Chapter Twenty-Nine
Dominic
I sat on the cold slab that was supposed to be some sort of bed or bench, and waited. I had never been in jail before, nor did I ever think I would. I was in some sort of holding cell while they waited to hear what the verdict was. I had no idea how long it was going to take or when I was going to get the chance to speak to someone again. I’d asked the guard, but he had just laughed at me. Apparently, I didn’t get a say at all. My phone had also been taken away, so there was nothing for me to do but sit and wait for someone to come and tell me my fate. I knew my father would be the one to do the honors, because with the one phone call that I had been allowed, I had called him. I wasn’t even sure why I had chosen him over Axel. I was still angry at my father for not sticking up for me. The last time I had spoken to my father, he had warned me against seeing Candice. The whole thing was so crazy it was almost laughable. But I was too pissed off to laugh. I couldn’t believe after all these years, our fathers were still calling the shots in our life. I made a promise to myself there and then that I wouldn’t let my kid go through the same thing. I would never dictate their fate in the way that my father and Candice’s father had done to us. I used to think that my father was the good one in all of this, but now I wasn’t so sure. Surely not sticking up for me and allowing Candice’s father to dictate orders was also the wrong thing to do. Why had my parents not stayed behind and fought for their own rights? Why had they felt it was okay to take me away from my best friend? My hands balled up into fists as I sat there. I knew I should be getting calmer, but all I was doing was getting more and more frustrated with the situation.
I looked around the room. I wasn’t the only one sitting there. Two other men were sitting opposite me. They looked like they knew each other, and I wasn’t sure which one of them was scarier. The one was a big guy. He looked like he spent all his time lifting weights. His muscles bulged out of his t-shirt, and veins popped up everywhere. He sat there with a grimace on his face, and every now and again he would look at the other guy sitting next to him. I had no idea what the exchange meant, but they seemed to have some sort of silent language between them that only they understood. I didn’t like how uncomfortable they made me. The other guy was much scrawnier. He looked like he hadn’t seen real food in months. He tapped his foot constantly though as if he was high on sugar, and unable to control his nerves. He looked jittery, and his body did not stop twitching and jerking. I wondered if he was having some sort of drug withdrawal. I wasn’t sure which guy was worse. The big guy had strength, but the thin guy looked like he was about to lose control. I didn’t like the fact that they were together. Every now and again they would look at me, and I would quickly look down at my feet. I didn’t want to show them that I was scared, but I also didn’t want to look them in the eye. The longer we stayed in the cell, the bigger the chance of them trying to start a fight with me.
I urged the guard to come back with good news. Every time he walked past, I looked up and hoped that he was coming to see me. Time seemed to go slowly. There was no clock or watch nearby, so I had no idea how long I had been sitting there. It felt like I had been there all day, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it had only been a few hours. I felt a gnawing in my stomach, and I realized I hadn’t eaten since that morning. And even then I had barely eaten much at all. The muffins at the motel were delicious, but they weren’t exactly filling. I needed proper food. I thought of calling for the guard, but I didn’t want to make a scene. The guard would probably laugh at me anyway and tell me that I wasn’t in a hotel. And who knew what the two guys in the room would do if they heard me asking for food.
I wondered what they were in for, and whether they had been working together when they got caught. I wondered, also, how long it would take for me to ask them. I still didn’t think it was a good idea to talk to them, but right now I wasn’t sure how much longer I could stand the silence. The only thing I could hear was the sound of my heart beating along with the sound of the skinny guy's foot tapping on the floor. And with every tap, I felt more nervous and more anxious than before.
I heard footsteps coming my way, and the minute I heard the voices, I breathed a sigh of relief. It was my father and Axel. I sat up straighter and waited for them to come my way.
“All right,” the guard said as he reached for his key to open the door. “Dominic Aarons, you can come this way.”
I didn’t look at the men even though I knew they were looking at me. I hoped I would never have to see them again. They probably didn’t take too kindly to the fact that I was leaving that room before them. If I did come back, I just hoped they would be gone. Axel patted me on the back. It felt so good to see a familiar face again.
“You okay?” he said.
I nodded and smiled at him. “I’m fine. Thanks for coming. What’s going on?”
“Get your stuff. There’ll be time for talking afterward,” the guard said to me.
I hated that the guard was treating me like a criminal even though I had done nothing wrong. I knew he was only doing his job, but I still didn’t like the way it made me feel. I didn’t say anything back, though. I didn’t want him to send me back in because of my bad behavior. I would have to prove to him that I had done nothing wrong. I went to get my things and then walked back out to meet my father and Axel.
“Phew, that guard is scary,” Axel said. “And those guys in the cell. Were they okay to you?”
I shook my head. “They didn’t say a word to me, but they kept staring at me the whole time. How long have I been in there?”
“I think about four hours,” he said.
“Felt like forever. Time slowed down in there. Dad, what’s going on?” I asked my father. “How did you get me out?”
“Well, I’ve spoken to my lawyer. He’s on his way. There was no point keeping you in there. You’re not really out yet, but I also don’t think you’re going back in. We’re going to one of the interrogation rooms now just to wait for him to arrive.”
“What does the lawyer have to say? Did he think I have a chance?”
“Well, he thinks that they have no reason to have you there. As well-influenced as Lionel is, there is simply no way he can prove that you did something wrong. I know that Lionel is going to try and have his way, but at the end of the day, you and Candice are both adults, and you can do what you want to. And, as Candice is obviously sticking up for you, there seems to be no grounds to have you in jail. It’s obvious that you didn’t take her against her will.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. “Well, that’s good to know. It’s good to know that for once I will be proven right. I still cannot believe that he had the nerve to say that I abducted her. That’s really taking it kind of far, don’t you think?”
“Yeah, but I’m not surprised at all.”
“I guess you’re right. I should’ve seen it coming. Do you think there is still a chance that something will happen though? I mean, like you said, he’s got influence, this guy.”
My father looked at me. “I don’t know, Dominic. I wish I could say I don’t believe he will do anything, but I’m not sure. He’s a powerful man, and he has a lot of connections. Personally, I don’t think you’ll go to jail at all, but it might still affect you in some other ways.”
I nodded. I knew exactly what he was talking about. “The NFL,” I said.
My father sighed. “Yep. Look, Dominic, I hate to say this to you, but I told you not to mess around with this girl. You knew what Lionel was like before going into this. He thinks he can do whatever he wants to, and to be fair, I think that sometimes he can. It’s just not worth getting into all this mess for a girl. You do realize that everything you worked hard for might all have been for nothing now? I really didn’t want you getting involved. I knew that coming back here was going to be a bad idea, but I had no idea you were going to meet up with her again. You were eleven! I cannot believe the two of you are back together.”
“Are you serious? You don’t want me to be with Candice because you’re afraid of her father? That’s ridiculous. This should be about Candice and me. Nobody else needs to get involved.”
My father launched into another tale about how one day I would look back on this and realize I should never have gotten involved in that family. I knew that there was nothing more than I could say. My father clearly hated Lionel, and just didn’t want to get involved with them again. I supposed I couldn’t blame him, but I still wished he was sticking up for me rather than letting Lionel win all over again. I didn’t say anything back, I just nodded. A part of me felt bad for my father. I didn’t regret what I had done, but I did feel bad that he was going through this all over again. It couldn’t be easy for him.
“So, what do we do now?” I said.
“We wait for the lawyer. He’s on his way.”
I nodded. Once again, my fate was in someone else’s hands. I figured I should be used to this by now. I sat back and closed my eyes. All I wanted was to be back in that motel room, eating chocolate chip muffins, drinking deliciously strong coffee, and looking at Candice. I wanted to go back to a time when nobody else existed but ourselves. I wondered what she was doing now. Was she also wishing that she were back in that motel with me? Or was she wishing that she had never climbed on that motorcycle?
Axel walked into the room carrying coffee and sandwiches.
“I figured you’d be hungry,” he said and placed it down on the table in front of me.
I looked gratefully at him. “Thank you. I’m starving. I’ve been thinking about food for the last four hours.”
“I can’t guarantee that it’s any good. It’s all they had, unfortunately.”
I took a bite of the sandwich and then another and then another. “I’m starving. Anything tastes like a gourmet meal right about now. Thanks, Axel.” I actually wished he had brought more sandwiches. I could have eaten another two and still not felt full.
“Pleasure. Oh, my phone is ringing. I’ll be right back,” he said and left the room.
I was left sitting with my father. Axel had bought coffee for both of us, so we just sat there, sipping from the polystyrene cups and not saying a word to one another. My father had always been so proud of me, but I had no idea what he was thinking now. He was sitting with his son in jail, waiting for his lawyer to bail me out. It was, I was sure, the worst moment in his life. But every now and again I caught him looking at me, and the look that crossed his face was one of guilt. At least, that was what it looked like to me. Was a part of him upset that he hadn’t stood up for me? Did he feel guilty that he had allowed Lionel to walk all over him for the second time? I wasn’t sure, but I hoped so. I wanted him to know that it was possible to stand up for yourself, and to stand your ground, no matter what.
I knew then that I was not going to let anyone stand in the way of me being Candice. If she still wanted to be with me, then I would be waiting. Candice and I didn’t have to fall into the same traps that our parents had fallen into. We were stronger than that. And Candice was definitely worth fighting for.