4. Under Arrest

River Lockhart

I walk out of the apartment complex and walk into the nearest bar to have a drink. I make a call to Lucas, but he doesn't answer.

Assuming he might be doing something at the moment, I sit by the bar and take a few shots before someone sits next to me.

I look at the stranger and notice that he looks my age.

"Alone tonight?" he asks as he looks through the menu of drinks, a sign that he's not a regular here.

"Yeah. What about you?" I ask.

"My girlfriend dumped me," he casually replies.

I just nod at his words, but he starts telling me the whole story. I listen to him because I have nothing else to do. I watch the spots of light against the walls while I listen to him talk with a hint of exaggeration.

It makes me wonder why he was with that girl in the first place. Because of the facts that he says, it seems like she was a complete bitch. Maybe I see him as the innocent one because I haven't heard the girl's point of view on this incident.

"Hah. Anyway. It's so boring. Should we do something fun?" he asks, moving close to me and whispering. "The best thing to do when you are down is to get into some trouble."

"What kind of? And how do you know I am down?" I ask.

"You look like that. Anything happened with your lover?" he asks.

"I guess so..." I lie, not wanting to share anything with a stranger.

"Let's get into some trouble. Come with me."

"What kind?" I ask as he pulls me out of the bar. I stumble past all the tables and stop in front of the bar, feeling a little lightheaded.

The neon lights outside the bar make my eyes hurt a lot. So I look aside and look at the stranger, finally noticing his features. His hands are covered in tattoos, and he looks a bit handsome, though not my type. He has closely clipped hair, which doesn't suit him that well.

I notice my surroundings rotating and the floor blurring in my vision. I know that I am really drunk, and my consciousness is fading away.

"Vandalism is nice when you feel sad. Wanna try it? Or should we make a scene in public?" I hear him ask. I don't reply because I feel like puking. My throat feels bitter and I feel so hot in my stomach. I think my insides are burning due to the strong alcohol.

We walk through the streets at a slow pace and enter a store. I stand by the entrance with a ring in my ears and a knot in my stomach. I notice the store blurring in my vision, but still, I see the scene opening in front of me.

This guy, the stranger I met in the bar, simply walks to an aisle in the store and randomly starts throwing everything off the shelves.

"What are you doing??" I notice the only worker in there, a woman, walks up to him and tries to stop him.

He pushes her away and kicks the shelves a few times until all the things in them fall on the ground. The worker shrieks and asks him to leave as soon as possible before she calls the police on us.

I realise that it's kind of getting out of hand, so I walk to him and pull his arm, "We should go. This isn't fun." I say in my drunk state.

He doesn't listen to me and starts to throw the beer cans to the ground. He makes a complete mess out of it, and I notice the worker dialling the police emergency number. I look at the entrance of the store and feel like I should escape right now before I get into more trouble, which would result in more stress in my mind.

So I walk toward the entrance only for the worker to shriek and yell, "Don't touch me!"

I turn back with wide eyes and notice this idiot man reaching for her. Damn it, what did I get myself into? I just can't run away after keeping a pervert with this woman who's alone in the store!! But the police will arrive any time soon, and I will become a suspect in the incident as well.

I walk to them and try to pull him away from the woman.

"What the fuck are you doing, dude?!" I yell at him. "This is not fun!! Let go of her!" I yell at him, trying to pull him away, only to get shoved aside. I get shoved to the wall behind me and hit my head a little before falling against the ground.

"Damn it..." I mutter to myself while holding my head and trying to get a sense out of my blurry vision.

That's when I hear the police sirens.

My eyes widen in surprise. When I look up, I notice the idiot guy that I had drinks with at the bar immediately letting go of the woman and running out of the store. It leaves me against the wall, drunk and hurt as ever, and the scared woman in the middle of the room.

The police car stops in front of the store, and that pervert is long gone.

Damn it, I am fucked up.

I look to my right and notice a police officer walking out of the car.

My vision becomes clearer, and I become sober when I notice Officer Damian Reid walking into the store.

My throat literally goes dry when I see him there.

He notices the woman in the middle of the store with a scared expression and tears streaming down her face. Then he notices me on the ground.

Oh no.

He quickly walks to the woman and shows her to the back of the store, where she can collect herself from what just happened. I notice the way he strides to her and how his lips twitch to give a little assuring smile to show that she's safe.

Damn. My police officer looks really hot tonight, just like the last time.

Shit, he saw me like this.

I get onto my legs with a groan. My head hurts like hell due to the damn hit, and I cuss that man in my mind.

As everything's sorted out and the woman is safe, I try to walk out of the store while holding my head. But I get pulled from behind by Officer Damian. He looks so mad, and his forest green eyes look darker than the last time I saw them.

He tightly holds me by my hair. "Where do you think you are going? You are under arrest. And you will tell me who the other person is," he says in a prickling cold voice before turning me around and pressing me against the wall. He pulls back my arms and cuffs me from behind.

"Wh- what? I didn't do anything!" I exclaim.

"I saw your pal running away before I came. You should cooperate and tell me his identity." Officer Damian says in his cold voice that I feel a chill down my spine.

"I don't even know him!" I quickly turn around and look at him. He looks down at me with a hint of disgust, and when I say it, it hurts me. It hurts a lot!! Ahhh! I don't want him to look at me like that! Man, he looks at me like I am the most disgusting person he has ever seen!

"Tell your excuses at the police station," he says.

Oh no. If he actually takes me to the police station, he'll get into trouble, not me! All the police officers there know my father, and they will do anything for him. If they notice Officer Damian taking me into the station, cuffed like this, they would eliminate him or, worse, discharge him from his services. I am aware of the dirty things that can happen.

"I am telling the truth." I struggle as his hold on my shoulder hurts, and I look at him, expecting him to believe my words.

"Do you expect me to believe a drunkard?" he asks.

My lips part in surprise. What's worse than getting rejected by a hot man? This is! Getting arrested by him and getting a disgusted look, and then being called a 'drunkard'!

This cannot get any worse.

Involuntarily, I feel a lump in my throat, but I quickly shrug it away and look away from him. He drags me out, but then he stops. He looks back at the store and seems to contemplate something. I realise that he's wondering what to do because he cannot leave that woman alone in the store.

I look where he's looking, toward the aisles, but something else catches my attention.

"Cameras," I say.

"What?"

"Check the CCTV!" I look at him with a frown. "What kind of a police officer doesn't look at the evidence?!"