"She is too much of a mess," Deputy Evans pointed at Natalie through the one-way mirror into the interrogation room. Natalie sat at the metal table; the one bright light above her bounced off the table and into her swollen eyes. The red rings around her eyes were daunting... she was so tired. So weak.
"She's not RED," Sheriff Mullins leaned away from the glass. "But we have to handle the gun situation."
"RED will feed off this... you know that, right?" she asked the sheriff.
"Sadly, I know," he positioned his heavy belt back into its place on his hip and opened the heavy door.
At the table, he reached forward to pat Natalie on the shoulder. She didn't move.
"How did you get the gun, Natalie? It's going to be okay..."
She pulled her hands from her lap and covered her face. She wanted to tell the truth; she really did. But she didn't want to get Robert in trouble. What would happen to him? She loved her mom and step-dad. He is okay, and he still loves you she thought.
She dropped her hands onto the table. Her tear-covered eyes looked up and met Sheriff Mullins'. Her chapped lips popped open for the first time in hours. "My step-dad gave it to me."
"Robert?" he asked.
"Yes." Her head dropped back to look at the table.
He stood up from the reflective table and grabbed the large door handle, "Thank you, Natalie." She didn't look up.
"So he gave it to her for... protection?" Deputy Evans asked from the other side as Sheriff Mullins emerged.
"Yeah... and I don't blame him."
"Where to next?"
"She'll need to go to a mental institution. She's not ready for the world," he rubbed his chin.
"Is anyone?" Deputy Evans walked away.
"Wait," the sheriff rose his hand.
"Yeah?" she turned back around.
He turned his head from the window to his deputy, "Sweep the Robert thing under the rug. Okay?"
Deputy Evans nodded, spun on her heels and continued walking away.
-----
The smell of cigarettes seeped from the indention in the outside wall of the high school. The "too-cool-for-school" kids were passing a cigarette, not because they liked it, but it was the cool thing to do.
Derrick walked by and smelt the nicotine and chemicals from the lit end of the cigarette. He stopped, Not again. No thanks, he thought.
"Hey, Derrick!" the boy in the navy blue hat stuck out the cigarette into the light from the shadowed corner.
"No, thanks," he walked away.
"What's gotten into him?" they whispered to each other.
"Probably the whole RED thing," the boy in the deep green shirt took the cigarette.
"Give me that or I'll kill you," he joked.
"Ooohhh, go get your red hoodie," they laughed.
Derrick couldn't hear them, nor did he want to. He just kept walking to the almost empty parking lot. He fumbled through his pocket looking for his cold keys. When he looked up, he noticed a truck sitting just a few spaces from his... but it was strange.
Usually, a pretty girl in a blue Mustang parked there. This was a white truck... and the closer he got, Derrick noticed the man in the driver's seat was staring at him. Watching him come closer to his car.
As Derrick made it to his car, he finally noticed who was sitting in the driver's seat.
"Oh, that's just Genni's dad, Danny... what is he doing here?" he whispered to himself.
***How will Natalie do in a mental institution? Should Sheriff Mullins and Deputy Evans not talk to Robert about the gun? What is Danny doing in the parking lot waiting on Derrick?
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