.
"Until then, you're gonna shack up with me so you ain't alone."
"What about the house?"
"Since your parents own it, it'll just be vacant. Your mom is the only one that can decide what to do with it, so until she comes back.."
"Did you talk to her?"
"No, not yet. We were going to let you explain it to her with us by you so she wouldn't get as overwhelmed."
I feel like the past twenty four hours has completely turned my life upside down. I wasn't sure if it was for the better or worst yet.
"And when does all this start?"
"We're getting evidence together now.. The arrest warrant will be ready in a couple hours and then.."
"All hell breaks loose," I finish.
"Something like that."
The words make me think of Q again. It makes my heart break again.