Chapter Twenty Two ~ These Four Walls
Dad was pacing around whatever apartment we were living in at the time. I didn’t know what he was thinking, but I knew there was a lot of stuff going through his mind. I didn’t understand what, though.
Mom stormed in the kitchen and dropped her–stolen–Louis Vuitton purse on the counter. She popped her gum obnoxiously as she placed a hand on her protruding hip. “Relax, would you? I’ve never seen such a nervous man!”
Dad’s eyes shot to hers. “Linda!” he yelled. “They saw you! You were on tape!”
Mom remained impassive and she shrugged loosely. “What did I tell you when we first met? We’re going to be involved in some deep shit and if you don’t want to own up to the job description, then leave!”
Dad chewed on his bottom lip thoughtfully. No matter what he said to Mom, she wouldn’t listen. He really did love her and it showed. Often times, he would go out and actually buy her jewelry—with his own money.
Of course, Mom would only sell the jewelry to get the money.
Dad was worried, Mom was in trouble, and I was clueless.
Somehow, Mom convinced Dad she was okay and then, they kissed. Mom turned to me and gave me her proudest smile. “You’re going to be someone good, one day.” She kissed my forehead and we slept.
The next day, Mom was gone. She didn’t even leave a note or anything, she just left. Dad cried for days…weeks even.
A month later, we saw her face on the TV. Turns out, she ditched us because we were too much of a burden on her. She got caught and they arrested her.
Dad wasn’t convinced it was our fault. When he finally got himself together, he decided to continue our thieving lifestyle. He said this time it would work, because he shut off his emotions.
From then on, we lived different lives. The main goal was to get Mom out of jail. At least, that’s what he said.
But now, now I wasn’t sure.
* * * *
A man cleared his throat from above me.
I glanced up and saw the young cop who arrested me. He seemed taller now; maybe it was because I was sitting. I was really starting to notice the stubble forming along his jawline. He was a young guy, not much older than me.
“What should I call you?” he asked me.
I shrugged. I didn’t know who I was anymore. I wasn’t even sure if I was worthy of a name.
“Okay, then I’ll call you Cooper because that is your real name.” He motioned towards one the interrogation rooms. “I’m going to ask you some questions.” It wasn’t question, more like a demand.
I stood to my feet and followed him to the room. He ushered me inside and closed the door behind him.
“A lawyer has been assigned to you and will be arriving shortly,” the cop told me as he took a seat on one of the chairs, motioning me to sit across from him.
I did, and just gave him a blank stare. Dad always told me to keep quiet when cops were involved. And right now, the only person I believed in was my dad. I put my faith in Levi, and because of that, I was the one who messed up the plan.
The cop and I had a stare down, where neither one of us spoke. After moments of silence, he stood up and walked right out of the door.
I glanced around the room and saw there were no clocks and no windows. So, I sat there and I had no idea how long I sat for or what was occurring beyond these four walls.
The cop returned after I counted the lines on the walls. There were either one thousand and fifty-one, or one thousand and fifty-two. I might have miscounted somewhere. He now had a coffee mug as he took his seat across from me. A look closer at his badge, and I could see his name—Ricky.
“So…” His words trailed off as he continued to look at me. He was obviously new on the job. “Your name is Cooper Lancaster and your father’s name is Dave Lancaster. I took a look at your file and saw that your mother—Linda—is in jail, as well.”
I did nothing but stare at him.
“Do you like it here in Clearbourough?”
I glanced down at my hands and started picking at my skin, forcing myself to stay quiet.
“You do realize you aren’t doing yourself any favors by not answering me. To me, you’re just a kid who got caught up in his father’s mess. I am on your side.”
I looked up and considered the possibility. Dad said cops were never on our side, no matter what they said. But Ricky looked trustworthy, maybe it was because he wasn’t much older than me.
Ricky gave me a friendly smile as he leaned back in his chair. “From what I’ve recollected, your stock and bond assets are vast—in the thousands of millions. How did you get this money?”
My response was only a shrug.
Ricky lifted a skeptical brow. “How did you get this money?” he repeated.
“It’s not a crime to be rich.”
He was amused by my response. “It is when the money isn’t yours."
“You can’t prove that.”
He narrowed his eyes as he leaned in closer. “Your father recently had his assets placed under your name. Had we not arrested him and something suspicious showed up, you would be the one behind bars.”
I tried to remain unfazed, but I failed miserably. A dark line creased my forehead as I looked at him. Dad put all of his financial assets in my name. “Why would he do that?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” The corners of his lips tugged into a mocking grin. “If things were go hot, you’d take the blame. I’ve dealt with cases like these. Your father thought ten steps ahead, and he was willing to have you go to jail for him.”
Immediately, I frowned. I knew he had to be lying. It was one of those good cop/bad cop things. He was trying to make me turn against my dad. “No,” I spat. “He would never do that.”
Ricky shrugged as he took another sip of his coffee. “Right now, all evidence points to your dad. If you can tell us something—anything, you can be freed.”
No. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. Dad was the only person I had left. I couldn’t just walk free. “I have nothing to say.”
“Okay, well you are hereby an accomplice in the robbery of the Samuels’ estate.” He stood from his seat and looked me over. “It turns out, you won’t be needing that lawyer."
* * * *
I sat for hours before they finally issued my arrest warrant and took me to the local Clearbourough jail.
A group of attendants led me throughout the narrow hallways. One of the men tied my hands behind my back and shoved me through a narrow doorway.
As they led me pass neighboring cells, I could see men and women of various ages eyeing me with curiosity. They were probably wondering what a young man like me was doing behind bars. That was the thing, looks were deceiving.
One of the men stopped at one of the jail cells and jiggled the key in the lock. Not a second later, and I was being pushed into the cell. He slammed the sliding bars and locked them, pulling out the key.
He stepped closer and spoke in a soft whisper. “Bail is set at five thousand dollars, but you won’t be released on weekends.” With those words, him and his partner turned away and disappeared into the hallway.
I wrapped my fingers around the bars slowly and rested my forehead against them. The reality of the situation didn’t hit me until now. I was in the place I tried to desperately to avoid. No one would free us. We didn’t have any family left.
I was behind bars and I wouldn’t be coming out until a year later. What the hell was I supposed to do for a whole year?
“What’d you get in here for?”
I whipped around quickly at the sound of the voice. Soon, a pair of icy blue eyes emerged from the darkness. The man was tossing some sort of pressure ball.
Clack. Clack. Clack.
“Uh…um…” I pressed my back against the bars and swallowed a lump in my throat.
“Did I stutter?” the man questioned, as he continued to toss the ball. His voice got closer and closer until he was standing right in front of me. He was big and muscular in size. So much so, that his muscles seemed to be ripping his tank top apart.
“S-stealing,” I choked out. I really wasn’t in the mood to be sexually assaulted.
“Ah,” the man breathed. He gazed down at me with his bright eyes and the corners of his lips upturned into a provocative smile. “Same here.”
“Really?”
“That’s what I said, wasn’t it?” He gave a wry laugh as he turned away from me and walked back to his bed.
“How long have you been here?”
“Probably two months or so.” He collapses onto the bed and continued to throw his pressure ball in the air, catching it each time.
“I stole from the Samuels,” I admitted.
He sat up abruptly and stared at me for a few moments. “No way, so did I.”
I furrowed my brows. If the Samuels were robbed, Levi would have told me about it.
That was when it hit me.
Levi told me that his ex-boyfriend of a year robbed him. But it couldn’t be the same guy. Levi said the robber was never arrested. “Wait, that’s impossible. Levi-”
“Levi?”
I clamped my lips shut.
“You knew Levi?”
I nodded. “Y-yeah.”
The man let out a dry laugh that held no humor. He slowly set himself back down on the mattress and continued to laugh.
“What’s so funny?”
“Levi was a great guy, a nice kid.”
“You were his boyfriend, weren’t you?”
“And you were, too.”
I didn’t respond. Instead, I placed my hands at my sides. I was going to be sharing a cell with someone who was just like me.
“So, he talked about me?” he questioned suddenly.
“He said you weren’t arrested.”
“I wasn’t. I got arrested for stealing from another family. Understand?”
I nodded because I did understand. I understood that my cell mate was a mediocre thief. I understood that I was in jail. I understood that I wasn’t getting out anytime soon. I understood that my dad was a traitor.
I understood I was the biggest idiot ever to let Levi go.
~*~*~
Another chapter! Ah, I feel so bad for Damien. He doesn't deserve it. So there are a couple chapters left in this story and there WILL NOT be a sequel. Seriously, I have no ideas for a sequel and I find that every time I make a sequel to a story, it's never as good as the first one. So this will end...unfortunately. So question of the chapter is...what do you think about Dad's betrayal? Schools ends next week so I'll be updating all of my stories more frequently.