Seated on my bed with my head on my hands I took a deep breath. The Super Glitches had come into the interview in their reckless, arrogant way - by 'their' I mean Shaade's - and promptly ruined it for me.
Shaade had ended up confused about what was going on and blurting everything out to Amalia. Josh's face slowly drained of colour as he saw the fury building in my eyes and Emmi and Sophie stayed quiet, nervous of my reaction.
The police were called and had spoken to the journalists to find out the full story from a tertiary source, sending me out of the room with a warning that they would be up to speak to me later. I'd stormed away, trying to keep calm and not punch anyone. I'd been followed by my friends but they had wisely stayed back when they heard my bedroom door slam and a glass table crash through it.
"I'm sorry," Shaade said for the billionth time. "I didn't realise."
"That much is obvious," I growled, the muscles in my forearms standing out from the tension.
"Me and my big mouth," Shaade said with a weak 'eheheh'.
"I'll make it bigger by ramming a chair into it if you like," I offered.
"No thanks."
All went quiet again and I heard Shaade leave the room. People kept on coming to check up on me every so often, walking randomly into my bedroom to interrupt my 'calm' time.
"You're really quiet," Georgina noted, wandering in and dragging a chair to sit opposite me.
"Nobody plans a murder out loud," I muttered back.
"Even your head's quiet," she continued.
"Get out of it," I snapped.
"I'm not in it. Tom is."
"Tell that bastard to get out of my head."
"Do it yourself," Georgina retorted, standing and walking away. She paused in the doorway of the room and I could see in my mind's eye the anger and irritation radiating off her.
"By the way," she said, "I was only trying to help you."
The door shut with a sharp click and I closed my eyes, rubbing my forehead with aching hands. The sound of hinges creaking told me someone else had come to annoy me.
"Go away," I said without looking up or opening my eyes.
"Don't push away your friends," Emmi said softly. "Or even your enemies. You need someone to keep you sane right now, someone to pat you on the back and tell you everything's okay, even when you don't think it is. I had everyone doing that to me and I'm still here. My boyfriend especially, Morgan, he's helped loads. So don't push Georgina away. She's only trying to do good when you're down and in trouble." With that speech she left.
I raised my head and looked at the door just as it swung open. Tom folded his arms and stood in the doorway, waiting for me to say something. So I did.
"Piss off."
"Emmi's right. You need to be nice to people right now or we'll all leave." There was a note on impatience in his usually calm voice and that made me sit up a little straighter, to be a little more alert.
"You wouldn't," I said, narrowing my eyes.
"We would. And guess who said that first, back out there?" He jerked his thumb back towards the main area. My bedroom was separate from everything else, down a sort of side corridor. It was a wide open space, tiled with marble with random cushions, rugs, pillows and just general things scattered everywhere. IPods, iPhones, laptops, chargers, all sorts of gadgets covered the floor in one corner. I noted with some concern that the pile was edging closer to the en suite.
"I don't know," I said, coming back to reality. "Who suggested that I be abandoned in my hour of need?"
"Georgina."
That shook me to the bone. My eyes widened and I went cold all over. Before I had a chance to reply two police officers walked into my room and beckoned me out.
"Sir, is there anywhere we can talk in private?" one asked once I didn't move.
"Yeah. Yeah, follow me." I stood up with a heavy heart and led the way to an interview room for one on one conversations.
The narrow table hit me in the hip when I edged past it, sending pain shooting through me. I winced and sat down in the chair that faced the door, indicating the two officers sit opposite. They couldn't see anyone that came in but I could and that gave me a sense of power, like I was in control of the situation.
Jigging my knee and knocking a switch under the table that turned on a hidden recording device and various cameras I nodded for them to begin talking, my face blank and neutral.
"Did you kill Albin Jerries?" one with a thick moustache asked.
I closed my eyes and calmed my nerves. "Yes."
"Under what circumstances?"
"He was a dick."
Don't say that! Georgina cried.
Are you all watching through my head? I sent back.
I am, Tom connected to my brain and put it up on an ice screen.
Oh. Please don't leave.
I won't.
"Under what circumstances?" the second cop said with a harder tone.
Good cop bad cop alert.
"He lied to me and that lie resulted in my brother dying."
"You don't have a brother," the bad cop answered.
"No, apparently I don't," I agreed, confusing them both further. "That's why I killed Albin. He was my dad, did you know?"
"No..."
"There you go, you don't know everything." I sat back in my chair, pleased with myself. Bad Cop leant on the table, shortening the distance between us.
"Listen kid," he snarled, "unless your name is Google then stop acting as if you know everything."
"You know, I'm trying to see this from your point of view," I said, sounding apologetic, "but I can't get my head that far up my ass."
"Stop being a dick!" Bad Cop roared, standing up.
"I'm still bigger than yours," I replied, standing up and finding that I was a full foot and a half shorter than him, strengthening my comeback.
"I bet your balls haven't even dropped yet, kid," Bad Cop sneered, bending down to my level.
"Ask your wife, she should know seeing as I dropped them down her throat last night." I'd noticed a wedding ring on his finger when he stood up.
"Does your ass ever get tired of the bullcrap that comes out of your mouth?" Bad Cop snapped.
"I don't hate you," I said, smiling pleasantly yet patronisingly, "but if you got hit by a bus, I'd be driving that bus."
"Are you threatening me?" Bad Cop growled, hand reaching for his gun.
"If you shoot me, your conscience won't be hurt as much as Nature's when it realised what a mistake it had made creating you."
"Roses are red, violets are blue, God made us beautiful, what happened to you?" Bad Cop spat.
"I was trying to look like you today," I replied.
"Well that was a fail," scoffed Bad Cop.
"As was your dad's condom."
"If you want to know about mistakes, ask your mum. She made you."
"All I was going to do is give you a nasty look," I said, mock-offended, "but I see you already have one. Oh, and by the way, I saw you an animal planet last night."
"We all sprang from apes, according to evolution," Bad Cop began, "but I guess you didn't spring far enough."
"People keep on growing until they're perfect," I shrugged. "I guess I just stopped earlier than you did because I'm the full deal."
"It's scary to think that people like you are allowed to breed," Bad Cop muttered. He grabbed my left hand and ripped off my wedding ring, tossing it into the darkened corner of the room.
"Now," he continued calmly, sitting down. "Where were we?"
I jumped onto the table and crouched, looking like Gollum, snatching at Bad Cop's shirt front and shaking him violently.
"That crossed a line!" I screamed. "Too far, dammit, too far!"
"Get him off me!" he roared, punching the side of my head to get me away. "Animal! Beast! Get him off me!"
Good Cop tried weakly to pull me back but I struggled, eventually relenting and scampering to the side of the room, back pressed against the wall. A red mist had descended and all I cared about was finding that ring.
"Must get it," I mumbled, brushing the floor with my fingers. "Must find..."
You've gone insane, Tom said to me in shock, looking through my eyes.
I need that ring.
You're not freaking Gollum!
I NEED THAT RING!
My fingers connected with a strip of metal and I scrambled for a hold on it, raising it to the narrow light with a mad smile on my face.
"Yes," I hissed. "Yes!"
"Pepper, are you okay?" Georgina asked. The two police officers had retreated and she'd walked in to see if I was sane.
"Yes," I said calmly, rocking to my feet. "Yes, I'm fine. Perfectly alright."
"No you're not," she corrected me. "You've become Gollum. You're about the same height, see?"
Orange-yellow light filled the room and when it cleared there was a small, hairless creature crouched next to me. I yelled in fear and quickly pocketed my ring as it turned to stare with wide eyes.
Georgina laughed and made him/it vanish. She walked over and took my hand, retrieving the ring and putting it back on my finger.
"Happy now?" she asked, kissing me gently.
Yes, very happy. Right now. Yep. Happy.
She laughed again and broke away, not backing out of my embrace. I hugged her to me and then, making sure I was holding her hand, left the dusty interrogation room and any lingering imagined demons.