by Trinity Lemm
“Right.”
I shifted my weight. “Lucas admitted to Penelope that he attacked me,” I said, motioning to Penelope when I realized that the two had probably never met. “So, if we could get him to admit it again, and to record it, then will that be enough proof?”
Uncle Jesse stroked his chin with the tips of his fingers, thinking about my proposal.
“Might work. We sent some detectives to the hospital an hour or so ago to speak with Lucas. As far as I know, he has not confessed. I figured he wouldn’t, which was why I began planning a different solution. But if they come back with no confession, then we can try to send your friend in to get one for us.”
“If we can get a confession, will it speed up the process of getting Axe out?”
He bobbed his head side to side as he thought. “In theory, yes.”
That was a good enough answer for me. I wasn’t an expert on the judicial system, but I still hoped that my plan would work. It was already early March, which meant Axe’s birthday was in two weeks. And there was absolutely no fucking way that I was going to let him be in jail on his birthday.
A ringtone sounded, prompting Uncle Jesse to reach into his pocket and retrieve his cell. He brought it up to his ear.
“Sheriff,” he said, answering the call. His eyes roamed around as he listened to whoever was on the other end. “He’s in and out? Well I’m not surprised. Axe definitely left him with some damage.” Penelope and I stayed silent, trying to piece together the whole conversation from only one side of it. “So, he didn’t?” I rubbed my hands together nervously, waiting for him to hang up the phone. “Okay, thanks.”
Uncle Jesse brought his attention back to us. “No confession,” he said. He turned towards Penelope. “Are you comfortable with wearing a wire?”
“Uh, yeah,” she shakily answered.
“Excellent. Let’s get you set up then.”
We followed him into the same room that he had interrogated me in earlier that day, sitting down at the single table in the room. He quickly set up Penelope’s wire, then looked at the both of us, a serious expression on his face.
“Alright, so the plan is to get him to confess. Penelope, just make sure you’re acting normal. Talk normally. Casually. We don’t want him to feel like something is off. That’ll lessen our chances of getting a confession.”
She nodded. “Okay. Got it.”
“Are you guys ready to go?” he asked.
“Yeah,” Penelope said, standing.
“Actually, um, do you think it’s possible if I see him one more time? Before we go?”
Uncle Jesse studied my desperation for a second, then sighed. “Technically, you’re not supposed to, but I guess you can. It has to be quick, though.”
My face brightened a little bit at his words, hope taking over my body. I nodded, letting him know that I understood. He led me back into the room that I had been in previously to see Axe, leaving me alone for a few minutes while he went to go let the guards know to bring Axe in.
I took a deep breath as I watched a new officer bring him in, immediately saddened at the sight of his orange jumpsuit and handcuffs. He was looking at the ground as he walked in, but once his green eyes found my brown ones through the glass, his face brightened.
I could see his mouth start moving, but then he stopped, realizing that I couldn’t hear him yet. The guard undid his handcuffs as I shifted around in my seat, impatiently waiting to be able to speak to him.
Axe rolled his wrists and rubbed them for a second. I internally cringed watching, knowing that the cuffs were causing his pain.
I reached for the phone, holding it up to my ear.
“You’re already back,” he smiled, leaning into his elbow.
I smirked. “Guess I just couldn’t stay away.”
“Well, I’m glad, because I’m missing you like fucking crazy in here.”
“I miss you so much. Beyond words.”
His eyes sparkled as he adjusted his position. “Did Ash take you to get a new phone?”
“Yeah, he did,” I said, my heart feeling warm and oddly calmer from simply listening to his voice.
“Good. I would’ve kicked his ass if he didn’t.”
“From jail?” I laughed.
“I’d find a way.”
I rolled my eyes. Typical Axe. He always knew how to lighten the mood, how to take a terrible situation and make it seem less bad. I tilted my head, disheartened as I stared at him through the glass.
“I just wanted to see you again,” I said.
“Well, you’re welcome to come visit whenever. I’m pretty busy in here, but I guess I can make some time for you,” he joked.
“I’m honored,” I giggled as I rolled my eyes again.
“You look beautiful today by the way,” he said.
My cheeks flushed a little, overtaken by Axe’s charm, even as he sat in an orange jumpsuit.
“You too,” I joked.
He turned away as he laughed, dimples sinking in. God, I loved him. I hated that he was sitting where he was.
His smile faded and his facial expression turned serious. “Can you do one more thing for me, please?” he asked.
“Of course. What is it?”
“While I’m in here, can you make sure you’re still taking care of yourself? I don’t want you to block everyone and everything else out. Make sure you still go to class and take care of yourself, okay?”
“Tatum?” a voice called. I turned, already knowing who it was.
Time’s up.
I gave Uncle Jesse a single nod, then turned back to Axe. “I love you.”
“Wait, Tate. Promise me.”
“I promise,” I said.
“I love you,” he said, eyes softening.
“I love you too.” I choked back tears as I watched the officer put the handcuffs back onto Axe and walked him out. I covered my mouth with my hand, trying not to let out a sob.
“Tate?” Penelope called, standing near Uncle Jesse. I wiped my eyes quickly, shutting them before taking a deep breath. I walked over to them, nodding to signal that I was ready. “Let’s catch this fucker,” Penelope said, rubbing her hands together.
We made our way to hospital and up to the floor that Lucas was on. Uncle Jesse and I sat in a nearby room, setting up his equipment. Lucas had been going in and out all day, so I was praying that he would be awake for Penelope to do her job.
My hands shook as I sat, replaying everything over and over again in my head. I was still shocked about the entire situation. Shocked that Lucas attacked me. Shocked that Axe had gotten arrested. Shocked that I was sitting in the hospital next to the sheriff, trying to get a confession. Too much was on the line. The pressure was drastically high, and my anxiety was right up there with it.
We sat in silence, waiting to hear Penelope and Lucas speak. I bobbed my knee up and down, rubbing my legs with my palms. Uncle Jesse tilted his chin down towards me, raising a hand and gently dropping it, signaling for me to calm down.
“You’re awake,” Penelope said.
Lucas was silent for a minute before he spoke. “Yeah. Hey,” he groggily said.
He sounded like hell, and I hadn’t seen him, but he probably looked like it too.
“How are you feeling?”
“Pretty bad,” he responded, his voice hoarse. It sounded almost as if he was trying to get over a cold. I tried remembering if Axel had hit him in the throat or not. The memory was somewhat cloudy, so I wasn’t quite sure, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he had. “What are you doing back here?”
“I just wanted…” Penelope paused, her voice shaking slightly, “to talk to you again about what happened.”
Her tone made me nervous. I could tell she was uneasy, pressured to be in the position that she was in, but I didn’t want her to accidentally blow our cover.
“Okay…” he slowly said. “What about it?”
“Can you just tell me… again what happened? I’m just a little confused.”
“I already told you,” Lucas said, his scratchy voice becoming a little irritated.
“But—”
“But nothing,” he said, cutting her off. “There’s nothing left to say.” Penelope didn’t say anything, probably startled by how rude he was being. “Look,” he continued, “I’m going to press charges against Axel. And when he gets locked up for a while, I’m going to be with Tatum. I know that’s not what you want to hear, but that’s what’s going to happen.”
“Fuck you,” Penelope finally responded. Lucas chuckled once.
I gripped the sides of my chair, disgusted by not only how rude he was being to Penelope, but by how he could ever think that I would be with him. Especially after everything that he had done. And after everything that he just put Axe through.
“I hope you know Tatum’s gonna press charges against you,” Penelope hissed.
Lucas was silent again, probably taken aback by the new information. I didn’t know why he would assume that I wouldn’t press charges. For some reason, he thought he was invincible. He thought he was smarter than everyone else. I wanted to march into the room and confront him myself, but Axe’s face flashed through my mind. He had asked me to stay away from Lucas. He didn’t trust him. And neither did I. Obviously Lucas couldn’t hurt me with all his injuries, plus the fact that Uncle Jesse was with me and we were in a hospital, but I still didn’t want to go against Axe’s wishes.
“And when she does, you’re gonna go to prison for just as long as Axel does,” she added.
I had never heard Penelope talk of or to Lucas negatively. It was almost refreshing. She had been on his ass since after New Year’s, so it was nice that she was finally seeing him the same way I did.
“Me attacking Tatum was not nearly the same as Axel attacking me,” he shot back.
I glanced up at Uncle Jesse. “Is that a good enough confession?” I whispered.
“Shh,” he said, trying to listen.
“How was it different?” Penelope asked, viciously.
“Because all I did was break her phone and get on top of her. Axel attacked me like the wild animal that he is.”
His comment about Axe made my jaw twitch. I clenched my hands into fists, trying to maintain my anger so that the temptation to walk into his room and scream at him would lessen.
Uncle Jesse stood. “Where are you going?” I whispered.
“To get a warrant.”
I furrowed my brows. He sensed my confusion, taking a deep breath before explaining.
“He confessed. It was a weak confession, but at least it was one. I’ve got camera footage and DNA results coming within the next few days. Once he’s out of here, I’m taking a warrant for his arrest straight to him and arresting his sorry ass.”
The tenseness in my body relaxed a little, relieved that the confession was at least going to help the case. “Does this mean Axe will get out sooner?”
“Not necessarily. All the charges have to go through the system first. Both cases have to be thoroughly looked at before they could be dropped. Once they’re able to be dropped, then that’s when we’ve gotta convince Lucas to drop the charges on Axe. And even after he does, then we’ve gotta wait for that to go through the system before the charges are entirely gone. That’s when Axe can get out.”
“How long?” I asked, my heart racing.
“At least a few weeks,” he said, his mouth resting in a straight line. “And that’s assuming that we can arrest Lucas within the next day or so.”
I dropped my face into my hands, cringing at the realization that Axe would most likely be stuck in jail on his birthday.
Uncle Jesse placed his hand on my shoulder. “Don’t worry. We’ll get him out.”
I touched my necklace, praying that he was right.
Chapter Twenty-Six
The Plan
The days went on painfully slow. I kept my phone next to me at all times, waiting for a call from Uncle Jesse that Lucas had been arrested. But at this point, it had already been six days since Axe got arrested, and that call still hadn’t come.
Each day felt like it was getting longer and every time I went to bed, I dreaded waking up because I knew that Axe would not be next to me. All I wanted was to be with him, or at least see him, but I hadn’t had time to. Axe had requested that I made sure to go to my classes and do my school work, and even though I wanted to skip every day for the sake of going to visit him, I didn’t. Because that’s not what Axe wanted. And I would do whatever he wanted or needed me to do, because he sure as hell would do the same for me.
I walked over to the dining center with Gianna and Claire. They had been trying to be supportive, but nothing that anyone said or did could make the situation better. The only person that could make it better was Axe.
We chose a small table in the corner of the cafeteria. I sat with my plate, tracing my food around with my fork. I didn’t have an appetite.
I had just gotten Axe back and now I lost him again. And this time felt almost worse. Because not only was he not here, but he was suffering from something that was partly my fault. If it wasn’t for me, he wouldn’t be sitting in a jail cell.
“Well,” Gi started, “on the bright side—”
“There is no bright side,” I interrupted.
She gave a quick sigh before continuing. “On the bright side, at least he’ll be getting out soon.”
“We don’t know that.”
“Tate—”
“He could be in there for fucking ever.”
“You just have to be patient,” Gi softly said.
“I’m out of patience.”
“You wanna get drunk?” Claire asked.
“Dude,” Gianna scolded Claire.
“What?” Claire asked.
“Getting drunk isn’t—”
“Shh,” Claire’s eyes widened as the entire room went silent, conversations coming to sudden halts. I glanced up, noticing the drastic change of noise within the room. Uncle Jesse walked through the cafeteria, two other officers following behind him. They trudged across the room, unphased by the amount of eyes that were watching their every move. My eyes shot ahead of them, curious as to where they were heading.
“Is that Lucas?” I asked, keeping my eyes fixed across the room.
Claire and Gianna both squinted, trying to determine if my accusation was right or not.
“I think it is, and I think that’s Jason sitting next to him,” Claire responded, leaning forward to get a closer look. No one had told me when Lucas was released from the hospital or when he started to return to his classes. I swallowed the lump of nerves that was settled in my throat, wondering if this was the moment that I had been waiting for.
Uncle Jesse stopped in front of the table. I could see his lips moving, but he was too far to be able to hear what he was saying. One of his fellow officers held up a piece of paper as Uncle Jesse continued to speak.
Lucas slowly and shakily stood, a look of horror on his face. He hesitated before turning, his back facing the officers as Uncle Jesse placed handcuffs on him.
“Woah,” Gianna said, her jaw dropping.
“Holy shit. They’re just gonna arrest him right now? Here?” Claire added.
Adrenaline began pumping throughout me, my body becoming overtaken by a sight that was too good to be true. Positive thoughts flowed, wondering just how much longer it would be before Axe would be freed.
Everyone throughout the room was sitting in silence, dumbstruck at the situation that was unraveling right in front of them.
Uncle Jesse held onto one of Lucas’s arms, leading him towards the exit. Lucas’s eyes met mine as they walked past our table. I could finally see his injuries, clear as day, impossible to miss. His face was still pretty swollen, both eyes still fairly black. Smal
l cuts and bruises were scattered around his face, accompanied by a line of stitches resting above his eyebrow and white tape covering his broken nose. As he walked by, you could see the large bald spot on the back of his head where he was given another lovely set of stitches.
But I didn’t feel bad. Axe wasn’t crazy. He wasn’t a wild animal. He could control himself and wouldn’t have done what he did unless he knew that it was necessary. And seeing me struggling beneath Lucas was enough for him to feel like it was.
Uncle Jesse didn’t acknowledge me. I figured he was trying not to make it evident that I was involved. Either that, or he genuinely didn’t know that I was there.
“I can’t believe that just happened,” Gianna said, snapping me out of my daydream. The room returned to a normal volume of laughs and voices, most likely discussing Lucas being arrested.
“I need to call Uncle Jesse,” I said.
“Wait for him to call you, Tate. I’m sure he will be soon,” Gi said.
Claire squeezed my hand. “He’ll be out soon, okay? Don’t worry.”
“God, I hope so. He doesn’t deserve to be in there.”
Two hands smacked down on the table, causing all three of us to jump. Jason stood, breath faltering.
“What the hell was that?” he smoldered, eyes digging into me. “You get my best friend arrested just because your psychopathic boyfriend was?”
“Lucas got what he deserved. And unless you want to end up where he’s going, I suggest you shut your mouth and fuck off,” I spat back.
“Wow,” he turned away, breaking eye contact with me for a split second. “Now I gotta go bail him out.”
“Good luck trying,” I responded, knowing that there was no way in hell that Uncle Jesse was going to let Lucas get released until Axe was.
Jason shot me one last look, as if Claire and Gianna weren’t even there. He stomped to the door, shoving it open to complete his dramatic exit.
I could tell it made Claire a little uncomfortable, but she didn’t say anything. She just continued on as if it hadn’t happened.
Gianna and Claire finished eating. I hadn’t eaten much, but I wasn’t hungry. I had too much on my mind. We made our way back to Stanley Hall, all shuffling into Gianna and Claire’s room.