alpas (v.) - to become free, to break loose
There was a soft knock on the screen door frame a little while after they had gotten home for the evening. Dana had just poured herself a cup of tea while her roommate had gone upstairs to finish up some homework for her class. She typically did any of her homework downstairs in the open space, but when it came to either AP Literature or Creative Writing, she stayed as far away as possible so she could think for herself. She walked over to the door and saw the case detective waiting on the stoop, and she opened the door for him.
"Sorry to bother you so late, Ms. Gordon. I knew Ms. Reed had a soccer game and didn't want to intrude upon that." He said in greeting, but she shook her head and waved him in.
"Nonsense, Detective Crawford. Please, come in." She responded, and he tipped his hat as he stepped inside the door. As soon as he was inside he took his hat off, and she noticed the jet black hair that sat on top of his head.
"Lovely place you have here." He commented.
"Thank you. Would you like a cup of tea?" She asked, going back over to the kettle.
"No, thank you ma'am. I just need to speak with Ms. Reed for a moment and then I'll be out of your hair." He answered in a polite manner. It surprised her how much of a gentleman he was, for he seemed like the type of man that would come in and dominate an area with his demeanor. She was sure he could, but he did not feel threatened in the environment.
"She's upstairs doing some homework. I'll fetch her for you." She said as she excused herself to head up to the guest bedroom that became her room. She knocked on the door once she got there, and when she heard her say to enter, she just peeked her head in the door.
"I'm just about done." Samantha said as she turned her head around.
"Detective Crawford is here to see you. He's in the kitchen." She told her, and the girl nodded, setting her pen down.
"I'll be down in a minute." She responded, and Dana stepped back out of the room, leaving the door open since she was going to be leaving in a few moments. She went back downstairs and into the kitchen, finding Detective Crawford petting Macavity.
"She'll be down in a minute." She informed him. "You have a new friend." She chuckled as she picked her mug of tea up off the countertop.
"I'm more of a dog person myself, but I grew up with cats, so they have a spot in my heart." He responded with a small smile as Jellylorem hopped up onto the counter. "Hey there."
"The darker one's Macavity, the white and brown one is Jellylorem." She told him, and she saw him smile at the names.
"Like the musical, right?" He asked, and she felt her cheeks redden.
"More off of the book the musical is based off of, but yes." She said as they heard the stairs creaking.
"My mom was a star on Broadway before I was born, so growing up we watched all sorts of musicals and I knew every word to a lot of the soundtracks. Cats was one of my favorites." He told her.
"Mine too." She responded softly as Samantha came into the room. She looked exhausted, but she still had a smile on her face as she greeted the detective. "I will be in my office if either of you need me." She said, grabbing her tea and walking down the back hallway, stepping into the door across from her bedroom.
"Good evening, Ms. Reed. Sorry to interrupt your homework." He greeted, and he finally sat down at the kitchen table. She followed his lead and took a seat across from him.
"It's no problem, I was just about finished anyway. But I know you're not here to talk about me." She responded, and he gave a soft chuckle, nodding his head.
"You're right. It's about your case." He informed, and when she did not respond, he continued on. "I talked with the ADA, Ms. Wilkins, and she was able to make a deal with your father and his attorney. He's pleading guilty to child endangerment, and each count he's going to get ten months. With the documented pictures you took, we were able to get ten counts, so he'll be away for the next eight and a half years." He explained to her, and he watched as she took a deep breath and seemed relieved.
"Thank you." She said with a smile. "What do I do now? What about the house?"
"Since you're eighteen, legally you can live on your own, but I'm assuming you don't have the type of money to be able to that being a high school student. The house can get taken over by the government and you can stay here, or you can try and live in the house and pay the bills and everything." He said, and she nodded.
"I'll talk with Dana. If it comes to it, how do I go about having the government taking over?" She asked.
"I'll go ahead and talk with one of my friends in the real estate business and I'll have him get in touch with you." He said, standing up. She followed and stood from the seat. She still did not know how she felt about it all, but she was glad she was getting justice for the abuse she had endured for the past few months.
"I'll walk you out." She said, telling him it was time to leave. He smiled and they walked toward the front door, Samantha stepping outside and holding it open for him as he came out behind her.
"You take care now, Ms. Reed." He told her.
"Thank you for everything, Detective Crawford." She responded, and he tipped his hat as he put it back on, heading back to his car. She gave a wave to him as he left the house, and she walked back into the house, shutting the big door behind her. Dana had come back out of her office upon hearing him leave, and she knew she was curious about what had happened.
"So?" She asked
"He's going to prison for eight years." She said, tears in her eyes. This time it was out of happiness and relief, and she had a small smile on her face. Dana embraced her in a hug, a sigh of relief escaping her as well.
"It's not long enough but he's going away." She responded, and the girl nodded against her shoulder.
"It'll give me time to get out of here for good. After I graduate, I'm heading to California and I don't know if I'll come back unless it was to visit with you or my brother." She told her, and Dana chuckled.
"Well I'm glad I make that list, but don't let us hold you back. You've got big things coming your way." She said. "Now, I did overhear about the whole house situation."
"Oh, you heard that? I wanted to talk with you about that. Now that he's going to prison, it's up to you whether or not I can still stay." She responded.
"Are you kidding? Of course you can stay Sam. I've had fun this last week and a half, and I think we make great roommates." She said, and she hugged her once again.
"I'll help out with the rent and bills." She responded, and Dana just chuckled.
"All of my utilities and the rent are very inexpensive. You're here until what, July? August? Plus, I've been paying the same bills for the last three years. I've got it figured out with enough money left over." She explained to her.
"But I feel like I'm imposing." Samantha responded as they stepped into the kitchen, making up another pot of boiling water for tea.
"How about this. You help pay for groceries when we need them and your own expenses." She suggested as Samantha poured herself a mug.
"Alright, that works I guess." She agreed with a small smile, and they clinked mugs.
"Okay roomie." Dana said, and they both chuckled, sipping their tea.
--
Another week had passed and she was getting used to everything going on around her. By now word had gotten out that her father had been arrested because it was public information, but Detective Crawford had promised her that the charges would remain classified due to her still being a student. She brushed off anyone who asked her about it, but things were finally getting back to as normal as they could. It was finally their first game of districts, their school was hosting the entire tournament, and after having a twenty and 'oh' season, they were feeling pretty good about their first game. They would have three games, and if they were able to win all three, they would go into the final against the winner of the other bracket. Any tie would go straight to penalty kicks and no overtime, which stressed them out.
"Reed, can we talk?" Nash asked her before they went into the locker room. Things had been a little better between the two of them, but the tension was still there and they hid it well.
"Yeah sure." She responded, and they stepped out beside the facility. "What's up?" She asked.
"Look, I know I really messed up, but I miss my best friend. Can we at least be friends again? I'll put my feelings aside, and if you'll have me, I wanna be your person again. I know you've been going through a tough time, and I know I'm the only one you tell remotely anything to." He explained to her. She could hear the sincerity in his voice, and he was right, he did not tell anything to anyone besides Dana and Nash. She only told things to Dana because she was living with her and already knew everything going on in her life.
"Alright." She sighed in response, nodding her head. His eye lit up and a grin crossed his face.
"Really?" He asked, and she chuckled, nodding.
"Yeah, I've missed my best friend too." She answered, and he embraced her in a hug, squeezing her tight and then letting go.
"Good. Dinner after this game? I'd love to catch up." He asked her, and she smiled.
"Yeah sounds good, but first we have a game to win." She said, and they headed into the locker room to join the rest of the team. They got the music going and they were all yelling, singing along to the music as they all got ready. They made it out to the field and started to get warmed up, having the entire field for themselves for a little while before their opponents showed up to the field. Their first opponent was their rival to the north from Port Austin, and they were getting ready. They had beat them both games during their season, so they already knew how they were going to play and how to win against the team.
Nash and Samantha did their handshake and they took the field, the whistle blowing a few short moments later. Their opponent had the ball to start the half, and they quickly pushed pressure upon them as they worked backward. They maintained a high pressure, preventing them to slip in behind them, and although they were able to keep them in their own half of the field, they were unable to capitalize on opportunities, and went into halftime scoreless.
"I like what I'm seeing out of all of you, but we need to get the ball into the net, not missing outside. Come on fellas, we've done shooting drills hundreds of times, and if anything you're not up against Reed here, it should be easy pickings to get a couple goals in." Coach Wallace told them all as they rehydrated and got ready for their next half. She and the others all had a good chuckle, and he got them riled up for the rest of the game. Nash and Samantha did their handshake, and they hoped it was not the last time they were doing it. The whistle blew and it was their turn to start the half, and they played around the Port Austin team, trying to get a few shots off against them.
It took until the last few minutes for either team to score, and it came off a corner kick. Everyone but herself went up for the corner kick, and she watched Jack put in the ball. She pleaded softly to herself as she watched Nash go up for the header, being unmarked and skilled in the air on set pieces. He put the ball to the opposite side of the goalkeeper and it brushed past his fingertips, the ball going into the back of the net and the celebration beginning. They all crowded him and celebrated the goal, and the referee told them to hurry things up. Samantha looked ahead at the scoreboard, knowing they just needed to hold off for another minute. Eventually the whistle blew, and they were onto the second game of their district run, which would be that coming Monday. They would have a couple days off, but they wanted to come up and watch the game that was happening tomorrow.
"Reed we still on for dinner?" Nash asked her, and she smiled nodding.
"Yeah, I'll meet you at Smalley's." She answered as she packed up her things. She was actually excited to sit down with him, because she had not had a decent conversation with him in a month. She hoped things would not get awkward, but it was Nash and they were platonic with one another. She was also starving.